Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

The second part of my live blogging from the How to Get Your Break Panel in Williams 225:

SG: How do you get agents? How do you get someone to read your script?
TM: I'm still trying to figure that out. As a writer, what I do to get people to read my stuff is I've gone ahead and done a lot of free-lance jobs for directors and now I'm starting to turn toward television and trying to get some pilots picked up. You have to be patient and find your own way. This is waiting game too. And from the writer's perspective, I do my best to get my work out to a small group of people. I want honest feedback, even though we're really shy introverted people. I want to tell a good story.
RBr: I think it's important to remember to find your own voice and that there are a ton of production companies out there and hundreds of models of people who have fantastic, rewarding companies without the kind of adulation that people get stuck in reflecting on. It can also be about integrity, loyalty to your artistic vision and the people you work with. That's something you have to learn now because if you don't have it here you won't have it in twenty years. Some of the best people we talk about weren't trying to copy anyone - they followed their own path. It's important to de-clutter the images of success.
RBe: That's absolutely true. The film industry, Hollywood and the agencies, they work because they want to keep their jobs. Period. I don't know a single filmmaker who works with an agency who has gotten work through their agency. Literally. I don't have an agent either. I don't need one. I meet interesting people who actually want to make films instead of being worried about keeping their jobs.

SG: What do you think of the internet and how to use it as access to media and for projects?
KC: Kickstarter is a new platform that's been an incredible tool for media artists. There are films that have raised $1 million on there. It's called crowd funding. What it is is really a platform. It's up to you to drive people there and get word of mouth. It's been transformative. Indiegogo has also been successful in a different way. In terms of the other side - distribution - we've all been waiting for the internet to save distribution, and it hasn't happened. We're waiting for it to monetize. Netflix is starting to help, but only in the last year. We're still waiting for it to happen.
RBr: Netflix is really the only player and they've been leveraging their... monopoly. Or strength. My experience has been the same; Netflix is the only company bringing real sales. The DVD has been dropping and we're still scrambling to figure that out.
KC: The internet has yet to revolutionize distribution.

A: If there's anything you feel should be introduced to a Cinema-Photography curriculum, what should it be?
TM: Film business. USC taught me how to make a hell of a film, but nothing about business.
RBr: I also think these things are constantly changing and there are many things that are constantly changing. You really need a dialogue with the industry. You're not going to learn everything here [at school]. It's also important to come to the industry with other skills. Film history for example. A distribution class would be great. Or maybe workshops. Even if you just got to SXSW and go to the lectures there.
RBe: I think an industry class would help, but it wouldn't provide all the knowledge. I need to emphasize the importance of knowing the industry.
KC: I talk about distribution a lot because it's the single biggest problem for the independent industry. When I teach producing, I teach distribution and financing together.
RBr: Something else we need are more culture in real independent cinema. We need to stop talking about Hollywood and talk about the unknowns, creating a following for them on twitter and stuff. Tell your friends about smaller films.

SG: Last comments: What's the best advice you can give? One line.
KC: Know what you want.
TM: You gotta get used to rejection. it's not about the number of "No"s you get, it's that one "Yes."
RBr: Find the people you can trust.
RBe: Make yourself and your projects inevitable.

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

Here we are in Williams 225 with the "How to Get Your Break" Panel. Moderated by IC's Steve Gordon, we have Rodrigo Bellott (casting director of Even the Rain), Rodrigo Brandao (Kino Lorber), Karin Chien (founder and president of dGenerate Films) and Tina Mabry (writer/director of Mississippi Damned). Here's a snapshot of the great discussion we have going here:

SG: How'd you get your start?
KC: Working for free on a film. I come from a very traditional Asian-American family. I didn't know anyone in film or music and I moved to NY to get into independent film. There's a listing (a tech list) put out by the Mayor's Office that lists every production in New York. I sent out my resume every day for a month and the first person who hired me, I worked my way up from taking the trash.
TM: I didn't have any film background till I went to USC. My last semester I saw "Boys Don't Cry" and it changed my life so instead of going to law school and wracking up debt I decided to do what I love and wrack up debt and applied to the grad school. My third year I saw Jamie Bambitt was looking for a writer and I tried for it and ended up getting the job.
RBe: I have two simultaneous careers. I shot "Sexual Dependency" as a senior at IC with my friends here. Took me three years after graduation to get it finished, during which I was interning at Good Machine before it turned into Focus Features and folding clothes at Club Monoco which is probably the best job I ever had cause it taught me to be a people person. "S.D." ended up taking on a life of its own and winning lots of awards so that helped. Really the trick is hard work, focus, persistence.
RBr: I also took the internship approach. I started in Ithaca at a theater so I helped them with restoration art history and setting up film projection. After that I started one immediately at Sony Classics in NY for nine months. It's so important to do everything and learn how hard everything is. The support jobs, answering phones, everything. It was a fast learning curve. Having a lot of internships on my resume helped me get the jobs that I wanted. It's hard work. It's not pretty all the time, but you got to keep going.

