simply A reclamation project at this point in time...
from THat point in time...
and where are they in 2012 ? ...15 years later?it would appear following old mackerel folks were NOTABLY ABSENT from role call on this day in 1997• Elay Cohen
• Peter Mosely • Jeramy Cooke • Tim Raliegh • Steven Thut • Joey DeVilla • Margot Beddoe Lewis • Thor Hendrikson • Adam Smith they will re-appear in 2012status: [O] - but, it would be interesting to get some thoughts on these times from the good folks listed below; we'll see what we can do.
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Below is a screen shot of the final "who ware are" page from the Mackerel website. I don't think there was a final build anywhere near the time it all went belly-up. I'm searching for any and all nuggets from this past... as I find these nuggets, or as they are provided to me; they will be added here and there abouts.
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who we were, what we said and a little about what we did...
1997 Mackerel Bio:
Andrew Keyes Vice President, Digital Marketing Education: Bachelor of Applied Arts (Instructional Media), Ryerson, 1984 Andrew has been a 'Mackerelite' at heart since 1989, when he was first introduced to The Mackerel Stack. He holds a B.A.A. in Film and Photography from Ryerson, with a major in Instructional Media. He has worked as an independent producer of informational and corporate multimedia and video productions and has spent the past eight years in the advertising world, most recently as Creative Director. Andrew has always encouraged clients to break from the ordinary and embrace emerging technologies. He combines his knowledge and experience in these areas with a strong focus on delivering practical solutions. Clients Andrew has worked for include Mercedes-Benz Canada, The Canadian Diabetes Association, Woolco, PureData, Cyanamid Canada, and the Toronto Dominion Bank. 
Fred Williamson
Vice President, Marketing. "I can't believe the good fortune we've had to be positioned for the future like we are. It's been a lot of hard work and a lot of good times, and it just keeps on getting better." 
Kat Cruickshank
Editor/Illustrator, Fun Fish Facts This is me with Definitely Not A Real Fish (now "stuffed and mounted" on Mackerel's boardroom wall). I was at Ontario College of Art along with Kevin, Gord, Dave, and Dauda and it's true, I did suggest the name "Mackerel" for the company, way back when. My art school "education" has absolutely no bearing on the fact that I draw fish. I've drawn fish since I was a kid, but during art school I felt compelled to be "avant-garde", which ended up making me very confused and unhappy. I sort of had to get art school out of my system in order to begin working on fish again, which I started doing in 1986 with huge paintings and tiny sculptures. Fish are my primary subject, but I have been known to sometimes draw other stuff too, like comics. The Scombrid drawings are a commission from heaven. They represent a return to my natural state. I can't think of anything better than drawing fish and getting paid for it, except maybe getting paid to go fly-fishing! 
Oliver Meurer
Producer. After Oliver spent numerous years working as a freelance designer he got hired by Mackerel in 1992 to manage their print design department. He then moved into multimedia production, where he quickly gathered the necessary skills to produce numerous award winning interactive projects. During those years he acquired an extensive understanding of all aspects of multimedia production, and this combined with his management skills led to his appointment as production manager in 1994. He is now responsible for the budgeting, scheduling and tracking of all projects and production in general, as well as Research & Development and staffing. Mackerel is always looking for new chairs and Oliver found the solution, first find the people to sit in them. Interested in talking to us? The call to Mom below will take you to a contact form which will be sent into CyberLimbo until we figure out how to deal with the deluge of inquiries. Oliver lives in his very own theme park, Olliewood, east and west Olliewood, preferred currency is the Olliedollar, featured attractions are the Polar Bear Express, the Kaspar Hauser house of mirrors, the beer garden, a ferris wheel that goes around and around while Oliver's philosophies on life are broadcast in an unending loop... the list goes on and on. 
Trish Thornton
"I'm a poet, and a singer of songs." Tony Curtis in Spartacus I really am a poet, but I'm at a great disadvantage, being alive and all. So in the meantime, I've been working in many media... (multi-media...??? EEP!)
