Monday, April 1, 2013

The New Mexico Film Office Announces the Second NM Filmmakers Experience Panel Discussion in Santa Fe COMPOSING FOR FILM


SANTA FE —The New Mexico State Film Office has announced the expansion of the New Mexico Filmmakers Program including a new series of discussions entitled the "NM Filmmakers Experience” to be held at the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts. 

The New Mexico Filmmakers Experience will consist of screenings and panel discussions, which will take place on the 3rd Sunday of each month from February to June. For more information, visit our website at: http://nmfilm.com/Filmaker_Programs.aspx or contact Dirk Norris at 505-476-5671 or dirk@nmfilm.comdirk@nmfilm.com

These events are free and open to the public. Our second Filmmakers Experience panel discussion is Composing for Film. What is involved in making music for a film? Who does it and why? Our March panelists are CK Barlow, Jeff Mettling, John Rangel, Andy Gabrys and Sue Lucas. 

Date: Sunday, March 17th Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm 

Location: Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail Santa Fe, NM 87505 505-982-1338;  email: contact@ccasantafe.org.

Panelist Bios: CK BARLOW is an Albuquerque-based composer whose work has been heard on ABC, NBC, BBC, Bravo, MTV, National Geographic, VH1, CMT, Discovery Channel, G4, History Channel, Animal Planet, Style Network, etc. ANDY GABRYS has scored a number of short films including “Plots” and “Leather Kittens Gone Bad” with director Holly Adams, and the 2010 Notable New Mexico documentary on Astronaut Sidney Gutierrez: “The Sky’s Not the Limit” with director Tara Walch. SUE LUCAS is the owner of SkyLimit Music, LLC an on-line music library consisting of cleared, and original stock music of all genres by independent artists. JEFF METTLING lives in Albuquerque and is a multi-award winning musical composer and recording artist. JOHN RANGEL is a Composer and Jazz Pianist. John now lives in Santa Fe New Mexico and teaches at the Santa Fe School of Arts and Sciences.

crewnewmexico.com is not affiliated with the New Mexico Film Office (but we like to help promote their news and events!)

Film Industry Town Hall, April 18th in Taos!

SANTA FE—The New Mexico Film Office today announced a Town Hall meeting scheduled to take place in Taos on Thursday, April 18, 2013. 

This Town Hall follows a series of town hall meetings that took place in Las Cruces, Ruidoso, Roswell, Raton, Clovis, and Carlsbad. Film Office director Nick Maniatis will discuss the state of the New Mexico film industry – including an update about legislation, the outlook going forward, and the opportunities available to New Mexicans.


The meetings are intended to provide an open forum for each community to share information about their educational programs, film related businesses and issues of concern. Prior to each Town Hall meeting, participants will have an opportunity to have their headshot (photograph) taken by a representative of the film office which will be given to Extra Casting Directors in New Mexico. 

Those who already have a headshot are encouraged to bring them to the Town Hall meeting and fill out the Extras Casting Information Registration form (headshots do not have to be taken by a professional). This opportunity is for informational purposes only and is not in response to a particular production. The Town Halls are free and open to all, including students, local filmmakers, businesses and the general public. The NM Film Office is collaborating with local film liaisons, schools and chambers of commerce in conducting these events. 

The schedule is as follows: When: Thursday, April 18, 2013 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Harwood Museum of Art 238 Ledoux St., Taos, NM 87571 Phone: 575-758-9826 Contact: Asia Golden, Coordinator of Public Programs asiagolden@gmail.com 

Agenda: 6:00 pm - Headshots for casting directors 7:00 pm - Welcome and Introductions David Hinske 7:15 pm - State of the NM Film Industry, Director Nick Maniatis 7:30 pm - Q and A session There is no RSVP necessary to attend any of the Town Hall meetings and surrounding communities are encouraged to participate in the discussion. 

The expected timeframe for the town hall is approximately two (2) hours with Q&A. For more information on the 2013 Film Industry Town Hall meetings contact Dirk Norris at 505-476-5671 or dirk@nmfilm.com. # # #

Cast & Crew Entertainment Services - The Interview!


Payroll Companies play a large and increasingly critical part of the production industry, and are _C&C-Albuquerque-192x384-r4often the “unseen heroes” that really help a film tick.  In this interview with our New Mexico clients – Cast & Crew Entertainment Services – Senior VP of Client Services, Shardell Cavaliere, explains about the role of the Payroll Company in the modern production landscape.

What are the core services Cast & Crew provides to the film industry?

As a leading Entertainment Industry services company, Cast & Crew offers a turnkey solution for the Industry’s payroll and production needs.  Our suite of services includes specialized payroll and residuals processing, Cast & Crew’s own proprietary software products: PSL production accounting software, (the most stable in the industry), onBudget, (Cast & Crew’s premier production budgeting software) and onSet, (Cast & Crew’s Purchasing and Procurement Company.)

