Oz Magazine November / December 2020 by Oz Publishing, Inc

November / December 2020

film. tv. entertainment SINCE 1990

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Black Women Film Network to partner with Black-Owned streaming service KweliTV. Founded by Deshuna Spencer KweliTV highlights, and introduces budding lmmakers giving them a platform to showcase their work.

BWFN will choose ten nalists from our annual festival to have their lms broadcasted on the streaming site for a virtual lm festival experience.

A Cultural Celebration of Black Women in Arts and Entertainment For more information on how to enter our festival or watch on KweliTV head over to

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CONTRIBUTORS Krupa Kanaiya

OZ MAGAZINE

STAFF Editor-in-Chief B. Sonenreich

Cover story: Scoping Out Georgia’s Homegrown Series “The Liberator”, p.24 Krupa Kanaiya is an Atlanta based social media manager and animator. She began her career with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts & Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur, working to develop personalized animated content for television and social media. She has since worked to expand brands within our local entertainment industry such as The Atlanta Film Festival/Society, ASIFA-South, and more.

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Tia Powell (Group Publisher)

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Production and Design Christopher Winley Michael R. Eilers

Social Media Engagement Sammie Purcell

Sammie Purcell Feature Story: The Women at the Helm of Georgia’s Intimacy Coordinator Profession, p.30 Sammie Purcell is a graduate student in journalism at Boston University. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 and worked in the travel industry for a few years before heading back to school. In the future, she is interested in working in film and television criticism. In her spare time, she enjoys singing in a band with her father.

Copywriting Toni Caushi Jordan Moore

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Miranda Perez Feature Story: The Women at the Helm of Georgia’s Intimacy Coordinator Profession, p.30 Miranda Perez is a senior at Clark Atlanta Univeristy, pursuing a degree in mass media arts with a concentration in print journalism She writes about social justice issues, politics, and fashion. Perez has written for established publications such as The Nation, Prism, and Her Campus.

Stephen Wilkins Feature Story: Filmmaker on the Rise, p.40

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Filmmaker on the Rise: Q&A - Photographer, p.40

Oz Magazine is published bi-monthly by Oz Publishing, Inc. 2566 Shallowford Road Suite 104, #302 Atlanta, GA 30345 Copyright © 2020 Oz Publishing Incorporated, all rights reserved. Reproductions in whole or in part without express written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. This magazine is printed on recyclable paper.

Stephen Wilkins is a writer, musician, and booking agent in Atlanta working in production for TV and film. Graduating Georgia State in 2016 with a degree In film and journalism, Stephen immersed himself in the underground and DIY art and culture scene of Atlanta. He is currently Editor-in-Chief at Plasma Magazine, and former Event Manager at The Bakery Atlanta. He focuses on bringing a critical eye to the art, film, and music scene with the purpose of highlighting local creatives.Before working with Oz, Grant’s words were published in Rolling Out and The Atlanta Business Journal.

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

Tracy Bosworth Page has focused on creating memorable images of actors and entertainers for over 13 years. She is an award winning photographer specializing in editorial and commercial portraits and is an Ambassador for Zeiss Camera Lenses, based in Atlanta. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia with her degree in advertising and fine art.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020

CONTENTS

OZCETERA

FEATURE STORY

A compilation of recent news and hot projects from and about the Georgia entertainment industry

Visualizing A Future In Atlanta: Brad Kalinoski's Life In Visual Effects

6 24

COVER STORY

FILMMAKER ON

Scoping Out Georgia’s Homegrown Series “The Liberator”

THE RISE A Q&A With Asad Farooqui

Atlanta’s Trioscope and Moonshine Post take on Netflix’s “The Liberator”

FEATURE STORY The Women at the Helm of Georgia’s Intimacy Coordinator Profession The film industry keeps sets safe by hiring Georgia’s leading intimacy coordinators and sexual harassment lawyers

30 36

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November / December 2020

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GEORGIA FILM ACADEMY PARTNERS WITH GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY AND SKILLSHOT MEDIA

he Georgia Film Academy (GFA) pa r t ne re d w i t h S k i ll s h ot M e d ia and kicked off its first-ever Esports program at Georgia State University (GSU). GSU’s Creative Media Industries I ns t i tu te (C M I I ) housed t he public / private partnership, including online and in-person classes. The GFA 3500 Fundamentals of Esports provides students with real-world professional workforce training while exploring the numerous career paths available at nearly 160 Esports companies located throughout the Peach State. According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), Esports is emerging as one of the fastest-growing industries in the state.

The Georgia Film Academy partnered with Skillshot Media and kicked off its first-ever Esports program at Georgia State University

“Georgia is rapidly becoming a global epicenter for both entertainment and technology, and the Esports and video gaming industry are at the nexus of these new economies,” Executive Director of the GFA, Jeffrey Stepakoff, said. “Videogames are now the largest entertainment industry in terms of both revenue and popularity,” CEO of Esports solution company Skillshot Media, Todd Harris, explained. “In Georgia, gaming and Esports had an economic impact of over $830 million last year and the goal with this new program is providing a welltrained Georgia workforce for this rapidly growing industry.” G FA p l a n s t o e x p a n d E s p o r t s training beyond the introductory pilot

program to of fer specialt y cour ses as well as oppor tunities for coveted industr y internships across Georgia. As the program and coursework grow, the GFA hopes to expand industry hubs and opportunities for all universities and colleges in the state system. “We’ve seen first-hand the value of GFA’s film production certification in providing jobs for Georgians,” Stepakoff said. “The intent of this new program is to provide an Esports certification complete with the opportunity to glean real-world experience through internships. The GFA will ensure that our new programs, like our current film production courses, are affordable, accessible, lead to jobs, and provide great value for Georgians.”

November / December 2020

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PINEWOOD ATLANTA STUDIOS IS NOW TRILITH STUDIOS

he founders of Pinewood Atlanta Studios, one of the largest purpose-built studios in North America and home to blockbuster films like Avengers: Endgame, and Pinewood Forest, a 235-acre New Urbanist town, have unveiled a live-work concept called Trilith. This new 935-acre master development includes the studio, now called Trilith Studios, as well as a slate of vendor businesses, custom homes and micro-villages, chef-driven restaurants, and thought-leading schools, all aimed at servicing the film and creative industries. The name Trilith, which conjures the iconic three-stone structure of Stonehenge, is emblematic of the three pillars of creativity behind it: storytelling, purpose-built places, and emerging technology. “A trilith is an appropriate symbol for our new identity as it represents a nod to our U.K. history while serving as a metaphor for the three pillars of our vision,” President and CEO of Trilith Studios, Frank Patterson, explained. “The new Trilith Studios brand signals to the entertainment industry our expansion from a facilities business to an ecosystem intentionally built for the creative industries.”

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IATSE LOCAL 479 ON THE RETURN TO WORK

n early September, IATSE Local 479 sent out an email to their membership addressing the most important aspects of their return to productions. The letter is written by Business Agent, Michael Akins, who begins by recognizing the tone shift from assisting members with unemployment issues to managing the influx of new productions in Georgia. Akins addresses the fact that the employment opportunities are returning quickly, advising that approximately 20% of the IATSE membership has already returned to work. “There are debates out there about whether it is the right time to be returning to the work environment. Some people are still very concerned about contracting COVID-19, either due to existing health issues or because they have family members who are vulnerable,” Akins wrote. “These concerns are valid, and it is important for all of us to acknowledge the health risks that still exist and that some are at a higher risk than others.” Akins also addresses mental health issues that have come hand-in-hand with the pandemic. “While these health challenges aren’t physical, they are still very real and must also be acknowledged and validated.” “IATSE’s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) regarding COVID protocols have made good progress over the past several months,” Akins wrote. Akins addressed the protocols established involving COVID testing, PPE, quarantine, sick leaves, zone protocols, safety training, and much more. The majority of these topics have been discussed with Georgia’s studio executives in the September/ October issue of Oz Magazine, but Akins does an exceptional job at breaking down the ins and outs of these protocols and the anxieties and trepidations that might come with returning to projects in Georgia. Akins concluded the letter with the subhead, “Take Personal Responsibility.” “If you decide to ignore the CDC guidelines during your free time, then you are obstructing the success of this industry and the livelihood of your brothers and sisters,” Akins advised. “We are in this together. The producers and labor unions are working together to enact protections. Our industry cannot afford to shut down again.”

