Markee 2.0 Magazine January/February 2010 by Markee 2.0 Magazine

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:53 PM

Page a

January/February2010 • V. 25 |No. 1

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

2.0

Legacy Effects Populates Pandora Designing Na’vi and Specialty Props for Avatar Spotlight: A close-up look at the Southeast Music Libraries See Growing Spot Market

ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Caleb Deschanel, ASC ASC Career Achievement Award Winner: John C. Flinn, ASC

Permit 211 Bolingbrook, IL

PAID PRSRT STD U.S. Postage

NicheVideoProducts_Feb2010

2/15/10

10:43 AM

Page 1

EmeraldCoast CVB_Feb2010

2/15/10

10:48 AM

Page 1

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 2

Markee2.0

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

January/February 2010 Volume 25, Number 1

contents w w w. m a r k e e m a g . c o m 18

features 10

Cinematography – ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner:

Caleb Deschanel, ASC By Christine Bunish

Cinematography – ASC Career Achievement Award Winner:

John C. Flinn, ASC By Christine Bunish

Feature Film VFX –

Legacy Effects Populates Pandora for Avatar By Christine Bunish

24 Music Libraries See Spots

By Christine Bunish and Michael Fickes

Spotlight –

Southeast Heats Up As Incentives Fuel Production By Mark R. Smith

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 3

Markee2.0

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

Markee 2.0 is a results-driven magazine that has been published since December 1985. A nationwide survey of film and video industry professionals revealed that Markee 2.0 is at the top of their must-read list. Editorially, Markee 2.0 offers a wide range of content tailored for its diverse readership. Features span film and video production and postproduction topics to include must-read inter-

views with leaders in the creative community, the latest equipment and technology news, perspectives on innovative independent filmmaking, and in-the-trenches reports on shooters, editors, animators and audio pros – plus regularlyscheduled specialty supplements. Markee 2.0’s seasoned writers know the industry inside-out. That’s what makes Markee 2.0 compelling, informative and timely reading.

www.markeemag.com

columns & departments 4 Editor’s Note 6 Making TV – Camerabatics: The camera in Leverage spins, zooms and slides By Michael Fickes

On the cover: Grace (Sigourney Weaver) 3D color design sculpt by Scott Patton.

8 Making Commercials – 12 Days of Christmas: Web Projects Now Include Profits By Michael Fickes

42 In the Newsroom 44 Film Commission Portfolio – Virginia Film Office 46 Film Commission Portfolio – Tupelo Film Commission 48 Inside View – Sync Sound’s Bill Marino By Christine Bunish www.markeemag.com

48 January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 4

from the editor

Markee2.0

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

| by Christine Bunish

www.markeemag.com LIONHEART PUBLISHING, INC. 506 Roswell Street, Suite 220, Marietta, GA 30060 Tel: 770.431.0867 Fax: 770.432.6969 E-mail: lpi@lionhrtpub.com www.markeemag.com

Milestones and Makeovers

Publisher

It’s a milestone to achieve a 25th anniversary – as Bill Marino of Sync Sound will tell you (see Inside View) – and Markee’s celebration of 25 years of publication is a very special one. To paraphrase Mark Twain, word of Markee’s demise 24 years into its run was not what it appeared to be. After a brief hiatus Markee has been relaunched by Lionheart Publishing as Markee 2.0, a fresh, new look at all things film and video. Markee 2.0 will offer more of the national scope and regional focus that it’s been known for: in-depth profiles of newsmakers, coverage of the thriving production and post markets across America, perspectives of independent filmmakers and a new generation of content providers, reports from creatives and technical wizards in every aspect of the business. Markee 2.0’s innovative editorial will be presented in a bold, contemporary visual framework, created by art director Alan Brubaker, that supports the feature stories, columns and departments and provides a strong, attractive environment for advertisers. Like Legacy Effects (see Feature Film VFX) whose work on Avatar builds on the company’s heritage under the legendary Stan Winston, Markee 2.0 stands on the shoulders of John Hutchinson, Janet Karcher and Jon Hutchinson who founded Markee and piloted it for its first 24 years. Thanks go to John Llewellyn, Markee 2.0’s publisher, for recognizing the unique role Markee has played in the film and video industry and offering opportunities to expand that role in new directions as we move forward. Thanks also to Markee veterans Mark R. Smith, Michael Fickes and Gayle Rosier for ably taking on new challenges. So welcome to the first issue of Markee 2.0. We hope you’ll enjoy examining the camerawork of Leverage, discovering a new take on The 12 Days of Christmas, visiting with ASC award-winning cinematographers Caleb Deschanel and John C. Flinn, getting a new perspective on Avatar from Legacy Effects, exploring the busy production and post scene in the Southeast, finding music libraries just right for your commercials, and marking Sync Sound’s silver anniversary – and Markee’s.

Highlights Coming In March/April 2010 • • • •

NAB Equipment Showcase – Manufacturers preview new gear and upgrades Mobile Sports Production – Covering the Winter Olympics in Vancouver Spotlight: Texas/Southwest VFX in Commercials – How babies talk like grownups, NBA superstars get super powers and more • Equipment Portfolio IN EVERY ISSUE: Making TV • Making Commercials • Newsroom • Inside View

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Editor

Senior Writers

Art Director

Assistant Art Director

John Llewellyn llewellyn@lionhrtpub.com

Christine Bunish editor@markeemag.com

Michael Fickes Mark R. Smith

Alan Brubaker albrubaker@lionhrtpub.com

Kat Wong katwong@lionhrtpub.com

Online Projects Manager

Patton McGinley patton@lionhrtpub.com

Advertising Sales

Gayle Rosier gaylerosier@gmail.com

Marketing Director/Reprints

Kelly Millwood kelly@lionhrtpub.com

Subscriptions

Amy Halvorsen amyh@lionhrtpub.com

Markee 2.0 (ISSN 1073-8924) is published bi-monthly by Lionheart Publishing, Inc.

Subscription Rates – Annual subscription rate for U.S. orders $34; Canada & Mexico $60; All other countries $100. Single issue $8. All orders outside the United States must be prepaid in U.S. Dollars only. Remit all requests and payment to Lionheart Publishing, Inc., 506 Roswell Street, Suite 220, Marietta, GA 30060.

Copyright © 2010 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. The copyright owner, however, does consent to a single copy of an article being made for personal use. Otherwise, except under circumstances within “fair use” as defined by copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, displayed or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, Lionheart Publishing, Inc. Send e-mail permission requests to editor@markeemag.com.

Disclaimer – The statements and opinions in the articles of this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lionheart Publishing, Inc. or the editorial staff of Markee 2.0 or any sponsoring organization. The appearance of advertisements in this magazine is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised.

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

NAB_Feb2010

2/15/10

10:40 AM

Page 1

Great Content: It’s more than what you do — it’s who you are. Take your passion for creating great content to the next level at the NAB Show,™ the ultimate destination for solutions to help bring your vision to life.

The NAB Show’s unparalleled exhibit hall showcases virtually every innovation driving production, editing, animation, gaming, widgets, social networking and more for the big screen, small screen to no screen and beyond.

Your inner creative will appreciate the wealth of hands-on educational opportunities presented by the producers, directors and cinematographers inﬂuencing today’s edgiest content. Your sensible outer self will be overwhelmed when you see, touch and test the multitude of technologies enabling HD and 3D.

Evolve, innovate and grow, smarter than ever before at the NAB Show. Come to exchange ideas and strategize new directions. To join this international community of broadercasting® professionals, visit www.nabshow.com.

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 6

making TV

Leverage | By Michael Fickes

Camerabatics The camera in Leverage spins, zooms and slides to keep up with fast-paced scripts.

In Leverage, the hour-long TNT comedy/drama that began its third season January 13 at 10 p.m., a gang of con artists led by Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator played by Timothy Hutton, seeks justice for their wronged clients. The show features rapid-fire dialogue and unexpected cuts that give a sense of events speeding out of control captured by an acrobatic camera that can race off in unexpected directions, just like Ford’s nimble band whom executive producer Dean Devlin has likened to modern-day Robin Hoods. Devlin and Leverage creators John Rogers and Chris Downey envisioned a show in which three RED One Digital Cinema cameras co-star. David Connell, the DP on Leverage, likes RED for its ability to use film lenses and thereby mimic the look of film. “You don’t have to look up equivalent lenses, either,” he says. He chooses 18 to 80mm and 24 to 290mm Optimos for the show. 6

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Connell also keeps a complement of three Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM solidstate HD memory camcorders handy for action sequences. “You can put them in risky situations,” he points out. “They are $5,000 cameras, and if there’s a scene that might trash a camera, you use them. We haven’t lost one yet, but sooner or later…” He says that “another good thing about High-Def is that you can put these

[Above, clockwise l-to-r] DP David Connell (right) with camera operator Gary Camp on location for Leverage. Photo courtesy David Connell

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 7

“We always use handheld shots to increase the sense that the cast is in danger”

small cameras virtually anywhere. It’s easy to stick one wherever you want it and not worry about anything happening to it. It’s becoming very much of a way to go.” An episode called “The Two Live Crew Job” illustrates signature camera shots that recur throughout Leverage. The episode opens with Ford’s dogood team agreeing to recover a Gustav Klimt painting for its rightful owner. Stolen by the Nazis during World War II, the painting has fallen into the hands of a shady software tycoon. The job goes awry when the team discovers that another crew of do-bad con artists has beaten the good guys to the painting. Now the Leverage team must con the bad guys to get the Klimt back. At a cocktail party in an art auction house, they realize that they are up against a group that might just be their equal. In the scene, the camera begins by panning in a 360-degree circle around the perimeter of the large room, locating members of the Ford team who are all enacting different roles. The goal is to show the team’s shock at realizing how good their opponents are. A Steadicam shot finds Ford in a long shot across the room and zooms to a tight close-up; the Steadicam operator pans around the room, a move transformed into a high-speed blur in post. The move stops suddenly on the face of Parker, a gifted second-story woman (Beth Riesgraf). The camera freezes the frame again, and takes off on another www.markeemag.com

blurred, high-speed pan that stops with a close-up of Eliot Spencer, the team’s martial arts expert (Christian Kane). In post, the close-up frames are frozen and the round-the-room pans are further sped up and blurred. “We call those bullet-time shots,” says Connell. “A series of bullet-time shots, usually achieved with Steadicam, is one of our signatures.” The cocktail party takes place in the late afternoon as daylight starts to fade. Connell often relies on light occurring naturally within the scene and frames “a lot of practical” lighting with natural lighting. The production truck carries large daylight HMI and tungsten packages. Shot in seven days, an episode can demand as many as 40 set-ups per day on sets (three days) and at Portland, Oregon-area locations (four days) that Connell may not have had time to preview. Sometimes unexpected challenges arise, and prospective lighting needs have to be accounted for. Back to the cocktail party. Connell calls for a shot dubbed the Ninja Zoom by the crew. It begins outside the building in the back of a surveillance van with two Ford team members. Resident tech genius, Alec

Hardison (Aldis Hodge) has just discovered that the bag guys also have a tech genius who is nearby running another surveillance truck. At Connell’s signal, the camera pulls back right through the rear of the van. More than a pull back, the camera takes off suddenly at high speed blurring the image. Continuing at top speed, the camera sees a line of parked vehicles, pans to the right and pushes into the back of another van, where the rival tech genius is working. The move is carried out with a fixed camera and sped up to a blur in postproduction. Another signature shot occurs whenever a member of the cast is in jeopardy. In a scene from “The Two Live Crew Job,” grifter Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman) ends up in her living room holding a vase that contains a motionsensitive bomb. She can’t move, so she waits until the team notices her absence and comes to her rescue. In the apartment, Connell directs the camera operator to switch from Steadicam, the series’ most common shooting mode, to handheld with a bit of shake to it. “We always use handheld shots to increase the sense that the cast is in danger,” Connell notes. “In addition, we shoot fight scenes with a 90degree shutter to give a frenetic look to the video.” Even straight shots are dynamic, though. “The cameras are always mounted on sliders, and we keep them moving,” he says. Say a couple of Ford’s team are sitting around a table devising a plan. Not much else happens — except with the camera that makes a subtle slide to the left or right every now and then, just to let viewers know that, much like this unlikely band of do-gooders, it will soon get up and go. January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 8

making Commercials

12 Days of Christmas | By Michael Fickes

Web Projects Now Include Profits Despite the low budgets of web-only commercials, smart production can maintain profit margins.

As every consumer knows, the holidays grow more expensive every year. Pittsburgh-based PNC Wealth Management communicates the higher expenses to its clients via its annual Christmas Price Index, a humorous look at the rising costs of the gifts named in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” For the 2009 Christmas Price Index, Deutsch Inc./NY decided to make an animated and live–action video of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” for PNC and asked Dancing Diablo in New York City (www.dancingdiablo.com) to craft the three-and-a-half minute web-only video dubbed, Winter Numberland. According to Beatriz Ramos, director of production and owner of Dancing Diablo, the project posed two prime challenges: a short two-and-a-half week schedule and a very low budget. Ramos resisted the urge to give in to the quick turnaround and throw budget concerns to the wind in an attempt to get done — no matter the cost — what would inevitably be a showcase reel project for her company. “During preproduc8

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

tion, we figured out how to make the budget and the schedule work without compromising quality or profits,” she says. The agency suggested shooting children in costumes, dressed as if they were performing in a school Christmas pageant, against greenscreen then compositing them into an animated background. But, notes Ramos, the shoot and edit would have depleted the budget, leaving too little for that level of animation, let alone the compositing. In addition, the short schedule couldn’t support the time requirements of heavy animation. Ramos solved both problems with an insightful idea: If the shoot and edit would use virtually all of the budget and all of the available time, why not why not shoot everything (or virtually everything) real and edit in the conventional way, leaving simple chores for the animators? She ran the numbers and figured that it just might work. Ramos located a funky stage with a proscenium at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, Brooklyn and had it fitted out as elementary school stage. Then, “We created costumes for the kids — a goose,

[Left] Winter Numberland wraps up with a lady dancing, a lord a-leaping, a piper piping and a drummer drumming.

swan, ladies dancing, lords leaping and so on, and we built the props,” she explains. “We felt strongly that the web video needed to have a ‘homemade’ look to it, while maintaining a cohesive artistic style that made it interesting to view,” she continues. “So we created all of the props and set pieces used by the kids in a skewed or oversized scale, and crafted miniaturized sets to composite the kids into later on in the postproduction process.” PNC Wealth Management liked Dancing Diablo’s imagery so much that it ultimately decided to integrate the look of Winter Numberland into the firm’s “Twelve Days of Christmas” interactive website which had games and other fun features. Ramos planned the web video shoot in painstaking detail mapping out three acts, each of which would cover four of the twelve days and show the characters onstage interacting with each other. DP Piero Basso manned a RED One Digital Cinema camera for the shoot.

