Blogs on Independent Filmmaking (2)

Michael D Sellers is a former CIA operative whose credits include 18 films since 1991. He is also CEO of Quantum Releasing, which as of 2008 handles worldwide distribution for approximately 50 films. A quick look at his blog site and I found interesting nuggets on issues such as the need for “marketability” versus “playability”. All useful stuff to know when building your production. Here's a snippet:

First, if you think about it — a film has to in the first instance sell itself as an idea. Meaning — we all go see a movie because the idea of that movie is attractive to us. That’s “marketability” — the ability of a film to attract an audience into the theater. The most common aspect of markeability is cast — if you have a Brad Pitt movie, it’s marketable by definition because it has Brad Pitt in it....



At the indie level, festival acclaim comes into play, and reviews count, a MySpace buzz matters. But in analyzing the film from this aspect — the entire point is to answer the question, “Can the film attract moviegoers into the theater”?

”Playability” is the analysis of what happens to that audience once they are in the theater. Never mind what got them there — what is their experience once they sit down and watch the movie. How well does the movie “play”? Will it generate favorable word of mouth? Will it catch the fancy of reviewers?

TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN

The 30th Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2009) has announced the 2nd edition of the extremely successful Talent Campus Durban from 24 - 28 July 2009.

Talent Campus is an intensive 5-day programme of workshops and seminars delivered by film professionals to enhance both theoretical and practical approaches to filmmaking. The 2nd Talent Campus Durban theme Roots and Shoots: Creating a New African Cinema will focus activities towards the development of new partnerships between African filmmakers.



Talent Campus Durban invites filmmakers from Africa to apply to participate in these workshops and seminars, which take place in Durban, South Africa, over five days. In addition to specific activities offered by the Campus, the selected talents will have the opportunity to attend films and events at the 30th Durban International Film Festival.

Deadline for application: 16 March 2009

Full Rules and Regulations can be downloaded from: www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/talentdiff2009.htm

For further details:
Phone: +27 (0)31 260 2506/1367
Fax: +27 (0)31 260 3074
Email: talent@ukzn.ac.za or talent.durban@gmail.com

New Media - Cellphones

In case you missed it, there are now seven mass media: print, music recordings, movies, radio, TV, computer-based internet and mobile phones. The mobile phone, although at number seven, has a huge advantage over the others and that is it can actually participate in all of them.

According to Anja Merret in the Mail and Guardian, you can

read a newspaper or book on one’s mobile, listen to music, watch movies, follow a radio program, watch TV or YouTube. And of course you can browse the internet.

Obviously, watching TV on a mobile is not (yet) the same as watching shows on television. The same applies to browsing the internet. But we're clearly getting there.

And where cellphones further stand out from the crowd is both their immediacy (we sleep next to them) and their total interactiveness (we create our own content and forward stuff on.) When marketers begin to understand the advantages and limitations of the humble cellphone and learn to play to its strengths, there's going to be a revolution in the way we receive audio-visual content. And that of course means more opportunities......

Blogs on Independent Film Making (1)

FilmBiz101 is a blog site that aims to be a starting point for Indie film makers.

Topics discussed on the site include the structure and dynamics of motion picture production & distribution, key film industry players (in the US) and factors affecting the financing of both independent movies and studio films. Strategies for raising financing, obtaining distribution for completed projects, and other issues are also addressed in practical terms.



It would be interesting to know how much the information is relevant or can be applied to the Durban / KZN experience

Entre les Murs

The nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film have been announced.

Only Waltz with Bashir, the animated Israeli nomination - a shell-shocked re-assessment of the filmmaker's role in the 1982 Lebanon War - is from outside Europe. Not good. However, the French entry - The Class - looks interesting:

This portrait of a year in the life of a class of Parisian middle school students focuses on the ethnically diverse children who comprise the group and their dedicated teacher, François Marin. Unfolding almost entirely within the classroom itself, the story explores the diversity of personality and background among the students that makes Marin's work both challenging and rewarding.

With no stars and a small budget, diversity (or lack of it) would seem to be the kind of subject matter that South Africans are well placed to discuss. Question is though; how would such material have been handled by a South African director?

