TRANSFORMERS 4 The Age Of Extinction
NEED FOR SPEED The Game comes to the Big Screen CLOUD 9
Non-Stop Action
2014
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TRANSFORMERS 4 The Age Of Extinction
38 FREEMASON’S Masionic
30 CLOUD 9
Non Stop Action
16 AQUABATS!
Supershow!!
AT A GLANCE 19 Utah Film Festivals 20 Are You Bankable? 22 Little Hollywood 27 Crossword Puzzle 40 Super Top Secret 42 Mythbusters 46 Saints & Soldiers 50 Granite Flats 60 Dear Dumb Dairy 4
10 NEED FOR SPEED
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The Game comes to the Big Screen
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HUGE SOUND Game Companies Score in Utah
74 SUPER TOP SECRET Advertising’s Dead
88 MYROOMS
The Future Of Social Media
70 CROWDFUNDING AT A GLANCE
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62 Broadband Project 63 Utah Film Schools 82 Think Digital 90 Hotel Park City 92 Sundance By The Numbers 93 Park City Housing
PARK CITY STUDIOS
The Game comes to the Big Screen 5
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12 Apps for Filmmakers filmutah.org | digitalutah.org
FilmUtah (DigitalUtah) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to increase motion picture production and post production in Utah by promoting Utah crews, production services and locations to producers and studios worldwide. Founder/Publisher:
John Corser
john@filmutah.org
Designer: Jon Koenig jon.ionde@gmail.com Editors At Large: Kathy Jarvis kathy@filmutah.org Kenyon Virchow kenyon@filmutah.org Dave Cummins dave@digitalutah.org Contributors: Steve Gooch Chance Thomas Andy Conlin Rachel Christensen Rachel Colmen Nathan Riddle Andrew Gillman Brian Sullivan Jonathan Morgan Heit Heidi Harris Special Thanks: The Utah Film Commission Beth Holbrook, Zion’s Bank Paramount Pictures the Hub Discovery Channel Ubisoft DreamWorks Pictures Parry Lodge Kameleon Productions Main Office: 255 Main Street Park City, UT 84060 435-200-3460 Mailing Address: Social:
PO Box 4198 Park City, UT 84060
FilmUtah (twitter, facebook, instagram, foursquare, klout, pinterest, tumblr)
COVER PHOTO To get the amazing shots in the superpipe for Cloud 9 R.Todd Schopy and his crew from Rotate Film Group use a custom camera rig for the Red Epic. The rider and camera operator rode the pipe in unison to create never seen before shots. Camera Operator is Alex Schlopy - X-Games gold medalist in Big Air and Slopestyle World Champion Snowboarder is JJ Thomas, 2002 Olympic Bronze medalist - halfpipe. Photo courtesy of Rotate Film Group, LLC © 2014
Storyboard Composer By Cinemek Inc. Cinemek Storyboard Composer for iPhone and iPod Touch is a mobile storyboard and pre-visualization composer. It is the world's first mobile storyboarding application which allows you to acquire photos with your phone or by Artemis Directors Finder, then add traditional storyboarding markups such as dolly, track, zoom and pan. You can even add your own stand-ins. The user can set a duration for each storyboard panel and then play it back to get real time feedback on pacing and framing. Artemis Director's Viewfinder By Chemical Wedding Artemis is a digital directors viewfinder for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Used by cinematographers and directors worldwide, Artemis works in much the same way as a traditional directors viewfinder but more accurately and with loads more features. Perfect for location scouting or making storyboards. Shot Lister By Reel Apps Inc. Shot Lister revolutionizes the art of shot listing from pre-production to the minute by minute decisions on set. It's designed by experienced filmmakers to deliver the only solution that can build, organize, schedule and share shot lists digitally. Shot Designer By Hollywood Camera Work LLC Shot Designer is a ground-breaking tool for Directors and DPs that creates Animated Camera Diagrams, with Shot List, Storyboards and Director's Viewfinder, and Sync and Team Sharing for Pro Users. Sun Scout By Benjohn Barnes Sun Scout is the awesome iPhone app that shows you exactly where the sun is at every moment of the day. Get it and love it. Sun Seeker: 3D Augmented Reality Viewer By ozPDA Provides a flat view compass and an augmented reality camera 3D view showing the solar path, its hour intervals, its winter and summer solstice paths, rise and set times and more and a map view showing solar direction for each daylight hour. MovieSlate® By PureBlend Software “MovieSlate® is the the Rolls-Royce of slates” says HandHeldHollywood.com. A convenient, allin-one digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and notepad is used for film, TV, documentaries, music videos, and interviews, this professional production tool is the easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you valuable time later when capturing/editing footage, and creating reports. All at a mere fraction of a bulky digital clapperboard’s cost. pCAM Film+Digital Calculator By Thin Man Inc. Differs from other Photography apps because it has a hi-res graphical interface that is both easy to use and helps the user understand how each calculation is applied. It was designed specifically for professional photographers and filmmakers and has the correct Still, HD Video and Motion Picture Camera manufacturer’s specs for Image Size and Circle of Confusion.
DocuSign Ink By DocuSign Sign documents and get signatures quickly and easily from your iPad or iPhone. A must-have app that will save you time and eliminate the need to print, fax or mail documents and forms for signature. An essential for on the go producers.
PANASCOUT By Panavision PANASCOUT has an ergonomic workflow that allows filmmakers to access the cinematic quality of any location, and record the true metadata behind it. Capture your image metadata in every shot including; GPS Data, COMPASS HEADING, Date and Time. Toggle on/off FRAME LINES, CENTERING CROSSHAIRS and GPS with a tap inside the "Settings / Gear" menu
TurboScan By Piksoft Inc. TurboScan turns your iPhone into a multipage scanner for documents, receipts, notes, whiteboards, and other text. With TurboScan, you can quickly scan your documents and store or email them as multipage PDF or JPEG files.
Easy Release By ApplicationGap Easy Release replaces inconvenient paper model release and property release forms with a slick, streamlined application designed by professional photographers for professional photographers.
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The Utah Film Commission is very pleased to continue our partnership with FilmUtah Magazine now in its 4th year. Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program has been used to attract over 120 productions to the state since 2005. The State of Utah currently offers a 20-25% refundable tax credit based on a minimum in-state qualifying spend of $200,000. Since 1924 some of the most recognizable films have taken advantage of Utah’s diverse scenery. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Indepen-
dence Day, Forrest Gump, Worlds Fastest Indian, The Sandlot, Dumb and Dumber, Galaxy Quest and High School Musical 1,2,3 along with network television series Touched By An Angel, Promised Land, and Everwood have helped Utah to continue as a premier film destination. From Nicolas Cage in National Treasure and Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid to the most recent film productions to visit Utah including Need For Speed, Cloud 9 and H8erz; Utah’s remarkable scenery has served as a backdrop for nearly 1000 film and television productions. Other films and television shows that were recently made in Utah include Storm Rider, The Adventures of Roborex, K-9 Adventures, The Mentor, Saints and Soldiers: The Void, Wayward: The Prodigal Son, and The Aquabats Supershow. These productions along with episodes of Granite Flats, American Ride and Mythica combined with commercials from Orchard Supply Hardware, Citi Bank, AT&T, Apple, Can Am, and Harley Davidson have helped Utah remain a highly competitive destination for film and television production. Congratulations to all the filmmakers, cast and crew that contributed to the success of these productions that were all made in Utah this past year. In addition to the diversity of locations there are nearly 1200 experienced film professionals registered in the Utah Film Commission Directory available to assist you with all your production needs along with an extensive selection of high quality equipment available through the many support services that exist in the state. The Utah Film Commission is committed to providing quality service to all types of production and we would be pleased to assist with all of your production needs. Our staff is here to assist you from the initial scout and throughout the completion of the project. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and at film.utah.gov to stay educated, up to date and knowledgeable on the latest industry information. We hope you continue to enjoy Film Utah Magazine. See you on the set…
Marshall Moore
Director | Utah Film Commission
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Photos Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures
Need For Speed Portions filmed in Moab and Utah City
The movie will be, “Rooted in the car culture tradition while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise." DreamWorks
IN AN EXCITING RETURN TO THE GREAT CAR CULTURE films of the 1960s and ’70s that tap into what makes the American myth of the open road so enticing, Need for Speed chronicles a near-impossible cross-country race against time—one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. Produced by DreamWorks Pictures, the movie is based on the hugely popular videogame series by game maker Electronic Arts, which has sold more than 140 million copies worldwide. The film centers around Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul, Emmy- winning actor who played Jesse Pinkman in AMC’s Breaking Bad), a blue-collar mechanic who races muscle cars on the side in an unsanctioned street-racing circuit. Struggling to keep his family-owned garage afloat, he reluctantly partners with the wealthy and arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic
Cooper). But just as a major sale to car broker Julia Bonet (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save Tobey’s shop, a disastrous race allows Dino to frame Tobey for a crime he didn’t commit, and sending Tobey to prison while Dino expands his business out west. Two years later, Tobey is released and set on revenge—but he knows his only chance to take down his rival Dino is to defeat him in the high-stakes race known as De Leon—the Super Bowl of underground racing. However to get there in time, Tobey will have to run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet that includes dodging pursuing cops coast-to-coast as well as contending with a dangerous bounty Dino has put out on his car. With the help of his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.
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Photo Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon
IN NEED FOR SPEED, THE CARS ARE HOT, THE RACING IS INTENSE, AND THE STORY KEEPS PLAYERS AT THE EDGE OF THEIR SEAT.
SCOTT WAUGH, Co Founder of Bandito Brothers, was drawn to filmmaking at a young age. As the son of the original Spiderman, Fred Waugh, Scott began to dabble as a filmmaker at the young age 12. Since earning a B.F.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Scott has worked as a producer, director, editor, cameraman, and stuntman. In 2006, he founded Bandito Brothers, an independent content creation studio, with his business partner Mouse McCoy. In January 2012, Variety named him one of its 10 Directors to Watch. Scott became a stuntman in 1982 and retired in 2005. He has been involved in more than 150 film and television productions in various capacities and was fortunate to live on sets with directors Michael Mann, Steven Spielberg, and Oliver Stone. As a producer, Scott focuses on cinematic action theatrical films, exhibited by his box office successes Step Into Liquid, Dust to Glory, and the 2012 release Act of Valor.
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Augmenting his success as a filmmaker and business executive, Scott collaborated with his father to invent the 35mm helmet camera and an innovative handheld camera called the Pogo Cam. Designed to place the audience in the action, the Pogo Cam produced a dynamic and vibrant viewing experience. Scott has operated the Pogo Cam on over 30 productions, including the hockey sequences in Disney's The Miracle.
IN JULY OF 2013 NEED FOR SPEED WAS FILMED IN MOAB AND NEAR THE CITY OF WENDOVER.
Locations Manager Patrick Mignano did the initially scouting in Utah where they considered some high alpine highways for a chase sequence. Even though they ended up making the creative decision to film in some of Utah’s more classic red rock areas, he says, “We leaned heavily on Derek Mellus and the Utah Film Commission. Derek was really great—I mean really great—with regards to providing assistance with the scouting, all the contacts with the National Forest Service, the BLM, the highway patrol. He got me a meeting with the actual head of UDOT which was pretty cool. I mean everybody in Utah was so great. They were all, ‘What can we do for you?’ It’s not an easy show. We’re talking closed highways. We have low flying helicopters. We have car-to-car stuff. It was a very complicated action sequence that we were filming—a very complex, logistical monster—and everybody was really terrific.”
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UTAH BLM DIRECTORY www.blm.gov/ut UTAH DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DIRECTORY www.udot.utah.gov 801-965-4000
UTAH NATIONAL FOREST
Tara Penner, the Director for the longest running film commission in the world says, “With Need for Speed, some of their script sequences sounded a little bit scary on paper. It’s crashing vehicles and rolling them off of the side of a cliff. But our departments here understand that in the film world what’s written on the page and what may appear on the screen, during shooting, is not really as bad as it may seem.” Because the story line features a cross-country race, multiple states and locations were used for filming, including Georgia, to Michigan, Utah and California. Locations manager Patrick Mignano says, “The people at the Utah Film Commission (and I’m not just saying this, because I’ve worked with film offices that are less than good) are terrific. They got us whatever we needed. I became pretty good friends with Derek and I spent a lot of time with him. They made it really easy and they did whatever we asked. We asked quite a bit and they delivered in a timely fash14
ion. They were very instrumental in getting the ball rolling in the state. “I’m not trying to get creative— it’s all true—the landscape in Utah is amazing. It’s the varied terrain from the high alpine highways to the real rugged red rock canyon country in Southern Utah. The geographic diversity is really a strong point for Utah with regards to location filming. And also, you’ve got Salt Lake City—a whole major metropolitan area if you need that too. Utah’s got a lot of great stuff.” Need for Speed is scheduled for release through Disney’s Touchstone Pictures label, and should cruise into theaters on March 14, 2014. The movie will “embody everything that fans of action racing films want to see – hot cars, high-stakes street racing and mind-blowing stunts,” says director Scott Waugh. “The adrenaline-fueled story across America will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.”
Eastern Utah Ashley National Forest 355 North Vernal Avenue Vernal, UT 84078 (435) 789-1181 Southwestern Utah Dixie National Forest 1789 N Wedgewood Ln Cedar City, UT 84721 (435) 865-3700 Central Utah Fishlake National Forest 115 East 900 North Richfield, UT 84701 (435) 896-9233 Moab Area Manti-La Sal National Forest 599 West Price River Dr. Price, UT 84501 (435) 637-2817 Salt Lake Area Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest 857 W. S. Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT 84095 (801) 999-2103
MCLAREN P1 // Unveiled in 2013 at the Geneva Motor Show, production of the McLaren P1 was limited to 375 units and those sold out by November of the same year. With a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 gas engine and an in-house electric motor, it’s a whole lot faster than its the F1 predecessor. The P1 will go from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 6.8 seconds. It has a top speed of 239 mph. Taking into account add-ons and custom designs, the McLaren P1 has an average sales price of US$1,600,000.
LAMBORGHINI SESTO ELEMENTO
BUGATTI VEYRON
KOENIGSEGG AGERA R
FORD MUSTANG GT500
Lamborghini produced only 20 Sesto Elementos in 2013. The 5.2-liter V-10 engine delivers a total of 570 horsepower. With a top speed higher than 200 mph, you won’t see this machine on the road any time soon; it’s made for the track only. At 2200 pounds, this car weighs 400 pounds less than a Mini Cooper S, but has three times the power. This little car comes with a sticker price of US$2,200,000.
Designed by Volkswagon Group, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sports became the fastest street-legal car in the world in April 2013 with a top speed of 267 mph. It features a 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, equivalent to two narrow-angle V8 engines. It can go from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 9.8 seconds. But it’s not just what’s under the hood that lends the Veyron its speed; the outer shell is made entirely of carbon fiber. Base prices in the U.S. start at a cool US$2,700,000.
The Koenigsegg Agera R gets its name from the Swedish verb “agera” which means “to take action.” It sports a 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine and can go 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.8 seconds and with a top speed of 273mph, six mph faster that the Bugatti. The wing on the Agera R uses the pressure of the wind at high speeds to force it downward and reduce resistance, making it lighter and smarter than conventional hydraulics. Prices on this speed demon start at US$1,600,000.
