Camera, Sound, Lighting Workshop

The last weekend in September marks the fall edition of the Women In Cinema Camera, Sound, and Lighting Workshop!  This workshop is a great opportunity for all to refresh their film knowledge and network with others participating in the workshop.  So how do you get in on all the fun?  Simply email utwomenincinema@gmail.com to reserve your spot at this event.

DETAILS

Saturday, September 28

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

@ 701 Tillery St., Picturebox Studio

Facebook Event

Workshop costs $5 for Women In Cinema members and $15 for non-members.  Lunch provided at workshop.  If you need transportation to and from the workshop, please email to let us know.

PLEASE BRING:

-Gloves to handle lights (if you have them)

-Something to write notes on

-Do not wear open toed shoes

See you there!

Spring Edition: Camera, Sound, Lighting Workshop

The second weekend in February marks the spring edition of the Women In Cinema Camera, Sound, and Lighting Workshop.  This workshop is a great opportunity for all to refresh their film knowledge and network with others participating in the workshop.  So how do you get in on all the fun?  Simply email utwomenincinema@gmail.com to reserve your spot at this event.

DETAILS

Saturday, February 9th

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

@ 701 Tillery St., Picturebox Studio

Facebook Event

Workshop costs $5 for Women In Cinema members and $15 for non-members.  Lunch provided at workshop.  If you need transportation to and from the workshop, please email to let us know.

PLEASE BRING:

-Gloves to handle lights (if you have them)

-Something to write notes on

-Do not wear open toed shoes

Can't wait to see all your lovely faces there!

Art Department Panel Recap

November wrapped up our last panel of the semester, The Art Department Panel. This panel featured 3 well-known, incredibly sweet ladies from the Austin creative community. Check out our recap below and what each panelists had to say.

Top 3 Takeaways
1. BE NICE. BE RESPECTFUL!
2. Even in the creative, artsy department, organization is a requirement.
3. Thrift Town and Thrift Land are two of the best places to find treasures to make your set stand out.

Kari Perkins, a long-time costume designer, began her career by simply knowing how to sew. She jumped into the Austin community theater scene and soon after made her film debut with Dazed and Confused.  To this day, Kari still works with director Richard Linklater on many of his projects.  Her most challenging film experience to date? Working with 20 principle actors and 250 extras; all had 10 costume changes. We know what you're thinking, and yes, our jaw dropped too.  But she championed through with patience and teamwork: five people dressing extras, one person in the trailer, and three people dressing on set. Hats off to you, Kari!

Caroline, an MFA alum of The University of Texas at Austin, got her start in the fine arts world. She graduated from art school with a degree in photography and printmaking.  After attending graduate school at UT, she jumped into the Austin film scene and has since worked on films like Lovers of Hate (nominated for an Independent Spirit Award) and The Bounceback. Oh, and Kari gave a special shout out to Megan Gilbride (featured in our producing panel here) and Bryan Poyser for being such a great team to work with.  Caroline also shared some advice for students looking to gain more film experience: "If you admire someone's work, shoot them an email and ask to intern or work for them so you can see the department."

Yvonne, currently art director for the ABC Family Show The Lying Game, comes from a diverse background of architecture, dance, and set design.  Having worked both on film (Machete, Black Metal) and TV sets, she emphasised the differences between the pre-production process for film and TV.  Working on a TV set, Yvonne usually has 6 days for pre-production (sometimes less - yikes!), as opposed to on a film shoot where she has a longer pre-production period, usually 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the project.  Her advice for someone working in the art department?  “When going over budget, always communicate with the producer.”  We’re pretty sure the ladies from our producing panel would agree with that!

Dazed and Confused

Lovers of Hate

Machete

We want to give a big thanks to everyone who attended the Women In Cinema panels this semester.  We have great things planned for 2013 so keep an eye out. Cheers to the New Year!

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

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

Women In Cinema Workshop Recap

Thanks to everyone who came to the Camera, Lighting, and Sound Workshop this Saturday at Picturebox studio.  We hope you found each session hands on, informative, and fun.  This workshop could not have been successful without our pro session leaders Renée Stairs (Sound), Roshan Murthy (Camera), and Britta Lundin (Lighting)!

