Oz Magazine November/December 2015 by Oz Publishing, Inc

november / december 2015 | film. tv. entertainment.

Cover

SERVING GEORGIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FILM PRODUCTIONS

SINCE

1979

Lightnin Production Innovative. Quality. Service. Rentals

(770) 963-1234

www.lightnin.net

info@lightnin.net

ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA ASSOCIATION

www.hollywoodtrucksllc.com

NVIRONMENTAL MEDIA ASSOCIATION

www.hollywoodtrucksllc.com

MAGAZINE

STAFF Publishers: Tia Powell (Group Publisher) Gary Powell Michael Garland (Assistant to Publisher)

Publishing Coordinator: Hilary Cadigan

CONTRIBUTORS CHRISTINE BUNISH Christine Bunish has been a writer and editor covering the professional film, video, broadcast and advertising industries for more than 25 years. She was a writer at Broadcast Management/ Engineering and World Broadcast News and an editor at Millimeter before going freelance. (The Dawn of the Digital Daily, p.38) cbunish@gmail.com

Editorial: Gary Powell

Sales: Monique McGlockton Kris Thimmesch Martha Ronske Kristina Foster

Contributors: Christine Bunish Fran Burst-Terranella Amy Allyn Swann

Creative Director:

FRAN BURST-TERRANELLA Fran Burst-Terranella is an EMMY-winning independent film and television director and producer whos work spans four decades and totals more than 700 productions. An Art Institute of Atlanta senior faculty member from 2000-2014, her teaching specialties include directing and producing fiction and non-fiction, scriptwriting, project development and portfolio preparation. She is a founding member of Atlanta Film Festival and Women in Film and Television/Atlanta and former Board member of NATAS Southeast. (The Eye of the World Is on Me, p.44)

Kelvin Lee

Production and Design: Kelvin Lee Ted Fabella (Oz Logo Design)

Cover Image: Sanithna Phansavanh

SANITHNA PHANSAVANH Sanithna Phansavanh (suh-neat-nuh pon-suh-von) is an artist working and living in Atlanta, Georgia. His work, ranging from small, intimate drawings to large-scale, public murals, has been shown nationally and internationally, with the most recent exhibitions at the High Museum of Art, on the Atlanta BeltLine, and as a part of the City of Atlanta’s “Elevate” program. (Cover design) www.sircle.net, hello@sircle.net

AMY ALLYN SWANN

www.ozmagazine.com www.facebook.com/ozpublishing www.twitter.com/ozpublishing (404) 633-1779 Oz Magazine is published bi-monthly by Oz Publishing, Inc. 2566 Shallowford Road Suite 104, #302 Atlanta, GA 30345 Copyright © 2015 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.

OZ MAGAZINE

Amy Allyn Swann is an award-winning journalist and a 30-year veteran of print media. She has written about a number of film and television productions in the Savannah area. (A Time and a Passion to Give, p.50) swannamy5@gmail.com

CONTENTS

SAVANNAH FILM FESTIVAL

OZCETERA

LOCAL 478 YOUNG WORKERS KICKBALL TOURNAMENT

PC&E ANNUAL PARTY

GPP 20TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

COVER STORY

KINGDOMWOOD CHRISTIAN FILM FESTIVAL 08 OZCETERA 36 HOW I GOT INTO THE BUSINESS 38 COVER STORY

The Dawn of the Digital Daily

44 FEATURE STORIES

FEATURE STORY

44 The Eye of the World Is on Me 50 A Time and a Passion to Give

56 OZ SCENE

56 Savannah Film Festival 2015 58 Local 479 Young Workers Kickball Tournament 59 PC&E Annual Party 60 GPP 20th Year Anniversary 62 Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival

FEATURE STORY

64 LET ME GIVE YOU MY CARD 66 NEXT GENERATION

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta is open and more than ready for business.

EAGLE ROCK ROLLIN’

t wasn’t long after the grand opening of Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta (ERSA) before word spread of Atlanta’s new innovative, “under one roof” s tudio operating system. The studio is currently home to a Sony Playstation series, and has already locked in a new Lionsgate TV series in place of the feature. ERSA’s inaugural production, Mother’s Day, a Garry Marshall film starring Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Rober ts, and Jason Sudeikis, began pre-production in July, started shooting mid-August, and wrapped after a 36 day shooting schedule. Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta is located near downtown Norcross, a quaint area with diverse restaurant choices surrounding it. Mother’s Day also used many of the area’s locations for filming. Of fice coordinator Janelle Canastro found the location was “far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but close enough to also experience Atlanta.” Not only was the location convenient, but the facility’s layout helped the production process run smoothly. The studio’s floor plan is designed to enable the ease of flow between the stages, base camp, production office and storage space through the studio’s three breezeways, including parking for basecamp in the Main Breezeway, located down the middle of the

OZ MAGAZINE

facility. This feature not only cuts down travel time by allowing actors to be seconds away from stage, but Jimmy Shaw, assistant production office coordinator, also found the indoor basecamp helped with securing the actors. “We had some pretty well-known names in the film and having a secure base camp, without worrying about paparazzi being able to get in, made the actors feel more at ease. That’s important.” The production office is pre-furnished with desks supporting 35 work spaces and 11 private offices. At Eagle Rock, Shaw and Canastro found a clean and already furnished office, describing it as a “breath of fresh air.” Shaw added, “having desks already set up and ready to go for the office saved us a lot of time and money. It was nice not having to worry about the logistics of getting desks into the space.” One office that stands out among the rest is line producer Cherelle George’s “Big Brother” office which has a window overlooking the Main Breezeway. “It’s a unique setup. I really enjoyed feeling connected to the production on stage days. Our conference room was wonderful, too.” Besides the full A/V integrated conference room setup in the office, the production was also given access to Eagle Rock Distributing Company’s conference rooms for

table reads and production meetings including more than the usual attendees. “We had a really good space for production meetings,” said Canastro. “Having access to the Eagle Rock Distributing Company’s conference rooms was super helpful and an added perk. Rather than going to a hotel room or making some other arrangement, we were able to shuttle everyone from the studio to the conference center next door. The studio’s staff was as always very helpful in facilitating this for us.” The studio provides an onsite staff to assist produc tions with any questions or needs. “Our entire office loved the studio’s support staff. It was so convenient to have someone on hand that you’re able to call with anything you needed. Whether it was providing a list of different accommodations for our talent and out of town crew members, or if I just wanted something as simple as changing the temperature for the office, they immediately jumped on all of our requests,” said Canastro. Shaw appreciated how easily the crew could reach an ERSA staff member. “There was always a staff member on walkie ready to assist. They were all so helpful and friendly,” he said. “You don’t get much of that in this business. I hope to get the opportunity to come back.”

OZCETERA

圀圀圀⸀䄀一䤀䴀䄀䰀䌀䄀匀吀䤀一䜀䄀吀䰀䄀一吀䄀⸀䌀伀䴀

䌀伀一吀䄀䌀吀

䌀刀䔀䐀䤀吀匀䤀渀猀甀爀最攀渀琀䰀愀眀氀攀猀猀吀攀攀渀圀漀氀昀娀漀洀戀椀攀氀愀渀搀

刀攀猀甀爀爀攀挀琀椀漀渀吀栀攀伀爀椀最椀渀愀氀猀䠀甀渀最攀爀䜀愀洀攀猀㈀Ⰰ ㌀ ☀ 㐀吀栀攀圀愀氀欀椀渀最䐀攀愀搀匀攀愀猀漀渀猀㄀ⴀ 㔀

䐀甀洀戀愀渀搀䐀甀洀戀攀爀吀漀䤀搀攀渀琀椀琀礀吀栀椀攀昀吀栀攀吀栀爀攀攀匀琀漀漀最攀猀倀爀椀猀漀渀攀爀猀嘀愀挀愀琀椀漀渀

䜀爀攀最吀爀攀猀愀渀搀漀最眀漀爀欀猀䀀愀漀氀⸀挀漀洀 ⠀㐀㐀⤀ 㜀㠀㘀ⴀ㘀㐀䌀愀爀漀氀吀爀攀猀愀渀栀愀瀀瀀礀开栀漀爀猀攀猀䀀栀漀琀洀愀椀氀⸀挀漀洀 ⠀㐀㐀⤀ 㜀㠀㘀ⴀ㐀㈀㌀㈀ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Opening fireworks at Patron Saint Festival atop Arenas shopping mall .

Building Trust: Producer Partner program session (L-R: Elena Subira, Moderator and Cultural Manager at Parallel 40; Graham Broadbent, Blueprint Pictures, Producer; Mary Ann Hughes, The Walt Disney Company, VP, Film & TV Production Planning; Adrian Guerra, Nostromo Pictures, Founder; and Jaume Roures, Mediator, President.

WELCOMING THE PRODUCTION WORLD TO GEORGIA

he Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), wrapped its 39th Cineposium Film Summit at the Disney Hub Barcelona (DHUB) in Barcelona, Spain on the eve of World Tourism Day. Film commission offices and tourism bureaus from 28 countries along with executives from HBO and The Walt Disney Company were represented at this year’s three-day film tourism themed conference. The event began with a bus tour of Barcelona and opening reception at the Restaurant El Mussol on the rooftop terrace of the Arenas shopping mall, a former bull-fighting venue. Attendees enjoyed an impressive fireworks show celebrating Barcelona’s annual festival, La Mercè, which is held in honor of the patron saint la Mercè (the Virgin of Mercy). On the second day of the conference, AFCI executive director Kevin Clark moderated

OZ MAGAZINE

the Defining and Measuring ROI of Tourism Friendly Productions program session where speakers included Geoff Alexander, director of the Santa Barbara Film Commission; Colette Geraghty, head of film promotion and culture for Film London; and Bob Raines, director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. The panel discussed the basic economic arguments for supporting film tourism and the various metrics used to measure impact and ways to collect the data. On the final day of the film summit, HBO vice president of media relations, Mara Mikialian, participated as a panelist in the How Northern Ireland Wins the Game of Thrones program session where she was joined by Moyra Locke, head of marketing, communication and audiences, for Northern Ireland Screen and Brian Twomey, head of content

and marketing communications for Tourism Ireland. The panel discussed their successful relationship and how they successfully promote and manage access to major sites of the Emmy-nominated hit TV show, Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland. “Film tourism is the next level of partnership between the studios and film commissioners,” said MaryAnn Hughes, vice president of film and television production planning for The Walt Disney Company during her The Disney Way program session. Hughes went on to say that film commissions should think creatively and promote their locations as a character that is valuable to a film. AFCI selected Atlanta, Georgia as the location for the 2016 Cineposium. Cineposium is an annual convocation of film commissioners from around the world who gather to discuss

OZCETERA

Group shot of Cineposium attendees at closing reception at the Palau De La Música Orefeó Catala.

Kevin Clark, AFCI Executive Director.

2015 CFC Designations at Cineposium (L-R: Craig A. Woods, Bahamas Film Commission; George David, AFCI Chairman and Jordan Film Commissioner; Angelika Pagitz, Cine Tirol Austria Film Commission and Rodrigo Ardiles, Film Commission Association of Chile.

Melanie Field, AFCI Events and Finance Manager with Lindsey Ashley, Texas Film Commission, Senior Production Consultant at Cineposium opening reception at Restaurant El Mussel, Barcelona, Spain.

Francis Lopez, Locations Assistant, Creative Scotland at Cineposium opening reception at Restaurant El Mussol.

the latest issues affecting them and to learn about best practices. The 2016 Cineposium central topic will be Infrastructure. Georgia leads the United States in the growth of infrastructure including human infrastructure with the increase in the crew population, physical infrastructure with the development of purpose-built sound stage complexes and service infrastructure with both start-up and local offices of service and equipment providers. This growth has been spurred by the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act which provides up to 30 percent transferable tax

credit for production companies including film, television and video games. The bid for the AFCI Cineposium was successfully presented by Georgia film industry leaders including Tia Powell, president and publisher of Oz Publishing, Inc. and Stephen Weizenecker, an entertainment lawyer in the Atlanta office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. “We are proud that the city of Atlanta was selected to host international film commissioners from all around the world,” Weizenecker said. “We look forward to not only showcasing our beautiful city, but also show the growth of our film

industry in the State of Georgia,” Weizenecker said. “After helping promote Georgia’s production business for 26 years, it is very exciting and an honor to be chosen to host the AFCI’s “40th Anniversary” Cineposium and introduce our INCREDIBLE film community to the rest of the world!” added Powell. Anyone interested in sponsoring the 2016 AFCI Cineposium should contact: Stephen Weizenecker of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, at Sweizenecker@btlaw.com.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

New equipment at PC&E includes a 1,000 amp generator and the new Straight Shoot’r jib arm.

STRAIGHT SHOOTER AT PC&E

pdating the inventor y is an ongoing goal of PC&E. For their new 1000 amp generator, they’ve mounted a custom made Litepower 140kw plant on a 2014 Dodge Ram 5500. The plant generates 1100 amps continuous, 1200 amps standby at 120 volts. With the latest in electronic monitoring on board, the new generator will fit nicely alongside their existing 1400 amp plant and two 500 amp plants. A generator class featuring this newest unit is forthcoming. At the behest of customers, PC&E added two ARRI T12 fixtures. The large lens gives great efficiency and an extremely wide beam spread. The new RatPac stand-alone 12K dim-

mers make a great accessory for the ARRI T12. Along with those, the K5600 400w and 800w Jokers continue to be popular items so they’ve added one of each to their inventory. Also added were the popular Bug-a-Beam attachments. PC&E increased their inventory of the most popular Source Four barrels: 19, 26, 36, and 50 degrees and now also 70 degree barrels. They just received two dozen new American triple riser combo stands as well as two dozen new large grip heads. PC&E’s Straight Shoot’r is a silky-smooth, one-piece, X&Y-axis Jib-Arm combined with a unique Z-axis linear slider gliding camera

mount. The total arm length is 9’ 10” with a maximum payload of 125 lbs. New Kinoflo Celebs make an appearance: the Kinoflo Celeb 400 and the Celeb 40 0Q. These units provide a broad sof t source with dial in white light from 2700 to 5500 Kelvin while drawing only 1.8 amps of power. And finally, the next generation of the Litepanel 1x1 Bi Color. The Astra 1x1 Bi Color is four times brighter than the traditional 1x1 and comes with both active and passive cooling options while drawing only 110 watts.

Panavision opens a satellite office on the Pinewood Studios campus.

