lm 2 2014 web

LOUISIANA FILM & VIDEO MAGAZINE ISSUE TWO2

ISSUE TWO LOUISIANA FILM & VIDEO MAGAZINE 3

CONTENTS


EXECUTIVE EDITORAndrew [email protected]

EDITOR-AT-LARGEShanna Forrestall

CONTRIBUTING EDITORW.H. Bourne

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Katie [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSTara Bennett, Weland Bourne, OdinLindblom, Alexander Brian McConduit,Sean Richardson, Chasah West,Marshall Woodworth

SALES MANAGERKatie Higgins

SALES Steve Joseph

PRODUCTION MANAGER John Rusnak

DESIGNERS Dawn Carlson, Beth Harrison, Sonjia Kells

WEBMASTER Jon Hines

OFFICE MANAGERAudra Higgins

INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn

Louisiana Film & Video PublicationsA DIVISION OFMEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP

P.O. Box 50036

New Orleans, LA 70150

(800) 332-1736

[email protected]

www.louisianafilmandvideo.com

www.louisianaproductionindex.com

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PRINTED IN THE USA

ISSUE TWO 2014VOLUME TEN

6 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

8 FILMING IN LAFAYETTE: A LOUISIANA DREAM

14 LAND OF THE FILMMAKER, HOME OF THE BAYOU

20 THE UNACCOUNTED FOR: ANINTERVIEW WITH WILL FRENCH

22 2014 AFCI LOCATIONS EXPOSPOTLIGHTS THE EASE OFLOUISIANA LOCATIONS

24 PLANTATION VILLAGE STUDIOS TOHOST LA YACHT PARTY AT CANNES

28 THE NEWLY LAUNCHED MENTORSHIP & FILM TRAINING PROGRAMSPONSORED BY LOUISIANA INTERNATIONALFILM FESTIVAL & THE ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER BATON ROUGE

30 LOCALLY-SHOT ELSA & FRED TOPREMIERE AT LIFF

34 HOW I BECAME A HEADSHOTPHOTOGRAPHER

38 TEACH YOURSELF FILMMAKINGTHROUGH A GUERILLA WEB SERIES

42 SUNKEN CITY: AN #ONLYINNOLAWEB COMEDY

44 (PART 1 OF 3) HOW A CHILDREN’S BOOK BECOMES AFEATURE FILM: AN UNLIKELY JOURNEYFOR DONKEY OTIE AND ITS AUTHOR

46 WHAT IS SHOTGUN CINEMA?

50 INDIE COMEDY SHOOTS THROUGHOUT APRIL IN NEWORLEANS

52 LOUISIANA CRUISES INTO NAB 2014

56 LACOPTERCAM BRINGS AERIALSHOOTING TO NEW HEIGHTS

LOUISIANA INDUSTRY LISTS58 PRODUCTION & POST EQUIPMENT

RENTAL64 SUPPORT EQUIPMENT RENTAL

ON THE COVER: Actor Laura Marano, best known for her work on Disney's Austin and Ally, tries to keep warm inbetween takes for A Sort of Homecoming which recently wrapped shooting in Lafayette.

Photo courtesy of Sean Richardson34

DIGITAL EDITION AVAILABLE AT: WWW.LOUISIANAFILMANDVIDEO.COM


LETTER FROM THE EDITORI

t’s a hot topic among local film folk, and rightfully so. Just a mere decadesince the inception of our tax incentive program, our numbers havegrown exponentially, to the point that we are now reigning as the film

production capital of the world. As many of you know, the Los AngelesFilm Office (Film L.A.) released a study stating that 18 out of 108 majorstudio productions released in 2013 were shot substantially in Louisiana.

This is a quote from the study:“Louisiana’s emergence as a film production center happened quickly.

After just 10 years of investment in the film industry, the Pelican State surgedahead of California, the nation’s one-time film production capital. Louisiana,which some have taken to calling ‘Hollywood South,’ is now outpacing thereal Hollywood by a key measure of film production volume.”

This is a powerful statement that, coming from our competition’s filmoffice, means a great deal. More than just the numbers, it means thosewho once second-guessed our industry, or the state as a whole, may nowbe second-guessing themselves.

After the study was released, a friend of mine, a local, expressed aconcern that, I think, is not uncommon. She said, “If we are the film produc-tion capital of the world, why aren’t more of us working?”

Now, the truth is there is a large number of “local” production jobs beingfulfilled non-locally. But what we often fail to realize is that the numberof jobs that are fulfilled locally is constantly and consistently growing. Ourindustry is in its infant stages and needs time to develop. I was fortunate

to interview Will French of the Louisiana Film & Enter-tainment Association (LFEA), and he enlightened me tothis fact, as well as many others. Learn more on page 20.

Proof of our developing industry is the Louisiana Inter-national Film Festival, or LIFF. Only in its second year,the organization is gaining major clout and has now part-nered with the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge to bring Louisiana afull-fledged training program for aspiring filmmakers. The first programkicks off during LIFF, held May 8-11. (Page 28.)

Further proof is the emergence of Lafayette. In this issue, Chasah West,of the ever-blossoming Holbrook Multi Media Inc., brings us into the heartof Cajun Country film and offers insight into a number of different proj-ects, including John Fallon’s The Shelter (page 14). We also hear from JulieBordelon of the Lafayette Entertainment Initiative with a productionupdate (page 18), and read about Lynn Reed’s A Sort of Homecoming (page8). It’s becoming apparent: Lafayette has proven itself to be a hub forproduction and innovation.

West writes, “Lafayette’s status as a producer’s utopia was once a well-kept secret and now, with the city experiencing a boom in attention andan influx of projects, it seems the beans have been spilled.”

All the best,Andrew Vogel, Executive Editor


STORY BY W. H. BOURNEPHOTOS COURTESY OF BELIEVE ENTERTAINMENT

For screenwriter and producerLynn Reed, shooting herfeature film A Sort of Home-

coming was just that—a home-coming. The Lafayette nativereturned to her hometown to filmthe coming-of-age drama set in theworld of high school speech anddebate. The production justrecently wrapped providing a greatopportunity for both Reed anddirector Maria Burton to speakwith Louisiana Film & Video aboutthe project, women in film, andworking in Lafayette.

FILMING IN LAFAYETTE: A LOUISIANA DREAM

“I had written a couple of scripts includinga TV pilot spec script,” began Reed. “Then Iwent out to Hollywood to one of those pitchfests. It’s kind of like speed dating where youget eight minutes to go up to producers’ tablesand pitch your ideas. It was exhilarating, butI also learned a lot about the realities of thebusiness. I realized that those producers sittingin that room didn’t have huge pots of moneyeither. They were looking for ideas that theycould go to investors with and raise money for.That’s when it really clicked for me.”

She continued, “If I was going to do thisfilm about high school speech and debate, itwas a pretty niche thing. I mean, we’re nottalking about superheroes or zombies here. Ifall these other production companies weregoing to have to go out and find investors, well,then I could go do that myself. I worked inpolitics and campaigns; I was no stranger tohaving to raise money for large enterprises. Ifigured it was at least worth a shot to see if Icould do it. I reconnected with Marcus

Laura Marano on location in Lafayette for A Sort ofHomecoming.

A Sort of Homecoming spent several days shootingin New Orleans.

DP Arlene Nelson on location in the French Quarter.


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Brown in Lafayette. He and I had gone tohigh school together there. I knew he wasa successful actor in Louisiana as well as aproducer. We talked, he read the script, andwe worked together on it for almost a year.Every day we talked, if nothing else but tosay, ‘what can we do to get the ball movingforward?’ It really is one of those storieswhere persistence really paid off.”

Reed selected Maria Burton as directorof the film, explaining, “The story is froma woman’s perspective, and I just believedit would be better in a woman’s hands so Ihired Maria.”

Said Burton, “Lynn Reed had read theresearch on women directors bringing rich-ness and depth to female characters. Sheput the word out through the Alliance ofWomen Directors (AWD) when she waslooking to hire a director for A Sort ofHomecoming, and happily, I got the job. Ithen brought on the amazing DP ArleneNelson. If there’s anything harder forwomen in the film business than being adirector, it’s being a DP.”

In addition to directing, Burton is co-chair of AWD, an organization of profes-sional women directors that advocates formore work in an industry where thenumbers are appalling.

“Women made up only 6 percent ofdirectors on the top 250 films in 2013,which is down from 9 percent in 1998,” saidBurton, “and not for lack of talented andhardworking women directors. For exam-

ple, half of the students entering filmschool and grad school directing programsare women so it is not until they try to enterthe industry that they are not hired. As youcan tell I’m passionate about this, not onlybecause it affects my ability to tell the storiesI want to tell but because it shapes our soci-ety. Media molds culture as much as itreflects; children grow up to be what theysee.”

Telling stories about women is also apassion for Reed. A Sort of Homecoming isloosely inspired by her own high school

years growing up in Lafayette. The filmstars Laura Marano, Michelle Clunie,Katherine McNamara and KathleenWilhoite.

“We were very lucky to get LauraMarano from Disney’s Austin and Ally. It’samazing how large and dedicated her fanbase is. They were coming out of thewoodwork to see her,” exclaimed Burton.

Having an outsider like Burton, wholives in Los Angeles, can often bring a freshperspective to a Louisiana-centric film,especially when it’s created by locals.

DP Arlene Nelson shooting A Sort of Homecomingwith the Arri Alexa.

A Sort of Homecoming shoots a crowded French Quarter scene.


“I was particularly taken with the ride fromNew Orleans to Lafayette. While the localswere complaining about the two-hourcommute, I thought the drive through theAtchafalaya Basin was so beautiful, so muchso that I convinced Lynn to rewrite the begin-ning of the film to include this image,” saidBurton.

“I brought in my DP, but everyone elseworking on the film was local,” continuedBurton. “We had a really good UPM, BradSouthwick... He was really able to help us alot with this project.”

