In this issue:
Ashland International Film Festival
Spotlight on Oregon Filmmakers
Links to OFVO website:
by Steve Oster
With great appreciation to all of the members of the film and video industry across the state who traveled to Salem on April 30th, the recent CHAMP Day at the Capitol was a great success. Via constituent meetings with legislators, a rally on the Capitol steps, exhibits in the Capitol galleria, and an evening reception at the Elsinore Theater, our message that film, television and commercial production in Oregon has an annual economic impact of over $985 million and supports over 11,000 jobs was heard loud and clear.
As part of the overall CHAMP (culture, history, arts, movies, preservation) program, which Governor Kulongoski included in his recommended budget, our industry benefited from the additional attention that came via multiple events throughout the day organized by five different agencies. After two previous legislative sessions that encompassed deep cuts in this area, the Governor has made it clear to the legislature that it is time to reinvest in Oregon's rapidly growing creative economy.
While the Governor's budget included the Film Office's full $414,000 marketing request, the Co-chairs budget reduced that figure to zero. With your help, legislators are beginning to come to the realization that to stop our marketing push, particularly at a time when we have just begun to recover from the production slowdown caused by aggressive incentives in Canada and many US states, is a bad business decision that affects thousands of Oregonians.
CHAMP Day also marked the start of our push for support behind Senate Bill 635, which will expand the Oregon Production Investment Fund, bringing with it millions of additional production dollars and hundreds of jobs. Thanks to the excellent work of Respond2, a short video was produced that introduced legislators to the import of keeping Oregon competitive with the increased and added production incentives in over 23 other states.
SAG Stars in Film Industry Community Night
by Mary McDonald-Lewis
Recently, the Screen Actors Guild sponsored the second Film Industry Community Night at Holocene. Portland SAG president Robert Blanche aided in coordinating the event, along with Mary McDonald-Lewis and SAG Executive Director for the Pacific Northwest Dena Beatty. The evening focused on independent filmmaking and SAG's wealth of Indie contracts, and featured SAG National Director of Organizing Todd Amorde, and Darren Michele Gibson, director of SAGIndie.
A panel discussion and a workshop were presented, both moderated by Mary McDonald-Lewis. The first panel, titled "My Indie Film & How I Got It Made," had as its memebers Todd Amorde, actress Betty Moyer, director Jacob Pander, producer Arnold Pander and producer Doug Baum. Darren provided additional comments during the Q&A. The Pander brothers discussed their new film, "Selfless," made under the SAGIndie Ultra-Low Budget Contract, and spoke passionately about their dedication to working with "the best," which to them means SAG actors. Doug Baum got sympathetic laughs with his trial-and-error stories of learning how to use the contracts, and also spoke about SAG's helpfulness during the process. The audience of over 120 had many questions following the presentation about the Indie contracts, and was clearly interested in discovering how many choices filmmakers have when it comes to contracts for independent projects.
The workshop, "The Best of the Best -- How to Put SAG to Work for You," featured Darren Gibson, Todd Amorde, SAG's Dena Beatty, AFTRA Exec. Loraine Heuer, and indie filmmaker Mike Prosser. This portion of the evening focused on the specifics of the contracts and illustrating their value to the audience. Prosser enthusiastically supported both SAG actors and the contracts, emphasizing again and again the ways in which actors could make or break a project and how union actors contributed to the success of his work.
The after-party at the bar was upbeat, with many filmmakers commenting on the new information and their plans to explore the contracts further.
by Susan Haley
One of the components of the Film Office's strategic mission is to help develop the indigenous industry here in Oregon. In order to continue to attract films to shoot in Oregon, we need a local workforce available to those films.
Last year, the Film Office conducted a statewide survey of all of the available film- and video-related programs offered by Oregon's colleges, universities and private educational organizations. The Film Office is also actively pursuing the expansion of degreed programs within the state and, to that end, has begun meeting with Oregon colleges and universities to explore how our office could help with the schools' efforts. The discussions have been very positive and there is a lot of strong support for expanded degreed program offerings. There are many people teaching at Oregon schools with strong backgrounds in film and video production, and some of the schools have existing curricula in place that could transition into expanded departments. We look forward to keeping you informed as we move forward with this process.