PANAVISION PROPAGATES TO PINEWOOD

anavision is bringing its world-renowned services to Pinewood Atlanta Studios with the opening of a satellite office. For camera crews shooting at Pinewood, Panavision’s new high-tech workspace houses a full range of filmmaking equipment with a large area for prep and testing, and access to the company’s specialists in production solutions. “Panavision is always looking for opportunities to further extend our expertise to filmmakers, and opening at Pinewood puts us in a position to do just that,” said Panavision’s Bob Harvey, EVP of global sales & marketing. “There is a lot of production demand in Atlanta, and Panavision is primed to continue to support filmmakers in this region with our

OZ MAGAZINE

unparalleled level of services and high-quality inventory.” Pinewood Atlanta Studios is a world-class facility that opened in February 2014, and consists of 11 sound stages, over 500 acres of back lots, offices and other amenities. It has become a hub for the international and U.S. production community needing studio accommodations in the Southeast. “Panavision is committed to helping filmmakers regardless of where they are shooting. By investing in the locations that are providing a thriving environment for the creative community, we can address the needs of our clients with extraordinary speed and precision,” added John Schrimpf, VP of U.S. regional

operations at Panavision. Robert Presley, a veteran camera operator and Steadicam specialist who joined Panavision as a sales and marketing executive in January, serves the needs of feature and television productions shooting in the region, along with a full team of experienced technicians and support personnel. Panavision’s main Atlanta office in West Midtown will continue handling equipment rentals and services for productions filming throughout the Southeast area. The company has serviced many productions, including Marvel’s AntMan and Captain America: Civil War, over the past year.

OZCETERA

Our people make the difference.

We are PC&E

• Cameras • Lighting • Grip Trucks • Sound Stages • Generators • Expendables

PC&E - an employee owned company Atlanta’s most comprehensive production equipment supplier for over 30 years. www.pce-atlanta.com 800-537-4021 404-609-9001 2235 DeFoor Hills Road, Atlanta, GA 30318

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

OZ MAGAZINE

OZCETERA

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Biscardi Creative Media setting up in the kitchen.

FUN AND DELICIOUS

iscardi Creative Media recently lensed and edited online cooking classes for Route To India. Working with Nalini Mehta on new online courses for her Route To India

cooking and yoga instructional series, the shoot was full of good eats and great company. Two courses with running times of about 30 minutes each were completed. Walter

Biscardi, Jr. was the DP and provided some of the editing while senior editor R. John Becker finished the projects.

AMIA LAUNCHES WEBINAR SERIES

he Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) will unveil a series of online webinars this month, expanding its educational offerings on media preservation, and introducing of these important topics to the broader library and archive communities as well as the general public. AMIA Online launched the first three webinar series in September, addressing digital formats and storage, as well as best practices for personal and small audiovisual archives. “In the face of growing need and requests from both our members and the public, AMIA is in a unique position to offer expert-led, relevant education,” said Laura Rooney, managing director of AMIA. AMIA’s Online Continuing Education Task Force surveyed the needs of the professional community and those with interest in learning. The webinars are led by respected experts in the industry from arts, education and media. Developed by professional archivists, the project is led by industry experts Linda Tadic of Digital Bedrock, and Lance

OZ MAGAZINE

Watsky of the Sherman Grinberg Film Library. The first series, Introduction to Digital Formats and Storage, will include eight, oneand-a-half hour webinars. Topics range from an overview of digital video and audio formats, standards, best practices, storage, workflows and metadata. Instructors are expected to include Professor Barry Lunt from the School of Technology at Brigham Young University; Marcos Sueiro Bal, senior archivist at New York Public Radio; Alex Kroh, digital archivist at the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, University of Georgia; Kate Murray, Library of Congress; Jim Hone, film and media digital archivist at Washington University in St. Louis; Peter Oleksik, Museum of Modern Art; and Erik Piil, associate conservator at The Kramlich Collection / New Art Trust. The second webinar series, Best Practices for Personal Audiovisual Archives, is specifically aimed at families and individuals with audiovisual collections they wish to preserve.

It will delve into common media and formats likely to be found in the home, and explore obsolescence and degradation concerns. It will also focus on what hardware and software is useful for performing digitization at home. Nadia Ghasedi, head of Visual Media Research Lab at Washington University in St. Louis, will host the first webinar in this series, and Lauren Sorenson, digital asset manager and archivist at the Hammer Museum, will lead the second session. Series three will look at Best Practices for Small Audiovisual Archives. This series is directed at small institutions with audiovisual collections and limited staff. Ghasedi will address formats found in mixed archival collections, and discuss deterioration challenges faced in this sector of the industry. Sorensen will address workstation needs and provide guidance on working with vendors for outsourcing digitization.

OZCETERA

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

OZ MAGAZINE

OZCETERA www.alphaprops.com Veteran Atlanta TV and entertainment public relations executive has re-located to Los Angeles with The Lippin Group.

DAVID GARDNER JOINS THE LIPPIN GROUP

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO RESOURCES

he Lippin Group, one of the world’s leading independent entertainment public relations and marketing firms with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London, has hired veteran TV/entertainment public relations executive David Gardner, most recently with UP & ASPiRE cable networks, as senior vice president. Gardner will be based in Los Angeles and will be actively involved with several of the firm’s prominent television clients as well as both the domestic and international media. For over 20 years in L.A. and Atlanta, Gardner has led and managed inventive public relations and publicity campaigns for over 100 television series (scripted and non-scripted), movies, specials and events, including, to name just a few, Ties That Bind, Bringing Up Bates, Love Finds You In Charm, international hit Heroes, The Office, The Emmy Awards, Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris, Star Trek: Enterprise, The VIBE Awards, and The Latin Grammy Awards. He has also worked in public relations at Disney Channel, ABC Family, CBS International and Syndication, and FX. Gardner also a member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and The Public Relations Society of America. He is also a board member of the New Mavericks, an Atlanta Film Festival-associated organization that supports women involved in various aspects of Georgia’s film community to achieve a strong voice in the local industry. Af ter get ting his s t ar t at Tur ner in Atlant a, Gardner returned to the city in 2010 to teach Film a n d C o m m u nic a t io n s a n d f i ni s h hi s M a s te r ’s i n Communication/PR at Georgia State University. He received his M.A. in December 2012, and his thesis on fandom – specifically on how TV publicists and TV critics define, create, and maintain TV fans – has found popularity in academic circles.

CINEMA + DSLR VIDEO PRO LIGHTING + GRIP STUDIO RENTAL SET IMAGE PRINTING Over 25 years of experience providing Atlanta with photographic equipment rental and sales

770-475-5880 stanmedic@mindspring.com

w w w . p p r a t l a n t a . c o m

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

OZ MAGAZINE

OZCETERA

THE 2016 GEORGIA FILM & TELEVISION SOURCEBOOK CATEGORIES PRE-PRODUCTION Accommodations Entertainment Attorneys and Lawyers Finance and Accounting Financing, Venture Capitalists Film and Video Festivals Film Licensing and Copyright Clearance Guilds and Unions Insurance Interior Designers - Residential/ Corporate Literary Agencies Locations Available Locations Permitting Mediation Services Music Licensing and Copyright Clearance Payroll and Talent Payment Services Product Placement and Promotion Production Software Professional Organizations Public Relations and Publicity Publications Researchers and Historical Advisors Schools and Training - Art, Film, Gaming, Multimedia, Video Screen and Script Writers Script Breakdown and Budget Specialty Advertising Services Distribution, Sales and Marketing Tax Credit Brokers, Buyers and Advisors “Technical Advisors - Medical, Law, Legal, etc.” Translators and Interpreters

P R ODUC T ION STA F F & T E C H N ICA L C R E W DIRECTORS & SCRIPT DEPARTMENT

Assistant Directors (1st, 2nd, 3rd) Directors - Features, Film Directors - Video, TV Broadcast Directors - Commercials Directors of Stereography Script and Continuity LOCATIONS DEPARTMENT

Assistant Location Manager Layout Person Location Coordinator Location Managers Location Scouts PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

Assistants to Producer and Director Craft Services Personal Assistant Production Assistants Production Consultants and Advisors Production Coordinators Production Managers Production Secretaries

Shipping Coordinator Stage, Studio and Facilities Manager Teachers and Tutors Travel Coordinator Production Accountant Production Accountant Assistant Production Auditors Production Comptrollers CASTING

Casting Directors ART DEPARTMENT

Art Dept. Coordinator Art Directors Assistant Art Director Carpenters Construction Auditors Graphic Designers Painters Previsualization Production Designers Scenic Artists Scenic Charge Set Construction Set Construction Coordinators Set Designers Set and Sign Painting Storyboard Artists PROPS DEPARTMENT

Armorer Food Stylists Greensmen Leadperson Prop Stylists and Buyers Property Masters Prop Assistants Prop Builders Product Stylists Set Decoration Coordinator Set Decorators Set Dressers and On Set Dressers Swing Gang POST PRODUCTION & EDITING

Animation Department Head Colorists, Color Correction Artists Editing Assistants Film Editors Foley Artists Gaming Designers, Engineers, Programmers Production Manager - Animation and Post Projectionists Sound Editors VFX, Visual Effects - Director, Supervisor Video Editors CAMERA DEPARTMENT

Cinematographer, Director of Photography, DP, DOP Lighting Cameraman, Videographer - Broadcast, Corporate, EFP, ENG, EPK, Live Event, TV, Other

WWW.OZONLINE.TV

Aerial and Drone Photographer Still Photographer Underwater Photographer Camera Operator Crane, Jib and Remote Camera Operator Motion Control Camera Operator Pedestal Camera Operator Steadicam Operator 1st Assistant Camera, 1st AC 2nd Assistant Camera, 2nd AC Loader Camera Utility, Digital Utility Digital Imaging Technician Data Management Technician, Data Wrangler Remote Head Technician Unit Publicist LIGHTING DEPARTMENT

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

Insert Car Drivers Marine Coordinators Picture Car Coordinators Transportation Captain Transportation Coordinators Transportation Drivers MAKE-UP & HAIR

Hair Stylists (2nd, 3rd, Assistants) Key Hair Stylists Department Head - Hair Department Head - Make-Up Key Make-Up Artists Make-Up Artists (2nd, 3rd, Assistants) Make-Up Artists - Special Effects Wig Makers and Stylists WARDROBE DEPARTMENT

Best Boys Dimmer Operator Electricians Gaffers Generator Operator Lighting Directors

Draper Key Wardrobe, Costume Designers Wardrobe - Seamstresses, Assistants, Tailors, Stitchers Wardrobe Stylists and Buyers Wardrobe - Supervisors, Dressers, Costumers

GRIP DEPARTMENT

MEDICAL SERVICES & BODY WORK

Best Boy Grip Crane Operators Dolly Grip Grips Key Grip Rigging Grip

SOUND DEPARTMENT

Audio Supervisor Audio Post Studio Mixers, Re-Recording, Foley Work Electronic Field Production Soundmen Fisher Boom Operator Location Boom Operators and Sound Assistants Mixers and Location Sound Recordists Music Video Soundmen TELEVISION/FILM TECHNICAL

Character Generator Operator Technical Directors Technical Producer Teleprompter Operators Video Assist Operators VTR and Video Playback Operators ON SET SPECIAL EFFECTS DEPARTMENT

Key Special Effects Mechanical Effects, Animatronics and Robotics Pyrotechnics Special Effects Technicians STUNTS & WRANGLING

Animal Handlers/Wranglers Stunt Coordinators Stunt Performers

404-633-1779

Ambulance Services Chiropractors Dental Services Medics, Doctors, Nurses Esthetician Eye Care Hair Salon Health Spa Holistic Care Massage Therapists Fitness Physical Therapists Set Safety Consultants Tanning Salons

P R ODUC E R S & P R ODUC T ION C OM PA N I E S Associate Producer Line Producer Crews and Crewing Agencies Field and Story Producers Producers Production Companies - Animation Production Companies Corporate, Industrials Production Companies - Film Production Companies - Gaming Production Companies - HiDef Production Companies Live and Special Event Production Company - Music Videos Production Companies Multimedia, Web Production Companies - Video

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

THE 2016 GEORGIA FILM & TELEVISION SOURCEBOOK CATEGORIES

EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS 3D Printer Equipment, Scanning and Supplies Broadcast Systems Integrators Audio-Visual Equipment Rental Camera Cases Custom, Rentals, Sales Editing Equipment Equipment Financing Equipment - Manufacturers, Dealers, Resellers LED Video Walls and Tiles Motion Picture Cameras and Accessories Theatrical Lighting Motion Control Lighting and Grip Equipment Raw Stock: Motion Picture Film Sound Equipment, Sound Mobiles, Location Sound Packages Still Camera Equipment Television Mobiles, Video and HiDef Camera Packages, Accessories Blank Recording Media, Accessories and Packaging Miscellaneous Rental Equipment Underwater Equipment

PRODUCTION SUPPORT SERVICES PRODUCTION OFFICE SUPPORT

Air Freight Office Support Cleaning and Janitorial Computer Repair Computer Services and Tech Support Computers - Sales, Rentals and Leasing Concierge Services Courier Services Crating and Packaging Extra Temps Firms Internet, Data, Phone Service Providers (ISP) Mailing Centers Office Equipment Office Furniture Office Services - Photocopies, Printing Office Supplies Production Office Rental Space TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT SUPPORT

Travel Agencies Aircraft and Helicopters Ambulances and Ambulance Equipment Auto Detailing Boats and Marine Services Buses - Crew Basecamp Power Services

OZ MAGAZINE

Car Rentals - Vans, Campers, Motorhomes Cranes: Mobile, Stage and Location Fire Trucks and Equipment Fuel: Diesel, Gas, Kerosene Highway Safety Products Barricades, Cones Golf Cart Rentals Horse-Drawn Vehicles Insert Car Suppliers Limousines and Car Services Motorcycles - Sales, Rental, Repair Picture Car Suppliers Production Truck Rentals Pumper Services Towing and Transport Trains and Railways STUDIO & STAGES

Air Conditioning and Heating Building and Load Assessment Engineers Facility Design Locksmith, Safe Rentals, Safe Services Logistics, Moving and Storage Scene Shops Security Storage Containers Strike Services Studios and Stages Warehouses CATERING & CRAFT SERVICES

Caterers Caterer - Mobile Kitchen Units Coffee Services Craft Service Supplies Event Decorators and Designers Gift Baskets Ice Suppliers Linens Mobile Dining Room Party Rentals Personal Chef Premiere Screenings Refrigerated Trailers Restaurant Equipment Table and Chair Rentals Tent Rentals Water Suppliers Wrap Party and Special Event Planners TECHNICAL SUPPORT

24-Frame Playback Aerial Camera Platforms Batteries Camera Consultants Camera Cranes Camera Repair Cellular Phones Digital Code Slate Ear Prompting Equipment Electrical and Electronics Suppliers Expendables Fuel - Generators

WWW.OZONLINE.TV

Generators Lifts Multi-Service Companies - Camera Suppliers Multi-Service Companies - Lighting, Grip and Electrical Photo Labs Platforms and Scaffolding Projection Services Rigging Equipment Fiber, Satellite and Uplink Services Teleprompting Equipment Video Assist Equipment Walkie-Talkies and Two-Way Radios CASTING SUPPORT

Acting Classes and Work Shops Casting Assistants Casting Facilities Choreographers Dialect and Voice Coaches Coaching - On Set Extras Agencies Nannies and Guardians Personal Trainers Seminars and Workshops Talent Agencies Talent Agency - Animal Talent ON SET SUPPLIES & SERVICES

Antiques, Period Items Appliances - Sales, Rental Architectural Antiques Art and Architectural Drafting Supplies Art and Display Backdrops and Cycloramas Breakaways - Glass, Furniture Camping Gear Construction Materials Contact Lenses and Eyewear Costume Makers Jewelry Costume Rentals Crystal and China Custom Fabrication Custom Finishing Picture Framing Dental Supplies Digital Imaging Drums and Barrels Dry Cleaning, Laundry, Leather and Suede Cleaners Fabrics, Draperies and Upholstery Faux Finishing and Murals Flags and Banners Flooring Fresh Flowers, Live Plants, Silk Plants Foam Fabrication Funeral Equipment Furniture Hardware, Paint and Lumber Household Accessories Light Fixtures, Practicals

404-633-1779

Lighting - SFX Machinists, Metal Work Make-Up Supplies Manicurists and Nail Technicians Mechanical Effects, Animatronics and Robotics Medical and Scientific Equipment Military Aircraft and Vehicles Military Surplus, Paramilitary Gear Miniatures and Model Makers Neon Signage Pipe and Drape Polygraph Printing - Wide Format Prop Boats Prop Houses Prop Suppliers Prosthetics Puppets and Puppeteers Records, Musical Items Recycling and Waste Management Restorations Restrooms - Portable Sculptor and Model Makers Seamless Background Paper Signs and Graphics Specialty Glass and Windows Stunt Equipment Supply Houses - SFX Surface Materials Tents and Canvas Awnings Thrift Shops Trophies, Plaques Uniforms, Specialty Clothing Vintage and Period Clothing Wall Art Wardrobe Supply and Rentals Wigs and Lacing Window Treatments

POST PRODUCTION & INTERACTIVE Call Oz Publishing for info regarding Post Production & Interaction.