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 9

[Above] Prices for calling birds remained stable as the horn’s stream of zeroes attests. A French hen is set to capture a zero from the calling bird’s horn.

Act I opens with five children standing in a snowy forest setting with artwork of a mountain range in the distance. To the viewer’s left a child in a partridge suit stands beside another child dressed as a pear tree. To the right, a girl is costumed as a French hen with a red beret and a black-and-white feathery outfit. In the background, another child is clad as a turtle dove. The fifth child, the calling bird, is behind the pear tree and her appearance later in the scene comes as something of a surprise. Each does a bit of business to set up his or her price ranking. The partridge exclaims, “Oh my!” as PNC Wealth Management executive vice president Jim Dunigan, who narrates the video, announces that the price of a partridge in a pear tree fell 27% in 2009. The turtle dove’s price, however, rose 1.8%, as illustrated by the child playing the turtle dove proclaiming, “Up, up and away!” as he took wing. “Ooh la-la,” squeals the French hen at the news of a 50% price hike for the exotic fowl. She picks up a loaf of French bread and points to an Eiffel Tower that has magically appeared in the scene along with an animated 50% sign. Finally, the www.markeemag.com

calling bird plays a song on a horn. Animated red zeroes pour out of the instrument indicating that calling bird prices remained stable this year; the French hen catches one and gives it a toss. The finished video looks choreographed and integrated. But, in fact, Ramos shot most of the characters individually on stage. Each child played his or her specific role and then acted another bit of interactive business that could be edited on a Mac Pro running Apple’s Final Cut to look like the characters are relating to each other. For instance, the spot shows the French hen performing with the calling bird and the notes tumbling from the bird’s horn, but the interaction never happened. “While we were shooting the French hen, we told her to jump up and down and pretend that someone was blowing bubbles and that she was trying to catch them and throw them,” Ramos reports. During post, the compositor, armed with Adobe After Effects, combined the jumping French hen with the animated zeroes to create a seamless scene. Ramos wanted each of the three acts to have a different background so simple but unique backgrounds were keyed in during post: snowy, forested hills for Act I; a mountain range for Act II; and a village setting for Act III — all very simple and guaranteed not to strain the budget or stretch the schedule. While holiday gifts continue to rise in price every year, budgets for Internet-only video productions do not. Those prices continue to bounce along the bottom; sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower, never high enough for comfort. Even so, Ramos managed the production of Winter Numberland skillfully enough to illustrate how the price of goods and services are generally rising but without compromising the profits flowing through to Dancing Diablo. January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 10

Cinematography

ASC Lifetime Achievement BY CHRISTINE BUNISH

Photo by Douglas Kirkland

A Lifetime of Learning and Art

ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner:

Caleb Deschanel 10

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 11

Although Caleb Deschanel’s breakthrough film, The Black Stallion, was shot 30 years ago and he’s gone on to net Academy Award nominations for The Right Stuff, The Natural, Fly Away Home, The Patriot and The Passion of the Christ, it may seem that the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award, which he will be awarded on February 27, is a bit premature. For such an active cinematographer the award could well add a modifier: the Lifetime (So Far) Achievement Award. “Caleb Deschanel is an extraordinarily talented cinematographer who has played an influential role in cinema history and driven artistic excellence in contemporary filmmaking,” says ASC president Michael Goi. “For him to receive this honor while still at the top of his field shows the professional influence and respect he has among his peers. His innovative cinematography is inspiring. We look forward to seeing what is yet to come in his work.” Deschanel maintains a busy schedule with My Sister’s Keeper, from director Nick Cassavetes, released last year and director Jim Sheridan’s psychological thriller, Dream House, starring Daniel Craig, now in production in Toronto. Unlike fellow ASC honoree John C. Flinn, III (see separate feature in this issue), Deschanel didn’t pursue a family tradition of working in the motion picture industry. Raised in Philadelphia and Annapolis, Maryland, he hails from a family of doctors, lawyers and engineers. Deschanel’s introduction to photography came when he received a Brownie Hawkeye camera at the age of 11. He became a photographer for the newspaper and yearbook at Johns Hopkins University, where he studied chemistry among other things, and took a summer job in New York City working with a still photographer who shot everything from catalogs to record album covers. He spent his weekends in town going to movies. “There were all these theaters that showed great old movies,” Deschanel recalls. “They felt like movies I wanted to make and could make compared to the Hollywood movies of the day which I didn’t like.” Back at Johns Hopkins screenings of French New Wave films, Italian cinema and Ingmar Bergman pictures further piqued his interest in the moving image. “I loved the sensibilities of Truffaut, Godard, Jean Renoir, Fellini,” he says. When college friends Walter Murch and Matt Robbins, who graduated a year ahead of him, enrolled in the film studies program at the University of Southern California (USC) they encouraged Deschanel to do the same. “I never really thought of photography as a possible profession,” he notes. “But, at USC, filmmaking took on the reality that it was something I could do.” Other USC classwww.markeemag.com

mates – George Lucas, John Milius and Randal Kleiser, among them – were similarly inspired. The year the American Film Institute (AFI) opened Deschanel applied “to run their cameras.” He became a cinematography fellow at AFI, the only one in another class of future influential filmmakers who included David Lynch, Terrence Malik and Paul Schrader. “We didn’t have classes as much as get-togethers where we compared notes and got projects off the ground,” he says. “Now the AFI has a real curriculum, but then it was kind of experimental with seminars and talks. It was more of an inspirational environment where you were surrounded by people anxious to make movies.”

January/February 2010

[Above] Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, ASC hovers over the Pacific Ocean on the set of My Sister’s Keeper. (Photo by Sidney Baldwin/distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures)

[Below] Caleb Deschanel and director Barry Levinson (left) on location for The Natural.

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 12

Cinematography

[Above] The Patriot

Caleb Deschanel

While an AFI fellow Deschanel made the short documentary, Trains, and got a grant to shoot a film about Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The evocative Revolutionary War film became the orientation film for the historic site’s visitors’ center and “is still playing at the park,” he reports. “When I was in Philadelphia for National Treasure some of the crew went on a tour of Valley Forge and said, ‘We just saw a movie you did!’” When a planned AFI internship with Gordon Willis, ASC, fell through Deschanel decided to pursue it on his own. “My sister and brother-in-law at the time lived in New Jersey; he was a record producer who had an apartment in New York City and let me stay for free. Gordy was working on The People Next Door and I was watching what he did. After a couple of weeks a lot of the crew was asking me ‘Why is he doing this and that?’ They were afraid to ask him. I was the curious interloper who asked, and I learned how he conceptualized shooting film. “Doing photography is more than setting up shots and lighting the best you can,” he continues. “You really want your photography to stylistically match the drama in the film. That’s what Gordy was so good at: finding the key element to use as a visual trigger to tell the story. What makes a really great cinematographer is when a film is a complete whole, with a complete visual style.” Haskell Wexler, ASC, was another mentor. “I have vivid memories of both Haskell and Gordy sounding off about us ‘young guys’ not knowing anything about cinematography because we had never shot black-and-white film,” says Deschanel. Wexler lent his black-and-white filters to Deschanel to shoot Trains during which he learned

“What makes a really great cinematographer is when a film is a complete whole, with a complete visual style.” 12

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

“the extent to which you have to separate images with contrast rather than just colors.” One shot he particularly liked was the train leaving the station in the fog. “What made it interesting was the gray of everything in the fog and the red light at the rear” of the train, he recalls. “But in black-and-white there was no red light. That made me aware of the value of color and contrast.” Deschanel was living in Venice, California when he met Carroll Ballard, his neighbor across the alley and a colleague at the same educational film production company. He did a few educational films with him, then Ballard was hired by his former UCLA buddy, Francis Ford Coppola, to direct The Black Stallion. Ballard asked Deschanel to be his DP. “It was my first feature although other people had tried to hire me for features, but the union wouldn’t let them,” Deschanel points out. “The Black Stallion was filmed in Toronto and Italy where the unions didn’t have control. I then shot More American Graffiti which was also out of union jurisdiction. Steven Spielberg had enough power to hire me to shoot After School although I wasn’t in the union. The picture was cancelled, but the fact that Universal had hired me for 30 days of prep work as a DP qualified me to get in the union, not my work on The Black Stallion. I did not have to shoot one foot of film for the union to accept me in as a DP.” Deschanel is still good friends with Ballard whom he calls “a very intuitive filmmaker. He doesn’t work out everything in advance; he likes to feel his way as he goes. And he’s always trying to get all the details; that’s why the first cut of The Black Stallion was five hours long!” He reteamed with the director for 1996’s Fly Away Home, Deschanel’s third Oscar nomination. Getting into the union enabled Deschanel to shoot his “first Hollywood movie,” the iconic Being There, directed by Hal Ashby and starring Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine. He recalls Sellers as something of the chameleon his diverse roles on the screen suggested he might be. “He was never quite Peter Sellers; he was always at least partially Chauncey Gardiner, even at dinner. He had an amazing ability to pick up accents.” Months after the picture wrapped Deschanel got a phone call from Sellers at 3 a.m. and didn’t recognize the actor’s natural voice; he thought it was someone playing a joke on him. The cinematographer went on to earn his first Oscar nomination for The Right Stuff in 1983 then directed his first feature, The Escape Artist. Deschanel also directed Crusoe in 1988 along with episodes of Twin Peaks, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Conviction and a 2007 episode of Bones, the hit FOX series in which his daughter Emily stars. “I like going back and forth between directing and cinematography because you get to see filmmaking from different perspectives,” he explains, “and I love working with actors.” That’s a good thing since wife Mary Jo and younger daughter, Zooey, are also successful actors. Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 13

Deschanel netted his second Oscar nomination for Barry Levinson’s The Natural, starring Robert Redford. “The mythological story of The Natural allowed me to exaggerate the visual style a bit,” he points out. “There were definitely good and evil characters, and it was great to play with different lighting for them. When Roy Hobbs (Redford) hits the ball and the ballpark’s lights explode that was a filmic reality – pyrotechnics with sparks showering down on everybody – that never would happen in real life.” For an eight-year period starting in the mid-1980s Deschanel took a hiatus from features. “My kids became too old to take them out of school and take them on location, so I stopped shooting features,” he explains. He launched a commercial production company, Dark Light Pictures, and began shooting and directing spots. They took him away from home only for short periods of time and gave him “an opportunity to use a lot of different tools and techniques,” he reports. “We were doing color correction and things like that in telecine suites long before there were DIs on movies. Directing and shooting 30-second commercials also gives you the discipline to concentrate on what’s really important to telling the story.” Deschanel resumed feature work with It Could Happen to You in 1994, followed by Fly Away Home, Hope Floats, Message in a Bottle and Anna and the King. Having shot the now long-running Valley Forge visitors’ doc, Deschanel was something of a natural himself to shoot Roland Emmerich’s Revolutionary War tale, The Patriot starring Mel Gibson. It earned him his fourth Academy Award nomination. “I love that period of history,” he says. “We wanted audiences to feel and understand what it was like to be there in 1776. Every minute of each scene had a purpose.” Four years later he was back with Gibson, this time with Gibson directing The Passion of the Christ. For this film Deschanel found his visual cues in art history which he had studied in college. “Mel and I like Caravaggio, and I used his paintings a lot for reference,” he reports. “Shooting in Rome meant that every weekend I could see amazing collections of paintings. Those accumulated images became

www.markeemag.com

the inspiration behind the visual images in that movie. It was impossible to do without being archetypal!” Deschanel received his fifth Oscar nomination for the film. In the last two years Deschanel has kept up a brisk pace serving as DP on The Spiderwick Chronicles, Killshot and My Sister’s Keeper. He is now prepping Dream House. Although all of his features have originated on film Deschanel is experienced with HD formats from shooting commercials and directing episodic television. “HD is fine, but the quality of film is better and probably more archival,” he says. “Negatives from films that the Lumiere brothers produced in France during the 1890s are still around, but people who took digital photographs of their kids five years ago can sometimes no longer recover them. Digital technology has been a quantum leap forward in film restoration technology, but I wonder if today’s digital movies will be around for tomorrow’s audiences.” Deschanel says he “didn’t get involved in filmmaking just because it is entertainment. I think movies at their best can inspire us to be better human beings. Any great literature does the same thing – gives us insight and understanding of people and a different perspective on life – so why should film be different?” When aspiring cinematographers ask Deschanel for his advice, he tells them “to look at visual images as much as they can, whether it’s paintings, photographs or movies, and shoot as much as they can. I’m still learning every time I shoot a frame of film. When I’m not learning, I will know that it’s time to quit.”

