2012 Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

Sandra Olmsted

wryteralways@earthlink.net 

PAST PRESIDENT

Vanessa Roman 

TREASURER

Jim Trevor

JTrevor@ameren.com 

MEMBERS AT LARGE 

WANT EXPOSURE?

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear MCAers:   

The St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase ended with awards ceremony where the overwhelming number of the great films in competition were honored with awards juried by the St. Louis Film Critics. The readings of the finalists in CinemaSpoke contest began with Michael Winingham's Dead Mountain in July and continue in August with Barrett L. Freeman's Park Haven Blues on August 11th at the Buder Library. Cinema St. Louis and The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts hold regular film/video competitions each year and have put out a call for video entries for "In the Still Epiphany" Shorts. And there are many other organizations that support and encourage filmmakers to improve and refine their craft.

However, few people realize what a time consuming undertaking it is to organize these events and to recruit busy professionals to volunteer anonymously their time and talents to the processes. The time and energy it takes to make these events and competitions happen is staggering because most of them are done on a shoestring budget and require soliciting donations from the business community for goods, service, space, and time. Innumerable phone calls and emails and long negations are needed; planning and evaluation of past events must be undertaken; the paper work avalanche must be managed, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Also, few people realize how seriously all the judges take their responsibilities or how much they care about the St. Louis region's filmmaking community, about the individual filmmakers, and about the professional development of filmmakers. These professionals take time out of their lives to review all the entries, to make notes regarding value judgments about those entries, and then to meet and discuss the entries to determine the honorees. (And yes, the Film Critics went a little overboard with awards this year, but it was a phenomenal field this year. Keep up the good work!) The judges really struggled to pick the best representations of talent. Often time, people want to know why they or their films or scripts weren't picked or didn't get awards, and judges understand that. Sometimes people are angry, and that's understandable also. However, perspective is necessary!

Of course, everyone can't get an award or be a finalist or winner because then awards would be meaningless. The local honors are worth fighting hard for, but only by improving your skills, making the best films and writing the best scripts you can, and looking critically at your own work for ways to improve your writing, directing, acting, cinematography, lighting, editing, design, etc. skills. It does no good to attack the processes, the organizers, or the judges because it is not personal for them, and it shouldn't be for artists. The judges and organizers often don't even know or aren't allowed to know who the talent behind the films and scripts are, or they are trying to create cohesive programs of finite length from many very diverse films, and sometimes even films they like just don't fit into the program. Decisions are mostly made by committees, which makes it very difficult for nepotism or favoritism to play a part, and judges and organization would not risk their reputations or participate under those circumstances.

Finally, filmmaking isn't really about the awards. The real reward for a filmmaker's hard work is a positive audience response -- the laughter, tears, or pause for thought he/she wanted to evoke -- which is just harder to hang on a walls than an award -- except maybe the walls of the heart. Filmmakers are essentially storytellers, and when an organizer or a judge takes the time to watch and think about a filmmaker's work, they deserve thanks. When they go out of their way to chase down missing pieces of applications, to accommodate the extra requests, to provide feedback, or to support filmmakers by organizing and judging events, they deserve thanks. Without individuals who are willing to give of their time to organize events, to view and evaluate films, etc. -- without asking for so much as a thank you, there would be no Showcase Awards, no juried prized at SLIFF, no screenwriting competitions, etc. There would be no encouragement for the local filmmakers and filmmaking community, and operating in a vacuum would be as meaningless as everyone gets an award.

So a big thank you to Chris, Cliff, and Brian at Cinema St. Louis, who keep organizing events every year, to the St. Louis Film Critics, to the many who serve on the SLIFF juries, to all the CinemaSpoke judges, to the 48 Hour Film Project judges, to the many organizers, writers, and actors who hold and participate in table reads and writing workshops, and to all the other organizations and volunteers who make these event possible. And a big thanks to the filmmakers and screenwriters who are really stepping up their game!

Sincerely,

Sandra Olmsted
MCA-i President, St. Louis Chapter

Many local producers are putting together teams and creating their own content. Best known, of course, is Coolfire Originals, with their hit reality show, "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's, which airs on the O (As in Oprah's) network. Channel 9 recently produced "Homeland in America," a documentary on the PBS network. Bob Koplar and Jeremy Corray are producing "Voltron Force," the animated series on Nictoons.

These are all national programs originating in St. Louis, but several producers are putting out smaller-scale web series, talk shows, and video magazines. At our next MCA meeting, we'll have a panel discussion where you can pick the brains of several producers.

You'll learn ...

-- How to get your show off the ground.

-- Getting your program on cable, commercial television, and public access television.

-- How to pitch your idea to networks and production companies-- The rising popularity of web series -- what you need to know to produce one successfully.

-- Should you develop a sizzle reel or a pilot?