WWW.OZONLINE.TV 404-633-1779

OZCETERA

SOCIETY FOR CINEMA & MEDIA STUDIES

the world’s largest organization devoted to the scholarly study of film and media

SCMS 2016 Make plans to attend the

57TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR CINEMA & MEDIA STUDIES Hilton Atlanta March 30–April 3, 2016 Atlanta, Georgia

cmstudies.org office@cmstudies.org 405.325.8075 facebook.com/SCMStudies @SCMStudies

For information on how to register, please visit our website

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Recognizing Excellence The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Southeast is a professional organization comprised of professionals actively engaged in television–executives, producers, performers, announcers, newscasters, writers, craftspeople, cameramen and women, directors, artists, designers, photographers, editors, academics, entertainment attorneys and others. Our members work in broadcast stations, cable and satellite companies, independent television production, marketing, new media and performing arts and creative crafts. The Academy provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion of industry problems and concerns. It affords opportunities to meet colleagues both professionally and socially. It promotes professional development in the industry and the community.

Join Us! Services and Activities include: EMMY® Awards: Awarded for excellence and outstanding achievement in television–locally, nationally and internationally. Education: the National Student Television Award of Excellence, presented by the Foundation of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Networking: Interact with colleagues in the full range of television disciplines at formal and informal gatherings. Seminars: Informative seminars are presented on a wide spectrum of topics, including cutting-edge technologies. Events such as Student Mentor Connect offer an opportunity for professionals to pass along their knowledge to students and peers. Gold & Silver Circle: Honors television pioneers whose careers have spanned a halfcentury or quarter of a century or more. Cinema Club: Members have an opportunity to see feature films prior to their release. Invitations to Events include Industry discussion, technical presentations, private screenings, and professional development workshops. To become a member, please visit

southeastemmy.com

OZ MAGAZINE

OZCETERA

Shots from Hands on Propsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; recently opened 12,000 sq. ft. office and warehouse.

HANDS ON PROPS OPENS

ands On Props has opened as Atlantaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only prop house specializing in the rental of hand props and smalls for use in television, motion pictures and commercial productions. Hands on Props is a 12,000 square foot facility and is located at 3645 Southside Industrial Parkway Suite 101, Atlanta, 30354. Hands On Props will carry a full inventory of expendables for production and construction needs. They

can also handle custom work, and are home to High Art, which creates signs and custom paneling for the movie industry. Hands On Props is located in the same industrial complex as Warner Brothers Property Department Atlanta, Alpha Studio Rentals and Georgia Film Art, making it part of a one stop shopping destination for all productions prop and expendable needs.

The principles in Hands On Props include an experienced executive involved in for-profit and non-profit management for 35+ years, a set-designer and lead prop house manager for 20+ years, and a movie and television production accountant who has been in the industry for 30+ years.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

PRESENTING . . . THE ATLANTA FILM SOCIETY

he ten-day Atlanta Film Festival will still take place every spring, but it will now be operated by the newly named Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS) going for ward. Originally founded as IMAGE, Inc. (Independent Media Artists of Georgia, Etc., Inc.) in 1976, ATLFS has endured several name changes in the last four decades in order to convey its year-round service to the filmmaking and film-loving community while reflecting connection to its flagship program. “This name change represents who we are right now and paves the way for where we want to go,” said ATLFS executive director Christopher Escobar. “The change from ‘Festival’ to ‘Society’ better depicts the work and effort showcased all year long through screenings, classes, events and special programs. It clarifies that we are only part of the greater Atlanta film community and reinforces our plan to serve this community in a bigger way.” For years, ATLFS operated several yearround programs under the Atlanta Film Festival moniker, such as the Airport Shorts Program, which screens select short films on 15 screens throughout Hartsfield-Jackson Airport’s new

International Terminal; Eat, Drink & B-Indie, a monthly film-themed networking and educational mixer at Manuel’s Tavern; Film Festival Collective, an XFINIT Y Video On Demand channel that showcases short films from several prestigious film festivals across the country; the Filmmaker-in-Residence program, which supports accomplished Atlanta-based festival alumni in a three-year residency; and New Mavericks, a year-round screening and networking program spotlighting female filmmakers from Atlanta and beyond. Among the most important details of the ATLFS announcement is the A/V Toolbank—a new equipment rentals program that provides audio/visual and presentation equipment for local groups and organizations seeking to host screenings or events. This program provides high-quality equipment and technical expertise at competitive rates, creates additional support for the Atlanta Film Society and extends significant equipment discounts to other Metro area nonprofit arts organizations. As with any nonprofit, the Atlanta Film Society relies heavily on the support of members and sponsors. For several years, year-

round memberships have focused solely on the benefits they provide directly to members—with festival passes at the core—ranging in price from $50 to $750. In conjunction with this new identity, they have established patron levels ranging from $1,000 - $10,000 to enable community impact and maintain a focus on membership benefits.

ARKETI TAKES LEAD AT PRSA CONFERENCE

rincipals from Arketi Group lead three professional development sessions at the annual PRSA 2015 International Conference that took place in November in Atlanta. During the highly interactive and informative sessions, Mike Neumeier, principal at Arketi Group, and Erica England, account supervisor at Arketi Group, addressed industry topics including managing the client and agency relationship, perfecting your media pitch and why marketing automation technology matters to PR professionals. Neumeier moderated the session “Pulling Back the Curtain on the Client/Agency Relationship: How to Pull Off a Win-Win” along with Kevin Ruane, senior director, solutions marketing at NetSuite and Shana Keith, direc-

tor, public relations at Cox Communications. Panelists shared the winning recipe to success as PR pros conducted an open discussion about what makes their relationships work and what puts them in danger. England provided tips on crafting media pitches that earn quality coverage during the session titled, “Pitch Perfect: How to Take an Idea to Coverage,” and along with other media relations professionals including Raleigh Miller, manager at Burson Marsteller and Jon Sullivan, senior manager at Aflac Incorporated, showcased media pitches that garnered attention from leading news outlets. They also discussed how to incorporate research into personalized outreach and ways to create compelling and relatable story angles. Neumeier shared insights in

a high-speed learning session among communication professionals highlighting fast takeaways and techniques. During the “Expert Express,” Neumeier answered this: “What a PR Pro Needs to Know About Marketing Automation Technology (And Why).” “As technology continues to shape the future of public relations, it’s an honor to speak at not just one, but several professional development sessions alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry,” said Neumeier. “During our workshops, we showcased strategies, tactics and measurable outcomes from some of our prized campaigns based on our integrated approach to BtoB tech public relations and marketing.”

NEW GEAR AT BAND PRO

and Pro Film & Digital, Inc. has unveiled the new IB/E Super 35 to Full Frame Expander. The highly anticipated S35xFF Expander provides full sensor coverage from any S35 lens, including the 8K Weapon sensor. Band Pro has more of the latest acquisition technology with the 6K RED Dragon, Sony F55 and FS7 cameras, Leica Summicron-C and Summilux-C lenses (including the new 16mm Summilux-C), the Easyrig Vario 5, the latest camera accessories from Movcam, the Odyssey 7Q+ from Convergent Design,

OZ MAGAZINE

wireless solutions from Swit, the new Connex wireless HDMI rig for drone applications from Amimon, and the Nipros fiber optical system. Band Pro is also showcasing the new Capinera Dolly by Cinetech designer Armando Grottesi. Weighing les s than 20 0 lbs./85 kg, it ’s designed to go where other dollies can’t. President & CEO Amnon Band noted: “For over 30 years Band Pro has been the worldwide leader for new broadcast and cinema technology. That’s a role we continue to take seriously, and really embrace.”

Band Pro is showcasing their new Capinera Dolly by Cinetech designer Armando Grottesi.

OZCETERA

BIG PEACH GROWS ON FORREST

lans for a new film and television studio in Atlanta are underway. The new production complex called Big Peach Studios opened in December 2015. The studio is located in West Atlanta near Howell Mill and I-75 at 800 Forrest Street. The existing complex is currently undergoing an extensive renovation that involves the conversion of an existing 27,000- square-foot building into sound stages, administrative offices, and vendor spaces. Renovation of the existing building, which is being overseen by Trey Edwards with PSG Construction, began in mid-August and is expected to be completed as Oz goes to print. An outside partner, AVA, an Atlantabased video production company that specializes in corporate video and commercial production, will manage the studio. “This studio provides a great production space for both corporate and commercial projects, as well as independent films and television shows. Additionally, we plan to utilize this

space to address some of the larger needs of Georgia’s entertainment community, as we work with Georgia’s entertainment community to host industry related training, workshops, and events,” said Ryan Felton with AVA. The space features two sound stages that can be subdivided into smaller spaces. The two sound stages are 4,000 sq. ft. and 2,000 sq. ft., respectively. The larger soundstage features a 40 ft, 180-degree green screen cyc-wall and a flexible grid-rail lighting system. The smaller studio features a 90-degree white cyc wall and a black cyc wall. Both sound stages are complimented by drive-in vehicle access, hair and make-up stations, wardrobe facilities, canteen, producer’s suite and other amenities. Given the studio’s close proximity to both Midtown and Buckhead, the demand for the space is expected to be strong, and the studio has already booked productions that will begin filming in December of this year and January of next year.

RITA LOWERY JOINS ATHENS CVB

he Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has hired Rita Lowery as Director of Sales. Lowery has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality-tourism industry, from holding key sales positions at major hotels in Atlanta and Macon to working at Cobb Travel & Tourism for over 13 years. While there she headed the Cobb Sports Council.

“We feel privileged to have Rita joining our CVB and heading up its sales division,” said CVB Director Chuck Jones. “Rita will oversee all sales initiatives and be responsible for ensuring that all goals and performance metrics are met, including generating actualized room nights and achieving a high citywide occupancy rate, especially given the

2013 expansion of The Classic Center and increased hotel inventory in Athens, including a Hyatt Place connected to The Classic Center.”

Tube shoots on location for The Nissan Heisman House.

TOUCHDOWN DANCE FOR TUBE

ube did a little touchdown dance when they heard from producer David Goldstein that they would once again be creating the graphics package for The Nissan Heisman House. The celebration continued when he told them that they would be shooting all of the content and traveling with the Heisman House as well.

Operations manager and utility player, Justin Newton, has been and will be traveling to 11 different college towns between now and 2016 to shoot ESPN personality Neil Everett as he interviews Heisman Trophy winners and other college football legends. Each shoot involves flying out to the location on Friday and shooting B-roll around campus. On Saturday, with the help of the PSLive

crew, Tube sets up to shoot the interview segment called Late Night In The Middle of the Day With Neil Everett inside the actual Nissan Heisman House. After flying back to Atlanta, the interview is edited down to a :30 TV vignette to air on ESPN SportsCenter, and an extended 2:00 in-depth interview for the web.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Gregory Dunlop, Dionne Wimberly, Atlanta Technical College President Alvetta Peterman Thomas, Christopher Eubanks, and Angela Cook.

The winning photo, Loud Silence.

LOUD SILENCE WINS ATC TOP HONOR

ionne Wimberly, a design and media technology student at Atlanta Technical College (ATC), won Best of Show at the third annual ATC Student Photography Show for her piece, Loud Silence. Wimberly received the award at the exhibit’s opening reception in

Renaldo Fisher, Luke Harbord, Christina Simkovich.

October at the Arts Clayton Gallery. The ATC Student Photography Exhibit is a joint venture between ATC and Arts Clayton. It is held annually during Atlanta Celebrates Photography Month to showcase and celebrate the work of the next generation of photographers.

Wanda Morganstern, Debi HettKinsey, Becky Lindsay Shaw.

The competition is open to all ATC students. Other winners were: First Place - Gregory Dunlap, Polaris; Second Place - Angela Cook, Transformation; and Third Place - Christopher Eubanks, In the Field of Depth.

Keith Lancaster, Kim Karelson, Beverly Ever Hegmon.

FAMOUS FILM NIGHT AT FAMOUS PUB

n October, Famous Pub was the scene of the first Famous Film Night. The event was sponsored by Film Friendly GA and hosted by Wanda Morganstern. Over a hundred filmmakers and fans were on hand for the evening to showcase locally produced indie films. Genres included action, horror, public service, music video and Shakespearian adaptation. D.J. Anthony provided music, and the relaxed

and casual atmosphere with full bar and kitchen proved to be a per fect setting for the event. Films included Chvches’ Tether, directed by Luke Harbord and starring Christina Simkovich; The Intruder, written and directed by Barrett Wolfe and starring Sasha Ramos; Katherine, directed by Carlos Dunn; Jenny, directed by Eri Yokoyama and starring Christy Ray; The Road Less Traveled, directed by

Ron Hudson and starring Becky Hantla Holt; Midsummer, written and directed by Natalie Ulman; We Can Make a Difference, directed by Alan J. Sanders and starring Wanda Morganstern; Home For the Holidays, written and directed by Christopher Kelly, starring William Tokarsky; and Auld Lang Syne; also written and directed by Christopher Kelly, starring William Tokarsky.

MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT BIG

his spring, Big Picture Casting (BPC) was hired to be the local casting on the Tom Cruise and Doug Liman feature, Mena. The film tells the story of Barry Seal, a pilot who lands work for the CIA and as a drug runner in the south during the 1980s. “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to cast some large supporting roles here in Georgia.” Working

OZ MAGAZINE

with local filmmakers in Georgia, BPC recently finished main casting for Gregg Bishop’s new feature, Siren, Katie Orr’s Poor Jane, and Michael Lucker’s short which will soon be made into a full length feature, Black Mountain. BPC’s commercial department is having a busy year as well, thanks to recurring clients

and some new ones. A recent highlight included meeting and casting a Zac Brown music video with Diego Pernia, an award-winning international commercial director.

OZCETERA

CLARK COFER AND KATHY GRAY RETURN TO CRAWFORD MEDIA

f ter nearly 20 year s on the p ro d uc tio n team at Tur ner Studios, Kathy Gray is “going home.” Crawford Media Services announced that Gray, who spent the first ten years of her professional career with Crawford, will be returning to the Kathy Gray organization as operations manager. In her new role, Gray will ensure quality operations and processes in the scheduling department. “Kathy has an almost legendary reputation for client service,” said Sarah D. Sykes, Crawford’s director of creative services. “She embraces a client-first mentality, and her mix of experience and personality will Clark Cofer have an immediate impact on our organization. We are excited to have her back at Crawford!” The former two-time President of the Women in Cable Telecommunications Southeast Chapter (WICT) who was chosen as the Chapter President of the Year in 2014, Gray is currently serving as Immediate Past President for one of the largest chapters in the US. Shortly before the start of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, she joined CNN, managing the operations of CNN Post. Over the next 18 years, she rose within the company and in particular at Turner Studios before ultimately reaching her final position as director of production services. Gray’s initial tenure with Crawford began in 1986 as a sound designer. During her ten years with the company, she moved on to scheduling supervisor and eventually account manager. One of her early achievements at Crawford was working with executive producer Jeffrey Selznick on the Peabody Award-winning documentary Making of a Legend, Gone with the Wind. Continuing to bolster its team of knowledgeable, industry talent, Crawford brings Clark Cofer, who worked previously with Crawford as a business manager, into the role of senior account manager. In his new position, Cofer will help develop and manage relationships for Crawford’s creative services and media management clients. “As a longtime member of the video and film production community, Clark’s been able to cultivate countless industry connections,” said Sykes, Crawford’s director of creative services. “With his experience as a producer and project manager, he knows the processes and needs of our clientele. This allows him to best tailor our services to meet those needs. It’s great to have him back at Crawford.” Prior to rejoining Crawford, Clark worked as an account executive with Rocket Fuel where he leveraged the company’s technologies to build results for advertising clients. He has also worked with media service companies Video Copy Services, Tampa Digital Studios and Allied Vaughn. Originally from Tampa, Cofer has been a member of the Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) since 2009. As he organization’s membership chair for the last four years, Cofer has been instrumental in improving member benefits. His efforts have helped double GPP’s membership population during that span.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Shots from Dancin’ the Dream, from Crazy Legs Productions for UP TV.

UP TV STANDS UP

tlanta- based UP T V has launched a m u l t i - p l a t f o r m c a m p a i g n, U P L I F T SOMEONE: Stand UP Against Bullying to raise awareness about bullying prevention tactics. The campaign, part of UP’s widely acclaimed UPLIFT SOMEONE pro-social initiative, was developed to support October as National Bullying Prevention Month. The initiative marks the first time the network has enlisted talent from its original series and movies in a PSA effort. The campaign kicked off on October 5, 2015, which has been designated as Blue Shirt World Day of Bullying Prevention. Wendy McCoy, SVP of marketing for UP, said, “As one of media’s leading family entertainment brands, we believe we have a responsibility to help families navigate the many challenges that life throws at them, and also to recognize those who pay it forward by doing good deeds for others.” Elements of UP’s Stand UP Against Bullying campaign include: Talent PSAs Stars from UP’s original series and movies participated in anti-bullying public service announcements that ran on-air and online throughout October. Participating talent included Luke Perry, star of the UP original movie Welcome Home and special guest star on the UP original series Ties That Bind; Ties That Bind stars Kelli Williams, Jonathan Scarfe, Dion Johnstone and Rhys Matthew Bond; members of the Bates family from the series Bringing Up Bates; Troy Dunn from Last Hope with Troy Dunn; Kim and Penn Holderness of The Holderness Family and creators of wildly popular viral videos; and Jo Frost, host of the series Jo Frost: Nanny on Tour, which will premiere in 2016.

Anti-Bullying UPLIFT SOMEONE Video An engaging video produced by UP that delivers the anti-bullying message to kids, teens and parents. The video was released through digital and social media platforms. The UP Bug UP’s on-air logo was orange in October, reflecting solidarity with the National Bullying Prevention Center’s Unity Day on October 21. Anti-Bullying Tips A list of anti-bullying tips for parents, teen and kids was available on the network website throughout the month. Net work Talent Net work talent also participated in Blue Shirt World Day of Bullying Prevention as part of the kick-off. UP also debuted its first-ever original dance docu-series, Dancin’ the Dream, following eight dancers ranging in age from 9 to 15 as they strive to become tomorrow’s

superstars. The debut episodes of Dancin’ the Dream feature pop star singer/songwriter Leona Lewis’ hit single “Fire Under My Feet” and singer/YouTube sensation Jade Novah’s single “Blood, Sweat & Tears.” Filmed in Atlanta, a city on the cutting edge of hip-hop dance and choreography, Dancin’ the Dream premiered on UP in September. Produced by Crazy Legs Productions, Dancin’ the Dream captures the rigorous training of these highly talented, young aspiring stars as they go through grueling dance classes to perfect their craft, and struggle with the impact of their career on relationships with family, friends and each other. Under the tutelage of top hip hop dancer and choreographer Kiki Ely, at her Atlanta-based studio, ATL Takeova, and her assistant, BeeJay Harris, a professional dancer for 12 years, the kids master highly skilled dance techniques and get prepped for a variety of entertainment auditions and professional engagements, ranging from film and TV to music videos and concert tours.

THE ART TRAIN

tlanta Celebrates Photography Public Art launched Art on Track on MARTA, featuring the work of Kelly Kristin Jones and Laura Noel. A day-long celebration of photography, Art on Track is a fast moving cultural

OZ MAGAZINE

journey onboard a MARTA train. Art on Track transformed a MARTA car into a unique, sensory art experience for riders. For one day only, commuters traveling in the “art train” along the Red (Nor th-South) MARTA line

were immersed in a mobile art experience. To locate the “art train” follow ACP on Twitter, where they will be providing timely updates. Ar t on Track was curated by Jennifer Schwartz and is in partnership with MARTA.

OZCETERA

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Michael Garland

Kristina Foster

Hilary Cadigan

THREE NEW EMPLOYEES JOIN OZ

ur company is growing! Oz Publishing welcomes three new hires as we continue to expand into 2016. Michael Garland, our new assistant to the publisher, comes from Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from the University of Central Arkansas where he was editor of the school’s online paper and studied Writing and Political Science. Michael spent two years teaching English in Thailand, then returned to Atlanta where he worked as a paralegal before signing on with Oz. In his free time, he enjoys running

for fitness and trawling for laughs at his improv comedy classes. Kristina Foster, our newest sales executive, was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. She comes to us with a strong background in Sales and Customer Service, working previously as an administrative assistant for a tax services company here in Atlanta. Kristina enjoys doing fun activities with her 8-year-old son and event planning, and hopes to one day start her own event planning company.

Hilar y Cadigan, our new publishing coordinator, has just returned to Atlanta after three years living and working in Chiang Mai, Thailand (a very popular country for Oz employees) as managing editor of the local lifestyle magazine, Citylife. Born in Texas and raised in Massachusetts, Hilary holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Emory Univer sit y. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including Salon, The Huffington Post and Tricycle. She likes dancing and dogs.

IT CONSULTING GROWS AT CTG

omprehensive Technical Group, LLC (CTG) appointed Mohammad Zahid as its new chief technical officer. Zahid will be responsible for the IT consulting and managed services division, which CTG took on from Sound Enterprises in 2012. Since this acquisition, the department has grown dramatically in both scope and ability. Zahid’s primary focus will be to strengthen the offerings of hosted and managed services, driving the company forward in both sales and innovation. “Mohammad Zahid will be an excellent addition to our staff,” said Jim Wile, managing principal of Comprehensive Technical Group. “His vast experience in infrastructure and managed services as well as his proven talents with project management and team building will benefit our IT department greatly and help to push us to the next level.” B e f o r e c o mi n g t o C o m p r e h e n s i ve Technical Group, Zahid served as the executive director of IT infrastructure at McCalla Raymer, LLC. While there, he managed all infrastructure services for the organization, which consists of more than 500 employees located at eight offices across three states. His responsibilities also included leading the team responsible for maintaining two data centers. These centers handled all computing, storage,

OZ MAGAZINE

networking and telephony capabilities, as well as the service desk that supported the business. Prior to joining McCalla Raymer, Zahid was the director of systems engineering at TMX Finance. While there, he was responsible for managing all computing, virtualization, storage and database operations for more than 5,000 employees and approximately a billion dollars in revenue. His duties also included P&L responsibilities and resource management as well as operations management for a systems engineering team that encompassed two Nor th American based co-lo datacenters. These datacenters supported two corporate offices and over 1,500 retail stores in the field with over 6,000 revenue-generating POS devices. Zahid is also involved in the technology community around the Atlanta area and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Chapter of AFCOM, the leading association of datacenter management professionals with over 4,500 members worldwide. Along with AFCOM, Zahid has also been involved with multiple speaking engagements for such organizations as Datacenter Dynamics and the Technology Association of Georgia ( TAG). Zahid graduated from

Georgia State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Managerial Sciences and holds many industry-related certifications, including the CDCDP, ITMLE and ITILv3 Foundation certifications. CTG also hired Kristin Ferguson as its new director of service. Ferguson joins CTG’s IT managed services department and will be responsible for both client and CTG service, incident management, change management, support and scheduling functions for CTG’s broadcast services and IT service desk. She brings over 20 years of experience as an innovative and customer focused IT professional who has worked both in IT and telecommunications, where she has held various leadership positions. In her most recent role at ACI Worldwide, Ferguson served as senior manager of data center operations. She successfully handled incident and operations management that included client communications during all critical times. In addition, she created a daily dashboard for the client services teams for effective insight into daily incidents that impacted top tier clients. Ferguson has also held leadership roles with Fujitsu America, Inc. in Dallas, Texas as well as TMX Finance.

OZCETERA

Atlanta Workshop Players’ own 13-year-old Cannon Kluytman just landed a recurring role on the new NBC Series Game of Silence.

3511 Church Street, Suite F Atlanta (Clarkston), GA 30021 josh@bluemediasupply.com (o) (404) 622-6709 (() (866) 717-6334

and NOW OPEN...

365 14th Street Atlanta, GA 30318 (404) 941-2345

GAME OF SILENCE CHOOSES ATLANTA ACTOR

interested in

3D prinnng?

special projects, 3D modeling print and scan services, & printer supplies

annon Kluytman is a 13-year-old Atlanta actor who was chosen for a role on NBC’s new fall series Game of Silence. Written by David Hudgens (Friday Night Lights and Parenthood), Game of Silence follows a successful attorney whose long-lost childhood friends unexpectedly reappear after 25 years. When a dark secret they thought they’d buried resurfaces, the brotherhood bands together to right the wrongs of their shared past, a journey that will push the limits of their loyalty and quench their thirst for revenge. The show is set in Texas but is filmed in Atlanta. Kluytman has been taking acting lessons for several years at Atlanta Workshop Players (AWP), a nonprofit TV/ film school & performing company in Alpharetta that has trained over 20,000 young students in the past 34+ years. He credits the school with preparing him for this new role and for getting his foot in the door to audition. “[AWP Director] Don Stallings wrote a demo reel for me, and one of the scenes was pretty dark,” explained Kluytman. “When [Game of Silence] saw it, they called me in for an audition. It was the first audition I’d ever done. I had a callback and found out two days later while I was at AWP. Everyone was so excited.” Even though this is his first big role, Kluytman has his sights set on making acting a lifelong career. “My goal would be to maintain a good life through acting and keep working throughout my life,” he said.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZCETERA

Video of a fully illustrated world for character “Katie” to learn about the benefits of the UPS Access Points network.

Previously Voted the #1 Company in America

Featuring New Vehicles including: Sedans, SUVs, Minibuses, Coaches, Vans and Mercedes Specializing in Media Production Vehicles Largest Company in Atlanta Worldwide Reservations in 550 Cities Online Reservations Open 24/7

WITNESS & CO STAYS BUSY

404.875.3866 • info@gcllimo.com greeneworldwidetransportation.com

OZ MAGAZINE

itness & Co, a multi-cultural motion graphics, animation and post-production studio in Atlanta, has been busy of late. UPS needed a creative way to share a video with its internal team and keep them excited about the future of the company. It is difficult to reach a team of 400,000 employees and convey important information to them, but with experience in creating many successful projects for UPS in the past, the Witness team applied lessons learned and brought a storybook to life. Witness used After Effects 2D animation with 3D compositing, resulting in a fully illustrated world featuring the various “superheroes” of UPS banding together to defend the company. The result was a fun, engaging way to convey important information that may otherwise be overlooked. “This project was very unique and entertaining,” said Witness & Co founder Yesael Sumalave. “We had a lot of fun bringing a comic book to life, while preserving the important message.” The Witness team also helped create a way to convey important information by grabbing the attention of many for cancer treatment provider Elekta, creating a more human approach to show how Elekta’s cancer treatment works. Using 3D elements, Witness created four pieces explaining the radiation process. The team was able to convey important information that many individuals would find valuable, more relatable and easier to understand. “By changing the way each character is perceived, we were able to neutralize the subject matter and demonstrate the important information with clarity,” said Sumalave. As Autotrader becomes more prevalent and more user-friendly, the company needed a fun and engaging way to promote what its offerings. Witness created an interactive, fully animated way to reach the masses with information about Autotrader’s techniques and services. Guiding viewers through a visually appealing narrative gets more interaction and understanding from viewers. Finally, Mars Drinks wanted to develop fun ways to showcase the need for its products. Witness created multiple short spots that feature ordinary people drinking Mars Drinks and feeling its positive effects. By utilizing bursts of color, fun music and crisp graphics, the team was able to achieve a result that showcases the value of the drinks in a simple way.