Renée giving the low down on lav mics

Audio wiz, Renée Stairs, took us through the basics of production sound.  We learned about XLR cables, different types of cord connectors, the best way to grab audio for a live concert, and the always tough-and-awkward job of correctly wrapping up an XLR cable.  It takes practice y’all, it takes practice.

UT Student Yamel testing out the HMC150

In the camera department, UT RTF graduate student Roshan Murthy covered the basics of a Panasonic HMC150, a camera that UT students can check out on campus.  Although sometimes confusing, we learned how shutter speed and aperture and frames per second all relate to each other.  If there’s one thing to take away from this session, it’s to always white balance the camera yourself.  If you don’t, you will be crushed when looking at your footage in post.  So don’t forget to bring white paper on your shoot, it’s important!

Setting up a Fresnel 650 Light

The lighting session, taught by UT RTF graduate student Britta Lundin, talked through the basic characteristics of lights: Intensity, Temperature, and Hard vs Soft.  Using still shots from The Third Man, When Harry Met Sally, and Mad Men (if you haven’t ever watched this, you seriously must start immediately), we recreated the lighting from each scene.  One important thing to remember: you must pay attention to not only what you are lighting, but the shadows you are creating.

Thank you again to our session leaders and good luck with your future projects & thesis films! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next meeting and panel on October 8th.  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.

Casting & Directing Actors Panel

Fall Semester is finally here and Women In Cinema will start off the year with a Casting & Directing Actors Panel.  And who is on this lovely panel, you ask?  Some of Austin's most accomplished and knowledgeable ladies.


Angela Rawna is best known for her role on NBC's Emmy award-winning drama Friday Night Lights.  Angela played Regina Howard, a drug addict mom of East Dillon’s star quarterback Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan).  Angela prepared for her meaty series recur role by checking herself into Austin Recovery, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center in Austin, TX where the series was shot. Angela’s compelling performance on Friday Night Lights grabbed the attention of the producers of the hit show Private Practice. Angela also landed a recur role on Parenthood also on NBC as therapist, Dr. Schecter. Angela recently teamed up again with Austin director Richard Linklater to film, Boyhood, a feature film where Angela plays opposite Patricia Arquette as her best friend.  Boyhood is a 12-year project about the actual “growing up” of a child and witnessing the changes of both him and his parents (Arquette and Ethan Hawk) as it is literally filmed each year.  Boyhood will be released in 2015.  Additionally, Angela has co-starred with Keanu Reeves in the Warner Brother’s sci-fi thriller, A Scanner Darkly now on DVD. Angela just completed filming a personal project, All from the Same Dust, a dramatic and suspenseful story that takes an unwavering look at racism at a time in our history when an African American has become the 44th President of the United States. Angela executive produced and co-stars in the film.

Kat Candler's award winning films have screened at Sundance, Los Angeles Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, SXSW, Slamdance, Florida Film Festival, Houston Museum of Modern Art, Chicago International Children's Film Festival, The National Institutes of Health and on PBS. Her teen thriller screenplay Love Me produced by Dolphin Entertainment and Anchor Bay Films will be released in 2013. She's currently in development on two feature films: the IFP Emerging Narrative participant, Nikki is a Punk Rocker and the Sundance Creative Producing Lab participant, Hellion. Candler is a film Lecturer at the University of Texas.

Beth Sepko is an Emmy award-winning casting director with 20 years expertise in the industry, now specializing in the casting of television series and feature films. Based in Texas, Beth has over 50 feature films under her belt and consistently works with local director Robert Rodriguez (Machete, Machete Kills, Predators, Grindhouse, Shorts, Sin City, and all 4 Spy Kids movies), Richard Linklater (Bernie, Fast Food Nation, A Scanner Darkly,his on-going 12 year project Boyhood and new hulu series Up to Speed), Mike Judge (Idiocracy, Office Space) and Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, The Two Bobs, When Angels Sing). In the last few years, Beth has been casting several television series including the continuation of Dallas, The Lying Game, Friday Night Lights, The Good Guys, Chase, Lone Star as well as pilots for GCB and My Generation. In 2007 Ms. Sepko was honored with the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Casting of Drama Series for the first season of Friday Night Lights and received nominations in 2008, 2009, and 2010 for consecutive seasons. Also in 2010, Beth received an additional Emmy nomination for the casting of the HBO film Temple Grandin.

