Discover the ins & outs of the TX Moving Image Industry Incentive Program & building the biz in Texas.

Join this open forum for producers, directors, actors and crew. Learn about the new incentives for growing work in Film, Commercial Advertising, Corporate Film, Video Gaming, & New Media. Find out how the new incentives have impacted Texas production, who’s using the incentives, and how home grown creativity can benefit from the new program.

When: Sunday, July 12, 2009

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Where: Congregation Beth Israel

3901 Shoal Creek Blvd.

Austin, TX 78756

(512) 454-6806

Panel includes:

· Bob Hudgins—Director, Texas Film Commission

· Linda Dowell—Regional Branch Division Exec Director, SAG

· TJ Jones— Texas Regional Director, AFTRA

· Craig Berlin—Business Manager, Pro-Tape Systems

· Ken Rector—Business Manager, IATSE Local 484

· Tom Booker—Moderator, Austin Conservatory

Cost: FREE

Please RSVP to Sheila Cooper at: (972)361-8185 OR (800) 724-0767, option 7 or  sheila.cooper at sag.org

Below is the list of candidates for the six (6) open At-Large positions on TXMPA’s Board. Please take some time before voting begins to review this list and become familiar with the candidates. An e-mail with pictures of the candidates, their bios, and endorsements for these candidates will be placed on the TXMPA website  www.txmpa.org), and distributed to the general membership on Thursday, June 18; if you would like to have your endorsement included, please e-mail TXMPA at  info at txmpa.org no later than Wednesday, June 17.

1) Craig Berlin
2) Garry Potts
3) Jeanette Scott
4) Jeff Horny
5) J. Schuh
6) Justin Muller
7) Larry Cashion
Linda Alcazar Jurado
9) Michael Druck
10) Rick Olmos
11) Robert Curlin
12) Ron Bush
13) Will Raymond

Online voting for these positions will begin at 12:01 AM on Monday, June 22 and will continue until 11:59 PM on Thursday, June 25. Just a reminder: online voting will be handled by Ballot Bin  www.ballotbin.com); as a precaution, please “whitelist” Ballot Bin. This is simply done by adding their e-mail address ( notices at ballotbin.com) to your contact list, so that when voting begins, their e-mail will come directly to your inbox and not to your spam folder.

To be eligible to vote for At-Large members, you must be a paid-up member of TXMPA (at the full or supporting level) by 5:00 PM, Friday, June 19. If you are unsure of your current membership status, please contact your Regional Representative for clarification [or send an e-mail to  membership at txmpa.org]. You may find more information about your Region, and contact information for your Regional Representative, at TXMPA’s website.

Results of online voting, along with the three (3) newly elected Regional Representatives and their respective Alternates, will be announced at our Statewide Annual Meeting, to be held at Texas State University in San Marcos on Saturday, June 27. For more information on the meeting, please visit our website.

As always, thank you for all you do for the moving image industry here in Texas, and we’ll see you on the 27th!

On June 27, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra & Shelley Schriber will officially take over as Central Region board representative & alternate, respectively. I look forward to their input, energy and organizational capabilities as we move forward in our mission – growing our membership, establishing firm financial footing, lobbying the legislative body of Texas to bring work home.

I have spent the last several months in Oklahoma, on a feature film set in Texas. We are filming here for one reason. Legislative incentives. The Oklahoma state legislature has just signed into law a bill granting a rebate of 38% to film productions, and believe me, the studios are lining up and salivating. Never mind that there is NO crew base, NO infrastructure, NO soundstage, NO office facilities. We are based in an abandoned department store. The toilets work intermittently. Next to my desk, the water flows down the pipe each time someone flushes the toilet. But the people are lovely, the locations are good, and the community is eager & ready to build up the crew base and infrastructure to make this a truly competitive destination.