January/February 2010

[Above] Caleb Deschanel lines up a crane shot for Anna and the King

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 14

Cinematography

ASC Career Achievement BY CHRISTINE BUNISH

Photo by Owen Roizman, ASC

A Career of TV Classics, Past and Present

ASC Career Achievement in Television Award Winner:

John C. Flinn 14

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:54 PM

Page 15

Unlike previous winners of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Career Achievement in Television Award, John C. Flinn, ASC, whose body of work includes Magnum P.I., Hill Street Blues, Babylon 5, and TNT’s current hit, Saving Grace, could be said to be following a biological imperative to pursue a calling in the industry. His grandfather, John C. Flinn, Sr. worked for Pathé Studios in New York City at the dawn of the film era and eventually became a producer and vice president of Cecil B. DeMille Productions, the forerunner of Paramount Pictures. His father, John C. Flinn, Jr., started at Warner Bros. and became director of advertising and publicity for Allied Artists and Columbia Pictures. As a youngster Flinn saw the industry’s movers and shakers come to his house for meetings with his dad, and he remembers answering the telephone to hear gossip diva Hedda Hopper asking for the elder Mr. Flinn. Flinn made movies with his boyhood friends with an 8mm camera and got his buddies together for screenings of 16mm prints obtained by his dad. On visits to the studio young Flinn was fascinated by how movies were made. “I’d sit and watch rehearsals,” he recalls. “At first there were only overhead lights, then they’d lay out shots with the actors. The stand-ins would walk in, light would come in from the side of the set, something would be done in the background and everything was timed for a big dolly move. It was really cool how it all came to perfection; it looked like fun! Everyone was part of a team, and everyone had to be on their game.” After telling Bill Widmayer, head of Columbia Pictures’ camera department, that he wanted to be a cameraman Flinn got his first camera-crew job at 20 as second assistant on the TV series, The Wackiest Ship in the Army in 1965. He showed up on the backlot of the Columbia Ranch in Burbank where the show’s DP, Fred Jackman, ASC, was high on a crane. “I’m John Flinn, and I don’t know a thing,” he admitted in his introduction. Jackman replied, “You’re the first SOB who’s told me the truth!” The cinematographer asked the assistant cameraman to show Flinn the ropes and advised Flinn to continue telling the truth. “If you don’t know, ask and you’ll learn,” he recalls his boss saying. “I’m still asking – I spent 90 minutes the other night trying to master some technical information.” Flinn was a second assistant and dayplayer on the TV series, The Hero when he was sent to the next stage, where Robert Wyckoff was shooting Get Smart, to borwww.markeemag.com

row some film. “Bobby said, ‘Hey kid, my second assistant is leaving. Can you start on Monday?’” Flinn recalls. So he moved over to the now iconic comedy where he remained for two-and-a-half years. He also expanded his acting portfolio on the show where he got along famously with star Don Adams. “One day the stuntman didn’t want to do a fall down some stairs, and the stunt coordinator said, ‘Flinn can do that stuff.’ Don asked me if I could do it, and I said ‘Yes; I’ve even done a few falls I haven’t wanted to do!’ So they got me into a KAOS agent’s black suit, and suddenly I was on a second story falling down the stairs. Three weeks later I was back in the suit in a fight sequence; later I got a few lines in a show.” Early in his career Flinn worked with several cinematographers who became mentors. Among them was Robert Surtees, ASC, for whom Flinn served as second assistant on the film, Alvarez Kelly, starring William Holden and Richard Widmark. “It was huge to work with him; he was such a gentleman, so cool and collected and with a great sense of humor,” he reports. “It was amazing to see this stage with horses and trees and regular overhead lighting and watch him turn it into a night scene where you felt you were outside. How real he made it!”

[Above] John C. Flinn shooting Magnum P.I. in Hawaii.

“I had opportunities to work with some great people and learned a lot from them.” January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 16

Cinematography

[Above] John C. Flinn prepping a shot for Paper Dolls (1984).

[Bottom] John C. Flinn in Ireland shooting aerials for The Flame Is Love (1979).

[Opposite page] The Gilmore Girls.

John C. Flinn

Flinn couldn’t believe his luck to be second assistant and a dayplayer on Walk, Don’t Run with DP Harry Stradling, Sr., ASC, where he watched Cary Grant entertain the crew after lunch at Columbia Studios with a song and dance. Working with Conrad L. Hall, ASC, on Love American Style, also made a strong impression. “He was one of the youngest cameramen at the time and a very cool guy. His advice to me was not to be afraid to mix new ideas with old ones. He said, ‘If you like the look of something or the feeling of a move – do it!’” Flinn spent seven years as an assistant cameraman and eight as a camera operator. “I paid my dues,” he says, “but felt I was the luckiest guy in the world. I had opportunities to work with some great people and learned a lot from them. I was one of, if not, the youngest assistants when I started, and I became one of the youngest cinematographers in Hollywood” when he shot the 1979 TV movie, The Flame is Love, in Ireland. There he found “a thousand shades of green that were constantly changing with the wind and fast-moving clouds. What a beautiful place!”

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Flinn subsequently shot 12 episodes of the final season of Hawaii Five-O then switched moods and looks when he moved to Hill Street Blues in 1981 after Bill Cronjager, ASC, the show’s original DP, took on another project. “Hill Street Blues was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. We had an ensemble cast of nine who had to work in a lot of rough areas, like Skid Row in LA,” he notes. “I took a lot of chances. I shot my own tests within a scene to see what things looked like at a particular light level, how far we could go.” Flinn was shooting with a 200-speed film and often rating it for 800. “We were pushing the envelope, and it worked.” He also tried to slow down the handheld look of the show. “I didn’t want viewers to be aware of the camera during dramatic scenes. I didn’t want to interrupt anyone with the camera. Less is more in the camera movement I do.” Flinn returned to Hawaii as DP for the last four years of Magnum P.I. “My show, Paper Dolls, had been cancelled and I got a call that they needed a cameraman for Magnum,” he says. “I grew up with Tom Selleck and hadn’t seen him in a long time; we had a ball!” In fact, Flinn was nominated for an Emmy for Magnum, P.I. in 1988. He remembers thousands of spectators turning up when word got out that the hit series was shooting a scene at a Waikiki Beach hotel. “People with rooms there were renting spots on their balconies to watch Selleck,” he laughs. Flinn was charged with showcasing Hawaii’s natural beauty, “what makes viewers want to be there,” while also capturing the grittier backstreets and Magnum’s Vietnam flashbacks. “It was cool to shoot,” says Flinn. “Tom was great to work with. He was also executive producer during the last couple of seasons and hired me to direct a couple of episodes; that’s how I got my DGA (Directors Guild of America) card. It was a great new experience, and it went really well.” The islands beckoned again when Flinn was brought onboard Jake and the Fatman when it moved from LA to Hawaii. He eventually returned to Los Angeles with the show and directed four episodes of the detective series. He earned Emmy nominations for Jake and the Fatman in 1989 and 1990; in the latter year he also netted an Emmy nomination for the Movie of the Week, The Operation, which starred Jake’s Joe Penny. In addition, Flinn was nominated for three ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards for his work on Jake and the Fatman; he copped top honors for a 1993 episode. As a science-fiction series, Babylon 5 opened up new horizons for Flinn who spent five years as DP on the show and directed 10 episodes. “There are no rules in outer space,” he says, “so it was fun for me. I used a palette of colored gels from Rosco that enhanced the different looks. We had a lot of greenscreen and in-camFilm • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 17

era effects, and technology was changing daily so a lot of new things came out that we used for visual effects.” Flinn earned Emmy nominations for Babylon 5 in 1995 and 1996; he received his seventh Emmy nomination for Hunter: Back in Force in 2003. As a director who’s responsible for “pulling it all together,” he strives to make actors “feel comfortable, not be nervous and not second-guess what I think is good or not good,” he says. “I’ve had really great times with actors.” When he’s serving as a DP for a young director he’ll willingly share his knowledge of the craft to “help enhance the experience for him or her.” Working in episodic television often requires demanding 12-14 hour days, Flinn points out. “If I’m doing 22 shows in a season, I’m making 22 of the best little movies I can. Sometimes people ask me why I haven’t done features. Have you ever been divorced? You’ve got to keep working. But in 30 years as a Director of Photography I’ve had an opportunity to shoot everything from the western miniseries, Wild Times, and the Movie of the Week, Desperate Voyage, about modern-day piracy to the high-fashion Paper Dolls and The Gilmore Girls. A lot of people never get those chances.” Flinn is currently shooting the acclaimed TNT series, Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter who also serves as executive producer. He shot the last three episodes of the second season and the entire third season; new episodes of the fourth season will air later this year. He’s effusive in his admiration for Hunter whom he calls, “the most incredible woman I’ve ever worked with. I’ve never seen anybody work so hard and be so good with people. What she does with her dialogue, www.markeemag.com

how she gets other actors to respond to her is like watching the greatest acting class every day. She knows what she wants to achieve within that lens, and when she’s finished with her scenes she goes to the editing room. She is unbelievable!” Although Flinn has been shooting 35mm with Panaflex cameras “forever” he’s using an Arriflex 416 to shoot S16mm for Saving Grace. “It’s been very good; I haven’t had any problems,” he reports. “People look at the show and say no way it’s 16mm, but it is. I can also thank Kodak for that – their 7217 and 7219 film stock has great latitude.” On the show Flinn makes use of his less-is-more camera movement philosophy. Although Flinn hasn’t shot with any HD or digital cinema cameras yet, he’s ready to add them to his repertoire as soon as he’s asked. “I want to work another 15 years,” he says. “It’s pretty cool with the changing technologies – from film to High Def to tapeless cameras – but new cameras won’t change the way I move them or how I light. We’re into fantasy; my job is to bring you into that – on Hi Def or on film. What’s great about what we do is that you never know it all. You learn something new every day.” When Flinn receives his ASC award on February 27 it will be presented to him by longtime buddy, Michael D. O’Shea, ASC, who started out in the business with him, and by Holly Hunter who asked to be part of the ceremony when she learned of Flinn’s win. “It’s not often you have an Academy Award-winning actress who appreciates you like that,” says an obviously delighted Flinn. “If it all stopped today, I’d have had the best of the best.” But Flinn’s career is by no means over. With some 500 hours of primetime television to his credit, he is undoubtedly in line to boost that number in the future. And he has several more generations of Flinns to school in the family business. “My son, John C. Flinn, IV is an assistant cameraman and a great technician. And he’s got John C. Flinn, V at home!” January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 18

Legacy Effects

Populates

Much like the motion picture industry that builds on its hundred-plus year heritage by constantly embracing the new, BY CHRISTINE BUNISH

Legacy Effects (www.legacyefx.com) adds to the pedigree of its antecedent, Stan Winston Studio, by continually broadening its capabilities and taking on new challenges, most recently James Cameron’s multi Oscar-nominee Avatar and Tim Burton’s long-awaited Alice in Wonderland.

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 19

Pandora for Avatar

[Above] Color character designs of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana); Adobe Photoshop by Joe Pepe.

www.markeemag.com

When legendary special effects artist Stan Winston died in June 2008, four key players at his studio – John Rosengrant, Alan Scott, Lindsay MacGowan and Shane Mahan – incorporated Legacy Effects to complete work in progress and take on new projects. “Over the years we became FX supervisors who helped Stan run the studio day in day out,” says Rosengrant. “Stan was our mentor and friend. We learned so much from him, not just the technical aspects of the business – he was such an innovator – but how to turn this into a business. Stan’s whole approach was to serve as an extension of the director and the production, to have them think of the studio as a valuable member in the filmmaking process.” Winston achieved that goal netting four Academy Awards in the process for Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (two Oscars) and Jurassic Park. Rosengrant and Mahan joined Stan Winston Studio at virtually the same time in 1983 when Winston was working on the original Terminator. MacGowan joined after he teamed with Winston on Aliens at London’s Pinewood Studios, and Scott came on board during T2 in 1990. Today they are partners in the San Fernando, Californiabased Legacy Effects and act as FX supervisors on projects. The company provides 2D/3D design and development of creatures and characters, maquettes and prototyping, animatronics, makeup effects and props.

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Film VFX

Page 20

Legacy Effects “We’re not so much creating effects but creating characters”

[Above] Young Na'vi man color character design; Adobe Photoshop by Joe Pepe.

[Below] Scott Patton’s digital design sculpts showing Jake’s (Sam Worthington) facial expressions in his “warrior” look.

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

For Avatar, the biggest-grossing motion picture of all time, Legacy supplied extensive design work and was instrumental in designing the Na’vi, a race of striped, blue-skinned humanoids, and crafting specialty props, including the amazing Amp Suit, a kind of walking battle armor. The film reunited the Legacy creatives with James Cameron who was making his first feature in a dozen years. “When the first Terminator became a hit it established the relationship between Stan Winston Studio and Jim Cameron,” Rosengrant explains. “Then Jim’s Aliens and Terminator 2 helped put us on the map and gave us other opportunities. What we did with the Queen Alien proved we could tackle Jurassic Park.” At the core of all of Legacy’s work is character design. “It’s the backbone of everything we do,” Rosengrant emphasizes. “We always try to create iconic characters that will be remembered and stand out. We’re not so much creating effects but creating characters: That was Stan’s success and where we’re following up. Although the majority of work today may be done digitally, as with Avatar, we feel we bring a lot to the table by designing the characters. They can be full-scale, interactive puppets; hybrids that are part puppet and part CG; special effects makeup; old-fashioned working props; and specialty props like the Amp Suit.” For Avatar Cameron had a creative design team at his Lightstorm facility but, “he invited us to join the team because of his relationship with Stan,” says Rosengrant who began supervising the film’s designs and effects in the fall of 2006. Over the course of the almost three-year period everything was designed on Pandora: every plant, nut and bolt, weapon, character and creature. Stan Winston Studio and Legacy were integral to designing the Na’vi, the six-legged direhorses that the Na’vi ride, and the viperwolf, and fleshing out the head of the pterodactyl-like banshee. The Amp Suit, Cryo-Vault Chamber, Scorpion and Valkyrie cockpits “were elaborate set pieces we constructed to function in the real-world set,” he reveals. “Jim has quite the vision,” Rosengrant notes. “Everything stems from his imagination, and he’s very hands on. For the Na’vi characters Jim had his own sketches and ideas that ended up being in that zone. One of the things we brought to the mix was the ability to incorporate the facial characteristics of the actor playing the part into the design. It was very important to see Jake as an avatar, to recognize him in it. And Wes Studi has such a great face; we blended him into the Na’vi leader so the personality of the actor was in there. This enhances the performance greatly.” To accomplish this Legacy made “old-school life casts” of the actors’ faces and took “batteries of photographs” over which they Photoshopped many variations of the Na’vi look – “with a broader nose, more intense blue coloring, different hairstyles. Jim had a lot of choices,” Rosengrant smiles. Technology continued to evolve during the three years Avatar was in production, and toward the end of that time “we were designing completely differently than we were at the start,” he notes. “In the beginning of the design process we did hand sketches and Photoshop renderings Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 21

then made old-fashioned sculptures. But by the end 3D sculptural technology had really changed. Some sculptural programs started to catch up with what we needed to do; they became more and more user friendly and adaptable to our needs.” Specifically, beta versions of Pixologic’s ZBrush “really changed how we work,” Rosengrant reports. “ZBrush really turned into a useful tool for us; it’s very intuitive for a sculptor to use. After having used life casts of the actors early on to create the Na’vis, ZBrush caught up to the point where we could take certain scans of actors, import them into the program, sculpt them digitally and output them.” Softimage XSI “is a great program, too,” he adds. “XSI is better on machinelike surfaces, and ZBrush for is better for more organic things. We might rough out a shape in ZBrush, import it to XSI to clean it up and make it more mechanical then import it back into ZBrush.”

