Art Department Panel

Are you as excited as we are for the final WIC panel of the fall semester?  The Art Department Panel features three wonderful ladies from the Austin community who have years of experience working in the film industry.

Kari Perkins is an accomplished costume designer who is passionate about high quality design and uses a Zen-like approach for creating believable characters. With a history rich in design for the stage, Kari made her film design debut with Dazed and Confused in 1993 and has continued to work with director Richard Linklater over the years on productions such as Fast Food Nation in 2006, A Scanner Darkly in 2006 and Bernie in 2010.  Kari’s costume design can be seen in the film Mud, directed by Jeff Nichols, which was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.  She has also been featured on the DIY network, Southern Living, Tribeza, and Rare Magazines as well as a podcast on Spoiler Alert Radio. Visit her website at www.kariperkins.com.

Yvonne Boudreaux is a production designer for film, dance, and theater.  She has served as art director on Machete, The Legend of Hell’s Gate, and Puncture and has production designed Dance with the One and Harmony & Me.  She has also worked as a set designer on Laika’s new stop motion animation Paranorman that premiered in August of this year.  Her dance installation projects in which she preformed as the set designer and producer, Shape of White (2009), Portrait(2007), and Wrapped (2005) were selected for the David Mark Cohen New Works Festival in Austin, Texas.  She has served as a set designer for various theatrical productions in Austin and Fort Worth such as Nocturne, Mart/Sade and The Idiot.

Yvonne received a Masters in Theatrical Design from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelors of Architecture from Louisiana State University.  She has taught design and architecture at University of Louisiana in Lafayette.  She is currently working as art director on ABC Family’s The Lying Game and producing a documentary about her family’s connection with the assassination of Louisiana's Senator Huey P Long.

University of Texas MFA alum Caroline Karlen has worked as a Costume Designer and Production Designer on numerous feature films (GRETCHEN, THE HAPPY POET, LOVERS OF HATE, FOUR PLAY, SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE, THE BOUNCEBACK) and music videos (Arcade Fire, Herman Dune). She has worked on print and commercial ad campaigns for clients such as General Electric, Comcast, and PGI. In addition, she has served as Associate Producer for THE HAPPY POET and THANK YOU A LOT, and as a Segment Producer for SLACKER (2011 remake).

PANEL DETAILS

Monday, November 5

WIC Meeting 7:30-8 pm

Art Department Panel 8-9:30pm

CMA 3.120, Free Admission

Facebook Event

The Lying Game

Simply put, Yvonne Boudreaux is bad ass lady. Holding an Bachelors in Architecture from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Theatrical Design from The University of Texas, Yvonne was well prepared for her current position as art director for the hit ABC Family show The Lying Game. While she is the first to admit that each day at work presents a new set of challenges, it's very clear that Yvonne has greatly impacted the artistic vision of The Lying Game by providing a strong female voice among the primarily male crew.  Filmed at Austin Studios, Yvonne gave Women In Cinema members an exclusive art department tour and shared some of her best kept secrets. Of course, we won't reveal all of them, you'll have to come to the Women In Cinema Art Department Panel on November 5th to find out all her tips and secrets.

Secret #1 - Always give the DP space and options when creating sets - no one likes using the same camera angles over and over.

Secret #2 - Its expensive and difficult to create your own hospital scene. If you can, try to film at a real hospital. The set decoration and hospital equipment can get expensive very quickly.

Secret #3 - Simple, frosted windows/doors are a big no. It's obvious that you are trying to cover up whatever is behind the door. Yvonne's advice: Be more creative! Use ridged glass for windows or a blurred glass that has a pattern on it, then tie that pattern to the interior of the room.

House Interior, The Lying Game

Yvonne explaining how certain windows can move to avoid seeing a camera reflection.

Can you tell where this hallway ends?  Looks can be deceiving!

Group photo FTW

Thank you so much to Yvonne for giving us a fabulous tour of The Lying Game art department & and for all the words of wisdom.  If you missed out on this field trip, don't worry, Yvonne is one our panelists for November's Art Department Panel!  More details to follow in the next few days.

Producing Panel - Recap

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the Producers’ Panel Monday night. We hope you enjoyed it and found the information interesting and useful! Rakeda Ervin, Caroline Conner, and Megan Gilbride shared their experiences as producers, talked about their career paths, and gave out many recommendations for film students who are interested in producing.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO PRODUCING? All three producers had different paths for reaching their current positions. Rakeda graduated from film school, and worked her way up from researcher, Associate Producer and Supervising Producer in the TV doc world. Caroline started out with several internships. They all suggested anyone who is interested in film production to “be out there” and seek opportunities.