This story is writ large across the country. Incentive legislation is the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR in drawing film production to any state today. Witness Michigan! They are building one of the biggest sound stages in the country. New Mexico, as we all know, is now firmly ensconced as a production destination, growing from nothing to the powerhouse it is today in a few short years. The main, the only, reason they have been able to accomplish this is the incentive package offered by the state of New Mexico. The single purpose of the TXMPA is to change this imbalance. The biggest lure, the most important factor in bringing back our jobs, is legislative action. That is our goal.

The TXMPA at large elections begin next week. I hope all central region members will vote for our proposed slate:
Craig Berlin
Rick Olmos
Jeanette Scott

We want to have as big a voice as possible from the central region as we move forward on our quest.

Thanks to all of you for letting me represent you. We have made great strides. Now, we must take the next two years to build our membership, raise money, establish a permanent office, and muster forces for the next legislative session. Many people have been out of work. Frustration levels are high. I have been forced to leave home and family for work. Nothing does more to change the equation than legislative action. In 2011, the battle begins all over again. Nothing is automatically renewed. Let’s all band together and come back bigger and stronger, with one voice, to insure the future of the film industry in Texas.

I ask you for your vote, your support, and your time and effort to build TXMPA into a force to be reckoned with.

Respectfully yours,

Jeanette Scott, outgoing board rep for Central Region

My name is Jamie Blankenship. I am working on a community filmmaking project called the Two-week Turnaround Tour, or T3. Thousands of aspiring and professional filmmakers will come together in 14 US cities over 7 months to write, shoot, and screen a short film in the span of two weeks in each city.

We’re coming to Austin next and would love it if you could help us spread the word. All levels of experience are welcome. We believe everyone has something to offer the collaborative art of filmmaking! Austin will be our 4th city! We will be kicking off T3 Austin May 15th. For more information, you can visit our site at http://filmblazer.com/t3 and feel free to contact me anytime at  Jamie at filmblazer.com

Sincerely,

Jamie Blankenship

Here’s some info I copied from the really cool T3 site. This is just a tease…there’s lot’s more to see on the T3 site, so please check it out. Looks like fun to me.

What is the Two-week Turnaround tour?
The Two-week turnaround tour or T3 is a community filmmaking project. Filmblazer will visit 14 cites over 7 months. We will write, shoot, and screen a short film in each city in just two-weeks.

How does it all work?
Josh and Jamie get in an RV with all their Film equipment. We show up to a city and are greeted by our City Leader. We then have a kick off event, bringing together everyone who wants to help with the film. We work together to write a sweet film, shoot it, edit it, export it. We take a nap. We premiere the film, broadcasting live. We get in RV and drive to the next city. Repeat 14 time.
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What is a City Leader?
The city leader is the local liaison for each city and will be our go-to person throughout production. The city leader needs to be a motivated, organized, film enthusiast that will help us build the city teams, scout locations, plan the premiere event, and basically be responsible for making sure Josh and Jamie get to keep their sanity. If you are interested in being a city leader please contact us!
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What can I do to help make a short film?
This is a wide open question. Do you have access to a coffee shop? Do you have a ton of junk aka props? Can you make costumes? Are you really good with makeup? Do you like feeding people? We want everyone to bring something to the film because everyone has something to offer. Join a city and tell us what you can do. Plus we welcome people that can write, edit, act, light, you know normal film stuff

Is this the contract we want and need? No. However, after a year of on and off negotiations, this is the contract we’re stuck with and, given the overall economic climate, this contract will pass. At least we got two year expiration that will give the various guilds the opportunity to work together next time and hopefully improve the pitiful compensation package that this agreement establishes for new media. Time will tell, of course, but those of us who’ve been around the block a few times have little reason for optimism that the AMPTP will give significant improvements going forward. Our best hope there is if SAG, AFTRA and WGA can work together in two years. Each day seems to bring a new announcement concerning new media company alliances that will continue to alter the current product distribution landscape. Right now, actors are set to get the short end of the stick. In two years we should have ample documentation to make a strong case for significant improvements to this just approved agreement.