OZCETERA

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

HOW I GOT INTO THE BUSINESS

ED DABNEY

Head Wrangler, SAG-AFTRA Dabney Horsemanship www.eddabney.com ed@eddabney.com

KAYLA JONES

Production Secretary

How did you get into the business? Growing up on my family’s horse and cattle ranch, I have ridden and trained horses all my life. I worked as a cowboy and horse trainer on some large ranches in Wyoming, guided hunters and took guests on week long horseback camping trips in the Rocky Mountains. In 2001 I moved with my family to Georgia where we operate a horse training and horsemanship business. I conduct training and riding clinics around the US and in Europe. In the late 80s I became involved in Civil War cavalry reenacting. My cavalry troop performed battle reenactments and living history demonstrations for the National Park Service on many of the battlefield parks. The head wrangler for the ABC-TV movie Class of ‘61 watched one our performances, then invited us to ride as cavalry trooper extras in the movie. After this first film work experience I was hooked! I rode as an extra in several more productions for this same head wrangler. With each job I made more contacts in the industry and began to receive calls to ride in more films. I had well-trained horses and always volunteered for the most difficult riding scenes. My

aspiration was to land a job as head wrangler. This was achieved in 2008 with the PBS production of We Shall Remain. Since then I have enjoyed other head wrangler positions.

How did you get into the business? In March of 2014, I moved from Mississippi to Georgia after accepting a position in corporate housing. A few months later, someone blessed me with an amazing opportunity to work in the film and television industry as an office PA. Keep in mind that I had no prior experience and knew nothing about the industry. However, I was fortunate enough to work with an amazing group of people who taught me everything about working in the production office. I worked as an office PA for two shows and in less than a year, I was promoted to production secretary.

problems arise, figure out a solution. “I don’t know” will not work. Lastly, take notes. I learned to keep a notepad and pen with me at all times. If it’s written down, you won’t forget and you also don’t have to face the embarrassment of asking your boss to repeat the instructions.

What’s the best advice you can offer to someone trying to join the industry? Work hard and don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Always have a positive attitude and when

What are your most recent projects? Hindsight, Finding Carter (season 2)

How did you get into the business? I have created images for most of my life. During my younger years I worked for the family nightclub business and continued to shoot, moving into fashion, and modeling – every young man’s dream. While I was shooting at Comic-Con I met Albert Ortega, who introduced me to FilmMagic, an entertainment photo agency for print. I began to meet people from the movie industry while shooting more entertainment type events, which essentially led me to operating.

Have you had any mentors along the way? Understanding how much I did not know about Steadicam, I enrolled in the extensive Steadicam workshop taught by the inventor of the Steadicam, Garret Brown, and award-winning operators Jerry Holoway, Ruben Sluijter and Chris Fawcett. Their expertise and generosity of knowledge is a cornerstone of my career. I am ever thankful.

What’s the best advice you can offer to young people in your profession? Be willing to start at the bottom and work for little or no pay. The experience and contacts will be well worth it. Come early, stay late, work hard, be humble but outgoing, be genuine, polite and grateful, meet people and remember their names, be eager to learn, be pleasant and happy. What do you love about your job? I love the challenge of being able to accomplish the exact shot the director wants no matter how tight or difficult, with my horses performing perfectly. What projects have you worked on recently? Sleepy Hollow (seasons 2 and 3)

What mantra do you live by? Let Kayla be Kayla. Most of us wear masks and are afraid to be ourselves, simply out of fear of judgment. It’s a lot easier to just be you. Be happy. Be confident. Be kind. Be different. Be you....and be okay with that!

kayla3jones@gmail.com

BILL McCLELLAND Camera, Steadicam, Underwater Operator wireshooter@me.com www.sunsetproductionstudios.com

OZ MAGAZINE

I then worked on a film with Valerie Perez called Paula Peril, an adaptation of the comic series. During the filming I needed to do a moving shot and thought I would experiment with the Steadicam. Obviously, this was a terrible idea and the shot was barely usable, but it created a love for the device and I had to learn it. I bought my first Steadicam rig and started practicing and working for anyone who would hire me.

What do you do to stay on top of your game? In 2013, I joined the Society of Camera Operators (SOC). This honorary society is dedicated to enhancing the craft of the camera operator. I was elected to the board the same year and now serve as the treasurer. I co-produced the SOC’s 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards and will do so again for 2016. The SOC is also active in supporting their charity, The Vision Center at the Children’s Hospital, for which the awards are a fundraising effort. What projects have you worked on recently? Sleepy Hollow, Fist Fight, Director’s Cut

How did you get into the business? I was working on wedding gowns in a bridal shop in Marietta for someone who worked in the industry. They asked me if I’d like to get in the business of working on movie sets. I said sure and everything began after that. My first project was working on a TV show, Drop Dead Diva, doing alterations. I continued working on TV shows and movies, which only last two to four months at a time so I eventually joined the union. They now send different jobs that I’m able to apply for and get work.

MARY MONDSCHRISTIAN Seamstress

marymonds11@gmail.com

What advice would you give to others trying to get into the industry? Be prepared for this industry. Workdays are sometimes 12 hours or longer. And know what you’re doing; you can’t go in to a project blindly. How do you stay knowledgeable in your work? Sometimes I use the union. They have courses that keep me up to date with current knowledge. I also read a lot about the project I will be working on before I get there.

How did you get into the business? I originally studied interior design and wanted to pursue production design, so I got my master’s degree in production design for film and television. When I came back to Atlanta I started networking with people at industry events and was able to get a call working on The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

AMELIA RAMIREZ Props Assistant

www.amoebaramirez.com

ERIK ROBERT Set Designer

eriklrobert@gmail.com

What advice would you give to others trying to get in to the industry? Finding things that you already know or are interested in and knowing where you want to go is the best advice, because you never know what’s coming next. You want to network with a lot of people, but if you have an interest in something in particular you should start taking classes or go to different functions and meetings focused on that. These are great opportunities to meet people with the same interests as you. Having a lot of different skills is important. Whether you’re in the art department or production you should be constantly learning different things.

How did you get into the business? Previously, I had been pursuing a career in professional soccer. As luck would have it, the day I was offered a professional contract in Germany with the VfL Sportfreunde Lotte team, I fell off a bike, cutting my foot on the pedal which caused an infection. Af ter that hear tbreaking experience and many years of continuing to try, design found me. I began studying Interior Design in UCLA Extensions Interior Architecture program. Along the way, I met a great friend and mentor in acclaimed production designer Barry Robison, who taught me the fundamentals, and encouraged me to apply to the American Film Institute, where I finished in 2014 as a Production Design Fellow. What’s the best advice you can offer to young people in your profession? “No,” or “I can’t” is not in your vocabulary. Be open to every opportunity and challenge that comes your way, and have the mentality that you are going to learn something new every day. Never stop learning and

What do you love about your job now? I love the people that I meet, and the fashions I get to work in, from 18th century pieces to modern day. Do you have a mantra that you live by? Get plenty of rest, eat well, and stay on top of what’s happening in the industry. If you weren’t doing this, what would your dream job be? I’d like to travel. I think I would probably have to be an airline attendant, getting to go different places and being around different people all the time. What makes your job cool for you? The team I work with. After the show we have wrap parties and in the meantime we stick together as a team. We work together to tackle and solve problems. What are your three most recent projects? Bastards, Sleepy Hollow, Keeping Up with the Joneses

If you had to do it all over again… Something I’m still trying to do now is learn more. I’m five years out of my degree but there are opportunities even two years out of a degree to take advantage of. There are programs, training and internships that I didn’t know had a time limit. And a number of studios have the same opportunities for those in school. I wish I had known more about that—the wealth of knowledge and that you cannot replace real experience and meeting people face-to-face. You can Google all day long but that experience and those connections are very important. What do you love about your job now? I love working with different people and constantly learning. There’s a different challenge every single day and every hour is different. If you don’t want something that’s regular, it’s definitely the industry to be in. What are your three most recent projects? Mother’s Day, Being Mary Jane, The Game

growing; keep challenging yourself to be the best. Finally, take a class on communication, because good communication is harder than it seems and since this is a collaborative but high-pressure industry, great communication is what makes the whole thing run smoothly. Who has been your role model on your path? A huge role model for me has been Barry Robison. I think Barry is one of the most talented production designers I’ve ever worked with. He is a master, and to be able to learn from someone of his caliber when I was so fresh was an amazing experience. He pushed me to pursue production design, and recommended that I apply to the American Film Institute, which was the top film school in the world, according to Hollywood Reporter in 2012, and for that I will always be grateful. What are your three most recent projects: Keeping Up with the Joneses, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Vacation

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

By Christine Bunish

ith digital dailies now a staple for productions shooting digitally . . . and those still originating on film . . . Atlanta has a growing roster of companies offering dailies solutions for features and television. “Just about every studio chooses Atlanta as a location so there’s a demand for dailies on set or in a facility,” says Suzanne Morris, president of Morris Media Consulting in Atlanta and a former HBO and Deluxe Entertainment executive.

OZ MAGAZINE

“We have seen an increase in demand for both near-set and in-facility dailies. The current trend seems to favor in-facility dailies, and there are a growing number of companies that offer closed loop systems that mirror colorcorrected dailies on an on-set monitor, iPad or projected to a large screen. Digital dailies are more than copying files and sending them off. There’s some level of color correction involved and customization of the process to meet camera and deliverable requirements. This is still a very talentdriven business.”

Company 3 Crafts Custom Solutions “There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for digital dailies. It’s all very customizable,” says Billy Gabor, a colorist by trade and managing director of Deluxe Atlanta, which includes Beast for creative editorial, Method Studios for VFX and finishing, and Company 3 for color. Because projects have very different digital dailies needs, Company 3 can provide productions with simple cart-based, near-set solutions or a completely outfitted mobile grading theater in a trailer. Dailies also can be done in the Atlanta facility, which boasts “a full digital intermediate theater, the same as we have in L.A., New York and London,” says Gabor. Deluxe Global Network (DGN), the company’s highbandwidth private fiber network, enables collaboration across great distances. “We often do dailies and final color and get involved early on for LUT selection and look development,” Gabor explains. “Filmmakers collaborate with our colorists here or remotely with any Deluxe colorist worldwide; we’ll color manage the project all the way through. DGN also permits filmmakers who are finishing projects at our other facilities to connect to those sessions and make color-critical decisions remotely.” Recent dailies clients include the just-released feature Goosebumps, which shot in and around Atlanta and in Conyers, Georgia, the upcoming crime drama Triple 9 and the Adam Sandler comedy The Do-Over, which shot in Savannah and opted for a near-set cart solution. Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve and Colorfront On-Set Dailies (OSD) are the primary tools used by Company 3’s dailies colorists. Deluxe also has proprietary products. Colorstream is an on-set system used to build, preview and store looks live; a free iPad version is available in the Apple App Store. eVue is a color-critical review tool that allows filmmakers to view very high-quality dailies in their residence,

The digital dailies team at Company 3 including dailies producer, Scott Salamon (top left) and managing director of Deluxe Atlanta, Billy Gabor (bottom left).

production office or trailer. Metatrack Portal automates the process of VFX pulls and helps color decisions track to final color sessions. “These tools help filmmakers get the look they want early on and carry that look from dailies all the way to the finish,” says Gabor. Final color at Company 3 is typically done on Resolve. Gabor can’t emphasize enough the importance of maintaining the database for each project. “Because of the volume of data we work with, the database is absolutely critical,” he says. “Keeping the integrity of the data is everything for a project.” “Liaising with the studio, editorial and production to hammer out the details is our specialty,” adds dailies producer Scott Salamon. “We act as the hub and dial in all the variables like workflow, calibrations and color science. Our local dailies team of more than ten people provides 24/7 support.” Company 3 is currently supplying digital dailies for a major feature shooting in Atlanta on the new ALEXA 65, ARRI’s large-format camera system. “ALEXA 65 is giant; we’re getting 8-14 TB of data every day,” says Gabor. “To do those dailies we beefed up our storage and the amount of spindles, dispersing data across enough discs to get the throughput to deal with the massive amount of data in the time frame our client expects. So the filmmakers can really see the details, we also provide an eVue review station in a custom trailer to live on the lot.”

“

Keeping the integrity of the data is everything for a project.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

Alex Brownley, workflow producer, Bling Digital.

Putting the Bling in Digital Dailies For the last three years Bling Dailies’ service has been available through SIM Digital in Atlanta. The process is most often performed near-set at the SIM Digital facility, which workflow producer Alex Brownley describes as “within walking distance of several soundstages, camera rental houses and production offices.” Bling also provides a near-set location service, too. “I always tell our technicians-in-training that we’re the first line of defense: the level of detail we provide in our dailies service affects the entire post production process,” says Brownley. “Dailies are more than synching sound to picture and moving on. Wrangling all the metadata, especially the color information, is the number-one priority. We do checksums from beginning to end.” Bling’s near-set location dailies are done with a workstation pod, usually located in the production offices. Each pod comes equipped with an Apple Mac Tower, Colorfront software and a Tangent Wave panel control surface for color correction. Flanders OLED monitors are color calibrated to match those used on set by the DITs and cinematographers. Pods are initially manned by Brownley or a Bling supervisor; then, when they are assured of “smooth sailing,” a dailies tech takes over and remains for the duration of production. Codecs are customized for the camera The level of detail deployed. Pods storage we provide in our include and archiving on LTO 5 or 6; data dailies service can also affects the entire storage be customized post production to meet increased requirements. process...” Pods were deployed on NBC’s Revolution series during its two seasons shooting in Wilmington, North Carolina; a pilot in Richmond; and WE TV’s new South of Hell supernatural series, shooting in Charleston. The bulk of Bling’s dailies, however, are facilitybased. Current clients include The CW’s new thriller Containment, season three of The CW’s The Originals, season two of MTV’s Finding Carter, the HBO original feature Confirmation, Dolly Parton’s NBC movie Coat of Many Colors, BET’s new sitcom Zoe Ever After, and the indie biopic Megan Leavey. Bling also acts as “the middle man” providing data archiving and data pushing for NBC’s new crime series Game of Silence whose dailies

“ 40

OZ MAGAZINE

are done by Sony Pictures Television’s i24P Dailies. Workflows vary project to project. Containment shoots on Panasonic’s VariCam 35, a new model that Brownley says, “offers a lot more in-camera capabilities” and requires a workflow to keep the color pipeline consistent. Finding Carter is done with the Academy’s ACES color space workflow. Confirmation, about the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill battle during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, used a 1990s-era broadcast camera to capture footage that would be intercut with archival material. “Getting that to HD specs for processing, while maintaining an SD look, was a challenge,” Brownley notes. “The show bounced between ARRI ALEXA RAW and ProRes formats, too.” Confirmation set up editorial in Bling’s facility. “We rent space for offline editing,” says Brownley. “When a dailies client is editing here it makes for a wonderful working environment.” Bling tends to be involved in the dailies color correction process. The “most popular” scenario, according to Brownley, has the company’s in-house colorist, James Koon, setting looks with a DP and translating them into LUTs to be loaded on set. A tight workflow between Colorfront software and Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve ensures that CDLs can be easily passed along to final color.