Locations Trade Show Sweeps L.A.
by Kayla Thames-Berge
Santa Monica, CA - A wave of location mania hit this relaxed Southern California seaside town as thousands of filmmakers, vendors, production and studio executives descended on the Convention Center for the 2007 Locations Trade Show. This annual three-day event, put on by the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), was originally established for film commissions to offer regional locations to filmmakers, but in the last decade it has become increasingly focused on tax credits, rebates and other forms of incentives.
What hasn't changed is that the Oregon Film and Video Office (OFVO) continues to face intense and increased competition from regions around the world. Among the regions vying for the filmmakers' attention were South Africa, South America, Ireland, the Ukraine and, of course, Canada, which for the first time took over nearly an entire annex. Several new regions also attended for the first time.
California turned out with its regular entourage of local liaisons and vendors and the usual suspects like Louisiana and New Mexico were joined by representatives ranging from Texas, Utah and Florida to Washington, New York and Hawaii, whose welcoming and open, four-booth-wide area was emblazoned with a giant red banner advertising "Get 15-20% back!"
The pressure was intense and palpable. A Native American drummer danced through the aisles proclaiming New Mexico had captured the prize of hosting Cineposium, the annual planning event for AFCI member film commissions, in 2007. Hosting this event has the effect of announcing that a region has "arrived" and is a serious player or is reaffirmed as such, in terms of being a production center with sufficient stages, facilities and a sizeable depth of crew and equipment.
New days and hours for this year's show served to draw a larger crowd, albeit a somewhat different one. Gone were many of the development executives, replaced with a new breed of location decision makers, the VPs of Estimating, who traveled in groups to visit the commissions with top-tier incentives, while breezing past the others. Executives from Fox and Disney greeted each other in the aisles while in the background you could hear calls of, "Deserts, deserts, are you looking for deserts?" and "How much are your incentives?" - no longer the question of, "Do you have incentives?"
Ken Wales, who recently produced the film, "Amazing Grace," was reported by one of the trades to have stopped at Iceland scouting for an upcoming project and we count it in our favor that Oregon also caught his eye. While talking with us, in addition to indicating that he was impressed with the state's beauty, he also confirmed the importance of incentives before he walked away.
The good news that attracted Wales and other filmmakers is that Oregon's legislature is currently considering an enhanced film incentive package. Currently the state offers a 10% rebate on goods and services and a 16.2% rebate on labor. The enhanced package would double the rebate on goods and services paid to Oregon vendors, raising it to 20%, helping Oregon remain competitive amongst an increasingly crowded field of production incentive offerings.
Ashland International Film Festival
by Susan Haley
940 filmmakers from Ashland to Romania, India and many other spots on the globe sent their latest work to the AIFF to be considered for the 2007 event. After 100 community volunteers and the festival's programming staff spent five months screening, 93 of those films were chosen as an official selection of the sixth annual festival. The festival's line-up included a mixture of short- and full-length documentaries and feature films including three Academy Award winners and four Oscar nominees.
A highlight for many was a sneak preview of "My Name is Bruce," the latest from one of our favorite Southern Oregon residents, Bruce Campbell. The festival also screened his classics, "Evil Dead II," "Army of Darkness" and "Bubba Ho-tep." The sold-out film had to be screened at the Ashland Armory with a seating capacity of 500. Bruce introduced the film and stayed for a Q&A session with the audience after the screening. I'm still not sure which I enjoyed most - Bruce, the film or the audience!
The Film Office sponsored the filmmakers' lounge, a comfortable room where the attending filmmakers could go and relax between screenings, spend time networking with one another and have access to WiFi to stay connected. On Saturday afternoon the lounge opened up for a special invitation-only filmmaker's reception with invited guests.
This year the festival honored legendary documentary filmmaker Les Blank with its Artistic Achievement Award. This honor included a retrospective of his classic films and a work-in-progress screening of Blank's latest, "The Tea Film."
