Frank Battiston Filmmaker

The Modern Independents 2

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:24:00 +0000

In today’s post, I wanted to center your attention toward two independent films I find very well made and have a good message in their stories’ subtext. Come Morning and Foolishly Seeking True Love are two films that also meet the qualifications that were published in the previous post.

Come Morning tells the tragic story about Frank and his 10-year-old grandson venturing into the woods and while hunting incurring in an accident that forever changes their lives. The film was directed by Derrick Sims and produced my Fable Motion Pictures. It was shot in rural Arkansas and released in 2012 with a production budget of US$46,000. You can find their trailer and technical information on their IMDB profile page at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2016168/. The movie has outstanding cinematography, great performances, and a provocative story. Filling all the qualifications of a great independent film, Come Morning thrives in gripping the audience to their seats and leaving you thinking about life once the final credits start to roll. I recommend this film not only to movie buffs but also to regular people who like to watch great content that is not being distributed in conventional theaters.

The next film is the short Foolishly Seeking True Love. Although a short film, the movie encompasses good performances, great cinematography, and an interesting story. The narrative tells the adventure of a man named Handsome and a woman named Belle who encounter each other during several points of their lives. The story reveals they are meant to be together and displays very comedic moments of how no matter how much they try to stay apart, destiny pulls them back together. The overall style of the piece is inspired by the world wide acclaimed film “Amelie” where the narrator is a participative character. The film was directed by Jarret Lee Conaway starring Guerin Barry, Harrison Boxley, and Heath Finn. You can find more information about the film through their IMDB profile page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1513769/. I recommend this film again to movie buffs and film students so they can see the work of an excellent crafted motion picture.

Filmmakers with almost no budget are now crafting great looking films given to the availability of innovative technologies and fast resources through the Internet. I believe it is our job as upcoming filmmakers to not only raise the bar, but also be an example for other new coming filmmakers.

The Modern Independents

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:44:00 +0000

While watching the independent film, The Deposition, I came realize good films need to have three important elements: a great story, powerful media (visuals, sounds, and music), and great actors. Sure, you will probably want to add more or subtract a little to this statement; however, here are my reasons why I think this is true.

First, the story has always been the main element and reason in creating a narrative film. You can’t make a good narrative film if you don’t tell something worthy of your audience’s time.

Second, we have to accept that the Internet, Hollywood, video games, and music videos have turned this generation into a group of intolerant people toward bad quality and inexpensive-looking products. I am sorry, but even if you make a film with great actors and an excellent story, mainstream audiences will never value your film as much as they should. They want to be wowed and to be entertained. Yet, this doesn’t mean you can’t create a good movie only with good actors and a great story. It just means that if you add powerful media to your project audiences will respect it more.

Third, actors represent the story’s characters, but they also represent humanity. You are talking to creatures who will be watching your film that know exactly how anger, happiness, loneliness, despair, and love feel like. Some of them have their different points of view about these, but in reality we all go through these emotions and life situations. Therefore, if your movie has actors who cannot perceive, absorb, and react to on-screen situations, which in the real world would be obvious, you will lose the audience very quickly. They will probably not step out of the theater or shut down the computer as it is with a bad story, but you will have a zombie watching your film instead of an emotional and living participant.

Now, what does this have to do with The Deposition? Simple, I believe this movie has a great story and outstanding media. However, the performance is somewhat inaccurate in many parts of the film. There is not enough anguish, dread, and hate in the story. The story is about an interracial couple that soon, after falling in love and marrying, suffer the consequences of a terrible accident. The survivor, the man, is then accused of murder, but his memory loss impedes him to argue against their town accusations. As he struggles to turn around his fate while still surviving the town’s hatred spree, he quickly learns that the man who caused the riot against his incriminations lied about everything. Adam sets out to kill his antagonist for revenge.

In my opinion, when you deal with racism, murder, and social intolerance in a story, the film needs to feel as if the main character has no escape, no hope, and no absolution. You need to feel that destructive powerful energy, not only at a psychological level for the main character, but also between him and other characters. I believe this movie-lacked tension and lost credibility given to its actors. They were not terrible, but they were not captivating, and films like this need to be captivating. However, the story, soundtrack, cinematography, sound, and music in the movie where excellent. I recommend this film to new filmmakers so they can see clearly what works and doesn’t work in a film. Overall, I believe “The Deposition is a good film, and I recommend this film to be a exemplary beacon for today’s arising filmmakers.

Learning From Cuban and Corcoran

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Based on what we learned in our last research regarding Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, we intend to incorporate three important elements that they critically support into our business plan for Walking Wolf Productions, Corp.

First, we plan to make clear to investors that the idea of web series and motion pictures being distributed for free through an online platform is not only a great business given to its highly demanded products, but also because of its clear direction, successful future, and large margin of profitability. We plan to do this by establishing graphic statistics within the business plan that shows the amount of viewers watching shows and films over the internet and how it has grown during the last few years. This will allow investors to see the future of the business in the market and its prospective growth. Also, we plan to show this by presenting the investor along with the company’s business plan surveys of audiences relating to TV shows, films, and how they now watch them more over Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, or online platforms such as HBOGO.com, NBC.com, and ABCGO.com than in DVD’s or regular broadcast programming.

Second, we plan to attack all investor doubts and insecurities by overstating that our business is an Internet-based business. As a rule of thumb, given to the open market and the lack of boundaries that the internet provides, the majority of businesses that are currently based on the web are massively successful. However, the fact that we are intending to distribute the most visited forms of entertainment aside to games which currently exist on the market, will make us even more popular, profitable, and expandable. We will be clear that we also intent in creating an app for Android and Apple which would also give access to mobile consumers and a port of entry for game consoles and devices with internet access so people can see our products anytime, anywhere.

Third, based on Barbara’s Corcoran’s tips, we intend to build a prospective team of people that are suitable to make the business succeed and grow accordingly. We will mention in the plan we do not only aim to have a bunch of filmmakers and artistic individuals running the company, but a full administrative staff of coordinators, accountants, managers, and a lawyer that make sure the company runs to satisfy not only consumer needs, but the investor’s need of return on investment.

Overall, selections of our plan we consider to be the most important are the executive summary for its capacity to tell the entire business idea in the beginning, briefly, and to the point, forecast projections such as the target market and industry analysis sections for their ability to tell how well would the business behave in the real world, and the marketing plan, which lets investors know how and through which channels we intend to reach our target market. It is important for investors to know how we plan to succeed and survive the competition.

