nyc.locationscout.us

*I just uploaded a bunch of digital panoramic photos of the Brooklyn Bridge to Flickr from a recent location scouting job I did for a Helmut Lotti / Crooners music video shoot that was filmed around New York, NY in June, 2006. Here is one of the set.

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location scouting resources and a del.icio.us social bookmarking primer

By locationscout (me)

“Location scouts, location managers and interested parties in the film, tv, video and photo production industries are encouraged to check out and perhaps participate in and contribute to the online film production community via some of the following websites and forums (in no particular order):

locationtalk

google groups:

alt.tv.commercials

rec.arts.movies.production

rec.video.production

flickr/locationscouting

zimbio- location scouting (I started this group)

ma.gnolia/locationscout (I started this group)

locationscout linkit (I started this group)

wheresspot- website (Paid-subscription service)

The preceding is an excerpt from a post I made on another location scouting blog.”

…read the rest…

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updates
• 4/21/2006 | added map / feed
• last timestamp February 14, 2008 at 4:12 pm
• original timestamp: June 10, 2006 at 4:24 pm

Recently, I was hired to location scout in Hoboken, NJ for an upcoming UK tv program and it was an opportunity for me to explore an interesting city I have lived within 20 minutes or so of for about 15 years but never really spent much time in, other than to pass thru on the NJ Transit train to get to the PATH train, (which runs under the Hudson River) to travel into New York City.

Besides being chock full of local NYC area history and home and birthplace to many interesting people (including Frank Sinatra), Hoboken has somewhat recently morphed from a gritty harbor town into an elegant urban enclave- but with enough of the gritty edges left over to maintain a contrast of lifestyles and visual texture.

A few interesting facts about Hoboken (with a little help and thanks to The Hoboken Museum, Wikipedia, IMDB and other resources):

The name Hoboken is derived from the Dutch word, “Hoebuck,” meaning “high bluff.”

Hoboken is known as the “Mile Square Town”; if you look at a map of the town you will see that it is laid out pretty much in a neat square shape. BTW, here’s another map of Hoboken.

Hoboken’s institute of higher learning, Stevens Institute of Technology, is named after patriot Colonel John Stevens, Colonial Treasurer of New Jersey and later innovative inventor. The college is located on the bluff which rises sharply up from the Hudson River’s edge, and is one of the many bluffs in the area from which the town name was derived.

The Academy Award-winning movie, “On The Waterfront“, starring Marlon Brando and directed by Elia Kazan and which premiered in 1954, was filmed in Hoboken.

American baseball was “born” in Hoboken! this from the Hoboken Baseball website:

“On 19 June 1846, the first officially recorded, organized baseball match was played under Alexander Joy Cartwright’s rules on Hoboken’s Elysian Fields with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers 23-1. Cartwright umpired.”

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Here are links to the more-often used pages on the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, Broadcast and Television website. On these pages is lots of info (as well as live forms and instructions) that you need when dealing with MOFTB and New York City film and photo permits

Still Photography

Film and Video

Schedule A

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short version:

location scout linkit (locationscout.ning.com):

New York City and Northeast US Film Offices

misc location scouting and film production resources

long(er) version:

I “started an app” (well, actually I “cloned” Amy’s Robot: Linkit) on ning.com, which is a Web 2.0 /php/html/ajax (with rails in the wings) mashup (which probably means nothing to you)…

But I digress: whats very kewl about ning.com is you get to mashup their mashups! …and you dont have to be a programmer to achieve some considerable productivity in the process~ even kewler is, if you *do* know anything about writing code, the source for all their applications (”apps”) is available right on the site in true open-source fashion. More info here (if you’re the technically inclined type).

It took me about an hour to create locationscout linkit, it’s just links to most of the film offices and some of the production resources I call on fairly regularly, but since locationscout linkit is based on social bookmarking, folksonomy and tags (in the old days I think it was called “collaboration” I hope others will contribute their own bits of location scouting information so we can all become more productive.