The 2007 Award Winners are:
- Juried Best Feature - Stranded
- Juried Best Acting Ensemble - Stranded
- Juried Best Cinematography: The Gerald Hirschfeld A.S.C. Award - Expiration Date
- Juried Best Dramatic Short - The Fan and the Flower
- Juried Best Documentary, Short Subject - Dear Talula
- Juried Best Documentary, Feature Length - Our Daily Bread
- Juried Best Student Film - Zombie Prom
- John C. Schweiger Audience Award, Best Feature - Full Disclosure
- Rogue Creamery Audience Award, Best Feature Length Documentary - Beyond the Call
Spotlight on Oregon Filmmakers
Locations - Responsibilities and Keeping the Faith
by Arnold Pander - Writer/Producer of SELFLESS
The undertaking of an independent feature is not an easy task by any means. Making a feature that requires various locations makes it even more difficult. Our attitude going into the making of "Selfless" has been that anything is possible. That is admittedly a dubious mix of truth and self-delusion, but it's never clear where each resides in the filmmaking process. In other words, throw out any assumptions about the locations that you know will be available, but hold onto the faith that the dream location that seems impossible to access will be yours.
We found that shooting a movie in Portland takes one simple rule: know what you need. The flip side of this is knowing what you don't need. When approaching a business or the city about a location they may be open to your project but, like anyone, they want to know what they are getting into. Full disclosure is crucial - downplaying the nature of your needs can bite you later. Honesty is the best policy. The upside of being a part of your cool project will always outweigh the downsides and expressing that with honesty is equally important.
Portland is a great city with diverse locations and the city itself is adapting to the presence of our crews. In fact, it seems the community wants to support our ambitions as filmmakers. To keep our standing with the community we have to keep their trust and be on top of our productions. In the long run, we'll be able to have even more access to the rich and diverse range of locations that Oregon has to offer.
We thank the city for its generous support and hope that the state will keep supporting independent productions that are shaping the style and artistic quality of the films made in Oregon.
(Check our Arnold and Jakob Pander's project "Selfless" at http://www.selflessthemovie.com/.)
Portland Independent Films Tackles History
by Curt Sindelar, Producer/Director
Our story has never before been seen on film, and as far as we know there isn't even a book dedicated to this mission. "Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers" is a feature-length film about a group of 82nd Airborne Pathfinders - a volunteer unit of American paratroopers whose mission was to land in the heart of enemy territory and survive long enough to direct the coming airborne invasion of Normandy. Their mission was vital to the success of the entire D-Day invasion. Failure to complete the mission could cost the lives of thousands, and it was up to these men to pull it off. It is an inspirational story of integrity, perseverance and the ability to overcome the worst odds.
To honor the men, their mission and their sacrifice, everything about this film is historically correct, down to the patches on the soldier's uniforms. The writers have worked closely with specialists, experts of this time, and a group of actual paratroopers. Locations were a very important part of this accuracy and, without making compromises, we were able to find the locations we needed here in Oregon. We seriously investigated the idea of shooting in the actual locations in Normandy and England, but that part of the world just doesn't look like it did in the 1940's. Parts of Oregon do. McMinnville during the spring, with its dark green trees and low-lying fog, was a perfect location for our scene that takes place in England. Newberg and Hood River, with their landscapes and fruit trees, are ideal for Normandy. Simply put, Oregon has got to be one of the best states to film in. I've filmed in many states, but here in Oregon there is just about every environment a filmmaker would need.
Principal photography has just begun, but "Pathfinders" will be shot in segments rather than continuously due to the fact that the Pathfinders were not simply infantry soldiers but a specially-trained, elite unit. To authentically fill the ranks for this unique group, we have reenactors who specialize in this genre coming to Oregon from all over the country. Our film needs these specialized reenactors with their unique gear and equipment. This was the last hurdle we had to jump: coordinating with and around all the different reenactment groups and their own scheduled events. Even planned a year in advance, the only workable solution was to spread out the shooting schedule to work around their important events.
("Pathfinders" is being produced and directed by Curt Sindelar with Ken Luba (DP) and Charles Armstrong (Art Director) in key roles.)
by Jennifer Hundis
In our last issue, we reported that local filmmaker/actor Sean McGrath and his team had won the Portland 48-Hour Film Project and, as a result, their film was to be put in a national competition.