“We’re also hoping to use a lot of localmusic for the score,” added Reed.

Burton seemed to enjoy her time inLouisiana, although it was not without its chal-lenges.

“One of the producers’ wives made craw-fish étoufée for us one evening, which wasreally nice. The whole town seemed to beinvolved in the project. Unfortunately there justwasn’t enough time to enjoy all the restaurantsand everything that Lafayette had to offer sincewe were working really long hours,” explainedBurton. “And the biggest challenge was theweather. Everyone had assured me that this wasa great time to shoot because you avoided thehorrible heat, but it was unseasonably cold. Thescript takes place in the summer, and at times itwas so cold that you could see the actors’ breath.We had to change some of the dialogue to

accommodate for this.”“It was such a rich opportunity for me to be

there in Louisiana as more than a tourist,”continued Burton. “Spending several

months living in a place, especially withsuch a warm and welcoming local commu-nity, is one of the benefits of filming onlocation. You fall in love with the place!” LFV

Monitoring a classroom scene shot on location in Lafayette.


STORY BY CHASAH WEST PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOLBROOK MULTI MEDIA, INC.

In Louisiana, Lafayette’s statusas a producer’s utopia wasonce a well-kept secret. But

now, with the city experiencing aboom in attention and an influxof projects, it seems the beanshave been spilled.

Innovation, art and culture churn togetherin a smooth blend in this city, often referredto as “the heart of Cajun Country.” Theresult, as many are finding, is a warm, effusivemix that caters to filmmakers and the enter-tainment industry in a distinctive way. It’smore than just the tax incentives offered(which are great), and it’s more than just theunique locations available (which are many);Lafayette offers top-notch facilities, crews,support, talent and a certain je ne sais quoi thathas piqued interest, and is holding it.

The national spotlight turned toLouisiana recently, as numbers from a studyconducted by Film L.A. revealed that we’vedethroned California as the movie-makingcapital of the world. Many of us in theSouthern-based film industry have takenthat as a sort of feather in our caps, and withgood reason—it’s truly something to beproud of.

Those who have been paying attention,though, aren’t too surprised; productionhas been climbing rapidly in the South sinceDisney’s Secretariat, released in 2010. Thosesame people would be able to tell you thatfilm and television aren’t the only hotcommodities up for grabs in the BayouState. Lastly, they would also tell you thatwhile many Southern cities are flexing theirproduction chops, Lafayette is steadily gain-ing a reputation as the “it” spot for inde-pendent films and shorts, reality anddocu-drama shows, post-production workand cutting-edge digital initiatives.

Producers are taking advantage of theresources offered by the metropolis: talent,studios, directors and panoramic backdrops.Many of those avenues and services arebeing explored right now. Holbrook MultiMedia has a couple of productions brewingin Lafayette, and Lafayette has some excit-

LAND OF THE FILMMAKER,HOME OF THE BAYOU

ing enterprises that are further proving thecity to be a formidable competitor and aproduction haven.

The ShelterWriter and director John Fallon brought

the production of his film The Shelter toLafayette and Holbrook Multi Media inJanuary, having heard all that Lafayette hasto offer. The haunting and nightmarishstory portrays the arc of a down-on-his-luckman who finds solace in an abandonedmansion. The mansion, possessed by thespirit of his jilted dead wife, refuses to lethim go once he has entered. The movieprominently features the Acadiana region—most of the scenes were filmed in Lafayetteand the surrounding areas of Delcambreand Abbeville. The majority of thecrewmembers hail from Louisiana andLafayette, with the exception of Fallonhimself, who is a proud Canadian.

Said Fallon, “Working with HolbrookMulti Media on The Shelter production wassimply a delight! They were knowledgeable,hard-working, talented and brought positiveenergy to the set.”

The horror story features cult-film legendMichael Pare, who also shared his thoughtson the experience. He, too, enjoyed his firsttime in Lafayette and working with

Holbrook Multi Media, saying it “was a lotof fun. The whole crew seemed to have agreat time! They had all the equipment adirector could ask for, were truly in theirelement, and almost like kids with new toyson Christmas morning. It was a great expe-rience.”

A pattern has begun to emerge here inLafayette in the realm of film. As one wrapsup, two more begin production. That wasthe case most recently as John Fallon calledcut on the final scene of his psychologicaland visually-captivating thriller.

Courage of FaithThe cameras stopped rolling on Fallon’s

film and, soon after, discussion began forpre-production on an independent, faith-based feature. The upcoming project iscalled Courage of Faith and it tells an orig-inal story centered on an adolescent boynamed Chase Taylor, who navigates life witha set of defined rules, a unique outlook onlife and strong values instilled in him by hismother and father. The script was written bymovie veteran Al Eady, who has served asscript supervisor for a multitude of produc-tions, both in Lafayette and around thecountry.

While still in the earliest of stages, it isalready projected to have scenes shot at vari-

Holbrook Multi Media COO and cinematographer Bobby Holbrook while at NAB this year tested many ofthe industry’s latest cameras to secure for the growing production division, including the Arri Amira andtheir Alexa XT.


ous well known landmarks within andaround Lafayette, allowing it to have someof that local flair. National and regionalcasting for both star talent and extras will betaking place in the near future, and produc-tion for the film is expected to begin in late2014.

Eady’s decision to have production takeplace in Lafayette means that the film willbe eligible for the larger Louisiana taxincentives, and will have support from theLafayette Entertainment Initiative. SaidEady, “I have chosen Holbrook Multi Mediato handle all aspects of production, post-production and marketing, which means thefilm will benefit from their plethora of digi-tal cinema equipment, and their first-classvideo and audio editing suites.”

Director of photography will be BobbyHolbrook, Louisiana born and bred (andproud of it). He has actually just returnedfrom the NAB Show (see page 52), where hegot a glimpse of the industry’s newest andmost buzzed about camera equipment.Holbrook Multi Media’s role as an equip-ment rental house means that future proj-

ects in the South will also benefit from thisrecent trip. The first to benefit will beCourage of Faith.

“We have secured a number of new gadg-ets,” said Holbrook, “and we’re reallyexcited to dive into Courage of Faith andbring some of our new tools to the set tobegin exploring them.”

Reality TVLafayette is growing in the realm of docu-

dramas and reality shows. Holbrook MultiMedia has recently wrapped scenes on thepilot of a refreshing, inspiring new realityshow produced and created by Emmy-nomi-nated producer Diane Charles. This was thefirst project shot immediately following TheShelter.

This is one Hollywood producer whocertainly felt the world-famous Southernhospitality. Said Charles, “I needed to hirea crew in Lafayette. Coming from LosAngeles, I felt I was going in ‘blind,’ so I dida lot of research to determine who would bebest to work with—everything pointed toHolbrook Multi Media.”

She added, “I’ve worked with many crewsover the years... Bobby Holbrook, Robert‘Tweety’ Francis and Colby Huval alwaysover-delivered whatever was requested—inexpertise, attitude, effort, and equipment—and did so with such enthusiasm and profes-sionalism that the shoot was a joy and mytalent ended up feeling very comfortable…Makes me wish I could relocate mycompany.”

If she were to move her company, shewould receive the alluring incentives forfilming in Lafayette:

• A 30% tax credit for in-state expendi-tures on motion picture production

• A 5% labor tax credit on the payroll ofLouisiana residents

• No limit on incentives and they are fullytransferable

• No state fees required • All permits are free

Post-Production & New FacilityThe post-production world is seeing

increases in interest and projects, too. BothDiane Charles and John Fallon arrived inLafayette with plans to complete theirproduction and bring the editing process toboutiques out of state. On both occasions,after finishing production in Lafayette, theyeach decided to award post-production toHolbrook Multi Media.

With both projects currently in the edit-ing stages, this marks another positive trendHolbrook is hoping to continue in thefuture: double-duty.

“Being that their work ethic was barnone and that they understood the project,I decided to go with them in terms of post-production on the picture,” said Fallon. “Icouldn’t be happier to complete this journeywith them.”

Charles agreed, saying, “Because ofBobby’s attitude and experience, I awardedhim post on the project and am discussingfuture projects that will be shot in the nextmonth.”

Finally, one of the more exciting devel-opments is the new Holbrook Multi Mediafacility, soon to break ground. With masterplans complete and architectural plans ontheir way, once completed the new facilitywill offer multiple soundstages and more on-site high-tech production equipment andservices than you can shake a stick at,including a range of 4K cinema cameras, aNeve V3 in the recording studio, a greatspace for production and client meetings,and a whole lot more.

LITE CenterThe technology sector aside from

Holbrook Multi Media is packing a punch,too, building up some cool technology andadding infrastructure to Lafayette. One of

Jewelry designer Erica Courtney, one of the reality show’s talents, duringher visit to Kiki, a store that sells her line. The interaction was lit with theLED Bright Shot.

As director of photography for The Shelter, Bobby Holbrook capturedsome thrilling shots. Michael Pare’s character ‘Thomas’, in a momentof great despondency, considers hanging himself.


Louisiana’s most innovative companies,specializing in the visualization of new tech-nology, rests smack dab in the middle ofLafayette. Through one of their latest andmost exciting ventures, the Louisiana Immer-sive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) Center isrevolutionizing the world of employeesthrough immersive gaming.

They are blurring the line between the digi-tal and physical worlds to create new trainingsimulations, and hold the infrastructure for 3Dand virtual world creation. Companies usingthis technology are benefiting, not onlythrough lower expenses, like travel, but by alsohaving the opportunity to give their employ-ees real-life simulations with logical and every-day occurrences. Instead of learning the joboff of the page, this new technology is help-ing workers by letting them train on virtualequipment. This is just one of the numerouscutting-edge technologies they are offering,and I’m excited to see what else they have uptheir sleeve.

All Eyes on LafayetteA few more movie projects are being lined

up for production in Lafayette, definitelymaking it a city to keep an eye on in thecoming months. Projects like Holbrook’sand movies like Lynn Reed’s A Sort of Home-coming will continue to bring in outsidetalent and eyes to Lafayette, and bringopportunities to Acadiana.