My Network Creator Profile on Ning

My Developer Profile on Ning

related content on this site about Locationscout Linkit

updated 3/13/08 added related content / feed / ning profiles
original timestamp: May 27, 2006 @ 17:58

-RH

Twitter / rrhobbs

• rrhobbs: #NYT #advertising: Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley: P.R. gurus are courting influenti.. http://kl.am/19gp | Saturday, 4 July 2009, 6:56 pm
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• rrhobbs: RT @AdLand: Fight Twitter.: Printer-friendly versionI usually ignore banner ads scrolling at the top .. http://kl.am/19ed | Saturday, 4 July 2009, 6:35 pm
  rrhobbs: RT @AdLand: Fight Twitter.: Printer-friendly versionI usually ignore banner ads scrolling at the top .. http://kl.am/19ed

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ziki.com is one of them newfangled mashup social software web 2.0 thingamajiggers

Honestly, most any social software site has got to be a good thing, there are just so many -

Here are a few things I have learned trying out a number of social software sites:

1. Make sure the site itself that functions correctly and is likely to stay online for the foreseeable future especially if there is potential for you to spend a lot of time configuring your profile / settings and maintaining / contributing to the community - many new sites appearing on the internet on a constant basis are beta works-progress, may have been simply built to flip… there are just a lot of things to take into consideration about investing a lot of time (or possibly even money) in a website over which you have no control regarding its actual existence.
2. Be careful you don’t duplicate your own content or draw attention away from your own site (if that matters to you) adding your feed(s) or other content from your own site to the social site…not to open an seo can of worms here…

I find Ziki interesting because it allows both a business profile and a personal profile - I had both, but ended up preferring only to have a business profile and what was nice was to be able to delete the personal profile pretty easily.

Other Social Networking sites of possible interest…

—
Of course there are conventional online forums that have been around for some time, in fact even before the internet in the form what now may seem primitive (tho some people may have liked ‘em better that way(?) bbs’s.

Several professional / business themed forums I am or have been active in over a number of years are:

—
No discussion about social websites would be complete with mention of Wikipedia - The Online Encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is not, in and of itself, generally thought of as “social”, however, what makes Wikipedia unique is that it is an encyclopedia comprised of articles authored and edited by its readership. I have begun and have helped edit a number of Wikipedia articles of subjects (such as location scouting) of interest to me.
—
+1 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com
+2 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com
+3 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com
+4 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com
+5 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com
+6 mentioned elsewhere on rrhobbs.com

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rrhobbs/livejournal

About LiveJournal

“LiveJournal, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, is the corporate home of LiveJournal.com and all affiliated products.

LiveJournal represents social media without borders. With a deep tradition of global participation, LiveJournal is on the forefront of personal publishing, community involvement, and individual expression. In the coming months and years, look for LiveJournal to continue to deliver improved technologies and services to its members.”

…read more…

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Louisa Curtis, aka Chatterbox, just redid her website (which looks great, by the way!) including the recent addition of the ChatterBlog.

Louisa is a well-known face around the New York City commercial and editorial photography industries and if you know Louisa at all, you will understand what all the “Chatter-this” and “Chatter-that” is all about It’s true, Louisa is a person who loves to talk, however, unlike many people I have encountered over the years who talk incessantly (and I am pretty sensitive to this), Louisa generally actually has something to say and I have always found Louisa to only have good things to say about others as well as exhibiting an unusually positive attitude about business and life, not to mention, due to her gregarious nature and many years of experience in the photography business, Louisa “knows everybody” and is a bottomless well of photo business knowledge and advice.

Best wishes for continued success in 2008, Louisa!

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What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? - out of the blue, in association with a discussion about an article from today’s New York Post about Dan Rather’s 70 mil lawsuit against CBS, someone blurted out, “Whats The Frequency, Kenneth?”

“R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe said of the incident: “It remains the premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century. It’s a misunderstanding that was scarily random, media hyped and just plain bizarre.”

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A production associate friend, William Voermann (Brooklyn, NY) (IMDB) recently emailed me about a music video he was a part of, Know One by Prez Powerz. Looks Great Billy- good job!

PREZ POWERZ "I Need A New Universe"’s MySpace Blog

• R.I.P. RAW | Friday, 12 January 2007, 3:05 pm
    Robert Anton Wilson. 1932-NEVER Infinite Inspiration. Thank You. Words are not enough. http://hostgator.rawilson.com/main.shtml http://en.wikipedia. […]
• LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME | Thursday, 28 December 2006, 5:31 am
    I am a grain of sand. And There is a giant in my soup. Which way to the nearest time portal? They tell me my telepathy teleported all the telephone. […]
• Celebrity Telepathy | Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 1:15 pm
  Excerpt from the historical records of NewEarth. V23Ch122   As a young man Prez Powerz used many strange abilities to fight a crossworld civil war.. […]

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Location Request Questionnaire at nyc.locationscout.us | For just about any location or production services request there are 8-9 basic questions we need answered right right from the git-go!

