Design Currency: Something to really think about - Part 1

Why are you in school?
Why are you studying filmmaking?
Do you have something to say?
Is there anyone out there who wants to listen?
Do you have something to contribute to society, humanity?
What is your value? How much are you worth?
Specifically, how much is your work worth?
How do you put a dollar sign on what you produce, as an artist or a craftsman?
How much is your time worth?
Should you get paid when a studio or individual reproduces your work?
Do you have an answer to these questions?

Keep checking the blog for more discussion on this topic. . .

Rehoboth Beach Film Society Student Film Award

Rehoboth Beach Film Society

IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2010
MORRIS & ROSLYN FIERBERG STUDENT FILM AWARD

The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is now accepting submissions of short films for the annual Morris Fierberg Student Film Award competition. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The Honorable Mention recipient will receive a $250 product grant.

To be eligible to compete, film submissions and applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Film submissions must be received at the RBFS office by June 15, 2010.
• Film submissions must be produced between September 1, 2009 and June 15, 2010.
• Eligible applicants are high school or undergraduate students who maintain a full-time residence in the United States.
• All major crew positions are required to be held by students.
• Only film directors are eligible to be applicants.
• A supervising faculty member must endorse applicant’s entry form.
• Film submissions are required to be 30 minutes or under in length, or cued to an appropriate starting place as only 30 minutes of each submission will be viewed.
• All genres except animation are welcome submissions.
• Accepted film submission formats are DVD, VHS, or ¾” videotape. Please la¬bel with name, address, phone number and film title.

Click HERE to visit the site.

Cage Facebook Group

Wanna know what's going on at the Cage? Are you on Facebook? Then sign up already.
Cage FaceBook Group Link
Click and there you are. . .

NY Grant for Filmmakers

From The Heart Productions has been giving grants since 1992. Today the NY grant is taking applications until 4/30/10. They accept documentaries, shorts, and features with budgets of $500,000. They want compelling stories with strong characters and films that are unique and make a contribution to society. Full information, application and guidelines are on their site: www.fromtheheartproductions.com
If you are in pre-production for your thesis, now is the time to look for funding. This may be a good opportunity for you to create the film you wanted without worrying about where the money is coming from. Check out their site and see if this resource works for you.
Cheers! - Eve.

The Song of the Little Road Screening

Meet Director/Producer Priyanka Kumar at the New York world premiere of The Song of the Little Road.
Satyajit Ray's masterpiece the Apu Trilogy is widely considered one of the most important works in cinema history. In 1992, Ray was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Oscar. But when film-preservationist David Sheppard volunteered to go to Bengal, he found the original negatives in a terrible state. "It's hard to think of another world-class filmmaker", says Sheppard, "whose oeuvre hangs by such a thin thread!" The Song of the Little Road tells the story of how a master's body of work came so close to disintegration, and why Ray's films move audiences so deeply across time and cultural boundaries. Three icons – director Martin Scorsese, producer Ismail Merchant, and music composer Ravi Shankar – illustrate stirringly what makes a masterpiece.
WHEN:
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 7:00p.m.
WHERE:
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013
TICKETS: $25
Special student discount available for Art Institute of New York City students. Use promo code GROUPSALE to receive $5 off the ticket price.
Advance online tickets are available up to 5:00p.m. EST on Thursday, April 8, 2010. At the door tickets will be available at the Tribeca Cinemas.
Your ticket includes admission to the screening, virtual swag bag with free movie download, and a post film Q&A with Priyanka Kumar. Priyanka will be available to sign autographs as well.

A review for Alpha Channel

I wanted to thank everyone who screened last night.
Also to those who didn't screen. Please keep submitting! The big one is in two quarters!

The work shown in this quarter's Alpha Channel was amazing. I am using amazing for it's literal definition, "causing great surprise or sudden wonder". Some bachelor level institutions do not deliver a program with as much poetry, humor and sense of human consciousness. In all honesty, most student programs are hit or miss with their audience. People will clap because they have a relationship with the filmmaker or polite society says that is what you have to do. Everyone honored the films tonight because people connected with the stories, in one way or another. My mother always said to me, "Consider your audience." These films covered a variety of emotions and topics. There was something for everyone.

You know you are a successful filmmaker when people react to what is being screened. There were chuckles in the audience for One of Those Days, Your Death My Life, and Karma. I heard gasps when Night and Day, Deep Satisfaction, Creole, and Tied Up, Change were on the screen. Not a breath was taken during A Long Way to Fall and I Love You Cheat Liar. Many "oh's" and "ah's" were whispered during Out of Time and Circles. This is why I love watching movies with people. The experience is so much more rewarding than in a tiny box surrounded by an obnoxious interface on a computer screen.

Sure, the techniques were not perfect. There were editing mistakes, sound issues, and lighting errors. However, the stories were compelling enough to forgive minor blips in craft. That is what made this screening a success. This series, in my opinion, was a calling card for a talented group of future career filmmakers.