At this meeting, we'll have several panelists who are doing it themselves. These include...

-- Tim Breitbach, Coolfire Originals, Vice President of Original Programming.

-- James Thomas, St. Louis Film Critic and producer/host of "First Look" and "Urban Magazine" 

-- Darin Slyman, owner & publisher of the Vital Voice

-- Dieta Pepsi, on air hostess of video version of Vital Voice

DATE: Wednesday, August 8, 2012

TIME: Networking at 6:30pm, meeting starts at 7:00pm

PLACE: Lindenwood University's production facility, which is located in the new J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts

DIRECTIONS:

From Interstate 70/270 Interchange:

Take Interstate 70 W across the Blanchette Bridge (Missouri River). Take Exit 228 and turn right onto First Capitol Drive. Turn left onto West Clay. Entrance will be on your right.

From Interstate 64 in Chesterfield:

Travel west across the Daniel Boone Bridge (Missouri River). Exit at Highway 94. Turn right. Follow Highway 94 north and cross I-70. Turn left onto West Clay. Entrance will be on your right.

COST:
Free to Members of MCA
$10 for non members
$5 for students with valid ID

Looking forward to seeing you on August 8, !!!

THE BIG BASH IN REVIEW

Thoughts from Susan Hunt Bradford...

I think there were about 500 people; it was held at the beautiful Fox Theater. There were about 20 vendors who had tables. Some people came up to our table, and I gave them that info about the MCA that I had printed off. It was a great night of networking. I think it was great for the MCA St. Louis to have a few of us there to represent. We are a major force in STL!! It was also a good feeling to be at the Big Bash when many of our group were showing their films and winning awards at the Showcase. A very proud moment for the MCA all around.

Thoughts from Renée Hirshfield...

Besides Susan, whom we should all thank for her willingness to preside at the MCA table, I came across Lou at the Big Bash, which this year was at the Fox. The air-conditioning was a relief compared to the climate situation at the previous Big Bash outdoor venue in Forest Park, the parking was convenient, and the food was terrific. Still, it's the kind of crowded networking event where it's a challenge to get around and mingle. 

Several MCA members took home awards at the recent St. Louis Filmmakers' Showcase. The awards were selected by the St. Louis Film Critics.

MCA Board Member Peter Carlos received the "Best Director for a Dramatic Short" award for his film, "Gravity."  

In the Relationships -- Shorts category, Dave Mumpower won an award for his Sound Design in "A Proposal."

Another MCA Board Member, Mike Ketcher, won a "Best Cameo" award for the feature, Fatal Call, on which he was also an associate producer, production coordinator, and St. Louis and extras casting director. The film also won awards in several other categories: "Best Titles" (Paul Baker); "Best Sound Design -- Feature" (Dave Lemanski, Kraig Krueger, and Jamison Sweet), "Best Supporting Actor" (Jimmy Chung); "Best Director -- Narrative Feature" (Jack Snyder); and "Best Narrative Feature." Fatal Call was produced by Srikant Chellappa and co-produced by Judi Sauget. MCA Board Member Lou Stemmler was also an associate producer on the film.

Joplin, MO: A Tornado Story, won Best Documentary Feature. Mike Ketcher was the producer on that, along with Donny Blake, Conrad Gubera, and George Noory. MCA President, Sandy Olmsted, received a "Special Thanks" in the credits. The feature film, Casualties of the State, won Best Ensemble Cast. Mike Ketcher and Erik Williams were the casting directors on the film, and Jeremy Cropf directed, and Alan Lamberg produced.

Student member David Hamberg worked on Director Scott Stoltz's "Assignment 13," which was awarded Best Use of Slow Motion; Hamberg was Director of Photography and played The Sniper.

If any other MCA members were involve with films which won at the Showcase, please send that information to stlouismca@gmail.com, and we will publish it in the next newsletter.

With sadness, we report the passing of MCA member and great friend George Malich, who passed away during the night July 25-26.  He died peacefully in his sleep according to Bill Chott's Mediawire Post of July 26th. Chott eulogized George very elegantly: "His long struggle with the brain tumor has ended, and so has his pain. George was well known for his work in St. Louis as a performer and teacher. He is survived by his fiancee Jennifer Salci and his family in Milwaukee. A generation of St. Louis improvisers owe a debt of gratitude for his work as a teacher, and everyone who worked with him onstage will remember how giving he was as a performer."

Prehaps George would want us to remember him for his talent, so we are forwarding the links that Chott shared in his post:

As Gavin Tartowski in A. Anonymous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biPzaVdTbgE

As himself in a series of videos in which he battled cancer head-on with hilarious videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M4RE11oT6A

Chott stated "His genius for improvisation is captured in all of these works."

George Malich was buried in Milwaukee, and at our deadline, news of a memorial was promised to be announced soon.