FIRST LOOK ON BUSINESS PLAN EXPERTS

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Mark Cuban is an American businessman and investor born in July 31, 1958 on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, Landmark theaters, Magnolia Pictures, and he is the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet. His business net worth is $2.5 billion dollars, and he is #171 in Forbe’s list of US Billionaires. As a young adult, Cuban enrolled as a full time student at the University of Pittsburgh and then transferred to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, graduating in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Cuban’s critical key components when looking into a business plan are a) the actual consumer need for the product or service, b) the track record of the business and individual owner of the company, and c) the business’ growth prospect. Cuban has a particular interest for internet related business that profit from e-commerce and other web services. As for point A, Cuban looks for business plans that have high-demand and need in its products or service to ensure the number of sales and ROI. He prefers financing a business of PS3 games that consumers can download online for a monthly membership fee where there is already a market and need, rather than a local store of hand-drawn prints for T-shirts. About point B, Cuban explores through the company’s and individual owner’s financial backgrounds the level of responsibility and commitment of the business. Studying someone’s financial background helps understand individual and corporate habits in the way money is spent and saved. Ultimately, point C is a view at the possibility that the business can expand and branch out. As a business man, Cuban likes to finance businesses that can stand on their own and automatically create new assets. An example is HDNet, which is a network that builds its audience based on new seasonal content.

Barbara Corcoran is an American business woman, investor, business consultant, and television personality born in March 10^th, 1949 on Edgewater, New Jersey. She graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College in 1971 and started her own real estate business, The Corcoran Group, with a $1000 loan in 1973. She is a columnist for “More Magazine”, “The Daily review”, and “Redbook”. She became also a “Shark Tank” show personality and investor on ABC in 2009.

Corcoran’s critical key components when looking into a business plan are a) a great executive summary that answers a.1) what is the business owner trying to make happen with his/her business?, a.2) why is the individual owner suitable for the job?, a.3) Is it a good business?, a.4) What is it going to cost? And a.5) How long is it going to take? Also b) presenting the total revenue that the company could generate if it captured 100% of the market rather that presenting the total market or overestimating its size, c) presenting the true company risks rather than downsizing these to not scare investors, d) and answering what makes the company’s product or service different? Ultimately, Corcoran’s emphasis is in the executive summary: let the executive summary reflect the gold mine a business truly is including its risks and potential problems along the way.

References:

- Barbara Corcoran (2011). Official Website. Retrieved November 27^th, 2011 from http://barbaracorcoran.com/

- Green, Penelope (2005). "The Real Estate 'Queen' in Her Hive", The New York Times. Retrieved November 27^th, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/realestate/25habi.html

- Expert Views on Business Plans (2011). Steven Burhoe’s Blog. Retrieved November 27^th, 2011 from http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

- Mark Cuban Profile Page (2011). Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-cuban/

Walking Wolf Productions explores the world of webisodes and mini-series

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:34:00 +0000

The world of webisodes has expanded for independent filmmakers in the last decade. Now, even TV episodes made by ABC, NBC, and Warner are being casted on the internet. Independent shows such as “Clark and Michael” along with “Steven King’s N” are also being pushed all over the web, bringing a chance for new content to be picked up by networks.

Independent Webisode Guide

Thus, it is the time for us at Walking Wolf Productions to explore this new category of content and provide a fan base of 900 followers several mini-series of different genres. We have the purpose in 2012 of creating three web pilots in pursuit of obtaining support by sponsors who wish to promote their products and services on the web. This in combination of digital marketing will allow us to complete at least two seasons per show and build an audience of minimum 10,000 viewers. Once this target is met, we plan to pitch the show to local and regional TV stations that would like to follow up with the show.

The first show will be a drama that will be targeted to women in their mid-thirties and mid-forties. Our plan is to appeal this demographic by creating a show that contributes to society’s morals. It will be an episodic show that will have one new story every time with one same host. The method will be that at the end of each story we will deliver a message to the audience through the eyes of the host and the victims in the story.

The second show will be a horror with the same feel than “Harper’s Island” where it will be one continuous story with thrilling cliff-hangers that case the audience to continue watching. The story will have to do with a serial killer and its different victims. However, the story will be told from the eyes of a man new to the setting who will not understand the situation of the circumstances until the end of the story. The killer will be revealed in the end with the purpose of making a story twist that surprises the audience with its sudden results.

Finally, the third show for 2012 will be chosen by the audience, and they will be able to vote what is next for Walking Wolf in its mini-series collection. The audience will be able to write a pitch to the producers of the company by writing to mytvpilot@walkingwolfproductions.com, and depending on the story the producer’s choose, that audience member will be credited in the production.

Films for the thinking man

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Read our article in the independent film section about us by Suite 101

Click to Read

Changing the World One Story at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:09:00 +0000

We welcome you to read our new article by Los Angeles Splash Magazines

Click to Read

Digital Marketing for the Entrepreneur

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 21:58:00 +0000

As I researched my way to push our company and films through social media campaigns, I encountered the following tools and prospect company services:

1. There is a website called Buysocialpower.com. If you have the budget and are willing to be a do-it-all-yourself entrepreneur, this website allows you to buy a fan base for Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. You might think, is this organic at all? But the truth is, it is just a lead way. Right after you buy your fans (basically the website connects your social platform’s title page with people in your market place and that would be interested in your product) you still have to do the work of multiplying these fans and maintaining them by promoting your services and products through campaigns and inciting these fans to tell others about yourself.

Visit their website

Right when you access the landing page, there is a video explaining the whole process of social marketing and how can their company help in giving you that lead way of 1000, 5,000, or 10,000 fans so you can work with a real social media campaign. They have different plans according to the amount of fans you want them to connect to your page and the platform (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) you will be choosing. For the self-starting businessman, I encourage you to check it out.

Now, if you are the kind of entrepreneur who finances his own projects through Indiegogo.com and Kickstarter.com, you may take your project and create an amazing campaigns with stunning artwork, great pitch videos, and attractive pledging offers that will raise the money to push your projects forward. In social media, there are several companies that focus in advancing this craft. Some of them are very independent and others are very corporate. In my research of finding such companies, two entities caught my attention:

2. Film Marketing Services, LLC focuses in pushing independent films forward through socials marketing, distribution, and event planning. John Gursha, who has been associated with the entertainment industry for over ten years and started his career at the NBC lot with an NBC page in 2001 on the tonight show with Jay Leno, leads the company. If your desire is to let a professional handle your connections as a producer and your social media campaign, Film Marketing Services, LLC is your answer.