Delicious/rrhobbs/FAQS

• The XML FAQ | Friday, 2 January 2009, 5:44 pm
  The XML FAQ
• Information for Property Owners at nyc.locationscout.us | Monday, 4 August 2008, 2:53 pm
  Information for Property Owners at nyc.locationscout.us
• Information For Production Personnel at nyc.locationscout.us | Monday, 4 August 2008, 2:51 pm
  Information For Production Personnel at nyc.locationscout.us

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Human Archives Organization …sort of a “who’s who”…of everybody (…at least anyone who has an “archivist” or wants to do it them self…).

Here’s my HumanArchive page.

Wayback Machine …the Wayback machine archives websites by date - you can see what a site looked like at a given point in time in the past.

Here is what this website looked like at various times in the past - for some reason, there are no archives for 2007 but don’t know why?

Here is what Microsoft.com looked liked on October 20, 1996.

Here is what Apple.com looked like on October 22, 1996.

(if the images that were used on a site are not still available they are not shown…)

AboutUs … rrhobbs.com page on aboutus.org

I recently made other posts here, here and here about other places I can be found.

Here is my Location Library on Locamundo.

LinkedIn …business networking portal… me

Me on MySpace

I’m on Facebook (log in to Facebook and search my full name in quotes)

Me on Mashable

I can be found LOTS of places around the internet- (you could be, too with the application of less elbow grease than you might think;-)

Have fun and have a Happy New Year in 2008!

-RH

Lots of changes afoot at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting (MOFTB), begun this past year and likely to continue well into 2008 that involve a rewrite of many rules that include potential easing of some film permit requirements and other changes.

Lots of news about this currently ongoing process can be found elsewhere on the web, including:

MOFTB Website:

“August 3, 2007 - Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) Commissioner Katherine Oliver today announced that MOFTB will redraft proposed Charter-mandated rules for issuing permits to film or photograph on public property. The revision of the rules will take into account feedback MOFTB has received over the past two months. Public comment, which is scheduled to end today, will be re-opened for another 30-day period after the redrafted rules are published.”

“October 29th, 2007 - Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) Commissioner Katherine Oliver today announced the release of a newly drafted permit rule proposal, which is available online and published in the City Record. Under the proposed rules, which are designed to codify procedures that have existed in practice since the office was established in 1966, a permit would be required for a shoot if production equipment or vehicles create an obstruction, but not for productions that only use hand-held cameras or tripods that don’t cause an obstruction. The publication of the new rules, which are subject to public comment, follows the MOFTB’s decision to redraft rules following an initial publication and comment period that was extended to August 3, 2007. A copy of the proposed rule and an accompanying executive summary and Q&A document explaining it are available on the MOFTB website at www.nyc.gov/film.”

Elsewhere:

-RH

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NY Times: One Person’s Trash Is Another Person’s Lost Masterpiece | By CAROL VOGEL | Published: October 23, 2007

“It’s hardly a place you would expect to find a $1 million painting.

But one March morning four years ago, Elizabeth Gibson was on her way to get coffee, as usual, when she spotted a large and colorful abstract canvas nestled between two big garbage bags in front of the Alexandria, an apartment building on the northwest corner of Broadway and 72nd Street in Manhattan.

“I had a real debate with myself,” said Ms. Gibson, a writer and self-professed Dumpster diver. “I almost left it there because it was so big, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why are you taking this back to your crammed apartment?’”

But, she said, she felt she simply had to have the 38-by-51-inch painting, because “it had a strange power.”

Art experts would agree with her. As it turns out, the painting was “Three People,” a 1970 canvas by the celebrated 20th-century Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo that was stolen 20 years ago and is the subject of an F.B.I. investigation.

Experts say the painting — a largely abstract depiction of a man, a woman and an androgynous figure in vibrant purples, oranges and yellows — is in miraculously good condition and worth about $1 million. On Nov. 20 it is to go on the block at Sotheby’s as one of the highlights of a Latin American art auction.”