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Heather Kafka was living above her mom’s hair salon, rollerskating the neighborhood, and acting in local theatre when she booked a job as an extra in a Coca-Cola commercial and earned $200.  She bought an Atari 2600 and began planning an acting career. She was six years old.  After high school, Heather moved to Los Angeles, graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and worked odd jobs from waitressing at the Hard Rock Café to cigarette girl at local clubs. But Austin always called her home. She would spend the next 20 years moving back and forth, torn between her love of home and her drive for a career in acting.  Over this time her resume grew.  She played “Chloe” on MTV’s first scripted series Austin Stories, guest starred on CSI, CSI N.Y., E.R., and House.  She played Dr. Emily Dawson on the Emmy awarded Huff and turned in a memorable comedic performance on the Wilson Brothers project, The Wendell Baker Story. But it was her role as demented sister to Leatherface in the 2003 remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre that pushed her farther.   In 2008, she found herself staring in fellow Austinite Bryan Poyser’s Lovers of Hate.  Most recently, she has worked on Spencer Parson's Saturday Morning Massacre, the Zellner Brothers Kid Thing, David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Geoff Marslett's Loves Her Gun, Yen Tan's Pit Stop, Bob Byington's Audition and Kat Candler's Black Metal.


The Casting & Directing Actors Panel is set for Monday, September 10th.  The Women In Cinema meeting is scheduled from 7:30-8:00 pm and the Panel will run from 8:00-9:30 pm.  For more panel details click here.

Austin Film Organizations Panel

Have you ever wondered about Austin Film Organizations in town - what goes on and who's running the show? Join Women In Cinema for our presentation of the ladies behind the Austin film scene. If you're interested in obtaining summer internships that will project your career forward, filmmaking grants, how to become a reader for the Austin Film Festival or just curious about what goes on in the Austin film scene, come to this panel. Leaders from the Texas Film Commission, the Austin Film Festival, the Austin Film Society, Femme Film Texas, and the Austin Film Meet will be in attendance!

Thursday April 12, 2012

Women In Cinema Meeting - 7pm

Austin Film Organizations Panel - 7:30pm - 9pm

at the UT Campus, CMA 3.124

Kimberly LeBlanc – Location Scout for the Texas Film Commission – Since 2009, Kim LeBlanc has been on staff at the Texas Film Commission helping to spread the good word about all of the wonderful resources available for creative industries in Texas. As a Location Scout, she works closely with Writers, Directors, Producers, Production Designers and Studio Executives, promoting Texas as a great destination for filmmaking, television production, commercials, music videos and still photography. Her travels have taken her to the far corners of the state and her efforts have been put forth on projects such as TOP CHEF TEXAS (2011), BERNIE (2010), NATURAL SELECTION (2010) and TRUE GRIT (2010), among many others. Prior to working at the Texas Film Commission, she has had the incredibly good fortune to work for the Austin Film Society, the Austin Film Festival and Troublemaker Studios, where she was on board as an Executive Office Assistant, Operations Assistant and Assistant to Director, Robert Rodriguez. She has donated her time and energy as a volunteer for SXSW Film Festival since 2009. Kim is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, where she double majored in Urban Studies and History and co-founded the university’s Film Studies minor program.

The Texas Film Commission is a state agency of Texas, under the oversight of the Governor of Texas. Its headquarters are in Suite 3.410 in the Texas Insurance Building in Downtown Austin.

Maya Perez - Conference Director of Austin Film Festival - Maya Perez is the Conference Director at the Austin Film Festival. Prior to joining the Festival in 2002, she was a literary agent with Trident Media Group and before that, with William Morris Agency, Inc., in New York. Perez received her Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College in 1993. She has just been accepted into the Michener Center for Writers’ MFA program at the University of Texas at Austin for Fall 2012.

The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries" It has a number of events and services for emerging and professional writers and filmmakers.

