Digital Filmmaking Workshop announces guest lecturers

[Our friends Bill Millios and Marc Vadeboncoeur at the Digital Filmmaking Workshops have sent out a press release announcing guest lecturer for their upcoming workshops running April 5-6 and 12-13 in Manchester.]

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Digital Filmmaking Workshops has announced the guest lecturers for their upcoming extensive all-day seminars on Independent Film Production, held inside the Manchester production studio of Back Lot Films, located at 105 Faltin Drive in Manchester, N.H. The schedule is as follows:

APRIL 5-6, 2008, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Producing, Marketing, and Screening Your Digital Film

APRIL 12, 2008, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Advanced Field Production: Creating A Great Scene

APRIL 13, 2008, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Advanced Post Production: Editing & DVD Authoring

The guest lecturers include
Matthew Newton (Film Specialist for the NH Film and Television Office), Jeff Rapsis (Associate Publisher for HippoPress) and actresses Julia Radochia, Clare Callaghan and Britt Hatch.

Matthew Newton is the Film Specialist managing the New Hampshire Film and Television Office in Concord. He is a 1997 graduate of the Film Production program at Keene State College in Keene, NH, where he returned to teach film production in 2003 and 2004. He has also worked as a Production Coordinator and Editor at C.2K Entertainment, a commercial production company in Los Angeles, CA and in a variety of capacities on feature film and television projects on the west coast.

Jeff Rapsis is a New Hampshire native who wrote and performed the score for the feature-length film Dangerous Crosswinds. He regularly composes scores for classic silent films, most recently creating and performing music for the newly restored Lessons in Love (1921) as part of the New York Public Library's 2008 "Meet the Music Makers" series. Rapsis is co-owner of HippoPress, the weekly arts and entertainment newspaper of southern New Hampshire, for which he covers classical music and serves as Associate Publisher. As a journalist, Rapsis won first place honors in 2004 for the New Hampshire Press Association in two categories: investigative reporting and business writing.

Julia Radochia, an Arlington , MA native, acted in New England , New York and Los Angeles for several years, with roles in films such as Bleached, Everybody Does It, and Old Man Dogs. In 2001, she enrolled in the Cinema program at LA City College, earning a Women in Film scholarship and certificate in Cinema production. There, she directed award winning short films such as Eddie's Winning Date and Jimmy's House of Hugs. Her most recent short, I Just Want to Eat My Sandwich has screened and won awards at several film festivals since last July.

Britt Hatch is an art teacher and a grandmother, making her film debut in Dangerous Crosswinds. Her employment history includes resort management, radio broadcasting and used car sales. She and her daughter Teri were intrigued by the Nashua Telegraph article, which invited interested actors to audition for roles in Dangerous Crosswinds. Another of Britt’s recent projects is the writing and illustrating of children’s books, based on the adventures of Pearl The Wonder Dog.

Clare Callaghan is a stage trained actor, with a concentration on Shakespeare and the classics. She has appeared regionally in a variety of media, including exhibit videos for the Manchester Historic Association, and Manchester Stories, produced and directed by Bill Millios. Clare is currently working with New Art Theatre, bringing critically acclaimed productions of both old and modern classics to New England stages.

From the crew of
Dangerous Crosswinds, Old Man Dogs and the upcoming Death & Glory the Digital Filmmaking Workshops have been created by Bill Millios of Back Lot Films & Marc Vadeboncoeur of Goodheart Media Services with a philosophy towards instructing students how they can achieve their goals with a ‘no-nonsense do-it-yourself’ approach.

“We’re very proud to again announce the lineup of guest speakers for this year’s workshops,” said Millios. “They are an exceptionally experienced group of film & theatre professionals who add a critical dynamic to our workshops”.

Attendees will receive valuable insight into the creative, technical, and marketing strategies essential for filmmaking. Small class size, practical demonstrations, and a wide range of topics will give students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and put it to immediate use. Testimonials from past workshops have been posted on the www.digitalfilmmakingworkshops.com website.