  
Most people would be surprised at how large and diverse a role payroll companies play in the production of feature films. In addition to payroll, what services and/or logistics does Cast & Crew provide to the industry?

Cast & Crew has a suite of proprietary technology solutions for production from budgeting via our onBudget software to our production accounting software, PSL.  For our clients, Cast & Crew facilitates all areas of Worker’s Compensation, provides access to our extremely knowledgeable Labor Relations group and provides state-by-state production incentive advice.  Additionally, through our onSet service, productions are able to procure goods and services through Cast & Crew to take advantage of various state incentives.

As production continues to decentralize from LA to “incentive” states, what challenges or opportunities does that present for a company like Cast & Crew, and how do you stay on top of it all? Is that the benefit of having offices nationwide?

At Cast & Crew, we look at every change in the industry as an opportunity to increase both our knowledge base and our role in the ever changing industry.  We work directly with film commissions in all US and Canadian jurisdictions and participate in numerous panels and discussions all year long.  Through these relationships, Cast & Crew is kept abreast of proposed changes and is able to work proactively with our clients to ensure that they get the most out of the individual incentives. 

While traveling to take advantage of incentives is beneficial to the productions, are there areas where it makes things more difficult or less cost effective? How does working with a company like Cast & Crew minimize those challenges and help maximize incentives?

Cast & Crew’s relationships with various state agencies only benefit our clients.  The ever changing world of incentives poses a challenge to all productions but, by utilizing our services, they do not need to be worried that they are missing out.  We all know that it is not practical for a production to purchase and own all of the equipment that is necessary.  From the expense of traveling that equipment across the country to the expense of storing it until it is liquidated at the end of production, the viability of owning just does not make sense.  This is where Cast & Crew onSet provides an amazing service.  Productions are able to procure their equipment from onSet and take advantage of the state incentives.  No need to store or transport equipment and they get credit for incentive purposes.  This is a double win for productions! 

Productions are increasingly mobile, going from New Mexico to New Orleans or beyond. Do you follow along and provide services throughout, regardless of the location? What about overseas locations? What's one of the most exotic places your staff has traveled to?

When a production starts with Cast & Crew, they may begin working in the US and soon find themselves across the country or the ocean.  Cast & Crew currently has offices across the United States and Canada and we are pleased to be opening our first overseas office in London this spring.  Cast & Crew will be with them every step of the way. We have had productions in various parts of the world, including remote parts of Africa.  We are able to process US nationals working anywhere in the world and, with the opening of our London office, will be able to process payroll across Europe as well.

Does Cast & Crew help productions navigate all the State incentives to help them decide where to shoot? Or do your services begin once the locations are set and the project is green-lit?

Cast & Crew is available to work with any of our clients to get the most out of the state incentives.  We are not in the business of keeping our clients out in the cold and that philosophy extends to production incentives.  A client simply needs to call and let us know where they are going and we are ready to assist them with the most up-to-date information available.  We provide monthly email updates and twice yearly we publish a physical version of our TIP Guide which details the incentives on a state-by-state basis.  These tools and the personal relationships that we have with state agencies enable us to provide up to the minute information to our production partners allowing them to maximize their return.  

New Mexico remains one of the top production locations in the US. What is it about New Mexico that continues to keep it so successful in light of aggressive competition from other States?

New Mexico has state-of-the-art stage facilities, a good crew base and no per project cap except for the $20M aggregate cap on performing artists’ salaries.  In addition, the incentive is fully refundable, a short commute from Los Angeles for weekend trips home, and good weather,
all of which provide a very competitive landscape.

What are some of the more notable New Mexico productions Cast & Crew has worked on? 
Cast & Crew has been privileged to work with many productions in New Mexico such as The Lone Ranger, Game Change, Longmire and The Lying Game, to name just a few.

Tell us about your New Mexico crew. What makes them the best in the industry?

Our New Mexico office is led by a seasoned team of industry professions.  The majority of the team has also worked on the production side which adds to the client experience.
  
Cast & Crew uses "the most stable and sophisticated production accounting software available on the market." Explain a bit about the system, what it enables Cast & Crew to do, and how it gives you an edge over other Payroll companies.

PSL was designed to track production incentives efficiently and effectively. In addition, the user friendly interface makes it the go-to software for the biggest films ever produced, most recently THE LONE RANGER filmed in New Mexico. The flexibility of PSL allows for customized reports to be created effortlessly, allowing productions to maximize their return and speed up the incentive process.   Combine that with the 24/7 customer support, PSL has become the choice of production accountants everywhere.

To learn more, contact Cast & Crew!
Cast & Crew Entertainment Services 
5700 Harper Drive, NE, Suite 310, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Tel: (505) 247-0868