November / December 2020

OzCetera Dillard's Cowboy Joe won Best Local Short Film at Out on Film

Out on Film Festival's drive in had a great turn out

Vanilla Milkshake, directed by Dany Flores

LOCAL FILMS SHINE AT OUT ON FILM FESTIVAL

ut on Film presented by WarnerMedia announced the filmmaker awards for the recently concluded 33rd edition of the Atlanta-based LGBTQIA+ film festival, its first as an Oscar qualifying film festival. Amongst the selections, Atlanta-Based Director, Darryl Dillard, won the award for best local short Film. “Everyone involved with Cowboy Joe is extremely honored to get this award,” Dillard told Oz. “The Out on Film Fest is a great festival that honors stories that we don’t often get the chance to see. Everyone has a story that matters.” This year, Out on Film was a primarily virtual event. “Although we are still tracking our online attendance and the number of watchers we had, we were very pleased with this year’s attendance, not just from patrons in Georgia but across the country. We reached 39 states this year and I feel fortunate that we were able to successfully pivot into a largely virtual event,” Out on Film Festival Director, Jim Farmer, said. Atlanta-based director, Dany Flores, also premiered the film Vanilla Milkshake at the LGBTQIA+ film festival. Flores decided to film in Georgia because it’s where her journey as a filmmaker began. “It’s also the place where I learned to be a grown up; where I first fell in love, where I had my first heartbreak and where I learned how to be alone,” Flores told Oz. “After feeling like an outsider for most of my life, Atlanta welcomed me in a way I have never experienced before. It made me feel like it was okay to be who I was.” "While we missed the live aspect of our festival this year and hosting filmmakers and patrons, the virtual component allowed us to reach an audience literally throughout the state of Georgia and in some cases throughout the country. It also gave us the opportunity to host three dozen conversations with filmmakers across the world. The virtual element will have to be a part of Out On Film moving forward," Farmer added.

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November / December 2020

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ABELITA LEADS CELEBRITY BEACH CLEANUP

tlanta - based teen ac tor, Sophia Abelita, hosted a celebrity beach cleanup at Isle of Palms to bring awareness to t he ef fec t s of plas t ic pollution. The event created awareness around efforts and programs youth can take advantage of to impact the upstream plastic pollution through policy, supply and demand change and recruition new “Ocean Heroes” for the 2021 Ocean Hero Bootcamp. Abelita considers herself an environmentalist, as well as an actor, with a mission to empower more kids to become passionate about saving the planet. The group collected 784 pieces of debris on the South Carolina beach.

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DAD’S GARAGE THEATRE served AS VOTING LOCATION AND BLOOD DONATION CENTER

ad’s Garage served the community this year by opening up for vital events. This included being a new voting location in Fulton County, as well as serving as a blood donation center. F o ll ow ing t he el e c t ions , Dad ’s Garage will be hosting a Red Cross blood drive. The drive is by appointment only and requires online registration. “Serving our community is one of the

pillars of our strategic plan,” Managing Director of Dad’s Garage, Lara Smith, said. “We want to become a community hub, and we think being a voting location and hosting blood drives is a great way to serve our community.” Smith looks forward to hosting the events safely, with masks and social distancing.

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STOMPING GROUND BLOCK FILLS DRIVE-IN AT ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL

he Atlanta Film Festival took place in September both virtually and at drive-in locations. “Stomping Ground,” a short film block featuring filmmakers based in Georgia and/or filming in Georgia, opened up the festival. Amongst the block’s short films were Three Men Named Mantas, Around the Block and Brown With Blue. Three Men Named Mantas was written and directed by Atlanta - based f ilmmaker, James Mackenzie. “Although we filmed thousands of miles away, we flew out local filmmakers for key production roles,” Mackenzie told Oz. “Georgia has incredible homegrown talent that was vital to the success of our film at each stage of the process.” Director, Kevon Pryce, has a unique appreciation for debuting his film at this particular festival. “I don’t think there would have been a better place for my film to premiere than the Atlanta Film Festival,” Pryce said. “It’s where my film dreams began as a volunteer and to see my film premiere just four years later made everything feel full circle.” Christian Nolan Jones, who directed Brown With Blue, filmed his short in Georgia

Cinematographer Joey Kopanski captures actress Ana Mackenzie at Hill of Crosses in Lithuania for short film Three Men Named Mantas

because of his Atlanta upbringing. “I really wanted to explore traveling home to make a film,” Jones to Oz. “I also decided to shoot the beach scenes at Sapelo Island … I reached out to JR Grovner, a tour guide there and one of the descendants of the island, and he explained the history of Sapelo. It felt like we had to shoot there, and it worked out, and I think it became a super spiritual experience for the skeleton crew who made the drive out there.” “The Atlanta Film Festival has a longstanding tradition of spotlighting Georgia films on the first night of the

The in-person boot camp-style PA academy is now virtual

festival. This shorts block has always been tremendously popular and is a highlight of the festival each year,” Atlanta Film Festival’s Programming Director, Alyssa Armand told Oz. “We were thrilled to see that with all of the changes 2020 brought, enthusiasm for local films was as strong as ever. It was such a joy to kick off this year’s Atlanta Film Festival with a full lot of cars ready to celebrate Georgia talent on the drive-in screen!”

PA ACADEMY MAKES A VIRTUAL RETURN

he Atlanta Film Society announced on Friday that the PA Academy will be returning, but using a different format. While production work can safely resume, the in-person boot camp -st yle format does not meet CDC safety requirements. That being said, the November course is now exclusively online and will take place in the middle of the month. The Atlanta Film Society noted that this workshop will be smaller and more intimate than usual for more individualized attention. Learn more about the PA Academy in the July/ August 2020 issue of Oz Magazine, where Oz inter views Linda Burns about leading the boot camp and the importance of PAs on set.

November / December 2020

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ATLANTA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES “AJFF RECOMMENDS”

tlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) launched a comprehensive online catalog of every film ever shown at its acclaimed annual festival, since its inception in the inaugural 2000 season. Coined “AJFF Recommends,” the web-based platform is a fully searchable database of over 1000 film titles, from shorts to features and fictional narrative to powerful documentaries, as well as independent films to mainstream classics. Featuring an intuitive user interface that supports film discovery, users can search titles by subject, theme, country of origin, director, and more. “AJFF Recommends” directs users to all available viewing options for each film, via streaming, rental, and for purchase links, because of the unique integration with JustWatch. The system even offers additional films that match search criteria, allowing an endless flow of movie watching suggestions. “‘AJFF Recommends’ allows us to share and showcase 20 years of the festival’s cinematic history, and afford us an opportunity to build in other films for our ever-expanding audience for years to come,” AJFF Executive Director, Kenny Blank, said. “After years of development, we are so proud and excited to launch this platform and provide our members, cinema fans, and an international audience outside of Atlanta with one of the most comprehensive Jewish cinema catalogs available anywhere.” “What makes a film ‘Jewish’ isn’t necessarily the cast, or the director (although sometimes that’s true),” Blank said. “Rather, it is the fact that the film reflects elements of the Jewish experience, the triumphs, the challenges, and the in-betweens. ‘AJFF Recommends’ allows a whole new way to explore these themes and share the film world of Jewish storytelling with family and friends.”

BARBER DIRECTS BET HIP HOP AWARDS PERFORMANCE FEATURING 2 CHAINZ

tlanta-based filmmaker and music video auteur, Bryan Barber, directed the 2020 BET hip hop awards performance with Atlanta-based rapper, 2 Chainz, featuring Lil Wayne. Barber and 2 Chainz paid respect to HBCUs throughout the states, and spoke out against the police who killed Breonna Taylor moments before the performance began. However, it is clear that the entire performance was a tribute Black lives everywhere and a continuation of Barber's homage to Black excellence. The performance perfectly captured the fast pace aesthetic and glamour of the original "Money Maker" music video, that also included a large number of HBCUs and shined light on the HBCU marching bands that have made and continue to make a positive impact on Black culture. 16

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

TRICK 3D RECIPIENT OF EPIC MEGAGRANT TO CREATE ANIMATED HOLIDAY SHORT

had Eikhoff, the Director of “The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story” and the Founder of TRICK 3D Studio, is the recipient of an Epic MegaGrant by Epic Games, which is being used to create a 3D animated short for this 2020 holiday season. The original short, titled The Jolliest Elf, will transport children and their families to Santa’s North Pole stage for a reality TV-style talent competition. “The concept of The Jolliest Elf requires new technology to make it come to life,” Head of Studio for TRICK 3D, Stacy Shade, said. “And Unreal Engine is the foundational element for the new pipeline Chad is spearheading for this short but also for subsequent projects coming from him and from our studio.”