Visit their website

3. Banyan Branch is a more structured company, which focuses not only on film, but also other products and events. The company works with other companies such as Disney, Porsche, FOX, Microsoft, Paramount, Hartz, Univision, and Gilt Groupe. However, they also have smaller clients like Grasshopper and Clarisonic.

Visit their Website

In the world of marketing, PR and distribution, social media has become a pivotal elements in today’s modern industries and the world of the Internet. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube play the primary roles in the way we connect across the world.

Artemis: A new director’s viewfinder designed for digital filmmakers

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Chemical Wedding has an extraordinary application for directors and cinematographers that indulge in the digital world. Artemis Viewfinder and now Artemis HD bring a whole new world to filmmakers on a budget or simply filmmakers that believe digital is the new way to go in the motion picture industry. The power of this application consists in this: it allows you to build your set of lenses and equipment while location scouting. However, you don't need to rent a $200 director’s viewfinder, and it gives you the ability to record images for storyboard reference. In the past, cinematographers and directors had to use an eyepiece, which depending on where they set the ring, they could see the way the camera was going to capture the scene. Nowadays, this application allows you to not only capture digital samples with different types of lenses and aspect ratios, but also lets you view the way you would capture a scene with new digital formats such as a Red One camera, a Viper, or the now famous DSLR cameras Cannon 7D and 5D.

What is even more amazing is that the application is now available in the Android Market and Apple Store, meaning you can make use of this great new way to build your scenes either through an iPhone, iPad, or an HTC Sensation. It doesn’t matter. Artemis Viewfinder is $29.99 and its remote version to control it through a secondary device is $4.99. Yes, it can be remotely controlled. Thus, if you have an iPad and an iPhone you can give the iPad to your director and as a cinematographer you frame the shots through the iPhone. Artemis will let you adjust the focal point, aspect ratio, or the focus in order to provide you flexibility with the way you frame your shots. After the work is done, the recorder frames will also capture the information so you can rent the equipment necessary if you with to acquire a desired look. It will even incorporate in the picture’s information GPS data so you are able to remember where you precisely took the shot.

Current supported lenses and formats include:

Standard and Super 16mm
Super 16mm Anamorphic
Standard and Super 35mm
35mm Anamorphic
65mm
35mm Digital (D-21, RED, F35, Genesis)
2/3 " Digital (F23, Viper)
1/2" Digital
1/3" Digital
Canon 5D and 7D

I encourage all of you who really want to take seriously digital filmmaking and even analog filmmaking to acquire this new application. It will be costly in the beginning, but it will make you precise in your decisions regarding the look you wish to give to your new projects. And don’t worry about new formats or updates. They are all free once you buy the application and have an Android Market or Apple App Store account. Go ahead! If you want to find out more, go and visit Chemical Wedding's Website.

Indiegogo opens Distribber, a real chance for independent filmmakers

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:58:00 +0000

As I researched Distribber, I found out they are partnered with Indiegogo.com. Indiegogo is an online platform which allows you to pitch a project to a main audience and ask for funding support. Thus, I found excellent that one as a filmmaker can use their services to request distribution funds for Distribber itself. Distribber is an excellent aggregator of independent films that sells works to the most used VOD distributors such as Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon on Demand. However, in order to allow the filmmaker to maintain full rights and revenue collection of their works, they always charge up front fees for every project and the quantity varies per distribution channel. In the many eyes of filmmakers, this may look extremely unfair as there is no sense in charging the seller for its product. However, Distribber's variety of channels and speed of processing is fast, and they will represent you while your content is up and running. Also, Distribber helps push some of the marketing and advertisement of the film through their website along with a particular distributor's online platform during a certain time.

Therefore, here is where I find both entities' partnership ideal. By Distribber making part of Indiegogo, one as a filmmaker will be able to pitch a project and request for the necessary funds needed to pay Distribber's distribution fees. One can use the Indiegogo platform to acquire funding from the project's fans themselves. This service, on the contrary of what Distribber offers, is free and allows the filmmaker to pursue his own funds without having to get them out of his/her own pocket. The only part you have to do as to contribute to the process is work a captivating video, a portion of the film, a trailer of the film, an animated proposal that shows your fans and future investors a) why should they invest in a project, b) what is the project about, and c) how do you plan to benefit them as investors of the project. This last point doesn't mean necessarily you will pay them back, but it could be you providing them with a free copy of the film, free tickets and food to your next screening, or even you making them part of your credits list.

Overall, I believe Distribber is not meant for all filmmakers and all types of outlets. However, if one plans to distribute a product for the most part online, and also, one expects to make more than $1300 in revenue, then I believe Distribber is right for you. Still, if the problem is about acquiring the necessary funds to pay their services, then use Indiegogo's platform to acquire the necessary budget to pay for Distribber's fees. It will not only be helpful to have knowledge of this possible procedure, but also it is great practice for a filmmaker to acquire funding for upcoming projects by making part of these funds originate from the project's fans themselves.

Walking Wolf 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Walking Wolf Productions is at the brink of launching it's new product line of feature films with it's short compilation, "The Remenents". The company's purpose is to start the line with an intrinsic set of stories which deliver a message inspiring survival. All of it's stories/short films are award-winning and will add up 90 minutes of feature length content which will be distributed through main stream aggregators such as Create Space, IndieFlix, and Distribber. These aggregators will give the film access to the iTunes, Netflix, Amazon VOD, Amazon.com, Hulu.com, and Comcast VOD market places. In addition, Walking Wolf Productions will have the chance to continue playing in the festival circuit and retain all of it's rights as a creator for the projects.

It's a given fact Walking Wolf Productions will need to redesign artwork and marketing strategies now that the shorts will enter the feature-length content market. Still, the company wil not only work on given tasks, but also redeliver its now compiled products through another major screening in Miami, FL, home base of the corporation. Also, Walking Wolf Productions will be traveling next month to the United Kingdom to exhibit it's newest short film, "Fractured Minds" and see the possibility of selling to distribution sales presentatives of the European market that will be attending the festival its new feature film product. The company will thereafter travel between November and December to Los Angeles to sell it's new product at the American Film Market and Distributors Exhibition.

