The 48 Hour Film Project is over, and summer is officially upon us. The St. Louis Filmmakers' Showcase is on the horizon, and the MCA party is around the corner next month.

Congratulations to Brain Freeze Productions, whose "Circles," won Best Film. Congratulations to all who participated in the project this year or ever. The 48 Hour Film Project shows the filmmakers what we can do, and the project has really helped to pump up the St. Louis film industry. The years I participated in it were extremely valuable to me. What I learned mostly was that I was spending a lot of money and not really getting to make the film I wanted to; unfortunately, I also learned how important those deadlines are and the value of competition in the filmmaking process. Needless to say, I have two short films that I want to make, but "things" keep getting in the way. All the awards for the 48 Hour Film Project can be found at http://www.48hourfilm.com/stlouis/.

The industry needs to think about how to translate those organizational and production skills -- and the commitment and determination which the 48 HFP develops so well -- into other projects, owned 100% by the filmmakers. Since the 48 HFP owns the rights and provides essential elements, such as a character, line of dialogue, genre, etc., the ownership of the final films will forever be problematic. The people I have spoken to at the 48 HFP are open to the filmmakers working to forward their own film, but potential purchasing companies are hesitant to get involved with the unclear ownership issues and extra contracts needed to clarify the legalities.

What I would like to propose is another kind of project, maybe called the 3 Month Film Project, and is based on the idea we all work better with deadlines and a little competition. People form teams, all the teams meet, and each agrees to make a short film, say between 3-10 minutes, over the next three months. Scripting and casting to occur one specific weekend, say the first weekend of Month 1. The genre, characters, everything is totally up to the team. Shooting would occur on the first weekend of Month 2. The films would be edited on the first weekend of Month 3. There would still be specific deadlines and time limits, but the ownership and creativity would belong solely to the teams members and/or the producers of each project. We could, if people on the teams were interested, add in some seminars on topics such as the legalities, i.e. the releases for actors and locations. On Sunday of the editing weekend in Month 3, the films could be shown if they arrived in time and in the format prescribed. This is only a brief outline of the potential project, and it still needs some fleshing out. Contact me at wryteralways@yahoo.com if you are interested in pursuing this possibility.

With summer comes a break in the MCA meetings. I hope we have provided some useful information to the media and communications industry, and that you are looking forward to the upcoming meetings. We are still looking for more participants for the Perspectives on Web Design in September. Participants will be asked to redesign the front page of a charity's existing website and explain how the navigation will work. We have a Halloween special planned for October and a St. Louis International Film Festival tie-in for November. August and December are our bi-annual parties, of course, so stay tuned for details. Since the economic downturn has also effected us, we may be in need of companies and individuals who would like to sponsor part of the party costs. There will be more on this later, and it has to be on a first commit, first serve basis because some sponsorships might be incompatible with others. More on this later, too.

The Ninth Annual St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase is July 18-23, 2009 at the Regional Arts Commission, the Tivoli Theatre, and Blueberry Hill's Duck Room. It looks like an exciting line up. Check out the schedule at http://www.cinemastlouis.org/showcase2.html. There are many, many films that I hope to see; some by friends, others by acquaintances, and some by strangers; however, I don't see the 48 Hour Film Project winners being shown this year, dashing any hopes of seeing Brain Freeze Productions' "Circles."

Please remember that filmmakers are welcome to bring their films to the Summer Party to show; however, the venue and atmosphere leads itself better to short films rather than long ones, but trailers and excerpts are also welcome. Also, because of time constrains, it wouldn't be fair to show only one person's long film. Consider this an invitation to bring your short films, promotional trailers, and excerpts to the summer party. (DVD is the preferred format.) It is a time to share and celebrate what everyone is doing.

 

Best to all, keep cool, be cool, and have a great July...see you in August!

Sandra Olmsted, President

 

House Bill 767, which would have increased the Missouri film tax credit from its current $4.5 million to $10 million, died a quiet death in the Missouri legislature.  There was no solid opposition to it -- just lack of interest by the Missouri legislature, which was more concerned about banning text messaging when driving and the recreational use of beer bongs on rivers, than on making the state's film industry more competitive.

 

There had been some talk of changing the tax credit from a calender year to a fiscal year, which would have added more tax credits after June of this year.  However, even that got lost in the shuffle of such important legislation as requiring retailers to sell "fire-safe" or "self-extinguishing" cigarettes. 

 

So, since the George Clooney film, "Up In The Air," took all of the tax credits available this year, it's extremely unlikely that any new major films will come to Missouri until next year.  And to add insult to injury, filmmakers will no longer be able to take beer bongs, kegs, and some coolers on most rivers in the state (the Missouri River is one exception). 

 

So, drown your sorrows (just don't do it on any rivers).  It looks like we'll have to wait until next year for the legislature to take up the issue once again.

 

This article is the sole opinion of the author, and does not reflect the viewpoints or the opinions of the St. Louis Chapter of the MCA-i.  All comments or responses should be directed to the author at michael_ketcher@yahoo.com.

 

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