The hero of the four-wheeled stars is the customized Ford Mustang GT500. Built to have a “gnarly, sinister look,” says head designer Melvin Betancourt, it was hand-made just for the show. (Seven copies were made by his team, but only one survived the filming.) Waugh wanted “a car that truly was definitive of American racing.” The GT500 comes with a 5.8-liter supercharged engine capable of, at least in the film, 900hp. With no other public specs yet, you’ll just have to catch the film. 15
SINCE WE MOVED OUR PRODUCTION TO UTAH, THE SHOW LOOKS BETTER, FEELS BETTER, AND HAS BECOME EASIER TO MAKE. Ever since The Aquabats! first started traversing the great highways of the world, Utah has always been a very welcome tour stop. Some of our biggest and most memorable live concerts have taken place along Interstate 15. Whether it was playing a small club in St. George, an outdoor festival at Thanksgiving Point, a roller rink in Sandy, or a bigger venue in Salt Lake City, we have always been met with friendly faces that want to have as much fun as we do. Over the years The Aquabats! have stopped at nothing to chase our dream of moving from the stage to the screen and having our quests documented on film for the good of posterity. That dream materialized in 2011 when we began producing The Aquabats! Super Show!, a half-hour action/adventure/comedy/musical television show for kids of all ages. It began airing on the Hub Network the spring of 2012. Our first season was filmed in Southern California. It was extremely demanding, but it yielded a Daytime Emmy nomination for Best Children’s Show. However, all we could think about when it came time to make more episodes was how to make our show even better. We discussed going out of state to get a change of backdrops. In doing so, we remembered the great state of Utah with its picturesque vistas and warm, friendly people. We decided to go for it, and have never once looked back. The Aquabats! Super Show! filmed episodes in the fall of 2012 and are 16
currently in post production for episodes filmed in the fall of 2013. There have been so many advantages to filming our TV show in Utah, it is hard to know where to start. The landscape of the state is so versatile and beautiful. We have been able to shoot such varied settings as an alien planet (Bonneville Salt Flats), medieval village (Castle Park, Provo & Young Living Farm, Mona), big city (Downtown Salt Lake City), snowy mountain (Little Cottonwood Canyon), and beach (Willard Bay), all within short drives of our production office. The Utah Film Commission has been extremely helpful. Even though we aren’t making a huge multi-million dollar blockbuster film, they have still given us ample personal attention. The local crew is extremely skilled, and very easy to work with. We have encountered talented people around every corner that have aided in all departments of the production. They are willing to go the extra mile to make our show work right from Pre to Post. They understand the unique look and vibe we are going for with our show. They sacrifice immense time, energy and resources to help us accomplish it. Casting background, extras, and other parts from local Utah talent have been another great perk. The positive attitudes and lack of ego has been a welcome and refreshing highlights to filming here.
TUNE IN FOR "THE AQUABATS! SUPER SHOW!" Special "Kitty Litter" Airing on Jan. 18 at 1pm ET/10am PT The Hub Network
A LONG TIME AGO…
before cell phones and the Internet, in a land far, far away…called California, The Aquabats! were born. Spawned out of a primordial soup of surfrock, ska, punk, and new-wave music, we eventually crawled out onto the shores of Huntington Beach. Inspiration came not only from music, but also from surfing, skateboarding, Japanese kung-fu movies, donuts, comic books, and Saturday morning cartoons. The Aquabats! quickly grew into a one- of-a-kind band that not only play fun, high-energy songs, but took it upon ourselves to be vigilant protectors of humankind…and pizza. Wearing matching uniforms fit for the finest crime-fighting superheroes, we began our endless quest to travel the globe righting wrongs, destroying boredom, and playing some good Rock N’ Roll.
Location: Bonniville Salt Flats
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MOM'S CAFE 10 E Main St, Salina, UT 84654 (435) 529-3921
When we have brought in guest stars and talent from outside Utah, they have talked about how much they have enjoyed their stays here. For example, Mark Mothersbaugh, a visual artist, composer and vocalist of the legendary band DEVO, told us of the inspiration he got while combing through used bins at local Salt Lake City record and second-hand stores. In fact, all of The Aquabats! have tried to use our downtime in Utah to the fullest. We have taken advantage of the landscape to go mountain biking and skiing in Park City. We have attended Utah Jazz games and seen some great concerts at local SLC venues like the Urban Lounge and In The Venue. Personally, I have loved hunting for rare used books at shops like Ken Sanders and Sam Wellers. Also, when driving between Utah and California, I have enjoyed taking a number of different routes, to discover some out of the
way hidden jewels of the state. May I be so bold as to recommend the scones at Mom’s Café in Salina? One memory of filming in Utah that I won’t soon forget happened while shooting our first episode here in late October 2012. It was an episode called “Summer Camp” and we were set to film through the night in Sugar House Park, but before we could roll camera we had to bring in a hose to water down all the snow that had recently fallen. We didn’t want a freezing cold looking summer camp! The script called for a warm summer night with The Aquabats! dressed in pajamas. But what could have turned out to be a miserable night became more of a party. We were lucky enough to have a thoughtful wardrobe department supply us with some thermals and foot warmers, a special effects department that brought in some propane heaters, and a craft service team
that kept the hot chocolate flowing. In between takes we would huddle around the heaters, tell jokes, sing songs, and jump around to keep warm. All the crew and background actors were good sports about the cold as well, and we got all of our shots and it all turned out looking great…and warm! Since we moved our production, the show looks better, feels better, and has become easier to make. This has made us extremely happier and confident in the pursuit of our dream of making the best TV show we can make. Without Utah, this wouldn’t be possible. Utah has always been a State of pioneers, and we think that this ethic can be applied to the State’s filmmaking industry. Utah is blazing trails to capture great things on film, and we are super-happy to be a part of it.
IAN FOWLES
EagleBones Falconhawk
Bones may be skinny, with hollow, glass-like bird bones, but he isn't afraid of anything! He never goes down without a fight! He's got an invisible spirit animal, a bird named The Dude, that only he can see. When Bones is in trouble, The Dude swoops in and flies him out of tight spots. Bones' guitar transforms into a laser-blasting shred stick he uses to finish off his enemies! 18
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Your Project Is Bankable, Are You?
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For all of us who work in this industry, it seems to be the norm, that we have to lie (or nicely fabricate) our finances, employment history and proof of continued employment, to qualify for a loan. We extrapolate and exaggerate our monthly income. We concoct an “intelligible” employment history. And yes, we even ask our colleagues in the business to provide (create) docuKathy Jarvis mentation to corroborate our story.
A
fter 19 years of making my living solely in the film industry, and countless times attempting to explain how our business works to bankers, I decided ENOUGH. I was not going to lie again to squeeze myself into the confining loan approval boxes that only full time cubbie workers fit into. I wanted a loan to consolidate some debt. So, I researched various loan products from multiple banks, and decided on the loan that fit what I needed. The loan had a no origination fee, no home appraisal needed and a fixed rate under 4%. The loan was from Zion’s Bank. They even had the application on their web site. Alas, I was barely into page 2 of the application process before it was clear to me I needed to contact a living person. As is typical in our industry, I was between jobs. So, I was not employed at the time of the application. And since I worked several projects in the year, I had a multitude of employers—which the application did not have enough space for. And
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no, I was not fired, or laid off from any of the jobs— the jobs just ended. Plus how can I give a accurate representation of my weekly, or monthly income. It varies dramatically. As we all know our weekly pay stubs don’t represent our yearly income. My base pay average is calculated on an hourly on the pay stub, not on yearly income. Sometimes with overtime and bonuses, my weekly is exaggerated. I can’t really put a number on it, even though I receive them as a part of my guild contract. But it’s not guaranteed, I negotiate it for each individual job. So, I called the number to connect with a “loan specialist.” She asked me lots of questions, I answered all with explanations of our industry and my various guild contracts. After a lengthy discussion she said, “sounds great, all you need to do now is go to your local branch, drop of the documentation listed and in roughly 10 days, you will receive a call from your the branch to go in and sign the closing docs.” The loan specialist even offered to send their top of the line credit card, with a limit of $20,000.
I thought, “wow, that was easy,” and called my brother who is a mortgage broker. He was in awe…
another financial institution, since I had already told Zion’s Bank my truthful financial story.
Oh, but it was not that easy. Eight days later I received a call from Laramie, the manager at my local branch, to tell me the underwriter denied my application.
Forget it, I was over it.
I was agitated and clearly expressed this to her. I had a good credit score and low debt. I had been making a living for 19 years in our industry and had paid off several properties. I even had cash in the bank exceeding the amount of the loan. WTF !
A few days later, Laramie called. I hesitated because I was embarrassed about my abrupt and terse reactions to her previous calls. Plus I knew she was calling to find out when I was going to pick up my huge pile of paper work that was overtaking her office.
But I decided to suck it up and answer the phone. Laramie was letting me know that she was on her way, to do a quick drive by of my address to check She just said “sorry” and I let her know I would be off the box that there was a physical home there, picking up all the documentation and I could come in anytime to sign the I dropped off (past taxes, employ- “For the first time closing docs, I was approved! ment history, credit history, etc.) and I was stunned: I was not working, I was in my career, then threatened to close the acdeep into remolding the upstairs of my counts I have at Zion’s. She sighed, I decided home, I did not have prospects of up said “sorry” again, and hung up the coming work, I took most of the previphone. ous year off to follow my dream of rac-
I was
Three days later I received a call from Laramie and she asked if I had paycheck stubs from 2012, since I had not filed my taxes. Appreciating the persistence, I took the stubs to her (over 60) along with a print out from my SAG residual tracker (several pages), and my forty-two W2’s. She looked shocked, and overwhelmed with the amount of un-reconciled paper work, I dropped on her desk.
NOT going to
LIE
to get a loan.”
About a week later she called back and said she had “good news.” She could get the loan approved if my husband co-signed. (From our joint tax returns she saw he owned a profitable company.) I told her, “absolutely NOT.” I know my credit is good enough to get a loan and the principle of having my husband have to co-sign, “No!” She sighed, said “sorry” and hung up the phone. A day later she called back and said they had another product that required an appraisal on the property and perhaps I should wait until I was actively employed. I let her know a job could be as short as a day or a week. She sighed, said “sorry” and hung up the phone. At this point, I decided that if I wanted to consolidate then I would have to pick a product with origination fees, get an appraisal, (which I absolutely could not do as I was deep into remolding my home), and jump through all those banking hoops, by fabricating the required documentation which meant I had to go to
ing cars, and Laramie knew all of this. I wondered why she took all that time and effort to learn about me. By reading through past tax documentation and working through all different types of pay stubs. She looked into the industry I work in, and used web sites such as IMDB.com and SAG.org to corroborate documentation, and my word.
She did all this knowing that Zion’s clearly will not be making much money off of this loan. I really wanted to know why she did it. Laramie answered simply “because you are my customer.” And added, “There is a story behind every client.” “Zions is proud of their relationship banking,” she said, “and taking the time to understand the market and the industry of their clients. It is important to be able to explain to the underwriter the story behind each loan applicant.” Zion’s underwriters are located in Salt Lake City and if she needs to go sit down with the underwriter, she does. She knows not everyone fits neatly into the application boxes, and she could see no reason why I should not get the loan product I wanted. She found a way to make it work. So, if you too are tired of fabricating documents and trying to change your story to squeeze into those tiny little boxes, I suggest you go to Laramie at Zions Bank, Kimball Junction, Park City, and tell her your story.
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Vintage Photos Courtesy of Parry’s Lodge
More Westerns Have Been Produced In The Kanab Area Than Anywhere Outside Of California. UTAH’S LITTLE HOLLYWOOD by Nathan Riddle
In my youth I became enamored by the movies, growing up in a small town that had claimed the title of Utah's Little Hollywood. A name it earned during the golden age of the Hollywood western, as the backdrop to myriads of classic western films. I heard stories from the older generations of all the 'big time famous actors' that had once strutted down the walks of town. Or how this per22 22
son or another had been an extra in this film or that. For a time I felt fortunate to have been a child in “Utah’s Little Hollywood” with its rich movie making history, but as my own film making desires began to bud, I came to a startling realization. Kanab, Utah, my beloved home town, was no longer the mecca of the Great American Western and the golden age had been left
somewhere in history. The luster of Hollywood’s glimmer has faded on Kanab and it is once again a dusty cow town. Yet I look out the window and I see stories, all sorts of stories. Stories that are beckoning from the hillsides and crying out to be told. Southern Utah is still a treasure for filmmakers. And though largely forgotten, it is ready for a rediscovery.
Over 300 films have a part of Southern Utah in their DNA.
Parry Brothers Movie-Making In Kanab, Utah During the 1930s and 1940s, Kanab, Utah, was transformed into the Colorado Plateau's own "Hollywood," eventually serving as the backdrop for more than 200 movies. Three brothers led the way Whitney, Gron, and Chaunce Parry beginning in the early 1920s. The Parry brothers operated a bus service that ferried people to Zion and Bryce National Parks, and the actor Tom Mix stopped in Kanab to film a movie, Deadwood Dick. The Parrys were hired to assist with the movie, and they eventually entered the movie business themselves by marketing Kanab and environs as an excellent site for "Westerns" and other movies. Source: http://archive.li.suu.edu/voices/ SupernawMoviesReview.swf
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Rediscover.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nathan Riddle is an independent film maker, animator, actor and educator in the Salt Lake Valley. His film making efforts focus specifically on historical subjects which bring history to life through documentary and narrative storytelling. He grew up in Kanab and the seeds of his career were planted while listening to the stories of Utah's Little Hollywood. He is now co-chair of the Little Hollywood Shootout, a guerrilla film making competition held each spring in Kanab.
Hours, not days, separate you from a variety of different locations to fit the needs of most any production. From the coral pink sands to the high mountain passes and across the way to the soft pastures, Southern Utah has a whole lot more to offer than old west red rock; but then again, it does have that too. And in such epic array that Producer Howard Koch was inspired to say, “[Southern Utah] has these majestic canyons, where you can look out forever... It just cries out to be photographed.�
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For nearly a hundred years, the State of Utah has played host to scores of Hollywood films, from potboilers on lean budgets to some of the most memorable films ever made, including The Searchers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Footloose, and Thelma & Louise telling how these films were made, what happened on and off set, and more. Author James V. D'Arc , Ph.D., is Curator of the BYU Motion Picture Archive, For over 30 years, Dr. D'Arc has lectured internationally on motion picture history and has taught film courses at BYU. He lives in Orem, Utah.
