The video played on MTV, and is now available on Yahoo! Music.

So I had the opportunity to Gaff a couple of music videos last month, and it occurred to me that I should be sharing more of these experiences through my blog, so here goes.

It was a four day shoot with 2 days for the Serius Jones video, and 2 days for the Redskin video. We were shooting on 35mm Vision 2 stock, and lighting setups ran the gammut.

I’ve done lighting for a few videos before, but I had never had the opportunity to do lighting for Rap videos. Here’s what I learned.

1. You need lot’s of scantily clad women
2. You need a charismatic rapper
3. Interesting locations
4. A DP whose willing to strap his ass to a helicopter
5. Some good running shoes incase someone starts shooting

Now I would have thought in the city of Seattle that you were more likely to hear gun shots at a peace rally than during a music video shoot, but apparently somebody took the term “shoot” a little too literally.

As far as I know, no one was hurt, and luckily we were on the last shot of the day so packing up and leaving were no big deal.

I’ll post more when I’ve seen how the videos come together.

Local Sightings is Northwest Film Forum’s annual showcase of current narrative, documentary and experimental film by Northwest artists. The week long festival also features panel discussions, historic NW films, a filmmaker lounge, a stellar opening night party, and juried cash awards for a winning short and feature film! This fall, the festival will take place October 5-10. Submit your work by downloading the submission form from our website: (www.nwfilmforum.org/sightings.php) and send us your screener copy on VHS or DVD. The deadline for submission is July 16.

Jury prizes include a heap of cash and a theatrical run for best feature, and just a heap of cash for best short.

Previous jurors have included Ted Hope (producer, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, THUMBSUCKER), Richard Pena (Program Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center, NY Film Festival), and Michelle Satter (founder, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program).

Films of any length and genre, finished since January 2006 and directed by a Pacific Northwest resident are eligible.

Northwest Production Forums

“How do I sell the movie?” - A successful commercial film project needs to be well packaged with a plan in place for selling it to a financier, getting it to the industry and reaching an audience. In this series of forums, successful film producers, financiers and distributors will share wisdom and insights on how to get a movie sold.

Saturday

Forum 1 –Reaching an Audience
Saturday, June 9 10:00AM, NWFF

How do buyers decide what acquisitions to make and how do you position a film for sale? What do you need to know about your film’s audience? What does every film need? Are buyers looking for marketing plans from filmmakers? Are there any rules or do you just make the film you want to make and see what happens?

Guest: Sarah Lash, Cinetic Media

Forum 2 –Getting a Film to the Industry
Saturday, June 9 12:30 PM, NWFF Cinema 1

A moderated discussion with producers who specialize in packaging films for distributors. Learn the right moves to make once the film has wrapped including how to package a film, develop marketing plans and make decisions about festival submission.

Guests:
Larry Estes
Additional OOT Guest TBD
Moderated by Geoff Miller

Sunday

Forum 3 – Attracting the Financier
Sunday, June 10 10:00 AM, NWFF Cinema 1

What are film financers looking for in a project? How should you package your film to make it interesting to a production company or film financier? What are the incentives for investors you need to highlight? Learn from the experts who can provide insight into finding financing both locally and nationally and how to close the deal.

Guests: Hal “Corky” Kessler, Lance Rosen, Tom Gorai (ShadowCatcher Ent)

Forum 4 – Selling to the Producer
Sunday, June 10 1:00PM, NWFF Cinema 1

A moderated discussion with creative producers who have a proven track record for developing successful film projects. What are the key elements in putting together a film project that is realistic, executable, and compelling? This lively discussion will include choosing a script, decisions about attachments of cast and crew, budget and production plans and when you get the meeting – how to sell it.

Guests: Michael Caldwell, Vulcan Productions, Holly Becker
Moderated by Geoff Miller

Bill Johnson is a produced playwright, an optioned screenwriter, and has read manuscript submissions for literary agents, and read manuscripts for several published authors. He is the author of “A Story is a Promise,” a writing workbook that explores how to create dramatic, engaging stories. His site is www.storyispromise.com in which he explores principles of storytelling through reviews of the stories in popular movies, books and plays.

Admission to NWSG events is free for current NWSG members and only $5 for current members of Independent Feature Project, Northwest Film Forum, PNWA, 911 Media Arts, Women in Film, Indie Film Group, and students at any of the local film schools in the last year. Others are asked to contribute $10. A token, for such wisdom.

Seattle, WA (October 26, 2006) - The IFP/Seattle today
announced the five finalists for this year’s Spotlight Award, a
production grant featuring over $100,000 of in-kind goods and
services from the leading Northwest production companies.
This year’s finalists are:

“Dry Rain” from Matt Clark
“Gerald Lost His Glasses” from Ixaac Paul Ackley
“Pool Whore” from Terese Cuff
“Receiver” from Wes Kim
“Revolving Doors” from Ram G Jagadeesan

Each finalist and the principals from his / her production team
will be interviewed by a panel of industry experts and the winner
will be announced at a public event on November 9th.

http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/showVideo.php?vidId=96941

Washington motion picture competitiveness program proposed rules to implement 2SSB 6558, chapter 247, Laws of 2006

A public hearing will be held at the Seattle Center, Fidalgo Room, in Seattle, Washington on November 13, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. The address is 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109.

The hearing is open to the public and you are invited to attend and to comment on the proposed changes.

You may also send your comments to Marie Sullivan, Rules Coordinator, Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. The mailing address is 128 10th Avenue, SW, Olympia, WA 98504. The fax number is (360) 586-8440. The e-mail address is maries@cted.wa.gov . The deadline for comments is by November 15, 2006.

Persons with disabilities may contact TTY (360) 586-0772.

To view or download the proposed changes to the rules, click here .

Saturday, November 11 at 11:00am

The Seattle Film Institute’s 40 Week Total Immersion Filmmaking Program provides the essential skills to be an independent filmmaker and the hands-on experience to work in the film industry.

The Spring 2007 Session runs March 5, 2007 through December 21, 2007.

An Informational Meeting for the Spring 2007 Session will be held on Saturday, November 11 at 11:00am at the Seattle Film Institute - 1709 23rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122.

Come learn about our 40 Week Total Immersion Filmmaking Program, tour our facilities, and meet some of our faculty.

Please contact us to reserve a spot.

By Phone: 206.568.4387 or 800.882.4734

By e-mail: chris@seattlefilminstitute.com

One of the most difficult things for most new screenwriters to master is thinking and writing visually. All our lives we have been taught that storytelling is about the words, but movies in the silent era did quite well with very few words. Hitchcock used to say that dialogue was only borrowing from the theater and that telling stories with pictures was what he called “pure cinema.” Film is a visual medium, but few writers today understand the power of visual communicating.

All events are at Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Admission is FREE for SIFF Group members; $2 for NW Screenwriters Guild members, students and seniors; $5 for general public. Events start at 7:30pm. Tickets available at the door at 6:30pm on the day of the event. No late seating. Contact the Salon for more information. salon@seattlefilm.org