Gorgeous backdrops and panoramic land-marks make up the backbone of CajunCountry, and can be anyone’s for the shoot-ing. From stunning cityscapes to sprawlingcountrysides, Lafayette can look likeAnytown, USA, and is often considered tobe a character of its own. The local govern-ment also has open arms to production

Julie Bordelon is the assistant to the City-Parish President/Film-Media at LafayetteEntertainment Initiative (LEI). Here, she givesan overview of all the recent productions andother film events in the area:

Ihave been working in some aspect of the filmindustry in Louisiana, mostly Lafayette, since2006. Lafayette has always been my home…

and if you ask me, I think it is America’s bestkept secret! I’ve spent time as a locationmanager and field producer, I am the executivedirector of the Southern Screen Film Festival,and in 2011, I began working for the LafayetteEntertainment Initiative (LEI), a department ofthe Lafayette Consolidated Government. Inthis position, I serve the Lafayette area as a filmcommissioner, also supporting music, liveperformance and digital media. The job alsoentails community outreach and education,and building infrastructure and productionresources. Lafayette offers great resources andincentives to both out of town productions andlocal filmmakers, and we are excited about thegrowing scene in the area.

Recent productions in Lafayette (2014): The Shelter (pre & post production)A Sort of HomecomingMuse (short)

In the Mind of the Maker (documentary)Pixel Magic (VFX post production)

Features:When the Game Stands Tall22 Jump StreetSelfless

TV:Nashville TV Series

There are always new and exciting thingscoming out of Lafayette. We are happy to havesteady work, but are always open to more projects!The Lafayette Entertainment Initiative is encour-aging Lafayette and Acadiana locals, as well asLouisiana crew interested in working on Acadiana-based projects, to sign up in our database atwww.LafayetteEntertainment.org. And anyonesigned up with LEI will automatically be in theLouisiana Entertainment database. Plus submis-sions open May 8 for the Southern Screen FilmFestival held in November. To submit to theSouthern Screen Film Festival go towww.SouthernScreen.org.

For more information on the Lafayette Entertainment Initiativego to www.LafayetteEntertainment.org. Julie Bordelon can bereached at [email protected] or by calling 337-291-3456.

AN UPDATE FROM JULIE BORDELON OF THELAFAYETTE ENTERTAINMENT INITIATIVE

crews, and supports creativity through themany notable festivals, including FestivalAcadiens, Festival International and manyothers, as well as the Acadiana Center forthe Arts and other arts and entertainment

centers and groups. With so much to offer, and more still to

come, I wouldn’t be surprised if two moremovie projects take their places as thecurrent productions begin wrapping up. LFV

A mock-up of the upcoming HolbrookMulti Media client and production

meeting space.


The perfect location for ANY production.

St. John Center Soundstage

Visit film-louisiana.com or give us a call at 866.204.7782 for more information to start your production rolling today!


One thing we know about the Louisiana film industry is that it isgreat for the economy and the state as a whole. But currently, wehave no real gauge on just how beneficial it is. Our state studies

estimate that 14,000 film production jobs were generated in 2013, andthe Los Angeles Film Office (Film L.A.) ranks our state as the filmmak-ing capital of the world when it comes to live action films. This is power-ful information to be sure, but there are a number of other factors thataren’t being studied, and as a result, these factors are not being takeninto account by our legislature.

THE UNACCOUNTED FOR: ANINTERVIEW WITH WILL FRENCH

“The state studies leave out a lot of impor-tant economic data, which we need to study.The film industry supports better paying jobsthan most other sectors. It funnels capital intoour state. And, it’s causing people and busi-nesses to relocate here. These people andbusinesses hire people, buy houses and carsand greatly contribute to our economy. It’smaking our state better and our economybetter. That information needs to be assessedand understood, and we need to disseminatethat information so that people on the statelevel have that data before they make recom-mendations to change the tax program,” saysWill French, president of the Louisiana Filmand Entertainment Association (LFEA).

French and LFEA have set out on a missionto study these factors that benefit our econ-omy and produce meaningful statistics thatour legislature can use to make informed deci-sions on our tax incentive program. One suchendeavor that is currently underway is calledthe Brain Gain Survey.

This 10-question survey, according to aLFEA press release, aims to count those whohave relocated to Louisiana to take advantageof the growing number of film and TV jobshere, as well as those who work in the indus-try without ever leaving. (Among the ques-tions: How long have you worked in the filmindustry? How long have you lived inLouisiana? Did you move to Louisiana specif-ically to pursue work in the film industry?)

The challenge, however, is convincing thepeople who are working to stand up and becounted.

French says, “These people came toLouisiana to work, and the last thing theywant to do is get involved in policy issues andlegislative affairs. So it’s tricky to get themtaking surveys. But, it is so important that theydo because reversing the long standing brain

Zealand. Thosenumbers are notfactored into theeconomic benefits ofour program either.”

Among other notableyet unaccounted forfactors are the increasein the entertainment lawpractice, the influx of actors and agents, andthe rise of smaller indie films.

In addition, French talks about theincreased student enrollment in our local filmschools: “The professors are seeing it andbringing it up, saying, ‘you need to study theeconomic impact this is having on ourschools.’”

French also points out a glaring truthabout our industry. All things considered, thestate’s investment in our film industry is asmall one.

“I look at the amount of money that thestate spends on the tax incentive program asan investment towards building an industryand creating a job sector for our economyand generating a lot of additional tax revenuein the future,” he says. “If you look at howmuch it costs the state, it’s about $160 milliona year after factoring in new tax collections.That’s about .64 percent of our state’sbudget. In other words, we are investing lessthan 1 percent per year into building thisindustry. We’ve already added 14,000 jobs, ifnot more. And if we are increasingLouisiana’s brand awareness around theworld and showing off what our state has tooffer, thereby helping to change the percep-tion of Louisiana in a very good way, that’sa pretty small investment, and it’s really asmart one.”

One common concern among locals is thefact that, although many jobs are beingcreated in Louisiana, many of these samejobs are filled by people from out of state.French addresses the issue by pointing outthat it isn’t much of an issue at all and is, infact, part of an expected continuum.

He says, “When we first started thisprogram in Louisiana, there was virtuallynobody here with experience in the filmindustry. No real film crews. So everybodyhad to be brought in from out of state. Nowwe have 14,000 workers locally and studiospopping up everywhere. And we still have along way to go. The fact that we still have

drain is huge, and it’s happening. Now weneed to prove it with hard data.”

Quite an undertaking on its own, the BrainGain Survey is only the precursor to a muchlarger and much more expensive study.

French explains, “We are working at LFEAon funding a major new study to reallygauge all these other factors and assess all thepotential economic benefits other than whatthe state looks at, which is really just a hand-ful. Once we get this information, it’ll be mucheasier to show state taxpayers and the legisla-ture and the governor how important this filmindustry is, and how many good things comefrom the growth of the film industry in a statewhere it didn’t exist as recently as 10 years ago.Our program has justified itself purely on jobnumbers. Once we start to count these otherfactors, nobody will question the incentivewisdom.”

Louisiana is not the only state workingtowards gathering more inclusive statistics. Infact, Florida studied “induced tourism” in rela-tion to their film and television industry, find-ing that 20 percent of the people who visitedFlorida had done so because they had seenFlorida in a positive light on film or television.

“That’s important stuff. Tourism is thenumber one industry in New Orleans. Sothat’s a benefit we need to be calculating,” saysFrench.

Another component not being accountedfor is what’s called “advertising dollar equiv-alent.” New Zealand did a study after Lord ofthe Rings to determine what the countrywould have had to spend on advertising inorder to get the same brand awareness and ad-related recognition had they not shot the filmsthere.

According to French, “Something like 47million advertising dollars were derived fromthe fact that those movies were made in New


workers coming in from out of state to meet the need is to beexpected. In fact, the longer we go with a significant amount ofproduction volume, the more people will relocate permanently toLouisiana and bring their families and their companies. That’s reallywhat we are seeing and what we want to capitalize on. The indus-try is on the move, and we need to capture it while it’s on the move.”

The film industry is indeed “on the move” as French points out.One of the reasons the Louisiana incentive program has become soeffective is a result of what’s called “decentralization” from Holly-wood.

“The fact of the matter is that the industry itself has been artifi-cially concentrated in Hollywood for the last 60 or 70 years; withnew technology and socioeconomic factors, it can and is breakingaway from Hollywood,” says French. “Tax incentives are just thetools we use to steer it into our own borders. The trend of decen-tralization has many, many more years to go. This process isn’t goingto happen overnight. It is what’s creating the benefits we are getting,and there’s lots more to come.”

Following the Canadian model, Louisiana was the pioneer of thetax incentive programs in the U.S. and has seen tremendous growthover the years. The Louisiana industry is 65 times larger than it wasin 2002. Although the tax incentives have a great deal to do withthose numbers, they aren’t the only reason people like filming inLouisiana.

French comments, “We have great and unique locations andculture that gives plenty of story lines and content for reality showsand features alike. And people like coming down here to shoot theirmovies. Actors, directors and producers on talk shows are alwayssaying how great of a time they had filming in Louisiana. It’s an envi-ronment and a culture that people just naturally like.”

According to French, once the true value of our industry isrevealed, there will be virtually no obstacles preventing its growth. LFV

STORY BY WÉLAND BOURNE AND W. H. BOURNEPHOTOS BY WÉLAND BOURNE

Local film commissioners fromacross Louisiana recentlyconverged in Los Angeles for

the annual Association of FilmCommissioners International(AFCI) Locations Expo. Filmcommissioners handed out locationmaterials, tax incentive informa-tion and swag as they tried to lurenew business to the state as well astheir local film offices. Interest inLouisiana was high due in part toa slew of recent high-profile proj-ects including several AcademyAward winners. Additionally, EaseEntertainment’s “Spring Fling”Incentives Panel, which immedi-ately preceded the AFCI Loca-tions Expo, surely helped steerbusiness toward Louisiana.