SG: What do you think the "key ingredient" for getting a job and moving up is?
KC: For moving up, something between focus and determination. The truth is, the people who make it to the top in this industry may not be the nicest or even the most talented, they are the most determined. There are no rules. Your career is what you make it.
RBe: I want to comment on the determination. Biggest tip as an intern: Don't take an easy way out. Every time a celebrity came in, all the interns would run to get them coffee and stuff but I would be photocopying. Now I know all the details of legal infrastructure and all the deals made during that time. THAT'S determination and focus.
RBr: There's no set path. You need to find your niche. You need to have other sets of skills. Speak foreign languages, know programs, have business skills, that'll be the differential in the market. You need the knowledge of how you'll be used in the market, and also be building your own skills. Focus and determination are important, but that the end of the day it also comes down to what's on paper and what you can do. That's what companies want. What are you bringing to the table?

SG: What does networking mean? How do you make it work?
RBe: There's some confusion about that. Biggest secret: Don't ask for favors. MAKE favors. Your best asset is to know that people owe you favors.
TM: You can't just go into a room and start handing out business cards to everyone you meet. For me, it's about the actual relationships with people. That's what helped get our film made. Developing friendships and professional work at all times.
KC: When I first started working, my nature is very quiet and shy, and I didn't start networking till I was a producer. Leading up to that I just worked. Every single job I had, I worked my ass off. Everything I was asked to do I did, and then more. Just trying to learn as much as I could. That's all I did for a year and a half. Now, as a producer, networking is part of my job. When you're first starting out, networking is much less important than working hard.

We're still going strong and I'll post some when we're done!

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

Philip Mallory Jones just wrapped his meet-up in Park 220 and now we're on to a conversation with filmmaker Franklin Lopez! 

Franklin started out by screening his video "George Bush Don't Like Black People" which he made following Hurricane Katrina and went viral almost immediately. It's a great commentary on the US Government's response to the catastrophe in New Orleans and very much in line with the angry, youthful spirit that a lot of people were feeling at the time.

FL: I was in Atlanta at the time Katrina hit and I was as pissed as anyone. I heard about some people in Houston who took Kanye West's new single "Golddigger" and his statement "Goerge Bush doesn't care about black people" and looped and free-styled it. So then I found hours and hours of Katrina footage and edited this together. I put it online and soon the New York Times got a hold of it and then my server crashed from all the attention.

A: What kind of response did you get?
FL: With this video? It was awesome. I got a lot of bashing on the YouTube page and racist feedback too, which really reminded me that we have a long way to go with anti-racism in this country.

One of my favorite things Frank's said so far is, "I'm not trying to make a living. I'm trying to react. All the work I do is activist with an affinity toward anti-authoritarian."

We're moving on to Frank's video "Why I Love Shoplifting from Big Corporations," a video inspired by an anarchist zine from Crime Think. Also a really interesting one to check out whether you're in Park right now, or anywhere else in the world.

There's a lot of great energy down here in Park 220 and I for one am having a really great time. Frank Lopez is definitely at the center of the new wave of digital and video activism and commentary and I can't wait to be a part of the discussions he's starting.

Franklin will also be screening his movie END:CIV TONIGHT at Cinemapolis at 9:00pm and will be around after for more discussion. If what we've seen so far today is any precursor, it's going to be an awesome experience and I for one can't wait! See you there!

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

I'm here in Park 220 where Philip Mallory Jones is having a FLEFF Lab. (You can see what fellow FLEFF Intern Blogger Matthew Reis had to say about Phil's multimedia presentation yesterday by clicking here.) Phil ran the Ithaca Video Festival, which existed from 1975-84, which was the first video art festival in the United States, and, as moderator Patty Zimmerman put it, "really contributed to legitimating video art as an art form." Phil's work had been exhibited on every continent and he is one of the pre-eminent figures in video and new-media art.