The movies first discovered what Southern Utah had to offer in 1924, when Deadwood Coach with Tom Mix was filmed in the area. The production enlisted the help of three local brothers- Whit, Chauncey, and Gron Parry- to assist with transportation for the actors and crew. While on set the brothers began to realize Southern Utah's potential for film making. After Deadwood Coach wrapped, they busied themselves with the work of selling the wonders of Southern Utah to Hollywood. It wouldn't be all that hard of a task. After all, the stunning grandeur speaks for itself. Armed with a camera, the brothers traveled the southern reaches of Utah by airplane, catching on film, scenes that tickled the imagination. Armed with their portfolio, the brothers headed to southern California and began meeting with studio executives. Soon hundreds of productions began flowing into the area. And to house all the crew and actors while in Kanab, the Parry's bought a Victorian home and converted it into a lodge. For decades production after production would roll into town, bringing with them Hollywood’s greatest actors including John Wayne, Roy Rogers, The Rat Pack, James Arness, Don Knotts and Ronald Reagan among many, many others. Over 300 films have a part of Southern Utah in their DNA. Vintage Photos Courtesy of Parry’s Lodge
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UTAH’S LITTLE HOLLYWOOD by Nathan Riddle
Local entrepreneur, Dennis Judd tells of a time when he was on set as an extra along with a large number of other folks from town. They were dressed as Indians (they weren't much for political correctness at the time) and mounted bareback on their horses, getting ready for an attack on some cowboys. A handful of extras were chosen by the director to fall off their horses and play dead when the gunfire started and for doing the stunt would be paid more for the day. By the time the director was ready to call action, word had spread about the additional pay for falling off
your horse. As cameras rolled, the director and the rest of the production crew were shocked as the gunfire started and nearly all the local extras, dressed as I n - dians, fell off their mounts. In
February of 1945 the Saturday Evening Post ran an article titled, The Town That Learned to Act, which highlighted Kanab’s townfolk and their unique opportunities. And not only were the locals glad to participate, b u t
movie makers enjoyed working with them. Producer and Director Howard Koch is quoted as saying, “The whole community got involved in each production. In fact, we’d look for ways to include the locals in each film. They’d be our extras, our stunt men. Sometimes they’d even get small parts in the film, depending on their acting ability. They really loved us, and it was mutual.” Moab, Kanab and St. George are rebuilding infrastructure to make it easier for films to be made here and are encouraging film makers to return. And returning they are. Tinsel Town’s proximity to the Beehive State makes Southern Utah an ideal destination. Generally one tank of gas is all it takes to get from Hollywood to within spitting distance of base camp along Utah’s southern border. It’s literally a work day away. And the relative costs to access experienced crew and talent are within reach of the indie film producer.
If you want to roll a car off a cliff, or crash a spaceship into a mountainside, Fossil Point is the best place to do it. You’re most likely familiar with the scene. On-the-run bosom buddies Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are chased by the FBI to the edge of a colossal cliff with the Colorado River some 2,000 feet below. Trapped, they clasp their hands tightly together and Louise guns her convertible Thunderbird as the pals soar over the rim of the Grand Canyon, frozen midair when the credits start rolling. Only, it’s not exactly the Grand Canyon. Rather, it’s more than 300 miles away in Utah’s scenic Canyonlands area and the real name of the location is Fossil Point. But the area often doubles for the Grand Canyon for filming productions because it looks similarly magnificent, but it offers several things that the popular national park just can’t. First, is cost. Filming at the Grand Canyon can be prohibitively expensive. Lots of people want to film there, and because of the precarious nature of the ecosystem, very few productions are actually granted permission. And those who are, fork out a
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lot of money. In Utah, on the other hand, productions are able to stay under budget, because it’s so cost-effective to film in the area. Secondly, in other areas, especially federal lands like the Grand Canyon, the permitting officers don’t often work with film productions and so typically they’ll read a script and just deny the permit. But if you want to roll a car off a cliff, or crash a spaceship into a mountainside, Fossil Point and the surrounding area may be the best place to do it. Tara Penner, Film Commission director for the area explains, “Across the board, production companies are always impressed with how friendly and easy going our permitting officers are. [The officers] have worked in the industry long enough, and we have such a precedent of filming down here, that sometimes things that wouldn’t be allowed in a different state or even a different area within Utah are allowed here just because they understand the impact. And so other departments, a lot of the time, would just initially say no, it’s
denied, you can’t do that. But here they’re like okay, let’s talk about what’s actually going to be done and we’ll make this happen...Our departments here understand that in the film world it’s not really as bad as it may seem.” Thirdly, Fossil Point has the canyons and sheer drop offs that the Grand Canyon has, but it also has a little more. Larry Campbell, a local locations manager estimates he’s scouted the area somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 times. If there’s an expert on the place, it’s him. And Larry says that what sets this area apart from anywhere else is the addition of the soaring red rock cliff formations in the background, above the canyon. Even the Grand Canyon doesn’t have that. Since the filming of Thelma and Louise in 1990, Fossil Point is often referred to as Thelma and Louise Point. But don’t expect to see the remains of a pretty blue Thunderbird at the bottom of the canyon. After filming wrapped, the production crew cut the car into pieces and hauled it away with helicopters.
123. 2012 sci-fi movie which used the Utah landscape as Mars 128. Tooele was used for scenes in this Will Smith classic with Day 133. Upset 134. Brood 135. East coast university 136. Nothing's opposite 137. Surround 139. Ultimate threat 142. Protection 145. Honored with a party 147. Arab League nation 149. Scenes in the "III" of this classic sci-fi movie series was shot in Monument Valley 153. Food, e.g. 154. Begones, Shakespearian 155. Notes 156. Freshly painted 157. Paleontologist's estimate 158. Talking starling 159. High West Distillery brew 160. Time on the east coast
Down
Across
The desert scenes, while pretending to be the rather flat ‘New Mexico’, are the spectacular sandstone landscapes of the La Sal Mountains, Route 46, southeast of Moab in eastern Utah; Arches National Park, to the north of Moab and Canyonlands to the southwest. The police chase is at Cisco, Utah. Filming also took place at Thompson Springs and Valley City. The spectacular gorge of the final scene is not the Grand Canyon, but the Colorado River flowing through Dead Horse Point State Park, on SR 313 18 miles off Hwy 191 about 30 miles southwest of Moab. Source: movie-locations.com Thelma and Louise Point an unofficial name for Fossil Point, and not on any map is the place where movie makers filmed the final scene of Thelma and Louise. The point is south-southeast of the main overlook at Dead Horse Point State Park. The official name of the road is San Juan County Road 142.
1. Little devil 4. Freudian topic 7. Model wood 12. Our 50 states 15. Alpine sight 18. Singapore inhabitant 20. Musician 22. Use a La-Z-Boy 24. Scenes from the 2001 version of this sci-fi classic were filmed in Lake Powell 26. “Broken Arrow” bomber 27. composer of Pomp and Circumstance 28. Drew in 29. USDA agency protecting animal and plant health 31. "Guilty," e.g. 32. Moldovan moolah 33. Bowling target 34. Mark of a ruler 36. Nav. rank 37. Seasoned raw meat dish 44. Shyamalan sci-fi film shot in Utah 47. Fossil _____ where Thelma and Louise ended 48. Czech monetary unit 50. Low-fat meat 51. Game bird snare 53. Moab was the one of the settings for this Bond spoof character 57. Not a thing 58. There was much about nothing in Shakespeare 60. The Utes for one
61. Clancy's black ___ 62. Mercury, for one 65. Cover 69. Government org. 71. Speed 73. Kind of code 74. The Arctic scene in this Nicolas Cage adventure/mystery movie was filmed in Utah (with 93 across) 76. Meal break for a 7 am calltime 78. Finnish moolah, once 80. Cap 81. Pawn 82. Brightest star in Taurus 86. Melange 88. UN labor grp. 90. Environmental protection protocol 92. Grain storage container 93. See 74 across 97. Neophytes 99. BBC sci-fi classic that came to Monument Valley 102. Take a powder 104. Person with a degree from BYU 105. Not hearing 106. One of the "Three Kingdoms" (Chinese) 107. Seep 109. Back of the boat 111. Nation's economic stat 112. Warrior woman supervillain in DC Comics 116. Fuels 120. Before, to Burns 121. Overlay 122. Calling device
1. Motivates 2. Xylophone striker 3. 2012 Sundance Documentary “How to Survive a______” 4. Appraiser 5. Gangster’s gun 6. “Peace Piece” artist 7. Niels, Danish student of atomic structure 8. Not aweather 9. Truckful 10. Taste 11. Utah water MLM 12. Like “Bart the Bear” 13. Mechanical fasteners 14. Top hold’em card 15. Stuffing 16. Purpose 17. Go over again and again 19. Before a B 20. Nitro Circus action 21. Coffee stirrer, abbr. 23. Race segment 25. Made romantic overtures 30. Box office success 33. Hypothetical supercontinent 35. Organic pigment 38. Credit card percentage 39. Colorful carp 40. Can 41. Alias 42. Same ol’, same ol’! 43. European tongue 44. True inner self 45. Celebrity follower 46. Emanating qualities 49. The focus of this puzzle 51. Part of Hindu trinity 52. Superabundances 54. Powerful 55. Available for business 56. Solarium
57. __ negotiable 59. Related to 63. ___ chi (martial art) 64. Getting on 66. 1964 Western shot in Moab, ___ Conchos 67. Tresses 68. Black and murky 70. Physique, slangily 72. Mudbath locale 73. Middle Eastern rice dish 75. Adoration 77. Diminish 79. Holiday song
83. Down and dirty 84. Airplane flap 85. Biology class abbr. 87. Doctrine 88. “___ be my pleasure!” 89. Alkali 91. Lofty lines 94. piece of stunt Equipment 95. Moves between bases 96. Sixth sense 98. Repeatedly 100. One who dreams 101. Admiring sounds 103. Yo-Yo, cellist 106. Decorating, in a way 108. Pasta choice 110. Like a coxcomb 113. Circle parts 114. Historic leader? 115. Pull the plug on 117. Whole lot 118. As well 119. Born name 123. Popular puzzle 124. Baltimore player 125. Solitary man 126. Utah’s 25% Incentive 127. Meal break for a 8 am call time 129. Radiates 130. Character 131. Store salespeople 132. Should know best 138. Glen Canyon ___ 140. Business degree 141. Malt-liquor yeast 142. Homologous 143. unincorporated community located in western Box Elder County, Utah 144. Sundance Festival programming director Trevor 145. Stew 146. Arrival time at SLC 148. Pastoral setting 150. Bashful 151. make mistake 152. “30 Rock’s” Tina
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Action All of the Time Kathy Jarvis
In the world of snowboarding doing big tricks in a superpipe is a skill set that very few have.
Photos Courtesy of Disney Channel/Fred Hayes
As I sit here and watch the trailer to the Disney Original Movie, Cloud 9, I actually find myself becoming a little emotional. Paul Hoen the director, who is a three-time DGA Award winner, is amazing. But is it just the trailer stirring my feelings or am I now just becoming overwhelmed with all the time and energy and convincing I put into the action of this movie? The challenges of doing a movie such as Cloud 9 came from the fact that I was not hiring stunt performers. When hiring stunt people, I usually pick from people I know who I have worked with for years and years, professionals who
know not only their skills, but who also understand camera, action, taking risks and set etiquette. In movies like Cloud 9, where the action is a very specialized skill set, I was not just searching for good snowboarders, I was searching for extreme athletes who could ride a superpipe. I would be hiring athletes, knowing I would be teaching them stunts from the ground up‌ not just set etiquette, but how a movie was made. And I now would be working really hard to teach 10 green stunt performers with exceptional talent, that making a movie is not like anything they imagined it would be.
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Riders dug deep and hung in there day after day after day and laid down their hardest tricks at 3 am with fireworks going off blinding them as they rotated through the night sky landing on hard snow again and again and again. 32
Clair Bidez - exUSA Team rider. Clair was an amazing looka-like for Dove Cameron. Once her pink lips where put on, she could be filmed up close. Sustained an ankle injury that took her out of riding for the finale, but was happy to come back and take fall after fall for Kayla on the big air hill.
Since there are fewer than a handful of Superpipes in the country, I was searching for athletes who not only fit the build, gender and dominant foot of each actor, but I was searching for those who could drop into a 22ft superpipe and perform Cripplers, 9’s, 7’s, as well as Cab Double Corks, Melons, Methods, 1080s and Michalchuks. I had highly specific criteria for people who could perform world class tricks and lay them down over and over with a film crew standing in the middle of the pipe.
Photos Courtesy of Disney Channel/Fred Hayes
This movie would not have had the talent it called for if it was not made in Utah. Since filming was the year before the Olympics, many of the known athletes would not risk missing an event to work on a movie. So I searched for ex-US snowboard team athletes, back country riders who could ride a pipe and go big, and any up and coming riders, at least 18 years old. And I had to find them quick. But, we did not have enough snow yet, so I wasn’t able to vet riders in the pipe. I was also pushed daily by the producers to find riders before Christmas vacation was over. Both wardrobe and props needed the riders’ sizes ASAP in order to get costumes and boards made and ready to shoot by the second week
in January. Plus, each rider needed to be approved by the studio and the budget required these riders to be Utah locals. Snowboarders flock to the mountains of Utah for a multitude of reasons. Park City Ski Resort is one of the very few places in the country with a superpipe, plus Park City is the home of the US Ski and Snowboard Association, with its training facility–The Center of Excellence. Utah claims “The Greatest Snow On Earth” and there is a lot of terrain to ride in Utah. Because of these reasons so many riders live here or spend the winter in Utah.
Lizzy Beerman - Rode on the USA snowboard team for 5.5 years. We where all impressed with the quality of tricks, smooth riding, and strong grabs. She broke a rib when her board stuck while landing a trick. Was out for a while and came back and rode for the finale. What a professional! Nils Mindnich - 18 years old. Nils had an uncanny ability to lay down all the tricks and ride the entire pipe switch. Nils stepped in when both female athletes where injured. He would fit himself into anyones costume and ride for that character. He laid down some of the hardest tricks for “Kayla” and everyone on the crew loved working with him. Nils became the “Most Valuable Player” for Cloud 9, even after he slid into the camera crew a time or two. Nick Fuca - Doubled for “Nick.” A snowboard coach for Park City Team and a amazing rider. Fuca performed his first stunt and survived with just a few bruises, and soreness. Fuca is always ready to help get the job done. He would lay down trick after trick in rehearsals so our director could choose what he wanted. Nick is an aspiring stunt man. Broc Waring - ex-USA team rider. Doubled for “Will” Broc was always smiling, even though he hated being cold. He laid down some amazing tricks and was always extremely consistent. He did not like throwing huge tricks with us all standing
underneath him in the pipe. But give him a little room and the man was on fire! A true proffessional! Cameron Fitzpatrick - A big mountain rider that loved big air and laying down tricks out there. He didn’t like the pipe much but you would never know it as he sucked it up made it look easy... And would land on the camera if you asked him to. He learned fast and stepped in when I needed to be in 2 places at once. Another aspiring stunt man. Dylan Bidez - ex-USA Team rider, an injury took him out of going to the Olympics. Rode for “Sam”. This guy goes big and is consistent. Nothing seems to bother him including huge air flying spinning and flipping at 4 am. He makes it look effortless. Alex Rodway - I discovered Alex when I needed to fill a spot and he was on set as a background player. I saw him ride, he fit into the costume and was bumped up to stunt double. Always smiling and ready to ride. Easy, breezy and an excellent double for “Dillon” Lane. Hans Mindnich - Older brother to Nils. What a team. This kid can go big and stepped in when Nils plate became too full. Hans laid down a many double corks off the big air jump, and rode in the finale. Love these brothers. Breenen Swanson - I serendipitously overheard Broc talking about a rider who landed a double cork in the World Cup event the day before we showed up in the superpipe. He came out and laid down more Double Corks in one night then he had done in a whole year. Because of Breenen we were able to get our Cloud 9 trick that works amazingly. Thanks Breenen!