Dama Claire with Ease moderated thepanel, which included New Orleans localLeonard Alsfeld, CEO of FBT Investmentsand FBT Film and Entertainment.

Alsfeld kicked off the session saying, “I’dlike to remind everyone to get Dama’s incen-tive book. It’s absolutely fabulous. Sheupdates it every six months. With legislationgoing on and changes that we see, it’s the bestway to try to track and determine where youcan get the most bang for your dollar. And ifyou are not sure about what the heck I said,when you go to leave, pick up a copy ofLouisiana Film & Video Magazine. We’realways on the back cover so you can feelcomfortable calling me about anything wemay run out of time to address.”

“It’s difficult not to feel great about beinga Yankee man living in New Orleans,”proclaimed Alsfeld, “because if you watchedthe Academy Awards, it was a celebration ofLouisiana both in the actors and the cele-bration of the movies that were mostly inde-pendent, Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years aSlave. These were movies that probablycouldn’t have been made in other states with

the success that they had. It’s led to an incred-ible boom in 2014. ”

“Forbes Magazine about a month ago gaveme some additional ammo to sell the state,”continued Alsfeld. “We are considered theworld leader in the ability to draw majormovie productions to the state. There are alot of reasons for that. The legislators whostarted this program back in 2002, where thelevel of academia didn’t matter in getting ajob, recognized that in order to get greenbusinesses to come to the state, they had toput together a very creative program. Thatoriginally landed Ray, which also had successwith the Oscars. Lately we’ve seen successwith HBO, which had Treme there, and hadan absolute killer with True Detective, which,as you probably know, on the last of theirseason finales blew out HBO’s downloadssystems. This doesn’t seem to be unusualbecause Duck Dynasty scored off the chartsits first day back in the new season.”

“So we are able to create some interestingsettings and environments probably becausethe structure of what we do is so simple, andit’s part of the reason that I’m here toencourage you to better understand what wedo in the state of Louisiana,” explainedAlsfeld. “When you film in Louisiana, it feels

like home except it’s a richer, vibrant, unique,untapped environment with no paparazzi sothe actors can walk around free without beingcompromised. We currently have the largestslate of major movie productions in ourhistory, and we are on schedule to have a yearthat beat last year’s record by over 50 percent.Upcoming films include Independence Day 2,Terminator 5 and 6, Jurassic Park 4 andFantastic 4.”

Alsfeld joked, “I wonder every time whenI come into LAX airport if there is going tobe a sign with my face there that says ‘wantedas enemy of the state (of California)’ becauseevery time I come here (Los Angeles), I spend


2014 AFCI LOCATIONS EXPO SPOTLIGHTSTHE EASE OF LOUISIANA LOCATIONS

Maggie Bowles, BatonRouge Film Commission,at the 2014 AFCI Loca-tions Expo.

Leonard Alsfeld with FBT, and Dama Claire withEase at the Spring Fling Incentives Program.


an extra three or four days looking for thegaps, those things that you have and enjoy inthe state of California that we don’t have ordidn’t have in the state of Louisiana. I use thisexercise to come and find them and importthem into our state (Louisiana).”

“We have studios literally at all fourcorners of the state,” continued Alsfeld. “Weare known for our locations, obviouslyanything from Duck Dynasty to BenjaminButton all look different. We shot Battle L.A.in Baton Rouge’s Celtic Studios. With ourinfrastructure, we have been able to attractdifferent kinds of companies in the industryto Louisiana. Ease Payroll opened an officein New Orleans a couple of years ago. Backthen, I came to Los Angeles and I wanted toget either Fotokem or Deluxe to open anoffice in the state. Successfully, with help, welanded Fotokem in our state. Payroll andproduction companies are easy to convinceto relocate, but I had the toughest timerecruiting lawyers to leave Los Angeles andcome here.”

Incidentally, Alsfeld has managed toconvince his daughter to be a lawyer inLouisiana.

“My primary focus in the beginning in2002 was to find credits to broker and sell totaxpayers in the state,” explained Alsfeld. “Irealized through the audit process how toidentify and isolate those issues that havebeen a problem in the past. We do requireaudits and that’s a positive thing, by the way.

I know some states don’t, and as you knowthe industry sometimes gets some negativepress about people who twist the rules a littleand get outside the law. The fact that we havean audit helps. It’s now an extremely success-ful and profitable business. Our activity isdeep and intense. We are best at helpingindependent movies. The independentmovies that come to our state are treated withthe same respect as the Hollywood studios.”

“For every dollar you spend in the state,you get a 30 percent credit back,” advisedAlsfeld. “Four years ago, the state decidedthey would offer to buy back the credit. I’mhappy to call myself a broker. The state nowpays productions on that certified credit for85 cents on the dollar, so the major Holly-wood studios are there with these $100-million blockbusters because they canfunction with that credit as part of their

budget. They know it’s gonna happen. Thedifference is we pay that fee from reoccurringrevenues. That creates an opportunity forwhat I do because I am owned by the bank.To have unlimited access to those funds bythe bank is a huge advantage for me to beable to compete. My company can producecash the day you get your certificate from thestate.”

“Our role is pretty simple,” said Alsfeld.“We help you understand the rules of thestate for the tax credits. FBT provides theopportunity to have a seamless transition intothe state including understanding how youregister and how you go through the process.I work very exclusively with CPA Clint Mock.I love our film commissioner Chris Stelly. Youhave the opportunity to come into the entirestate without having to work on taxes on yourabove-the-line because we don’t have it. Wehave no caps; we have no sunset clauses. Youshoot a $100-million movie in the state ofLouisiana, then do an audit confirming youspent $100 million in the state, andLouisiana will give you a certificate for $30million. How can you beat that?”

At Locations Expo, local film commis-sioners were definitely seeing the benefitfrom Alsfeld’s praise. Of course the change

in venue didn’t hurt either. Held at the HyattRegency Century Plaza, the show was in ahigh traffic industry area surrounded by FoxStudios and agency giants CAA and ICM.

“I think the AFCI Locations show hasbeen going great for the day and a half we’vebeen here,” said Pam Glorioso from theShreveport-Bossier Film Office. “We’ve hada lot of people stopping by from very goodproductions. The location has brought a lotmore visibility to the show. The proximity toCentury City and Beverly Hills, where a lotof productions are made and people live, hasbeen great.”

“So far we’ve had a lot of people comingthrough this year. Great crowds, great loca-tion and layout,” added Maggie Bowles withthe Baton Rouge Film Commission. “Every-thing’s been really nice, and we’ve been welltaken care of in Century City.”

Said Jo Banner, River Parishes TouristCommissioner, “Well, this is my first timeattending here and I feel like we’ve made alot of great contacts in the industry. It’s beengreat seeing Los Angeles and learning aboutwhat producers need for their films. I’ve beengiving them more information about theincentives and about our area. I think it’sbeen really helpful.”

“It’s been a great show so far. We’ve metwith a lot of people who are interested inLouisiana and what we have going on there,”said Houma Area CVB representative KellyGustafson. “We have some great incentivesand tax credits for people and just the rightlocations. We’re not just swamps and bayousand the French Quarter. We have things thatcan be Anywhere, USA, so it’s great to letthem know about what we can do and offerthem.” LFV

“We currently have the largest slate of majormovie productions in our history, and we are onschedule to have a year that beat last year’srecord by over 50 percent.” -Leonard Alsfeld

Kelly Gustafson with the Houma Area CVB and JoBanner with the River Parishes Film Commissionat the 2014 Locations Expo.


Plantation Village Studios, apremier all-inclusive filmstudio located in Baton

Rouge, is hosting a yacht party atCannes Film Festival in France tocelebrate the state of Louisiana andto attract filmmakers. Featuring big-name journalists and above-the-line talent like Kelsey Grammer andJohn Michael Higgins, the occasionis sure to have a booming impact onthose unaware of what Louisianahas to offer.

John Ross, head of business affairs at thestudio, tells us, “The party is to let people knowabout the tax incentive program in Louisianaand how it works. It’s to let people know aboutthe crew base and how much talent is inLouisiana. It’s to publicize the state. And ofcourse to attract films to our studio, as well.”

He continues, “Louisiana is fast becominga premier filming destination and many peopleout of the country aren’t even aware of it yet.They’re not really aware of how to producein the states in general, and they aren’t reallyconfident in tax credit programs.”

Plantation Village owner Jake Seal—producer of Breaking the Bank, starring KelseyGrammer—will also be launching a film fundat the party in order to attract new projectsand investors.

“We’re actively looking for people to part-ner with and do business with,” explainsRoss. “We’re in an interesting space nowwhere we have a slate of projects that havebeen grandfathered to us and that are highlymitigated and highly attractive to investors.”

The studio itself is built on a historic plan-tation village and offers an all-inclusiveexperience well suited to take a project frominception to the final stages of post-produc-tion.

“The vision is to have people come andstay as long as possible,” says Ross. “It’sgreat for them with the tax credits becauseit’s all qualified expenditure. They haveeverything they need in one place. Forexample, we have editors and post-produc-tion and visual effects. People can stay at thestudio while they work, with shared officespace and accommodations at the sametime.”

PLANTATION VILLAGE STUDIOS TOHOST LA YACHT PARTY AT CANNES

Among the many amazing features of theproperty, the studio features a 10,000-square-foot soundstage with a 35-foot ceil-ing, a private screening room, 20,000 square

feet of office space, private suites with fullbathrooms, and even its own airstrip. Thestudio further separates itself from the packwith Seal, the facility’s owner. Not only does

Levy House was orginally built in Jackson, LA, on the site of the current post office in 1848 and movedto Asphodel Village about 30 years ago. It housed the famous Asphodel restaurant.

Entrance into Levy House.