And now some really good news…

TXMPA effort pays off with improved film incentive package… gov will sign into law and now it HAS TO BE FUNDED…

And more good news…

SAG and AFTRA successfully negotiated a new commercials contract so no negative excitement on that front…things are looking very positive for resurgence of Texas film business…Great way to start a new week!

Here’s the email SAG members got concerning the new theatrical contract:

Dear Screen Actors Guild member:

We are pleased to inform you that the National Board of Directors today voted to approve the tentative TV/Theatrical deal and recommend it to the members.

Please see the following announcement.

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES TENTATIVE TELEVISION AND MOTION PICTURE CONTRACTS AND RECOMMENDS RATIFICATION

Los Angeles (April 19, 2009) – The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors today voted 53.38 percent to 46.62 percent to approve and recommend to members, new, two-year successor agreements to the 2005 Producer-Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic Agreement and 2005 Screen Actors Guild Television Agreement.

The proposed agreement, covering actors in motion pictures and television delivers 3.5% effective annual increases comprised of a 3% wage increase and a .5% pension and health contribution increase upon ratification, and a 3.5% wage increase in year two.

The board passed the below motion shortly after 4:00 p.m. today:

It was moved and seconded that the National Board directs the Interim National Executive Director to send the tentative agreement between the Producers represented by the AMPTP and the Screen Actors Guild for successor agreements to the 2005 Producer–Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic Agreement and the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Television Agreement to the membership for ratification, with a recommendation from the Board to vote ‘Yes.’
Approved: 53.38% –46.62%

“I urge members to carefully review both the pros and cons in the referendum materials, and exercise their right to vote,” said Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg.

Interim National Executive Director David White said: “We are pleased that Screen Actors Guild members will soon be voting on a deal for television and motion pictures. We’re eager to get our members back to work and to focus now on the challenges ahead, particularly on initiating a comprehensive effort to thoughtfully plan for the future.

Our negotiating committee, task force and professional staff have worked countless hours on this agreement over the last year. On behalf of the National Board, I thank them for their time, commitment and expertise.”

Chief Negotiator John McGuire stated: “This tentative agreement delivers increased contributions to the SAG pension plan, increased minimums, a significant gain in background actor numbers from 50 to 55 over the term of the contract, and it tracks the new media provisions achieved by other entertainment industry unions. The term of the agreement puts SAG in sync with the other unions, and does not include the extended term recently proposed by the AMPTP.”

Provisions of the proposed deal include:
• A two-year term of agreement concluding June 30, 2011.
• Effective annual increases comprised of 3.0% in wage increases and .5% in pension contributions upon ratification, and a 3.5% wage increase one year following ratification.
• A new media structure that tracks those achieved by other industry unions, resulting in gains for actors including:
o Jurisdiction on all derivative, made-for new media productions; automatic jurisdiction on all high-budget, original, made-for new media productions; plus jurisdiction on low budget original, new media productions that employee at least 1 covered performer.
o Residuals for exhibition of TV and Theatrical motion pictures on consumer pay platforms (Electronic Sell Through) at a greater percentage than those paid for DVD distribution.
o Residuals for ad-supported streaming of feature films and television programs.
o Residuals for derivative new media programs.
• Additional 5 covered background actors in feature films. From 50 to 53 covered background positions upon ratification of the contract, and from 53 to 55 covered background positions in year 2. Adds 1 covered background position in TV, from 19 to 20, upon ratification.
• Increased compensation for guest star premium from 7.5% to 10%.
• Increased trailer money break from $2,500 to $3,000, or more per week.
• Increased overtime money break for three-day performers from $2,700 to $3,000.
Ratification ballots will be mailed to eligible SAG members in early May, with an expected return date at the end of the month. Tabulation will occur immediately upon the conclusion of balloting.

Bargaining for a successor agreement to the 2005 SAG TV/Theatrical Contract began on April 15, 2008.