Eikhoff and his team are bringing together real-time gaming technology, Apple’s iPhone 3D facial capture, inertial motion capture, key frame animation and NVIDIA’s latest RTX ray tracing for realtime physics, lighting and rendering. “I’m ecstatic about this approach because I believe in empowering animators,” Eikhoff said. “My approach to updating the animation process focuses on bringing animators’ visions to life faster and with more clarity. It’s my goal to one day have animators’ names be synonymous with their characters and Unreal Engine is key to making that happen.” Epic MegaGrants is a $100 million program from Epic Games, designed to support game developers, enterprise

professionals, media and entertainment creators, students and educators who are doing amazing things with Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine is a complete suite of creation tools for game development, architectural and automotive visualization, linear film and television content creation, broadcast and live event production, training and simulation, and other realtime applications from Epic Games. “Unreal Engine is empowering creators to usher in a new era of storytelling and media productions,” Manager of Business Development at Epic Games, Rob DiFiglia, said. “Through Epic MegaGrants, we are proud to support talented teams like TRICK 3D who recognize the opportunities of real-time technology.” November / December 2020

OzCetera Hailey Heins Cloud to Ground

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HAILEY HEINS JOINS CLOUD TO GROUND AS DIRECTOR OF POST PRODUCTION

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ailey Heins joined Atlanta-based production rental and post house, Cloud to Ground, as Director of Post Production. Heins now oversees all post production activities for Cloud to Ground, including staffing, scheduling, budgeting and workflow optimizations. Cloud to Ground, based in West Midtown Atlanta, is a onestop shop for everything from pre-production to final delivery. Heins comes to Cloud to Ground with a wealth of post production experience, having served as Post Supervisor on more than 20 projects for a variety of companies, including Bravo, AMC, Hallmark, TLC, AT&T Hello Lab, PBS, History Channel, and Anheuser-Busch. “We are thrilled to welcome Hailey to Cloud to Ground,” Cloud to Ground Chief Operating Officer, Scott Thigpen, said. “Our team has worked with her on projects in the past, and we know firsthand that she is a consummate professional who is organized, collaborative and experienced in all facets of post production. We look forward to Hailey overseeing the next chapter of our post production growth.”

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he Amazing Stories Foundation formed a partnership with WarnerMedia for the Film and Television Apprenticeship Program, which is a paid training program for adults seeking full-time careers in Georgia's film and television industry. The Amazing Studio Foundation was established in 2019 by Producer, Director and owner of Rainforest Entertainment, Rob Hardy. The foundation's mission is to train diverse emerging talent and the apprenticeships are based in Atlanta as a pipeline into the Georgia entertainment industry. Last year, the foundation trained 14 PAs who gained work experience on WarnerMedia shows like “Lovecraft Country” on HBO and “Black Lightning” on the CW. This new partnership with WarnerMedia will give the Amazing Studio Foundation apprentices training and job placement opportunities through WarnerMedia’s Access to Action, a program that fosters a more creative and inclusive workforce through PA jobs on film and television projects

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Still from Blood Flow

7 STAGES LAUNCHES HOME BREW @ HOME

tarting in September, 7 Stages Theatre launched Home Brew @ Home, a programming that is the product of the theatre’s new work in development series. The programming offers virtual productions in the very early stages of creation as a first look or re-work, with one celebrating the world premiere as an original film. The first film, Blood Flow, was written by Robert Earl Price and created by Atlanta-based filmmaker, Ashley James. The piece is a multimedia artwork that reflects the continuous role of art as a force of resistance to crimes against humanity in the past, present, and future. “This process allowed me to combine two of my favorite things: devised theatre and filmmaking,” James told Oz. “I couldn’t have asked for a safer space in which to play.” James is an independent film producer, director and avant garde theatre creator. Her hope is to investigate the ways film can offer a deep dive into the human psyche as a visually exploratory medium. 7 Stages Theatre has been bringing local and international emerging artwork of social, political, and spiritual importance to Atlanta audiences since 1979. Artists in performance music, visual and the spoken arts have found the organization a haven in the support and development of new works and methods of collaboration.

November / December 2020

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Voiceover Artist Eric B. Bell

ATLANTA VOICEOVER ARTIST PROVIDES NARRATION IN WHAT ABOUT ME

tlanta-based voiceover artist, Eric B. Bell, has been selected to provide the narration for the upcoming documentary trailer about the African American experience, What About Me. The film is produced by 5J Entertainment and serves as a catalyst for African American men to share their stories and conversions while preparing a roadmap and trailblazing a path for the young men following in their footsteps. “I am honored and proud to have lent my voice to this necessary and timely documentary,” Bell said. “The portrayal of Black men in America, by mainstream media, has often placed us in a box as athletes, entertainers, or criminals. This candid film is thought provoking and casts a bright light on Black men who don’t fit in a box and highlights our greatness and importance.”

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GEORGIA SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT COALITION HONORS 2020 “FRIENDS OF FILM” AWARD WINNERS

he Georgia Screen Enter tainment Coalition (GSEC) announced the recipients of its first-ever “Friends of Film” awards program. These awards recognize a bipartisan group of state legislators for their support of legislation and policies important to Georgia’s $8.6 billion film television, and digital entertainment industry. Honorees this year include House Speaker, David Ralston, House Representative, Teri Anulewicz, James Beverly, John Carson, Matt Dollar, Chuck Efstration, Brett Harrell, Beth Moore, Terry Rogers, Richard Smith, Calvin Smyre, and Ron Stephens. State Senators include Emanuel Jones, Harold Jones, Jeff Mullis, and Nan Orrock. “Georgia’s film industry pumps billions of dollars into the state’s economy each year, and has created substantial opportunities for thousands of Georgians, their communities and small businesses across the state,” GSEC Executive Director, Kelsey Moore, said. “We are grateful for the leadership of each one of this year’s Friends of Film winners and congratulate them on this recognition for their hard work and unwavering support of Georgia’s film, television and digital entertainment industry.” The 2020 Friends of Film legislators were chosen based on their voting record on industry specific issues, leadership in protecting and advancing the industry and their support of policies and initiatives that recognize Georgia’s film industry as an important economic driver for the state.

November / December 2020

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

Images Courtesy of Netflix

B Y :

he Georgia film industry has been through many changes over the last few months. During times of resilience, we are uncovering just how talented, strong, and innovative Georgia creators are. Whether the job is a blockbuster film, a television series, or a micro-budget independent production, Georgia’s industry workers are ready to deliver the best possible product; especially now, when it can feel like there’s so little happening, Georgians are making big strides in the industry. LC Crowley and Brandon Barr, are two Georgians who are making waves with the launch of their groundbreaking animation studio, Trioscope Studios. The Atlanta-based studio is looking to become the Pixar of adult animation. Crowley

K R U P A

K A N A I Y A

and Barr are veteran producers and entrepreneurs. As previous co-founders of Atlanta’s School of Humans, they built a reputation on genre defying and experimental projects such as “Daytime Fighting League” (Adult Swim), “Stuff You Should Know” (Science Channel) and “Behind the Screens” (Netflix) as well as progressive approaches to content through their podcasts, including the critical hit Hell and Gone. Three years ago, the duo began working on a new animation software ahead of its time. When seeing the potential for this software, Crowley, and Barr teamed up with award winning Director, Animator, and VFX Artist, Grzegorz Jonkajtys, to transform Trioscope into its own company. Jonkajtys has served as a VFX

Creative at Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic as well as CaféFX. His directorial acclaim includes international short films such as Ark and The 3rd Letter, and among his many credits include Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Avengers: Infinity War, Sin City, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Revenant. This team of high achieving creatives is raising the bar during a time that feels like a stand still. The new studio is dedicated to next generation enhanced hybrid animation. With Crowley as Chief Executive Officer, Barr as Chief Content Officer, Jonkajtys as Chief Creative Officer, and Brian Lavin, who has served as a Senior Development Executive at Discovery Communications, Red Bull Media House and Viacom, as November / December 2020

Senior Vice President of Development, the studio is looking to be the next heavy hitter in our industry. Although new, the studio has already made partnerships with Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Unique Features, Conoco (Conan O’Brien’s company), Netflix and Hulu for unannounced projects. As the studio prepares for these upcoming projects they are a part of a series release that is three years in the making. This November, “The Liberator,” a new animated series (created entirely in Georgia) is coming to Netflix. From the conception of the studio to the release of “The Liberator,” Trioscope is telling stories in a new medium. “The Liberator” is a war story taking on new technological advances while showing great promise of what Georgia has to offer. Trioscope Studios, Moonshine Post, and Bare Knuckles Creative, all Atlanta-based companies, have come together with Netflix to bring the series to life. Unlike traditional live-action or animation, “The Liberator” features a style that presents the escapism of animation and the emotion of a liveaction drama. Originally, “The Liberator” was announced as a live-action. A&E Studios had acquired the project prior to Netflix’s involvement, but the cost to create the series proved to be too expensive. With a bit of good timing,

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Trioscope was able to come in after an approach by Netflix and present them with a hybrid animation option for a fraction of the cost, landing them the series. As a hybrid animation, “The Liberator” stands to deliver entertainment to adult viewers in a way often disregarded by western audiences. While some countries have adopted the use of animation for all ages, the genre oftentimes has been disregarded in the United States as a storytelling medium intended for younger viewers. When presented to American adults, animation usually features raunchy comedies or satires, like “Big Mouth” and “Family Guy”; “The Liberator” is neither of those. The latest Netflix series is written by Jeb Stuart (Die Hard, The Fugitive) and produced by A&E Studios and Unique Features. “The Liberator” is an action packed World War II animated series featuring a group of young men during a 500+ day battle. The narrative is based on historical events and friendships. Following Indigenous people, Mexican Americans, and cowboys who are drafted into the war as they fight side by side during a time of racial injustice. This drama-filled series will highlight the camaraderie of these men as they go overseas to save the world.