PZ: What is provocative, interesting, alluring about working in synthetic worlds for you as an artist?
PMJ: "Working in synthetic worlds is this familiar place that is also a new place. I've always made things - been compelled to fabricate things. And for me, that's fundamentally magical. To create illusions is another abiding interest and part of that is the reason why I started writing seriously in the last sixties writing fiction. Synthetic worlds, which I discovered in late '06, is a return to that. It's an entirely plastic world and I can bring anything into it. I have the possibility of creating experience. The point is to create an experience for the one who encounters it. That is imagination.

The synthetic environment has capabilities we've never encountered in the human world. There are capabilities in this realm we haven't seen replicated anywhere else. And what it means is that the people working in this are writing the book on what this is. For me, one of the intriguing possibilities is the re-invention of language."

There are 16 of us here and having a really great time talking with Phil and hearing about his experiences working with media and how he's been involved in the evolution of media. Phil's now presenting his installation "In The Sweet Bye & Bye" - which he describes as immersive media. If you're in Park, come join us!

Also, get excited for the meet-up with Franklin Lopez, director of END:CIV and George Bush Don't Like Black People, here at 2:00! See you there!

Blog posting written by Shawn Steiner, Film, Photography, and Visual Arts '14, FLEFF Intern, Elkridge, MD

Coming to you straight from Park 220, a.k.a. the "Disco Lounge," is a party of new media artists. Right now we have Helen De Michiel, Laura Deutch, and Phillip Mallory Jones all sitting here talking with students and each other.

Their comments from the industry are enlightening. They talk about the industry, their own work, independence, and unemployment. It's hard to track when each one has such interesting things to say, but here we go.

Dr. Zimmermann provided the introductions and a short conversation before fellow blogger Shea Lynch started a long discussion about the artists' favorite subjects. Which is all you need to get these brilliant minds rolling.

Helen provided us with some insight into the industry and how to get started working in this difficult field. Laura was able to talk about working in the documentary field and building up trust with who she works with. Then, with some support from both Laura and Helen, Phil began his discourse.

Phillip started with, "It's internal." A great point from which to dive in. "It has to do with getting something out... What I'm always doing is getting something out of here. It's a signature." An amazing look into the mind of the artist.

Helen continued with "Art does not refer to a particular set of rules or forms or materials as it once did." It is a "sensorium that is different than domination." She urges the students to do what we want to do. However, we should know that it may not allow us to live indefinitely. We still should do it! Especially in such a fluid world. We just need to accept that "today you may be drinking wine. But, tomorrow you may be picking grapes."

Laura jumped in on the conversation to talk about how we are working in new organizational formats. The consumer based world is something that we need to work and live in. We need to take on a new form of life.

We come back to Helen. She says that we will be able to live off of the skills that we know. Even though, as Phil alerted us, we will most likely become unemployed. Working in this industry is pushing the pain boundaries. Phil even asks us, "Where do you want to take the pain? What matters?"

The conversation continued, delving deeper and deeper into everyone. All of the students are on the edge of their seats, taking in every piece of information.

It is impressive what these intellectuals are working on right now.

Laura is working on Messages in Motion, a project in which she works to create and produce the short form documentary. Helen is working on Lunch Love Community, a web series in which she documents the development of food in California public schools. Phil also explained how he is working is Second Life to help work with the qualifications of elementary school teachers through a module. All impressive pieces of work.

They continued with how everything is such a collective space. Dr. Zimmermann then educated us on Singapore and how it is a different experience from the U.S. The work more on a flat, fluid scale than the pyramid employed here.

New media is becoming the way of the future. The people themselves are becoming the market, you must learn skills and use them in order to market yourself in order to get a break. Also, leadership skills are vital to success.

Collaboration is perhaps the most important method of creating projects. They pressed the necessity of education and personal growth in this fluid world. Everything is always moving and you have to go with the flow.

Now, we have the final words of advice from each one:

Helen stuck with what she has been saying the whole time, market yourself, learn, and get leadership skills.

Phil went philosophical and said "Take your show on the road." Work with a group and get out into the world.

Laura said, just go out into the world and talk to people! Get out of your comfort zone.

