We’ve been hosting investor pitch meetings in an effort to take See No Evil to another level.  The presentations have benefited greatly from the opportunity to take the visitors on a tour of our studio–a definite feather in the cap. 

What this amounts to is nothing more than a slight delay in our shooting schedule.  These meetings will not in any way derail SNE from happening.  We should have an announcement regarding the new shooting schedule around the first of the year.  SNE will definitely shoot in the first quarter of 2010–hopefully the beginning of February.  The opportunity to get some additional funding for this project was too good to pass up.  The extra funding will buy us time–in the way of an extended shooting schedule.  Because we’re confident in the quality of motion picture we can and will deliver, we decided it was absolutely to our advantage to be able to take the entire project to another level by having more time to spend getting the shots and performances we want.

More updates soon.

This is a smart decision for a lot of reasons–not the least of which is that we have found ourselves presented with the opportunity to get outside funding for this project.  By giving ourselves this breather and focusing our attention in the meantime on securing additional funding, we can make sure that this project is successful in every way possible.

As much as everyone wants to see things change overnight, I have preached relentlessly that our objective must be long-range and focused on laying the foundation properly.  That means that these first few projects need to be excellent.  Giving ourselves the additional two months to prepare will help give us the greatest chance for our first feature-length project to be a home run .

While the lack of cats those last four days benefitted us, I can’t help but think that we also benefitted from the fact that the students were definitely finding their groove.  Every day was one more day of experience with what to do and not do, and the students grew increasingly confident and comfortable at making things happen.  In fact, Director of Photography Dave Insley even let the students who assisted with the camera department all week operate the camera for the final few pickup shots.  One of the students later acknowledged to me just how exciting that was for her.  She called her parents immediately after we wrapped to tell them the great news.

Obviously, such opportunities are one of the key components of the Production Fund from the S.C. Film Office and the overall mission of Emergent Films.  When we begin shooting See No Evil next month, we will once again focus our efforts on producing an entertaining film that also serves to help grow the crew base in S.C.

This process so far has definitely been an adjustment for me.  I’m a very hands-on director–writing, camera, directing, editing.  I love to do it all.  But in order to train the students how things work on a Hollywood set, I’ve had to hang back and let them and the department heads take care of their specific assignments on set. 

The director’s job is ultimately to weave the elements together to tell a story.  That means knowing what you need to shoot and working with the actors to get their performances just right to serve the story.  Since I haven’t been setting up lights or operating the camera, my mind has been completely free to direct the actors, and because the actors have been so talented, I’ve been more free to focus on the story.  I’ve pretty much got the movie half-edited in my brain already.  I regularly find myself walking up and down the hallways looking for some way to be productive, but alas, it’s “for the children” that I refrain from getting involved in the setups.

One quick note…  I want to thoroughly thank the S.C. Film Commission for the Production Grant program.  Without the program, Saying Goodbye would still be just a nice short story instead of a wonderful short film.  By combining this project and See No Evil back-t0-back, we’re able to give Emergent Films a thorough trial run that will enable us to iron out the kinks in the system for the full launch in 2010.  The Production Grant provides an opportunity to students that didn’t exist when I was in school.  We view the Production Grant and Emergent Films as brothers in the effort to grow and train the next generation of filmmakers here in S.C.

Working with students from U.S.C. and Trident Tech has been quite smooth.  Despite the early days and long hours, the students have worked hard and everyone has had a fantastic attitude.  I’ll also add that Agape Senior Care and the residents there have been as cooperative and pleasant as we could’ve ever hoped for.  For the amount of invasion that we have imposed upon them, they have been nothing but gracious.

Creatively, our actors have been phenomenal.  Rebecca Koon, Edith Ivey, Mary Elizabeth Cobb, and Michael Scialabba are all talented professionals.  As much as I’d like to take credit, any sensible director realizes that great actors can make him look like a genius.  Dave Insley–our Director of Photography (most recently of HBO’s The Wire)–is easy to work with and very clear on how to get the shots I’m looking for.  We’ve done quite a bit of on-the-fly composition (time, logistics, and cats often make you deviate from your carefully crafted storyboards), and Dave and I have adjusted and collaborated well together.  We even gained ground on some of our feline setbacks this afternoon.