While the show will appeal to viewers who enjoyed Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers, younger viewers can expect the story to be relatable to current times as the heroes band together and fight in a time of inequality. In addition to the story’s content, the series presents the latest developments in animation, all stemming from Georgia. While war stories are not new to filmmaking, the technology behind the series is. By creating a new way to envision the world, the cutting edge animation also makes “The Liberator” visually relevant to cinephiles who are looking for a modernized war story. Trioscope is combining liveaction and animation in a way that is revolutionizing how content is produced. “[The software developments allow us to] build our stories around the human expressions on the faces of actors while at the same time opening up the epic kind of world-building possibilities that animation allows,” Barr said. By combining human performance with animated backgrounds, Trioscope is able to produce a first-of-its-kind viewing experience. It has become the only medium to give human faces photoreal quality. Filled with breathtaking cinematic visuals, the medium takes on

visual storytelling on a cost-effective budget. For a third of the cost of liveaction, Trioscope is able to produce what they’ve described as the moving graphic novel. The concept behind Trioscope’s coveted technology will remind animators of rotoscoping but the process used is far ahead of the traditional technique. While rotoscoping involves tracing over live-action footage, Trioscope is creating their backgrounds from scratch. Since “The Liberator” actors were shot on a volumetric stage, the studio is tapping into the imaginations of it’s artists while still giving the actors a way to take the limelight on a stage. The result is a visual representation of the talent at hand. Until you look at the Trioscope process, combining live-action and animation may not sound cost-effective. When beginning to create Trioscope, the team intuitively changed its pipeline. “In the big-budget drama category, scope and scale really are the enemies of the cost,” Crowley told Oz. Trioscope’s process still uses everything live-action requires, such as the crew, creatives, technicians, talent, etc., the live - action portion of production is on a smaller scale than other content of its kind since it is shot entirely on a stage. This cost reducing process is part of what makes Trioscope and its pipeline so enticing to large streaming platforms like Netflix. While the studio’s current price tag on their productions is still high, Trioscope plans to make their studio even more appealing by reducing the cost over

time with various AI automations and neuro-style transfers, making it appealing to filmmakers of all levels. This cost effectiveness could alter the way we produce content while making the filmmaking process even more affordable to independent creators. Although the studio’s new technology is not available to the public, the potential for positive impact on our industry brings great promise to creatives looking to revolutionize storytelling. Trioscope’s process is not only costeffective but safer in times of COVID-19. Their production method blends smoothly into the needs of the current state of the world by using a green/blue screen and allowing filmmakers to adapt to any type of environment they are looking for. This socially distant medium requires crews of less than 50 people, reducing the risks of exposure to COVID-19 in contrast to traditional productions. This method, along with the constant updating of their systems, creates a safe, efficient, and more enticing production environment for the industry. While the pandemic will not last forever, Trioscope’s strategy keeps costs low, making the studio more economically sustainable for years to come. As their technology advances, viewers can expect Trioscope to draw more unique projects and big name companies to Georgia in addition to their current partnerships. Georgia has always been a desirable location for production; from tax breaks to talent, the reasons to live and work in the Peach State are plentiful and ever growing. However, while Georgia has been the location for major motion pictures, television, and animation

for years, when someone thinks of the American film industry, Georgia is not always first to come to mind. Why is that? While audiences are used to seeing the peach at the end of television series or film’s credits, signifying that the production was made in Georgia, the entire process of a show or film’s creation may not remain in the state. On the contrary, “The Liberator” is not only taking advantage of the tax incentives and other assets, it is keeping post in Georgia as well. In turn, the show is building something that expands the state’s job market and places a bigger emphasis on originating content. “We really see the vision of Trioscope to be different in that we want it to have a nice Atlanta stamp on it in all respects,” Crowley said. “The Liberator” is the next step towards world recognition of Georgia made content. The series brings forth a look only Atlanta can provide and the company’s patents serve as a testament to our local industry’s ability and innovation. When first creating the show, the studio looked back on how they created a final product. Taking up to a year to create the pilot, Trioscope realized they needed to invent so much of the technology to get there. These developments called for the need of a patent. Protecting the intellectual

November / December 2020

COVER STORY

property and furthering the mission for people to understand and start to talk about the technology, the patent clarifies that Trioscope is both a platform and a technological tool. The decision to patent their discoveries ultimately resulted in the team moving forward to establish Trioscope as its own independent animation studio. Joining the list of reputable animation studios within Atlanta, Trioscope’s unique technology will ultimately raise a generation of artists in the Trioscope pipeline, further diversifying the production of animation in the state. Following a long history of cinema, the technology will serve as a format to unlock visions for talented filmmakers. “We see a time in the future, in the not so distant future, where all of the major streamers and cablers and distributors alike will see what we see now, which is the power of animated drama,” Crowley said. Recognizing the world-class film and animation communities established here, Trioscope offers the opportunity to be something unique and new that blends those two communities to build new and extraordinary pathways in the Peach State. With this new style of storytelling, a new genre of filmmaking is brought to the industry. The limitations of cost are no longer the barrier to entry and the technology is updating in real time. Filmmakers can now experience a creation process that uses some of their existing skills alongside a new system to create the projects that may have never been possible due to scope or scale. Now, there’s a sense of liberation between scope, imagination, and cost. The phrase “the possibilities are endless” has never been more true. Filmmakers

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can create detailed historical sites or vast scenes while maintaining the emotional elements of real humans. Even actors have something to share in this new experience as they rely on their expansive imaginations to perform on stages. While visual excellence is always at the forefront of the film and television industry, the ability to convey genuine emotion is what expands storytelling in this style. “The goal of the storyteller no longer needs to be photo-real if you're focused instead on really getting across the emotion of the thing,” Barr said. For filmmakers, the goal of storytelling is often to evoke a reaction from the audience. While VFX and other visual technologies are constantly growing and changing, the ability to see real depth in a performance can make or break a film or show’s success. In some initial testing, Trioscope was able to recognize that after two minutes of viewing, an audience member forgets they are watching anything but live-action.

What does this mean for filmmakers? Ultimately, Trioscope will bring the suspension of disbelief to viewers at home - blurring the lines between liveaction and animation with their patented process. While this technology is not yet widespread, Trioscope is rolling out a new plan to offer incoming, Georgia-based filmmakers the experience needed to work with this advancement. For artists first graduating college, the next step in their careers can be an unclear and difficult path to start. Trioscope is easing this process with the opportunity to develop needed skills in their institution. They are currently in the process of creating a trainee program for up and coming artists in VFX and animation. Trioscope plans to train newcomers in understanding exactly what it is they are doing at the studios. The program will be released in partnership with ASIFA-South as a way to give hands on experience while still developing much needed skills. However, this development is nothing new for the Trioscope team. With a history of student training and previous incubators for young artists to develop skills on paid gigs, the company’s founders are reinvesting in Georgia talent to help make this state the obvious choice for production. Trioscope has developed an intrinsic custom toolset and their pipeline is very different from the traditional workflow. Their training program will help artists in borrowing best practices from all sides

We see a time in the future, in the not so distant future, where all of the major streamers and cablers and distributors alike will see what we see now, which is the power of animated drama.” -LC Crowley, Chief Executive Officer at Trioscope Studios

of the industry, enhancing the skills they come in with. From a post-production standpoint, Trioscope has also partnered with Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). The studio is the largest client of the CMII volumetric stage, which speaks to their strong connection to Georgia. Not many workers in the film and television industry, other than these prospective students, will get the experience of working with a volumetric stage. While most people understand the principles of the process, the practice of it is where the art comes into play. As Trioscope moves into post-production, VFX, and animation, the studio acknowledges all the schools and the various great shops that are in the state. Georgia universities have really colitivated a community that makes Trioscope’s progressive programs possible. From production to post, “The Liberator” is proof that our state has what it takes to produce quality content for a global audience. “The Liberator” is expected to draw audiences in the US and Europe for its Netflix release. Before the creation of Trioscope Studios, both Crowley and Barr have had a decade long history of work during their previous endeavors at School Of Humans with Moonshine Post-Production. The two companies once shared a building, and their adventurous spirits and positive work relationship made it possible to bring yet another technological advancement to the show. Moonshine was able to look at the

show at an early concept stage while Trioscope was still in an initial testing phase. “We’ve pioneered a lot of stuff alongside Trioscope in terms of work flows and posts,” Post Producer and Founder of Moonshine, Drew Sawyer, told Oz. When approached about the concept, Moonshine and Trioscope took on a can-do attitude to attempt to create the new storytelling style. The companies worked closely for a year prior to any shooting, developing estimates and workflows. Now, almost three years after the conception of Trioscope, the studio has been brought to life. This is the first time the companies have done a full cart, full finish production and the first hybrid animation show done by Moonshine Post. As one of the leading posts in the South, enlisting Moonshine was an easy decision. Moonshine was already making an investment into the kind of technology and training for personnel so that they could take on a larger style Adobe show. Moonshine and their sister company, Bare Knuckles Creative, has exercised the use of two new technologies, Adobe Atlas and Adobe Vision. While much of their work flow remains the same, the process is intensified by the use of the new software. With “The Liberator,” the whole show can be considered a media effects shot with broader color range and enhanced sound. The Adobe technology used on “The Liberator” is the shiny object for Moonshine’s creatives. This type of technology reinvigorates the art form for the colorists. It is an exciting new frontier for them to explore in terms of the color gambit and what they can do with it. The same can be said for the sound team. When working with Adobe Atlas, it comes down to the mixer. While fabricating entire war scenes from scratch is nothing new for animation, the Trioscope pipeline requires sound design shops to fill out the environment. In this process, Moonshine and Bare Knuckles were able to use their sound shops and dive into a fun creative part of sound design. With the team’s excitement and the new Adobe advancements, the mixers are now expanding what the audience is able to hear. Throughout the process, Adobe has given way to more creative collaboration. Currently, Moonshine is the only shop in