[Above] Digital design sculpts of Grace (Sigourney Weaver) by Scott Patton.

[Below] The specialty prop Amp Suit.

“3D sculptural technology had really changed” Rosengrant notes that Legacy is “developing a language of how these software programs serve us in our world. They weren’t exactly designed for what we do; we’ve morphed them. When we beta test software we explain to those writing the code what would be useful for what we do. We show people what can be done with their software. Sometimes they say, ‘Really? You’re doing what with it?’ We’re paving the way in a new digital world.” He finds that “what’s neat about 3D sculpture, especially when the characters will ultimately be CG, is that you bring your character creative skills to bear, sculpt them in 3D and the director gets to see what they look like and how they move in the real world in a day instead of weeks. Then we can rapid prototype parts out almost overnight and paint them.” Rapid prototyping is done with a 3D printer-style device that can take computer files and build objects in solid resin, a single 1/6,000th-inch layer at a time. “The way we use it, to grow things inhouse, is kind of our own,” says Rosengrant. “We still work with service bureaus, too. We turn over files and they grow or mill foam parts for big things, like the Amp Suit, then we texture them and add details to finish them off.” Full-size versions of the Na’vi were used on set for lighting references for CG and to provide useful eyelines for the actors. “They’re good tools for lighting passes and to establish actor eyelines,” says Rosengrant. “Stan always said the best www.markeemag.com

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Film VFX

Page 22

Legacy Effects

[Above] Joe Pepe and Chris Swift's Photoshop character design of a crouching female Na’vi.

[Below] Hair tech Justin Ditter with practical character design bust.

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

acting comes from reacting, and we like to help get the best performances.” For the Amp Suit Legacy created a 13.5-foot version and another version broken into segments for shooting purposes so “you could climb into it or put the cockpit on a motion base or add CG arms,” he explains. Although some wide shots of the Amp Suit that required dynamic motion were fully-CG, the specialty prop Amp Suit “helped anchor the actors in the real world. Actually getting into something can help your performance.” Rosengrant estimates there were 200-300 parts in the Amp Suit which boasted a full interior and lights. Legacy took the cockpit files to an aircraft glass factory that draped the authentic-looking canopy. “It was the only proper way to get the right look,” he points out. “There are also some unique nuts and bolts in there that you may not see but Jim knows are there.” Although Stan Winston Studio made its reputation in feature films, about onethird of Legacy’s business today is effects for commercials. “Stan didn’t do commercials until I started looking at the market four or five years ago,” recalls Alan Scott. “Stan gave us all kinds of freedom and opportunities; he was all for doing commercials as long as it didn’t cost us anything to move into spots. I always thought there would be plenty of work out there.” The company’s entry into the commercial arena was the celebrated Budweiser frogs for director Gore Verbinski. “We did a few spots here and there, then I started taking an active role looking for them,” says Scott. “We went from maybe five a year to 40 to 240 commercials last year.” Commercials are a logical extension of Legacy’s feature effects abilities, Rosengrant points out. “They keep a core group of people constantly working and refining their skills. You have to wrap your head around solving problems quickly while maintaining a high bar of artistic excellence.” Scott remembers that initially “the way we did things for features didn’t lend itself to the time frame and budget of commercials. But we learned to be much more efficient and inventive. That has translated, in turn, to our work in film production where budgets are getting smaller and turnaround time is shrinking.” Still, it was a challenge to learn how to deliver “the same caliber work we were accustomed to doing” for less time, less money and more layers of approval, Scott concedes. But once the company mastered the learning curve word spread that commercials were now part of its repertoire. “It wasn’t a good business plan to be just a big blockbuster effects shop,” Scott points out. “We weren’t consciously planning to diversify, but that’s what it was. One producer told me, ‘If we had any idea we could get your caliber of effects for commercials, we’d have turned to you years ago.’ We’ve battled the preconceived notion that we only do big-budget movies, but expanding to commercials has opened doors to new clients for us.” Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:55 PM

Page 23

Legacy has lent its talents to the long-running Aflac campaign from Kaplan Thaler/NY, an amazing case study in building brand recognition among TV viewers. “The commercials use a blend of live ducks, CG and our puppet duck,” Scott reveals. “They try to get as much as they can from the live duck, then they call us. When we reach our limits they go digital.” Legacy also does character design and makeup for Bigfoot in the ongoing Jack Links beef jerky “Messin’ with Sasquatch” campaign from Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis and helped create the iconic King character for Burger King agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky/Miami. Most recently the company crafted a new series of Nike commercials for Wieden+Kennedy/Portland, Oregon featuring the Kobe and LeBron puppets; a pair of spots for Bungie from T.A.G/San Francisco for its Halo 3 and ODST Xbox 360 games which required armor, helmets, weapons, and a giant monster fashioned as props and animatronic puppets; plus Super Bowl commercials for Bridgestone, Kia Sorrento, and Intel. “The same artists who designed for Avatar get to work on Nike or Jack Links,” Scott explains. “They like the immediate gratification of commercials; they get to see their work on the air in a couple of weeks.” Legacy also sends the artists on-set to operate the puppets they design and to do the makeup they devise. “We provide that kind of continuity,” says Scott. “And everything gets stored here for future use. A lot of clients reprise them for sales meetings and personal appearances.” While bolstering its roster of commercials Legacy also completed effects last year for the features Terminator Salvation, Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Shutter Island, and Tim Burton’s soon-to-release Alice in Wonderland. Led by Shane Mahan, the company also furnished effects for Iron Man 2, due out in May. “It was neat to have the opportunity to build on the work we did for the original Iron Man, which was so successful, and streamline and improve things for the sequel,” says Rosengrant. Features on deck are Thor, based on the Marvel Comics character, and John Carter of Mars, from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s 11-volume “Barsoom” series written in the early 20th century. “We’re designing the creatures for John Carter and are very proud of our work – it’s going to be fabulous,” Rosengrant predicts.

[Above] Concept art for the direhorse; Clay maquette (inset) by Chris Swift; color paint over in Adobe Photoshop by Joe Pepe.

[Below] Joe Pepe’s Photoshop character design of Eytukan (Wes Studi).

“Digital is our friend. It doesn’t replace what we do, it enhances it.” While much of what Legacy does remains rooted in the tangible, practical world, Rosengrant is quick to point out that “digital is our friend. It doesn’t replace what we do, it enhances it. We’re always looking to add tools to our toolbox.” But he emphasizes that underlying everything at Legacy is a “marvelous collective of people who make everything happen. We’re fortunate to have such a talented group of artists, artisans and fabricators working for us.” More than a year-and-a-half after Stan Winston’s death, his influence continues to be felt at Legacy in a most important way. “Whenever we deliver something we ask, ‘Does this meet Stan’s bar (of excellence)?’” says Rosengrant. “Stan imparted so many gifts to us, and we try to uphold his standard in everything we do.” www.markeemag.com

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 24

Music Libraries See Spots as a Growing Client Base In the history of commercial advertising on TV stories are legion of the power of music to enhance a spot’s message and make a ho-hum spot memorable. Just think of the commercials that stick with you over time and undoubtedly your auditory memories are as strong as your visual recollections. BY CHRISTINE BUNISH AND MICHAEL FICKES 24

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 25

[Opposite L-to-R] FirstCom’s Roadside Couch Records collection 615 Music’s Epic Rock disc from the Scoring Stage Music collection. Recent ad-focused titles from Killer Tracks’ Edge library include Indie.Pendence, Wicked Commercials, and Changes.

“Even at a local level, people want their spots to sound like national commercials” “Music goes right past your conscious to your subconscious to affect the audience in ways they can’t resist,” says Doug Wood, president and CEO of Port Washington, New York-based Omnimusic (www.omnimusic.com). “Film producers understand this. Even at a local level, commercial producers can use the power of music to frame their advertising in the right way and orient audiences to their messages.” Today, when budgets are especially tight and turnaround times continue to shrink, production music libraries are an increasing option for ad agencies and spot producers. Music libraries no longer bear the stigma of repositories of ‘elevator music.’ They’re recognized for the quality and variety of their collections, as sources of fresh sounds and top talent.

[Above] 615 Music’s Ultimate Crime & Drama is popular with shows and promos in that genre.

Omnimusic Gives Local Spots That National Sound

[Above] Angular Momentum from Omnimusic’s CDM Music Library

www.markeemag.com

Although Wood concedes that many national TV spots still use original music, he says Omnimusic enjoys a healthy business from “local TV and cable companies who use our music in literally thousands of spots every year.” That’s not to say that Omnimusic hasn’t licensed tracks to major advertisers, too. “In a lot of cases our music is picked as a temp track to cut a spot to,” Wood explains. “It sometimes happens that a producer falls in love with the temp track – nothing else works. A big national Ford spot picked one of our blockbuster Hollywood tracks and couldn’t find anything with the same feel so they licensed it from us, and we were delighted.” He shares another anecdote that illustrates why Omnimusic tracks are indeed spot-ready. “A composer who writes for us and who also does original music for commercials called me and said, ‘I knew this would happen someday. A client played me a spot with a temp

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 26

Music Libraries

[Above] Omnimusic founder and president Doug Wood conducts a recent recording session from the piano.

Spot Market

track and told me they wanted music just like this. It was a piece I wrote for Omni!’” In fact, some 150 composers write for Omni and its affiliated libraries, Wood reports, “and more than half of them write for commercials.” The producers of local spots who most often work with Wood tend to have two different musical needs. Sometimes they’re looking for music “to fill the background when they have wall-to-wall copy.” Other times they’ve got minimal copy and want to use music “to make the spot come alive.” He notes that “even at a local level, people want their spots to sound like national commercials. That’s why we produce so much music that sounds like that, such as very contemporary, laid back acid jazz.” The Omni Blue Dot broadcast library offers a wide range of genres in 60-, 30- and 15-second versions and tags, “so they’re designed for people doing spots,” Wood reports. The CDM Library, a French import, also attracts commercial-makers. “Their composers hear the world in a different way,” he says. “They’re super-contemporary and great for fashion and other high-end subjects.”

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Working with quick turnarounds ad agencies and spot producers demand speed and efficiency in online searches, downloads and licensing. “They typically need to download tracks and put them into spots to get client approval,” notes Wood. “So once they get a password and user name from us they have access to everything we have.” Refining Omnimusic’s keyword search process – which includes situational keywords that evoke time or place – is ongoing, he says. “We have to figure out the kinds of words producers use in looking for music. And any time a new word comes into the lexicon of production we have to go back, find out what meets its criteria, and recode. You can have the perfect piece of music but if you can’t find it, you don’t get the work.” The library offers downloads as MP3s and bwav files at 44.1, “the highest audio quality you can get,” Wood reports. In terms of licensing, Omnimusic is “extremely flexible in accommodating the evolving needs of advertising,” he adds. “Nobody does a spot today without putting it on a website and maybe YouTube and embedding it someplace. A library has to be pretty nimble and remain open to whatever usage is coming down the road.”

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 27

“To survive in this business you have to be really good, and clients have benefited from that.”

[Above] 615 Music’s Positively Quirky Acoustic from the popular Platinum Series.

615 Music Offers Something for Every Producer The ability to offer high-quality tracks at affordable rates has drawn many commercials to music libraries during the economic downturn. “Music libraries used to be regarded as cheesy ‘elevator’ music,” recalls Randy Wachtler, president and CEO of the 615 Music Companies in Nashville (www.615music.com) and chairman of the Production Music Association (www. pmamusic.com). “Now some libraries go to London, hire a 65-piece orchestra and record film-style scores.” Competition in the library business has “driven quality up,” he reports. “To survive in this business you have to be really good, and clients have benefited from that.” A number of leading advertisers have tapped 615 Music’s collections, among them SunLife Financial, Rooms To Go, Chevy Volt, Dodge, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Simon & Schuster, and Unilever’s Axe products. “Agencies often reference music that’s really popular, what’s on the radio and the charts,” says Wachtler. “We have 22 catalogs now with 800 [Left] 615 Music president and CEO Randy Wachtler

www.markeemag.com

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 28

Music Libraries

[Above] Chevy Volt is among the leading advertisers that have used tracks from 615 Music’s collections.

Spot Market

virtual CDs, so we have quite a bit to choose from. There’s something for everybody.” He’s excited about bringing The Inspired Catalog to the US. “It’s quite popular with agencies and TV producers in the UK, and I think agencies here will love it,” he says. “It’s very different – we call it pop and quirky. And it’s very high quality.” Already popular with agencies and spot producers is 615 Music’s Platinum Series, which features many live instruments, and the Scoring Stage Series, which offers trailer and film-style compositions by LA-based film composers played by live orchestras. Motorola’s “First Date” spot licensed a contemporary rock track from the Platinum Series’ Rage Rock disc. GMC’s “Acadia” commercial recently selected a holiday-sounding track from 615 Music’s Metro catalog. Other top spot picks are the very contemporary Live Source catalog, the Minimal Music catalog written largely by LA-based composers, and Ultimate Crime & Drama which is popular with shows and promos in that genre.