Film Tourism

The London Times reports that Mumbai’s controversial “slum tourism” industry, which promises fee-paying outsiders a glimpse of life inside the city’s shantytowns, is flourishing. Numbers are up, agents say, as Westerners shun the beaches of Goa and palaces of Rajasthan to experience the reality behind British film Slumdog Millionaire.



“Everybody is talking about Slumdog,” said Ganesh Tikonkar, a guide for Reality Tours, a company that takes about 50 people a day through Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. “Now people want to see the real thing.”

COWICHAN ABORIGINAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Cowichan Aboriginal Film Festival in Vancouver Island, Canada, is seeking submissions for the 2009 festival. Now in it's fifth year, Cowichan is specifically aimed at encouraging the development of film and media arts skills amongst native and mixed-race peoples. The festival is specifically looking at the potential of co-productions as well as distribution opportunities with filmmakers from other communities internationally.



SA signed its first co-production treaty with Canada back in 1997, so that's an interesting possibility. Visit the CFF website for submission details.

QUESTIONNAIRES

We have now launched three questionnaires about the Durban Film Industry; theyu are linked in the right hand column of this blog.

Survey 1 is specifically for businesses and individuals based in Durban and KZN - the goal is to try to understand what makes the local industry tick.

Survey 2 is a more general survey, intended to look at the perceived strengths and weaknesses of Durban and KZN, and to identify the gaps in the local product offering that make growth difficult.

Survey 3 is intended to capture information on specific productions, to try to work out how much of each production budget is actually spent in the province.

Please feel free to complete whichever survey is relevant; we would also welcome your assistance in asking your friends and colleagues to participate.

Location Images Made Smarter

I saw this on CNN this morning - a tool they are punting to create a multi-angle image of today's historic inauguration.

Photosynth is a new Microsoft product that allows you to transform regular digital photos into a three-dimensional, 360-degree experience. Anybody who sees your synth is put right in your shoes, sharing in your experience, with detail, clarity and scope impossible to achieve in conventional photos or videos.

Photosynth analyzes each photo for similarities to the others, and uses that data to build a model of where the photos were taken. It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photos. So whether you're pitching to clients, to commissioning editors, or building a storyboard for your own production, Photosynth offers huge potential.

Yes You Can (Too)

Tomorrow, the eyes of the world will be on Washington DC, where Barack Obama will be sworn in as the first black president of the United States of America. Tony Shapshak in the Times notes:

More than any other politician, he (Obama) has grasped how the internet has changed the nature of communication. He famously used email, SMSs, text messages and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter - the default communication methods of the youth - to appeal to young voters.

He also raised more than $325 million of his $650 million campaign fund via the internet, from donations of just $200 or less. Obama has 3.7 million Facebook friends - South Africa has 4.5 million internet users, period.

Moves09 Africa Festival

From the NFVF website, moves09 Africa is accepting submissions for features, shorts and documentaries with a special focus on movement, choreography and storytelling through dance made in Africa, from 2005 to 2009 only. They may be of any length, any style of dance, but they must tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. There is no charge for entries.

Based in the north-west of the United Kingdom, moves is the largest exhibition platform in the UK for screen-based work exploring ‘choreographed movement’ in the form of dance films, interactive installations, animation and experimental shorts at international level. The festival presents work in usual and unusual screening contexts: from cinemas to bars, from the public BBC Big Screens to Lightboxes in tramway stations. It's a great opportunity for those of you with existing footage of Zulu Culture in action......



Send your completed submission form along with a preview dvd. For entry requirement visit: www.movementonscreen.org.uk or www.myspace.com/movementonscreen - deadline 30th January.

CASTING FOR TV PRESENTER

413Works: CASTING FOR TV PRESENTER


Venue: 16 CLAIRE AVENUE, MANOR GARDENS, GLENWOOD, DURBAN,4001
For times / dates and other information, please contact the numbers listed below.


Applicants must have following qualities:

18-30 years old

attractive

bubbly

outspoken

fluency in English

Previous tv work(advantageus)

extrovert

must be willing to travel and available for 2009

must be willing to taste all food for cooking show

enjoy cooking


At audition venue, applicants must bring:

ID copy

documentation/footage of previous tv experience

Note: all applicants must be dressed smart casual-formal wear with make-up for audition.