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Superpipe VS. Normal Half-Pipe Park City Mountain Resort’s Eagle Superpipe was one of the first 22-foot pipes in North America. A superpipe is a large halfpipe structure used in extreme sports such as snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
Photos Courtesy of Disney Channel/Fred Hayes
There is no standard definition for a superpipe. However, generally the term "superpipe" is used to describe halfpipe built of snow which has walls over 16 ft (4.9 m) on both sides. Other features of a "superpipe" are that the width of the pipe is wider than the walls are tall and the walls extend to near vertical. In the FIS snowboard world cup rules the recommended width for 22 ft (6.7 m) walls is 64 ft (20 m).
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Photos Courtesy of Disney Channel/Bob D’Amico
I was lucky to connect with some awesome talent and I got luckier at serendipitous moments that helped our little snowboard movie be filled with excellent riders. Riders who dug deep and hung in there day after day after day and laid down their hardest tricks at 3 am with fireworks going off blinding them as they rotated through the night sky landing on hard snow again and again and again. Now that I found the really good athletes we needed, Matias Alvarez, a producer, came to me to help with another challenge,
“How do we get amazing footage that is not shot conventionally, for our budget?”
Luckily we have an amazing group of talented camera people who live and work here in Utah that understand how to capture action, especially in X-Game style fashion, and who push the boundaries to shoot unique footage. Matias and I sat down to put together our small crew of talented professionals to work with us. We reached out to Patrick Reddish and Jason Ball, both amazing camera operators who work around the world. We were so lucky they each found time in their schedules to make our limited days go quicker and smoother. They move quickly, and are at home in the cold, and don’t mind hiking up and down the mountain.
Rotate Film Group LLC is a new full service production company founded in Park City by Todd Schlopy, Alex Schlopy, and Josh Finbow. Utilizing Red Epic Digital Cinema Cameras and high-end post facilities, Rotate Film Group can meet any production needs. From small product videos, to high-budget feature films.
Matias and I also enlisted R. Todd Schlopy, a local Utahn who rarely works in Utah. His A Camera operator action packed features include: Iron Man 3, Battleship, G.I. Joe, John Carter and Transformers to name a few. He started his own company here in Utah, Rotate Film Group. Todd’s big action expertise, proprietary camera mount systems and conceptualization of shooting action footage are cutting edge. We decided we really needed him and his group. Because I’ve worked with Todd for years on some of the big movies, I called my friend. He obliged and brought his team in to do what they do best. The finale in the Eagle Superpipe brought many challenges: cold nights, 6443 N Business Park Loop Rd Suite J Park City, Utah 84098 Phone (435) 659-5962 Email josh@rotatefilmgroup.com Website rotatefilmgroup.com
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location requirements with hard in and out times, big pyrotechnics, a huge lighting set up, and limited hours with talent who were minors, and lastly, a huge superpipe that dwarfed our much smaller “Summit Valley” pipe we had been using for most of the movie, located at Brighton Ski Resort. It was time to bring the production value to the screen. We really wanted the shots of the riders to be different. Todd sent us Drew Lederer and a special mount designed by Rotate Film Group (see cover photo). The Red Camera mount wrapped over the shoulders and around Drew’s midsection to literally become a part of Drew’s body. So that Drew could drop into the pipe with the riders. Yes, he literally dropped the 22 ft into the superpipe with a rig 3436
strapped to his body and rode each wall up 22 ft high behind the athlete, keeping the athlete in frame and in focus as the athlete soars out of the pipe twisting and spinning against the dark night sky. If that isn’t amazing enough, the greatest thing about this rig was the fact that the operator was so low key and his set up so minimal that the main unit had no idea that we were shooting between there setups. I would simply drop a stunt double into the pipe with the camera operator on skis whenever there was a “break” on main unit. Because we never got the pipe to ourselves, I just hoped that the camera angle was high enough out of the pipe that nobody could tell what was going on in the background at the bottom of
the pipe. We had one night with very limited windows of opportunity in the superpipe and the footage was stunning. We all stood there in awe and excitement, watching it on playback with a few of the athletes. Nobody had ever seen footage like this. I know nobody but Matias, me, the athletes and two other people saw that footage that night. So I often wondered, “Did it make it out of the editing room?” Now as I watch the trailer of Cloud 9 I see a lot of shots from that night made it into the movie. It makes me feel proud and emotional to know how hard I worked and pushed and fought along with so many of the other locals to bring what Utah has to offer to the screen for this Disney original movie, Cloud 9.
Cloud 9 follows Kayla, a prima donna snowboarder who was just unceremoniously dropped from her team and forced to train with Will, a former snowboarding champion who is struggling after a career-ending wipe-out. Now, as Kayla trains with Will to redeem her stature, he creates a regimen that will test her commitment to continue in the snowboarding competition circuit. Meanwhile, Kayla must also inspire Will to overcome his biggest obstacle – self-doubt. Together, the two learn that nothing is impossible.
Title:
Cloud 9
Franchise: Premiere:
Disney Channel Original Movie Friday, January 17, 2014
Parental Guideline: Starring:
TV-G Luke Benward as Will Cloud Dove Cameron as Kayla Morgan Mike C. Manning as Nick Swift
Kiersey Clemons as Skye Sailor Jeffrey Nordling as Sebastian Swift Directed by: Paul Hoen Written by: Justin Ware Executive Produced by: Paul Hoen, Jessica Rhoades, Ashley Tisdale, Kirkland Tibbels Produced by: Tracey Jeffrey Director of Photography: Suki Medencevic Production Designer: Mark Hofeling Costume Designer: Tom McKinley Edited by: Girish Bhargava Casting by: Sally Stiner & Barbie Block Jeff Johnson (Utah casting) Hair & Make-Up: Lora Laing, Greg Moon Production Company: Salty Pictures, Inc. and Blondie Girl Productions
KATHY JARVIS
has been a stunt professional since 1994. She specializes in movies where subculture action is needed. From motorcycles to snowboarding, car racing to soccer and all X-game type sports. She prides herself in diving deep into any and all sports and finding what a movie needs to make the story exciting and work for the production. Kathy embraces working with new performers and guiding them through the process of giving the best of themselves for the project.
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Photos Courtesy of Joseph James Films
American Fork – A wealthy banker lies ritualistically and brutally murdered. The Freemason stars Sean Austin (Lord of the Rings, The Goonies, Rudy), Randy Wayne (Dukes of Hazzard), and Alex McKenna (What Women Want). The Freemason is produced by Utah based Joseph James Films, LLC and directed by award-winning Iranian artist Sohrab Mirmontazeri. “Utah is among the world’s few great meccas for filmmaking,” says Sohrab Mirmontazeri to PRLog about directing the film in Utah. The banker’s daughter and only heir, Rana (McKenna), calls upon Cyrus Rothwell (Wayne), a brilliant but eccen-
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tric freelance writer, to assist in the investigation. Teaming up with veteran homicide detective Leon Weed (Astin), they suddenly find themselves thrust into the cryptic world of Freemasonry- pitted against a killer searching for a legendary relic, shrouded by hundreds of years of myth and mystery. Rothwell’s troubles multiply as he deduces the killer is one of the banker’s close inner circle. With an inheritance of millions hanging in the balance, everyone is a suspect and every action perceived as motive. Rothwell’s path becomes even more cloudy as his relationship with the beautiful heiress dances on the edge of charm and collusion. Cyrus is forced to come to grips with powers beyond
“I FIND THAT THE PEOPLE HERE IN UTAH ARE, NUMBER ONE, VERY TALENTED AND, NUMBER TWO, ARE VERY MOTIVATED.” – Joseph James
his natural senses as well as his own mysterious past ties to Freemasonry in order to unmask the killer before they strike again. The Freemason is a thoughtful suspense thriller- part Sherlock, part Hitchcock, creating a gripping mystery for you to unlock. This will be the second film shot in Utah for Sean Astin he appeared in the Utah-local film, Forever Strong (2008). He was happy to be working in Utah again, stating he “loves it here” and “the local crews are great”.
The film was shot entirely in Utah. Executive producer Joseph James is a freemason himself and states the film is “one of a kind”. He hopes to educate the public about the real practices of freemasonry and show much of the secret society without breaking any freemason rules. The film was shot at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple in Salt Lake City, adding authenticity to the film’s production. This is the third film by James that
has been shot completely in Utah. His first film was The Masonic Map (2011), which tells the story of a group of Utah Valley University students on the quest to discover a mysterious map created by the original Freemasons hundreds of years ago. His second project was Templar Nation (2013), a film featuring Erik Estrada about Knights Templar who escaped to the Americas and sought refuge with the Navajo tribe in Monument Valley, UT.
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WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE KILLED THE RADIO STAR
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BORN IN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS OF UTAH UNDER THE WATCHFUL ALL-SEEING-EYE OF SLC’S SUPERLATIVE CREATIVE SHOP, SUPER TOP SECRET STS Studios is a new school video production shop capable of tackling every phase of the production process from development through delivery. STS Studios is a tight knit crew of handpicked industry vets who’ve cut their teeth on everything from feature films to TV shows and branded content. From large-scale productions like Apollo 13 (holler back, Ron Howard) to TV shows like Discovery’s Kings of Crash—you could say we know our way around a set. In just under a year since opening our doors, we’ve rubbed wizard sleeves with clients such as the University of Oregon, Gold’s Gym and Adobe, to name a few. As of late, we’ve been hard at work producing a slate of TV concepts: shooting action sports’ most elite, a model that swims with great white sharks, and the world’s first mariachi-metal band. With itchy fingers and a plethora of knobs that will take any production to 11,
WE’RE ON STANDBY AND READY TO ANSWER THE CALL WITH THE FORCE OF A THOUSAND SKYWALKERS. Turning concepts into stories, and stories into entertainment, we are everything that you never expected and anything that your mind can envision. We are STS Studios 41
by Rachel Coleman
MythBusters is a wildly popular science television program created for the Discovery Channel. The Emmy®-nominated series is hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage who attempt to debunk or confirm urban legends in each episode. The pair have more than 30 years of special effects experience between the two of them.
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The Utah BLM, Utah State parks, the Film Commission—just to name a few—were very supportive and went above and beyond.”
DESOLATION CANYON The Green River cuts a 118 mile, serpentine swath through a larger geomorphic unit called the Tavaputs Plateau. Desolation Canyon at Rock Creek measures deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Desolation Canyon — A hawk scream echoes off soaring canyon walls. Cauliflower clouds billow and bloom in an electric blue sky. Temperature hover around freezing on this spring day in the high desert. A cutting, icy wind blows red sand over the sage brush and prickly pear cactus. Onto this barren, desolate scene rolls a cherry red Chevrolet Corvair carrying two dapper gentleman decked out in tuxedoes and shiny black dress shoes. Headed to attend Nik Wallenda, tightrope walk of the Grand Canyon, as luck would have it, the tuxedoed pair’s navigation equipment has fritzed and failed and lead them astray. Their cell phones have no reception. And the little car appears to be out of gas.
Photographs Courtesy of Discovery Channel
Thus begins the special episode of MythBusters, Duct Tape Canyon [Season 2, Episode 8]. The Utah locations were filmed in April 2013 around Moab and in Desolation Canyon along the Green River.
Lost in the Utah wilderness, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman survive the desert, repel down canyon cliff-faces, and brave Class 5 rapids, using duct tape and bubble wrap.
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Producer Dennis Kwon explains, “When anyone mentions canyons, the first thing that comes to mind is the Grand Canyon. We explored filming there, but since it is a National Park, there were rules and protections, justifiably so, in place that were not logistically compatible with the activities that MythBusters had in mind for our episode. “Fortunately, many of us at MythBusters are the outdoors type and knew about all the great virtues that Utah had to offer especially when it comes to epic natural landscapes. Not only does Utah have amazing canyons, it also has many other hidden gems. Many locations allow for recreational activities which provided the right atmosphere for our Duct Tape Canyon episode. We had a hard time choosing among all the great choices.” After visiting Utah for a scout and meetings with the members of the Film Commission, BLM, State Park and others, it quickly became evident that Utah was visually, logistically and economically the right choice.” “Fortunately many other productions have seen the value in filming in Utah,” says producer Kwan. “Therefore Utah already had an extensive network
geared to film production in place. The depth of skilled talent that was available was outstanding. Many of the outfitters such as the Moab Adventure Center and Moab Cliff and Canyons were not only experts in the outdoors, their film production knowledge was bar none. The Utah BLM, Utah State parks, the Film Commission—just to name a few— were very supportive and went above and beyond.” Tara Penner, Director for Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, can take some responsibility for all the success. She provides production companies with a local production directory to make it easy for film crews to connect with local resources and helps with location scouting, lodging, transportation, and permitting, which can be especially tricky with the jigsawing borders between federal, state and private land in the area. “Filming in Utah was a great experience,” Kwan says. ”The whole time we were driving from location to location was the equivalent of taking a sight seeing tour. The crew and hosts wished our shoot went longer. Given the opportunity I would most certainly find a way to come back. Why? you ask. Just search for a few images of Utah and anyone will understand immediately.”
AT THE END OF THE EPISODE, DRENCHED BUT MORE OR LESS SAFE, SAVAGE AGREES, “MIGHT GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS ONE OF THE BEST ADVENTURES WE’VE HAD.”
Moab Adventure Center 225 South Main Street Moab, UT 84532 (866) 904-1163 www.moadadventurecenter.com Moab Cliff and Canyons 253 N Main Street Moab, UT 84532 (435) 259-3317 www.cliffsandcanyons.com
Discovery Contacts: Sean Martin: Sean_Martin@discovery.com Kate Aconfora: Kate_Aconfora@discovery.com 44
MYTHBUSTERS BY THE NUMBERS (Updated to include episodes airing 2Q 2013)
Current season: 10 Total number of episodes filmed in 10 years of MythBusters: 208 Total myths tested in 10 years: 885 Of the myths tested: 483 busted 210 confirmed 192 plausible
Total number of experiments in 10 years: 2,625 Total number of explosions in a boom-tastic 10 years: 815 Total amount of duct tape stuck down in 10 years: 43,500 yards Total number of hours filmed: 7200 Total number of vehicles destroyed in an epic 10 years: 162 Tonnage of explosives used in an explosive 10 years: 14.5 45
DIRECTOR RYAN LITTLE USED UTAH TO REPRESENT WWII EUROPEAN NATIONS IN THE TRILOGY
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Photographs Courtesy of Go Films
PROVO – In April 1945. on a fateful mission through the Harz Mountains of Germany, a M18 Hellcat crew is ambushed by three German Panzers. The central mountains of Utah is the setting for the the third part of the epic battle of the Saints & Soldiers Trilogy. In September of 2013, Director Ryan Little and producer Adam Abel finished production on Saints & Soldiers: The Void. “The biggest challenge of shooting this film versus the first two films was all the armor,” Little recounts. “We had tanks all over the place. They are really dangerous and destroy everything in their path. So safety was a huge factor on this film. Also, it takes a lot of time to move a tank back to its first mark for another take, so there was a lot of waiting around for the tanks to get ready before we could get the shots that were needed.” “The biggest surprise was shooting inside the actual tanks. We were going to build tank interiors to shoot in, but ultimately, we felt like it would be better to really be in the tanks,” said Little. “The challenge of that, is that the tanks are small inside, very cramped. Getting down in there with the cast was quite tricky at times. I had to cram myself down into some rather strange spots to get the shots. In the end, we got what we needed, even if it meant scrapes and bruises.” The production team for Saints & Soldiers: The Void was again excited to work in the state of Utah. “Vintage military vehicles plus Alpine Utah equals a movie set like no other!”