In 2005
Dangerous Crosswinds screened in close to twenty locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, including the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H., Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, N.H. and the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. Commentators praised the film as an outstanding example of independent film made outside traditional cinema circles. DVDTalk.com awarded the film a four-star rating, New Hampshire Magazine called Dangerous Crosswinds “provocative – a film which explores the light and dark sides of human nature,” John Clayton of the New Hampshire Union Leader wrote that “this is honest and brave filmmaking,” while Mike Sullivan in the Portsmouth Herald described Dangerous Crosswinds as being “independent filmmaking in its purest form.”

Registration for the two-day seminar is $347 and both Advanced Workshops are priced at $197. Seats for these popular workshops fill up fast, so be sure to register early. Registrations received by March 15, 2008 will get 15% off the standard workshop fee. In addition, attendees will receive complimentary copies of the
Digital Filmmaking Workshops Handbook, a DVD of Dangerous Crosswinds and the Discmakers Ultimate Guide to Releasing Your Film on DVD. For more information please call Marc Vadeboncoeur at Goodheart Media Services at 1-888-408-2365 or visit www.digitalfilmmakingworkshops.com.

NH Produced Web-only TV Series Looks to "Interact"

[This press release came to us from the folks at "Gravityland".]

Press Contact: John Herman, Show Creator, http://www.gravityland.com (603) 380-6721 or john.c.herman@gmail.com

NH Produced Web-only TV Series Looks to "Interact"
What do a purse thief, a pop star, and a door-to-door salesman have in common? They are all characters in Gravityland, a web-only TV series debuting with two new episodes March 3rd at www.Gravityland.com. The weekly series of five-minute episodes weaves an interactive tale shot entirely in New Hampshire with a cast of local talent. According to show creator John Herman, there is great potential in a web-only TV series. "The Internet provides local actors and writers the opportunity to attract and interact with a global audience."

As the series progresses, Gravityland will explore interactivity through live web video events, cast and crew meet-ups, user-generated media challenges, and an episode written entirely by viewers. When the first season concludes, the audience will even decide which characters continue into the second season.


"Gravityland is viewable on demand. Viewers can interact with the cast and crew. They can even influence the story with their own creativity," says Herman. He hopes the show will be an exciting alternative to traditional TV viewing. "While there is the option to experience the show passively, I hope more people are inspired to interact. Gravityland may be a look at the future of entertainment."

NH Filmmaker Roundtable Scheduled for March 5

The next New Hampshire Filmmaker Roundtable, presented by the New Hampshire Film and Television Office, will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 from 12-3 p.m. in the Mountain View Room (3rd Floor) of the L.P. Young Student Center at Keene State College in Keene, NH.

In addition to updates from the New Hampshire Film and Television Office, our discussion will focus on how our industry can tap into the resources within film and video education programs around the state and how the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire has been, and continues to be, a hot spot for creativity.

Industry professionals as well as current and prospective media students are invited to attend this networking event as we will also tour the new Media Arts Building on the Keene State College campus. The Film Studies, Graphic Design, Communication, and Journalism Departments are now housed in the building renovated specifically to nourish creative interaction between these disciplines.

The $3.3 million project rehabbed the 27,500 square feet of open space created when the old dining hall was gutted. The Burt Hill, Inc., design team emphasized open community spaces and a techy look that includes open ceilings, brightly colored panels alternating with black support beams, lots of glass, and an entry with plasma TVs and data projection displays of student work.

Film editing labs, a fully equipped television production studio, temperature-controlled film archives, and state-of-the-art writing and graphic design facilities are shared by all three programs. Students have been involved in all stages – providing input on furniture, designing the departmental logos that hang as banners on the building, and creating the art displayed on panels and projected by gobo lights in the entryway.

The New Hampshire Filmmaker Roundtable is a lunch-hour gathering of the state's film industry professionals, amateurs and students. Attendees are encouraged to come B.Y.O.L. (Bring Your Own Lunch!) Members of New Hampshire's film industry are encouraged to RSVP by Monday, March 3 via e-mail at film@nh.gov or by calling (603) 271-2220. For directions to Keene State College and the L.P. Young Student Center, visit http://www.keene.edu/aboutksc/directions.cfm.

Manchester Monarchs Seeks Video Coordinator

The Monarchs are seeking to fill the position of Video Coordinator. Responsibilities include a lead role in production of video/graphic content, game-day management of video staff, maintain control room and production equipment and work with Game Operations Manager in production of non-Monarchs events. Two years experience in video production environment preferred. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Mail, or email resume and cover letter to: Manchester Monarchs c/o Human Resources 555 Elm St. Manchester, NH 03101.