Gord Gower
President. As a founding partner of Mackerel, along with Kevin Steele, Gord has been involved in interactive media since 1989. Gord shared many of the responsibilities for building the studio with Kevin, and eventually Dave and Fred, ensuring that quality was key in every job Mackerel produced. Gord applied himself to many responsibilities over the years, including many creative roles in the studio and has been responsible for the adimistrative tasks since the beginning. In 1994 Gord assumed the role of President with the mandate to build a company from the creative studio. Gord is involved in all aspects of the management of the company, he continues to hire the expertise needed to build a company that is well run, successful and profitable. Gord's background and history at the company ensures that while Mackerel manages it's affairs professionally, the environment and culture of the company supports the level of creativity and quality for which Mackerel has become famous. 
Michelle Gay:
Art Director/Media Artist Mackerel Projects on the go:• A/D and artist on the development of the Prisoners of Gravity cd-rom series with Mark Askwith and Gregg Thurlbeck. Science and fiction together again. • co-A/D with Cindy Dabis on a groovy Media Literacy cd-rom for teens about self-respect and body issues. Michelle Exhibitions on the go: • Southern Alberta Art Gallery- Lethbridge, Alberta - 1,063' steel wool braid (to be continued) • Articule, Montreal, Quebec - limited edition bookwork on the story of the Dial Painters • New York Short Film Festival, New York, NY - Waiting for the Cage, cd-rom Michelle holds a M.F.A. in Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a B.A. from the University of Toronto. An addict to collective work, she has been actively involved in the contemporary Canadian art community over the past decade. Among other endeavours, she was a founding member of the OO Magazine/Gallery (Halifax, NS), co-programmed the "Women in Film and Video" festival at NSCAD for a number of years, and is presently an active board member of one of Canada's premiere artist-run-galleries -- YYZ Artists Outlet (Toronto). Recently, she has been working with a collective of architects building a world of virtual museums and galleries for artists, writers and musicians. Michelle has been a full-fleged, card carrying Mackerelite for over 2 years. 
Marie Boal
This area under development. Check back soon. |
How it looked or how we felt way back in those bygone days
Robert Disher
Producer, Interface Engineering Introduced to computer graphics in 1980, Robert has been involved in interface design since 1984. One of Robert's main strengths in interface engineering lies in the fact that he is able to address issues and solve problems, from the user's point of view. As Creative Director at TouchCom Technologies Inc. and Digital Media Networks Corp., he pioneered interface design for various high-end media applications. He has been directly responsible for projects such as The CIBC InfoNetwork in Canada and has designed and implemented interactive media for Mobil Oil Corporation and Chevron/McDonald's companies in the U.S. In September of 1996, Robert joined Mackerel to head up the Interface Engineering division of the company. 
Dave Groff
Creative Director. David has been art directing print and multimedia projects for 6 years. A Mackerel partner for three years, he has directed and managed a number of multimedia projects, and his experience includes museum exhibits, advertising, computer-based training, and CD-ROM development. Most recently, David was the lead designer and project manager on the Maclean's CD-ROM edition on Canadian Universities. More recently, Dave has been experimenting with realtime interactive animation on the web. 
Karl Borst
Director of Product Development With five years of experience at Mackerel, Karl has worked in all aspects of multimedia, from programming to art direction to interface design. More recently, Karl has been key in Mackerel's move into consumer title development, working with Simon & Schuster, America On Line and spearheading a number of CD-ROM initiatives. Now dedicated to the role, Karl works directly with the VP of Digital Products, focusing the division. Karl is a minority shareholder in Mackerel, has a BFA in Film Screenwriting and a specialized knowledge of the entertainment and edutainment software industries. 