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“WE HAD TANKS ALL OVER THE PLACE. THEY ARE REALLY DANGEROUS AND DESTROY EVERYTHING IN THEIR PATH.”
Utah doubled WWII Europe for the third time. The first installment of the Trilogy, Saints & Soldiers (2003), focuses on four American soldiers and one British soldier fighting in the war who struggle to return to Allied territory after being withdrawn from U.S. forces during a massacre. Part 1 won “Best Picture” at over fourteen film festivals around the world, including the “Grand Prize” at the Heartland Film Festival, and was nominated for two “Independent Spirit Awards” in 2005. Saints & Soldiers: Airborne Creed (2012) part 2 of the Trilogy, continues the series in WWII Europe, but this time Utah portrays France, and presents the story of U.S. soldiers who risk their lives during their mission
to support and protect Allied Troops marching to Berlin. All three films were shot useing Utah to represent different European nations. For Saints & Soldiers: The Void, Little and Abel used Central Utah as Germany. The filmmakers used authentic armors and weapons while on set. The most powerful prop they used was an actual M18 Hellcat from 1944. Little and Abel with their company Go Films have shot other films aside from the Saints & Soldiers series, including Forever Strong (2008) and Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy (2006). Saints & Soldiers: The Void is set to be completed by late spring of 2014.
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GRANITE FLATS
"Every time you create something, you hope that it will spark the imagination of your audience and your ownership and that it will somehow get a chance to come to fruition." Scott Sworford, Director 50
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Photographs Courtesy of BYUtv
Salt Lake City – One of Utah’s top universities is adding to its educational mission and introducing its own media platform, BYU Broadcasting. The stated mission is ”An integrated media organization that inspires people to see, do, and be the good in the world by providing uplifting content, magnifying the university, engaging like-minded communities, and elevating ideals into action.” One of BYUtv’s first scripted television series is Granite Flats, shot entirely in the state of Utah. Last year featured the first season of Granite Flats with eight one-hour episodes. The sec on season begins spring 2014.
THE SMALL PRINT WITH Johnathan Heit
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My favorite restaurant was The Melting Pot because of the experience. My favorite activities were visiting the slopes in the summer and going on the slides and ropes courses in Park City. It was also great fun to just bike around Salt Lake City, something that’s not so easy to do in Los Angeles.
I will stay in contact with everyone. We have formed deep friendships especially with Annie Tedesco who plays my mom and the other young actors. One of the best things about being on a series in Utah, was the opportunity to get to learn to snowboard – something that is now
a great passion of mine. It was terrific to be located in the heart of Salt Lake with great skiing only 30 minutes from our hotel. I recently got my own snowboard and gear and I can’t wait to get back up on the mountain. Last winter was for sure my first time in a blizzard and the weather shut down production. I had so much fun with the other kids
playing in the snow and having snow ball fights – also something that doesn’t happen to often in Los Angeles. We stayed in Salt Lake City. We shot in Ogden, Provo, and Cotton Wood. For fun we went to Park City, The Great Salt Lake, and Snow Bird. In addition, I had some wonderful
Reed Smoot, ASC
Cinematographer, Granite Flats Utah Resident
Reed Smoot is an acclaimed and Academy Award winning cinematographer. Known for his pioneering work with IMAX films and 3D cinematography. His credits include: Homeward Bound, The Incredible Journey, Dennis the Menace, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and many others.
Filmed in and around the Salt Lake City area, Granite Flats is a 1962 drama series set during the height of the Cold War era. The show focuses on Arthur Milligan, a young boy who moves with his mother, a nurse, to Granite Flats, Colorado. The mother and son hope to find some peace and quiet during the Cold War chaos, but a nearby army base explosion brings them and the whole town to their feet. Arthur and his newfound friends begin investigating the explosion and unraveling a complex web of secrets. The town of Granite Flats will never be the same. The series stars Jonathan Morgan Heit as Arthur. Heit is known for his roles in Date Night, Bedtime Stories, and Escape from Planet Earth. Other stars include Annie Tedesco, who has been in the hit TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and Richard Gunn, who was in the popular show Dark Angel. Granite Flats is a family-friendly series that combines small-town drama and a science-fiction vibe, that reflect the innocent and unsettled conditions of the early 1960s. The show is based on documented events from the Cold War period in United States
sports fan experiences seeing Utah Jazz, a BYU football game, and a terrific series of games at the NCAA tournament.My favorite restaurant was The Melting Pot because of the experience. My favorite activities were visiting the slopes in the summer and going on the slides and ropes courses in Park City. It was also great fun to just bike around Salt
Lake City, something that’s not so easy to do in Los Angeles. I will stay in contact with everyone. We have formed deep friendships especially with Annie Tedesco who plays my mom and the other young actors. One of the best things about being on a
series in Utah, was the opportunity to get to learn to snowboard – something that is now a great passion of mine. It was terrific to be located in the heart of Salt Lake with great skiing only 30 minutes from our hotel. I recently got my own snowboard and gear and I can’t wait to get back up on the mountain. Last winter was for sure my first time in a
military history. “The show will appeal to an audience that wants to be absorbed into a well-crafted television series with exquisite period art direction, tight plot twists, scene intrigue, mystery and romance,” said Scott Swofford, executive producer and director. “Nothing you create is perfect, and so as you look at your first efforts you go, ‘Wow, I hope I get a chance to let this live long enough to fix the things that we know would work better and to enhance it in certain ways.’ So to be able to go forward with Season 2 is a vote of faith both from our audience and from our ownership.” The show is also the most watched show in BYUtv history. BYUtv’s managing director and executive producer of Granite Flats, Derek Marquis, says that the large viewership has been “inspiring”. Marquis remarks on the show’s growing audience, “(It) confirms that there is a large and diverse national audience looking for primetime programming that the entire family can watch together. We’re delighted to continue the Granite Flats adventure with our growing audience.”
blizzard and the weather shut down production. I had so much fun with the other kids playing in the snow and having snow ball fights – also something that doesn’t happen to often in Los Angeles.
went to Park City, The Great Salt Lake, and Snow Bird. In addition, I had some wonderful sports fan experiences seeing Utah Jazz, a BYU football game, and a terrific series of games at the NCAA tournament.
We stayed in Salt Lake City. We shot in Ogden, Provo, and Cotton Wood. For fun we
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MONUMENT VALLEY is popular among photography enthusiasts and movie makers. Video games, music videos, films and television shows have featured the area. Portions of Forrest Gump, Stagecoach and 2001: A Space Odyssey were filmed there. And even Ornament Valley inspired locations in Pixar's animated Cars film.
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Photographs Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
"AS GUESTS OF THE NAVAJO NATION, we took a convoy of brand new, re-envisioned and remodeled Autobots out for a spin down Highway 163 in Monument Valley near the border of Arizona and Utah," Michael Bay
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Earth has been left in a state of destruction. Eccentric inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and his daughter Tessa (Peltz) discover a Transformer and are thrown in the middle of the conflict between Autobots and Decepticons. The rebooted cast includes Stanley Tucci and Sophia Myles with Kelsey Grammer playing the villain, to name a few.
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Walburg spoke to The Daily Beast about his new role:
Photographs Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
“It was a tighter script, and its own stand-alone thing. I think the emotional core of it, the human element, is going to be extremely powerful... It’s an ordinary man trying to do extraordinary things to save his daughter and keep her alive–and this boyfriend he didn’t know anything about. He’d had a child when he was in high school and his wife passed away, and the promise he’d made to her was that she wouldn’t date any boys until she graduated and that she’d be at the graduation–because we weren’t due to the pregnancy. So there’s an anchor to it and a realness to it that I like a lot.”
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The images of the Transformers, taken on location, include the upgraded Optimus Prime, a Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse and a Corvette Stingray.
Though the imagery is still highly secret at the time of this printing, Bay ’s released images of the new and upgraded vehicles to be the stars in Transformers 4 are all ready exciting fans worldwide. In Utah, we were thrilled to have the Autobots in Monument Valley and local crews working alongside the traveling production.
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“... We have completed our five and half month shoot. …. My cast was absolutely fantastic, and a very fun group to work with. We are working hard cutting the movie right now." “... I’m very excited about this new movie,”
Photographs Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Bay penned on his official website.
In Theaters July 2014
According to Box Office Mojo, Transformers franchise has grossed more than $1 billion since its 1986 release of Transformers: The Movie. 59
THIS MOVIE TRANSPORTS AUDIENCES BACK TO THEIR FORMATIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS AND THE MEMORIES THAT SHAPE OUR LIVES.
DEAR DUMB DAIRY Based on the Best-Selling Scholastic Kids Book Series DEAR DUMB by Jim Benton
WHEN JAMIE KELLY’S MIDDLE SCHOOL LAUNCHES A JUMP-A-THON TO RAISE FUNDS TO SAVE THE ART PROGRAM, Jamie is intent on winning the competition and finally outshining her nemesis: the near perfect Angeline. With the help of her spunky best friend Isabella, she starts raising money for the jump-a-thon and attempts to capture the attention of her biggest crush: the eighth cutest guy at the school, Hudson Rivers. Jamie navigates the ups and downs of middle school life, and she learns what it really means to be awesome and beautiful, as she and her friends save the art program together.
FILMED ON LOCATION IN SALT LAKE CITY 60
Life at Mackerel Middle School can be tough. So tough, in fact, that Jamie Kelly (Emily Alyn Lind, Won’t Back Down) puts all her trials and tribulations into her Dumb Diary, where all her problems turn into a magical world of glitter and music. Jamie’s best friend is the spunky yet conniving Isabella (Mary-Charles Jones, Identity Thief). Her biggest crush is Hudson Rivers (David Mazouz, Touch). The only thing standing in her way is Angeline (Sterling Griffith), the prettiest girl in school. Jamie dreams to someday outshine Angeline and catch Hudson’s attention. When budget cuts threaten to shut down the school’s art program, (Jamie’s favorite subject), Assistant Principal Devon (James Waterston, Dead Poets Society) announces a Jump-A-Thon in order to raise funds. Jamie figures that if she wins the Jump-A-Thon, then not only will she save the art program, but she’ll also finally win Hudson’s affection and one up Angeline.
Photographs Courtesy of Walden Media / Fred Hayes
But when her diary gets read aloud in front of the whole school and then Isabella breaks her trust, Jamie must struggle to find how one achieves inner beauty: by doing the right thing, even when it’s the hardest thing to do. Jamie has a bit of every tween in her. She’s the nerd, the cute girl, the jealous girl, and the brainiac all wrapped up in one. She learns that hating someone just because you think they’re perfect is not right and that you cannot bend the rules for your own gain. Jamie pays for her mistakes in the way we all did: by “social ridicule,” unrequited love, and guilt. Yet through all of her adolescent pain and melodrama she learns how to be a better person and sometimes it is a little more fun to see the world through music and glitter. 61
By Andrew Dash Gillman
THE STATE OF UTAH
BROADBAND PROJECT BROADBAND.UTAH.GOV
Gone are the days where businesses speak of an increasingly connected world. Rather, in a better connected world, professionals have the ability to complete their work on the go and away from the office. For filmmakers, the office is often wherever the location is — and even though Utah has taken great strides to install and enhance its broadband infrastructure, sometimes filmmaking strays from the beaten path to get in front of authentic backdrops. Utah is working to connect those places too. One product of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as the Stimulus, is the Utah Broadband Project. While every state had access to funds, Utah’s team has deployed deep collaboration to better identify areas that were underserved by internet providers, increase efficiencies and empower local governments to work with providers to get residents—and increasingly businesses—improved connections to the internet. “Utah has been very effective with the use of public/private partnerships. We work closely with industry, the state and local governments associations to coordinate efforts. I don’t think that there are a lot of states where those really productive conversations are happening,” says Kelleigh Cole, project manager of the Utah Broadband Project. The result is better access, both on Utah’s urban population corridor along the Wasatch Front, and in the more rural areas of the state. While not every community has access to fiber or broadband capabilities, the Utah Broadband Project has worked hard to get basic services available to most households. Utah now boasts the highest national home broadband adoption and the fastest average internet connection speed in the West, according to a report by Akamai Technologies. That translates to the fifth fastest in the nation, “which is a great accomplishment considering our geography,” says Cole. Matt Brown is the economic development director for Kane County, where “unique geography” and “rural” are defining characteristics. Much of the county is painted by a sweeping expanse of the breathtaking Grand Staircase-Escalante National
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Monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which encompasses Lake Powell. Yet in the county seat, Kanab, many businesses have access to broadband connectivity that stands out not only in rural Utah, but in the nation. Kanab has already distinguished itself as a frontier movie town known as “Little Hollywood,” and in an era of filmmaking governed by digital technology and connectivity, has not fallen behind the times. “The broadband industry is paying attention to Utah. There have been several major providers both national and local that have chosen to deploy unique services, including the high-profile Google Fiber in Provo, which are benefiting and growing our IT and digital media sectors,” says Cole. “We’re increasingly talking about how to deploy broadband into even more remote areas of the state, though there is certainly more work to be done with some of the guardians of that land that people film on, like the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.” Cole adds that with the growing industry presence in Park City, the city and Summit County are working with providers to ensure the whole area is not only connected, but are looking at ways to increase speed and improve service. Utah’s investment in infrastructure and economic development through the lens of film production are converging in a way that shows great promise for the future of filmmaking in Utah. For its own part, the Utah Broadband Project is endeavoring to increase collaboration with all stakeholders to determine the best ways for providers to be able to enhance service. That’s good news no matter the size of the production, and builds on the existing infrastructure that makes Utah “user friendly for producers,” according to Utah Film Commission director Marshall Moore. Moore cites the availability of crew, equipment, talent incentive prospects and a variety of locations within an hour of an international airport as among Utah’s top infrastructure assets. Factor in increased connectivity and digital media assets like what Park City Film Studios is assembling, and filming in Utah can as limitless as its vast, unique geography, and wide diversity of locations.
Utah Film Schools 2014 University of Utah Film School
Brigham Young University
The University of Utah is a public research university based in Salt Lake City. The degrees offered include Film and Media Arts (Bachelor of Arts), Film Production (Master of Fine Arts) and Entertainment Arts and Engineering (Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts). Inaddition to these qualifications, students may also earn acertificate in Screenwriting or an emphasis in Animation, based on their interests. Students enrolled in the film program at the University of Utah have access to a variety of production and editing equipment.
Brigham Young University is a private university, based in Provo, Utah. The Media Arts program at Brigham Young University offers undergraduate degrees in film. Students can choose from an emphasis in Fiction Production, Non-fiction Production or Critical Studies. Students at BYU may earn academic credit by participating in film internships. Though it is the student’s responsibility to pursue their own internship, students are aided in their quest by the Theater and Media Arts Department, which maintains a weekly bulletin of internships.