Seal have an extensive background in digi-tal effects, but he was one of the first peopleto get involved in 3D filming, shooting thefirst ever 3D music video.

“There’s been increasing requests for 3Dfilming or 2D to 3D conversions, and there’sjust not that expertise in Louisiana,” saysRoss. “So it’s exciting for us to be able toprovide that.”

Plantation Village has immediate plans toopen a bar and grill on site for its guests and,eventually, a small movie theater.

“We’ve already got the projection gearand everything else, and the idea is it will beopen to the public. Because the closesttheater right now is 30 minutes away,”explains Ross. “It’s just about giving peoplewhat they’d love to have.”

The site also has some remarkable historyto it, housing old film productions likeDesire in the Dust and Long Hot Summer.

“It was the first ever bed and breakfast inLouisiana,” says Ross, elaborating on thesite’s rich history. “It was famed for itstheater and restaurants, and over the yearsit’s changed plenty of times. About six orseven years ago we turned it into a studio.Now all the old antebellum buildings havebeen restored.”

Furthermore, community is a vital aspectof Plantation Village. They have developedan integrated community that houses all of

the businesses, expertise and laborersneeded to produce great films. And the localpopulation has become a major part of theprocess.

“We have a large amount of localsemployed with us, anywhere from loggers,tree cutters, lumber mills, carpenters, glassworkers, plumbers, electricians, etc. And

they are all as local as you can possibly get,”says Ross. “If you build a community, thenyou will keep films coming back, and theywill see that it’s changing and constantlygetting better.” LFV

For more information on Plantation Village Studios, visit

www.plantationvillagestudios.com.

Office inside the Levy House.

STORY BY TARA BENNETT

In case you haven’t heard, Louisiana has become a prime hot spot fortoday’s film industry, earning itself the moniker of Hollywood South. Afterbeating out Los Angeles for most films made in 2013, job openings in the

film industry are on the rise, bringing with it an increase in demand for specialcourses and workshops focused on the art and business of film.


THE NEWLY LAUNCHED MENTORSHIP & FILMTRAINING PROGRAM SPONSORED BY LOUISIANA INTERNATIONAL FILM

FESTIVAL & THE ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER BATON ROUGE

To aid those who wish for film training, theLouisiana International Film Festival & Mentor-ship Program (LIFF) has come together with theArts Council of Greater Baton Rouge to launcha new educational program for aspiring film-makers to receive the necessary education andresources that will give them an advantage as theybreak out into the world of film. The programwill serve as an entry point for adults to gainaccess into the world of film and digital media.

The first program, entitled “An Introductionto the World of Film & Digital Media:

Developing and Presenting the Story with yourUnique Voice,” will kick off during the 2014Louisiana International Film Festival, held May8-11. Throughout the weekend, participants willattend workshops and panels taught by industryprofessionals, view film screenings and receiveopportunities for private discussions with film-makers.

Some of the special guests announced for thisyear’s program include actor Dwight Henry(Beasts of the Southern Wild, 12 Years A Slave);director Katherine Brooks (The Osbournes, TheReal World); Seed&Spark CEO Emily Best; cast-ing director Paul Weber; and Head of Innova-tion for the Super Bowl, Chris Garrity, amongmany others.

Each special guest will serve on panels, teachworkshops, or host Master Classes to share theirinsights on the current state of the industry, andparticipants will learn about the tools they canutilize in their own filmmaking ventures.

Throughout the three days of the program,participants will discover what it is like to becomepart of Hollywood South with workshops taughtby industry professionals on a variety of topicssuch as acting, voiceover work, screenwriting,documentary storytelling, digital FX, and specialFX. Open panel discussions will feature key high-level cast, crew, and filmmakers, along with newtechnology presentations. The program willprovide free daily lunch, which is designed foreach participant to be able to interact andnetwork with industry players in a private, non-

formal setting.Participants will be able to attend screenings

of films from around the world and receivechances to participate in Q&As hosted by theinternational filmmakers, such as a curatedanimated film screening by Comedy Central,hosted by Scout Raskin of Sonic Bunny Produc-tions.

As another additional benefit, each participantwill receive six free Flix Passes to attend additionalLIFF screenings, such as God’s Pocket, with thelate Philip Seymour Hoffman, ChristinaHendricks and John Turturro; Elsa & Fred, star-ring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plum-mer; The Double with Jesse Eisenberg; AThousand Times Goodnight with Juliette Binoche;and director Roman Polanski’s second NorthAmerican screening of Venus in Fur.

At the end of the program, each participantwill receive a Certificate of Completion showingthat they have gained basic knowledge of the film

“We are so excited to announce the first program from the LouisianaInternational Film Festival Mentorship program. The guest instructorswe are bringing in are powerful, progressive leaders in film and digital

media and will bring a wealth of current knowledge and industry expert-ise to our participants. We would like to encourage anyone 16 years or

older who is interested in the program to contact us ASAP to register forthis program.” – Shanna Forrestall, Program Coordinator

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: EMILY BESTEmily founded Seed&Sparkto make a contribution tothe truly independentcommunity in which shewould like to make movingpictures. In 2011, she had thegreat fortune of producingher first feature with a remarkable group ofwomen. The spirit, the community and thechallenges of that project, Like the Water,inspired Seed&Spark. Before producing Likethe Water, Emily produced theater, workedas a vision and values strategy consultant forBest Partners, ran restaurants, studied jazzsinging at the Taller de Musics, tour guidedand cooked in Barcelona, and before that,was a student of Cultural Anthropology andAmerican Studies at Haverford College. Emilywas named one of the 2013 Indiewire Influ-encers, dedicated to 40 people and compa-nies who are asking the big questions aboutwhat the independent film industry is today(and why) and, more importantly, what it willbecome. Emily is touring film and tech festi-vals around the world, Sundance and Tribecato Galway and Louisiana, to educate film-makers and learn their best practices inconnecting with their audiences to build asustainable career.

and productionindustry. Thecertificate serves asa stepping stoneinto future educa-tional endeavors, as all recipi-ents will become candidates foradditional training, includingmentorships by industry profes-sionals, internships andemployment opportunities.

All events throughout the festival will be heldat Perkins Rowe, located on Bluebonnet Road inBaton Rouge. The program is open to adults ages16 or older at the cost of $100 per person. Resi-dents of Old South Baton Rouge can attend atno cost due to grant funding provided by JPMor-gan Chase Foundation.

Registration for the program can be donethrough the Arts Council of Greater BatonRouge website at www.acgbr.com. For moreinformation about the program, e-mail [email protected] or call 504-267-0451. LFV


Louisiana-shot Elsa & Fred is set to close outthe Louisiana International Film Festival onSunday, May 11, at 7pm. This will be the

Louisiana premiere and the only public screeningoutside of the Miami Film Festival.

From director Michael Radford, this wonderful new romantic comedy starstwo of the finest actors alive today, Academy Award winners Shirley MacLaineand Christopher Plummer. Elsa (MacLaine), a vivacious retiree in NewOrleans, gets straight-laced widower, Fred (Christopher Plummer), as anunwanted next-door neighbor—until he ultimately surrenders to her bold andbeautiful madness, and the two soon discover it’s never too late to fulfill a life-time fantasy.

The film, also starring Marcia Gay Harden, George Segal and Chris Noth,is a rousing remake of the hit Spanish-Argentine film. Elsa & Fred featuresperformances from many Louisiana talents, including New Orleans’ ownWendell Pierce (The Wire, Suits), Jackie Tuttle (Pitch Perfect), Sam Medina (Olym-pus Has Fallen, Machete Kills), as well as father/daughter Lance E. Nichols(Treme, Benjamin Button) and Indigo (Treme, Common Law). LFV

LOCALLY-SHOT ELSA & FRED TOPREMIERE AT LIFF


STORY BY SEAN RICHARDSON

Editor’s note: Most people know Sean Richardson asthe co-director of King of Herrings (along withwriter, co-director and star Eddie Jemison), the uniqueblack and white film that won the Audience Awardfor Narrative Feature at the 2013 New Orleans FilmFestival. While working with Sean and Eddie on theirpieces, which appeared on LFV’s website(www.louisianafilmandvideo.com), we discoveredthat Sean has been creating some of the most inter-esting, innovative actors’ headshots around. In thisarticle, Sean tells us how he became interested in doingsomething other than standard headshots, and givesactors some advice about getting the most out of thismust-have marketing tool.

Iphotograph people; that is mypassion. I started taking headshots about

three years ago. I have manyfriends who are actors, so I’ve seenmy share of headshots. The onething that’s pretty consistent abouttheir headshots is that they wereforgettable. Headshots in Louisianahave had the same approach foryears. The actor looks emotionless.There is nothing to read off theirface. Their eyes are wide and thatreads unsure.

As someone who loves taking captivatingphotos of people, these important photo-graphs frustrated me. I knew my friends asfascinating people and gifted actors. Theirheadshots just didn’t do them justice. One dayI was talking to actor and friend MattyFerraro, who has since become my studiomanager and business partner. “Matty,” Iasked him, “why is it that all headshots suck?”He didn’t understand what I was asking:headshots were just, you know, headshots—just something all actors had to have.

Actors, agents, casting directors and photog-raphers don’t really think about what makesa great headshot. Yet there’s probably not amore important tool to get an actor hired fora job. Intrigued, I started doing research. Istudied some of the greatest portrait and head-shot photographers in the world. Gregory

HOW I BECAME A HEADSHOTPHOTOGRAPHER

Heisler, Richard Avedon, and Peter Hurley’swork all drew me. The more I researched, themore I became obsessed with creating some-thing amazing for the actors in Louisiana. Iwanted to give them the best product torepresent themselves as they increasinglycompeted against actors from Los Angeles,New York, London and the rest of the globe.