…Read the rest…

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I had seen this around on the web for a while, just getting around to posting about it:

Location Scouting Template pdf gif

From the Coherent Visuals Website, author of the book, Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking.

I usually just take off on a location scouting job with my cameras, a compass and a notebook; the Location Scouting Template seems a little more organized, I might try it next time out.

…rambling…

Curious if there is a little script or program for location scouting notes that could be used in a pda? …not that I was ever that much of a “pda person”… I bought a Handspring Visor (obsolete?) a couple of years ago and seems like all it ever did was sit in its recharger cradle (the rechargable battery seems to be “kaputt” now…replacement available? cost? (I heard they were expensive?), if I took the Visor out I would always seem to forget I did that, the battery would run down, I’d lose all my phone numbers and addresses and I’d have to set it up all over again and synch it; it just never quite fit completely into my “modus operandi”.

A lot of times I have to take a laptop location scouting anyway and I have an address book in that, phone numbers of any immediate importance get scribbled down in notes or are in my cellphone…

My latest “gadget” is an Ipod 80gb which seems to have an address book and calendar but I haven’t really played with those parts of it yet, been pretty busy getting my music loaded in it. …but the Ipod is *Great*!- I’m just lovin’ it!

-RH

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcast (MOFTB) publishes a monthly newsletter which features news about the film office as well as other news of interest to the film and tv production communities.

I particularly like the regular Location of the Month section of each month’s newsletter, in which a city-owned property (such as perhaps a building) or park or New York City neighborhood which may be available as a filming location is highlighted.

The City of New York makes many properties available for filming at no or nominal cost in the interest of promoting filmmaking and economic development for the city.

Use of the various properties is often directly administrated through specific city government agencies depending on the property(s) in question, however, the film office can be quite helpful in directing filmmakers to the appropriate agency.

The current newsletter may be read online by following the link above; free subscriptions via email are offered as well.

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Primospot

“About PrimoSpot: In a congested urban environment, parking can be difficult. This site can save you time and money by letting you find the best place to park for free. Using google maps and an extensive database of Manhattan parking signs, its easier than ever to find the most primo spot.”

…read more…

About Primospot

About PrimoSpot

“After living in Manhattan for years and racking up several hundred dollars of parking tickets, the site creator decided there must be a better way. After asking other drivers what their methods were, we heard that a few people were keeping hand-drawn maps in notebooks in their cars. As a programmer, he decided to create the map online. He opened the site to allow people to add their own streets and neighborhoods, and in June 2007, PrimoSpot was born.”

…read more…

Primospot

• PrimoSpot featured on CBS Radio Show Dishin Digital | Thursday, 2 July 2009, 11:01 am
  We were featured on the CBS radio show Dishin Digital. Paul Murnane explores a new Web site that helps New Yorkers search for parking options in the c. […]
• Compare Garage Prices in Real Time | Sunday, 28 June 2009, 3:31 pm
  We are proud to announce our newest feature on the site, the Real-Time Garage Price Chart. While browsing the map for parking garages, the left hand c. […]
• Park Yourself at Katz’s | Sunday, 28 June 2009, 2:17 pm
  You can now find a place to park using one of our embedded parking maps on the Katz’s delicatessen website. If you have never heard about Katz’s, chec. […]

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Entertainment Law In New Jersey: A Century Of Supporting The Motion Picture Industry

The article is a couple of years old at this point (how did I miss this?) and takes a bit of a “lawyerly” tack at times, but New Jersey Film Office Staff Member Steven Gorelick gives a star performance as interviewee espousing the history of and importance of filmaking to our culture and economy in New Jersey.

“Editor: How is the New Jersey Film Commission helping independent filmmakers get their start?

Gorelick: You’d be surprised how many films at Sundance are from New Jersey. Garden State was a hit this year at Sundance. Clerks and Kevin Smith’s other works have also been well received. Two Family House , which won at Sundance, was filmed in Bayonne and many other films in the competition were shot here. It’s amazing the percentage of Sundance winners and Sundance entrants that are made in New Jersey. The Station Agent won two years ago.”

…read more…

note: above quote snippet taken from interview conducted and published in 2004

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Back in June I hit the 3,000 locations online mark!

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like zero is a music video I made using using my friend and bandleader Bruce Hanson’s song of the same name as performed by his band, Fellaheen.