Congratulations to Ace, Jenny, Adam, Dave, Jennifer, Ronald, Niqua, Nikhil, Derrick, Kelly, and Kristina. Special thanks to Susi, Francisco, Ross, and Roz for attending the event. More props to the President and the Dean for their support! And to every person in that audience, much gratitude.

Everyone, Keep submitting! I am anxious to see work from more students.
Cheers, Eve.

Alpha Channel TONIGHT!

6pm in the Gallery! Check out the line up two posts down!

Lucania Film Festival

11th edition of Lucania Film Festival
The administrative office of Allelammie informs that the application announcement for the partecipation at the 11th edition of the Lucania Film Festival, addressed to all independent filmmakers from all over the world, is open. The rules and the application modes are online. The participation is free of charge. The international sections of the competition are: features (Fiction) - Shortflm (Fiction - Animation - Cinergia for all the genres that concern the sustainable energies) http://www.lucaniafilmfestival.it/eng/iscrizione.php
The deadline is fixed on the 20th of april 2010. The Festival lasts from 10th to 13th August 2010 in Pisticci, Matera (South Italy). During the next weeks the first artistical choices regarding the international jury, the events, the projects and the special guests of the Lucania Film Festival 10th edition will be published.
11a LUCANIA FILM FESTIVAL
C/O ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE ALLELAMMIE
VIA MAZZINI 28 – 75015 PISTICCI – LUCANIA – ITALY
http://www.lucaniafilmfestival.it
info@lucaniafilmfestival.it

Program list for Alpha Channel

Hello Everyone!
Here is the line up for Alpha Channel tomorrow night. Congratulations to everyone who participated! Thanks!

Alpha Channel Selections Spring 2010

1. Ace Bouchard: A Long Way to Fall
2. Jenny Sirimis: Your Death My Life
3. Adam Foreman: Tied Up, Change.
4. Dave Schuman: Circles
5. Jennifer Hann: Karma
6. Ronald Jennings: Creole
7. Sheniqua Lewis: Night and Day
8. Nikhil Joglekar: Deep Satisfaction
9. Derrick Clarke: I Love You Cheat Liar
10. Kelly O’Brian: One of Those Days
11. Kristina Siska: Out of Time

Glamour Film Competition

ATTENTION FILMMAKERS AND WRITERS GLAMOUR WANTS TO HELP YOU GET YOUR STORY ON THE BIG SCREEN!!!

PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: GLAMOURREELMOMENTS.COM

Submit a funny, ironic, or inspiring moment when you gave back, helped out or lived well (in writing or on video). THE WINNING ENTRIES WILL BE TURNED INTO SHORT FILMS DIRECTED BY ACTRESSES OF HOLLYWOOD'S A-LIST.

Winners will be flown to L.A. for the premiere and after-party, and have the chance to meet industry insiders and much more!

Black Bag Pictures Lecture UPDATE!

FYI Everyone! The guest lecture tonight at 5:15 pm has moved to room 733. Thanks!

Variety Screening Series UPDATE!

NEWS: Jason Moore recruited a crew of AiNYC Video Production students to shoot online content for the Variety Screening Series. Variety magazine hosted interviews with actors, directors, and producers to heighten excitement for the 2010 Academy Awards season. Their interviews took place in NY, LA, and San Francisco. The NY interviews were shot by Jason and the student crew. I've posted the links to these interviews below. They are listed according to the film title. Please feel free to watch them in support of your peers!
Nine
A Serious Man
Iron Cross
Thanks to Jason Moore for his efforts and support of our school!
UPDATE! The crew also did The Hurt Locker, This is It, The White Ribbon, We Live in Public, and A Single Man. Please look up these titles as you browse the Variety site.
- Thanks, Jennifer, for catching that.

Black Bag Guest Lecture

Double click on the Poster to see details.
Where: TV Studio (CORRECTION 733)
When: March 11th 5:15pm

"Made in NY" Production Program

This was posted today on the NYC.gov web site.

March 4, 2010 - The “Made in NY” Production Crafts Training Program aims to help women, minority and struggling New Yorkers prepare for advanced careers in film and television production. The first class will focus on training individuals in the grip department. Future classes will provide training for other departments such as camera and electric.

Interested applicants for the grip training can attend a recruitment event on Friday, March 19 at 1pm at New York City College of Technology, Klitgord Auditorium at 285 Jay Street on the corner of Tillary Street, Brooklyn.

Participants of the pilot “Made in NY” Production Crafts Training Program this spring will be taught technical skills by members of the International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees and taught production basics and job readiness skills. Guest instructors will teach other skills such as rigging and dolly operation in the grip department. All participating trainees will be provided with a year of job placement assistance.

Ideal candidates are individuals who have shown their commitment to working in TV and film production for at least one year, as well as display an active interest for the grip department, but who now lack the opportunity to enter and advance in union positions.

If you wish to apply for the program, you are required to attend the March 19 recruitment event, where you can apply on site for the program.

For more information, contact Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, 718-237-2017 ext. 145.