Up next this week is our Seattle Two-Part Party on 12/12/12. Join us this Wednesday for our Annual Industry Update and celebration with the community. We’ll announce the funding assistance recipients for the Innovation Lab that night too! More information on the evening here.
Following a whirlwind weekend, filled with passionate pitches, feedback sessions, and a much-needed reception, Washington Filmworks finally knows who will be awarded funding assistance from the first ever Film Cycle of the Filmworks Innovation Lab.
Washington Filmworks is pleased to announce the five semi-finalist filmmakers for the inaugural Film Cycle of the Innovation Lab. A jury of industry experts, representing all facets of pre-production, production, marketing and distribution chose the 5 semi-finalist filmmakers from a diverse collection of twenty-three quality applications for funding assistance.
Over the last few years the online retail giant Amazon has been experimenting with a controversial new business model for producing original content. Amazon Studios was created to gather scripts, test projects, and determine whether audiences found those to be commercially viable. The studio claims they offer opportunities for new voices and promote the platform as open to anyone. However opponents accuse Amazon of developing a system that takes advantage of green writers, holds their intellectual property hostage, and eventually strips them of valuable rights to their material.
Washington Filmworks is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has approved funding assistance for eight national commercials since the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program was renewed during the 2012 legislative session. These eight commercials spent an estimated $2.2M in Washington’s statewide economy in five short months. Production took place in diverse locations throughout Washington State, including Anacortes, Port Angeles, La Connor, and Seattle.
Washington Filmworks reached out to one of our incentive alumni Producers, Colin Plank, to pen a guest post about lessons learned through the process of making a feature. Colin is a Producer at Centripetal Films based in Seattle. His film, Eden, will be released in theaters in early 2013. Eden is his first feature film.
Next Tuesday, Nov. 6, we vote on several political offices and initiatives. There are many factors that can inform your vote for an elected official and we hope that a candidate’s support of your livelihood is one of them.
The industry has been buzzing this year about the growing sport of marathon television watching, popularly coined as binge viewing. Binge viewing is defined as consuming three or more episodes of a television series in one sitting.
Washington Filmworks invited Kathleen McInnis to pen a guest post designed to help filmmakers think strategically about working the film festival circuit. McInnis has guided films through their festival premieres at Toronto, Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Galway and San Sebastian film festivals among many others. She has been a festival programmer and director at such festivals as Seattle, Slamdance and Palm Springs ShortFest.
Word out of Los Angeles is that the film industry is packing its bags. According to Film L.A., the non-profit organization that coordinates permitting for entertainment shot on location in Los Angeles County, many filming categories they track are in decline, some experiencing severe losses.