I was drawn to Hurley’s work. It was simple,but powerful. Ideas of how I wanted my workto look began forming in my mind. I broughta simple game plan to Matty. He was the firstperson I ever shot a headshot for. We did astudio shoot with a white backdrop, and theimage would be landscape, not portrait. Thefirst images from that test shoot needed work(which is a kind way to put it). But I saw some-thing there I liked. I talked to a few actors andagents about the direction those images were

taking me.Choosing to shoot this way would be much

more controversial than I would have everimagined.

Everyone told me that if I wanted to be aheadshot photographer in Louisiana, I wouldhave to shoot portrait (vertical image) and Iwould have to shoot natural light (exterior/onlocation). That just didn’t interest me.

Every headshot I saw in Louisiana was anatural light portrait style image. They seemedboring to me. So I wanted to bring somethingdifferent to the table. When I started, I gotmostly good responses, but still they said thereis only one correct way to shoot a headshot.Let me be clear, I don’t think shooting natu-ral light portrait style is wrong. I have seensome beautiful headshots. It just wasn’t mystyle.

Michael Papajohn. Anexample of a headshot by

Sean Richardson


ANIMAL TALENT


For me, it’s all about capturing the emotion of an actor. I want to look at a headshot and seemore than just a person’s face. As photographers, we have to bring those images to life. It does-n’t matter if they are on a solid white backdrop or a downtown skyline, as long as the imagesays something and tells a story.

Now this style of headshot is being more and more adopted in Louisiana. New York photog-raphers have been shooting mainly studio headshots for a while now. So I’m not exactly imple-menting a new concept. We just want to give actors effective options so he or she has the bestchance to win that career-making role.

In the sidebar, I’ve made some specific suggestions for working with a photographer to getthe best work done. Generally I say think of your headshot session as an audition. If you go intoan audition tense and nervous, what are the odds of you booking that role? Be yourself, and letthe emotions come. That’s where the duty falls to the photographer: my job is to get the bestout of you; your job is to be yourself.

I look forward to seeing you on the other side of my camera. LFV

For more on Sean Richardson, visit www.greenpotatophotography.com.

HOW ACTORS CAN GET BETTER HEADSHOTSHeadshots are not something to be overlookedas an actor. They are likely the first time thecasting director will see your face. They can helpyou get an agent or get you into an audition.Here are some practical tips:

1. Stay away from friends with cameras. Hire anexperienced pro. With headshots, your time isyour most precious resource. You can’t afforda bad first impression with casting directors andpotential agents. If you have an agent worth hersalt, she won’t let you use those images tobegin with.

2. Research those professional photographers.Look at their work, and ask yourself if it speaksto you. Great photographers are worth it, but itis an investment on your part so don’t go intoit blindly. Ask friends who they recommend, ortalk to your agent.

3. Above all else: find the right fit for you. If thephotographer cannot get the desired reactionsout of you, they most likely will not give yougreat headshots.

4. While you’re sitting for the shots, avoid the“deer in the headlights” look. Keep your chinforward. Many people having their picturetaken—even experienced actors—move theirchin back as soon as they stop thinking aboutit. It’s just not a very flattering angle. Stay pres-ent throughout the entire session.

When an actor comes to our studio, the mostimportant thing I can tell them is to comerelaxed. It’s just a picture, after all. Yes, it’s avery important picture that can be the differ-ence in you getting an audition and booking agig or being passed over, but you have to comein confident and relaxed. Make sure you relateto the photographer and have a good time. Feelgood about yourself and that will come throughthe lens. Acting is hard enough, so make sureyour headshots are your friends, not foes.

#18B.7

Monika Guiberteau.Headshot by Sean

Richardson.

Michael Scott.Headshot by SeanRichardson.

Wayne Pere.Headshot by SeanRichardson.


Carol Ann Scruggs

Del Corral & Associates 501-324-3782 [email protected] [email protected]

Carol Ann was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi with most of her years spent in the Jackson, Mississippi area. She grew up entertaining with her love of dance, gymnastics and school plays. She had a lifelong dream of being an actor but access was limited in Mississippi. This was reignited when Hollywood came knocking in Mississippi and worked as background on

addition to acting she has expanded her creative talents to writing monologues, shorts and a freelance journalist for a

STORY BY MARSHALL WOODWORTH

It wasn’t until 2009 that Itried my hand at being aserious filmmaker. I knew

nothing of ISO settings, videocompression, color tempera-tures, shutter speed, resolu-tion, digital sensors, lenses, gripwork, or lights outside of basickey and fill. Being a photogra-pher, I could compose shotsand accentuate their meaningthrough movement and music.

Armed with a Canon XL-1, I wrote, shot,then edited a 15-minute video called We arethe End. With no budget for lighting and myinability to control colors, I converted the video to black and white,bumping up the contrast to accentuate the internal conflicts of my twoheroin junkie protagonists. Thankfully, the on-board mic of the CanonXL-1 (with built-in compression) was good, so I didn’t need to useanother microphone.

I knew I could use this dark version of New Orleans as a palette forme to learn how to make films. I thought up scenarios that I could shootfor no money, scenes and events I could edit together on some futuredate as part of an ongoing series. Since these scenarios took place beforethe events depicted in We are the End, I called it We are the Beginning.As of April, six of these webisodes are available on townspot.tv.

Throughout this process, I turned technical limitations into creativechallenges. Here’s what I can tell tyro filmmakers who have little money:

1.Forget 4K for no-budget films.When I have a budget, I use Ralph Madison as my DP. He shoots

5K with the Red Epic. People have asked me what I shoot my “no-budget” films on. I tell them the truth—a Canon 60d. It’s a workhorseand heck of a DSLR. I’ve put my camera through hell and back andit still works beautifully. The down side of the 60d is struggling to haveenough light that I can shoot with an ASA (or ISO) of 100. That’s thegolden number I strive for. To get a 60d, which already has a .6cropped sensor, down to ASA 100, you need a lot of light, so muchfor interiors that it’s a fire hazard to have that many lights on a smallset. Though 4K gives you optimal choices for color correcting, as wellas a high dynamic range and resolution, it consumes an enormousamount of drive space. Most people will be watching your film onlaptop screens where the difference between 720 and 4k is barely distin-guishable.


TEACH YOURSELF FILMMAKINGTHROUGH A GUERILLA WEB SERIES

New Orleans rapper Mystikal shoots a scene for We arethe Beginning. Here is an example of guerilla filmmak-ing. Woodworth drives, while production partner KristianHernandez imitates a high angle Steadicam shot bysitting with tripod on the trunk of the car.

Woodworth is caught off guard while getting low angle video with hisCanon 60d. He is shooting B-roll of the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisvillefor Down South Paranormal Investigations.

Woodworth was lucky to have former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwardsstar in a scene for the crime drama We are the Beginning. This scene wasshot with a Canon 5d Mark III and Canon 60d. Edwards was not used tobeing an actor, so Woodworth talks extensively with him ahead of timeabout the script.


2.You don’t need fast lenses,either.

I work as a photographer and just scored amagazine cover. While lenses account forone-third of your visual elements, ‘it ain’tthe tools that matter, it’s what you can dowith ‘em.’ For We are the Beginning, I usethe standard 18-135 lens (ƒ/3.5) thatcomes with the 60d. Though it’s a slowerlens, it suits most of my guerrilla shootingneeds because I can have immediate accessto the wider angle (for walking with theactors) or a compressed image (whenzoomed in all the way).

Shooting a chase scene, I used a fish eyefor the first time. This allowed flexibilitywhen moving backwards with the cameraas the actor walked forward towards it. Icould swiftly run backwards while mini-mizing camera shake. The wider the lens,the easier it is to lessen camera shake andcreate (if you practice hard enough) shotsthat resemble Steadicam movements.

I occasionally use a 50mm prime orfaster lens when I need that shallow depthor shooting in low-light situations. Andthat’s something to remember about lenschoice—when you have a tight budget withno permits, you don’t have time toconstantly swap out lenses. When you areworking with a volunteer crew and cast, Ifind zoom lenses allow me greater flexi-

Woodworth sets up a scene from We are the Beginning with production partner Daniel Waghorne. They areusing a Canon 5d Mark III on a Cine Slider for smooth horizontal movement.


bility under time constraints, allowing meto quickly reframe a shot.

3.Having enough light is going tobe a challenge.

With little money for lights, I tried to keepthe scenes daytime exteriors, only usingreflectors and bounce boards. I use a 5-in-1 reflector with gold, silver, or white sides.Though I don’t like having characters standin front of white walls, they provide muchpractical bounce in sunlight. I’m a big fanof backlighting. If I’m shooting in directsunlight, I’ll wait until 4pm, when the sunis at an angle. I keep the sun to the actor’sback, giving them a radiant backlight, whileI illuminate them from the front with areflector. Remember to write scenes thatyou can shoot quickly so the sun doesn’tchange too much during the course of yourscene. Avoid the college filmmaker trap ofshooting your films inside standard-lookingapartments, the dorms or office buildingsjust ‘cause it’s free.

4.Good sound is more vital thangood camerawork.

Don’t get me wrong, good camerawork isalso crucial and is much more difficult toexecute properly. Point is, I’ve learned thatbad sound equals a bad film—period. I

consider actors and the sound the two mostimportant elements. Whatever your errors,an audience will not tolerate bad acting orbad sound.

A few webisodes in, I realized how diffi-cult getting proper sound is. Sound peopleface many variables: cars, jets, dogs, roadconstruction, chatty neighbors, wind, soft-spoken actors, even the boom pole. Withguerilla films, you’ll need portable equip-ment that is easy to set up.

To cover my sound needs, I use theZoom H4N field recorder (with two built-in condenser mics) and a Rhodes N2Gboom mic. That’s enough coverage if weare indoors shooting a couple actors. I havelearned to write scenes that I can shoot, soI try to avoid having exterior scenes closeto traffic.