The video was made with a definite “rough cut” look in mind and employs retro automotive footage from archive.org

Uploads by rrhobbs

like zero 26 Jun 2009, 2:47 am

	like zero music video of Like Zero by Fellaheen made using Windows Movie Maker and Public Domain footage from the Prelinger Archives at archive.org.	From:rrhobbs Views:403 1ratings
	Time:04:05	More inMusic

Source: Uploads by rrhobbs |

Uploads by egads

Fellaheen, "Dispatch 37" 23 Jun 2009, 12:51 am

	Fellaheen, "Dispatch 37" Live at Cafe Arabica, Morristown, NJ, 11.02.06	From:egads Views:696 2ratings
	Time:05:10	More inMusic

Source: Uploads by egads |

Fellaheen / "Underground" 30 May 2009, 12:16 am

	Fellaheen / "Underground" Fellaheen, live, stripped down, and jazzy…	From:egads Views:68 0ratings
	Time:04:34	More inMusic

Source: Uploads by egads |

Fellaheen / "Junkman" 24 May 2009, 8:16 am

	Fellaheen / "Junkman" Live at the Lion's Den, Greenwich Village, NYC Fellaheen stripped down, reinterpreting one of its faves	From:egads Views:83 0ratings
	Time:03:45	More inMusic

Source: Uploads by egads |

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See this page!

R. Richard Hobbs nyc.locationscout.us Weblog

• Links for 2009-06-29 [del.icio.us] | Tuesday, 30 June 2009, 3:00 am
  360icon - Fullscreen Panoramas of Rural and Urban Decay 360icon - Fullscreen Panoramas of Rural and Urban Decay # photography #panorama GPS Review :. […]
• Links for 2009-06-24 [del.icio.us] | Thursday, 25 June 2009, 3:00 am
  randee st nicholas #photographers ######################################################## Overdub Bootlegs #music #bootlegs #mashups #Overdub ######. […]
• Links for 2009-06-23 [del.icio.us] | Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 3:00 am
  Everything Changes #blogs #cancer ########################################################

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I was interviewed last week by New York, NY CBS affiliate WCBS-TV, for a video news article entitled Hollywood Being Priced Out of 1 Upscale Rockland County Town that ran on the Thursday, April 12th 11pm Newscast and in extended form the following morning on the Morning News regarding a situation in Orangetown Township, NY whereby the town has initiated a $500 per hour fine for film crews present before 7a.m. or after sunset.

As I said on camera, Orangetown’s fees are exorbitant. I could never recommend sending a film crew to Orangetown under these circumstances. Film makers are not fools and contrary what many casual observers seem to think from what they may have seen on Entertainment Tonight, the production side of film and tv are not about burning thru money as fast as you can throw it on a fire, which is about what Orangetown’s fees amount to.

Directors Guild of America (DGA) publication on the subject of runaway film production

Evidently, at some time or another, someone was inconvenienced by production vehicle traffic (I am told it is one individual in particular and a review of town meeting minutes on the town website reflects a couple of instances where the same few specific residents made complaints about filming activities). The Town Supervisor, Thom Kleiner was quoted as saying they were inconvenienced by truck traffic.

The majority of film productions are very willing to work to with local residents as well as local government and law enforcement to facilitate conditions with every one’s best interests in mind. It seems like something cumulatively seriously fell thru the cracks in Orangetown.

It just doesn’t seem to all add up.

Time lost by residents due to occasional temporary neighborhood film-production traffic delays: 15 minutes?

Time spent preparing for and attending town meetings to complain: hours?

What’s sad is the town has cow-towed to these several misguided and selfish individuals. The many positive effects that film production has on a local community seems to be lost on this bunch.

Film production brings business to town. If there is a crew shooting they are likely putting people in hotels, eating in local resturants and using local caterers, shopping at local retailers and spending money with any number of other local businesses, not to mention owners of property used for locations who could be banking several mortgage payments in fees when their properties get utilised by production even just short-term.