Georgia that is using Adobe Vision and Adobe Atlas for long form, television series, and feature works. In the completion of “The Liberator,” as Trioscope took the initial dive into the workload, Moonshine was able to bring the collaboration to the screen. “It’s really just our job to make sure that every bit of that hard work makes it on the screen and then if we can add to it, collaborate with them, then that's our job … Moonshine is working at the level that everyone has been aspiring to work at,” Sawyer said. What does this mean for Georgia? It proves there is a trend forming. People are opening up to the idea of keeping post in the state. “We’re doing long form television in the state of Georgia, when that wasn’t even a glimmer in the eye, or a thought or an opportunity several years ago,” Sawyer explained. Moonshine and Trioscope are both confident that as “The Liberator” shows success, it will bring another show to Georgia, and another, and so forth, creating an influx of opportunities in the market. The Georgia film and animation communities have definitely produced the cream of the crop of storytellers. By constantly having to prove themselves on features and series, Georgia storytellers are prepared to do a big show such as “The Liberator,” and more to come. “It’s not Moonshine’s job to do them all, but it is our job to make sure we do them as good as possible, if not better, every time so that more people will come and shoot the same,” Sawyer said when asked about the potential for more post work in Georgia after the release of “The Liberator.” “The Liberator” is proof that Georgia’s film industry will thrive and expand despite the current state of the world. The technology, while alluring for new business, is a step towards the expansion Georgia needs and the innovation the film, television and animation communities are looking for. As the industry looks to get back to work, filmmakers can look forward to this new mode of storytelling as a sign of the exciting possibilities within Georgia’s creative community.

November / December 2020

When Amani Lyle became a writer’s assistant on “Friends,” she was told the job might involve listening to and writing down jokes of a sexual nature. Still, after her four-month stint came to an end, Lyle believed what she endured during her time there had crossed the line. She filed a suit for 30

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sexual harassment against the television show’s production company and some of the show’s writers. The suit alleged that male writers would regularly talk about their sexual exploits, discuss sexual acts they’d like to perform with actresses on the show, and more.

Alicia Rodis trains actors and crew members in the art of intimacy coordination. Photographed by Dahlia Katz

But could the discussions in the writers room be written off as a way to simply get those creative juices flowing? According to the 2006 California Supreme Court, yes. The court ruled that given the adult nature and themes of the show, all of the evidence in question could be viewed as “creative necessity” – part of the writer’s process. “There’s a little friction between creative context and sexual harassment,” Ilene Berman, a partner at Atlanta’s Taylor English law firm who does sexual harrassment training for Warner Brothers, told Oz. “Because when the creative context has to do with sex, where do you cross a line into the unlawful, sexual harassment world?” The same year the California Supreme Court ruled on Lyle v. Warner Brothers Television Productions, activist Tarana Burke began using the phrase “me too” to raise awareness for women who had been abused. Eleven years later, actress Alyssa Milano used the phrase in a tweet, popularizing Burke’s movement. Since then, Hollywood has been forced to reckon with sexual misconduct in a huge way, peaking with the Harvey Weinstein verdict this February. But while so many speaking out in support of the #MeToo movement were working on a public stage, a

much quieter advancement was slowly becoming an integral part of mitigating sexual harassment on set: the intimacy coordinator. Alicia Rodis, Co-Founder of Intimacy Directors International and later Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, credits the #MeToo movement with helping the industry begin to understand the need for a position like an intimacy coordinator. “The way I look at the #MeToo movement is that it was a realization for everyone,” Rodis said in an interview with Oz. “It wasn’t a realization of, ‘There are a few predators out here.’ It was a realization that the ways that we had been doing a lot of things have not been the best we can do.” Intimacy coordinators work on movie and television sets to ensure that best practices are met while filming and help to cement the line between creative pursuit and misconduct. While it’s still a fairly new industry, intimacy coordinators have been used to wonderful effect on shows such as “The Deuce” and “Normal People,” and the Georgia-lensed shows “Watchmen” and “Lovecraft Country.” Intimacy coordination is just now gaining traction in the mainstream film and television world, but it still isn’t quite as normalized in Atlanta as it

might be elsewhere. “Quite honestly, in the conversations that I have had with several professionals, the recognition of the role is not as accepted or understood [in Georgia],” said L.P. Watts, Intimacy Coordinator for film and television in Atlanta. Intimacy coordination as an industry is meant to provide accountability on set. The presence of a coordinator can create a safe space and make sure the lines between work and reality are clear - not just for actors, but for everyone involved in the production. If those lines had been more clearly drawn in the 2000s, would Amani Lyle’s case have had the same outcome? Would there have been a reason for her to sue in the first place? Those questions can’t be answered, but in the wake of movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, lawyers like Ilene Berman and the few intimacy coordinators who have begun working in Georgia are optimistic about the profession’s ability to mitigate harm in the future. “I don’t think [intimacy coordinators] would ever have been allowed or even a concept five years ago,” Berman said. “No way. And now it's mandated on most major productions; which is great.”

November / December 2020

Intimacy Coordinator, Alicia Rodis, works on set to make sure best practices are used during intimate scenes. Photographed by Andy Difee

THE HERSTORY OF INTIMACY ON SET Before the #MeToo movement, intimacy coordination for episodic television or film wasn’t on many people’s mind. But Emily Meade, star of HBO’s “The Deuce,” decided she had enough. According to Meade, she filmed her first sex scene when she was a teenager and is no stranger to playing sexualized characters, but “The Deuce,” a show that centers around the New York porn industry in the 1970s, presented her with unique challenges. “There was no specific incident or anything outside of what I’ve been used to for the past 13 years,” she said in an interview with HBO. “The only thing that 32

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makes ‘The Deuce’ different is the story itself is about sex, and sex scenes are an integral part of the story.” Looking back at her career, Meade remembered some instances on set where she said “yes” in the moment, but retroactively felt uneasy about that decision, and Meade isn’t the only one. Stars like Emilia Clarke, Maria Schneider, Rosie Perez, and countless others have expressed varying levels of discomfort while filming intimate scenes. For Meade, it finally got to be too much. Meade went to the show’s creators, David Simon and George Pelecanos, and asked for someone to advocate not just for her, but for everyone on set who may be involved with a sexual scene. Soon after, Alicia Rodis was hired, and the intimacy

coordinator revolution was born. Before beginning work on “The Deuce,” Rodis had already been an important figure in the world of intimacy coordination. The first film she served as an intimacy coordinator on was in 2015. In 2016, she helped found Intimacy Directors International with Intimacy Director Tonia Sina, who has been credited with starting the groundwork for the profession back in 2006. The day Rodis got the call to come in for “The Deuce,” the line producer on the phone fumbled over words, unwittingly proving just how important the intimacy coordinator position would become. Rodis said it sounded like he was requesting services from a sex worker. “He couldn’t even say the word

intimacy,” she said. “He said, ‘I’m working on a show and we need … something. I see that you provide … services on this website.’” After the awkwardness of that initial phone call, Rodis came in for an interview and met with the showrunners, HBO’s legal team and production executives. She said she was struck by their vulnerability and willingness to admit that they didn’t know what they were doing. “I truly think it was courageous of them to say, ‘We need something and we don’t know what it is.’ Let’s work on this together,” she said. “And we did.” Just a few years later, Rodis is now the in-house Intimacy Coordinator for HBO. The network declared in 2018 that all of their television shows that featured intimate scenes would require intimacy coordinators. Just this year, SAG-AFTRA mandated the hiring of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes. This mandate happened within weeks of media mogul Harvey Weinstein being found guilty of rape. “This came off the back of the concern of our members for their safety,” SAG-AFTRA President, Gabrielle Carteris, said in an interview with the BBC earlier this year. “Actors, and women in particular, spoke out to tell their stories; not just about Weinstein, but many others.” Rodis and HBO have helped popularize the use of intimacy coordinators, and while other major players have followed suit – Netflix recently hired its first intimacy coordinator, Ita O’Brien, for the show “Sex Education” - not everyone has been as quick to jump on board. In younger film and television markets, like Georgia, intimacy coordinators are only just starting to become visible. “I am extremely honored and humbled every day to be a part of this work,” Samantha McDonald, an Atlantabased Intimacy Coordinator who has worked on shows like “Ozark,” “P-Valley,” and “The Outsider,” told Oz. “To be part of the conversation as we continue to educate as many people as we can about what this job is and how it can be so beneficial not just for performers, but the production as a whole.” Jessica Bennett, an Atlanta-based Intimacy Coordinator who has worked on