5.“Don’t write what you don’t know.”I see a lot of college filmmakers writ-

ing about things they haven’t experienced orbeen personally affected by. You can some-how feel it when watching their films. Filmsomething that has happened to youpersonally, especially if it formed a spiritualconnection. Even if you don’t make the bestfilm out of it, an audience can still subcon-sciously detect whether the film has realsubstance. Since web series don’t need

cohesive styles or traditional plots, you canexperiment with astounding flexibility. It’sa great platform to play around and takerisks, as long as you end each webisode witha cliffhanger so the audience is sure to tunein to the next one.

In short, if your budget’s tight withvolunteers and no permits, limit the castfrom one to three actors interacting inpractically lit interiors (for sound controland maximum light through windows) anduse daytime exteriors before 10am andafter 3pm. Avoid traffic areas withunwanted noise. Use a zoom lens, givingyourself flexibility when choosing cameraangles under time constraints. Don’t writeyour script about something you are notpersonally affected by. If you are notinspired, your film will not be inspiring.Most importantly, keep a strong spirit anddon’t give up. LFV

Marshall Woodworth has wanted to be a film director

since seeing Tim Burton’s Batman as an eighth grader.

In the mid-90s he honed camera skills working as a

portrait photographer for Olan Mills and as a studio

director. Today he owns Marshall Woodworth

(www.facebook.com/WoodworthProductions?ref=hl).

To see We are the Beginning and his other work, visit

www.townspot.tv/profile/marshallwoodworthfilms.


STORY BY ALEXANDER BRIAN MCCONDUIT

Sunken City wrapped its first season with anight of food, drinks and stand-up comedy. It was obvious at the Sunken City wrap

party that the group had created somethingspecial. There’s no other way to explain whymore than 100 people would cram into ChickieWah Wah, a small bar in Mid-City, when onlya few blocks away, most locals were partying atthe largest free music festival in the South,French Quarter Festival. It was a special nightfor the creators of Sunken City, as they cele-brated their first season. It turned out to be aspecial night for everyone who was there, and ascomedian Joe Cardosi put it during his set, it wassomething that would happen #OnlyInNOLA.

Sunken City is a web comedy, created in New Orleans by CJHunt and Kyle June Williams. The duo also stars in the series asthey each portray three different groups of characters. Beau andLinda are two wealthy uptown residents who deal with a host offirst world problems, Warlock and Anne attempt to run a hauntedwalking tour company in the already crowded French Quarter,and Curry and DJW are two entrepreneurs who don’t have a clueabout what they’re supposed to be doing.

Hunt and Williams met at The New Movement Theatre andboth have a background in improv and sketch comedy. Williamsis a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has workedwith sketch groups Brave Aunt Beth and BriTANIck. Hunt stud-ied at the Improv Olympic in Chicago and graduated from theComedy Conservatory in New Orleans. He’s also a trained improvteacher and toured the country as a member of the group, StupidTime Machine.

Soon after the two decided to move forward with their idea forSunken City, they met director Jonathan Evans, pulled theirresources together to shoot a pilot and launched a Kickstartercampaign to get the funds needed to bring their series to life.

“We wanted to actually have something to showfor our Kickstarter campaign, instead of just talkingabout it, like others,” said Williams. After a wellexecuted campaign, the group earned more than$11,000, but more importantly, they received contri-butions from 292 people, some of whom became anintegral aspect of Sunken’s success.

“We knew we needed to raise money because noneof us are wealthy,” said Evans, “and executing asuccessful campaign gave us a good feeling ofsupport as we took on the production.” With cashin hand and a few extra helpers, they got to work andfilmed their first season.

SUNKEN CITY: AN#ONLYINNOLA WEB COMEDY

(l to r) Jonathan Evans (director), CJ Hunt, andKyle June Williams.

CJ Hunt (left) and Jonathan Evans.


The crew filmed all around the Big Easy andeven wove real people and places into itsfictional web landscape. NOLA retail mogulLauren Thom, better known as Fleurty Girl,played herself in the series and was included inmultiple episodes. People like local entrepreneurChris Schultz and locations like his collabora-tive workspace, Launch Pad, added a touch ofreality to Sunken’s virtual world.

“It’s a great story about what’s going on inNew Orleans in a lot of different ways and it’sexactly the type of thing that I personally liketo support. People who are willing to put them-selves out there and do something they’repassionate about,” said Schultz, who connectedwith Williams as she worked at Launch Pad.

Although the trio had some experience work-ing with each other, this was their first time work-

ing together on a scripted web series like SunkenCity.

“It was a really great learning and bondingexperience. I had never tackled something ofthis scale or scope with so many locations, actorsand moving parts,” said Evans. “I think wemade mistakes here and there along the way, butI also never felt like we were going to fall offcourse.”

Back at the wrap party, you could sense thatthis was a tight-knit group. The headliner for thenight, Andrew Polk, did a stand-up set at thecrew’s screening in January and also played asmall role as a barista in episode three. The crewraved about how much support they receivedthroughout the entire production, and at thewrap party it showed.

“Be open to the idea that good people will

find your project. We couldn’t have planned forany of them to work with us and now some ofthem are a part of our permanent crew,” saidHunt. “It’s just kind of nice when you’re work-ing on something and good people come up andsay, ‘Hey, I want to work with you.’”

After their first season, the group has highhopes for Sunken City. Their YouTube channelhas amassed more than 20,000 plays and over500 subscribers. Since its release, the show hasbeen developing a buzz and was recentlyfeatured on Indiewire.com.

“I want us to have a platform on television,”said Williams, “or on a big network provider likeNetflix or HBOGO that gives us the money tomake more.” LFV

To catch the first season of Sunken City, subscribe to their

YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/oursunkencity) or visit

their website to learn more (www.oursunkencity.com).

(l to r) Jonathan Evans, Kyle June Williams, CJ Hunt, Liz Beeson, Jeremy Blum, and Danny Marin.


The adventure of Donkey Otie’sForever Birthday Story is a“rags or riches” tale that read-

ers of this magazine may have anintegral part in ultimately defining.A children’s book by the samename has been published in twolanguages, and is currently indevelopment as a feature film. Theunexpected author/screenwriter isVicky Branton, a native ofLouisiana.

As of this writing, the 24-page storybook canbe purchased primarily online in English andFrench, a translation by a Louisiana residentwho is a native of Jonquieres, France. New for2014, the Spanish translation is expected to bein print for Christmas.

Described by Branton as having a life of itsown, Donkey Otie’s Forever Birthday Story trulyis a Cinderella story. Here’s how the story beganits journey from concept to its development asa feature film:

Little Donkey Otie came to life first as apoem not even bearing his name. In answer toa heart cry for a friend dying of cancer, Bran-ton awoke in the wee hours of a December2002 morn and penned Christmas Eve in Beth-lehem. The 18-verse poem spoke of the eventssurrounding the birth of Jesus.

Just as the inspiration for the poem was unex-pected by Branton in 2002, six years later, whenit became the foundation of a feature film, thetransition was equally surprising. The script wasintended as a 10-minute video to accompanya unique consumer product that will becomepart of Donkey Otie’s licensed merchandise.

After the birth of the screenplay, the ques-tion arose: “How am I ever going to get ananimated film produced from Lafayette,Louisiana?” At the time, Moonbot Studios, theOscar-winning animation studio in Shreveport,was in its infancy and totally unknown to Bran-ton. Yet within three weeks of thinking the oddsimpossible, news arrived of an upcoming RedStick Animation Festival in Baton Rouge. Bran-ton’s attendance brought an introduction toCanadian-born Darren Cranford, thus begin-ning the transition to possible.

Resulting conversations between Brantonand artist/animation studio owner Cranford

HOW A CHILDREN’S BOOK BECOMESA FEATURE FILM: AN UNLIKELY JOURNEY FOR DONKEY

OTIE AND ITS AUTHOR (PART 1 OF 3)

centered on the screenplay becoming afeature film. Not until the second year at thefestival did the discussion turn to the possi-bility of creating an illustrated children’sbook.

Two years after their chance meeting,Cranford returned the first official portrait ofthe lead character in the newly titled DonkeyOtie’s Christmas Tale. Branton fell in love atfirst sight, and it was then she knew DonkeyOtie had come to life.

The story had transitioned into a charac-ter-driven retelling of the night Jesus wasborn. The well-received book of illustratedverses was funded by Branton’s family and“Family Approved” by The Dove Founda-tion. The poem was evolving to bring visualdefinition to delight both children and adults.

For nearly a year, the duo of Branton andCranford collaborated on the concepts foreach frame, combining descriptions fromwithin the poem itself with elements thatwould come later in the animated version.The key ingredient became the light capturedmasterfully on every page.

With the screenplay written and with illus-trations on the way, the title then became ahindrance to a story that has no bounds.Because stories of Jesus are shared through-out the calendar year, wise counsel suggested

the removal of ‘Christmas’ from the title. The result was magical: Donkey Otie’s

birthday story had become forever. Branton knew challenges would face her to

find distribution and funding to complete thetask of launching Donkey Otie’s world tour.Every step during the past 12 years, when theimpossible held up a hand to say “Stop,” thepossible waved her on. Through building rela-tionships, opportunities continue to raisemomentum.

Will Donkey Otie’s Forever Birthday Storyspan the globe as an independent animatedmusical? Will it become a mega-filmproduced by one of the major studios knownfor such accomplishments? Or will it beswallowed up and never heard from again?

Time will tell. Branton is looking for some-one interested in saving Donkey Otie likeWalt Disney saved Mr. Banks. You will havea front row seat as Louisiana Film & VideoMagazine introduces Donkey Otie to thosewho could play a major role in bringing thisstory to the silver screen. In sharing the jour-ney, this magazine will continue to report onthe progress of Donkey Otie’s world adven-tures. LFV

For more background information or queries, visit

www.DonkeyOtie.com.

Donkey Otie is making thetransition to feature film.

Raymond on Film & Photography is a Raymond Creativity publication. Raymond Creativity offers research services, web design, lens-created imagery, and other creative solutions for the new media world. Watch for our new audioseries “Merely Famous.” To find other publications, products, and services offered by Raymond Creativity, see www.raymondcreativity.com.



