| Next MCA Meeting... |
WHAT YOU MISSED AT NAB
May 13 at 6:30pm
Technisonic Studios
St. Louis, MO
|
| 2009
Board of Directors |
PRESIDENT
PAST PRESIDENT
Michael Ketcher
michael_ketcher@yahoo.com
|
| In Sync! Editor |
| Please submit all articles, Production Notes, and Members in the Spotlight paragraphs by the 20th of the month for inclusion in the following month's issue. Text should be embedded in the body of your email and pictures should be emailed as J-peg attachments.
See you in the next issue!
Emilie Barta
Newsletter Editor
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU MISSED AT NAB
A plethora of new video/film equipment was introduced at this year's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas. How does this affect you, the production or post production team member? We plan to get you up to speed!!
This year for our "Post NAB Wrap-Up," we feature live demonstration and discussion of a few top new equipment items. If you didn't make it out to Vegas, don't worry because we're bringing it to you!!
DATE: Wednesday, May 13th
TIME: Networking at 6:30pm, meeting starts at 7:00pm
COST:
MCA members = free
non-members = $10
students = $5
LOCATION:
Technisonic Studios
500 S. Ewing, Suite G
St. Louis, MO 63103
DIRECTIONS: With I-64/40 closed down through a portion of St. Louis, there are multiple ways to reach Technisonic Studios, which is near the intersection of Jefferson Ave. and I-64/40.
Forest Park Parkway Method:
From West of Downtown, take Forest Park Parkway East. FOREST PARK PKWY becomes FOREST PARK AVE. FOREST PARK AVE becomes MARKET ST.
Turn RIGHT onto S EWING AVE.
End at 500 S Ewing Ave Saint Louis, MO 63103-2944
I-44 Method:
From West of Downtown, take I-44 East.
Take the KINGSHIGHWAY exit, EXIT 287A.
Turn LEFT onto S KINGSHIGHWAY BLVD.
Merge onto I-64 E/US-40 E.
Take the MARKET ST exit, EXIT 37A, toward BERNARD ST.
Stay STRAIGHT to go onto MARKET ST.
Turn RIGHT onto S EWING AVE.
End at 500 S Ewing Ave Saint Louis, MO 63103-2944
Can't wait to see you there !!
|
|
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Recently, several St. Louis Filmmakers went to Jefferson City to lobby for the continuance of Film Tax Credit, which was in jeopardy, and for increasing the Missouri Film Tax Credit to $10 million. The Missouri Motion Media Association (MOMMA) and the Missouri Film Office put together a complete day of lobbying events aimed at making state politicians aware of how much the Film Tax Credit means to Missouri Filmmakers and of how much money filmmaking generates in our state. By some accounts, "Up in the Air" generated an estimated $50 million in our area using the remaining film tax credit from last year and all the of this years film tax credits for a total of $7.5 million of Missouri Film Tax Credits, which is a return of about 6.7:1. That is a very nice return on the taxpayers' money, especially since the average return on tax credits is 2:1!
 When Lobbying, small gifts, usually of candy, are generally dropped off with the printed materials, and Missouri Motion Media Association and the Film Office provided boxes of movie theater-type candy wrapped in their materials. Some of us from St. Louis were unaware that these would be provided and, knowing that a small gift was appropriate, created one that contained a local filmmaker's movie, some literature, and microwave popcorn. Please see the picture. The popcorn seemed to be a welcome relief from the sugary treats for many of the legislative assistants, and the films offered some entertainment. Many thanks to Jack Snyder of "Ghost Image," Gayle Gallagher of "Shadowland," and Robert Nolan Clark of "Capdance" for generously providing DVD of their films.
One of the many high points of the day was Geno Hart, a representative from Paramount Pictures, speaking elegantly and persuasively at the tax credit committee hearing about the importance of tax credits in the studio shooting "Up In the Air" in St. Louis. Many thanks to Geno Hart and Paramount Pictures. Many thanks to Kim Tucci for all his work for the St. Louis office over the years. Many thanks also to Missouri Motion Media Association (MOMMA) and the Missouri Film Office for organizing this excellent statewide event. Many thanks to Representative Jason Grill (D, Parkville) for his support of the Missouri Film Tax Credit.
Representative Grill's Bill soared through the House Ways and Means Committee, The bill aims at increasing the amount of tax credits offered to $10 million from its current $4.5 million and, consequesntly, would give the Missouri Film Office more tax credtis to entice more film productions to locate or to shoot in Missouri. The bill now heads to the House Rules Committee where it must be approved before moving to the House floor for debate.
Search for HCS HB 767 -- TAX CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED FILM PRODUCTION to find the "Summary of the Committee Version of the Bill," a government webpage which has interesting details of the continuing political discussion of the Missouri Film Tax Credit. Also, it contains a brief discussion of Missouri's film industry as production plant-type industry even though the buzzword being used in Jefferson City is that the film is a "shovel ready" industry, meaning there is no need to build a plant as a factory would need to do.
There are also some issues that will be debated over the next few years besides just the size of the Film Tax Credit. One is whether or not the Film Tax Credit should be separated from the other tax credits by amendment. Being separate and being grouped with the other tax credits both come with pros and cons, and this issue, consequently, must be carefully considered.