shows such as HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” said that while working with Rodis and HBO is usually a smooth process, working with those who are less familiar with the job can be difficult to navigate. “A lot of times, we have to fight for our protocols to be upheld,” Bennett told Oz. And sometimes, that means coordinators standing their ground at their own peril

when advocating for an actor. “We have to be such strong advocates that we really do have to be kind of okay with losing our job.” L.P. Watts, who is a licensed therapist as well as an intimacy coordinator, also said the advocacy part of the job can be difficult. To be an intimacy coordinator, she said, one needs to be comfortable using their own voice and stepping up when something goes wrong. “If someone’s on set and they feel uncomfortable, or they feel like things are not going the way they planned them to go or discussed them to go, the intimacy coordinator is going to step in,” Watts said. “It’s a fine line,” she continued. “You are part of a production, but in some ways you are also brought in to be this neutral party who is not included in the power dynamic. This is where training and emotional maturity certainly come in handy.” In a market where the intimacy coordination industry is so new, the stepping in part of the job can be difficult. Intimacy coordinators like Watts and Bennett have to feel comfortable doing the uncomfortable thing. And being in a market where the profession is so new, Bennett feels responsible for making sure she carries out those protocols appropriately. “It’s so important to uphold really high standards,” she said. “We are setting the groundwork for those who come after us and those who are training now.” LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: A DAY IN THE LIFE

Intimacy Coordinator, L.P. Watts Photographed by Robyn Snyder

Lucky for Bennett, she’s used to keeping her standards high, and she has no problem stepping in on set. She was recently working on a set where it was clear the intense nature of the scene was not just getting to the actors, but getting to everyone on set. The atmosphere was strained, to say the least. The tension had bled from the actors to the crew, with everyone’s shoulders gradually rising to their ears with discomfort. In Bennett’s words, she looked to the head of the network, and said: “Are you going to shut it down or me?” This type of on-the-job decisionmaking is common in the day-to-day of November / December 2020

" THE MORE WE CAN PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME AND REALLY CREATE A SAFE SPACE, THE MORE WE CAN FREE UP THE ACTOR’S HEADSPACE TO REALLY ALLOW THEM TO FOCUS ON THE ACTING. SAMANTHA MCDONALD

Intimacy Coordinator, Jessica Bennett

an intimacy coordinator. Part of the role is being an advocate for actors, someone neutral in the power dynamic that exists on set, who’s there to make sure everyone is comfortable – and it doesn’t hurt if they make everyone look good while they’re doing that. “My job is to make everyone look awesome, and we can’t be awesome unless we understand that we are inherently safe,” Bennett explained. “If people understand they’re safe and that they’re going to look awesome and that someone’s got their back, especially when [they’re] doing the vulnerable work of being naked and simluating sex – once we feel comfortable in that, we can go home.” Doors are just now opening to incorporate intimacy coordinators on set. Due to the intense and new nature of the position, these coordinators can assume a lot of different roles depending on what the director, producer and actors all require. But whatever role they take on or whatever techniques they implement, creating a safe space and limiting the potential for misconduct remains one of the most important goals. That requires a high level of communication. As a coordinator, Watts encourages creating specific recreatable choreography in scenes that include intimacy. She 34

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says that doing so can create specific boundaries and maintain a level of comfort for the actors involved. “I think that choreography is pretty much one of the most important pieces here,” Watts said. “If talent shows up and there’s no choreography, you can only imagine the room that leaves open for misunderstandings, miscommunication and potential damage.” McDonald also places an emphasis on movement and gathers as much specific information as she can from actors to create a “boundary map” to navigate in rehearsal. For example, a seemingly simple kissing scene can have many moving parts – is the actor comfortable with kissing on the mouth? Closed or open? Tongue or no tongue? Where is the actor comfortable being touched during the scene? These and so many other questions are integral to coming up with choreography that works for everyone. “It is really important that I can get as much information ahead of time from the actors about what their boundaries are so we can work within them,” McDonald said. “It’s not me creating boundaries, it is me listening, respecting and upholding the boundaries of the actors.”

For Bennett, one of the most important things she does on set is create a sense of community. Bennett said she strives to make everyone feel comfortable, so they know if they have a problem, they can go talk to “that intimacy lady” and she can bring some calm to the storm. “Creating a sense of community I would say is one of my biggest superpowers,” Bennett said. Building community, extremely detailed planning and communication all help these intimacy coordinators create a set that is safer for everyone. More than that, if actors feel comfortable with the movement they are given and don’t feel in danger of misconduct, they’re bound to give stronger performances. “Being able to communicate and prepare early allows us to come into the rehearsal, whether that rehearsal be days before or on the day of shooting, and talk our way through the scene from an informed and comfortable place,” said McDonald. “The more we can prepare ahead of time and really create a safe space, the more we can free up the actor’s headspace to really allow them to focus on the acting.” FILM AND THE LAW IN THE AFTERMATH OF #METOO The #MeToo movement has changed the sexual misconduct conversation everywhere from major productions to smaller, independent sets. Along with

intimacy coordinators becoming more integrated on set, film companies are putting more policies in place to prioritize the needs of their employees. “There’s a business side to this, and there’s art and creativity that’s generated from this work. There’s a balance and there are boundaries,” Berman told Oz. “I think that the intimacy coordinator certainly helps protect that both from the creative side and from the employees.” Berman also leads sexual harassment training for Warner Brothers productions. “I started doing that eight or nine years ago, which was pretty novel, believe it or not,” she said. “Now it’s routine.” Berman’s work, has contributed thoroughly to changes in the industry. She has seen how the the combination of reworked policies, the introduction of intimacy coordinators and the #MeToo movement have worked correspondingly to ensure safe sets. “All the [training] that I’ve done for Warner Brothers over the last eight or nine years - they’ve never had a sexual harassment complaint [in Georgia],” Berman said. The #MeToo movement particularly impacted Berman. Over the years, Berman’s work has provided support for movements like #MeToo in the industry. Pair that with the work of intimacy coordinators, and there are two parts coming together to create a safer environment on set. “Where I think it’s so beneficial for production studios to have an intimacy coordinator on set is to make sure that the consent and the paramenters in the participation of these graphic sex scenes is continous,” Berman said. “When you go outside of the consent and the expectation of the role or the scene, that’s where hostile work environment and sexual assault would come into play.” THERE IS STILL WORK TO BE DONE As Georgia’s importance increases in the global film industry, it’s important to keep up with the rest of the field. And despite the efforts of these women laying the groundwork, the Peach State might not be there yet. “The biggest part of it is explaining the job,” Bennett said.” A lot of people

Ilene Berman, JD - Photographed by Parker Smith

don’t know what we do.” She said she thinks the majority of actors generally understand what an intimacy coordinator does once she’s explained it, but directors sometimes have a harder time. “You explain the job, and they get to set, and they’re not sure what the crap to do with you.” Nevertheless, while the profession isn’t as normalized as its proponents might hope, strides have been and are being made. “For myself, it would be great to have this role accepted and included and integrated onto sets the way other roles are,” Watts said. “Like a stunt coordinator, or wardrobe, or make-up.”

The industry certainly appears to be on that path, even if the position isn’t yet mandated in Georgia, leaving the market a little behind the curve. And with proven success at making actors more comfortable in vulnerable situations and finding innovative solutions to safety, that’s a good thing. “I love this position because it allows such creativity. I’m never scared of a no,” said Bennett. “If nothing else I’m like, tell me no! Tell me, because we’ll figure it out. I’m not scared to be like, ‘That won’t work.’ There’s always a solution.”

November / December 2020

BRAD KALINOSKI’S LIFE IN VISUAL EFFECTS BY: B. SONENREICH

“Walking Dead” images courtesy of AMC

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

n 1972, six-year-old Brad Kalinoski and his siblings received Pong, one of the first video games, as a Christmas present from their parents. While most of Kalinoski’s family went into the other room to play board games, Kalinoski, his brother, and his sister stayed playing the arcade game.

“I went past them, got a Phillips screwdriver, came back, and took the whole entire damn thing apart,” Kalinsoki said. It wasn’t a moment of mindless destruction. “I took it completely apart just to see how it worked.” Oddly enough, his parents didn’t punish him. “Put it back together,” he remembered them saying. “And it better work.” He did. He put the whole thing back together and, as demanded, it did work. Kalinoski’s gratitude for his parents is obvious and he listed the ways they instilled a sense of self confidence that has impacted his way of life and approach to learning the craft of visual effects. Fast forward to 2020, Kalinoski has worked in visual effects (VFX) departments for the Oscar-winning film, Black Swan, the Georgia-lensed television series, “The Walking Dead,” and many

more blockbuster films and hit shows. “Everything I did was self-taught. Everything,” Kalinoski said when asked about how he learned his craft. Kalinoski’s self-built skill set didn’t lead him directly into the industry. Before his days calling shots behind the scenes, Kalinoski was working in nursing for about ten years. His now-wife, Tinatsu Wallace, played a key role in convincing him to leave the medical field to try to find his way as a VFX artist in the film and television industry. “Listen, if this is what you want to do,” Kalinoski remembered his wife saying, “Then quit your job.” During his career in nursing, Kalinoski gained seven years of on-set experience in his hometown in West Virginia. He worked part-time on local productions and commercials. He credits friends on set with getting his foot in the door, helping him network in the film industry. Eventually, a co-worker of his went on to Hollywood to work for “The Simpsons,” which gave Kalinoski a reason to visit the West Coast and a place to stay before moving there in the late ‘90s.