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

To meet commercial producers’ needs 615 Music always provides 60- and 30-second version of tracks along with an underscore mix. “When there’s quite a bit of copy, we suggest using the underscore mix; it doesn’t fight the copy and delivers the mood,” Wachtler explains. Unlike many music libraries 615 Music also has a custom music division. “We cut our teeth as an original music house; it’s where our roots are,” he notes. “So we’re always glad to write custom music when needed.” To help spot producers better target its library tracks 615 Music put a new Soundminer-designed search system in place called 615 Music Search. Available free of charge, 24/7 for clients working late hours, the system features all the meta data contained within each track. “It was quite an undertaking: over 37,000 individual tracks online, across 22 catalogs, with every bit of meta data for each track,” Wachtler points out. “The way the world is turning toward Google and Bing searches, we’ve tried to model our searches as closely as possible to them. We’ve made the search terms very easy; you don’t have to be a music expert using musical terms.”

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 29

As part of its extensive customer service offerings, 615 Music will also take on searches for clients. “The big agencies like us to do searches for them,” says Wachtler. “We create a playlist with a few options and zap it to them for their review.” Spot producers can count on a quickly-expanding roster of choices at 615 Music. “Our new releases now go online monthly instead of quarterly as we move away from physical CDs,” he reports. As chairman of the Production Music Association, Wachtler is leading his colleagues in the drive to “make the business better and more user friendly. Our goal is to establish some consistency in the way people use libraries with good searches and easy downloads and licensing.”

Killer Tracks’ Depth Anticipates Producers’ Needs The depth and breadth of the offerings at LA-based Killer Tracks (www.killertracks.com) is an advantage to agencies and commercial producers, says account executive Steve Bravin, a former sound editor and Killer Tracks customer himself. “There’s no way to anticipate what a producer may need for a spot – it depends on their client’s needs and the creative direction for the campaign. But having so much music in so many styles, all readily available to audition on our website, is a big plus.”

Killer Tracks currently boasts 21 libraries representing over 2,000 digital albums ranging from hip hop produced by Chuck D to classical, rock and orchestral scores. The company continually produces new music for each library and releases over 100 new albums per year. The Edge library, in particular, focuses on the needs of the advertising community, reports marketing director David Gurule. “It includes releases that fit some of the more specific advertising requests we get. For example, the recent ‘Changes’ release has modular tracks you can mix and match, and each track is designed with distinct mood shifts like ‘hesitant to optimistic’ and ‘tense to relieved’ so they’re great for ads that present a problem which their product resolves.” Another recent release, Killer Track’s “Hot Vocal Hooks” collection, offers positive vocal hooks that reinforce messages. “Whenever we have a track with a prominent lead line or vocal we always produce an alternate underscore that works nicely as a background bed to support copy,” Gurule notes. “Many tracks have 30- and 60-second cuts, stings and alternate versions – without the lead line, without the vocal, different instrumental mixes. We try to offer as many options as possible.” Recently, a major automotive campaign tapped a cut from Killer Tracks for a national holiday TV campaign and a leading soft drink chose a track from one of the Classical catalogs for its series of national TV spots. A long list of agencies and production houses regularly rely on the library for just the right musical mood to enhance their projects. “When I started in the business there was a stigma attached to what was commonly called ‘stock’ or ‘canned’ music,” Bravin recalls. “It had a distinctive sound that was different from real-world pop music. With Killer and other libraries at the forefront, things have really changed and now production music libraries sound as good as any commercial release. The same folks who write and produce pop music, film scores and original music for TV are actively working in the production music field, so of course our music sounds better.” Gurule notes that agencies and commercial producers are now looking to production

[Left] Killer Tracks' Hot Vocal Hooks offers positive vocal hooks to reinforce messages

www.markeemag.com

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 30

Music Libraries

Spot Market

music libraries in any economic climate, not just in today’s downturn. “They need great music, quickly, at a fair price. It’s what we’ve always done and continue to do: provide great value.” As spots’ turnaround time shrinks, the instant availability of production music becomes an even more coveted asset, says Bravin. “If you’re thinking of working with an original score, you will need to have your client describe what they want, and then the composer will go away and come back with something that he’ll probably need to tweak or take in a different direction based on further input from the client – so it’s a bit like reverse engineering. Production music tracks can be presented to the client up front, and can be a much more direct route to finding the right piece of music that the client can sign off on quickly.” If spot producers need to speed searches they can take advantage of Killer Tracks’ free music supervision service. “It’s great for last-minute requests or if a spot has changed direction and needs music no one anticipated,” says Bravin. “Our experienced music supervisors can find tracks and send out playlists very quickly.” Or the music supervisors can point producers to specific discs they can audition for themselves. In either case, the service can relieve producers of a task that “can be overwhelming when you’re faced with a deadline and such a large number of choices in the KT catalogue,” Gurule notes. Killer Tracks has introduced a licensing agreement designed expressly for advertising clients. Called a Theme Blanket License, it enables the client “to use a single piece of music in a single campaign for a certain period of time so they can brand their spots with the music,” Bravin explains. “The Theme Blanket gives you a lot of creative freedom plus better pricing and unlimited use for a given term – that’s especially handy when you don’t know how many spots you will ultimately produce.” Music for commercials “is a growing segment of our business,” he adds. “We’re always looking at ways to create new products and provide better service for the advertising community.”

[Above] Acoustic Cinema from FirstCom

FirstCom Gives Producers Access to More Tools Dallas-based FirstCom has seen an increase in its commercial client base as well. “In the past, we have not targeted agencies but they are becoming a more frequent and growing segment of our business due to demand from agencies for an extensive source of music

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

“Production music tracks… can be a much more direct route to finding the right piece of music” and one-stop licensing,” says senior vice president and executive producer Ken Nelson. “We have always had a very strong presence in audio and post facilities that specialize in commercial production.” Nelson finds that agencies and spot producers “are looking for something fresh and unique most of the time – or a specific sound or genre that is hard to obtain.” In addition, “songs, singersongwriters and indie bands are also in demand,” he reports. “We placed a song from our Roadside Couch Records collection of independent artists in a commercial for Fiat Europe through our Italian rep. We worked directly with Ethan Allen and their inhouse agency for a national commercial last year featuring a drum/percussion ensemble that had lots of visual impact onscreen.” To pinpoint specific requests from agencies and commercial producers FirstCom often works on a music supervisor basis creating custom collections from its libraries that are reviewable via email, Flash drive or ftp download, Nelson explains. Not long ago a spot for a client from Velocity Post needed music to accompany visuals of a bikini photo shoot. As is common, the spot had a tight deadline, and the music was the last step. “We asked a few questions, and they eventually narrowed what they wanted to selections that were ‘cool, playful, and medium- to up-tempo,’” Nelson recalls. “We suggested some fashion-dance music, a couple of hip hop club discs and our ‘Mink Bikini’ album to provide a tropical option.” For the same spot, another FirstCom music supervisor [Above] recommended “Kitsch Pop FirstCom senior vice president and executive Remix” from the UK’s Chapproducer Ken Nelson pell Library which FirstCom Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:57 PM

Page 31

“When we launch the site in spring 2010, clients will have access to more tools than just those for downloading,” Nelson reports. “They will also be able to manage their library music, including custom playlists, cue sheet generation and reporting, right on the website.”

[Above] Six String Crates from FirstCom

[Opposite] Indie Boutique from FirstCom

represents. Still another staffer pulled several cuts from FirstCom’s own Velocity library. “In the end we were able to suggest more than a half-dozen options for them to consider,” says Nelson. When another FirstCom client asked what kind of music might suit a spot about a mummy for a major insurance agency, Nelson came up with two archival horror tracks. “They were sort of a classic horror sound but not over the top,” he notes. “They ended up with a fun spot.” To facilitate online search and delivery, FirstCom recently made a major investment in the redesign of its website, which will debut this spring. The biggest change, implemented on January 1, was the elimination of CDs. “We’re no longer having CDs pressed for mass distribution,” says Nelson. “Going forward all new releases are going to be distributed through our website.” FirstCom’s new website will feature cloud-based search and networking capabilities like those offered on social networking sites. With data stored on many different servers, instead of a central server system, if one server is busy the download moves to another server. It’s all done seamlessly and speeds up the process of downloading large files like music collections. www.markeemag.com

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 32

Spotlight

Southeast

Southeast Heats Up as

Incentives Fuel Production [Clockwise from Above] Crane shot for Deadly Closure, a DeVere Films production that shot in Sarasota County, Florida. Scenic sunset in the Wilmington, NC area. Celebrated director Werner Herzog (right) and Future Film LLC’s Sam Logan after the announcement of the Ringling College of Art’s filmmaking lab initiative. Photo: Rich Schineller

Picturesque fountain scene from Atlanta, Ga. The Vampire Diaries stars Nina Dobrev as Katherine, Ian Somerhalder as Damon and Kelly Hu as Pearl. © Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/ Quantrell Colbert.

Capturing an explosive episode of Burn Notice in south Florida.

The name of the game in production today is state incentives. They’re key to maximizing project budgets and may play a role in productions being made or, at least, being made stateside. And given the recession, they can be a critical factor in a state’s bottom line. As film commissioners in the Southeastern states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida can attest, the level of incentives offered can be the difference between hosting a wide array of productions during the year or attracting the occasional independent film or TV show that quickly draws down a conservative incentive pool. For states in the have-not (or have-little) incentives column, it’s a matter of educating and motivating state legislatures as they convene their next sessions. BY MARK R. SMITH 32

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 33

Revving Up North Carolina The new year dawned bright in North Carolina where, on January 1, a 25% production incentive took effect. In this case, it’s a refundable tax credit available to any production company that wants to shoot in the state. “There are no broker’s fees,” says state film commissioner Aaron Syrett of the North Carolina Film Office (www.ncfilm.com), “which means that it’s refundable. You don’t have to sell the credit to liquefy the cash, like you would in some other states; it’s monetized by the state.” Previously, the state had a 15% percent credit that was also refundable; and, like Georgia, there are also no annual caps. With the new incentive, the state should be able to build on the 2008 economic impact of $92 million in direct spending (2009 numbers are not available yet, but a similar bottom line is expected). “For 2010, we expect a large increase,” says Syrett. But the bumped-up tax credit isn’t the only big news in North Carolina. Spring 2009 marked the opening of a 38,000 square-foot stage at EUE Screen Gems (the ‘EUE’ stands for Elliot Unger Elliot, in case you’ve ever wondered) in coastal Wilmington. The new stage is the tenth on the lot and “the largest in the eastern U.S.,” according to Syrett. “It’s enormous; there are not many of that size in the world.” The soundstage, which features a 60 x 60-foot indoor water tank (with a depth of 10.5 feet) that will be used for special effects, complements nine other stages ranging in size from 7,200 to 20,000 square feet. While much of the attention within the industry is focused on Wilmington, producers who shoot in North Carolina can take advantage of a varied tapestry of locations. It ranges from miles and miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline in the east to the mountains of Asheville in the west, the vast farmlands that span the state, the Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and Chapel Hill Triangle plus the Triad of High Point, Winston-Salem and Greensboro. On the production front, the biggest news of 2009 was the welcome return of Warner Bros.’ One Tree Hill, which airs on The CW, for its seventh season. It shot entirely in Wilmington. www.markeemag.com

Although no major studio features shot in the state last year North Carolina weighed in on the indie scene with Provinces of Night starring Val Kilmer. The film, about a drifter who returns to his family in a small Tennessee town after four decades of drinking and womanizing, was shot at EUE Screen Gems and on various locations in and around Wilmington. The Triangle served as the setting for another indie film, Main Street, about a controversial plan to save a decaying city, which starred Orlando Bloom and Academy Award Best Actor nominee Colin Firth. A third independent effort, The Trial, shot in Charlotte and concerned a man struggling with horrific death in his family. “And that’s about it,” says Syrett — though it’s a safe bet that he’ll have more to reflect on a year from now. “The activity for (2010) already looks encouraging,” he points out, noting that North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue signed the bill to jack up the tax credit in mid-August. “Veterans have not seen this much buzz around the industry for a decade.” Just how busy are production artisans getting in North Carolina? “We’re working on about 50 projects right now that are coming,” Syrett reports. “They are a 50/50 mix of features and TV programs from the major

[Above Left] Driving down a shady canopy road in Tallahassee.

[Above Right] Harleyville, SC doubles for an Afghan village in Dear John.

2BruceStudio Has Gotham Audio Accent in North Carolina The distance between New York City and Asheville, North Carolina may seem like more than the hundreds of miles that it is, but Bruce Sales has been bringing those markets closer together since moving down south and opening 2BruceStudio (www.2bruce studio.com) in 2007. He offers a mix of original music composition, sound design and audio post for all media. For one recent gig Asheville’s Bonesteel Films asked 2BruceStudio to deliver original music and audio post for “Priceless,” a :30 spot promoting the famed Biltmore Estate. Composed and recorded by Sales, the music starts with a piano solo as entertainer/singer

David Holt speaks of special childhood recollections. It grows to a grand orchestral payoff amidst images of the estate’s vast treasures and visitors’ memories. Sales, who also works on short documentaries, is moving toward the broadcast and film markets as well.

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 34

Spotlight

Southeast Carolina Hurricanes Reteam with Trailblazer Studios

studios as well as independent producers.” That’s big news for the local production community, especially as the nation pulls out of the recession. “Outside of LA, we probably have one of the deepest crew bases in the country,” he says with one caveat: “If you go to Michigan (which recently began offering new incentives), Georgia or Louisiana, you’ll find an ample number of North Carolina residents who went to those states looking for work. “However,” he adds, with an ample hint of satisfaction, “it looks like we will be able to accommodate those professionals here again shortly.”

