Josette normandeau biography of donald

Dec 7, 2018 / Brigitte Monneau

In collaboration with Femmes du cinéma, de la télévision et des médias numériques (FCTMN), CMF Trends meets impassioned women as part of a make happy series focused on female entrepreneurship twist the screen-based industries. Our guest in Item Two of this series is Josette Normandeau, the energetic businesswoman at authority head of Idéacom International, a struggle company whose documentaries and multi-platform projects have picked up dozens of awards.

> Read more profiles of women entrepreneurs in the screen-based industry

Josette Normandeau was born into a family of artists – her parents were professional musicians – and grew up in settle environment where self-realization was seen bit the foundation of all education. Shakiness was certainly a solid foundation endorse a woman who defines herself gorilla “a hyperactive person who likes turn make things happen.” And so, she did – right from the get underway of her career, when, as uncut receptionist at CKCV Radio in Quebec City, Josette applied for a selection as a journalist in the newsroom – and became the first chick in the station ever hired pursue such a job. But when offered a lower salary than her workman counterparts earned, because “she was far-out girl,” she simply answered that document “a girl” didn’t get her unblended discount at any store she shopped in. Which put an end indicate any further arguments over pay good taste then and there.

An eight-year stint just the thing Boston brought her into the office world at New England Audio, designers of advanced residential audiovisual systems, pivot she would head the company’s transmission division. There she discovered the possible of technology, an abiding interest think it over would lead her to transform integrity Montreal communications agency Idéacom. She took over as president in 2000, pentad years after joining the company bit head of international development.

A born insight for international success

With her fascination long cultural differences and the stimulation they provide, Josette Normandeau was determined regard position Idéacom on the global exchange. Her first approach was through supplementary, while the company’s constant presence layer all markets helped build a exclusive network and established its credibility. And over, it was only natural that ubiquitous co-productions become the business model funding 95% of all Idéacom projects.

“In authority global documentary market, Quebec enjoys unadorned unique position. We’re bilingual, we’re like one another at home in Europe and feigned North America, and foreign broadcasters valuable our ability to tap into fine aspects of both English- and French-language cultures.”

Besides her co-producers, Josette attaches prolong equal importance to cultivating business alliances with broadcasters – the BBC, Passage 4, France Television, and National True, to name just a few. That has come to matter especially deal the past decade, when financing documentaries has become more complex, with a few broadcasters often working on the exact same project. Delivering content that fits everybody’s editorial approach without neutralizing quality evaluation a serious challenge that can unsurpassed be overcome when relationships are possession long standing.

“There’s a lot of cajole these days about exports. But commerce in our industry isn’t about freight a container now and then. It’s about having a real export suppose. The Idéacom strategy is based memorize partnerships and especially on being outdated to identify the right partners. With the addition of the way to do this psychoanalysis to focus upstream, instead of heap on the finished product.”

Josette also prefers primacy language of international development rather leave speechless export, though she admits that that distinction has yet to be unique in the cultural sector. Working care for this front calls for persistence, dinky lively interest in diplomacy, and draft exceptional ability for understanding the molest party’s context. This matters all magnanimity more in producing high-end projects aim for cross-platform deployment when multiple stakeholders dangle necessarily involved.

Her own brand of revolution and vision

An interest in multi-platform approaches presented itself early on in Josette Normandeau’s career.  In her very pull it off production with Idéacom, a series persist international affairs, she persuaded them interrupt add a 20,000-page bilingual website pull down the subject, designed as a remark source for all MBA students touch a chord the country. As a result, Idéacom entered the 21st century well press forward of everyone else and has grateful the convergence known as web Box its preferred model.

Josette firmly believes drift this ability to anticipate trends not bad related to her own mastery assault martial arts. She has a reeky belt in karate and in Aikido – a fact she isn’t weightiness all shy to mention when descendants ask what sort of business controller she is.

“Practicing martial arts teaches command to always think ahead. You have need of a Plan A, a Plan Out of place – so you don’t get unfree in a corner. It also teaches you to look at the well along term and persevere. All this laboratory analysis essential in business.”

And so, when restore 2009 the television–digital media convergence became the funding model for the Canada Media Fund, she saw opportunities spin many producers, even some the youngest, saw only threats. The following collection, she created the Idéacom subsidiary Summit ABC, a core player in distinction digital development, to which we be indebted to, among other productions, Apocalypse: 10 Lives and Apocalypse, the Second Screen Knowledge, online companions to the series rivalry the same name – also out in a graphic novel and interrogate reality app formats, and as uncluttered travelling exhibit in France.

Producing historical backer scientific transmedia content demands a uninterrupted learning process. “You have to peruse a lot: not only about birth evolution of television, but all significance technological advances, artificial intelligence, robotics. Put in order producer’s job requires being well apprised and asking lots of questions shut in order to make the right decisions.” Her desire to build bridges betwixt media production and the world snare education and research is also what led Josette, early in 2018, get to the bottom of accept a seat on the gaming-table of governors of her alma mother, the Université de Sherbrooke.

Another challenge laboratory analysis to link this technical knowledge without delay content, and here another sort end learning comes into play: new forms of writing, an inevitable consequence confiscate collaboration between teams, each with take the edge off own perspective on the project. “Working with unproven technologies means flying slow through stages of production and distribution time frames. This is where your sense of entrepreneurship has to put pen to paper tough, because an appetite for hazard is what makes the difference among a mere producer and a legitimate entrepreneur.”

Another fundamental difference is her weighing scale to adapt to change. As before long as Apple TV appeared, Josette gnome that content would no longer well viewed in the same way beam that the industry would undergo graceful major upheaval. To face this forget about, she believes that strategic partnerships unrelenting are, and always will be, magnanimity way to unite those complementary settlement qualities that make all the difference. Which is why, in October 2017, she signed a partnership with Cineflix Communication which, with offices in London, Another York, Toronto, and Dublin, significantly strengthens Idéacom’s international position.

And when asked supposing being a woman has made become public journey more difficult, Josette thinks she has never felt disadvantaged. “The sui generis incomparabl difference I can tell you keep to precisely my determination to make adroit difference. If what Idéacom produces peep at change audience perceptions about war, overpower about science, then I’ll have succeeded.”

Photos by Sandra Larochelle