PUTTING TH E PIEC ES BACK TOGETH ER “I went to Hollywood in 1997,” Kalinoski told Oz. “We packed the car [and] had, I think maybe, $1,200.” He had a job lined up for him at a company that was owned by Kodak. They offered him a position in the 3D department and him and his wife drove out there thinking he had the job locked in. “I got to Albuquerque, New Mexico … I was so exhausted,” he described the journey from West Virginia to Hollywood. When he made the call to inform his new employer of his current location and chosen rest stop, the receptionist put him on hold. “I held for about 15 minutes. They came back and said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t have that position anymore; we gave it to a producer’s son.’” Kalinoski was three-quarters of the way to Hollywood, so despite failed plans, he kept going. “It didn’t deter me,” Kalinoski said. A string of bad luck only made him push harder toward his goal. He continued to attend interviews, he was shut down time and again because of lack of experience; however, one day a new company called Mirage LifeFX hired him.

September / October 2020

“It’s a constant education … Once you get out of school, if you go to school, you have to keep learning all the new updated software "

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

“My first job in Hollywood was research and development for facial motion capture, which was called LifeFX,” Kalinoski said. “I have been working every day since I started. Literally, I’ve had two vacations - maybe three - in my entire career, because I’ve just been busy, busy, busy.” “Once the dot-com boom of the 2000s had imploded, and all the money dried up and went away, I migrated over into compositing,” Kalinoski said. The first film he worked on was The Tuxedo (2002), which starred Jackie Chan. “I was painting out wires that were holding Jackie Chan from killing himself.” Kalinoski’s passion for visual effects only grew as he got more experience working on film and television projects. “It’s something I always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s like any other job; sometimes you get it wrong. You have your ups and downs; I’ve had Hell and I’ve had Heaven.”

M ETH OD TO TH E MAGIC Prior to moving to Hollywood, Kalinoski’s passion for taking things apart and putting them back together was further explored via books. “Amazon had just started,” Kalinsoki said. “It was a really horrible website, but you could order the books.” Having gone to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kalinoski’s wife knew exactly what he needed on his reading list. “She got the books for me. I got the software. I had the computer knowledge,” Kalinsoki said. From there, Kalinoski put a computer together and built a demo reel before heading to the West Coast. “I don’t think schools teach you any more than what you can get out of a book and/or online at this point,” Kalinoski said. However, he’s aware that there is an element of raw talent that can’t be picked up by just any average person. “Not

everybody has that eye; not everybody has that talent … And you can’t really teach this stuff, really, honestly. It’s either you have it, or you don’t.” “I don’t know one company that looks at someone’s resume to find out if they have a degree or a diploma,” Kalinsoki laughed when asked about what he would tell a prospective visual effects student. “It’s not the first thing I look at. I look at and see what the raw talent is, and how they approach things.” So what does someone going into visual effects need to know? “It’s not a normal job; it’s just not,” Kalinoski advised. “It’s a constant education … Once you get out of school, if you go to school, you have to keep learning all the new updated software, broaden any skills with MEL and just consistent honing of the artistic skills that you possess or new ones that you find.” Even now, after running his own visual effects studio, being nominated for a BAFTA, and more, Kalinoski still has to constantly maintain and understand exactly what the newest software and approaches are.

SWAY ED TO S E N OIA Before Kalinoski’s work on “The Walking Dead” and his decision to move to Georgia, a friend of his who is also in visual effects asked him to come visit. “I’ve worked with him a couple of times and got to know Georgia,” Kalinoski said. The Peach State was never on Kalinoski’s map, but he realized Georgia had a lot to offer. “I came down and loved it,” Kalinoski said. “Then came a time when I was trying to debate whether I wanted to get back to Oregon and shoot ‘Librarians’ for the fourth season, or come to Atlanta and work on ‘The Walking Dead.’” In 2017, Kalinoski was swayed to Senoia to work on the eighth season of ‘The Walking Dead.’ “It was great,” Kalinoski said. When asked what the most challenging genre to do visual effects work on is, Kalinoski hesitated; however, when explaining his work on ‘The Walking Dead,’ the answer became obvious.

“It’s not just a paycheck; it’s a love.”

“[‘The Walking Dead’] was really freaking difficult,” Kalinoski said. “It was really hard from various standpoints, but I still loved it. And I still love the show. I still love the people I’ve worked with on the show … Unfortunately, this is their last season, and I’m hoping that we’ll be able to do a little bit of work this year, here in [FuseFX’s] Atlanta office.”

A FUTU R E IN ATLANTA Now, Kalinoski is the Head of Production at FuseFX’s Atlanta location. “We have a new office,” Kalinoski said. He’s specifically seeking artists with portfolios that don’t only showcase their talent, but the strong initiative behind their practice. “My plan is to, hopefully by mid-year next year or by the end of next year, at least have 35 to 40 seats filled.” Much like many other companies at this time, the pandemic has really put a dent in FuseFX’s plans to hit the ground running. “The work was drying up; everybody shut down. I was working on DMZ with Ava [DuVernay] here, and we finished up the last minute here in Atlanta, and then I still went around trying to drum up work that was here.” Nevertheless, FuseFX has a lot of bidding going on. “It could get really busy really fast,” Kalinoski said. He expects this to be the case after November. In the meantime, Kalinoski is looking forward to putting together a team of visual effects artists who are passionate about their craft. “It’s not just a paycheck,” he said. “It’s a love.”

Brad Kalinoski

November / December 2020

FILMMAKER ON THE RISE

A Q&A WITH

ASAD FAROOQUI BY: STEPHEN WILKINS

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

he best screenplays come from lived experience. All it takes is that one snippet of a conversation that you remember from third grade or overhearing a passing comment in a cafe to ground any scene in a tangible reality. Pakistani-American filmmaker Asad Farooqui renders these moments from his life to weave dark satirical comedies that shed light on the immigrant experience. Born in Pakistan his family migrated to Atlanta, Georgia when he was just eight years old. “We moved here for my mother’s cancer treatment. She didn’t make it. She passed away three years later when I was 11,” Farooqui told Oz Magazine. Farooqui had a tough time assimilating to American culture, but he learned English through the ESOL program, and after attending Lake Shore High School he went on to Emory University for his undergraduate degree. “I studied comparative religion and business management. I had no film background whatsoever,” Farooqui noted. In his senior year he decided to take Emory’s Theatre 101 course to fulfill a general education requirement. That led him to audition for his one and only role while attending the university. “It was the very first audition of my life and I ended up getting the lead role. I just loved the collaborative process of theatre and teamwork. How we were all working towards one goal,” he reminisced.

Can you tell me about the writing and process for your short film Broke?

Broke is the film that played at the Atlanta Film Fest. I made it very cheaply, something like 200 bucks or less and it ended up getting into the Atlanta Film Festival. I did that just because I was a Georgia filmmaker so it cost 20 bucks to enter it ... I thought it would be an interesting thing because you rarely get to see a Pakistani Muslim couple at a therapist office.

Broke has an unconventional style, can you talk about that?

So, I just kind of experimented … there is a nine minute long take and the camera doesn’t move, and then you get cuts from the girl and the guy’s perspective, and what they have to say. You never see the therapist, you just hear her. Basically the two characters are just talking to the audience.

After graduating, Farooqui took a two year position in Washington D.C. for a governmental tax division. After his appointment wasn’t extended he moved back to Atlanta to work for an industrial supply company in their tax division. It was around this time that he started thinking back to his experience at Emory and how much he enjoyed acting. He didn’t have any contacts in the Atlanta film or theatre world so he decided to start forging his own path. “I started looking up how to write short scripts … and made four or five short films in a period of four or five months.” These short films played around town at Emory, nothing major, but they showed Farooqui the ins and outs of how to create on a budget. Farqooui’s passion for filmmaking finally culminated in his application to Columbia University. “I didn’t think I would get in, because I didn’t have a background in film. They interviewed me and it went well. So I ended up going there. I was there for the past four years.” He got formal training in screenwriting, pilot writing, and feature writing at the Ivy League. Since his time at Columbia he has received praise for his feature script BIN as a finalist at Sundance’s Writer’s Lab, won first place at the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Contest for The Immigration Game, and his short film Broke was an official selection for the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival. Oz recently caught up with Farquooi to discuss his past and current projects.

How did you approach Mabrook differently than Broke?