Agnes Varnum - Director of Marketing of the Austin Film Society - Agnes Varnum came to Austin from the New York City-area where she served as a marketing and publicity associate for Icarus Films, a 30-year-old documentary distribution company. Prior to that, she worked as the associate director for the Center for Social Media at American University, managing research, producing events and building the growing organization. Other projects include contributing to a variety of publications such as Tribeca Film Insitute’s Resources blog, indieWIRE, Sudance Intitute's DocSource, Doc It Out and IDA's Documentary magazine. She has served on programming committees for SILVERDOCS, Newport International Film Festival, IFP's Spotlight on Documentaries, AOL True Stories (now Snag Films) and most recently SXSW.

The Austin Film Society (AFS) is a non-profit film society based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1985 to exhibit independent, experimental, foreign and various other non-mainstream art films, the film society has grown from just film exhibition to fostering independent filmmaking in Texas and has served as a cornerstone in building the film industry in Austin. The film society also owns and maintains Austin Studios, hosts the annual Texas Film Hall of Fame gala, and oversees the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund grant program. The film society was founded by film director Richard Linklater, who currently serves on the board as artistic director. Other notable members on the board and advisory board include Tim McCanlies, Robert Rodriguez, Charles Burnett, Guillermo del Toro, Jonathan Demme, Mike Judge, John Sayles, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Stekler and Quentin Tarantino.

Michelle Voss - Executive Director of Femme Film Texas - As the founder and Executive Director of Moving Image Arts & Education, Michelle is the architect of the Femme Film Texas programs. A graduate of the Radio, Television, Film department at the University of Texas, Michelle won Best Documentary at EarthVision Film Festival for her short film, Velocity. Michelle received numerous funding awards to complete the film, including the Sustainable

Development Fund Film Grant. In addition to stewarding the Femme Film Texas programs, Michelle is currently working as a Development Associate at the University of Texas.

Femme Film Texas teaches filmmaking and media literacy to young women and girls, with a focus on serving economically disadvantaged youth. Each girl participating in the program receives hands-on instruction in the art of filmmaking, including screenwriting, cinematography, acting, directing and editing. Since 2007, more than five hundred girls have participated in the Femme Film Texas programs. Current program offerings include The Film Camp for Girls, The After School Film School and the Media Technology program at the Ann Richards School. Femme Film Texas is a project of Moving Image Arts & Education, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

H.Cherdon Bedford – Executive Director of the Austin Film Meet and Creative Superhero at Humblebee Media – For as long as she’s been, Creative Superhero H.Cherdon has demonstrated an exceptional aptitude for the creative arts. Her art and literature, stories and poems, have won her numerous awards and gained her national attention, especially for the children’s picture books she both writes and illustrates. Also a talented stage performer, she has appeared in more than 40 stage productions, two performing arts touring troupes, several short films and a few PSAs. Her producer powers include organization, presentation, big-picture perspective, unforgettable memory and maybe even a little obsessive-compulsive behavior sometimes. Driven and self-motivated, Cherdon excels as as artist, director, photographer, web designer, writer, actress, illustrator, producer, bookmaker, entrepreneur… and creative superhero. As the Executive Director for the Austin Film Meet, Cherdon reaches out to fellow filmmakers and artists. She thrives as a “handyman” for creative challenges, a real-life Creative Superhero for hire, using love and creativity to touch lives and projects. Cherdon is based in East Austin where she lives with her fish, four kitties and her partner Brandon Boggs.

Originally started as a Meetup.com group called Austin Filmmakers Meetup, and then Austin Film Meet, the Association of Independent filMedia has had several past lives. The group was first started by a man named simply “E” but when he had to move out of state due to a family emergency, Mike Rembis stepped up to the plate. He continued the group as a small social mixer. A little later, Mike also moved away from Austin leaving the group’s leadership to H.Cherdon Bedford, who immediately began making changes for the better. In just a few short months, she grew the mixer from a drinking social with a handful of people to a large community of power networkers. Since assuming the leadership role, our group has played host to a wide range of events servicing the local Austin film, video and new media community. For more than two years, we hosted weekly events on a wide variety of topics from Actors Showcases to Equipment Show and Tells to Guest Presentations to Reels Showcases and much more. Most recently, a new organization has grown out of the Austin Film Meet. The Association of Independent filMedia.