Light Iron Boosts Atlanta Profile Los Angeles-based Light Iron has provided digital dailies services to productions in Atlanta for several years. Now, as part of Panavision, Light Iron is raising its profile in a town where Panavision Atlanta is already a fixture. Currently, about 25 percent of Light Iron’s Atlanta business features its LILY PAD on-set creative color suite. “We can supply a LILY PAD system for DITs who don’t have their own equipment,” explains Paul Geffre, Light Iron’s head of business development and workflow strategy, “but most often we work with DITs who have their own systems and just augment their gear to optimize workflow.”

“

Over the last few years things have settled down camera-wise. Everyone has become more comfortable with the workflows for digital cinema.

The bulk of the company’s business in Atlanta centers around its OUTPOST mobile dailies lab, which resides at a near-set location – often production or editorial offices – providing the most efficiency for the client. OUTPOST is capable of handling any format and creating multiple deliverables faster than real-time. Light Iron has provided digital dailies for Atlantaarea features Ride Along, Ride Along 2, Sleepless Night, and The DUFF and is currently supporting OWN TV’s Greenleaf. Universal Pictures’ Ride Along 2, which is slated for release early next year, spent approximately six weeks shooting in Atlanta. DP Mitchell Amundsen worked with longtime DIT, Kai Borson Paine, shooting RED Epic Dragon 6K with Panavision Primo 70 lenses. “We provided Kai with high-speed SAS RAIDs to move media from the set to OUTPOST,” says Geffre. “He did color on the set and sent the SAS RAIDs, containing all the camera media, sound and CDLs, twice a day to Marc Goldbaum, our OUTPOST operator in the production office. Marc did the synch, applied the color from Kai, and processed Avid DNxHD and Pix files, which were sent via Aspera to editorial in L.A. “At the end of a shoot day all that morning’s media was ready to be streamed via Pix. By the next morning everything was ready for editorial, and by lunch the footage was archived on LTO. The RED format was a manageable size: about half a terabyte of data for an hour of shooting. OUTPOST workflows are designed to handle much more than that, so dailies don’t get behind.” Geffre notes that, “nine times out of ten we can do a show with a single person in processing working with a DIT on set. On Ride Along 2, Marc was also able to handle 2nd unit. It took a little overtime on his part, but it was far less than using a second person.” The original Ride Along was shot ARRIRAW with a different camera team, but “from a creative and technical standpoint the dailies process for the sequel was not massively different,” Geffre points out. “Over the last few years things have settled down camera-wise. Everyone has become more comfortable with the workflows for digital cinema. Even when there’s a new toy, there aren’t massive sea changes in the way people shoot. We don’t care what

format people use: high-speed Phantom, ARRI, RED or combinations of cameras. It doesn’t dramatically change how we do things.” Light Iron and Panavision have plans for expansion in Atlanta. “In 2016, we will be opening an Atlanta facility with a theater and edit rooms for our clients,” says Geffre. “We are evaluating several potential locations and are very excited about joining the community here in Atlanta.” Currently, Light Iron is establishing a physical presence within Panavision in New Orleans, another major production hub where it offers mobile dailies.

Crawford Builds on Dailies Heritage Atlanta’s Crawford Media Services has been providing dailies since the days when most productions shot on film. Today, the company offers dailies to projects still originating on film or shooting digitally. Dailies are primarily Crawford Media Services’ Ron Heidt done at the Crawford oversees the dailies process, including dailies for The Walking Dead, which facility, a longtime shoots on S16mm film, which is processed post powerhouse daily at Crawford’s Cinefilm facility. with “over 2 gigs of connectivity to the outside world,” says technical director/senior editor Ron Heidt. “We prefer that clients come here, where it’s easy to get everything you need. We have Avid editorial, too, so productions editing here can go right into the Avids quickly and easily.” Crawford has been furnishing dailies for AMC’s The Walking Dead for its six seasons and for The CW’s The Vampire Diaries for its seven-season run. The Walking Dead is that rare television show that still shoots on S16mm film. Crawford processes the film in its Cinefilm lab; it handles over 1.5 million feet of film for the series each season. “Some big days have over 15,000 feet of S16 – over eight hours of footage in one day,” says Heidt. “The lab opens at 4 a.m. and by 2-3 p.m. everything is ingested to digital; simultaneously we’re cutting all the takes, manually synching all the audio, doing the color correction and starting renders. On a normal day editors will see the first Avid dailies in L.A. by 1 p.m. their time.” Dailies colorist DC Cardinali, who has worked on The Walking Dead from its inception, meets with the show’s DP to establish the look for dailies color. Film is transferred in a flat, LOG-style look. Colorfront software is used to provide the color look for dailies review and

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

Crawford Media Services’ DC Cardinali, at work as the dailies colorist for The Walking Dead.

Steve Shireman synching dailies, cut takes and inserting metadata for The Walking Dead for Crawford Media Services.

offline editorial. The dailies process was customized for the series to deliver the special metadata the show needs, specific burn ins and a Blu-ray copy for the DP to review on set. “Our system can do Blu-rays, web review files and Avid files all at the same time and three to four times faster than real-time when we render out,” Heidt explains. Because The Walking Dead is a film series, the typical one-person dailies operation requires more hands on deck; Steve Shireman joins Cardinali to synch the dailies, cut the takes and handle the metadata insertion. The Vampire Diaries shoots ARRI ALEXA ProRes. More of a studio-based show than The Walking Dead, it is produced primarily at a Decatur studio complex. “They drop their camera cards or hard drive with us by the end of the shoot day and by 10-11 a.m. our time we’re uploading their dailies to editorial in L.A.,” Heidt says. “LUTs are established on set and passed along with the footage for colorist Ian MacDonald to apply with Colorfront.” Crawford archives both series to LTO. The company’s credit list also includes a number of feature films, including Fox Studios’ Gifted, which is currently shooting in Savannah on 35mm film. “They ship us film every night and we process it using the same workflow as The Walking Dead,” says Heidt. Customization includes tracking [Kodak’s] Keykode, “a very important part of the process because of the need to rescan film for the final feature.”

OZ MAGAZINE

FotoKem Commits to Southeast Market Burbank-based FotoKem has been serving Atlanta productions for four years from its 2,500 square-foot facility in midtown. “It’s a great location; DPs can walk from their hotels to our facility,” says Peter Santoro, VP feature and commercial services for FotoKem New Orleans and Atlanta. “The model follows our presence in New Orleans where we set up a satellite facility five years ago for digital dailies with support from our main campus. In Atlanta we have four bays built out for dailies for TV, features and occasionally commercials.” David Hall, director of operations for FotoKem New Orleans and Atlanta, notes, “FotoKem is a 52 year-old company with an amazing depth and knowledge of film. That heritage has driven the way we treat and respect digital material. We have a full-time software development team that writes a number of tools on a day-to-day basis.” Recent FotoKem dailies credits include the latest season of Sleepy Hollow, which moved to Atlanta from North Carolina; two seasons of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, and the comedy features Table 19 and Vacation. FotoKem provides digital dailies at its facility and

near-set. “We have tremendous bandwidth capabilities in our Atlanta facility and can quickly get viewing dailies uploaded according to studio or network requirements,” says Santoro. “In most cases editorial is in L.A. or New York, and we usually get dailies to them before they come in to work. We also offer nonlinear services: Avid rentals and support. Vacation set up editorial offices with us for about eight weeks.” FotoKem’s nextLAB dailies processing software handles media management, color correction and all deliverables within one platform, Hall points out. “It’s tightly integrated to the online platforms producers use, like Pix and Shotgun. And we also offer globalDATA, our secure data transfer program.” FotoKem is focused on helping the creative team deliver its vision on every project. “Our job is to make sure cinematographers get what they intended. We do that via look development working in conjunction with the DIT on set or in our lab to set the looks for the finish,” says Santoro. The digital dailies process for Halt and Catch Fire has remained largely the same for its two seasons. The series shoots ARRI ALEXA ProRes with a DIT on set. “Twice a day he backs up camera media to an on-set RAID and sends copies of shuttle drives to us,” says Hall. “We do a secondary check on our RAID and back up to LTO as the

“

Paul Geffre-Light Iron’s head of business development and workflow strategy

archival master. We ship another set of LTOs to Keep Me Posted, our post facility in L.A., to bring online for the conform.” At FotoKem Atlanta, the dailies colorist applies CDLs from the set. “The DIT uses nextLAB to do live color with the DP and generate CDL values,” Hall explains. “Then we create Avid DNx 36 for editorial and upload to Pix for streaming deliverables.” He notes that nextLAB can “pass the metadata to Keep Me Posted so when they conform they pull uncompressed Avid 1:1 in ARRI Log space that links to the sequence from editorial. It’s almost an instantaneous conform on Nucoda, a very efficient way to streamline the back end process.” In addition, Keep Me Posted is able to send color-timed master files back to the DP in Atlanta for viewing and notes for final color. FotoKem’s Atlanta facility has room to grow, so expansion is a possibility. “The marketplace is vibrant,” says Santoro. “We plan to be here for the long run.”

The marketplace is vibrant. We plan to be here for the long run.”

FotoKem’s digital daily work in Atlanta includes the AMC show Halt & Catch Fire. In a scene from season two, Scoot McNairy stars as Gordon Clark. Photo Credit: Tina Rowden/AMC

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

An Oz interview series with content creators: how they execute their vision, how they attract eyeballs, and how they seek distribution. By Fran Burst-Terranella

OZ MAGAZINE

s Georgia firmly claims our spot in the top three U.S. centers of film and television production, we’re also putting ourselves on the map as original content creators – from TV series to indie films to web series. Created and written by Atlanta filmmaker Nicole Kemper, The Mother Load web series follows an oddcouple pair of friends: Carrie, a by-the-book first time parent, and Astrid, a parenting veteran who believes in embracing chaos, as they navigate the unpredictable waters of raising children. The show’s first episode begins with Astrid (played by Kemper) breast-feeding her baby while she gives a very distracted young bakery clerk her order – an eclectic list of specialty cupcakes that only a nursing mother would choose.

What inspired you to create The Mother Load web series? When I had my first child – who’s now five – a lot of unexpected things happened, like when I had an entire conversation with someone I hadn’t met before while I was breast-feeding. We were both trying to pretend that it wasn’t weird but it was and I thought that was quite funny. I watch a lot of TV and I didn’t see the stuff that was happening to me on television, so I thought, here is an opportunity to tell some funny stories that weren’t being told. I didn’t know if it would become a short or a feature or what. After my son was born, I sat on the idea for a long time.

So how did you decide it was time to develop your “mom” experiences into The Mother Load?

The cast and crew of The Mother Load web series rehearse the blocking of a scene on the set of season one.

I used to be an actor. I got a degree in Theatre Studies at Emory. After school I wasn’t sure I wanted to act so I stopped acting for 10 years and went to film school and became an editor. About a year after my son was born, I felt like I wanted to try out acting again. I started taking classes at the Alliance and I met this guy who said, “I’m going to take this class at a Theatre called Pinch ‘N Ouch. It’s the Meisner technique...” They weren’t offering the next class I wanted at the Alliance, so I signed up at Pinch ‘N Ouch and took Meisner Level 1. The first four weeks I kept thinking, “I don’t understand this. Why am I doing these repetition exercises? Is this even acting?” About four weeks in it really clicked for me. And Grant and Morgan McGowen who run the theatre, and all the people I met there were really dedicated. I had such a good time working with them that I just never left. As I went through all the Meisner class levels, we started amassing this group of actors who are also writers and who wanted to direct. So Grant developed

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

“

We’re doing this. It’s happening. When are we doing the auditions?”

a class called Advanced Meisner. For half the class we’d do repetitions and the other half we’d bring in stuff we’d written and read the scripts as a group. And the idea was to develop things that we would then shoot. I started writing the script for The Mother Load and I’d bring it in and we’d read it out loud and I began to realize that my script would really work as a web series. Now I can always talk myself out of doing something by saying “I don’t know. It seems like it’s pretty hard and I’ve got kids and it’s been a while since I made a film...” But with them it’s like “We’re doing this. It’s happening. When are we doing the auditions?” And then you start setting dates, and people kept telling me it was worth doing and it gave me the courage to go for it. Everyone’s enthusiasm was quite infectious.

Tell me about your writing process. I like to write outlines and I had this idea that each episode should be about “something,” so I wrote out events I wanted to have happen and then I started working with the characters – an overall problem each was tackling and the developing relationships between the characters. Initially the four episodes were about ten pages each but when we edited the projects, we decided that ten 46

OZ MAGAZINE

Nicole Kemper and Lauren Barash star in The Mother Load web series.

minutes was too long for a comedy web show episode. So I found where the action breaks were, where I could stop the story and pick it up again the next week and these four longer episodes became seven shorter episodes.

Web series are still a new medium – so why were you willing to brave this? I think web series – the whole concept of it – is a gift to writers. I love television and some stories are really built for the television format. I also think some of the most brave work being done right now – in terms of mainstream content – is in television. And I see a lot of women writers actually finding a voice in television, which is great. When my husband and I started watching web series, somebody introduced us to the series High Maintenance. It’s about this bike messenger who delivers weed but it’s really more about the people he encounters. Each episode is 10-15 minutes long and I was like, wow, this is really great – the production value is great, the acting is fantastic, it’s so funny and touching and they did it all themselves. They didn’t need to shop their idea around to a network and get permission to tell the story. They just went out there and did it and they released it on Vimeo

Brian Ashton Smith, Andy Fleming, and Jackie Costello star in The Mother Load web series.

Writer/Director Nicole Kemper and DP Grant McGowen talk through the next shot on the set of season one of The Mother Load web series.

and slowly, over time, people found it. First they got a deal with Vimeo on demand and now HBO picked them up so their series will be on HBO. And I heard about the women from Broad City – Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer – who started out as a web series. After getting noticed by Amy Poehler, they were able to find their way to networks and pitch their show, and now they’re showrunners for their own TV show on Comedy Central. I feel like web series give people an amazing opportunity to write television, without having to have the networks tell you if your content is good enough to be on TV.