Film production is a decent-size industry which accounts for around $5 billion a year New York City alone. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the local film offices exist not primarily as arts and cultural entities but rather as offices of economic development and the New York State Film Office and New York City Mayors Office of Film, Theater and Broadcast (MOFTB) are very active at their respective government levels to create tax incentives to attract film makers. A study of effects of New York City’s recent Made in New York Incentive reflects dramatic annual shoot day increases over the past several years which translates to a more than $3 billion increase in city revenue from film production. Tax incentives have shown to generate 30%+ returns, or, every tax dollar waived, have resulted in $1.34 in increased overall revenue.

The New York State Film Office and NYC MOFTB have both worked long and hard to attract filming to the state and greater NYC metro area, so, a town like Orangetown is, for all intents and purposes, shooting the film offices (as well as their own local economic development) in the foot.

Film Production is clean. You dont have to worry about cleaning up the ground water after a film company leaves town.

There is no doubt that for most people, being able to say that you have had a movie made in your town brings a sense of pride and most find experiencing the process to be fun and exciting.

An active local film/arts community does a lot to raise the cultural level of any town or city.

C’mon Orangetown, wake up and smell the coffee!

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This past week I was contacted by a mid-Westchester County, NY property owner about the prospect of using their 200 year-old farmhouse home as a shoot location for film, photo or video projects.

As evidenced by the rest of the content here on my website and very likely because you were looking for someone like me, you probably already know I am a location scout and location manager and maintain a location library of shoot-ready locations for use by film, video and photo production.

In addition to being a beautiful home, this particular house has the distinction of recently being the “hero house”, or one of the main filming locations in the soon-to-be-released Miramax Film Corporation feature film, The Hoax, directed by Lasse Hallström, starring Richard Gere and Alfred Molina (complete IMDB webpage here) which attempts to tell the story of the Clifford Irving / Howard Hughes autobiography scandal of the 1970’s.

The owner relates to me that filming for the movie last year at their home went on pretty much full time for a period of about two months and that, overall, they enjoyed the experience and wish to host more shoots at their home in the future.

The home is located within a 30 mile radius of Columbus Circle, New York City, so it may be considered “within the zone” for many film and video shoots.

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Videology-TV | From The Devil Himself | Viva Voce

I hit pay dirt when Jo Van Hove sent me a heads-up that a there was a really kewl vid that had used a Locamundo location on Videology-TV!

Videology-TV is not a huge site, I am only seeing twenty videos on the “videos” page. I like to think I have a pretty discerning eye; to find two out of twenty that I really like seems like a pretty good batting average!

In any case, I started surfing around Videology-tv and found From The Devil Himself by Viva Voce, directed by Moh Azima which is what this post is all about, so I guess if you read my website at all you might say I am “into” music videos lately!

I do realize I am risking diluting the “focus” of my website reviewing all these films lately, but it does, in fact, all have to do with location scouting and film production. If you work in the creative end of film production like I do I think you would know what I meant if I said, “I don’t watch films like ‘normal’ people do”, in fact, its a bus man’s holiday of sorts- I am always looking closely at the locations, lighting, camera angles used, lensing, directorial and actor’s techniques so-on and so forth, so, after I get finished being entertained picking something apart technically if I can still say I was entertained for the sake of being entertained, it was a good day!

Ok. so here you have it, retro done right From The Devil Himself by Viva Voce:

About Viva Voce | THE (EXHAUSTIVE AND UNABRIDGED) LONG & WINDING STORY THUSFAR:

“Kevin & Anita Robinson make the sounds.

The sounds (Vee-vah-VOH-chay) are Italian for “word of mouth” and prophetically prove many would neither be able to spell or prounounce the name.

Viva Voce indeed.”

…read more…

Director Moh Azima

About Videology-TV

“Around 1995, television started to become really boring. This had dire repercussions for the music video industry.”

…read more…

| Videology |

• |
  title: something good this way comes band: jakob dylan director: josh|xander production: streetgang films label: columbia   “This kind of day has no. […]
• |
  title: house of cards band: radiohead director: james frost production: zoo film label: xl recordings   “your infastructure will collapse”   — Deli. […]
• |
  title: any and every band: excepter director: adam egypt mortimer production: adam egypt mortimer label: paw tracks   “take the tour”   — Delivered. […]

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Shoot Magazine (print edition) | or Seeking Deja Vu: N.Y. Looks To Fuel Spot Business (subscription required) | Commercial-making Incentives Hope To Mirror Success of N.Y. Feature Film / Television Program Tax Credits | By Robert Goldrich

“February 23, 2007 — For Alan Suna, co-owner of Long Island City-headquartered Silvercup Studios, a New York stage facility mainstay, the success of the TV series pilot filming season bodes well for spot production in the Big Apple. Just as the upsurge in film and TV lensing, including pilots, has increased dramatically since New York’s feature/TV tax credits…”

Tax incentive legislation enacted in New York at the state level beginning 2004-2005 has increased feature film and tv production significantly, but initially, somehow, the tv spot end of the industry was left out.

