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Film duo headed to Vancouver to blog about Olympics 

By Anna Sarkissian

Communications grad Josh Usheroff has known his best friend and creative partner Ben Goloff since before birth, literally.

Their mothers met during a Mommy and Me pre-natal class. They lived on the same street and had frequent play dates. Now that they’re all grown up, they run a production company together, Black Box Productions.

This week, Samsung is sending them on an all-expenses-paid trip to Vancouver to blog about their personal experiences at the Olympics.

It all started last November, when they noticed a web banner advertising the Samsung Mobile Explorers competition. They created a short film to showcase their personalities and technical know-how and submitted it online.

“We knew we needed to create a video that would be viral. People would click, laugh and share,” Usheroff said. Friends and family started voting and their fan base grew. By December, they were named one of five semi-finalist teams. A panel of judges will award one team a grand prize of $10 000 at the end of the games.

In Vancouver, they will be checking out various events and posting photos and videos using Samsung Omnia II phones. Besides trying to catch up with the men’s and women’s hockey teams, they are also looking into the logistics of going bobsledding (“it’s nearly impossible,” Usheroff admitted).

On the upside, they will catch the world premiere of their film, Skywriter, which was created for CODE, the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition. Directed by Usheroff and produced by both of them, the short film will screen several times on five jumbo screens around the city to an estimated audience of 100 000 people per day. For those who can’t make it to Vancouver, Skywriter will also be downloadable on Bell Mobility phones and will be featured as inflight entertainment on Air Canada. Visit the website for information about viewing it online during the games.

“Ben and I are both going out there with open minds about the Olympic experience. There’s no real stress on our part,” Usheroff said. “I’m going with my best friend to have fun and share it with others. It can’t go wrong.”

Follow their antics online.