Furthermore, Walking Wolf Productions plans to have four new projects launched for next year. The first one will consist in opening its first brand new office in Kendall, Florida, the second one will be creating it's new Web TV site which will start with three mini-series which are currently under development, the third will be doing a final revision of it's next action-thriller "In True Nature", and the fourth will be finishing the development phase for "Matters of the Heart" (working title) it's next heart-wrenching drama. As it is visible, Walking Wolf Productions has it's hands full for several months to come.

Entertainment Law Podcasts of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:24:00 +0000

1. How the Power of Branding Drives Trademark Law (From the Thompson Compumark Podcasts Series by Thomson)

The podcast centers in how trademark law has had to adapt given to the new branding rules brought by the world of the Internet. Nowadays, protecting a company’s name and the image that represents that name has become global. No longer does trademark law center on the U.S, but also in worldwide markets. The following cases were addressed to prove this point:

b. Metel v. Barbies

“Barbies”, a restaurant in Canada decided to post their menu online in order to give leverage to their brand and attract new customers. However, Mattel, the creator of the doll line, “Barby”, became aware of the incident and asked the Canadian restaurant to please remove their website for it was infringing the “Barby” trademark. The Canadian restaurant did not comply, and Mattel went to court with the case alleging, “we were famous” and thus deserved to ask for other similar brands to be expunged. Yet, the supreme court of Canada responded to Mattel that there had to be a connection between the channels of trade before an opposition could be upheld. Thus, the court specified they still had to use the totality of the circumstances and not the mere statement Mattel “was famous.”

In my opinion, no matter how much leverage and popularity your brand acquires, procedures in court have to be made within the process established for that particular infringement. People cannot get “too cocky” as the lawyer in the podcast expressed. The law is the law, and although popularity is for the masses, a country is ruled by a code and not by self-centered individuals with elevated egos.

c. Jaguar v. Remo Imports

Jaguar, the motorcar trademark expanded to sell leather-made goods in the 1980’s. However, Remo imports filed a lawsuit that Jaguar was associating goods that competed with their trademark and thus was driving consumers into a market in which they did not belong. Jaguar backfired their claim by arguing it was a natural extension for a brand like Jaguar, which inspires luxury and wealth, to sell leather-made merchandise with the logo of the company on it. In addition to this argument, they added that Remo on the contrary was using their claim to diminish the value of their brand in order to sell products of their own which resembled Jaguar’s and which were fabricated way after. The result was the court ruling an expunge of the Remo products.

d. Levi’s v. Small Businesses

Small businesses filed lawsuits against Levi’s for using the word “overalls” as part of their trademark association. Levi’s argued back that although it was their purpose to expand as a brand, the word “overalls” could not be taken away from their trademark’s association to consumers given jeans (the primary product of Levi’s) were technically considered a type of overall. Yet, the court asked Levi’s in return of reversing the small businesses’ claims to include “male, female, and children overalls” in their advertisement if they desired such expansion of the brand legally to take place.

2. Monkeying around with copyright law (Episode 23 of the Entertainment Law Update Podcasts Series by Gordon P. Firemark)

The podcasts comment about different cases regarding copyright law and copyright infringements happening now.

b. Righthaven, a copyright troll (company that goes around acquiring rights in copyrighted materials so that instead of suing people, they can get money by settling the matter on their own without litigating), has been filing lawsuits against bloggers and online users who have been republishing work that official newspapers and magazines rightfully own. Yet, they have failed three strikes in a row based on the court not favoring Righthaven’s actions and the court’s interpretation that the true copyright holders of the pieces in question are the magazines and newspapers that originally produced them.

i. Righthaven v. Democratic Underground

ii. Righthaven v. Hoean

iii. Righthaven v. Dibiase

c. Jack Kirby v. Marvel

Jack Kirby appeals loss in Marvel copyright lawsuit based on his work made between 1958-1963 in the company stating that there was never an official contract that mentioned Kirby working for the company in order to deliver ideas that would be used later by Stan Lee in the final comics. Marvel restated this was a work for hire and that in any work for hire when one works for a company, one’s creations belong to that company. Yet, Kirby has shielded in the copyright act of 1909 (act ruling during that time), which does not specify what a “work for hire” entails (meaning it didn’t exist back in the time). He has mentioned he was only instructed to create pages of ideas through sketches, but was never told they would be the base of current Marvel characters, which catapulted the brand to success. This appeal is in proceedings since the time due to lack of evidence from behalf of Kirby.

d. Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc v. X1X Productions

Although the Lyman Frank Baum characters by law should have entered to be public domain by now, Warner Brothers, with the creation of “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939, acquired a renowned trademark over specific looks of the characters. This has been a battle between being a trademark claim and a copyright claim. Warner Brothers wants to claim other people need to acquire license and rights from them in order to use the characters. Yet, other entities have been smart by not being detailed about the main characters and have stayed with secondary characters which weren’t very well depicted in the 1939 version such as in the case of the “Wicked” play producers.

3. YouTube, Hurt Locker, and Idea Theft (Episode 12 of the Entertainment Law Update Podcasts Series by Gordon P. Firemark)

The podcasts comment about different cases regarding copyright law and copyright infringements happening now.

a. Michael Douglas v. Diandra Douglas

The film Wall Street 2 reignited a battle between superstar Michael Douglas and his ex-wife Diandra Douglas given her divorce decree stated when would receive 50% of the income from any “spin-off” of a film made during the time of their marriage. However, the court brought a problem to the definition of the term “spin-off” which is not a legal term. According to the speakers of the podcast, what she should have drafted in the decree was “any derivatives.” Nonetheless, the case is currently pending a decision.

b. Viacom v. Google/Youtube

The district court of the southern district of New York ruled that Youtube/Google is not liable to the contributory copyright infringement Viacom was claiming. The court protected Youtube/Google based on the safe harbor provision section 5.12 of the DMCA where the service provider is not liable for infringement by reason of storing user generated material if the provider is not knowledgeable that the material is infringing. Viacom opposed arguing Youtube knew about its infringements and was only pretending not to know in order to fill their website with content.

c. The U.S. Copyright Group v. 5,000 illegal downloads

The creators/producers of the award-winning film “The Hurt Locker” incorporated a copyright protection firm, which accuses 5,000 Internet users of downloading illegal digital copies of the film via bi-torrent software. Comcast when alleged said they would work on the matter when the time comes on a per-case basis, and the court is currently questioning if filing against/persecuting 5,000 people is a legitimate way of copyright protection. Copyright can only protect when there is a specific defendant and when there is a series of transactions (in terms of illegal downloads) harming the filing company. However, with bi-torrent in extremely hard to calculate given elements which trigger a lawsuit.