All that is about to change, thanks to new tax incentives that include commercial production as well.

On a local level, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcast’s (MOFTB) “Made in New York” program, which includes tax incentives, a concierge service as well as additional vendor discounts and other perks has increased film production volume dramatically over the past two years, attracting $2.4 billion in new production business including a record number of tv pilots. Like the state’s original program, the city’s current tax incentives only include films and tv shows, however, the Mayor’s Office and New York City Council are presently considering a companion program to New York State’s new program that includes commercial production.

For all of us in the film production business, including location scouts and location managers, ANY program, especially a tax incentive program that, according to figures per current programs in place quoted in the Shoot Online article generates $1.34 in increased overall income per $1.00 in tax incentives and generates new, increased business= a good thing! The overall local economy benefits as well, as film production relies on a myriad of local vendors not neccesarily always linked directly just to film production, including many areas of the hotel and hospitality industries and as “everyday” as hardware/building supplies, car services, dry cleaning and general retail to name just a few.

Specifically regarding film location services, local property owners and the real estate industry benefit and in the case of studio filming there are benefits as additional studio space is leased to accommodate increased filming. The aforementioned Shoot article also quotes SilverCup Studios (Long Island City, NY) co-owner Alan Suna reporting that business volume has been sufficent enough for Silvercup to open SilverCup East and plans are in the works to open SilverCup west on the east bank of the East River in Long Island City. SilverCup is one the the New York City area’s largest film studio/sound stage businesses, regularly hosting studio shoots for many major motion pictures, television programs and commercials.

Complete list of U.S. State’s film industry tax incentive programs (January 2007)

SHOOTonline.com

• The Best Work You May Never See: Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s “Dinosaur” | Friday, 3 July 2009, 1:00 am
  SHOOTonline.com, July 03, 2009 — This spot centers on the improbable yet amusing scenario of a giant dinosaur playfully slipping and sliding across a. […]
• Once Bright Pilot Light Now Only Flickering In L.A. | Friday, 3 July 2009, 1:00 am
  SHOOTonline.com, LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2009 — Not long ago, each February found the Los Angeles region abuzz with film production activity. New telev. […]
• Street Talk | Friday, 3 July 2009, 1:00 am
  SHOOTonline.com, July 03, 2009 — Brickyard Filmworks, Santa Monica and Boston, has brought film industry vet Marc Sadeghi on board as a partner, and. […]

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Mark McKennon and I were featured recently on the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcast (MOFTB) website!

Read about it here and here.

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Update 7/2/2008 | A short clip from MoonCake, a short film by Marty Stanos, is available on Youtube (below). Marty is obviously very busy these days shopping and showing the film.

The Lot “is a wrap”.

Sometimes talent and inspiration shines as this video on thelot.com does.

The short film, shot in film noir-ish black and white, is titled Moon Cake and was directed and produced by University of Michigan film student Marty Stano. The film is set to a catchy obscure pop song the title and band I have not yet been able to place other than a comment for the film that alludes to a bootleg record called Rabbit’s Moon, all of which adds to the intrigue.

The film was produced for less than $500 and it’s like a train wreck- I cant look away! I delight in replaying the video over and over! It’s this grungy avant-gard wonderful five minute, forty-five second bit of film wack and it’s just lots of fun to watch.

The Lot is a new tv joint by reality tv kingpin Mark Burnett and producer-director Steven Speilberg (who needs no introduction) whereby filmmakers submit films online for consideration for a $1 mil development deal prize with Dreamworks.

The Lot has been all the chatter recently over on the Wheresspot Board, wherein a number of participants have submitted film projects to The Lot.

Update 3/1: Music mystery solved :-)- The song is It Came in the Night by Andy Arthurs/A Raincoat from around circa 1976. This page pretty much tells it all. Also, see a reference to the music used in this video here.