WHAT DOES A PRODUCER DO? Different positions refer to different duties: In TV the Supervising Producer & TV Producer oversee production; Associate Producers in television are responsible for finding material and overseeing clearances and the post-production process. Fundamentally, producers are there to “back up” the film. Money and investments are very important for the film because money makes a film happen. During pre-production, the producer is scheduling, budgeting, casting and planning. During post-production, producers are finishing up contracts, clearances, the accounting, marketing, distribution and sales. Producers should always be continuing to make “good contacts” and network.

PRODUCER-DIRECTOR RELATIONSHIP? Caroline mentioned that she wouldn’t step into the creative too much. She believes that the director is the one who brings out the “vision” of the film, however, it’s also important to know when to compromise and when not to. Megan also described the producer’s role as “being the parent.”  

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PRODUCER? Stay calm! It’s sometimes the most pressured position. Long hours. People hate you. You're out of money. It takes a lot to be a producer. Work hard and people will see.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENTS STILL IN SCHOOL:

• Ask questions, talk to people, research opportunities, and get experiences.
• Go to Film Festivals!
• Be out in the world.
• Have your pitch ready. What's your next project?
• Stay motivated.
• Build up “real” relationships.
• Don’t ever burn bridges. Someone working under you on this project might be your boss on the next project.

Thanks again to our lovely producers who shared so much with us! Good luck with everyone’s projects! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next meeting and panel on Art Department on Monday, November 5th.  More details to follow. 

Also, if you’re not already part of our facebook group, do it now here.  You should probably also follow us on Twitter at @womenincinema.

Producing Panel

This month's Producing Panel features distinguished Austinite TV & Film Producers Rakeda Ervin, Caroline Connor, and Megan Gilbride.  These bad ass ladies will share their experiences and knowledge with us next week at our monthly panel.  Get to know our panelists below:

Rakeda L. Ervin has more than ten years of experience as a producer and director.  Her credits are with networks like A&E, NBC and MTV. She's worked on series like, VH1 Behind the Music, My First BET Awards, Shipping Wars and E! True Hollywood Story.  In addition, Rakeda has produced and directed short films and award winning independent documentaries. She is the first director to chronicle the politics of Generation X, through her documentary, X= A Generation Evolved.  Currently, Rakeda teaches video production with the Liberal Arts & Science Academy in Austin.


Caroline Connor has worked in the entertainment industry for the last  8 years.  She recently produced Chu and Blossom, which stars Alan Cumming, Mercedes Ruehl and Annie Potts.  She also co-produced LUV, which hits the theaters in November and Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best which is currently in theaters and on VOD through Oscilloscope. The films premiered, respectively, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. She is in post-production on Pictures of Superheroes, which she Executive Produced. She has also served as Travel Coordinator on the films Stop Loss and Friday the 13th, and Production Coordinator for various films including Machete, Puncture,  Beneath The Darkness, and Seven Days in Utopia.

Megan Gilbride is an Independent Spirit Award nominated producer of narrative and documentary films.  She produced Bryan Poyser’s LOVERS OF HATE, which premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by IFC.  A critical darling praised by the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle, LA Weekly’s Karina Longworth described the film as “the most exciting American indie I’ve seen in a while.”  

Collaborators since 2005, Megan produced Poyser’s short film, THE FICKLE, for the USA Network’s 2011 Character Project and is currently producing his romantic comedy feature, THE BOUNCEBACK.

Megan produced the documentary feature SUNSHINE which debuted on PBS’s Independent Lens in May 2010 and is currently playing educational venues as a means of expanding public discourse on teen pregnancy, adoption, abortion, and single-parenting in today’s society.  She associate produced Steve Collins’ GRETCHEN, winner of the Best Narrative Feature Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and Susan Youssef’s HABIBI, the story of star-crossed lovers in the Gaza strip, which was shot in Ramallah, Palestine.  The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, debuted in North America at the Toronto Film Festival and won four awards, including best picture and best actress at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Megan co-produced Heather Courtney’s Sundance Documentary Fund grantee and ITVS-funded feature, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM which won the Best Editing prize at the SXSW Film Festival and the Nokia Truer Than Fiction award at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards.  The film screened at the LA Film Festival, Silverdocs, Full Frame, BAM Cinemafest, Rooftop Films, and on Capitol Hill as sponsored by the Chief of Staff of the National Guard, General Craig McKinley, and Senator Carl Levin.  The story of three National Guardsmen from small-town Michigan who travel to Afghanistan and back, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM aired on PBS in a special Veteran’s Day presentation of the acclaimed series POV and was nominated for a 2012 Emmy Award.

Megan received a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from The College of William and Mary and an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas.

EVENT DETAILS
Monday, October 8
Women In Cinema Meeting 7:30-8 pm
Producing Panel 8-9:30 pm
CMA 3.120, Free Admission
Facebook Event