References:

How the Power of Branding Drives Trademark Law

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-power-branding-drives/id264628681?i=23010931

Monkeying Around With Copyright Law Podcast

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id313301718?i=96594890

Use the Force, Big Boy, and Watch Out for Beyonce’s Undies

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/entertainment-law-update-podcast/id313301718?i=93105276

Infringment in the Entertainment Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:29:00 +0000

This week’s post will be centered in legal liabilities within the entertainment industry and the world. I believe it is of crucial importance to quote and refer our resources when we write and create any type of material. From books to music to schoolwork, we always need to be original and deliver proper credit to the people who said or thought concepts we are using for our new thesis.

The first article I encountered in my search for legal liabilities within this year was Adrian Jacob’s lawsuit for copyright infringement against J.K. Rowling. Jacob, who died in 1987, but was represented by family members, wrote the children book series “Willy the Wizard”, which were claimed to be very similar to his counterpart’s series “Harry Potter”.

The lawsuit was filed in a court of London and the PR representing the family stated it would be a lawsuit worth millions of dollars. The suit more specifically accused “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” to have identical elements stolen from “Willy the Wizard: Livid Land”. Yet, Judge Shira Sheindlin from the United States court said “The contrast between the total concept and feel of the works is so stark that any serious comparison of the two strains credulity" (Guardian UK). She clarified the absurdity of the claim and favored Rowling.

I believe this case was not only absurd, like Judge Sheindlin implied, but also was a waste of time given to the passing of time that took the suit to take place after the publishing date of the Harry Potter sequel. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was published in 2000, Jacob’s book was written before 1982, and yet the suit was made last year. Furthermore, Rowling’s books have already acquired amazing success including 7 blockbusters in Hollywood, which have grossed millions one at a time. Even if she had plagiarized a page or half a book, the fans of Harry Potter are so vast that the public acclaim would be overwhelmingly shielding against the faulty lawsuit. Not only has Rowling written a book 600 pages long which surpasses Jacob’s 36 pager, but she has created an entire world book after book, which has built a worldwide franchise.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0218/J.K.-Rowling-faces-another-plagiarism-suit

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/07/harry-potter-plagiarism-case-us-court

The second article I encountered was NME’s accusation against Lady Gaga in copying Madonna’s “Express Yourself” with her hit “Born this Way”. Infuriated, she said in return the only element she had transcended was the song’s beat rhythm or to be more exact:

“What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about… If you put the songs next to each other, side-by-side, the only similarities are the chord progression. It's the same one that's been in disco music for the last 50 years. Just because I’m the first f***ing artist in 25 years to think of putting it on Top 40 radio, it doesn’t mean I’m a plagiarist, it means that I’m f***ing smart. Sorry.” (USMagazine.com).

In my opinion, I also think this accusation (which has not been taken into a law suit yet) is not relevant. “Born this way” is not similar neither in lyrics nor in style, it is only similar in tempo. Thus, I find ridiculous they accuse her of copyright infringement just because they relate in their support for the LGBT community, and not in tangible evidence that “Born this Way” is literally a copy of “Express Yourself”. Even the videos if you check them on YouTube differ drastically. While Gaga’s video resembles an orgy from the point of view of a drug addict (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw), Madonna’s video resembles a classic piece that illustrates entrapment and confusion, not perverted sex (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8). Ultimately, I would say the beats in both songs are similar, but Madonna’s has way more congas and an 80’s style than Gaga’s. From a tangible standpoint, I do believe NME is out of place in accusing Miss Germanotta of copyright infringement.

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/lady-gaga-calls-madonna-plagiarism-charges-retarded-2011204

My third and last search of the day was the famous lawsuit filed in Germany from the University of Bayreuth against defense minister Karl-Theodor Freiherr Zu Guttenberg. Although it is a case not pertaining to the entertainment industry, I am bringing it to this blog because I consider certain politicians such a George W. Bush and Sarah Palin to be celebrities of gossip and publicity money makers. Just as such, I believe in Germany Mr. Guttenberg to be the same. He was “shooting star” of conservatism driven by the public force to become Germany’s future chancellor. The 39-year-old baron, as they call him, excelled the expectations of his fellow Germans:

“In less than two years as defense minister, Guttenberg pushed through the most drastic reform of Germany's armed forces since the second world war. Most notably, he successfully fought for a plan to end conscription, part of an effort to slim down the German military and make it better adapted to an era in which it faces growing demands to deploy overseas.” (Hellen Pidd, Guardian UK).

However, one lawsuit, one accusation accompanied by massive press was all that Guttenberg needed to cease power. Bayreuth University accused him of plagiarizing his PHD thesis and although it is not considered in the US a felony or IP transgression, it was enough because of the media to shoot him down. This was aggravated when he testified in public, “I was always prepared to fight but I have reached the limits of my powers” and “I did not deliberately cheat, but made serious errors”.

Quite opposite in this case, I am in favor with the University of Bayreuth because of the nature of the case and the background of the accuser. I believe Mr. Guttenberg should have never agreed in public he did some errors in his thesis. He did not only feed a destructive force such as the media, but also directed his journey as a politician onto having to resign or he would lose faith from the people. Also, I believe this time the accuser was a scholarly source with a lot of background concerning law and education. If you are fighting against a scholastic institution and the media at the same time in a country like Germany, an individual like Mr. Guttenberg no matter how much power acquired will almost always fail. I believe he only plagiarized by not focusing and taking care of accrediting his sources; it wasn’t a voluntary action. However, it was his position in Germany’s society, which weakened his possibilities in winning a case against a force like the media who is specialized in destructive spin when it come to informing citizens.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-01/world/germany.politics_1_defense-minister-plagiarism-scandal-guttenberg?_s=PM:WORLD

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/01/german-defence-minister-resigns-plagiarism

APPLE VS GOOGLE/HTC

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:01:00 +0000

I have found mesmerizing the battle between Apple and HTC about copyright infringement issues. I believe Apple in a way has to take a grip and realize that although they were the innovators of the smartphone market, they still need to compete outside of a courtroom. The world will change and adapt to innovators in order to compete and stay up with emerging technology. It is Apple who needs to drastically bring something new to the table with its new iPhone 5.

