Incentives Office Alert
September 30, 2008 by 
THE INCENTIVES OFFICE
CHANGES TO MICHIGAN INCENTIVE
Attempts are now underway in the Michigan legislature to limit the amount available per year for production rebates. Currently there is no limit or cap, but last week an amendment bill which would put a $50 million per year cap on the rebate was passed by a Senate committee. The House is now out of session until after the election; legislation not approved by both the Senate and House by December 31 may not be carried over to 2009, so passage is unlikely this year. But it is probable that an amendment will be introduced again next year.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Treasury Department has ruled that mileage reimbursements, meal allowances and per diems will not qualify for the rebate unless they are subject to Michigan taxes.
South Carolina is considering legislation that would reinstate the 20% feature film incentive for out-of-state crew; currently out-of-state crew are capped at 10% of the first $35,000 in wages. Qualified television projects earn 20% for out-of-state crew up to $1M. Both qualified film and tv projects can earn 20% for all cast and local hires up to $1M, and 30% for SC goods and services
The Incentives Office is sponsoring a major Production Incentives Symposium the morning of Friday, October 24, in Beverly Hills, CA. For information, CLICK HERE.
If you need information about cash-flowing (financing) rebates or brokering production tax credits, please CLICK HERE to fill out our form, and we will suggest possibilities. We will be pleased to introduce you to any appropriate banks, mezzanine lenders or tax credit brokers.
For an electronic copy of our Spring Guide to U.S. Production Incentives, please CLICK HERE.
Dave’s TGIF Weekly #2
September 27, 2008 by
What a week! All the turmoil in the banking industry and Wall St. How will this effect film financing? As I continue to put together funding on my film Olio, many US investors are getting a bit gun shy about the economy. Conversely, European and Asian investors are becoming interested. Its a crazy world when you get into the financing of movies over 1 million.
If you’re a filmmaker (and why else would you be here) be happy with doing your small indie films. Yes you wish you had the big stars and all the toys but focus on the storytelling. Finding that 50 or 150k is hard but you will be the boss and make the movie you want.
Remember to previsualize your movie over and over. See it happening. When you are confronted with investors be passionate about this amazing tale you want to tell. Show them scenes, photos of locations, headshots of the next big star, and the little plastic monster sample you made. In other words get them excited.
Have a great weekend!
Filmmaking Central Episode 19 08 - Canon’s Chuck Westfall joins us
September 26, 2008 by
A DSLR that shoots 1080p HD footage? This I had to see. And I did. Tweets were on fire linking to photographer Vincent Laforet’s blog showing footage he had just shot with Canon’s new Eos 5D Mark2. To say the least the camera is revolutionary. Imagine the great depth of field you can achieve via Canon lenses? I invited Chuck Westfall of Canon USA on the show to discuss this new gem. Enjoy.
Shooting a film with a DSLR?
September 23, 2008 by
I’ve been reading alot of great things about the new Canon 5D Mark II. Its quite an impressive DLSR, shoots 1080p HD video, and 21mp stills. The video however is done in 30p mode which scars off some prospective filmmakers. I visited Vincent Laforte’s blog to see his work with the camera and its quite beautiful. It also has stirred much debate over the look of the video. Does it look like film or video? Surely the depth of field is impressive using the great Canon lenses. Over at Stu Maschwitz’s blog ProLost there is a good debate on the subject.
Regardless, I am seriously considering shooting something with this camera. I am intrigued to the nth degree. More to come. What say you?
Adobe CS4 Launch
September 23, 2008 by
Tomorrow marks the date that Adobe launches its awesome new version of its products Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Soundbooth, Flash, and Encore. Version CS4 will certainly exceed many users expectations. Being on the beta team and reviewing Premiere Pro for an upcoming Classroom in a Book series, I have to say the upgrade rivals my attention away from Final Cut Pro. In the coming weeks I will be doing video tutorials on the new features so stay tuned.
Equally as exciting are the upgrades to After Effects and Flash. Flash, in my opinion, is really become easier and easier to use. Being a Flash user since version 4, I can say those wanting to learn Flash the time has come. Again video tutorials to come. After Effects gets some great new tools and some great new tracking plug ins (wink wink). you will be most happy.
To watch the launch sign up here
Filmmaking Central Episode 18 08 Refine Your Pitch
September 19, 2008 by
Greetings! As you know I get alot of pitches thrown at me. Many times they are extremely bad when the script may actually be great! today I discuss a few resources I have come across that I recommend: 15SecondPitch.com and a great book called Ideas That Stick .
Also a new contest! Sign up for the FMC Newsletter and you could win a Wacom Intuos 3!
Lastly, if you love the show vote for us for the PodcastAwards! Enter Filmmaking Central in the Movies and Film section. Thanks!
Dave’s TGIF Weekly #1
September 19, 2008 by
Greetings gang! Welcome to my first edition of Dave’s TGIF Weekly. The weather is gorgeous here in LA and its time for a weekend. With all the turmoil in the financial markets some movie investors have gotten a bit skiddish. This means you really need to have a strong package with an escape plan (distribution etc) for the investors to feel warmly about your project. Sale estimates are always a welcome addition.
Never fear, however. Even through the “Great Depression” movies were still being made. In hard times the public love to turn to entertainment such as movies to get away from it all. So keep at it!
On another note, I am going to add another giveaway to our already successful Link to Us contest. Sign up now to our free newsletter and you will be eligible to win a Wacom Intuos Tablet! We will run this promotion for 60 days. In the newsletter you will receive tips and tricks plus discounts for great gear and notices about seminars, live events and our upcoming mastery classes! Visit here to sign up!
Enjoy your weekend! Cheers, Dave
FMC Book Review – The Art and Science of Digital Compositing
At first glance Ron Brinkmann’s book The Art and Science of Digital Compositing might resemble a bible. Its sheer size is a bit daunting. However, just as the Bible was written to inspire and produce a solid foundation for followers of the faith, this book does the same for those interested in the world of compositing.
In all I have ever been involved in, be it football or filmmaking, without a solid foundation under my belt I would have never have been remotely successful. As I ventured into learning more about compositing for my own films I really wanted to create that foundation.
FMC Book Review: The Art of the Documentary: Ten Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers by Megan Cunningham
I just completed reading such a tremendous book: The Art of the Documentary: Ten Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers by Megan Cunningham. If you have ever had a desire to make a documentary film this book is a must have. Megan Cunningham rounds up the top industry folks and really gets into it. From Barbara Kopple’s Foreward to the last page of the appendix this was a page turner for me.
FMC Tutorial: Vector Illustrations into 3D
September 16, 2008 by
I was cleaning out some of my files the other day and came across a folder full of stuff I grabbed at SIGGRAPH this year. I came across this great looking postcard from the gang at GoMedia . Their “Arsenal” royalty free vector art is amazing. I got inspired and thought “let’s make some cool 3D works with it!” So here we go.