Maggie Dorning:
Project Director I've created giant talking plastic ants, a noisy steel rooster, and a hissing owl. ..... And now I've evolved into a fish ...... As an artist I'm fascinated by the impact of emerging technologies on people; so I build scenarios of the future by creating machines that emulate human behaviour. I've had shows of my work in some strange places - from the bakery in a medieval monastery near Avignon, to a equestrian centre and indoor circus built by Napoleon in Rheims, to the Pompidou Centre in Paris. A new work "Come like shadow; so depart..." will be shown the Koffler Gallery in Toronto in Januaury 1997. (Not a strange place.) I've also worked as a media planner and visual researcher for National Museums, as a writer for Macmillan Canada, and as an editor/publisher for a Crown corporation. Most recently I've integrated all aspects of my interests, experience and passions into multimedia production and planning. web site: www.goodmedia.com/maggie 
Mike Stanek:
Media Artist - Blurb to follow 
Paul Marhue
...whip me...beat me...double-click me... 
Ryan Murphy, Master of the Domain
Ryan has been involved in electronic publishing on Macintosh and PC platforms since 1987. Recently he has been consulting in the networking and communications area, with a focus on cross-platform integration. Ryan's role at Mackerel includes internet integration and assisting customers deploy their multimedia projects on a variety of platforms. Ryan is a graduate of Queen's University, and while his studies in human geography do not relate directly to what he's doing now, he had a good time there anyway. 
Rob Krieger, Vice President, Consumer and Educational Products
Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film), York University, 1976; Masters of Mathematics (Computer Science), University of Waterloo, 1985 Rob is currently producing several CD-ROM and on-line titles at Mackerel. Rob's expertise in production comes from years of experience designing award-winning, interactive, computer graphics software products. His expertise in interactive environments comes from years of designing and developing innovative interfaces for use in learning applications and multimedia products. After completing a B.F.A. in Film in 1976, Rob spent a number of years as a cinematographer working freelance in the feature film industry. The lure of technology beckoned Rob to complete a Masters of Mathematics in Computer Science in 1985. His software development and project management experience comes from having spent over 8 years at Alias Research, as principle designer, and project director and manager of Alias workstation products and Sketch!, a 3D modeling and rendering application for the Macintosh. Rob is currently charged with leading Mackerel's Consumer and Educational Products Division. Rob has has been known to say "that although computer graphics has brought the promise of virtual reality, we need to distinguish this approach from photorealism. Animated stick figures and cartoons don't require a photorealistic setting to cognitively engage us. In fact, in many cases photorealism would jeopardise the intention. We should be creating what I call a Virtual Fantasy where one's sense of disbelief is suspended, like any good theatre, and we are experiencing and being entertained within this world, on its terms. Simply put, we need to meet the intentions of the product and the expectations of the user." Rob is one to always welcome comments. 
Kuljit Mithra
Programmer I recently began working here after graduating from the University of Toronto. I took Computer Science there and received my Honours B.Sc..I had a minor in English. I know C/C++, Java, Perl/CGI, HTML, Shell scripting, Lisp, Prolog, Assembler, SQL, DB2 and many more obscure languages I had to learn in school. I hope my stay here at Mackerel is longer than my last place of employment. That place blew up, with me in it. Not many people believe I survived a building collapsing on me, since no one takes me seriously anyway. I talk in a monotonous voice when I am joking. I talk in a monotonous voice when I am being serious. I could yell, 'Hey, there's a fire!' and no one would believe me. That's why I don't talk too much. In my spare time (whatever that is) I run my Daredevil page, and I collect comics. I also read lots of horror novels because of the 2 hour subway ride here every day. I write children's books too. I also cut off my toe a few years ago, which may have led me to read horror novels. Do you believe me? |
and it sounds just like it did ...just like it's 1997 • again.