I wish I could've gone even more in depth, but I myself was enthralled by the conversation. Luckily, the guests will be here for another few days and there are many opportunities to see them. Soon, I will post up a few key events that should be seen. Come back soon! We have many bloggers around doing this everywhere. FLEFF is everywhere!

Helen's screening will be Saturday at noon at Cinemapolis. She will be presenting Lunch Love Community.

Phillip is actually presenting at 4 p.m. in Studio A. So if you can go check it out!

 Blog by Brian McCormick, Film & Photo '12, FLEFF Intern, Wilbraham, MA

Helen De Michiel is visiting the FLEFF intern class today to give a presentation on non-fiction filmmaking and talk about her open space documentary project "Lunch Love Community."

Looking around I might not be the only intern blogging right now -- so you might get a few different perspectives on this event!

Just as with the Uncorked! premiere, De Michiel encourages us to take out our mobile devices and go to her website, and engage with the media on the website while she presents. This is what it is about: innovation. As she says to us now, "You have to come up with new ways of doing things."

Now she is showing us video clips that can be found on the site of the big screen. The video is of an elementary school undergoing the lunch reform movement.

I'm doing exactly what she suggested and looking at her website lunchlovecommunity.org -- feels wrong to be web surfing in class! However, this website is amazingly engaging. Quoting from its 'About' page:

"The Lunch Love Community Documentary Project explores this community-based school lunch reform movement, and how passionate and dedicated people coming together can change the way their children eat, how they think, and how they learn in school."

She has just finished showing the webisode, and she asks questions like "How can teachers come together and change the ways they think about food that they cook and grow and how that's connected to the environment?" and "How do you change people's eating habits?"

Initially they had funding problems for Lunch Love Community during 2009 due to the recession, and they were getting funding mainly from non-profit organizations (working independently). She says to us, a group of students engaged with and/or studying film, "When you are an artist, obstacles and challenges force you to be creative." For Lunch Love Community, they went away from the idea of doing a long film and instead making short films that would be easier to get out to people, by means of the web and on mobile devices: hence, webisodes!

She is showing us now another webisode about the lunch reform movement at Berkley Unified School District, giving a behind-the-scenes look in the kitchens of how they prepare the foods and where they are getting it. The webisode is comprised of footage of the kitchens, footage of the children, and interviews with the administration and people pushing the food reform initiative.

She emphasizes that just because they make a great website does not mean people will come to it. They also are working with giving the audience an idea of "what to do next" after absorbing the intense experience of watching the documentary.

What they (De Michiel and the people behind Lunch Love Community) have found is that "connector" people are what make a real difference in the new media environment (i.e. bloggers!).

Following her presentation, De Michiel has opened up to questions from the interns. One of the questions is about how to get the webisodes to appeal to people, and De Michiel describes how all of these stories are meant to build over time, since they aren't necessarily linked. She is also hit with the money question: How does an independent documentary filmmaker spend hundreds and thousands of hours on a project and still have time to support themselves? The benefit is that she has all the creative freedom in the world, however, we still really need to look at how creative artists can put out all of this material and still sustain a living.

Tomorrow there will be a meet up with De Michiel and Laura Deutch (another independent documentary filmmaker) at 1:10pm.

Saturday will be a screening of her project Lunch Love Community at Cinemapolis at noon.

Take the chance to ask her your own questions about Lunch Love Community and independent filmmaking!

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

I just got out of the Monica Haller Check-In Reading in Park 220 and have to say that it was amazing. Monica was sharing The Veterans Book Project, a library of books archiving the experiences of individuals with the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Monica works with people who have directly experienced these wars. The books are the creations of soldiers, veterans, officials and Iraqis - filled with their photos and words reflecting on their experiences.

 The session began with a Q&A from the audience with Monica and then transitioned to a reading. Each book is titled "Objects for Deployment." They are meant to be shared. So we each took a book and spent a while reading them. During a reflection afterward, one participant remarked on the private experience of reading a book in this kind of intimate setting. I definitely agreed. Reading the stories of the soldiers and other participants in these conflicts was an intimate experience that everyone present shared. In that way we really captured what the Veterans Book Project is all about - bringing people's intimate experiences to a wider group.

This is an amazing project and it isn't restricted to FLEFF. Anyone can check it out and participant on their own level. I for one plan to share the Veterans Book Project with people from home and encourage you to do the same! You can buy individual books and learn more about the project by clicking HERE.