He directs - he writes - he produces - he edits (even film!) - he can manage a big budget set or create gems from minuscule budgets - and he chooses, yes, chooses, to live and work in Edmonton. Why? It's not just the remarkable prairie light, or the understanding of the province that is bred in his bones - it's his belief in the talent pool, and the importance of working with the people who inspire and challenge him.

His body of work remains rooted in Alberta, and with his growing pool of collaborators. It is his strengths as both writer and director that he chiefly brings to Blue Sky:

- 1132 pleasant street. This ultra-low budget film won Best Feature at the New York Independent Film Festival and an Alberta Rosie for Best Actress (Kate Ryan).

- Directed, co-wrote and co-edited the short film When the Pig Looks at the Matchbox. A heavily adapted snippet of a Fringe stage play, this project grew from a simple "I want to work with you" discussion with co-writer/actor Jeff Page, who plays a dozen characters in this multi-layered glance into an unsettled mind. A collaboration with Plastic Thought Animation Studios, and musician Dave Clarke, who both worked on ….

- Staring at a Fearful Ocean, a live action/animation short film for Bravo!FACT. As the director and adaptor, Norm worked with a street-wise teen to create the project. It went on to win five Alberta Rosie awards (best director - short, best editor - short, best overall sound, best overall animation and a special jury award). The film was a participant in First People’s festivals in San Francisco and Montreal, a workshop/conference on street violence in Chicago, and at the Canadian pavilion at the World Fair in Hamburg, Germany, within iHuman’s “Gun Sculpture” exhibit.

- Tornado Magnet, as director and co-adaptor. Another project that sprang from a play presented at the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. This comedy short, written by and starring Darrin Hagen, is a glimpse into trailer park life from the woman's point of view.

- Cheap Shots, a proposed improv-based T.V. series. Director of mayhem and co-creator.

- Rantdog Loves Smash, Co-writer, with Dave Clarke, a feature film currently in development. And www.rantdog.com, Creative Producer of the website, web cartoons up and re-running.

Norm has worn many hats as a freelancer - producer, film and video editor, cameraman, first-assistant director, sound recordist, and script editor. He has written, and/or directed videos and commercials for various Edmonton artists and arts organizations, including being the ace videographer for The Dead Rats, Edmonton's premiere garage band. His film credits include a CBC documentary on the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. Norm also directed several episodes of the highly praised series Mentors, receiving an Alberta Rosie nomination as Best Director for the episode, "Father's Day". An early collaboration with friends created One Guy's Christmas, a short film about, yes, one guy’s sad little Christmas, an Alberta Rosie winner in the fine Alberta $100 film tradition.

His work producing other writers includes: Josh Miller, “Sandman”; Brian Paisley, “Landing”; Paula Simons, “None of the Actors Should....”, a documentary on playwright Brad Fraser; and the late writer/director, Joseph Viszmeg’s feature film “City of Champions”, selected by the French government to be part of an eighty-year retrospective of Canadian Cinema at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

Norm’s commitment to the growth and support of the Alberta film and video industry is evident in the boards he has served, including the Banff Television Festival and Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association, as well as the organizations and committees he has given his time to, including the Edmonton International Film Festival, the National Screen Institute, Citadel Theatre School, the Television and Film Institute, Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta, and iHuman. His work producing Edmonton Now not only provided coverage of the local arts scene, it raised the bar for community broadcasting in the city. Clearly, Norm is here to stay.