Update 3/5: Up to now proving ignorance of certain aspects of film school curriculum, it has come to my attention that the music used in Moon Cake is the same score used in one release of director Kenneth Anger’s classic avant-gard short film, Rabbit’s Moon.

Anecdote: There have been several releases of Rabbit’s Moon, the most recent release, on The Films of Kenneth Anger, Volume One, in fact uses a number of ’50’s doo-wop titles as the score for Rabbit’s Moon.

I know all these things now because the intrigue compelled me to order the The Films of Kenneth Anger, Volume One DVD online to check out Rabbit’s Moon!

The Japanese folklore of the Rabbit In The Moon, (the view from Earth of the surface of the Moon is different in the far east than that visible in the western hemisphere and to many resembles a rabbit- part of the celebration of this lore is having children put out rice cakes for the rabbit;-) is present in many areas of film and music around the world including a house music trio from Tampa, FL named Rabbit In The Moon.

There are certainly similarities in the style of cinematography used in Marty Stano’s Moon Cake and Kenneth Anger’s Rabbit’s Moon, in fact, now having more background about both films I daresay Moon Cake draws a heavy influence from Rabbit’s Moon, but dont feel the results have been presented in a way that could be construed as plagiarist or improper. Instead, I might suggest that Moon Cake pays tribute to Rabbit’s Moon in a very flattering way.

Now, all of a sudden I’m a film reviewer- and here I thought I was just a location scout

Moon Cake Screenshot

Rabbit’s Moon Screenshot

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Dave Schoner writes to me:

“In the Star-Ledger Newspaper this Sunday, Feb 25th, in the Accent Section, there will be an article written about the work I do as the Production Coordinator at the New Jersey Film Commission. It is part of their series I Am New Jersey. The series focuses on people with different and interesting jobs.”

Indeed! Dave does have a very interesting job… a job he is very good at as well!

Dave Schoner is one of my chief allies in the trenches; I call the New Jersey Film Office all the time as a location scout for help with tough film location problems. Dave is a walking encyclopedia of New Jersey film locations, general state geography and local facts. NJ Film is one of the finest film offices in the entire country and I should know, I have probably consulted most if not all the state film commissions around the U.S. at one time or another.

So- good for you Dave!

As soon as I can find an online link to the newspaper article, I will post it.

UPDATE March 8th, 2007: The newspaper article about David Schoner, Jr. of the New Jersey Film Office ran in the Star Ledger March 4th. The online version, Star Ledger Online- Location, Location, Location is here.

About I Am NJ | About the Blog

“Launched Oct. 15, 2006 in The Star-Ledger, the I am New Jersey series offers a glimpse into the lives of New Jerseyans who make the Garden State a better place.”

…read more…

I Am NJ

• KENT MANAHAN | Friday, 26 June 2009, 3:51 pm
  Anchor’s Away Signing off after nearly three decades at the helm of NJN News Words by VENURI SIRIWARDANE/Photo by TONY KURDZAK Before she alights on t. […]
• ERNIE ‘JUNIOR’ ALLO | Thursday, 18 June 2009, 4:11 pm
  Rodeo dad Father of two wears many hats, cowboy and baseball coach among them Words by LISA ROSE/Photo by MAHALA GAYLORD Last Saturday, Ernie “Junior”. […]
• MARIA ALAMPI | Friday, 12 June 2009, 5:18 pm
  Culinary hotshot Sandyston resident combines passions for food and firearms Words by LISA ROSE / Photo by TONY KURDZUK When Maria Di Paola and Anthony. […]

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I have joined LocationExchange.

Locamundo has been acquired by LocationExchange.

locationexchange

• Website q-spheres live ! | Tuesday, 26 June 2007, 9:54 am
  With the live making of the Q-Spheres website, we have an official start to our marketing for Q-Spheres !! Photographers, 3D artists, designers can no. […]
• Jeep Compass Q-Sphere production | Friday, 15 June 2007, 5:39 am
  Our first Q-Sphere production has reached the screens… Watch the static : http://www.jeep-compass.be/fr/ Watch the film : http://www.jeep-compass.be. […]
• New associates | Thursday, 19 April 2007, 9:42 am
  We welcome Dan Uneken and John Cody as new associates to LocationExchange. Dan and John work in the South of Spain and Morocco, both regions with good. […]

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