Human Scale Productions was founded by Doug Karr and Sierra Bellows in 2000 with the eight month documentary production in Africa of Lifecycles: a Story of AIDS in Malawi. The hour long film features the music of SONY recording artist Bobby McFerrin and was funded by The National Film Board of Canada, The United Nations project on AIDS, and by Link TV (a national US broadcaster based in San Francisco). Apart from an extensive festival run, Lifecycles was featured in a North American university campus tour highlighting the role of media in development.

Karr studied Filmmaking at Ryerson University and was then hired by McLellan Multimedia Group as an editor for corporate and documentary video. Karr studied with celebrated filmmaker Robert Primes, ASC at the Rockport Workshops as well as renowned Canadian writer and story editor Alan Magee as part of a script writing prize. Karr also served as Vice Chairman on the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative board of directors. Bellows graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Cinema Studies. Together Bellows and Karr taught video production as part of a special development seminar for Harvard University’s Center For International Relations, and Karr has also led filmmaking workshops for The National Screen Institute.

In co-production with the Nova Scotia based Gorgeous Mistake Productions, Human Scale created the award winning documentary films LSD 25 (Jury Prize Winner at Brandon’s Thirty Below Film Festival, Grand Prize Winner at the Cabbagetown Film Festival) and The June Bug Symphony (Nominated for Best Cinematography at Yorkton Film Festival, winner Best Film at the Niagara Falls Film Festival).

In 2002, after being part of the Script Development Program at the 22nd Atlantic Film Festival, the screenplay for the half hour television drama The Straitjacket Lottery was commissioned by The CBC, Atlantic Region and Bravo!. The film stars Andy Jones (Rare Birds, CODCO), David Huband (The Newsroom) and Tara Slone (former lead singer of Joydrop). The film recently won Best Comedy at the 2004 Niagara Indie FilmFest, as well as being nominated for Best Comedy and Best Male Performance at the 2004 Canada Golden Sheaf Awards.

Human Scale Productions is currently in development on multiple projects including a dramatic series based on The Straitjacket Lottery, a six part travel series entitled Nightmares & Nirvana, and a the feature film Living-Room War with Karr at the helm as writer/director.