For further enquiries:

Contact: 031-261 56 57/6009 or 0832822799

email: 413works@telkomsa.net

Durban Success Story

The Sunday Times reports on Durban-born Donald Schultz, who moved to the US to become a vet and has rocketed to fame as a wildlife action hero. Tattooed snake-handler Schultz has featured in several programmes on Discovery Channel, and recently starred in a pilot for an international animal show likely to be screened later this year.

BBC PRODUCER WANTED (JOBURG)

There's an ad in this week's Mail and Guardian for year-long contract as a producer / assistant producer with the BBC News bureau in Johannesburg. Ideally looking for news experience and the ability to generate story lines and ideas, develop contacts and provide editorial guidance, it sounds like a great opportunity to influence global perceptions and re-define the message of Africa. And just imagine the kinds of stories you're going to come across for your future filmmaking career....

Send a cv and covering letter via this email address: bbcjohannesburg@bbc.co.uk

Durban Film Industry Facebook Group

As promised, we're widening the debate with a new Facebook Group - What must be put in place to create a viable Durban Film & TV industry?

Join up and start the discussion!

Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of online Social Network giant Facebook yesterday announced that the site attracts more that 150 million active users, almost half of who visit the site daily. Zuckerberg said:

If Facebook were a country it would be the eighth most populated in the
world, just ahead of Japan, Russia and Nigeria

There are Facebook users on every continent, even Antarctica, and the site that is accessible in 170 countries and territories functions in 35 different languages. And the beauty of this tool that opens access to information, education, training, markets and networks with 150 million other people? It's free.



There are already a couple of SA film sites online - Does South Africa Have a Viable Motion Picture Industry? may be one topic you'd be interested in following. Perhaps a similar discussion group should be created for the discussions taking place about Durban?

Durban Film Industry Review

This month, we really start getting to grips with the Durban Film Industry Review process. The scope of the project we'll be undertaking over the next few months includes:

• Analysis of the structure and depth of the Durban / KZN film industry and its challenges
• Analysis of the operational strengths and weaknesses of the DFO
• Identification of key areas for greater involvement by the municipality in the local sector through a process of best practice guidelines.
• Recommendations for the restructurion of the DFO’s operations with a view to aligning the strategic mandate that suits the needs of industry – including cooperation with the KZN Film Commission
• Devising tactics and a comprehensive action plan for growth, development and sustainability
• Providing a structured response to industry development in the local film and media sector through the provision of an industry development programme coordinated by the DFO – defined by a new business plan.

And to this end, we'll be seeking the input of the Durban Film Partnership members in a number of ways.

Firstly we'll be seeking you out for one-on-one meetings, where we'll be asking you for your comments, suggestions, queries and ideas about the sector and it's future. Secondly, and as an integral part of the process, we'll be asking you to complete a questionnaire or two - which basically gives us information in a manageable format. And thirdly, we'll be seeking your referral to other people we can speak to, in order to round out our understanding of the sector and the challenges (and opportunities) it faces.

Cross Marketing

One of the challenges - and opportunities - facing local film makers is how to capitalise on the various revenue streams thrown up by your production. One of the most impressive application of cross-marketing I have seen was the National Geographic series Africa, which cross-promoted the tv series with glossy coffee table books, maps, music from the series AND music inspired by the series, a travelling photographic exhibition, a website where one could buy arts and crafts from the places visited by the show.......





And as if to remind me, the NOLLYWOOD Exhibition runs at the Michael Stephenson gallery in Cape Town from January 15th. Above is a photo from the exhibition.

Photographer Pieter Hugo became increasingly intrigued by the hyperactive Nigerian industry, that produces over 500 films a year. Hugo compiled a list of the iconic images and scenes that had attracted his attention. However, initial attempts to photograph on actual film sets failed to capture the intensity of the situations and he decided to take his interpretation of these staged realities into another realm by assembling a team of actors and assistants......

There's more at the Michael Stephenson Gallery website.