Utah Valley University Based in Orem, Utah, Utah Valley University offers the opportunity to earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Digital Media. Students interested in film can choose the Digital Motion Picture Production Emphasis.
Westminster College Broadview University
Westminster College is located in Salt Lake City and offers a film studies minor program. The college recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of film and its relationship to other art forms, yet also explores film as a unique and separate entity. Students in this course work closely with the Salt Lake City Film Society to choose and show films at a local theater.
Aspiring film students can earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Digital Video and Media Production through Broadview Entertainment Arts University (BEAU), a sister of Broadview University. Students will gain a diverse set of skills including screenwriting, video editing and production, sound and lighting.
Art Institute of Salt Lake City The Art Institute of Salt Lake City is based in Draper, Utah and is a member of the Art Institute group with locations throughout the USA. The Art Institute offers an undergraduate degree in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production. The filmmaking program educates students in the basic elements of film education including production, sound, screenwriting, editing and directing. Upon graduation of the program students are prepared to pursue entry-level careers in the film industry including video editor and production assistant.
Salt Lake Community College
Dixie State College Dixie State college is based in St. George, Utah. Students can pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in Digital Motion Picture Production. The course covers the basics of film including lighting and sound.
Salt Lake Community College is a two-year public institution located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Film Courses at Salt Lake Community College are offered in the college’s Communication and Performing Arts Division. Most film courses at Salt Lake Community College can be transferred to a four year college, which offers degrees in film. Film courses offered at the college include Introduction to Film, Film Production, Cinematography, Directing and Screenwriting. Interested students can pursue an Associate of Applied Sciences as a Film Technician.
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PARK CITY FILM STUDIO
TM
By Andrew Dash Gillman
WHEN SUCCESSFUL IN ALL THIS … EVERYBODY WINS. EVERYBODY BENEFITS. U.S. Highway 40 is quite a road. It intersects with connections to Park City, the Uinta Mountains, high country reservoirs along the Provo River, Sundance Resort, and panoramic views of the awe-inspiring “Wasatch Back” in the Heber Valley. The dramatic landscape reminded early settlers of their Alpine homeland. The only thing missing from the scene? A state-of-the-art, “entertainment destination” film studio. That’s about to change.
Last October, ground was broken on U.S. 40 near the Kearns Boulevard entryway to Park City, marking the ceremonial beginning of a new era in Utah filmmaking with the game-changing Park City Film Studios™ project. That idea reflects the ambition of the project’s owner and developer, soft-spoken Utah-based attorney Greg Ericksen. As part of the project, the studios have acquired the rights to high-tech digital animation stage assets, which will be coupled with a technology company making breakthroughs in supercomputing entertainment.
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What is it
Where is it
Who owns it
Completion
A 374,000-square-foot movie studio that will include three soundstages, digital media offices, special effects stages, restaurants, a hotel and a film school.
Off of U.S. 40 near the east entrance into Park City.
The $125-million studio is being financed by local attorney Greg Ericksen as well as a team of private Chinese investors.
The first phase, the soundstages, will be finished in the fall of 2014. The rest is expected to be completed in 2016 or 2017.
“Utah will now have the infrastructure to do film projects and network television projects from beginning to end. Meaning: not just coming and filming in the beautiful outdoors or finding a warehouse that they can put a set or two in, but to have the actual state-of-the-art tools to work with. I think that’s a real game changer for Utah.”
Photos & Images Courtesy of Park City Film Studios
-Greg Ericksen
The digital animation stage will be temporarily installed for educational purposes at the Wasatch Campus of Utah Valley University (UVU) early in 2014. Ericksen anticipates the first sound stage on the Park City Film Studios property coming online middle to late 2014. Planned facilities include a 45,000 sqft sound stage and a smaller 15,000 sqft
stage. Stages will be further dividable based on the spatial needs of the production, but all sizes of productions can expect full support services to be available. There will also be cast and crew accommodations in the form of trailers and an on-site hotel. Ericksen has enrolled Larry Cox and EMM Technologies to bring that capacity to Utah. Cox gives a little hint of “movie magic” when he suggests the
technology originates from defense and security applications. “We know how to reengineer, systems engineer and recast a lot of the work done in this industry to remove a lot of the drudgery done by the artists so they will be free to create in a very simplistic extended kind of data network,” Cox says. EMM has relocated to Utah specifically for Park City Film Studios.
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PARK CITY FILM STUDIO
TM
Despite all the enthusiasm about the stages and the technology, the project is being approached very rationally. If all goes according to plan, the studios will simultaneously fill a gap and create a demand. The plan is rooted in an education partnership with Utah Valley University’s College of Technology and Computing that enables students not only to utilize state-of-the-art studio space in their productions, but when professional productions are underway. And UVU is just the beginning. The partnership is designed to provide an experience for students throughout Utah — as well as international exchange students — that they might not get anywhere else in the world. Park City Film Studios has an MOU building a first-of-its-kind strategic relationship with the National Film Capital of China, the country’s state-run fund management company, to exchange students, production techniques and ideas. The man behind that vision is
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Britt Penrod of Giant Entertainment and Management (GEM). Penrod’s levelheadedness from two decades of industry experience, feeds the pragmatism that keeps the project grounded. Penrod has worked on international construction projects in Hungary, Singapore and China and stateside in Louisiana and Michigan. Penrod says, “the competitive landscape among film studios is getting pretty broad.” As markets outside of Los Angeles step up, they increasingly capture a share of Hollywood production dollars. In short, it’s a cost savings issue: filmmakers will shoot wherever, as long as they can get the product they need to make. “The project will certainly generate great marketing potential for the Utah Film Commission,” says Director, Marshall Moore. “Yet the demand it could fill is the even greater potential, given the increase in tax revenue and jobs it could create.” Moore says, “the Film
Commission will continue to make Utah a place that is easy to work in for both independent productions and for film studios, while growing the industry from the inside out.” “When successful in all this … everybody wins. Everybody benefits. The State gets its economic impact. The community gets the benefit of production dollars being spent,” adds Penrod, “the studio benefits if it has these sustainable businesses as part of the project. It is what I believe to be the future of film studios. They become entertainment destinations.” Greg Ericksen stays close to his passion, “It is my hope that this will serve as the incubator to spawn other studios around the State that build and perpetuate the movie and entertainment industry... We believe that what we’re assembling is the next generation of filmmaking in the world.”
Every now and then, something big happens in a quiet way. For the Heber Valley, the big and exciting news is that the Utah Valley University Wasatch campus has struck a deal with major film production Universal Studios and a Chinese film company to offer specialized film training beginning in January. To centerpiece of this agreement is the massive new soundstage that will occupy the entirety of what was once the student library in the UVU Wasatch campus. The state of the art equipment will provide film producers an enormous green screen while offering custom film opportunities in one of Utah’s most beautiful settings. The Heber Valley, located only minutes from Park City and Provo, has become a popular destination for films. With the scenic backdrop of Mount Timpanogos and the three surrounding state parks, the UVU Wasatch campus will offer a lot of appeal to local and national film producers.
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FILMTRUCKS.COM CAN PROVIDE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT TO FIT ANY BUDGET.
On the Road, Inc. has been providing transportation equipment to the Film Industry since 1997. We are now the largest motion picture transportation equipment supplier in Utah. We offer a variety of trucks and trailers from fuelers and stake beds to vanities and cast trailers, generators and a honeywagons.
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Base Camp cable packages 69
Crowdfunding a fundamental shift in how the film industry presents itself to viewers.
Steve Gooch
I Am Divine is a documentary about Divine, the famed drag queen actor who starred in John Waters’ cult classic Pink Flamingos. In Flamingos, Divine plays “the filthiest woman alive” who battles her rivals to keep the title in a series of escalating vile behavior. The film has been called one of the world’s trashiest, and it has spent years banned
“It’s a community you’re creating, it’s not just reaching your hand out and asking for money. Money is a side-effect.”
in several countries. I Am Divine is a film with a very specific audience (Divine fans) that is about a film with a very specific audience (Pink Flamingos). Considering that most backers prefer to finance productions that have the potential for wide release, getting funding for a film with such a narrow focus can be problematic. “We realized, when we moved on to making I Am Divine, that we really ought to utilize the crowdfunding platforms available to us, especially for a film like this, where Divine has so many fans all over the world,” says Lotti Pharriss Knowles, producer and partner at Weirdsmobile Productions. She and the film’s director, Jeffrey Schwarz, wanted to tap directly into Divine’s existing fanbase for funding. Crowdfunding is essentially about getting a small amount of money from many different sources. It’s kind of like the old adage about many drops filling an ocean. With today’s crowdfunding outlets, places like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to name two, creators are able to
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raise money by reaching out to the online community worldwide. Creators can rally their fans and get people across the world to donate money to their project. On sites like Kickstarter, projects have a set time limit by which they must hit their projected funding goal or donors get to keep their money. Indiegogo’s method is similar to Kickstarter’s, but it lets creators keep the money they raise even if the project doesn’t meet its goal. But it’s about more than just getting money to fund a movie, according to Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed&Spark. “What’s really special about crowdfunding is it allows the creators to develop a lasting and growing relationship with audiences, and build communities not just around their single projects, but around their careers.” Crowdfunding is really a fundamental shift in how the film industry presents itself to viewers. In the not-so-distant past, film studios controlled every single movie that was created for public consumption. The studio era was known for its heavy-handedness, but
at the time it provided an efficiency that wasn’t available to most people. As technology has evolved, the barriers to entry into moviemaking have been largely destroyed. Thanks to the internet, anyone with a midrange camera and some friends to act in front of it can now put work into the world. The industry is changing, and it’s changing in some surprising ways. “What we have in crowdfunding is an opportunity to build a direct relationship with a creator, which we’ve never had before,” says Best. “Films were always associated with their actors; they’re starting to be associated with their directors and their producers, which is really wild.” She suggests that producers each have their own perspective on the world that they should capitalize on, and says that they “need to become more like rock stars.” Producers choose projects based on their interests, and fans with similar interests are starting to take notice. Crowdfunding platforms are a great way to raise money and grow an audience, but forging those relationships isn’t easy. “You have
to expect to work ten times harder than you think you’re going to have to when you start,” says Amy Halpin, program manager for fiscal sponsorship and grants at the International Documentary Association (IDA). “It’s basically a full-time job for whatever period of time you’re running the campaign.”
unique opportunity regarding finance as well. She says that for traditional financing, filmmakers have to make a business-focused argument for why their movie should be made. Financiers want to know what return they’re going to see on their investment. With crowdfunding, however, fans just want
“You have to expect to work ten times harder than you think you’re going to have to when you start,” says Amy Halpin, program manager for fiscal sponsorship and grants at the International Documentary Association (IDA). “It’s basically a full-time job for whatever period of time you’re running the campaign.”
Crowdfunding isn’t always just about getting small donations from fans. Seed&Spark and Slated are two outlets that do crowdfunding a little bit differently. Seed&Spark’s monetary component lets donors help with a specific item that a production needs. The project owner sets up a wish list of all the things they need for the project, then they launch the campaign. “The tool works like a wedding registry,” says Emily Best, Seed&Spark’s founder and CEO. “You list the items you need, then your supporters contribute money directly to those items. Or if they have them, they can loan them or give them to you.” Seed&Spark is film-specific, and it takes curated projects from the crowdfunding stage all the way through digital distribution. seedandspark.com
Slated focuses on helping filmmakers and investors get introduced for the purpose of doing serious business. “We’re building a sustainable investment class that are interested in financing films, and aggregating the best of the film industry so they can exist in the marketplace online,” says Slated CEO Duncan Cork. It has a community made up of 650 investors who control over $1 billion in investable capital, as well as 10,000 members who are grounded in film, including actors, producers and directors. Slated offers investors a curated roster of films that are good bets to provide a good return. slated.com
A crowdfunding campaign requires convincing people of all kinds —rich and poor, artsy and common—that they should contribute. That can be pretty difficult when money is tight for everyone. The obvious benefit of this system is that people can donate smaller amounts that they’re more comfortable with. It’s up to the campaign manager to entice donors to make bigger donations by adding incentives for larger amounts. For films, popular high-dollar incentives are those that get donors in on the action, things like walk-on roles, naming characters or a thank you in the closing credits. People like being involved with the things they love, and giving them a chance to participate personalizes the project and turns them into evangelists. Seed&Spark’s Best says crowdfunding gives filmmakers a
to know what the movie is about. “The pitch that you make in crowdfunding is really ‘why?’ Why are we making this? Why us? Why now? Why should it matter to anyone such that they should part with $25 or $30 before the film is even made to be involved in the process?” she says. She believes the answer lies in “social patronage” and getting people excited to make art happen. There’s certainly an element of that in crowdfunding, but there’s also the fact that the types of productions that get funding through these outlets are outliers. “The campaigns are essentially preselling the project to people,” says Halpin. “You’re giving them a DVD or the chance to download or stream the final project. A project like that isn’t going to be the type of project that appeals to most big grantors.”of productions that get funding through
these outlets are outliers. “The campaigns are essentially preselling the project to people,” says Halpin. “You’re giving them a DVD or the chance to download or stream the final project. A project like that isn’t going to be the type of project that appeals to most big grantors.” However, these types of projects are practically tailor made for the fan community. Rallying potential fans can yield some seriously positive results, according to Knowles. Crowdfunding projects that end successfully end up with a built-in audience: “a core group of people who have a vested interest now in seeing the project get made,” she says. “In the end it’s a community you’re creating, it’s not just reaching your hand out and asking for money. Money is a side-effect.” When crowdfunding is done right, the fundraising process itself becomes a valuable asset to a film production. Raising funds traditionally means meeting with a dozen or so financiers to try wowing them enough to give money. With crowdfunding, on the other hand, fundraising means repeated contact with hundreds or thousands of small-dollar investors. And those investors have a significant stake in the final project: they want to watch it. “What I think is really interesting about crowdfunding is you’re doing three things at once: you’re funding your movie, you’re building your audience, and
you’re building your marketing campaign way upstream of when you would ever do that,” says Best. “Crowdfunding is the only tool we have discovered that allows films to make money on marketing.” It’s important to note that crowdfunding isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of work to get a campaign off the ground, and even more as it goes along. There’s also the fact that failure is an option, and success is not guaranteed. “People need to realize it’s not a magic solution that works for every movie. Unfortunately there are a lot of projects it fails for,” says Knowles. “You can’t just start it without having really prepped the audience for it, the people who are going to care.” Contact with prospective donors online is key to a campaign’s success. People need to feel like they’re making a difference to the project and feel like they’re getting an adequate return on their donation, whether that’s periodic updates, a copy of the film, or a thank you in the credits. Follow through is critical, but building an audience is just as important, and Knowles suggests that crowdfunders begin six months ahead of the campaign’s start date. Twitter and Facebook are good services to use to attract people because of their social, pass-it-on nature. The IDA’s Halpin agrees: “The people who struggle the most are the ones who really weren’t 71
Crowdfunding prepared ahead of time and didn’t do the work to prep for the campaign.” In the end, Knowles ran a successful campaign for I Am Divine using both Indiegogo and Kickstarter, raising $40,000 on Indiegogo and another $51,000 on Kickstarter. The film premiered at SXSW in March 2013 and has screened at more than 100 festivals around the world since then. It has garnered numerous awards at those festivals, including the Audience Award for Best Documentary at FilmOut San Diego 2013 and the Best LGBT Documentary at the Key West Film Festival. Targeting the right audience for the project is important when putting together a successful crowdfunding. Hard work during the campaign period is critical to making it across the finish line. “You have to give people a really compelling reason to want
to open their wallet,” Knowles says. Clearly, with I Am Divine she did just that.