You put your own money into making this series. What made you decide to do that? It’s kind of funny the way this came about. I didn’t have time to consider if it was a bad idea because Grant was like, “All right, we’re shooting this. When are we doing auditions?” And I was like, “Well, I need to get some money together or something. “ And he’s like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, we’ll do that. But when are we doing auditions?” So once it started happening, it was already in motion and at that point it was like I can’t stop it and I don’t want to, so let’s just keep going.

Nicole Kemper stars as Astrid in The Mother Load web series.

My husband read the script and he’s incredibly honest. He’s read my work before and he’s been like, “Oh, this is really not your best,” but he read this and he said, “This is good – you need to do this.” So he was on board. The entire budget was about $5,000 and half of that, about $2,500, came from me and $2,500 came from our IndieGoGo campaign.

So if you’re writing and acting and producing and sometimes directing and editing too, what do you need to do to so everything comes out right? You really need to have people you can trust behind the camera – and of course you’ve got to watch playback. I really trusted Grant, and I knew he knew what the story was about – and also Hillary, the assistant director, and Sarah and Max, my production managers. They’d been in on rehearsals and they knew what I was trying to accomplish and they cared about the material. Our production designer was wonderful and was with me from the beginning. Her child and my child went to preschool together. We started talking and I found out she works on films and as a parent of small children, she knew exactly what I was talking about in the scripts.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

AD Hillary Heath slates a shot as actors Andy Fleming and Brian Ashton Smith stand by on the set of season one of The Mother Load web series.

Lauren Barash stars as Carrie in The Mother Load web series.

How did you get the locations? One of the locations was my house. Carrie’s house is my parents’ house and we shot at a park right near my home. We just showed up at the park on weekends, and set up so we were away from everyone else and nobody seemed to be bothered.

How did you prepare for your shoots? One important part was meeting with people before the shoots to plan. Grant and the crew and cast and I met in advance and talked about everything we’d do at each location. We talked through what the shots were going to be and how we wanted to approach them, so once we got to set everybody was already on the same page. There was an environment of “let’s shoot the script and with the extra time, let’s try out some other things.” We definitely got the story because we were shooting the script, but we would experiment and sometimes the actors would improvise and I built in time for that.

OZ MAGAZINE

What was it like shooting in parts rather than in back-to-back days? I think it doesn’t wear people out as much. It’s difficult to compare it to shooting a feature because a web series is short episodes anyway. And we might be shooting an episode that we can do in one afternoon, so there’s a sense of completeness there. I also think that it’s kind of a necessity (to shoot in parts) when you have such a low budget project. You can’t expect people to completely drop everything else in their lives and devote 14 days in a row to you. As long as you know everybody is committed, it’s kind of nice, everybody gets a break. You go do something else, you come back, you’re refreshed.

As a writer/producer, what did you do if something wasn’t working? I had a lot of people that I trusted and if I was stuck on an idea they could go, “You know what – It’s not working.” I think it comes down to experience, too. This isn’t my first project. I’ve had other projects where I became really

The creators of Broad City did an interview with NPR. They did film festivals and we’re doing that too. They contacted blogs and people online who they thought were their audience and sent them links to the show and they got a lot of audience that way. And I thought, “Well, jeez, there’s Mom blogs and online magazines and all kinds of parents’ stuff,” so I’m figuring out how to reach those people – hey, here’s my show. If you like it, sharing it would be awesome. I think that’s the next step to broaden our reach.

When do you start your next season?

“

The people that have worked on the show are committed and love the show...”

committed to making the movie that’s in my head. And you can’t make the movie that’s in your head – that movie doesn’t exist. You write it and then you get to production and production is another re-writing process. Then once you get all the footage and you’re in an editing room, you’re writing it again. So I think if you approach it this way, you can’t get completely stuck on any idea because if you do, you miss the stuff that’s right in front of you. Over time I’ve learned that the script is great but it’s a guideline. You get into production and actors are doing something different and you need to see the value in that and embrace it. Or the cinematographer has an idea for the shot that is better or different, and you have to embrace that. You can’t get stuck on the thing that you wrote – because it’s not a novel.

How are you reaching your audience? That’s something that’s still evolving. The Facebook page was a very big place for us. I’d post pictures with funny texts and behind-the-scenes photos and throwbackThursday with a cast member talking about the show. And the IndieGoGo campaign was really great and reached a lot of people.

I finished the first draft last week and I’m developing a fundraising strategy to begin after the holidays. We may get sponsors this time – people and companies that might find that our audience and the people they’re trying to reach are the same. And I’ve got ideas for fundraising events we may do. I’m looking at the scripts themselves – how much money are we going to need to shoot these? I’d like to start shooting in March or April. And I’ll be working with Pinch ‘N Ouch – they’re great.

And nobody gets paid, right? Nobody got paid this time. One reason I’m beginning fundraising early is that I’d like to be able to pay people. We all work on these things because we love them, but it would also be nice to give people some kind of financial compensation. The people that have worked on the show are committed and love the show and want me to keep going and have said, “If you can’t pay me, I’ll still work on it.” So it’s good to know that, but I want to find a way to sustain this – so it can be not just a passion project, but a career for us, a career choice.

Do you think you’ll get the money back that you’ve invested? Probably not, but the things I got out of it are certainly worth the money I put in. I’ve learned things that will help me raise funds so I can offer people a financial incentive this time. I’ve learned lessons that can help me make the show better... the people I’ve met through this, the whole process, the experience was certainly worth the money I’ve invested.

The Mother Load: www.motherloadseries.com Pinch ‘N Ouch Theatre: www.pnotheatre.org Broad City: www.broadcitytheshow.com High Maintenance: vimeo.com/channels/ highmaintenance

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

A TIME AND A PASSION TO GIVE By Amy Allyn Swann

OZ MAGAZINE

This holiday season, let us all recognize those who use their time and talents for the benefit of others.

Take, take, take . We hear that over and over about some people in the entertainment

industry. However, the production industry gives back to the community in more ways than anyone realizes. Oz wants you to know about these contributions. Starting with this issue, Oz Magazine will be highlighting production companies that have donated their time and services for charities and other good causes. Be inspired and let us know what you are doing to give back. Send info anytime to our OzCetera Editor, ozcetera@ozonline.tv.

“We Want To Do More”

SERV International is a Christ-centered organization that operates an orphanage and a largescale feeding operation in Kenya. For more information, visit www.SERVone.org. The Foster Care Support Foundation provides clothing, infant equipment, and developmental toys to children in foster and relative care throughout Georgia. For more information, visit www.FosterCares.org. The Georgia Transplant Foundation helps meet the educational, informational, and financial needs of organ transplant candidates, living donors, recipients, and their families. For more information, visit www.GATransplant.org.

In all likelihood, a life a child should Jennifer Felton is still not have to live,” suffering from jet Jennifer said. lag and unpacking The couple also her bags from works with several her recent trip to other charities Kenya. Jennifer, who and often donate co-owns a production their professional Jennifer & Ryan Felton company, AVA, with services. For her husband Ryan example, when Felton, left her day job in mid-October the Foster Care Support Foundation for a nearly two-week trip to work in needed actors for a film they were some of the most impoverished villages doing on the organization’s work, the around Nairobi and to help escort five Feltons volunteered. The foundation, orphans to their new home at the House based in Roswell, works with the state’s of Hope orphanage in Lodwar, Kenya. Department of Family and Children Jennifer, who is the director of Services to provide foster families with business development for AVA, and clothes, school supplies, toys, and special Ryan, AVA’s producer and director, equipment for the children they take have been working for years with SERV in. Jennifer noted that when children International, a non-profit based in are placed into foster care it is often Canton, Georgia. The trip was especially an emergency situation. “When they meaningful because she was there to arrive at a foster home, they often meet Consiletta, an orphaned child that have nothing.” she and Ryan have been sponsoring The couple also has donated through their company. “I am just so production services for charity auctions, lucky to take part in this,” Jennifer said such as the one held by Angels of Life, recently, as she rushed to prepare for which raises money for the Georgia her departure. Transplant Foundation. The money The ten-member team from the is used to support patients who have Christian-based organization will deliver received organ transplants and to food and water to the slums of Nairobi recognize the life-saving contributions and surrounding villages. In addition to of organ donors. bringing five children to House of Hope, Even as the Feltons prepare for a the team will also take on remodeling new business venture, the opening of projects at the orphanage. “Many of Big Peach Studios in December, they these children lost their parents due are looking for their next project to to AIDS or civil unrest,” Jennifer give back. One idea they’ve discussed explained. Some may have another is to return to Kenya to produce a film family member to live with, but because about the work at the House of Hope of the entrenched poverty in the area, orphanage. they are the last to get food when the Simply put, said Jennifer, “We want family eats and there is no money to to do more.” send them to school. “They are living

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

“ Danielle Bernstein

“Meaningful Media” Danielle Bernstein had a mission when she founded Clear Films Productions, an independent film production company. That mission is based on her “belief that meaningful media makes a difference. If you’re in a position to reach people, I feel obligated to,” she said. “We would like to have a positive impact on the world.” Bernstein, along with filmmaker and photographer Jason Maris, are adventurous and dedicated documentary filmmakers who use their commercial work from clients such as the Atlanta Falcons, Adult Swim, and NASCAR to allow them to do pro bono work for organizations here and abroad. Bernstein said the company has a version of a nonprofit status that allows tax credit for some of the projects.

OZ MAGAZINE

Headquartered in Atlanta in a 2,000 square foot studio near Virginia Highlands, she and Maris have partnered on ambitious projects, most recently a film about the African Children’s Choir in Uganda. Imba Means Sing is told through the story of Moses, a young boy living in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, whose family is too impoverished to send him to first grade. He becomes part of the choir, which he sees as a way out of his circumstances. The film follows Moses and the other choir members as they tour America to perform. Imba Means Sing has received numerous accolades, including the 2015 INDIEfest Award of Excellence for Women Filmmakers. 100 percent of the profits from the film are being donated to build a secondary school for Moses and other children. Bernstein is also working with childrens’ choirs and other partners here in the United States, where many school systems have limited or eliminated music programs because of budget constraints. They also have done projects for charitable organizations closer to home. Maris has worked extensively with the Travis Manion Foundation, based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, which assists veterans and the families of fallen soldiers. Travis Manion was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was killed in Al Anbar province in Iraq during his second deployment. Despite his fatal wounds, 1st Lt. Manion drew fire away from his patrol, all of whom survived the ambush. For his bravery, he was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with Valor. Maris has filmed videos to share the mission

There is so much negative content out there, we want to do media for good.”

of the foundation. Their next project, Homemade, is a feature-length documentary currently in production. The film will explore the invisible wounds of war, including traumatic brain injury and the “stigmas surrounding behavioral health in the military.” Maris and Bernstein are also active with the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation, which strives to create equity in education in the South, especially for low income students and students of color. They are helping to spread the word about the foundation through video content. At the end of the day, Bernstein went into the business and created Clear Films Productions because “there is so much negative content out there,” she said. “We want to do media for good.”

To arrange a screening of Imba Means Sing or to donate to the cause of the film, visit www.ImbaFilm.com. The Travis Manion Foundation helps veterans and the families of the fallen to achieve their goals throughout their personal journeys. For more information, visit www.TravisManion.org. For nearly 150 years, the Southern Education Foundation has used collaboration, advocacy, and research to improve outcomes of students in the South, particularly low income students and students of color. For more information, visit www.SouthernEducation.org.

“I Try To Help Out” John Patrick Crum, owner of Dionysus Productions, based in Atlanta, became involved in charitable works when he was contacted by a real Hollywood insider: Peggy Goldwyn, wife of Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and daughter-in-law of pioneering movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. Crum was living in Idaho, and Goldwyn needed help producing testimonials for a fundraiser for The Advocates, in Hailey, Idaho. The Advocates is an organization that works to end domestic abuse – both physical and emotional. The Advocates provides support services, education, and a shelter for women. The goal is to create a compassionate community, free of emotional and physical abuse. “When she contacted me, I said absolutely,” Crum recalled. The testimonials he filmed were from women who had been helped by the organization and the staff members who helped guide them to success. Crum believed that getting the message out about the organization was essential because there were many women in that area, near the resort destination of Sun Valley, who found it difficult to come forward and ask for help. “They felt they might be judged,” he said. He has done other good works as well, including a feature piece about a non-governmental organization called Healing Hands of Joy established by Allison Shigo. Located in Ethiopia, Healing Hands of Joy is a training center and home for women who have had obstetric fistula, a lifeshattering complication of childbirth. Women in Africa who suffer from fistulas are often abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their villages. After receiving medical treatment, the women are trained by Healing Hands of Joy to become ambassadors for the Safe Motherhood

“We Want To Raise Awareness” John Patrick Crum

program. The program advocates for skilled, facility-based childbirth and educates pregnant women. A documentary, A Walk to Beautiful, was co-produced by Shigo to chronicle the difficult lives of the women as they made their way to Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, for treatment. The film showed how Healing Hands of Joy works to educate and empower the women as they prepare to return to their villages. “I did a feature piece with Alison about her NGO, about the movie, and about the disease itself,” Crum said. He too feels an obligation to serve the community through his production work. “If I can, I try to help out,” he said.

Tomorrow Pictures was founded by creative director Frederick Taylor and offers a wide range of production services. Taylor brought Ellen Barnard on as a partner, and both feel an obligation to do what they can to help others, donating their time and professional skills. Taylor strongly believes he has an obligation to create work that tells a compelling story. Then he shares it, especially with young people, to demonstrate that, despite their circumstances, there is hope. He often screens After the Fall, a documentary about the children and teens in Romania infected with HIV. He said that when communism fell across Eastern Europe, the government standards for healthcare also disappeared. Hospitals began to reuse needles and the crosscontamination created an epidemic. What he saw there were children who were treated as pariahs. They had to fight both HIV and the psychological trauma of being treated as lepers. So when he talks to teens in America, he wants to share the message: “Things may not be going just like you want, but that’s not just cause to give up the ship.” Taylor emphasizes, “Children are the future.” Born on the south side of Chicago, Taylor credits the adults who took interest in his life with his success. “I have become the person I am because

Through education, shelter, and support services, The Advocates teaches people of all ages how to build and maintain healthy relationships. For more information, visit www.TheAdvocatesOrg.org. Healing Hands of Joy works to make motherhood safer in Ethiopia and to eradicate preventable childbirth injuries such as obstetric fistula. For more information, visit www.HealingHandsofJoy.com

Frederick Taylor

Ellen Barnard

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

people took an interest in me,” he said. “We have the ability to help and media has a tremendous impact.” Barnard, executive producer of Tomorrow Pictures, has traveled with her team from the Mukuru informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, to Kathmandu, Nepal. “We’ve done a lot of different things,” Barnard said during a recent interview. The project in Nepal was to document the work of Himalayan Children’s Charities (HCC), a nonprofit organization headquartered in Georgia and run by a couple in Alpharetta. The video is being used to help raise funds for the organization. HCC has a house in Kathmandu to help children receive an education and possibly continue on to college. “Many kids are in orphanages because their parents can’t afford them,” Barnard said. The nonprofit works with institutionalized, orphaned, and abandoned children to help them become strong, goal-oriented adults. The charity provides family-style support and continuous education from kindergarten through high school and university. Barnard and her team also ventured to Kenya to film the work of a program called HIV-Free Generation. The goal of the program is to revolutionize HIV prevention through education aimed at those ages 10 to 24. The film was shot in conjunction with the Emory

OZ MAGAZINE

“

We have the ability to help and media has a tremendous impact.”