Raleigh, North Carolina’s Trailblazer Studios (www. trailblazerstudios.com) was swept up in an eight-spot ad campaign for the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2009-2010 NHL season. The project marked the second time the Hurricanes teamed with Craig Jackson & Partners, Trailblazer Studios and its Red Truck Films division to produce TV and arena bigscreen video spots. Each commercial featured a player’s signature move — like a slap shot, a wrister or a glove save – captured in ultra-slow motion with the Phantom HD high-speed digital camera. “Shooting at 500 fps makes the footage unique, because you can break down human motion to its barest elements,” says director Garye Costner pictured above, left, shooting Eric

South Carolina Sees Bottom-Line Benefits South Carolina’s story for 2009 sounds similar to that of its neighbor to the north, with its production landscape encompassing independent features and a TV series. The state served as the setting for an indie feature “with a substantial budget,” reports Jeff Monks, commis-

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

Staal while Aaron Keane, front center, recorded sound and Barry Davis, right, delivered special effects. Last year Red Truck and its executive producer Cathy Wilson partnered with LA’s Soapbox Films to host John Travolta and Robin Williams and co-produce TV promos for the actors’ Old Dogs from Walt Disney Pictures.

sioner of the South Carolina Film Commission (www.filmsc.com). Angel Camouflage, which just wrapped in the charming city of Charleston, was produced and directed by South Carolinian Michael Givens. It concerns a rock ‘n roller who has given up on her music to find inspiration and ends up returning to her music. The state hosted two other projects from the indie scene. The Afflicted stars Kane Hodder (Jason in Friday the 13th) and Leslie Easterbrook, who plays the abusive mother in a film about the damage she causes to her children; it shot in Greenville last fall. Dear John, a romantic drama from Swedish-born Lasse Hallstrom, director of Chocolat, is about a soldier who falls for a conservative college student while he’s home on leave. Dear John, which opened nationally in February, spans a seven-year period and crosses continents: South Carolina locations stood in for Africa, Afghanistan, Germany and the American south. On the small screen, Army Wives is a dramatic series that came to the state “as a direct result of our thenupdated incentive package four years ago and has been shooting here since,” Monks says. The production shoots “about 18 episodes here each season and it’s Lifetime’s most popular series.” Army Wives shoots in Charleston, which doubles for Iraq and “illustrates our state’s versatility,” he points out. It has leased more than 300,000 square feet of industrial space to lens interiors; exteriors are shot at various locations throughout the metro area. That’s not the only episodic TV production to shoot in the state, however. King of the Crown, which airs on TLC and explores pageant coaching, shot its whole first season in Columbia, wrapping last fall. The most recent boost in South Carolina’s incentive package went into effect four years ago, with the main attraction a wage rebate of up to 20% of the cost of wages spent during production in the Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 35

Genesis Generates Film Production state. It also includes a 30% supplier rebate that covers anything other than wages: location fees, hotels, production and office supplies, and any other in-state production expenditures. A third component of the package is the production companies’ exemption from any sales tax (varying from 5% to 8%) and accommodation taxes (which also fluctuate in that range). “The key here is that it is a cash rebate that is paid within 30 days of the final audit, so it takes roughly a month from when the production company expenditures are audited by the state to cut the check,” Monks explains. So the production company can “use that rebate money in postproduction or to pay off loans quicker. That’s an especially big deal for independent film producers.” In addition, South Carolina provides the audit for free, which typically saves the production company between $15,000 and $25,000. Monks also notes that once a production company qualifies for a wage rebate, it can assign the rebate to a financial institution of its choosing. “That means the institution can advance the production company money against the rebate which acts as collateral, so they can start production sooner.” Another part of the legislation created a production fund that calls for the state to grant up to $100,000 to a

www.markeemag.com

2010 looks busy for Columbia, South Carolina-based Genesis Studios (www.gencreative.com), which recently launched a job development and educational initiative, Emergent Films, to foster growth of feature film production in the state. The company also produced a short film, Saying Goodbye, in conjunction with sibling writers/producers Brian and Jocelyn Rish; it was facilitated by a grant awarded by the South Carolina Film Office. (Pictured working on the project are, from left, DP Dave Insley from The Wire, director Cliff Springs and first AC Lamar Owen.) Both efforts involve training college students as interns during production. “The beauty is that (they) get a real

world, on-set experience they would never get in a classroom,” says Springs, owner and founder of Genesis. “Growing the crew base here will pay dividends many times over.” Next up: The company’s first feature, See No Evil, shot in its new HQ which boasts a 60x53-foot studio.

filmmaker who partners with one of its three film schools to produce a short film, with the goal of submitting it to a national film festival. “That allows us to promote the state nationwide, and students in our schools get valuable job training. We do two or three of those grants each year,” Monks says. “We also hold seminars on various topics throughout the year, like an assistant director workshop, and invite speakers from around the country to advise attendees on that topic.”

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 36

Spotlight

Southeast Crawford Puts SNG/ENG Remotes, Video Production Into High Gear As for the labor market, Charleston

has always had a good crew base, he says, “and we have smaller crew bases in Columbia and Greenville. They have grown since the incentives kicked in, as has our supplier base, with grip and electric companies, catering, transportation, props and cameras.” So while South Carolina’s incentives are not new, its current offerings have been beneficial to its bottom line. “It’s been a night-and-day difference,” according to Monks. “We went for three years with very little production, and our revenues dropped for five years before the incentives kicked in. While we’d like to beef up our incentive package, we’ve made good with what we have.”

Atlanta-based Crawford Communications’ (www.crawford.com) production services cover numerous HD and SD broadcasts annually with 13 satellite uplink trucks and two Ku-uplink production units. Many of these events are produced by clients in the sports arena: CBS College Sports Network, Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, ESPN and International Sports Properties. During this past college football season, Crawford went live with CBS College Sports Network’s SEC Tailgate, a one-hour program capturing all the excitement, traditions and festivities surrounding the south’s semi-religion known as Southeast Conference football. Rolling units to campuses throughout the region, Crawford kick-started the

Georgia’s On Everybody’s Mind Not only did Georgia introduce incentives in 2008, it did so with a bang as there is no cap on state spending for the program. “Why should we try to restrict what production companies can do?” asks Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Film, Music & Entertainment Division (www.georgia.org/GeorgiaIndustries/Entertainment). “Very few states make the offer we do. Many states have funds that can be easily exhausted.” ‘Nuff said. Georgia offers a base incentive of 20% that can climb up to 30% if the production company will place the Georgia logo “somewhere in the opening titles or the end of the movie or show, even

Popcorn Octane Revs Up Last November, South Carolina’s ETV public broadcaster aired the pilot episode of Vintage Auto Television produced by Popcorn Octane of Hilton Head, South Carolina (www. popcornoctane.com) and hosted by Bob Stevens, formerly of ESPN’s Sportscenter. The company developed several other TV programs in 2009, and in January it was slated to shoot a new studio-based interview show for regional distribution. Content for the still untitled show will focus on a mix of ‘green’ topics. To a stable base of regional corporate and commercial productions, Popcorn Octane adds a variety of interviews, B-roll and live shoots, usually for out-of-market clients. They range from television shows and entertain-

Markee 2.0 |

ment producers to cable news organizations and corporate communications departments from Hilton Head to Savannah and beyond. “Sometimes we work with a field producer, but more often than not we’re handling everything,” says Guy Smith, Popcorn Octane’s owner.

January/February 2010

season’s programming with a team of engineers and an SDI production/uplink truck outfitted with five-Sony DXC-D50 cameras. The schedule included marquee match-ups like Tennessee vs. Alabama from Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Georgia vs. Florida from Jacksonville; and LSU vs. Ole Miss from Oxford, Mississippi.

(as) a product placement, its gets the full 30%,” he explains. Thompson acknowledges that commercial production companies typically can’t introduce the Georgia logo in spots, so the additional 10% doesn’t work for them. “But it does for features, TV series and, in a growth market, video games.” And Georgia goes full bore to boost the game sector, for good reason. “We have a cluster of about 70 (video game production) companies, with many in metro Atlanta and some in Savannah” forming a crucial sector of today’s market. “It’s not unusual for (the video game producers) to have larger budgets than major studio feature films,” Thompson reports. “Remember, these are frequently online games that are played by hundreds of thousands of people all around the world.” Among the top Georgia-based names in the video game arena are Hi-Rez Studios, which is about to release a new MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game), Global Agenda, by the end of the first quarter for subscribers worldwide, and CCP Games which is releasing version 6 of its Eve: Online franchise. Georgia also scored 29 features films, 93 TV shows and 250 spots in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009, and has hosted many, many more since. One of the state’s key feature shoots recently wrapped: the Robert Redford-directed The Conspirator, a period piece based on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Most of the film was shot in the Savannah area. Another picture that shot at Atlanta-area locations in early 2009 is the blockbuster The Blind Side, a multiOscar nominee. The story of Michael Oher of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens (a Georgia Tech grad), The Blind Side stars Sandra Bullock. It was No. 1 in the Motion Picture Association of America’s box office ratings just after its Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 37

PA LM BE ACH

CineFilm Benefits from Georgia’s Film Riches, Welcomes Rocket Post With the industry migrating from film to digital formats, Atlanta’s CineFilm (www.cinefilmlab.com) has made a big move to cover both markets. Given Georgia’s thriving film industry and “the major studios (that) still prefer the archive value and look of 35mm film,” account manager Joe Huggins says the company recently processed and transferred negative to HD dailies via its Spirit/daVinci 2K for projects starring Katherine Heigl, Brooke Shields, Demi Moore, Tyler Perry and Sandra Bullock. “Sometimes we’ve had three features overlapping, and 2010 promises more growth.” CineFilm was the first facility in the market to create a DI Projection

makeup artists,

food, hair

wardrobe

Suite for the growing RED camera market. Having spent 30 years as a film lab, CineFilm recently welcomed Rocket Post, Atlanta’s newest editorial and sound facility owned by director Ruckus Skye (right) and DP Spencer Adams shown reviewing a cut in their main Apple Final Cut Pro HD suite.

November release and had already grossed $130 million by mid-December, with the eventual expected take projected to hit $200 million after its foreign release and DVD distribution, Thompson reports. Also high-profile was the feature Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. The comedy/horror film, about a world where almost all citizens become infected with a weird disease, shot in Atlanta and an amusement park in Valdosta in early 2009 and has grossed about $90 million to date. But the biggest spender in Georgia in 2009 was Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. Kutcher plays a

former hit man who moves to a tony neighborhood — only to find out that all of his bad-guy buddies who are still hit men are there, too. “It’s the biggest-budget film to shoot here (in 2009),” says Thompson. The production company spent some $42 million in the state. Local powerhouse Tyler Perry is also a huge factor in Georgia production. Fol-

stylists AT Y OU R SERVICE

561.228.8791 ca-palmbeach.com

CTG Takes Big (HD) Picture Approach with Georgia Dome

Coming Soon to Florida!

Atlanta’s Comprehensive Technical Group (CTG) was recently chosen to provide the $2.5 million infrastructure and control room integration that feeds two HD video displays installed in both end-zone areas of the Georgia Dome. The 101x24-feet displays were previously upgraded in 2002 and included permanent panels on each side for stationary advertising, which diminished the size of what images could be shown in between. The new technology makes use of all 101 feet of the displays, thus tripling the size of images for player introductions, video features and replays shown during in-game broadcasts for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. “In taking the video boards from SD to HD, we had to add more equipment but find a way to do it without taking up more (work) space,” says CTG president Jim Wile (www.ctgatlanta.com). “The game day staff already had a pretty small area to work in, and we couldn’t take any more of it away.” www.markeemag.com

The Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission is proud to announce Palm Beach County’s largest Motion Picture Sound Stage! Set to open May 2010, the new 12,000 square foot production space is an impressive 48 feet high with 35 feet to grid. In addition, the surrounding 93,000 square foot G-Star Movie Complex includes a scene shop, props, production offices, student interns and more. Best of all, the facility is free! As an added benefit, the Film Commission provides fast and easy permitting for more than 2,500 square miles of diverse locations and uncharted hot spots. Take advantage of ambitious crews and a Film Commission that will go the distance to guarantee your satisfaction. Go beyond your set and explore all that Palm Beach County has to offer! Start your next production at the New G-Star Studio’s! • 1.800.745 . F I L M or visit our website for more information, pbfilm.com

Call Today To Schedule A Tour

PALM BEACH COUNTY F I L M & T E L E V I S I ON CO M M I S S I ON

Relax...Palm Beach County, Florida Has It Covered!

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 38

Spotlight

Southeast

Blue Planet Documents a Way of Life For Bruce Lane, director/DP of Blue Planet (www.blueplanet.tv) in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, conceiving and executing a spot about shrimpers began with his interest in some workmen from South Carolina. During his research, he learned of their struggle against the onslaught of pondraised, imported shrimp and of their alliance, Wild American Shrimp. Lane began the commercial for Wild American Shrimp with audio interviews with shrimpers; after editing his talk with Captain Wayne Magwood into a :30 sound bed with music, he returned for a three-day S16mm shoot with his Aaton

XTR Prod. For the first two mornings, the group left the docks at 4 a.m. and Lane captured images at sea; day three was dedicated to preparing for a sunset Low Country Boil dinner party. All told, Lane completed his “mission to capture the poetry of a shrimper’s life.”

lowing the release of his feature Why Did I Get Married Too, Perry is writing, directing and producing a bigscreen version of the now-classic Broadway play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Production is slated to begin in early spring. Perry is a power player in Georgia for these reasons: “He’s good for two major motion pictures and two TV

Guillotine Shoots and Cuts AFF Promos Some of the buzz at Atlanta’s Guillotine Post (www. guillotinepost.com) is about founder Michael Koepenick producing and directing comedic spots promoting the Atlanta Film Festival (AFF). The spots’ concept, created by Koepenick and festival director Gabe Wardell, involves a sneaky film-loving couple who hide at the end of one film in hopes of seeing the next one for free. Staffed entirely by a Guillotine Post team that featured cameraman Matt Brodersen, the production was shot at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and the icon-

Markee 2.0 |

ic Plaza Theater; Guillotine also cut the promos. Other recent work includes coproducing and editing the short film Wheels, which was shown at the AFF, and cutting promos for the TLC series, Table for 12.

January/February 2010

series a year,” says Thompson. In addition, Perry runs 34th Street Films in LA and Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. TV producers are also taking advantage of Georgia’s generous incentives. Vampire Diaries, The CW’s No. 1 show, just finished shooting its first season. The entire series was shot in-state, and it will return for a second season. It’s a similar scenario with Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva whose pilot shot in fall 2008, returned for the first season and will be back for season two. A third TV show, Sugarloaf, which is setting up to shoot in Georgia this year, is still looking for a network. If that project roster sounds like a great year for Georgia, it was: In fiscal 2009, $591 million was invested in the state by production companies, tallying an economic impact of more than $1 billion. Wow.