On the other hand, I believe HTC has also to make something unique that in combination with Android’s operating system sets their company apart from Apple. Android has an amazing apps market that although it hasn’t reached the number of applications the App store has; it still develops each year in large quantities. I believe HTC is a company that prides itself of selling its products all over in the US no matter which provider it is. The company does give exclusivity with certain models to specific providers; however I believe this factor makes HTC way more flexible than Apple.

Apple has always given exclusivity to AT&T and recently gave exclusivity to Verizon. I think they were very smart in choosing a high profile counterpart for AT&T which worked without Sim cards. As we know, the market is separated in two different types of technology: GSM, which utilizes Sim Cards (AT&T, T-Mobile & Simple Mobil) and CDMA, which works without Sim cards (Verizon, Sprint, Metro PCS). The fact Apple chose to have two carries with these two different types of technology allows their phones to be used by both types of customers, which fight between speed and versatility. Apple also prides itself to have the biggest apps network available in the world. Its App store contains more than 400,000 applications today while the Android market has somewhat more than 150,000. Thus, it is the app store that currently carries the iPhone, not necessarily the phone itself.

Ultimately, it is visible why Apple and HTC are having a copyright debate. One company is the innovator and the other has become the developer of smart phone technology. I believe Apple should come up with a mind blasting iPhone 5 next year and new features in its App store in order to catch up with HTC instead of arguing in courtrooms. On the other hand, I believe HTC should create something unique about them aside of making their phones available for tethering, and Android having Flash incorporated (a super + for HTC/Android over Apple). HTC should bring technology that stets them apart of Apple in order to make Apple adapt to their technology in order to compete in today’s cell phone market.

D&M brings a new light to the invisible

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Digital Artist management in Los Angeles, California is a management company for post artists such as Animators, Visual FX designers, and editors. I find this company interesting because it is dedicated to represent those who usually are never represented. Beyond production crews, post crews are very misrepresented in the world of Hollywood and many of them work through contacts and networks. However, digital artists just starting in the world of entertainment have a lot of problems connecting with companies, which can have the ability to boost their careers.

The website consists of 7 tabs and a resume submission link. Within these two tabs, three are job seekers, client services, and hot jobs. These three links prove to be in deed helpful and informative once you enlist with the company. They will provide current jobs in the California area and further give you their contacts once you join.

I believe it’s a great opportunity for postproduction crewmembers around the US to connect with high profile companies in the entertainment industry. Moreover, I believe this company is a very good example of an artist management team wanting to do business in unexplored areas. The world is now overpopulated with starving digital artists that need the influence and network of companies such as D&M. D&M is a company that does not only benefit digital artists, but also benefits from clients who wish to join the company’s network and hire new post crews for their upcoming projects.

Overall, I believe Digital Artist Management makes part of our revolutionary way as professionals to connect with each other. Employers are now gradually taking advantage of the Internet and various online systems to connect people with new jobs. D&M makes part of this system; a system which breaks the conventional and overly structured ways of hiring to a faster unconventional way. D&M is now part of the new millennium of online advertisement and personal branding.

THE POTTER LOTTERY

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:58:00 +0000

Harry Potter has not only been a phenomenon for both literature and the big screen, but a franchise with ultimate financial success both at the box office, the game world, and has been the king of ancillary media. The last installment of the saga, which has grossed domestically $295,001,070 and $657,240,000 internationally, demonstrates to us the power of a fan base, excellent marketing, unceasing followers of the past 6 films, and an the work results of an incredible team.

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=harrypotter7.htm

The saga has changed from adventure-fantasy attractions for children to action-thriller magnetisms for adults as the characters grow older and the story becomes more intrinsic. Harry Potter is truly an example not necessarily of a good film, but of a well marketed film whose team understands the impact that its elements have for viewers and society overall:

1. Executive producers understood that the films would be an immediate success because they already had a fan base, which supported the franchise.

2. The team knew they were going to have the teen actors grow up as the saga evolved; however, it is established in the books that the characters go from 11 to 17 years old. If it is established in the books, then it is established in the films and the fan base will sustain. It is extremely important to sustain the fan base for it is the core that maintains the franchise running.

3. The world believes in a better place, magic, fairy tales, and dwarfs. With a repressing economy, the high impact of gas high prices, the middle-east becoming a stronger force, and a stack of uninteresting films made by other studios, Harry Potter is a story to look up to by many people.

4. Although it relies in a magical world, the story really reflects the adversities of a kid growing up in this world and the ways he confronts them next to his friends who become his real family. BOOM! This is an immediate hook up for all because both adults and children desire deeply in their hearts a process they relate to. Everybody needs to correlate and grow within a system. Harry Potter’s system is unique, the circumstances are magical, but the essence of development, the process of growth, and the overcoming of adversities is as natural and normal as ours.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/04/14/this-weeks-cover-harry-potter-summer-movie-preview/

Film Financing

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:25:00 +0000

All filmmakers dream in making films and pushing them out there for the public, yet how is that some movies make it to the big screen and are distributed to a larger market and some others don't? Simple. Before distribution and before production, it is important to understand every film needs to be properly financed and have the right funds that takes to deliver your creation into a product.

I did a fast research and found several online choices which served me and can serve you to possibly fund a project. Here are the gold miners:

1. Funded.com

It is a website designed to connect you to different types of investing options such as angel investors, venture capital, start up funding, and business funding (to expand). Also, it instructs you about certain steps on how to build professional business plans to show, create patents and trademarks, and make an overall impact.

2. Filmunderground.com/EFilmFund

This is a website that on the opposite of IMDB, it literally connects filmmakers by area and interest. Also, it provides several courses which teach how to fund your films, and you never know what investor might be lurking.

3. GoBigNetwork.com

Now this website only connects investors with filmmakers and other business owners. They allow you to create a business plan, even teach you steps on how to do it right, and contact specific investors or just ask for funding in a special post that allow investors interested in your project to come in. This is a great website for people who are starting with a new business or who intend to somehow grow in a market and sell a new product.