Now that more people from the St. Louis area know the lobbying process, I think the region can make better choices about representing the St. Louis Film Industry. Had I been more familiar with the process and what the 4 pm hearing at which Geno Hart spoke meant, I would have suggested that some people come down just for that hearing and the evening events. The reasons are these: 1) More people wanted to represent St. Louis and to participate but could not take whole day off work, and some people needed to return to St. Louis by the evening. 2) Those who went early were exhausted at the end of a long day of walking those marble halls, and we could have used some fresh faces by the time of the hearing. 3) More St. Louisians at the hearing and evening events would have been a great show of force for our region.
In other news, the following people became members or renewed memberships recently:
Adam Crosley - Reel Impact - St. Louis, St. Louis MO
Gary Hansen - IATSE Local 493 - St. Louis, Saint Louis MO
George Cooke - Principia College - Associate Professor - St. Louis, Elsah IL
Dave Blankenship - Information Agent - Owner/Operator - St. Louis, St. Louis MO
The MCA-I sent me the list; however, it probably does not reflect everyone who joined or renewed recently. If you renewed in the last six months and want your name mentioned in the newsletter, please send me an email with your info and renewal/joining date.
Sandra Olmsted, President
MCA-i, St. Louis Chapter |
APRIL MEETING IN REVIEW
You'd have been sorry to arrive late to the April meeting at Lindenwood University, as the gorgeous new television studio was bursting at the seams with over 75 people eager to discuss development of original content for television and the web. However, most people arrived early, keen to examine the new HD studio, used by communications students to produce a 15-minute newscast that airs on the local Charter Cable provider. The HD studio is situated in a wing of the recently completed J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, a $32 million, 138,000-square-foot performance and education building that just opened last Fall. It was a fitting environment for a lively exchange of ideas for how best to develop and distribute programming within in a wildly changing landscape of cable tv, video on demand and internet web sites. Presentations, including DVD clips and raw experience, were given by six panelists.
Kevin Oeste, of V8TV (www.v8tvshow.com) produces Motor Sports Television. The show is comprised of 3 to 5 original segments per week on the web. It deals primarily with restoration of classic American cars and muscle cars, and Kevin detailed his path to realizing the the primary audience for his show often doesn't have control of the remote during prime time. The motor sports enthusiast may get home after a day of work to find his family in control of the television, and gets to indulge in his favorite subject when he has time, by watching on the web.
Chris Koch related his experience working for multiple companies on the West Coast before landing at Banyan Communications in St. Charles. Banyan is a National Emmy Award-Winning media agency that produces documentaries, PSAs, industrials, and other programming. They work exclusively with nonprofit organizations and government agencies (http://www.banyancommunications.com).
Bill Streeter, producer of Lo-Fi St. Louis (http://lofistl.com), an internet program, gave prized information on distributing videos on the web. Lo-Fi has won a Vloggie Award, a Portable Film Fest Award, and was recently nominated for a Streamy Award. Bill mentioned Tube Mogul, a web service that distributes video to 50 different websites (http://www.tubemogul.com), as well as Blip TV, a videoblogging and podcasting service (http://blip.tv) Bill pointed out that You Tube will recompress whatever you upload. He uses an aspect ratio of 640 X 480 with an H.264 encode for his videos, and found this transcodes best on You Tube. He recommended against using Mpeg 1 and Mpeg 2 for best quality and performance.
John Hickey is the founder of a program called Labor Vision, which airs on public access cable, reaching Metro St. Louis, Columbia and Jefferson City. Produced at KDHX (http://kdhx.org), the broadcast features social and economic analysis from a progressive perspective. John pointed out that it also gives St. Louis area activists a chance to be on television and polish their TV presentation skills. The program hosts many people working in the political arena who don't get special coaching or wardrobes for television appearances, but do find themselves being interviewed, and Labor Vision can be a path to confidence in front of the camera for them.
Patrick Voss, of Robot Monkey Lab (http://www.robotmonkeylab.com), a special effects, sculpture and fine art studio, is the producer of a children's program calledSockville. Patrick and his crew have been working on Sockville for 9 years and even bought a booth at the NATPE conference a few years ago. Patrick gave some background on NATPE, the National Association of Television Program Executives, and their annual market and conference. They opted to distribute the show themselves instead, selling DVDs and doing giveaways, and finally landing a spot on Charter Cable's Charter On Demand, which is offered as part of the cable tv package. Robot Monkey Lab is now working on ideas for a live show.
Rift Fournier, Artist in Residence at Lindenwood University, talked about his television career as a writer, producer and director of children's programs and cop shows. He has won several Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award and awards from the Cannes Film Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, the California Governor's Media Access Award and the Norwegian Oscar. He had funny anecdotes and a lot of experience to share about writing in Hollywood and Europe. He made a profound
point that the best shows aren't about funny characters or cops or lawyers, they are about relationships.
After a question-and-answer period, the Communications staff and some students were kind enough to give tours of the studio and editing facilities. Thanks again to Ben Scholle, Peter Carlos and Ed Voss for hosting a fantastic meeting. And many thanks to the panelists who shared a real wealth of information.
|
MEMBERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Mike Ketcher reports that a film he has a supporting role in, "Song of the Dead," the international-award-winning zombie rock musical and anti-war satire, will have a limited theatrical release in May and worldwide distribution on DVD and Video on Demand later this year. The trailer can be seen at http://www.songofthedead.com/trailer_wmv.htm. For an interview with the director, Chip Gubera, and list of theatres, please visit http://www.bmovienation.com/ | |
| This Space Available for YOUR Ad!! | |
|
|
|