Florida Forecast is Partly Sunny Despite its status as a climate-friendly haven with beautiful scenery and a more than ample production base, Florida is another state that does not offer a competitive funding package. With the next legislative session coming up in March, film industry professionals are constantly bending the ears of the state’s lawmakers to ensure that the politicians grasp the industry’s potential impact on Florida’s bottom line. Impact like the 21 days multi-Oscar nominee Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, spent in Miami; six of those days were dedicated to shooting at area locations. The motion picture injected more than $900,000 into the local economy and created 485 jobs. The marquee production in Florida today is Burn Notice, which is beginning its fourth season on USA Network. The hit series shoots in various locales in South Florida, including Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Coconut Grove. The Burn Notice crew has called the area home since the pilot was shot in 2006, and the relationship has proven fruitful: The show has spent $38 million on production so far, with $28 million on wages alone. “They get a little more than $5 million of the state’s $10.8 million incentive pot,” says Lucia Fishburne, director of the Governor’s Office of Film & Entertainment and the Florida Film Commission (www. filminflorida.com). “Another thing we like about Burn Notice is that it really provides a great marketing boost for the state,” she adds. “The imagery in that part of the state is presented in a positive light, and it’s seen in more than 200 countries. We could never afford to buy that kind of advertising.” There is other news on the TV front in Florida, and some of it is big stuff. It includes the TV Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 39

800.628.2866

visittallahassee.com

Klein Shoots Underwater for Casino Jordy Klein, director/ cameraman at Jordan Klein Film & Video of Central Florida in Orlando (www.jordy.com), recently joined forces with FF&T and Falcon’s Treehouse to shoot an underwater inhouse project for an Asian casino. Klein tapped two of his RED One Digital Cinema cameras for the job; his company was “the first to incorporate underwater housings for the RED camera,” he reports, during the shoot at Weeki Wachee Springs, which is world-famous for its ‘mermaids.’ Klein acquired a Redlake Diablo high-speed digital cinema camera just as production began on his high-speed 3D IMAX movie about lightning, to be shot in Central Florida and Venezuela. The director/cameraman is now allied with FCTN Creative of Winter Park which will work in collaboration with Klein for future projects.

pilot for Sugarloaf which shot in the Tampa Bay area, and a new telenovela, Perro Amor, that is shooting in Miami and will air on Telemundo. And speaking of Florida’s burgeoning Hispanic market, in early December Univision announced plans for a major expansion of its original production and co-production capabilities with the creation of Univision Studios in Miami. The company will build on the 4,000 hours of original programming that it already produces annually across multiple genres to produce and co-produce telenovelas, reality shows, dramatic series, entertainment specials and other programming formats for platforms that include its three television networks, Univision, Telefutura and Galavision, as well as Univision.com and Univision Movil.

Midtown Prepares Sony HD Package for Direct TV Campaign Midtown Video (www. midtownvideo.com) CTO Jesse Miller, pictured at right, worked with Renato Lombardi of American Country Broadcast to prepare a Sony HDW-F900 HD camcorder package for a DirecTV campaign for the domestic Spanish-language market. It featured singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz, actor Andres Garcia and Univision personality Chari Tin. A broadcast and professional video and multimedia sales, rental and systems integration house in Miami, Midtown also offers the Letus Ultimate Prime Lens adapter for film-style production, which Miller says is proving particularly popular when paired with HD cameras. Miller and company review cameras and gear with featured guests from the South Florida production community on Midtown’s online the .video show. The fifth episode of the monthly live Internet broadcast was slated to debut in late January; live broadcasts and archived episodes can be seen at www.jtown.tv. www.markeemag.com

t thing The g rea e– oting her o h s t u o b a gles. no bad an

Maybe it’s the breathtaking natural beauty. Or the architecture that oozes southern charm. Or the bustling urban scene. Or maybe it’s all of them that lead production/location managers back here time and again. They understand, no matter what kind of stor y they’re filming , Tallahassee can help tell it. Where it all comes together.

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 40

Spotlight

Southeast

Vapor Post’s New Hire Cuts Visit Florida Spot Miami’s Vapor Post (www. vaporpost.com) quickly tasked editor Jorge Vallejo, its new head of creative editorial services, with cutting a spot for the Visit Florida campaign via local agency Alma DDB. The commercial, about a city-bound woman who daydreams of a Florida vacation, featured stopmotion scenes with layered stills and animated text crafted with Adobe After Effects and Autodesk’s Flame. Bob Cobb and Ellie Houellemont created the graphics. Vallejo has been busy since his arrival onlining projects for Best Buy from LaComunidad/Miami and Got Milk from SiboneyUSA/NY. Vapor Post also just

wrapped a series of Hispanic-market spots for the Florida Ford Dealers via JWT’s multi-cultural division. The company’s market extends beyond The Sunshine State: It recently cut a regional :30 spot for Denny’s restaurants from Erwin-Penland/Greenville, S.C.

So whether the state improves funding or not, action in Florida these days requires the continual strengthening of its crew base — with the assistance of institutions like GStar School of the Arts, a charter school in West Palm Beach that is preparing to open a new sound stage and production center that doubles as a 93,000-square foot theater.

• TODAY’S WISH:

SONY XDCAM EX PMW-350 The newest wow.

RENTAL SALES SERVICE SYSTEM DESIGN & INTEGRATION

HD WISH FULFILLMENT, MADE EZ. Unsurpassed in technical support & customer service since 1984. contact us for a free camera demo

800.232.4564 / 305.669.1117 / miami / www.midtownvideo.com / 24/7/365 40

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

“We like to note that it’s being built during a recession,” Chuck Elderd, commissioner of the Palm Beach County Film & TV Commission (www.pbfilm.com), says of the already highly-succcessful school. He notes that the market for independent films has improved dramatically in his county. “We were pleased to host five indie features last year, including Turkles, a children’s movie about turtles; a submarine epic called U.S.S. Sea Viper; and GStar’s, It’s a Dog Gone Tail: Destiny’s Stand,” he reports. “All were set in Florida and took advantage of Palm Beach County’s backdrops and shoreline to maximize their expenditures by shooting here.” On Florida’s Gulf coast, Jeanne D. Corcoran, director of the Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office, says, “We are inventively trying to fill the gap in major film production by courting and servicing low-budget indie films and heavy television production in our region. We’re having slow but steady success and growth in those target markets; we saw several hundred projects of all kinds shooting in Sarasota County during our last fiscal year and millions of dollars in direct spending in the region generated over the last 30 months or so.” She reports that Sarasota County has “attracted key Hollywood and New York location managers and producers to the area to consider our assets.” Corcoran cites “innovative and unique programs underway in the area,” including the “Ringling College of Art’s filmmaking laboratory mentored and guest-lectured by industry notables such as Werner Herzog and Paul Schiff.” In addition, “the under-the-radar film investment community is growing and has funneled millions of dollars to indie films starring luminaries such as William H. Macy, Meg Ryan and Chazz Palminteri, among others.” With the potential of a multiyear tax credit film incentive on the horizon, “we hope to see Florida reclaiming its status as one of the top five filming locations nationwide,” she says. “That will further empower Sarasota County to lay claim to its fair share of production.” Indeed, Fishburne hopes positive news will emerge from the next legislative session in March. “We all know that the production industry is about the incentives game,” she says. Incentives already doubled last year, from $5 million to $10.8 million, after Florida’s offerings “had been really gutted. We’ve come back already, in a sense. “But now we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to offer better incentive packages” in the future, she reports. “We’re working with a supportive legislature to fund the program more competitively and convert it to a transferable tax credit as opposed to the cash rebate that we offer now. “That would be beneficial, since it would allow us to operate as a multi-year program. We want the continuity and consistency that the cash rebate approach does not allow.” Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

2:58 PM

Page 41

CCI on a Roll in Sports While new Mobile Production Unit No. 6 from CCI in Cape Canaveral, Florida (www.cciflorida.com) rolled out in 2009 to successfully produce a number of rocketlaunch broadcasts, another market for the truck opened up last fall when it went under the flood lights for live coverage of a series of high school and college football games for Bright House Sports Network. Bright House used the CCI truck on several high school games plus a University of South Florida game from its home base, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The truck was configured to

provide eight cameras for the high school games and 10 cameras for the college clash. CCI also just debuted a 1-ton grip trailer that will enable it to better service the central and East Coast markets of Florida, which general manager Jim Lewis sees as being an underserved. It will feature “everything expected on a trailer that size, plus a new Kino-Flo kit,” he says.

While Fishburne didn’t want to predict what the actual amount could be until the bill is filed with the legislature, she and other industry bigwigs are gearing up for the session and hoping for the best. “We know that we have a lot of pent-up demand, so that $10.8 million is a conservative amount of money to be able to offer the production community,” she says. “It’s important that the legislature understands that, after that funding is spoken for, demand diminishes and producers go to different states that still have funding left in the till.”

So for now, at least, the Florida Film Office is playing the waiting game, even as it works to fortify its crew base. “We have crews working in Georgia, Michigan, Louisiana and New Mexico,” Fishburne points out, “but we have the infrastructure in place here. We just don’t have the production coming through. In Florida, it’s a retention issue.”

We provide total equipment, planning, design & people to integrate our rigging systems with yours for a safe & seamless production. Huge Rental & Sales equipment inventories to serve you today.

Five Time

Certiﬁed Parts and Service Depot

www.markeemag.com

2008 Rigging Company of the Year Winner

January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

3:01 PM

In the

Page 42

Newsroom

CRASH+SUES LAUNCHES CS FILMS DIVISION CRASH+SUES (www. crash-sues.com), the Minneapolis-based full-service post house, has launched CS Films to respond to an influx of independent film and documentary work. Headed by producer Amanda Burgland, the new division is designed to meet the needs of the growing Midwest indie film community by providing the same caliber of services CRASH+SUES’ core client base of ad agencies and marketers have come to expect. “The demand for turnkey post services for independent film has grown dramatically in recent years, so we felt it was time to create a new division that responds directly to this market’s specific needs,” explains CEO Heidi Mae Habben. The company recently updated and restructured the layout of its facility and purchased new equipment, including an Isilon system to boost storage for longform projects. Even before CS Films’ official launch CRASH+SUES had a number of indie film credits. It provided extenstive post services for the feature documentary Snuff, which explores whether legendary ‘snuff’ films really do exist; supplied color correction, VFX and finishing for Four Boxes, a morally-ambiguous ‘film gris’

that premiered at SXSW Film Conference and Festival last year; furnished VFX and color correction for the teen feature Lights Out; color corrected the thriller Holiday Beach; and provided color correction, VFX, finishing and animated titles for the quirky short doc, Lotology, which looks at people who hoard lottery tickets. The first feature under the CS Films banner is the supernatural thriller Phasma Ex Machina (above) which tapped the new division’s color correction and finishing capabilities. The film premieres at SXSW in March. “We’re especially pleased that CS Films is associated with the filmmakers of tomorrow,” says Habben. “We’re delighted to give up-and-coming indie talent the benefit of our postproduction expertise and costeffective workflows.”

MUSIC 2 HUES RELEASES “FEEL GOOD ACOUSTIC” TITLE Music 2 Hues (www.music2hues. com), a leading supplier of production music and sound effects, has added a new title, “Feel Good Acoustic,” to its Flagship Series. Available on audio CD or downloadable in Mp3 and WAV file formats, the release fills the needs of clients who have been asking for “soft, melodic and flowing acoustic guitar music beds for all visual and multimedia support,” says president Andy Wells. The Enfield, Connecticut-based company’s Download Center offers clients the ability to purchase individual tracks from all of its current Flagship Series audio CDs or entire audio CD categories with just one click. Clients also have the option to download all tracks instantly in either Mp3 or WAV file formats. “For just one price, they will get all the edited versions of any one music track, including the full-length theme and 30- and 60-second versions when available,” Wells reports.

EYEBALL DESIGNS ID PACKAGE FOR CENTRIC NETWORK LAUNCH New York City’s Eyeball (www.eyeballnyc.com) completed a comprehensive ID package for the launch of Centric, a contemporary African-American basic cable network and partnership of Viacom’s BET and MTV Networks. The project consisted of some 100 elements, including the channel ID package and three programming blocks. Eyeball founder and chief creative officer Limore Shur selected the many shades of brown as key to the Centric look employing it in rich composite overlays that distill into individual hues as a prism breaks light into 42

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

the spectrum. Double-exposed imagery, mixed with typography, visual and environmental elements “present the diversity of the Centric experience,” he notes. Eyeball partner Hyejin Hwang pulled together the project’s team of designers, strategists and creatives working with Shur; she oversaw and supervised the entire design process and pushed the live action to the package’s same high level of finish. “Eyeball was able to mirror the lifestyle of the audience in an authentic and

aspirational way without invoking clichés,” says Viacom’s Phil Delbourgo, VH1’s senior vice president/brand and creative.

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

3:01 PM

Page 43

THE BIG PICTURE CONTRIBUTES TO “HOPE FOR HAITI” TELETHON San Rafael, California’s The Big Picture (www.thebigpicture.tv) donated equipment and services to the “Hope for Haiti” celebrity telethon that was broadcast worldwide on January 22 and reportedly raised more than $61 million. Big Picture did live shots from San Francisco’s Fairmont Heritage Hotel at Ghirardelli Square featuring Matt Damon and Clint Eastwood who are making a movie in the Bay Area. The company’s entire staff of six worked on two days of prep and produced the

broadcast from a set in Ghirardelli Square’s Mustard Building. Big Picture president/DP George Lang and his colleagues worked from a control room in a truck provided by Sacramento’s PacSat. They tapped Big Picture’s Sony HDW-730 1080i HD camera; a pair of Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM camcorders; a lighting package with Kino Flo, Lowel Rifa-Lites and Kino

Flo Diva lights; assorted Countryman mics; and a Sound Devices mixer. Neil Tanner Inc. supplied the celebrities’ teleprompter. Lang calls the telethon “the most impressive event that I’ve ever seen broadcast in the history of television because of its ability to synchronize a live broadcast around the world on fivedays’ notice.”