What Movies Work Best? While films of all kinds can be crowdfunded, it seems like a larger number of documentaries are represented than any other genre. Lotti Pharriss Knowles, producer and partner at Weirdsmobile Productions, says audience has a lot to do with it. “Almost always, documentaries have some sort of built-in subject matter … that people are already excited about and involved in.” Getting existing fans to take an extra step to pitch in, is a pret-
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ty easy sell. Narrative features are a different story altogether. They have more moving parts, and are to some extent an unknown quantity. Donors might know the topic, but they may not know the people involved if they’re raising funds for their first feature. For a narrative project, firsttime filmmakers should give donors as large a taste of their style as possible. This could be a couple of filmed scenes posted to the campaign page, or a
well-done trailer, or other such materials — anything to help potential donors understand the film, its goals, and the filmmaker’s outlook and style. Fortunately, pulling together these materials can help make a more focused end-product. Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, says crowdfunding donors are more interested in a movie’s story rather than its financial viability. This lets filmmakers make “choices that are probably truer to the
heart of the thing you’re trying to do than gathering investment does. … Filmmakers are forced, particularly with crowdfunding, to stand up and say, ‘This is why me … this is why now. Join me on this journey.’ That’s a really different pitch than you make to investors.”
JOBS Act
Duncan Cork
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act is a law that was passed in 2012 with the intent to increase small business investment by easing securities regulations. Lawmakers in Washington are still finalizing many of the law’s provisions, but a handful of items have been set. “What we do know about the JOBS Act is that issuers, who would be filmmakers, in certain cases can go out and generally solicit from a much wider range of investors,” says Duncan Cork, CEO of Slated. Filmmakers will have access to many more investors than they’ve ever had before, but this access comes at a price: paperwork. The SEC requires that the entity selling a security (in this case, a filmmaker selling a share in a film) must file Form D, which details information about the entity and the offering. Then, the filmmaker will be required to refile Form D as more people invest and the film project evolves. However, Cork believes that the regulations imposed by the JOBS Act will have a positive effect on how films get financed. “More structure will allow more investor confidence which will then open the door to a much larger investor pool than you can imagine,” he says.
Most fundraising organizations and businesses have to follow regulations, and the film industry should embrace this change for the sake of easier investing. Transparency and professionalism are attractive to investors of all kinds, because they want to know the risk that they’re up against, as well as the potential rewards. It puts investors at ease to see the project leader being responsible and following set protocols. “The way to get to a place where fundraising is easier and doing a favor for the asset class is to really embrace transparency,” says Cork. “Embrace this new opportunity that is going to be put in front of filmmakers that requires them to be a little bit more strict about how they fundraise, to know the rules, but yet increase the overall investor confidence of the asset class.” FOR MORE INFORMATION:
JOBS Act www.sec.gov/spotlight/jobs-act.shtml Form D www.sec.gov/answers/formd.htm
Crowdfunding Sites
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THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THAT THING YOU WANT TO BUY.
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IF YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ, ADVERTISING’S DEAD. Also, Tupac’s in New Zealand working on a come back LP, DiMaggio murked Kennedy, and the British Royal Family are a bunch of shape-shifting reptile people from outer space. Fact is, advertising’s alive and well, and for the right amount of money or booze, still twerking pantless on bars. Chances are you don’t know us. But we’d bet the farm you know our work and you know our clients. We tore the curtains off the biggest mountain in North America. We design snowboards a season at a time for one of the industry’s best-known brands. And we recently hit a top college football program with the kind of interactive hot sauce that’ll make your guts gurgle. You don’t know us like you don’t know the members of Seal Team Six or the genius behind Banksy or the hypnotic voices behind the ill fated dreadlocked duo who had you belting out Blame it on the Rain in your shower.
UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS AND IN THE GLOW OF OUR COMPUTER SCREENS WE MAKE MAGIC. —Bringing together top tier talent from advertising, design, and development to skillfully and systematically create work that swings the spotlight in our client’s direction. Whether it’s branding or content creation, integrated campaigns or social media, mobile apps or websites, they get the press. They get the millions of eyeballs on their brand. They get the glory. It’s not about us, it’s about them. So if we’re doing our jobs right you don’t know us, which is why we’d like to introduce ourselves. We are Super Top Secret.
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THE SECRET IS OUT. UTAH HAS THE EXPERT TALENT, FACILITIES AND EXPERIENCE FOR WORLD-CLASS MUSIC SCORING. THE GROWING TRACK RECORD IS EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS. YOU CAN SAMPLE THE RESULTS FOR YOURSELF BY LISTENING HERE: WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/UTAHMUSICSCORING
MUSIC FOR VIDEO GAMES IS A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED FIELD, DEMANDING CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY, EXPERIENCED TALENT AND SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. Utah has developed expert resources in these spaces, so it’s no surprise that top video game titles like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Infinity Blade, Dungeons and Dragons and many others are coming to Utah for their music. “We’ve seen an exponential increase in the amount of video game music done in Utah over the past 5 years,” says Marshall Moore, Director of the Utah Film Commission. “Our talent and technical expertise are second to none. And with facilities like Warner/Chappell’s LA East recording studio in town, we’re starting to attract a lot of attention.” One of the most recent games to score in Utah was Heroes of Might and Magic: The Forgotten Wars, developed and published
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by global gaming giant Ubisoft Entertainment ($1.5B annual revenue). “We chose Salt Lake City because of the beautiful music recorded here over the years,” says Ubisoft’s Director of Audio Services, Aurelien Baguerre. “Listening to the exquisite Riders of Rohan score recorded in Utah last summer really solidified the decision.” Ubisoft asked Chance Thomas, who composed the Riders of Rohan score and has a track record of producing award-winning music in Utah, to manage their recording process. “I’ve been recording in Salt Lake City for many years,” he said. “I also record in Los Angeles and Seattle, but some projects are just a better fit for the musical ecosystem here.”
WARNER/CHAPPELL PRODUCTION MUSIC IS OWNED BY LEGENDARY MUSIC PUBLISHER WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC. The company unites successful independents NonStop Music, 615 Music, Groove Addicts, CPM, V–The Production Library and many more. With offices across the globe including London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Hamburg and Stockholm in addition to world-class recording facilities in Nashville and Salt Lake City, Warner/Chappell Production Music’s brands have composed works for countless well-known TV shows, films, and companies, including the “Today” Show, ESPN, Disney, Capital One, DirecTV, British Open Royal & Ancient, World Cup South Africa, Motorola, Subway, Major League Baseball, Cox Communications, SPEED Channel and Volkswagen. Warner/Chappell Production Music brands are the recipients of many industry awards including multiple EMMY Awards, Telly, Addy and Promax Awards.
Images courtesy of Ubisoft
More @ www.WarnerChappellpm.com
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MIGHT & MAGIC DUEL OF CHAMPIONS Release date — March 23, 2013 Developer — Ubisoft Quebec
Images courtesy of Ubisoft
Might & Magic Duel of Champions is an online strategy card game set in the fantastic Might & Magic universe. Choose a hero and build his army with Creatures, Spells and Fortune cards to defeat your opponents in epic battles. The unique Battleground of Duel of Champions creates an action-filled gameplay that fits any style of players. Enter tournaments, measure your strength against top players, earn gold and get new boosters for your deck!
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The symphonic nature of music in Might & Magic required finding an orchestra with deep experience in studio recording. There is a fundamental difference between an orchestra that gives an exhilarating live performance versus an orchestra that can deliver in the studio. Many orchestral musicians who sound wonderful onstage are totally lost in a recording session. In the recording studio, musicians wear headphones carrying a metronome-like click and critical accompanying tracks. The musicians’ performance must match those tracks in intensity, timing and intonation. The Utah Film Orchestra has done thousands of such recording ses-
sions over the years. This depth of experience ranks them among the most recorded orchestras in the world. A spacious recording studio was needed with a beautiful resonant sound, vintage microphones and the latest recording equipment. Warner/Chappell recently set up shop near downtown Salt Lake. Their studio, known as LA East, has a large sound stage with a rich wooden resonance and all the top gear. Ubisoft provided a music budget that was sufficient for live recording, but in a disciplined way without extravagance. This also played into the decision. Musician, engineer and studio rates in Utah are among the lowest in America but still
MOTU Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts motu.com MOTU is a leading developer of computer -based audio and video production hardware and software. MOTU was founded in 1980 and has been developing audio, video and music technology products since 1984. Inspired by the Macintosh when it first appeared, engineers at MOTU developed one of the Macintosh's first music programs ever. Performer®, the music industry standard for MIDI sequencing, began shipping in 1985. MOTU products serve a wide range of users, from consumers to enterprise-level installations in music, broadcast, film, gaming and other entertainment industries.
provide a living wage because of the low cost of living. With the composer, orchestra, recording studio and engineering team selected, it was time to move into production. The schedule allowed only five weeks from first written note to final mix. There was no room for error. Thomas started by producing sophisticated mock-ups of each composition in his digital studio. “Think of a mock-up as the musical equivalent of an animatic,” he explains. “My writing studio has thousands of orchestral, contemporary and futuristic sounds for this – all accessible at the click of a mouse and playable from a piano keyboard.”
The mock-ups take shape using a specialized scoring program from MOTU, a Cambridge Massachusetts technology company specializing in digital composition tools. As musical ideas flow from the composer’s inspiration, digital samples of violins, horns, timpani and bouzouki fill the screen. Soon it sounds as if an entire symphony orchestra is playing alongside a Middle-eastern ensemble, with a chorus of baritones chanting in the background. Even this early in the process, the flavor and power of the score are becoming clear. Ubisoft checks in with the composer on a regular basis to monitor progress. When the composition of each track is 79
finished, Chance uploads it to the development team in Quebec for review, then starts on the next piece. Any requested changes are discussed by phone and Internet with revisions uploaded within the next day or two. In just under three weeks, the entire score is written and approved. With composition complete, key digital data from each piece of music is transferred into Pro Tools, an industry standard platform for recording, editing and mixing music. This transferal must be frame-accurate, as each piece of music may contain dozens of perfectly aligned virtual music tracks. Any imperfections in orientation will throw off the rhythmic balance and impact of the score. To keep things synchronized, the studio employs a pair of Apple’s MacPro towers slaved to an AVID SyncHD.
FINALE Finale is the world-wide industry standard in music notation software. Anywhere music appears on the printed page, Finale likely created those pages. Finale helps the choir to sing, the band to march, the students to learn, and the orchestra to raise the excitement level in the latest blockbuster movie.
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Sheet music preparation is also underway using another widely used software package, Finale. Chance imports data from the MOTU program into each Finale file, transforming digital bits into staves and notes formatted like a conductor’s score. Articulations for each musician have to be input by hand, a long and tedious process. Louder, softer, smooth, abrupt, bowing type, bow position, bow direction, muted or unmuted, sectional divisions, etc. And that’s just for the strings. Woodwinds, brass, choir and soloists all require similar attention. Inputting the proper articulations insures that the musicians and singers will accurately reproduce the composer’s creative ideas. Behind the scenes, studio contractor Jenn Sprague has been steadily working the phones to bring together each of the
sixty-five talented musicians and singers requested for the upcoming sessions. The studio is booked for two full days of recording, with a few hours of overflow on a third day for overdubbing. Ubisoft Audio Director Aurelien Baguerre secures his flight so he can attend the sessions. Everything is set. On the day of recording, Chance arrives at the studio early. Bass player Ben Henderson is already there, warming up with long, steady strokes. A film crew wanders onto the stage, checking the lighting and staking out vantage points for a documentary about the making of this music score. Three stereo pairs of expensive microphones are perched precariously high overhead, their cables joining dozens of others from sectional mics and headphones snaking across the floor. An assistant walks out and begins placing sheet music on stands while members of the orchestra start to file in. Recording an orchestra and choir is an invigorating and pressure-packed situation. With musicians, engineers and studio time billable by the hour, every tick of the clock represents a sizable dollar amount. Time and money must be managed shrewdly. Likewise, the energy level of the performers must also be closely monitored. Brass players and singers only have so many takes in them over a 3 hour stretch before their vitality starts to ebb. Having a veteran at the helm is critical. The first session begins with a few words of introduction from the composer and an explanation about the nature and feel of the game. Keep in mind, none of the musicians or singers have seen or heard
a note of the music until that very day. Every musician in the studio must be an expert at sight reading. They run through the first piece twice and are ready to record. Contemporary recording processes allow any mistake in a musician’s performance to be fixed by performing only that part again. This procedure, called punching-in, keeps the previous performance until the engineer punches-in record mode. The new performance is recorded until the engineer punches-out of record, and the previous performance continues uninterrupted. The process of recording and punching as necessary continues until the entire piece of music sounds flawless. With recording complete, Chance takes all of the audio tracks back to his studio HUGEsound, and begins to edit each part of the score, track-by-track. By now there are hundreds of tracks to sort through, including playlists of multiple takes. The goal of editing is to find the best possible take of all the various components and weave them together into the most cohesive and emotionally powerful performance. HUGEsound’s editing suite includes a pair of digital mixers, high-end studio monitors and a MacPro tower running Pro Tools. Even after all the tracks are edited, the music still needs to be mixed. Might & Magic was mixed at The Pod, a top mixing studio near downtown Salt Lake City known for chart-toppers like Kaskade, Late Night Alumni and Neon Trees. The studio is dominated by its large ATC monitors and racks of analog EQ’s, compressors and high-end pre-amps.