University School of Public Health. While Emory covered travel expenses, everything else was an in-kind donation by Tomorrow Pictures. “It was a great trip,” Barnard said. “We worked with kids in the area.” And they ended up making a dear friend, Moses Wahor. “The first day we were shooting in the settlement, this kid came over and starting helping us,” Barnard said. Wahor hadn’t been hired as part of the crew, but he was excited about the production and wanted to be part of it. Barnard and Taylor kept him on, and he now does man-on-the-street reports from Nairobi for their production company. Recently, they did a free video for Digital Insurance to promote a charity function the company holds annually for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. They have worked with Cure Childhood Cancer, another Atlanta nonprofit group, which funds targeted cancer research and supports patients who are battling childhood cancer and their families. “We donated some event coverage,” Barnard said, and produced videos for their website. For the past six years, Tomorrow Pictures has been a sponsor for EarthShare of Georgia, an organization that connects people to trusted nonprofits that are working to conserve and protect our air, land, and water. “We create video for their annual events and help them with other video and media projects when

we can,” Barnard explained. “This is all done as donation.” What all of these organizations have in common is that they are working for long-term solutions. “We want to raise awareness in these organizations – the ones that leave behind a sustainable project.”

Himalayan Children’s Charities educates, nurtures, and mentors vulnerable, marginalized children in the Himalayas in order to break the cycle of poverty and create productive members of society. For more information, visit www.HCCNepal.org. CURE Childhood Cancer invests in cooperative research efforts to end childhood cancers. For more information, visit www.CureChildhoodCancer.org. EarthShare of Georgia connects those interested in protecting and conserving natural resources to trusted nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.EarthShareGA.org.

Jody Danneman

“A Part Of Our Passion” Atlanta ImageArts helped out with a new kind of fundraiser in October – one you didn’t even have to attend to be part of. The Smart Party for the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund was streamed live from Atlanta’s Ponce City Market so that anyone could participate. The fundraiser was driven by social media with participants networking with their contacts to raise money for the fund. A leader board kept tabs throughout the event showing the most social participants and who was bringing in the most donations. “We sent a crew for the live stream and they were very happy,” said Sally Danneman, the operations manager for Atlanta ImageArts, one of the sponsors to the event. Her husband, Jody Danneman, who is the executive producer and president, helms the production company. Their team stays busy working on projects for broadcast and corporate television and live events. But Sally said they have also known they wanted to help their community and organizations doing good works. “We’re not always able to write a big check, but we donate as much time as we can,” she said. The company works with a range of charitable organizations in Georgia, such as the Jeannette Rankin Fund in Athens, which provides scholarships nationwide for women 35 and older

Sally Danneman

“

to allow them to complete college. Jody, an alumnus of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has also donated production time to the journalism school, Sally said. Jody and Sally also support the Caring Hands Fund for the Presbyterian Homes of Georgia. Presbyterian Homes provides living communities for those 62 and older. The villages offer access to multiple levels of care including memory support, skilled nursing care, and end-of-life services through hospice. Since Presbyterian Homes offers housing to those across the financial spectrum, the organization raises money to support residents with limited resources. “The residents are allowed to stay,” Sally said, even when their financial means are exhausted. The couple volunteered their time and services for the 2015 Caring Hands Ceilidh Auction, a sold-out event held in October. They will continue their charitable works because it is part of their passion. “We have always felt strongly about that,” Sally told Oz.

We’re not always able to write a big check, but we donate as much time as we can...”

The Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund provides scholarships and support to low-income women ages 35 and older across the United States. For more information, visit www.RankinFoundation.org. Presbyterian Homes of Georgia offers continuing care to adults aged 62 and older regardless of faith. Its levels of care include supportive living, memory support, and rehabilitation services. For more information, visit www.PresbyterianHomesInc.org.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZ SCENE: SAVANNAH FILM FESTIVAL 2015

Opening night of the 2015 Savannah Film Festival.

Savannah Film Festival T

he Savannah College of Art and Design presents the annual festival, filled with cinematic creativity from both award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year more than 40,000 people attend the

October 24th – 25th

eight day Savannah Film Festival. The festival is host to a wide variety of competition film screenings, special screenings, workshops, panels, and lectures.

“Meet the Patels” stars Vasant & Champa Patel.

Documentary filmmakers at the “Docs to Watch” panel discussion.

Olivia Wilde displays her Spotlight Award with SCAD President & Founder Paula Wallace.

OZ MAGAZINE

Actor Olivia Wilde and director Reed Morano discuss making the film “Meadowland” with Variety writer Malina Saval.

SCAD performing arts students Rebecca & Caroline Huey show off the Savannah Film Festival hashtags.

Alexander Skarsgård & Saoirse Ronan

“Docs to Watch” documentary directors at the 2015 Savannah Film Festival. From left to right: Evgeny Afineevsky (“Winter on Fire”), Crystal Moselle (“The Wolfpack”), Bobcat Goldthwait (“Call Me Lucky”), Asif Kapadia (“Amy”), Robert Gordon (“Best of Enemies”).

SCAD Senior Vice President for College Resources Glenn Wallace, SCAD President & Founder Paula Wallace, Fox Searchlight President Nancy Utley & Raymond Fitzpatrick.

“Meadowland” producer and actor Olivia Wilde & director Reed Morano walk the red carpet.

A-listers, directors, producers and more joined members of the SCAD community Oct. 24, 2015, at Savannah Film Studios, in Savannah, Georgia, for a reception honoring opening night of the 2015 Savannah Film Festival.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZ SCENE: LOCAL 479 YOUNG WORKERS KICKBALL TOURNAMENT The girls of The Global Village Project thank IATSE 479 and everyone who participated in the Atlanta Film Community Charity Kickball Tournament! Together we raised $18,425 for their school!

Local 479 Young Workers Kickball Tournament

September 12th

n Saturday, September 12, Atlanta film and television crews gathered together to play for a cause at the Local 479 Young Workers Kickball Tournament in Piedmont Park, organized by the hard-working members of IATSE Local 479 Young Workers Committee. Over 180 people split into 12 teams to compete in the charity tournament, including crew members from The Walking Dead, Finding Carter, Game of Silence, The Originals, and more. Other

teams included the New Deal Grips, Grip House / Power Lab, IATSE Local 600, Game Changing Films, and the DGA. Hundreds of friends and family members turned up to cheer on the charity kickballers, who spread out over four fields. The day was a smashing success, raising $18,425 for The Global Village Project, a school in Decatur for young refugee girls with interrupted educations.

Team Misfits. DGA 2nd 2nd AD Townson Wells, IATSE 479 Props Assistant Joe Salas, and former set PA/ current trainer at FitWit gym (a gym who donated classes passes for raffle at Kickball) Ethan Duff.

DGA 2nd AD Megan Shmidt, IATSE Make Up Artist Micah Laine. Members of the IATSE 479 Young Workers Committee at the kickball tournament.

Crew members from the CW Series “The Originals” take a group photo between games.

OZ MAGAZINE

The IATSE 479 Sound Department crew team, with an added recruit, Kyler Dennis, from Local 600.

Team Dauntless, from the movie “Allegiant”, action shot.

OZ SCENE: PC&E ANNUAL PARTY

PC&E Annual Party

October 17th

C&E hosted its annual party for the Atlanta film community on Saturday October 17th. With a theme of “Television of Terror” this year’s party offered guests the chance to sample some fine BBQ courtesy of Atlanta Motion Pigtures”, a catered dinner from Chef Deirdre O’Reilly, music from the Mustangs, and an assortment of fun and games for kids of all ages. PC&E has hosted a fall party for the film community for over 20 years. What started as a simple BBQ thrown as a thank you for customers has grown into a major event for the Atlanta Film Community and gives PC&E and its customers a chance to connect in a unique and personal way.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZ SCENE: GPP 20TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Wilbur Fitzgerald.

GPP 20th Year Anniversary O

n the evening of October 28th, 2015, Georgia Production Partnership celebrated it’s 20 Year Anniversary with a Party for members and guests at Manuel’s Tavern. The Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) is a not-for-profit coalition of companies and individuals who are active in the state’s film, video, music, and interactive game industries. Established in 1995 as a 501(c)(6) corporation, GPP was founded by a handful of Atlanta Film Industry Pioneers and has grown to over 1,200 members made up of directors, producers, writers, TV and film crew professionals, broadcast and television studios, lighting and equipment companies, payroll, casting directors, talent agencies, actors, musicians, music writer/producers, union and association directors, hotel representatives and other service companies.

Back row: Clark Cofer, Tim McCabe, Brennen Dicker, Randall Franks Middle row: Lisa Wright, Fran Burst, Melissa Goodman, & Patricia Hammett Taylor. Front row: Craig Miller

Left to right: Ondie Daniels, Cindy Southwell, Sarah Conklin.

The party was great fun as GPP Members ate, drank and danced until late in the evening. If you are interested in becoming a member of GPP please contac t the GPP Membership Chair, Clark Cofer, at membership@georgiaproduction.org. Photo credit: Georgia Mills & Art Jones.

OZ MAGAZINE

Left to right: Kathy Hardegree, Melissa Goodman, Sarah Carpenter

DJ Twrex

Rhonda Barrymore

Shay Bentley-Griffin

Ric Reitz

Noel Reitz

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

OZ SCENE: KINGDOMWOOD CHRISTIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival K

ingdomwood just had its 8th annual film festival, featuring a number of inspiring and uplifting films. Each day the festival received roughly 50-100 people throughout the day. The festival offered numerous workshops, screenings, and classes. This

October 28th

year they held a red carpet premier all four nights of the festival, which were all successes. Kingdomwood’s mission is to Reach, Teach, and Inspire and they plan to continue doing that with the festival and the many other things they will organize in the future.

Kingdomwood CEO with Caleb Peavey (Marketing/PR) Red Carpet Gold Winning Movie “Cage No More.”

OZ MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

LET ME GIVE YOU MY CARD

䴀䄀刀䌀䔀䰀䌀䠀刀䤀匀䴀䄀一

䌀攀氀氀㨀㜀㜀 ⸀㜀㄀㐀⸀㈀㄀㌀㘀伀ϻ挀攀㨀㜀㜀 ⸀㐀㜀㜀⸀ 㔀㐀㘀

䨀愀渀椀琀漀爀椀愀氀匀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀倀爀漀搀甀挀琀椀漀渀匀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀

䄀䴀䄀刀䄀䌀伀㈀ ⬀ 礀攀愀爀猀漀昀攀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀椀渀搀攀琀愀椀氀攀搀愀渀搀瀀攀爀猀漀渀愀氀椀稀攀搀挀氀攀愀渀椀渀最猀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀昀漀爀瀀爀漀搀甀挀琀椀漀渀漀ϻ挀攀猀Ⰰ 氀漀挀愀琀椀漀渀猀Ⰰ ⠀瀀爀攀氀洀愀渀搀瀀漀猀琀氀洀⤀Ⰰ 愀渀搀挀愀猀琀 ☀ 挀爀攀眀愀挀挀漀洀洀漀搀愀琀椀漀渀猀椀渀挀氀甀搀椀渀最䄀ⴀ氀椀猀琀攀爀猀Ⰰ 眀椀琀栀琀栀攀甀琀洀漀猀琀愀琀琀攀渀琀椀漀渀琀漀瀀爀椀瘀愀挀礀⸀ 䘀愀洀椀氀礀ⴀ漀眀渀攀搀 ☀ 椀渀猀甀爀攀搀⸀

믠攀䄀挀挀漀甀渀琀愀渀琀㬀䜀漀漀猀攀戀甀洀瀀猀㬀䘀甀爀椀漀甀猀㜀㬀匀愀戀漀琀愀最攀㬀 믠攀䠀甀渀最攀爀䜀愀洀攀猀㨀䴀漀挀欀椀渀最䨀愀礀Ⰰ 倀愀爀琀㈀㬀 믠攀䠀甀渀最攀爀䜀愀洀攀猀㨀䴀漀挀欀椀渀最䨀愀礀Ⰰ 倀愀爀琀㄀㬀䤀渀猀甀爀最攀渀琀㬀嘀愀挀愀琀椀漀渀㬀䄀渀挀栀漀爀洀愀渀㈀㨀 믠攀䰀攀最攀渀搀䌀漀渀琀椀渀甀攀猀㬀刀攀猀甀爀爀攀挀琀椀漀渀⸀ 䄀搀搀椀琀椀漀渀愀氀挀爀攀搀椀琀猀愀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀甀瀀漀渀爀攀焀甀攀猀琀⸀

Better Service. That’s Ryder. For Rental 1-800-345-9282 reservations.ryder.com

gettaxcredits.com

FLEET MANAGEMENT | SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS

Steve Rothschild srothschild@gettaxcredts.com 404.596.8019 - Ext.1010 d 404.350.4159 o 404.312.2414 c 3414 Peachtree Road Suite 825 Atlanta, GA 30326

OZ MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

NEXT GENERATION

BRIAN PRINCE Brian A. Prince is a 26 year old Atlanta based artist who specializes in visual storytelling through cartooning. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), he draws inspiration from comics, animated television shows and films. At 6 ft 10 inches, he’s one of the tallest artists out there, and when not at his drawing desk he’s an avid parkour practitioner and occasionally does stunt work for film. www.baprince.com

JOSE LUIS SANTIAGO SÁNCHEZ Jose Luis Santiago Sánchez was born in Mexico and lived there until the age of 11. He then continue growing in Miami, Florida until college when he decided to have some fun and pursue a career as an industrial designer at SCAD. “My goal is not to make something beautiful but to make something meaningful, to create an experience worth reminding,” he says. “What we do needs to have an impact with our emotions and surroundings. Design must adapt to our lifestyle instead of our lifestyle adapting to design.” www.joseluissantiago.com

OZ MAGAZINE

LuLu’s Cleaning Service 17 years of experience has taught us to pay attention to detail. We treat our clients homes as our own, we supply organic, chemical free cleaning solutions safe for children and pets.

LuLu Cleaning Service

Language: English & Spanish

Background Checked/References Bonded & Insured Green Supplies Licensed

Call Lulu Felix-Aguilar 404-747-3662

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

Generate Educate