About Roy Nolan

I was born in Canada and worked at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal during most of my twenties. From there I moved on to San Francisco, California and spent the next forty years making films and videos.

I relocated to Mexico in 2006 and am now producing videos about day-to-day lifestyles in Mexican and expat communities. Today I’m focusing on cultural events, artists, musicians, local community services and many other things that go on around my new home, on the shores of Lake Chapala. This is a great resource for retirees who are thinking about relocating to Mexico.

I’ve also been producing videos pro bono about ecological projects to save Lake Chapala, various charities, cultural services and other worthy causes in the lakeshore communities. These are being used for publicity, promotion and fundraising.

As A Filmmaker

I learned my craft at the National Film Board of Canada over an eight-year period and was involved in all aspects of film production, both creative and technical.

Then I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1963 and worked as a freelance director/cinematographer with local film producers and television stations.

I also taught motion picture editing for the University of California – Berkeley and the San Francisco Academy of Art during my first three years in the area.

In 1966 I formed my own company, Nolan Productions and produced, directed, shot and edited films for corporate clients as well as my own independent productions.

Roy directs Del Monte safety film “The Day That Nothing Happened.”

I produced many television commercials, educational films, documentaries, theatrical shorts and industrial films.

During this time I also worked as a director/cameraman on many documentaries and music videos, for local and international television.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Johnny Cash at San Quentin [Granada Television, England]
• Peter, Paul and Mary in San Francisco [for PBS]
• The Eagle Has Brought the Message American Indian Movement [German TV]
• Back to the Devil Documentary on the occult [German TV]
• You Are a Rainbow The Human Potential Movement [German TV]

And Then There Was Last Free Ride…

In 1975 we completed the feature length film Last Free Ride, a docudrama set in the Sausalito houseboat community on San Francisco Bay. A lively story of a poor man with a rich man’s dream – of sailing, rock’n roll and self-reliance. The movie chronicles the classic struggle of human rights versus property rights.

It went on to be a cult classic in America and Europe, where it played in theaters to packed houses, as well as airing on television in many countries.

“An American film truly not like the others… a powerful statement about those who dissent without violence but with humor and invention… Last Free Ride is like a breath of fresh air on our movie screens polluted by the conventions of papa’s cinema.” — Remoz Forlasi, RTL [Radio France]

Now It’s Time For Video

A nautical assignment for the Disney Channel

In 1982 I began working in video as a field producer for the Disney Channel for about a year. During that time, I documented the stories of many unusual characters in all kinds of locations across North America. Stories such as “Jack O’Neil,” the inventor of the wetsuit that is widely used for surfing throughout the world, to the making of totem poles by the “Makah” native peoples living on the Olympic peninsula of Washington state. Besides being a very interesting experience, it was a great opportunity to learn video production techniques.

Roy shows a Mexican boy how to film

After that experience, I reactivated my production company, and went on to produce, direct and edit videos for major corporate clients. I continued to do that until I moved to Mexico in 2006

Videos For The 21st Century

In the sixties I worked on several multimedia experiments using synchronized multi-screen projection in combination with stereo sound and lightshow techniques. I had two successful showings. The first one opened the San Francisco Film Festival in 1967, and the second one was at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1969.

Directing “Coolwater Archives,” an EPRI interactive videodisk program archiving the entire Coolwater Coal Gasification Power Plant.

Later in the 80s and 90s, my partner at that time, Julie Nolan, and I were contracted to create several multimedia productions for the Electric Power Research Institute. These were for training and archiving at the Coolwater Coal Gasification experimental power plant near Barstow, California. Computer animation and graphics, combined with live video footage and stills, familiarized trainees with the highly complex sulfur recovery process. We also did an interactive training program for Alabama Power as well.

Julie Nolan

A Macintosh computer and a videodisc player ran the programs. They were the first of a kind projects that won several prestigious awards. Today they are on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

After that, we went on to produce more multimedia programs for other clients.