MAMMOTH HD FOOTAGE LIBRARY ADDS DENALI, ALASKA WILDLIFE, VERTICAL HD FOOTAGE Evergreen, Colorado’s Mammoth HD/RED Footage Library (www. mammothhd.com) has expanded its National Park Gallery with footage of Denali National Park, Alaska featuring Mt. McKinley (Denali), vast landscapes, tundra and the wildlife of central Alaska. Its RED/Wildlife Galleries have also grown with Alaska wildlife footage shot on RED in 4K, 3K and 2K slo mo. New footage includes clips of grizzly and brown bears, wolves, lynx, moose, caribou, owls, beaver, Dall sheep and other Arctic residents. In addition, Mammoth HD’s Vertical Footage library has increased with portrait- oriented HD and RED 4K clips of scenics, sports, wildlife, www.markeemag.com

locations, people/lifestyle and more. This footage is now being used in public venues, in-store displays and hospitals for information, advertising, marketing and entertainment. A unique source for HD and RED stock footage, Mammoth HD now features over 900 collections and more than 600 hours of single-clip material. Formats include RED 4K, 3K, 2K and HD formats 1080i, 1080/24p, 720p and HDV. New material is added monthly. January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

specialty advertising

3:01 PM

Page 44

Virginia Film Office

Virginia George Washington Documentary. Kent Eanes Photographer.

GREAT LOCATIONS SINCE 1607

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

the east is the Atlantic Ocean with urban resort towns and deserted ocean beaches. To the west are rolling foothills, dramatic mountain vistas and serene valleys. Historic plantations and modern farms abound. There are towns of all sizes and descriptions, some rough and

George Washington Documentary. Kent Eanes Photographer.

INCE 1607 WHEN CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND HIS FELLOW TRAVELERS founded the first English-speaking settlement at Jamestown, Virginia has been part of many of our country’s most significant events. Home to eight presidents, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, the state was the site of the last battle of the Revolutionary War at Yorktown. It was the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War and at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, Virginia has a significant military and aerospace presence. Films such as Gods and Generals, Iron Jawed Angels, The New World, Cold Mountain, and the acclaimed HBO mini-series John Adams have all made use of Virginia’s historic locations. Virginia is a study in contrasts where spectacular natural beauty and rich architecture co-exist with a wide variety of cities and towns. To

industrial, others historical and charming, still others sleek and ultramodern. Dirty Dancing, Coal Miner’s Daughter, What About Bob?, Evan Almighty and Sommersby are films showcasing Virginia’s scenic and urban locations. Richmond, Virginia has doubled for our nation’s capitol with buildings standing in for Washington, D.C. government locations, past or present. A wide variety of historic row homes and residential buildings have replicated Georgetown and other Washington neighborhoods. Feature films such as The Contender, Hannibal, Dave, and First Kid all featured Richmond playing the nation’s capital. For information about filming in Virginia, visit www.film.virginia.org where you can find the Production Services Directory or view more than 4000 locations online. For information on Virginia incentives, call 800.854.6233.

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

3:01 PM

Page 45

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

specialty advertising

3:01 PM

Page 46

Tupelo Film Commission

UPELO, RECOGNIZED WORLDWIDE AS THE “BIRTHPLACE OF ELVIS,” is a city that has attracted

filmmakers and production companies across the globe for years. The filming of documentaries and television programs about Elvis, gospel music, the Natchez Trace Parkway and other subjects have been of continued interest. “It is the mission of the Tupelo Film Commission to attract productions to Tupelo,” says Pat Rasberry who heads The Tupelo Film Commission. “We are genuine in our efforts to accommodate filmmakers’ requests and provide the assistance needed for successful projects. We are fortunate to have a municipality and citizens who are supportive of film productions.” In addition to supporting productions, the Tupelo Film Commission has increased film synergy in the area. The Commission also oversees the Tupelo Film Festival, Film Workshops, Children’s Film Events, Indie Film Series and other special film projects.

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

A city of 36,000 residents, which expands to 100,000 during the workday, Tupelo has a wonderful historic downtown district, interesting and remarkable attractions, great retail venues, old buildings and that ‘Pleasantville’ environment. Also within a few miles is the Tombigbee River, diverse terrain, cotton and soybean fields, manufacturing and industrial plants, and railroad yards. The city also has an innovative alternative to soundstages for producers looking to shoot interiors or do extensive set building. Tupelo is the thirdlargest furniture market in the country with two huge furniture complexes. The Tupelo Furniture Market Complex is open all year with the exception of a six-week limitation during furniture market season, but the Mississippi Complex is open the entire year for film requests or set building. “The buildings have many amenities,” Rasberry points out, citing carpenters, electricians, office support, security, 24-

hour access, props from permanent showrooms, huge lighted parking lots, RV hook-ups, catering, an onsite apartment, and numerous loading docks. The largest space available in the six-building Tupelo Complex is 96,000 square feet and the largest column-less space is 63,000 square feet. The Mississippi Complex offers spaces measuring 43,000 and 39,000 square feet. Mississippi’s Motion Picture Incentive Program offers “great incentives to filmmakers,” says Rasberry. “Ward Emling, director of the Mississippi Film Office, has been the driving force behind enhancing the incentive package and making it more attractive.” Emling continues to research ideas and opportunities to improve the rebate program and strengthen the crew base in Mississippi. “With great incentives, warm hospitality and genuine interest, Tupelo wants to be your next film location,” she declares. “Take a look at what we have to offer and give us a call.”

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

3:32 PM

Page 47

advertisers’ index page# company phone & website 27

615 Music Productions, Inc. 615-244-6515 www.615music.com

Assignment Desk, Inc. 800-959-DESK www.assignmentdesk.com

Atlanta Rigging 866-355-4370 www.atlantarigging.com

Blue Box Design Studio

MARKETPLACE MUSIC LIBRARIES Royalty Free Music. Over 2000 music tracks for instant download in both Mp3 and WAV file format. Over 80 Audio CD’s in our Flagship Series. Huge selection with easy auditioning. Visit the Music 2 Hues website now. www.music2hues.com

561-228-8971 www.ca-palmbeach.com

Blue Planet 770-578-6912 www.blueplanet.tv

EQUIPMENT

Cine Photo Tech 404-684-7100 www.cinephototech.com

CineFilm 800-633-1448 www.cinefilmlab.com

IBC

Comprehensive Technical Group 888-557-4284 www.ctgatlanta.com

Cox Televideo 623-328-4778 www.coxtelevideo.com

Emerald Coast CVB 800-322-3319 www.destin-fwb.com

FirstCom 800-858-8880 www.firstcom.com

Headsouth Productions 813-254-2341

Killer Tracks 800-4-KILLER www.killertracks.com

Midtown Video 800-232-4564 www.midtownvideo.com

NAB 202-429-5408 www.nabshow.com

IFC

Niche Video Products 770-499-1899 www.nichevideo.com

Omnimusic 800-828-6664 www.omnimusic.com

Palm Beach County Film Office 800-745-FILM www.pbfilm.com

Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office 888-765-5777 www.filmsarasota.com

Sony Pictures Digital Media Software 608-256-3133 www.sonycreativesoftware.com

Tupelo Film Office 800-533-0611 www.tupelo.net

44-45 Virginia Film Office

Come see the “new”

Markee 2.0

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

at NAB booth C7342

800-854-6233 www.film.virginia.org

Visit Tallahassee (TDC)

Wolff Bros Post

800-628-2866 404-881-0020 www.wolffbrospost.com

www.markeemag.com

FOR MARKETPLACE ADVERTISING DETAILS... Contact Gayle Rosier at 386.873.9286 or email: gaylerosier@gmail.com January/February 2010

| Markee 2.0

MAR2501_JanFeb2010

2/22/10

3:01 PM

Page 48

Inside View

Sync Sound | by Christine Bunish

Bill Marino Co-owner with Ken Hahn New York City • www.syncsound.com Markee: Sync Sound is celebrating its 25th anniversary – quite a milestone in the audio postproduction industry today. What was the company like at the beginning? Mr. Marino: “We started with one mix room but had about 11,000 square feet of totally raw space. We gambled a bit that we’d be able to fill the extra space, and it worked out for us. “Ken (Hahn) and I met at Regent Sound which became one of the first sound-for-television facilities in the country. I was the chief engineer and a mixer, and Ken was the studio manager and a mixer who had developed a nice following. After several years at Regent, and a brief stint for me at NBC, we dreamed of starting our own place and jumped in.” Markee: What was different about Sync Sound back then? Mr. Marino: “We decided to start a place specifically dedicated to sound for television. Regent Sound was originally built for music recording and retrofitted to do sound for TV. But we were the first facility in town designed with a whole infrastructure for television. Although we were a small facility, we were unique. People could see we were groundbreaking. Markee: And you had the good fortune to launch at a key time in television history. Mr. Marino: “TV had just become stereo nationwide, and the audio frequency spectrum had increased from 7 kHz to 15 kHz so the full range of audio was now possible with stereo. That meant a new demand for high-quality audio for TV, from turning old programs into stereo shows to mixing new programs like the 25th anniversary of Lincoln Center, documentary-style shows for the 48

Markee 2.0 |

January/February 2010

NBA, 3-2-1 Contact for The Children’s Television Workshop, and promos for cable television.” Markee: What are Sync Sound’s current capabilities? Mr. Marino: “We’re still in our original location. We have nine edit- Bill Marino (right) with Ken Hahn ing and recording rooms and five mixing With Video Satellite, picture playback is rooms, including an Art Deco film mixoffloaded onto a separate computer to ing stage. It’s the largest and best mix maintain the full audio track count and room in New York with a 26-foot processing power of Pro Tools/HD. The screen and film and video projection Satellite system provides virtually instanwith 5.1 and 7.1 surround capabilities. taneous lock up and scrub of HD picRight now we’ve got Ben Stiller’s new ture. We’re using it on Greenberg and feature, Greenberg, in there with indeplan to expand its use.” pendent mixer Paul Hsu. Last year we did Notorious, the Christopher Wallace Markee: Bring us up to date with (The Notorious B.I.G.) story, with Sync Sound’s recent work. another indie mixer, Lew Goldstein. In Mr. Marino: “2009 was a really busy fact, a lot of New York film mixers have year for us. We’re working on our made use of the stage. We also do feafourth season of NBC’s 30 Rock (Editures with our staff mixers. And a lot of tor’s Note: Marino and mixer Tony Pipiour TV work is done on the stage, espetone won Emmys for the show’s second cially documentaries which often hit the season). We did 13 episodes of Michael film festival circuit first: Rory Kennedy’s Green’s Kings and Tom Fontana’s The The Fence for HBO, about the fence on Philanthropist for NBC. My partner, Ken, the U.S.-Mexico border, went to Sunmixed two episodes plus the overall dance, for example.” web content packaging for HBO’s The Alzheimer’s Project. We are also very Markee: What technologies are proud to be doing all the Metropolitan you keeping an eye on these days? Opera programs that air on PBS and are Mr. Marino: “We look for what will released on DVD.” help us be more efficient in organizing our work and things that help us create Markee: What’s ahead for the and design new sounds and manipulate next 25 years? sound. We also watch what goes on in Mr. Marino: “Ken and I will still be the video business since we have to mixing. It’s really important for have all the popular video formats here. owner/operators to be hands on; I feel Clients want to see better work picture that’s been a key to our success. It has these days so we’ve started using HD allowed us to be very much in touch work pictures. We’re integrating, on our with our clients and our staff through all Pro Tools/HD systems, Digidesign’s the changes in the industry and helped Video Satellite and Satellite Link options. us survive and grow.” Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

ComprehensiveTechGroup_Feb2010

2/15/10

10:38 AM

Page 1

GoFurtherStartHere

Turn challenges into solutions. Achieve what is possible. With CTG, you have the power to take your project, your facility, your business to the next level – complete with unmatched technical expertise and an absolute commitment to meeting and exceeding your expectations. From the small studio setting to the large production facility, our entire approach is focused on maximizing your capabilities. It’s all about people and technology working together as one. This is the strength to reach beyond limits. This is the power of CTG. Equipment Sales and Consultation • Systems Design and Integration Service and Repair • Training Services Call today and see how we can help you power the possibilities.

Professional Broadcast and Audio Visual Solutions 2030 Powers Ferry Rd • Suite 130 • Atlanta, GA 30339 • 404-352-3000 • 1-888-557-4284

www.ctgatlanta.com

Sony icturesDigital_Feb2010

2/15/10

10:44 AM

Page 1

Broadcast Spectrum NEW

The broadcast spectrum is a lot wider than it used to be. From television to the Internet and across portable devices, you need a production application that’s fast, flexible, and dependable, one that can deliver today’s formats reliably without sacrificing quality. Introducing Vegas™ Pro 9 software, your complete broadcast solution. Designed for broadcast professionals, new Vegas Pro 9 includes native XDCAM™ MXF and EX MP4 support; smart render for HDV and XDCAM™ MXF; capture compress to MXF; native file support for the RED ONE™ camera; and a scalable 4K workflow—all valuable new functionalities for in-the-field production and broadcasting. With ProType Titling Technology, multicamera editing, a comprehensive channel-based audio mixing console, Bluray Disc™ burning, and superior 32-bit float engine processing,Vegas Pro 9 offers a never before imagined array of opportunities to reach any broadcast production goal. New Vegas Pro 9 combines Vegas Pro, DVD Architect™ Pro, and Dolby® Digital AC-3 encoding software to offer an integrated environment for all phases of video, audio, DVD, and broadcast production. For even more power, add the Vegas™ Pro Production Assistant* to your arsenal.This plug-in extends the functionality of Vegas Pro 9 and automates many common tasks, saving hours of tedious editing time.Together, these powerful tools will change the way you produce and deliver content. The broadcast spectrum just got a little more manageable. For more information or a trial version, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com *Vegas Pro Production Assistant sold separately.