Overall, film funding is not an easy task. As a filmmaker, you must attract investors by offering special details in your business plan that show they most certainly will get their money back. Do you plan to have any starts or B-list actors in your film that might attract audiences? Do you have their letters of intent? Do you have any sort of bond with a distributor already? Do you have a business plan for your feature? How do you plan in making revenue out of your film?

This are questions we all should ask ourselves in order to prepare and get the funds we all crave to finance our next big project.

THE MPAA

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:44:00 +0000

In my research to extend my knowledge about the different networks in the film industry, I was amazed at the format of the new MPAA website. The site is easy to access, comfortable, and easy to understand. The beauty is that it descriptively explains and relates different aspects such as film ratings, content protection, policy and research, and it also provides news and research for parents. These are all distributed in tabs that allow you to easy access other menus.

Also, the website provides with short cuts that highlight as soon as you pass your cursor over them. Options such as film rating search, movies and TV shows online search, copy right information, movies-economy relations, resources for parents, and news which involve press releases, MPAA insider news, and media contacts.

The film ratings section explains it is a designed system to allow parents to decide whether or not they should let their children watch a specific type of content. It further describes that ratings are assigned by an independent board of parents with no past affiliation to the movie business. Their job is to rate each film as they believe a majority of American parents would rate it. It provides menus which you can use to access movies with different ratings, the meaning of such ratings, red carpet ratings, and movie advertising.

It is important to see how the MPAA is designed to respect the audience for it is considered irrevocably important when it comes to motion picture sales. I learned the MPAA is an entity that bridges this industry with its audience. It is a conglomerate of studios interested in connecting with its audience and further expanding their knowledge about ratings, content availability, and copyrights.

The movies online section shows us the different players, legal video playing sites, and emphasizes in information such as content theft, piracy reporting, and its relationship with higher. This leads me to think the MPAA is interested in maintaining more than 2.4 million jobs in the industry by informing people where to watch content online without breaking copyright law. Their mission is also to make young adults in colleges to understand their objective of delivering high quality and legal content they can use for their education and of course stay out of trouble.

The copyright or content protection section emphasizes in their mission to protect artists and creations alike. Their aim is to maintain like I said before those 2.4 industry jobs in the United States and to facilitate people content without having to recur to piracy by allowing distributors to use controlled online resources. This page is pretty much similar to the movies online section. It delves with copyright law but explains in depth their pursuits to create public awareness of the issue.

Also, the MPAA gives you an analysis based on the impact that motion pictures give to the US economy. Here, they distribute the information across tabs which emphasize the state, the gross income, and the amount of people employed within the industry.

Subsequent to that tab, there are the resources for parents and news sections. In these sections, parents have access to resources that help them avoid the dangers of online environment. Furthermore, they have access to global press releases and local news about the MPAA.

These pages are designed to give parents the freedom to choose for themselves and learn about content restriction resources such as webpages and articles which educate in the matter.

THE INTERNET, A DISTRACTION FROM OR A TOOL FOR THE ARTS?

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 04:30:00 +0000

It is outstanding how the internet has changed everything around us. From shopping, to watching films, to social networks, to video games, to dating sites. These have all changed and accustomed us to a faster-immediate world where we can get what we want, when we need it. And the fear of losing the sense of the arts overall is not alienated to this. How can we make a living as artists if a $80-$120 dollar opera ticket will be replaced for $1 on iTunes or even worse for free on Youtube? Massive venues are and will be broadcasted and then be digitally transferred to fit 4MB of streaming video.

Ben Cameron, Arts administrator and live-theater fan at the state of the live arts, asks how can the magic of live theater, live music, live dance compete with the always-on Internet? The answer lies in the following video.

In his speech, Cameron builds trust with his audience by ironically depicting today's reality and facts about how easy it is to get everything we want through the web. He shares his knowledge about the performing arts being democratized through this medium, how he devours e-books, and watches films now at the luxury and comfortability of his own home theater. The audience laughs and he immediately engages with them. He comments on him sharing those passions with them, and he transitions by telling them they most likely also share with him his passion for live performing arts and music. It is here when he raises the question to the main problem or major event: will the live arts, live venues disappear? Should we fear the internet taking away these social gatherings that provide us with our our human needs of expression and cohesion? Cameron's answer to this is no, absolutely not. We have a wired need to fight and work for what we believe in more than for monetary reasons. The power to indulge to the senses and awaken our human emotions comes from a live interaction between human being. We will never, as much as we think we will because of the innovations of this new era, lose the need of human interaction. Quite the opposite, we will now more than ever need it.

At last, he finalizes by making the audience overcome their doubts and fears. He confronts the problem in his speech by clarifying that it is our job to use the arts to unite us all and understand that the web and its innovations are just tools, but are not and will never be the answer to our human co-existence.

EPIC & SCARLET THE NEW RED

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:55:00 +0000

It is mind blowing how technology has changed the life of many projects in the past few years. The Red One camera excelled by delivering quality, depth, and versatility to projects like Golden Globe winner “The Social Network” and several others like “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, “The Book of Eli”, and “District 9”. It is a camera that shoots in digital, but shoots up to 4000 vertical lines in a frame. That is almost 4 times as much as HD and also provides adaptability to better, faster, and longer lenses than many other digital cameras.

Now, Red is ready to take the next step. The company is proud to present the Red Scarlet and the Red Epic. The Red Scarlet will be a camera with basically the same attributes than its predecessor, the Red One, but it will only shoot up to 3K (3 times more than full HD). Also, instead of 20K or 30K dollars it will cost 5K to 10K. This will allow small and independent productions to shoot up to the crispiness and detail of Hollywood. It will reduce or maintain production costs to a minimum and will allow tapeless / filmless workflow in post-production. At the same time, the Red Scarlet will be the size of many prosumer cameras such as the famous HVR-Z1U and will bring portability and speed to projects.

The Red Epic on the contrary will be a slightly more expensive camera than its predecessor. Yet, it will bring portability, which means speed and lower space consumption, and mind-blowing detail quality by stepping up to 5K (5 times more quality than HD). At this point, there is no screen projector or TV that is capable of reproducing this quality. However, its tapeless / filmless workflow, lightweight design, bedazzling crispness, and adaptability to other equipment makes it a new target for many craving filmmakers. Peter Jackson, for example, the director of “Lord of the Rings” plans to shoot his next project “The Hobbit 3D” on the Red Epic. His impression of the Red Epic leaves us in awe as he explains how he plans to mount 30 Epics on 3D rigs to reproduce a whole new experience for audiences. If we though “The Lord of the Rings” blew our minds, we have to wait to see “The Hobbit”.