Chris Cummer
Senior Programer 
Bones
All the things that I know how to do:
Cindy Dabis
Art Director Freaky Stories on MSN canadatrust.com The Canadian Encyclopedia Plus 1997 ~ Awarded Best Kids Product by the Toronto Star Radio Insomnia ~ personal web site and playground Get Real! Interactive Magazine on Body Image (prototype) ~ project director/art director Waiting for the Cage Enhanced CDROM ~ designed an interactive piece for 1 of 8 songs on the CD ~ First Prize in the New York Short Film Festival, Interactive Category 
Collin Douma
Media Artist" Often found climbing trees, peeling staples or crushing ice. "The FISH by Collin E. Douma: Media Artist, Animator.Once upon a midnight dreary, while I ponder the work of weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of graphics galore. While I noticed, nearly laughing, suddenly there came a tapping, as if a fish gently flapping, flapping at my chamber door. "Tis some Mackerel," I muttered, "flapping at my chamber door- I remember this, and nothing more." Credits Include: Independent Film Production. Norwich Ontario. "Celebrating Us" Winner of two film festivals with awards: "Best Ontario Film", "Best Arts and Culture Category", "Best Over-all Submission" "Jammers" Rogers Cable. Ottawa. Animation, Design. "Nikolai's Knights","Nikolai's Pharohs", Nikolai's Windows " . ABCD's, Corel CD Home. Animation, Storyboarding, Design, Voiceovers. "Nikolai's Adventure" I. Hoffmann + Associates. Series pitch, Storyboards, Design, Supervision of Project. "Mighty Mites on AOL", Mackerel. Media Artist 
Dave Mazierski, Artist.
A medical illustrator, Dave graduated from the University of Toronto in 1982 with a degree in Art as Applied to Medicine. His first job was to illustrate the world's first Atlas of Camel Anatomy, thus establishing his association with willfully obscure animals (that would be one hump, as opposed to a bactrian camel which has two). Should you need your llama innards rendered in Photoshop, Dave is your man. Currently, he is occupied with putting laparoscopy instruments in & about gruesomely real diseased gall bladders, giving electronic art a whole new complexion... greenish. His current freelance business was interrupted by six years of gainful employment at U of T. At Mackerel, Dave's role is to assist in the production of 3D modelling and interface artwork when the resident lizard tamer finds himself with more reptiles than he can juggle.. He's not sure where the multimedia bus is heading, but he's brought a good book, several sandwiches, and a change of underwear, in case it turns out to be a long ride. Look for pictures of his tattoos elsewhere on the World Wide Wank (thanks, Dasha!) 
Diana has been working for Mackerel for a year and a half. She has worked as a Media Artist, Art Director and Project Director. Her background is in theatrical design, and she has performed with an improv troupe and done sketch comedy. She worked on a couple of television pilots on the peforming end and is currently at the Bell Centre doing video production courses.
michael john korditsch
my comic book named tic toc tom. this is my newest thing or something (or whatever). 
Jarkko Tattoo Artist, Graphic Designer, Typographer, Sign Maker, Craftsman, DJ, Musician.
Jarrko (pronounced Yarko) is an artist trained in many disciplines. His diverse skill set is reflected in his colourful personality and Positive Attitude. 
Kevin Steele, Creative Director.
photo by Rick Conroy I have been with Mackerel since it was formed in 1989. Projects that I have worked on include Delrina's Echo Lakeand Try Tercel for Toyota. As Creative Directors, Dave Groff and I work closely together to develop the creative and talent at Mackerel. 
Lisa Tabachnick:
Coordinator, PR & Publicity After graduating from the Radio and Television Arts program at Ryerson and working with another local multimedia company for a year, I came to Mackerel not knowing exactly what to expect. There is a current of creative energy running through this place which makes it a fun and enlightening place to work. With new projects starting up every day, we've got a lot going on and a lot to talk about! If you need more information on Mackerel's PR or publicity activities, please contact me via phone, fax or email. 
Rick Conroy
Rick has been a musician, a college teacher, a sound recordist, a bicycle activist, a composer, a negative cutter, a photographer, a spanish translator, a bartender, a tour guide, and a paper-boy, among other things. Presently working as a programmer and project manager for Mackerel, he is a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo Mathematics program, with a joint degree in Computer Science and C&O (Combinatorics and Optimization). He has been programming since the days of punch cards. He plays in some local bands, practises bicycle activism, loves travelling in Latin America, will one day get his pilot's license, and knows a good card trick. |
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Privacy Policy in the works: For now, simply, I will NOT bombard you with email & I will NOT share your information with anyone. If you were to grow tired of this and the things I may send you, and I really cannot imagine why, I will take you OFF my list.
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