Lexicon’s flagship 960L controller sits prominently atop one of the racks. Yet, there is no mixing console in the studio. Only a comfortable padded chair and a track ball facing a large flat screen fastened to the wall. All mixing is done using Avid’s PT10 virtual mixing console displayed on the screen. The sound of the strings is sharpened with precision equalization and filtering. They’re sweetened with digital delays and reverbs. The brass section is split wide left and right across the stereo spectrum, with a doubling effect added to the French horns. Percussion tracks are run through compression algorithms in virtual plugins to pack more of a punch. The fretted instruments, woodwinds and choir all get their own similar special treatment in the mix. Pitch shifting, detuning, chorusing and a host of other effects and processes shape and mold the nuances of every sound, striving to balance ear-candy impact with emotional resonance. Composer, mixer and audio director are all involved. It’s a long process, but the final product is worth every effort. The music score is carefully encoded and uploaded to Might & Magic’s producer Stephane Jankowski. After listening to the entire score he writes back and gushes, “I just heard the mixed recordings, few seconds ago. Damn, it’s epic!” The secret is out. Utah has the expert talent, facilities and experience for worldclass music scoring. The growing track record is evidence of success. You can sample the results for yourself by listening here: www.SoundCloud.com/UtahMusicScoring
CHANCE THOMAS Chance is a multiple award-winning composer, creative director and music producer. His music has underscored both professional honors and commercial success, including an OSCAR, an EMMY, several GANG Awards, and billions of dollars in video game and film sales worldwide. He is a passionate advocate for game music, having led the movement which first brought game music into the Grammy Awards. He helped found the Game Audio Network Guild and the Music and Sound Peer Committees for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science. He speaks regularly at Universities, music schools and industry events on game music production and business topics. He serves on the Board of Directors for G.A.N.G. and on the Audio Advisory Board for GDC. 81
think digital Dave Cummins
Save time and money by understanding the components of the digital picture. Industry forecasts predict that film acquisition will end by 2015. Arri, Red, Sony, Canon and other manufacturers continue to build file based camera systems rivaling 35MM film quality. Cinema projection systems will be file based as of January 1, 2014.Only, archiving will be film based. Understanding the principles of digital asset management is essential to cost effective project management and key to effective filmmaking. Film had an intuitive process, but the subtle differences between a
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film camera and a digital camera have not been fully grasped. Conventional thinking views a film camera as capturing images on celluloid film while a digital camera records images on reusable media. A film negative is loaded into a light proof canister and then sent to a chemical lab for processing, while a digital negative is loaded into a computer where it is offloaded into a computer and processed. This is where divergence begins and the true benefits of shooting digitally can be fully realized.
digital imaging
data management
In last year’s edition of DigitalUtah magazine, I posited that the ability to process, view and manipulate original digital camera images immediately on set -enabled by computers - is one of the most remarkable developments in the history of motion picture innovation. The computer becomes de facto, the digital lab, staffed by a data manager and/or digital imaging technician. The system has become a technical hub capable of delivering post-production resources and tools at the point of acquisition. Digital cameras don’t replace film cameras, they facilitate entire new workflow processes that dramatically change the very notion of how movies are produced.
But with an on set digital lab as the technical hub central to production imagery, where, when and how the lab is deployed will not only effect the media and imaging process, but it will effect other departments like transpo, locations and electric, and could rack up unplanned.
There is the tendency of producers to view the on set “lab” as simply a computer used to offload and copy media, or perhaps to sync sound and render dailies. But it is much more than that. An example, on a recent film I worked on, a scheduled night shot of a building, key to the story, was scrubbed due to a nasty storm. The production team was able to shoot the building at dusk but had to stop down because the storm set in all night. It was a low budget film and the producers were nearly out time. The director and DP sat down with the DIT, who loaded the dusk shot of the building, and did a rough sky replacement. The mock up visual effect shot worked! So, instead of pushing into another day, the producer and the director concurred that it would be cheaper to create the night shot in post. In the days of film acquisition, such a feat would have been impossible. But a computer, with the right software and DIT can deliver on demand post-production capabilities during the critical phase of principle photography. Another noteworthy example is color grading. With a well-managed plan, near final quality color grading can be done on or near set concurrently with production. This is a potential game changer because if a DIT (with a good eye for color, in the right environment, with the right tools) can balance each scene for the editorial files, the filmmaker can use his or her “offline” picture cut as a quality grade screener. And when final picture lock is done, a trim pass in a mastering theater for final scene to scene tweaks and any required secondary grading can be done in a relatively short amount of time. Using a lower cost process to color grade during the shoot will be less expensive than booking a full grading theater for days or weeks in post. Eizo, Panasonic, TV Logic and Dolby production monitors in combination with Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, Adobe’s SpeedGrade and Assimilate Scratch, can provide very powerful color grading resources on set, at scalable costs. The image analysis at the site acquisition is the role of the DIT. Many producers confuse the DIT with the Data Manager. On lower budgets they may be the same person, but I advocate they are VERY different skill sets and require knowledge of different production needs.
In a traditional lab set up, productions would take an hour to wrap the film out of the mags, finish up camera reports and send the media off with the transpo department to the lab. With file based acquisition and an on set digital lab, all the time that FotoKem, technicolor or deluxe would spend on a chemical process now occurs on set as a digital process. For example, if shooting on a stage, warehouse or building, the location manager has to shut down and lock up the building after wrap each day. The problem is that there are usually several camera cards that still need to be ingested by the data manager at camera wrap. This could easily add an hour or more after camera wrap. Cloning, syncing sound, applying LUT’s and rendering dailies may take an additional three hours or more. This means the location manager is waiting four additional hours or more to wrap the location for the night. Another scenario is an exterior distant location. You have the days scheduled to shoot an exterior scene and the “digital lab” is placed on a trailer at base camp. At camera wrap, add at least four hours for the data manager to do her work. This could mean a transpo driver, generator operator, maybe somebody from production, police, fire or park ranger… The clock will be running, possibly incurring overtime on all these departments. The trailer that the lab is on also can’t move until all the media is downloaded, cloned. These are just two scenarios, but you get the picture. Now add that the dailies must be done overnight for the director to view at call, or so that they can be uploaded to a website for remote studio or producer’s viewings. This could take additional hours depending on the amount of data shot, speed of the computers and drives and detail of the logging and bandwidth. Deciding where and how to set up the data management system is an essential choice in set operations. If shooting an interior location or soundstage the data management may be best in one of the offices or even on the stage. Certainly the DIT system setup should be near the DP, so she can set LUTs and/or review any acquisition issues. If in a remote location, it may be beneficial to set up the data management system in its own trailer away from the weather. It may even be best that the system is located in the production office or at the hotel. No one setup will work for every film and several different setups may be needed for the various places the project is shot. Crafting the right setup requires planning and a detailed breakdown of the production data needs, including: location and stage issues, sync sound requirements, look management (LUTs and dailies timing), transcoding and web based viewing. I can’t stress enough, remember this is a “lab” managing the production imagery and should be treated with the same reverence film labs had.
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Now that the “lab” can travel with the production there are additional concerns that production faces. Location/Environmental Concerns:
Asset Management and File Structure:
How many locations are there?
We all fear loosing footage and needing to reshoot. Now with file based systems that fear is magnified ten times. If you don’t have an effective data card/ drive management system, one that tracks the chain of custody you run the risk of data loss. If you don’t have an effective drive and file naming convention (it should be tied to the script notes and camera reports) you run the risk of losing data or spending hours in post looking for it. This is compounded when you start to create versions of the footage in transcodes, various sized dailies (HD, 1080p, 720p, web, .flv, and many others). Getting the wrong file can cost hours of aggravation.
Are they inside or outside? Will you be in multiple locations during the shot day? Do you have a protected, temperature controlled environment? Is the place secure to leave overnight? Power Concerns: How are the computer systems on the lab powered? Will the power be shut off? Do you have backup power long enough for the Data Manager to finish her job? Data Rates and Bus Speeds: How much footage is being acquired? What type(s) of physical media (hard drives, CF cards, SSDs, etc) are being used? What codec does editorial need to begin work? Will the transcoding be done on set or in editorial? Is the Data manager only there to copy or to transcode for editorial and web viewing? How many clones and what types need to be made to fulfill insurance or studio requirements? Where and when are the files and file types needed? (e.g. Do the dailies need to be viewed at call the next morning? Does the editor need the transcodes for editing?)
Thinking through and planning on how, when and where the digital lab will operate will minimize the overtime burden of the lab crew as well as the other departments. This is why it is essential to have asset management and data workflow meetings with the Producer, Director, DP, DIT Editor, Visual Effects supervisor and Data Manager in pre-production. While every show is different, I hope you can draw on the these concepts to help better organize your next production. If you have any questions, you can always contact me at dave@digitalutah. org. In last year’s edition of DigitalUtah magazine, I mentioned the pending launch of Adobe’s new collaborative, post-production cloud platform called Adobe® Anywhere. You can find the follow up story on this on our website at www. digitalutah.org/cloud. This article also touches on a concept I call Borderless Production.
DIT vs Data Manager The use of DIT to describe a Data Manager (or Data Wrangler) is becoming far too prevalent. The positions are fundamentally different. A DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) is focused on the image as captured at the acquisition site. They primarily work in HD environments and their responsibilities include matching multiple cameras or “painting the cameras” using tools like vector scopes and color grading software to apply the DP looks. But mostly to accurately see what the camera is
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recording. They work with the D.P. to make sure every shot is as intended not blown out or is too dark to assure the best footage is sent to the editor. A DAM (Digital Asset Manager or often Data Wrangler) is focused on the data. They make sure that all the media is safely and securely stored and cloned. They use RAIDs and LTOs, etc. to protect from data loss as well as quality check footage, transcode and render media, and work closely with post on a solid workflow.
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The Future of Social Media FilmUtah Launches a 3D Room in a New Social Platform
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Location is everything! And today, the place to be for promoting almost anything is in social networks. In the film industry, if you aren’t keeping up with trends in social media you are likely left behind to pick up the props of more savvy filmmakers or promoters who are jumping on these opportunities for mass outreach.
lowing, viewing and sharing branded virtual items from within their rooms and on their avatars. “With the rise in new social networking services, the next logical solution is to create an aggregator, but not just an aggregator—a platform where people have more creative and privacy control,” says MyRooms CEO, Timber Barker.
FilmUtah has seized one such opportunity by engaging with MyRooms, a Salt Lake City social media startup promising to be the next step in the evolution of social networking.
“The branding and marketing possibilities are endless in this revolutionary 3D platform.”
MyRooms is a 3D visual aggregator of social networks that enhances the quality of connections and online interaction. MyRooms has partnered with organizations and brands to create social marketing solutions where people are rewarded for fol-
In collaboration with John Corser of FilmUtah, MyRooms has produced a custom 3D room that visually replicates FilmUtah’s presence at the Sundance Film Festival, but far exceeds the function of a physical space. The FilmUtah Sundance
myrooms.com/filmutah
room holds all of FilmUtah’s social media accounts in one virtual, globally interactive environment. Online visitors to the room will experience Sundance like never before.
“The next step in the evolution of social networking.” During the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Corser will interact with all of FilmUtah’s social media accounts from one location within the MyRooms platform. He can now “Blast” a single post to every one of FilmUtah’s social media accounts with one click. In addition to the social media, visitors from around the world are empowered to explore the room and access all of the media and additional resources for filmmakers looking to shoot in Utah.
To demonstrate the power of this platform, MyRooms has created a custom widget, or interactive object, that visitors can select to access filming locations, film directories, information on filming incentives, and more resources provided by the Utah Film Commission. Corser can change and update the content of the widget to include current promotions, contests and more, keeping the content relevant. Visitors to the FilmUtah Sundance room can also opt-in to receive updated promotional material from the organization. The branding and marketing possibilities are endless in this revolutionary 3D platform. Visit the FilmUtah room at www. myrooms.com/FilmUtah and go to www.myrooms.com to create your own free 3D profile.
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Hotel Park City 2001 Park Ave, Park City, UT 84060 | Tel. 435.200.2000 Fax. 435.940.5001
Choosing a Place for Your A-List
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Park City houses elite luxury travelers year round. Whether a CEO of a Fortune 500 or a celebrity musician the city services are there to accommodate. So when a Hollywood production rolls in, the place is ready. If there’s a production with A-List actors and award winning Directors and Producers, and the production is looking for a place that has expert staff, discreet facilities, comfortable amenities and won’t break your budget, be sure the Hotel Park City will fit the bill. And it’s likely the cast has already stayed there on a family vacation or a production before. “Our Director Paul Hoen and our Disney Production Exec Debbie Evans stayed at Hotel Park City on their original scout to Utah. Paul fell in love with the hotel because of it’s style and casual comfort,” says Matias Alverez, Producer of many Disney productions. “They were great to work with and were really flexible with our ever changing schedule and room requests. Even though it was their busy time of year they were willing to give us great rates. “We looked at a few other hotels in the
Park City area and it wasn’t even close for the level of service to price that Hotel Park City offered. The cast and crew who ended up staying there really enjoyed the style of the hotel and the service. “I like the fact that they have a nice lobby for meetings in front of a grand fireplace. Paul and I met there often, both in prep and during the shoot. I love Hotel Park City and would recommend it to any production that’s looking for a place to house cast and crew.” In the summer Hotel Park City boasts an exceptional 18-hole golf course. When there’s snow, Hotel Park City has been rated “top ski hotel” by Conde Nast Traveler and received a 2013 “certificate of excellence” from Trip Advisor. The 100 suites feature cozy fireplaces, King-size beds, jetted tubs and a private balconies or patios with gorgeous views of the mountains, golf course and outdoor pool. When cast and producers aren’t on set, there’s a full-service spa, complimentary fitness classes and two restaurants which make Hotel Park City the perfect place to unwind after a day of shooting.
“When it comes to celebrity accommodations there are a few simple things a great hotel should keep in mind. Most celebrities travel extensively. Hotels pride themselves on making the frequent traveler feel comfortable and understand that details matter. Simple details in having the right consistency of drinks, food, laundry, etc. become "home" while in a different city every few days. These things are important to all heavy travelers, but even more important to celebs as anytime they are in public, even a hotel lobby they have zero anonymity.” “The hotel’s attention to detail and respect for their privacy is their refuge. Many hotels don't understand this as it is not an experience anyone, other than a celebrity and their handlers, can truly understand. Some days the limo ride between venues is a celeb’s only privacy. People and hotels even mistake
this with providing "special" treatment and over the top and unsolicited grand gestures. While nice, such a gesture can actually accomplish the opposite effect it intended, by brining too much attention and making the celeb feel obligated to interact beyond that of a regular guest. These are the same reasons celebrities should, when possible, be housed in a separate establishment from production teams.” “Allow celebrities the luxury of creating their own boundaries in their travel and professional work and let them lead others into appropriate times to engage them. Many of these issues can be handled properly by working closely with the celeb’s management, agents and publicist who are well versed in their talent’s boundaries and idiosyncrasies.” Ryan Young, Talent Management AETI, Inc
“I always recommend the Hotel Park City. It is a beautiful and luxurious hotel, and you cannot beat the location. It is secluded, yet close to everything you need. In addition, there are a myriad of on site activities and amenities. I was working with an actress a few years ago who had rejected every other hotel we had showed her until she arrived at a Hotel Park City Cottage. She fell in love with the property and moved in that same day. I cannot tell you how relieved I was!” –Kipling Hicks, Production Coordinator
100 luxurious suites and 7,000+ square feet of function space 10,000 square foot spa 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport
Minutes from Park City’s historic Main Street On-site Golf Club with seasonal cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing with equipment rental In-house catering Mountain Resort, Deer
Valley, and Canyons
435-649-3240
On-site fine dining at Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Hotel Park City charges a nightly resort fee (currently $17.00) which provides for the following services & amenities:
On-site transportation Four Seasons Transportation, info@fourtransportation.com or
Complimentary parking
internet access (all guest suites, function space, & public areas) Complimentary access to fitness center & spa facilities, including daily yoga / Pilates / fitness classes
Complimentary wireless
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ST. GEORGE, In St.IN George, Utah . . . UTAH
location . . . lo cati on . . . loc ati ! on
For more info on locations in the St. George and Zion areas:
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Regional Film Office Joyce Kelly (O) 435.986.6626 (M) 435.669.9597 Joyce@AtoZion.com
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HUGE SOUND
Game Companies Score in Utah
SUPER TOP SECRET Advertising’s Dead MYROOMS
The Future of Social Media
2014