Ultimately, both the Red Scarlet and Epic cameras have proven how fast technology has evolved to make our lives as filmmakers easier and approachable. They give us the chance to not waste our budget in film while still maintaining or surpassing the quality of 35mm cameras. It is a must-have new baby in the market that we all have to shoot with once in a lifetime.

THIS IS IT

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:05:00 +0000

It was always interesting to see Michael Jackson deliver performances worldwide. He was a man who changed music, music videos, and even films with special effects. His career showed us determination, passion, and deliverance. Despite his social circumstances and the conflicts that surrounded him which made people doubt of his moral character, people loved him for what he was… a man who enhanced our perception, a leader, an innovator.

There is much to believe Michael was a man of conviction. He decided where he wanted to go and how. His goals and career where oriented to change and social impact. Thus, he surrounded himself with outstanding talented people who understood his vision. Choreographers, musicians, filmmakers, managers, and live show entertainers opened a path to him that very few even get to dream of. His passion and love for his career and others motivated him to raise the bar and modify everybody’s standards.

This is what you get from watching his last film “This is it” which tells the process in building his next show just before he died. The film depicts Michael worked with his team and motivated everybody in his team to only deliver based on one cause: love. He arrived, prepared, and patiently delivered with everybody what it had to be done to accomplish his new mind blowing show. The film clearly shows his team’s ability to develop a plan, which involved special effects and CGI videos in the background of the show while dancers wearing the same costumes would appear with him and strike the show. It is fascinating to watch this group of people concentrate before each practice and trust him during the show’s simulations. Their admiration for their leader and determination to make him and his cause obtain once again that glory and respect he used to have from the people are exemplary.

I think this film should be an example regardless how much we hated or loved the man of teamwork and project management. It puts a clear message across: the power of people, the power of love. It is passion that drives us and it is people who make things happen. It is never the power of just one man; it is the power of a team concentrated in one same goal. We ought to be aware of this reality and apply this concept to every project we make or help others to build. We ought to remind ourselves it is never a one-man’s show, but a mix of forces empowered by unique talents which make a project complex, unique, and innovating.

A first look to Ron Howard

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:29:00 +0000

In my approach to become a better filmmaker, I like to analyze the different responses of several leaders in the industry. I found this old interview made to Ron Howard about his film “Frost/Nixon.” Here, Ron Howard depicts his views as a director on what he evaluates as a good story and what makes him get on board with projects. The interview is an interesting piece that allows you to see how experienced directors work the craft. You realize after viewing the video that it doesn’t take a mastermind story in order to make a film. It only takes a story, which doesn’t have to be that “original”, but well told. Films have to be provocative. They have to incite the public to view more and more. Of course, many people might find “Frost/Nixon” a very slow paced film. However, we have to remember that good films should always have a target audience, and in the case of this film, it targets a political issue, which demands an audience that craves these types of subjects.

In the interview, Ron Howard explains that he watched the play and fell in love with it. He immediately called Brian Grazer, one of his producers, and told him about his interest in making an adaptation of the piece. Also, he is asked about how he approaches a story in the beginning, and he answers that he always views it in the beginning as an audience member. Now here I believe is one of the keys: we forget many times as filmmakers that films are meant to be watched and that audiences have to believe in the characters and the stories. Now in order to do that, we have to set aside our egos and understand that it is not about telling a story for us, but telling a story for the audience with our point of view. It is crucial to remember that films are products meant to be watched and to be given exposure.

I encourage you to watch this interview. Ron Howard also talks about other of his films like “Cocoon”, “A Beautiful Mind”, and “The Davinci Code.” He portrays stories that have twists, mystery, and overall they are provocative to various types of audiences. We always learn from other craftsmen of the art, and if we listen well, we will always keep our minds focused on what really matters when we make films.

BLOOD AND SAND

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:50:00 +0000

It is intriguing how TV is slowly turning into short format versions of feature films. The quality and the effects are being improved every day on television. From a business stand point of view, I believe that the series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" is a perfect example for this. In the following behind the scenes video, you can see how the production approached their effects work in a very unconventional way for a TV series. It actually resembles the ones of high budget studio films, and I even dare to say that it operates to a whole new level by adding some styles not even seen in Hollywood features before.

I believe the future of television has been changing with the passing of time and the evolution of new technologies. It is imperative as filmmakers to realize TV series are also career targets, ever since so many filmmakers only dream with making feature films. Stories are stories, and good content is good content. It can be told throughout multiple formats and platforms. The industry is leading to high quality and easy-access platforms already which do not only involve Blu-ray and other 3D technologies, but also Netflix and Amazon-on-demand online streaming. That in the mixture with this evolving trend of feature film quality TV series raises the bar for all of us filmmakers. It is our task to change our mindsets to keep the good content flowing, but with the goal of also selling it throughout these new platforms and formats. We cannot forget that in the end we are also “sales men” which bring new products to the table. I agree, we have the freedom to choose our styles and type of content. It is in deed however our task to understand that we still need a target audience beacuse we are selling entertainment, and not showcasing free personal projects to our families and friends. We are showing it to people who know nothing about us and only value what they see on screen.

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is a series that sets an example for us. Regardless of the type of content and your personal taste or opinions about it, the product sells. It rejects the soap opera look and regains a cinematic view that is admired by audiences worldwide. The show brings elements that we have seen before such as in “300” and “The Matrix”. Yet, it also brings new elements to the TV series format such as a more intrinsic storyline than “300” but with a superb production value. Just like with “The Sopranos”, the series is taking time to produce and deliver its seasons in the market, but it already has an assured audience craving and waiting for the new episodes to be released.

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Battiston) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:35:00 +0000

If you are a filmmaker or just a film fan, I invite you to post news and thoughts about past, current, and future projects you are working on or projects in which you would like to work. I also invite you to link your demo reels to your posts for future reference and to see your work style. You never know, but projects arise very fast, and I would like to have a better network of people to work with in the future.

Thank you! I am eager to know you.