Tomorrow is another long day with a 7 am call time.  It’s not like I’m tired orrrrr annnyhydhalkzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=79159&catid=35

“What began last year with the opening of Genesis Studios continues here today with the announcement of Emergent Films,” says Springs.  “We are committed to building a motion picture industry in this state one brick at a time.  Had someone begun this sort of process years ago, the film industry would be alive and kicking in South Carolina.  We at Genesis and Emergent Films want to make sure that 5 years from now producers, writers, directors, and every crew position is better off than they are now.”

In attendance were local and state elected officials, including House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, Representative Mac Toole, Cayce Mayor Elise Partin, and Film Commission Director Jeff Monks, U.S.C. students, production professionals, musicians, actors and actresses, and more.

The idea for Emergent Films began two years ago when Springs, Mark Ellis (the premiere sports coordinator working in films today), and Les Carroll (the Public Relations director at McEntire Air National Guard Base and a published author and screenwriter) got together to discuss ways of creating more filmmaking opportunities for South Carolina.  The result is what Carroll calls a win-win for everyone involved.  “We want to see experienced professionals in the state having opportunities to work year round, while also working as mentors to college students and recent graduates so that they can become the filmmakers of tomorrow.”

While Springs and Carroll are spearheading the venture, Ellis serves on the Board of Advisors.

“When the debate over tax incentives came to a head, we knew that Emergent Films was moving in the right direction,” says Springs.  “For years, S.C. has been a favored destination for Hollywood.  No other state can boast our diversity of geography, terrain, and culture within such an economically compact space.  But for far too long, we’ve been accused of not having a sufficient crew base to fully staff Hollywood projects when they come to town.  Although we don’t necessarily subscribe to that characterization, we want to make certain that it fades over time.”

A few years back, S.C. had some of the best tax incentives in the country for film production, but when out-of-state projects kept overlooking in-state crew to staff their films, the Department of Commerce slashed the incentives and the flow of projects slowed significantly.

Emergent Films consists of two components:  Emergent Foundation and Emergent Films.  The Foundation is the non-profit portion that focuses on raising funds for the educational process of Emergent while Emergent Films recruits investors to fund each individual project.  Each year, 2-3 short genre films and one feature-length, family-friendly film will be produced using experienced professionals as paid department heads while students train under them during a preparatory boot camp and the actual on-set experience that each film project provides.

“Over time,” says Springs, “we will grow the crew base by allowing our most talented crew to remain in the state and earn a living year round while training students to become a part of the process.  This venture involves the participation of industry professionals from across the state, working together to lay the foundation for meaningful, stable progress toward the establishment of an indigenous filmmaking industry.”

This venture will be launched with the production of two projects to be produced back-to-back in October and November:  Saying Goodbye and See No Evil.  The short film Saying Goodbye, written and produced by siblings Brian and Jocelyn Rish, is a 2009 winner of a Production Grant from the S.C. Film Commission, produced in conjunction with the University of South Carolina, Trident Tech, and their students.  See No Evil is a feature-length thriller to be shot entirely on Soundstage A at Genesis Studios and also involves student participation as part of Emergent Films’ job training program. 

“The most incredible part of this entire two-year process,” says Springs, “has been the willingness of so many talented people to get on board and say ‘let’s do it.’  We spelled out a step-by-step plan to move forward, that does require action, but doesn’t require miracles, and it’s made sense to people.  Emergent Films is not about Genesis Studios, it’s about S.C. having the long-range vision to lay a foundation, build upon it, and show the rest of the country just how special we can be.  No more talking about.  It’s time for Action, Y’all.”

Our first training session focused on chain of command and on-set etiquette.  Part of gaining confidence in your ability to contribute is also in knowing what NOT to do.  We drilled the students on DOs and DON’Ts in an effort to remove some of the fear of screwing up.  Fortunately, on a film set, most crew positions have very specific parameters.  Learning what to do and what not to do is made easier by knowing the position and department in which you’ll be working and learning the ropes for that department alone.

Our second session focused on equipment and how to actually be active and involved on set.  To “outsiders”, a lot of the things we production folks use on set actually have some screwball names–apple boxes, knuckles, griffs, scrims, gobos, and so on.  The students got a good look at most of the types of gear they’ll be handling during production. 

The students seem eager to participate and eager to get on set and make it all happen.  If everything ultimately goes as planned, these students will one day be working alongside on us rather than training under us.

I had high hopes for this project from conception, but seeing some of the more critical scenes coming to life, I have no doubt that viewers will leave this film quite unsettled.  Only 7 weeks left until principal photography–and that’s sandwiched around Saying Goodbye, of course.  So the next month-and-a-half will truly work us to the brink.  I can’t wait!