"Cinema Syndicate, a local group of amateur filmmakers helmed by Sean McGrath, recently brought the Grand Prize for the 2006 48-Hour Film Project back to Portland. "Tooth and Nail," a short film about a vampire running for state senate, took the Best Film prize for the Portland festival last August and went on to oust over 1,100 other films in the national competition last month. Cinema Syndicate hopes to expand their short film success to develop a feature this year." - by Sean McGrath
To view film or contact, please visit:
http://www.cinemasyndicate.com/
by Kayla Thames-Berge
The Hollywood community said goodbye to OFVO board member Ron Mitchell in a beautiful memorial service held on March 10th at The Castaways restaurant in Burbank. Many of Ron's family, friends, colleagues and neighbors came out to pay their respects and celebrate a life well-lived.
It was a lovely setting, high on a hill and overlooking the San Fernando Valley, home of several studios and many production companies. Leigh, Ron's partner in life, as well as in generosity of spirit, greeted folks upon arrival. The atmosphere was casual and convivial, much like a film set, with folks grabbing a cup of coffee, greeting old friends and making new acquaintances, all while knowing they would soon need to settle down to more serious business.
In this case, the business was a pleasure in the sense that it was an honor to recognize a man who contributed much of himself to others. Indeed, Ron's personal investment in people, in mentoring and befriending them over the years, was certainly the recurring theme of the service. About a dozen people shared their stories publicly. Some were serious, some humorous, and some hilarious, but each was touching in its own way and all spoke to the heart of Ron.
The backdrop of the service was a projected image of Ron, happy and in his element on the set of "Alien Nation." Highlights of his life were also depicted in a multimedia presentation that included boyhood and family photos, his career days in Hollywood and his later years relaxing on the coast of Oregon. Though he was not a native, just as California adopted him earlier, Oregon did so in his retirement years when he and Leigh called Depoe Bay home. And so we say farewell to Ron...he will not be forgotten, but he will indeed be missed!
by Jane Ridley
Renewable energy -- off-setting carbon emissions -- energy efficiency? How do we work toward all or any of these in our everyday lives, at home and in the workplace?
We all know that big steps need to be made toward creating a sustainable future, but it is probably more realistic to look first at the small steps we can make toward a greener lifestyle.
One approach might be to work out how much energy your household/workplace/production uses and how many GHG (greenhouse gasses) are emitted into the environment in order to work out how much energy can be saved by using renewable energy, offsetting your carbon footprint and/or becoming more energy efficient.
There is any number of carbon footprint calculators available. A sampling of four are listed here:
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/
www.safeclimate.net/calculator/
www.thegreenoffice.com/footprint/
Reduce
Now that you know what your personal contribution is to the warming trend, it is possible to lessen the impact by neutralizing or lessening your GHG emissions.
One small step toward this goal might be to reduce your gas consumption - the next time you are filling up the car, consider checking your tire pressure too. According to The Ideal Bite (http://idealbite.com/), if we were to keep our tires inflated properly, our fuel efficiency would increase by up to two miles per gallon and increase the life of the tires by 15%. If every American made this adjustment on a regular basis, 4 million gallons of gas could be saved each day.
One of the biggest contributions to earth-unfriendly emissions is from plane travel. Offsetting is one way in which to neutralize the carbon emissions when flying, in effect neutralizing your travel emissions. The offsets market is growing rapidly and there are many companies and organizations that offer the ability to purchase offsets. It is possible to offset your entire personal or business GHG footprint or to just specifically offset air travel. One such site is:
http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/documents/op_carbonoffsets.html
Reuse
As Treehugger.com says, the greenest kind of paper is no paper at all. If it is at all possible to try going paperless, what are you waiting for? One small way to do this might be to only print a telephone number and email address on your business cards.
Recycle
When you're in the market for new office or home furniture, try to find used and refurbished furniture, or even vintage. Or, buy new that is made from materials that can be easily recycled and/or are sustainable (http://www.ecowork.com/therange.aspx); buy local, less miles traveled is a good thing. If you are trying to get rid of furniture, recycle it by selling it, donating it, giving it away - the less in the landfill, the better!
Earth Day just passed (April 22nd), but you can still celebrate by pledging to make a few changes, however small.
Please feel free to share with us any tips you may have. You can send them to: jane@oregonfilm.org.
OMPA - Oregon Media Production Association
2nd Thursday of the month at 6pm
MOPAN - Mid-Oregon Production Arts Network
2nd Wednesday of the month
COFVN - Central Oregon Film & Video Network
No regular meeting schedule
SOFAT - Southern Oregon Film and Television
Yahoo group - no regular meeting schedule