Mabrook, which is my most recent film, I shot in early February, I barely made the cut off before things shut down. So we just wrapped up with the edit. It’s pretty finalized. It’s my thesis film for Columbia. It’s much more like a feature film. Broke was much more of a character study for a pilot script ... Mabrook is about an Eid party, which is a religious holiday for us. It happens right after Ramadan ends. It’s about two families and the issues of politics that come up … It’s an ensemble piece that is told from one character's perspective … [My family's Eid parties] were always centered around South Asian and Pakistani politics; the idea that these elder men never realize that you are not really living in that. It’s not impacting you, but yet you for some reason can’t let go of that. You are enjoying the life that America gives you, but yet you claim to be very Pakistani and nationalistic. So, that was a bit of a hypocritical way of doing things. I just noticed that I was very observant.

November / December 2020

FILMMAKER ON THE RISE As a director what do you feel is your number one role to play

My number one role to play is to make sure the actors are there on time and are ready to go. I feel like nothing destroys a film like bad acting. So I work with my DP Abijeet [Achar], who is phenomenal; he shot Pageant Material. I think it sold out the Plaza Theatre twice. He’s just great to work with; he’s easy. I create my shot list and we go over it. It becomes extensive. For example, in Mabrook, shots were very specific. There was that really long take in the beginning of the film where the characters are introduced with the mom, my character was there, my father is introduced and we go to the front door to let the guests in, and that was all one take. Some of those shots are very very intricate. So they have to be discussed quite heavily. We did all that prep well before the shoot. I knew that on the day of I would have to spend so much time with the actors that if the shots start messing up then we are in a lot of trouble. Thankfully most of the actors were quite good - they did their job and they understood. We had a couple issues here and there, but overall it was a good experience. One thing I’ll tell you about a set is that, man, if there’s one bad apple, it’s over. It is so awful that the atmosphere becomes toxic if you have one person who doesn’t really believe in the collaboration or is just disengaged; that can kill a set. So you have to be very specific with the people that you work with. Abijeet is that kind of a DP, he’s very easy to work with. I have worked with DPs that are complete divas - they can ruin it. One piece of advice: pick your DP very carefully.

How much prep work do you do with your actors before you get on set?

“JUST BECAUSE YOU SAW A TEN MINUTE MOVIE DOESN’T MEAN IT TOOK TEN MINUTES TO MAKE.” 42

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

A lot, because my actors are non actors, so they don’t really have the understanding of the basics … If you are required in the shot, you can’t leave. It actually has a lot to do with what Mabrook is about: the arts, filmmaking, theatre aren’t taken seriously. You see that on set, because those people come from those backgrounds and they don’t realize that it’s work. Just because you saw a ten minute movie doesn’t mean it took ten minutes to make. A lot of them don’t know that. They don’t know that you have to keep doing it over and over and over again. So that’s work … That’s partially why I act. I know that there might be someone more talented, but they wouldn’t be willing to do it for free … I’ll do everything in my control to fulfill the role that I’m playing, despite the limited talent … I try to basically cast for the character in a way that this person is already similar to this character, so they just kind of have to be themselves, because if you have to try to get them to start acting - acting, then obviously you start realizing they don’t have those chops. They can’t become chameleons. They don’t know what that process is like. Acting seems very easy but it’s not.

So as far as your projects, what do you feel like your biggest hurdle in getting them from page to screen?

As far as Immigration Game, where are you at in pre-production?

Money. Immigration Game is the one that is in the pipeline right now. It’s being produced by Melodie Sisk. She did the Death of Dick Long, which is an A24 movie, it played at Sundance in 2019. That was her last production. So yeah, just finding enough money to get it done. The other issue is: you want to hire the right actors. The lead is a Pakistani character, so you don’t want to hire somebody who’s Indian or Bengali or South Asian. You want the actor to be [Pakistani] because they deserve that role. You want to be specific, and now this is becoming a much bigger issue; it’s a PR issue. Crazy Rich Asians faced it when an actor was half something else and it came out in the media and it became an issue ... I think, in a way, it’s a good thing that filmmakers, and films are being forced to hire the people that they have written - instead of making others become those characters. Ten years ago, if you had a transgender person in a movie, you’d get a straight actor to play them. Now you can’t get away with that. That’s a good thing.

Initially, before COVID, we were planning on shooting February and March. We had the money in place, but then COVID happened. [The funding] is private equity so the investor exits and you don't know what the environment is going to be like. So now we are in a bit of limbo trying to figure out where we can find the financing. We’re hoping Mabrook can get into some big festivals. That would help Immigration Game a lot. This was a short that I really, really pressed for, because I don’t know how many more short films I have left in me. That’s the other thing, you see a lot of shorts and they’re not very good, and of course they are not because you don’t have a lot of time to tell the story. It’s hard to make a short. It really is … I’m hoping that with Mabrook we can get a couple more investors. I think Immigration Game is the passion project that should be made.

Within the Immigration Game script all of the more pious characters seem performative. How much of what you are doing is trying to critique this religious culture?

It’s a satire and I feel like it’s always more fun to do a story where every character, or at least most of the characters, are very grey. In the Immigration Game in particular, I don’t think there is even one character that is good. I think they are all extremely grey, from the main character to the Imam to the lead female character, to Amir who is the first cousin, to the dad that is always laying down in bed and is constantly critiquing all the things. No one is really good; everyone is flawed and that was what was interesting to me. I’ve gotten the note where it is such a wicked script. I’ll be honest, it’s been hard to find investors and producers because they say it’s too wicked of a film. To me, that’s a compliment. That means that they understood it; that’s important. I feel like with immigrant stories, especially, what ends up happening is that an American audience is very used to watching these sob dramas about immigrants and you feel bad for them, but growing up, immigrants are some of the smartest slickest people you will meet. You’ll hear their accent, you’ll feel bad and then they’ll take your clothes and you won’t even realize it. You know they are that slick; I’ve seen that. Presented the way it is, why make anyone look like a victim here. I don’t think the main character, Majeed, in Immigration Game, is a victim - he’s a creator of his own issues. However, I do feel like it’s going to be interesting to know which side the audience falls on when he’s arrested. I feel like he’s dehumanized … and that’s a real story. That part happened to me; that’s one reason I made the shift from finance to film. My first cousin who had overstayed his visa became undocumented. He was arrested by ICE. They came in our house, I was getting ready for work early in the morning and the doorbell rang. I heard, “We would like to speak to your son.” My father opened the door and I was like, “Oh my God. What's this about?” I locked my door and didn’t come... November / December 2020

FILMMAKER ON THE RISE ...down for about five minutes. No one came upstairs so I gathered my courage and came down. Then there was this hefty white lady who was guarding my front door. And she said, “There’s another one up there,” looking right at me. It was a very interesting, very real experience. And, as sad as it was, I found it to be tragically comedic. What a joke life can be, what a joke the legal system can be, what a joke we’ve made of ourselves where we want to be in a country where there aren’t as many opportunities you’d like to think there are, but we’ve told ourselves that there are; just the idea of the story we tell ourselves.

The other interesting thing about Immigration Game is how it inverts the idea of the ‘Meet Cute’ (the not so subtle situations where romance is ignited in film and television). Where do most of the characters come from?

So much of them are derived from real life … It’s always about a Pakistani-American Muslim character usually, and it’s about the difficulty realizing what your identity is; because the bi-cultural identity is confusing. You know you’re never really Pakistani enough and you are never really American enough. We have found this out in a way, because it’s so hard financing for certain movies. South AsianAmerican is something that is still relatively small. It isn’t really a community that really developed in the terms of filmmaking. Kind of like the latino community and obviously like the Black community. This is a community of people of color that still are not as existent as they should be. I’m hoping that something will come of it. I think it’s interesting being Muslim in America as well post 9/11, and things like that.

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

What are some things that you have learned from teaching that course?

It’s great because I feel like so much of what is taught, even what I was taught at Columbia, is a very conventional type of structure. But every story is as different as the person that writes it. The three act structure - beginning, middle, and end - is very important to understand, but that’s not the only way of telling a story. I feel like a lot of women, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ distressed communities in a way, their stories should be based on their experiences and what they want to say. There should be a class that helps them figure out their own voice instead of what the structure should be. It’s very voice driven … We’ve had great students. They always write back, and they thank me. So I hope they learned something. Overall, just make the short film. Make a short film that is easy to make, that doesn’t require money and focus on character. Don’t focus on issues of budget, don’t try to do plane crashes and things of that nature. Just do two people in a room if you have to, and make drama from those two characters. That’s really my advice.

What are some things that you have learned from teaching that course?

I learned that there are a lot of individuals that didn’t feel like they should write because someone told them that. They heard or they felt like they weren’t good enough. I don’t think anyone is good enough until they do it and then eventually you get better just like anything else. It’s more about motivation than the X and Os of screenwriting. Screenwriting 101 and learning the basics is learning like what an inciting incident is, which puts the story into gear and then what’s the decision that takes the character on their journey. And then you know there’s the midpoint and where there’s a failure. You know there’s a set up; it’s like a procedure in a way. But I just felt like, with this class, it shouldn’t be procedural. It should just be them saying something because they feel like they have something to say.

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