Email: dsteffen@manchestermonarchs.com
Website: http://www.manchestermonarchs.com

New Hampshire's Hatchling Studios Welcomes New President

[Received this press release today from our friends at Hatchling Studios...]

Mark Samber Joins Hatchling Studios To Bring Focus and Strategic Growth To Premier Animation and New Media Studio North of Boston


PORTSMOUTH, NH – Hatchling Studios, a leading interactive agency, animation studio and award winning content creator, announces that Mark Samber, formerly Managing Director of Wunderkind Studios, has joined the company as President and will report directly to Marc Dole, Founder, CEO and Chief Creative Officer.

Samber brings 14 years of experience as a leader in sales management and strategic marketing and will oversee all aspects of the company from client acquisition and retention to internal operations and client strategy, allowing Hatchling founder Marc Dole to focus exclusively on driving the company’s great creative services.

“We’re very excited to bring Mark on board. He has a deep level of industry knowledge and unique experience in building a world-class creative services organization, from the ground up. During Mark’s tenure at Wunderkind Studios, he achieved a delicate balance between doing work for great clients, hiring and managing talented artists and developers, and building enterprise value. We felt he was a perfect fit to help guide Hatchling’s continued growth and evolution as a leading animation & interactive studio,” noted Dole.

Samber has spent his career in both client and agency side roles. Most recently Samber was Sales Director for Sonic Foundry, Inc (NASDAQ: SOFO), a provider of Rich Media software, where he was responsible for the Northeast account team’s direct sales and channel marketing activities. Prior to joining Sonic Foundry, Samber was Director of Channel Marketing at Meetinghouse Data Communications in Portsmouth.

“I’ve watched Hatchling for a long time and I’ve always admired their work and their ability to sustain a great creative environment over the years. “Dole has created a gem, and I know that together we can bring a level of client service, creative vision, and strategic execution to that is expected at the world’s leading corporations. I look forward to the opportunity to do that,” Samber said.

Additionally, Samber has extensive entrepreneurial experiences under his belt. In 2003, co-founded and served as Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for NextChoice, an angel-funded restaurant CRM and self-service software vendor. He was responsible for developing the business plan, creating the product strategy, and building relationships with key channel partners. Prior to that Mark was a co-founder and Managing Director of Wunderkind Studios, a boutique Interactive agency. While there Samber played a principal role in delivering the firm’s high-touch consulting and application development services. He successfully exited the business, selling the company to Boston-based design agency Alchemy Creative in 2003.

Samber began his corporate career in 1994, as a consultant at the Winthrop Group, a boutique consulting firm based in Cambridge, MA after earning a PhD in History and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. During this time, Samber had unprecedented access to and wrote about senior management at some of the world’s most storied institutions, including the legendary buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Northwest Airlines, Raytheon, The Harvard Business School, Comcast, and others.

Samber earned his BS and MS in Applied History from Carnegie Mellon University. He has been an invited industry speaker and panelist at numerous juried events and has published on a variety of business topics including regional innovation and economic development. Samber was awarded U.S. Patent# 6940393 for his work on NextChoice’s CRM technology.

About Hatchling Studios:

Hatchling is an award-winning interactive, animation, and content creation company located in the scenic heart of Portsmouth, NH. With clients like MTV, NBC and ESPN to brands like Reebok, Charmin, Timberland and PC Connection. Their 10 time award winning CGI short “The Toll” has been at close to 60 film festivals.

Hatchling has developed over 40 properties for film and television. Their animated web series “Endurance Challenge” stars the voices of Billy West (Ren & Stimpy) and April Stewart (South Park). Episode 1 of the series has been had 500,000 viewers in the first 2 months online and written up by wired as “The Geekiest Geeks in Geekdom”. Episode 2 has been to 8 film festivals and won 2 best of awards at the Phoenix ComicCon.

www.hatchling.com

New Hampshire Appeals to Independent Moviemakers





Speaking of MovieMaker Magazine...


New Hampshire has been getting some nice press in MovieMaker, as of late. Here's a write-up that appeared on their website this week.
 
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