Shotgun Cinema is a non-profit film organization basedin New Orleans. Currently,

we show films monthly at theMarigny Opera House. Our ulti-mate goal is to build out an arthouse movie theatre that will showdaily programs of new independ-ent and repertory films on digitaland film formats.

At the moment, Shotgun Cinema is madeup of two co-founders: Angela Catalano(programming director) and Travis Bird (tech-nical director). Angela is a talented program-mer who can put interesting things on screen,and Travis is a projectionist who can makewhatever is on screen look as good as possible.

We believe in and have experienced thepower of seeing films on a big screen, in atheatre, in a group: such events inspire indi-viduals privately, they create conversation,and they form focal points in a community. Wethink it’s critical for audiences to be exposedto a wide range of titles in order to form asense of what film is, what it has done, andwhat it is capable of.

Furthermore, as moving images transitionfrom film to digital, we find it essential to high-light work made and projected on film, and weare committed to fostering a future role forcelluloid as a curated and preserved, yet stillliving, artistic medium.

We are a non-profit because we’ve seen filmfestival and exhibitor organizations around theworld that benefit from the collaboration,community engagement and programmingflexibility of non-profits, as opposed to theconstraints of for-profit enterprises.

Where did it come from?Shotgun Cinema was conceived by Angela

and Travis, (coincidentally) both originallyfrom Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Angela was previ-ously programming manager at MilwaukeeFilm. Travis was (and is) a projectionist at filmfestivals around North America. After meet-ing at the 2012 Milwaukee Film Festival, wequickly found common ground in film andpersonal taste.

Eventually, Angela visited New Orleansand fell in love with it, but found that despiteexisting film exhibition of varying prioritiesand quality, there was definite room for

WHAT IS SHOTGUN CINEMA?

improvement. Despite investment in filmproduction, south Louisiana audiences aren’texperiencing film culture in meaningful ways.We don’t have regular choices about what tosee, and we aren’t often able to see beautifullyshot films in a way that does them justice.

Shoot-the-moon sessions became reality inMay 2013: Angela moved to New Orleans inDecember 2013 and the first Shotgun Cinemascreening—In The Mood For Love—took placetwo weeks later at the Marigny Opera House.

What are you currently working on?Most importantly for readers, we are contin-

uing our monthly screening series at theMarigny Opera House, a former Catholicchurch turned into a performing arts space.

We bring everything into the Opera House—digital projector, playback and audio process-ing, screen and masking, speakers, and evenmaterial for blacking out windows, all ofwhich takes a full day to set up.

Our next film is Jim Jarmusch’s MysteryTrain, screening Wednesday, May 14. It’s setin Memphis, centers around Elvis, and featuresthe surreal, lowdown grittiness of his morewidely seen films like Down By Law and DeadMan.

We write weekly blog posts on our websiteon a variety of film-related topics. We alsohave a weekly e-mail newsletter that summa-rizes our activities and film-related news,recommends screenings, and highlights otherlocal orgs.


Other than that, we’re doing fairly commonnon-profit stuff: courting new board members,budgeting, pursuing fundraising channels togrow our organization, and looking for waysto expand what we can do.

How can I get involved?There are tangible things you can do to help

us. The best way, of course, is to come to ourscreenings and engage with the films. Thesecond-best way is to spread the word: sign upfor our e-mail list on our website, like us onFacebook, follow us on Twitter, and tell peopleabout what we’re doing.

You can also support us by donating moneythrough our website. The New Orleans FilmSociety is our fiscal agent, and all donationsgo through their apparatus.

Finally, we have a variety of volunteer andcollaborative opportunities. We can use helpduring our screenings, and we’re always look-ing for folks with non-profit knowledge to helpus grow best—resources on legal, accounting,development, and other issues will help us getto the next level and be able to offer more filmsto our audiences. LFV

Mystery Train screens on Wednesday, May 14, at the

Marigny Opera House, 725 St. Ferdinand, 70117. Doors at

6:30, film at 7pm, $7 cash or charge at the door. Visit

www.shotguncinema.org for more information.

John Ashker

[email protected] • 818-430-8208


During the month ofApril, C Plus Picturesfilmed their newest

movie, Sex, Guaranteed, in theNew Orleans area.

The film tells the story of Kevin (playedby Grey Damon), a roofer in New Orleanswho believes he’s cursed—in fact, every timehe even thinks about sex, something badhappens. Co-stars include Bella Dayne, DanFogler, James Debello and Kim Allen.

Sex, Guaranteed is co-directed by Bradand Todd Barnes of Barnes BrothersUnlimited, whose feature film The Lock-smith (previously titled Homewrecker)received the first Best of NEXT Award atthe 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

C Plus Pictures’ award-winning films havealso had a presence at various internationalfilm festivals, including: Cannes, Sundance,

INDIE COMEDY SHOOTS THROUGHOUTAPRIL IN NEW ORLEANS

Slamdance, Berlin, Tribeca, GenART,Newport Beach, Woodstock, Kudzou andmany more.

These two growing film industry playersare joining forces for their first collaborationto produce and direct Sex, Guaranteed.

“We knew from the script that this proj-

ect was special,” says C Plus Pictures’ MikeLandry, “but the greatest gift has beenworking with the Barnes Brothers andwatching them bring this story to life—withour amazing cast in the perfect city. Sex,Guaranteed has been an inspiring andhysterically funny ride.” LFV

CREDITSWriters: Brad Barnes and Sophie Goodhart

Directors: Brad and Todd Barnes (Barnes Brothers Unlimited)

Producers: Mike Landry and Carlos Velazquez (C Plus Pictures)

Co-Producer: Ryan Charles Griffin

Executive Producers: Skipper Bond, Gardner Grout, Greg Shockro, Amy Mitchell-

Smith, Luigi Ghilardi II and F. Stanley Pearse, Jr.

Co-Executive Producers: Claudio Bellante and Luca Garbero

Associate Producer: Paulie Litt


Renée RamosMakeup Artist

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Mandi Burnett is the owner of Studio Nixx. She is trainedin hair, makeup and special fx makeup. Mandi lovesworking outside of her studio whenever the right job arises!

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LOUISIANA CRUISES INTO NAB 2014

STORY BY ODIN LINDBLOM AND W. H. BOURNEPHOTOS BY ODIN LINDBLOM

The annual National Association for Broadcasters (NAB) Show inLas Vegas this year was filled with lots of gear including HD, 2K,and 4K cameras. The biggest Louisiana presence was not a large

group of attendees or camera gear; however, it was the most unusualnew product at the show. Premiering in Showstoppers was the new carfrom the start-up Elio Motors. Elio took over the former GM plant inShreveport and is bringing the car to market next year.

Let’s face it, strapping a camera to afamily car isn’t going to do much in the wayof making your production photos look cool.There’s nothing quite like a sexy camera car,but exotic cars have always been very expen-sive until now. Looking like a concept carfrom the future, Elio Motors was showing off

Shreveport based ElioMotors was the star at

Showstoppers at the2014 NAB Show.

Drones such as this quadrocopter can be outfittedwith the new Ninja Star from Atomos.


their new three-wheeled car. With a stickerprice of under $7,000 and getting over 80mpg, even your accountant will think it’s hot.

It wouldn’t be NAB without big camerareleases and this year was no different. Themarket for cinema cameras got a bit morecrowded. Blackmagic Design introduced theURSA, and Panasonic showed a new Vari-cam. Even JVC and AJA had cinemacameras on display. Arri displayed their newAmira camera, which they are marketing asa lower-cost alternative to their popularAlexa, but with a starting price of $40,000,it may be a hard sell for indie productions.

4K film scans may become a lot cheaperthanks to a new Cintel scanner costing lessthan $30,000. Blackmagic Design boughtCintel earlier this year and had the newCintel Film Scanner on display in theirbooth. The scanner works with 16mm and35mm negative or positive film stock captur-ing at UHD (3840x2160) resolution and issmall enough to fit on a desktop. An optionalpin registered gate will also be available forthe Cintel scanner.

One of the challenges to working withsmall cameras is that they tend to record invery low bitrates causing the footage to haveartifacting issues. Looking to help with that,Atomos developed the new Ninja Star field

recorder that takes the HDMI out of yourcamera and records in 10bit 422 AppleProRes. At 3.5 ounces the Ninja Star is smallenough to be mounted onto a camera droneand retails for $295.

The past few years at NAB saw offeringsfor storage and software licensing on thecloud. This year Amazon and Nvidia haveteamed up to offer something new. They arenow offering cloud-based GPU rendering.While it’s not an entirely new concept, manycompanies offer off-site rendering services;they are typically only for large projects. This

is the first time that you can rent as little asone GPU per day making it a great optionfor short animation and effects work as wellas proof of concept pieces.

The most exciting thoughts about NABthis year: I can buy an Elio and then strapon a Blackmagic 4K Production Camera. Ican upgrade my computer with a newNvidia Quadro K6000 to process the 4K, getthe latest 4K editing software with a cloudsubscription, and purchase a quality 4Kmonitor to view the footage on all for lessthan $25,000! LFV

JVC showed off their newcinema camera.

Black Magic's newCintel Scanner couldrevitalize use of filmfor productions.


Leonard ReynoldsLocation Manager

Positive One Productions

504.606.4110 Cell

New Orleans, LA 70117

2 Guns • The End of the World • 21 & 22 Jump Street • Dallas Buyers Club

Visit us online atlouisianafilmandvideo.com


Michael Koff, owner ofLAcoptercam LLC, hasdeveloped a company that

is revolutionizing the film industrydown South. With 20 years’ expe-rience in flying and buildingcustom drone helicopters, Koff ’sservices have begun to completelyreplace the need for full-size heli-copters and technocranes, whichare typically thought of as themost practical option for aerialfilm shots.

“We can get shots that a crane can easilyget, but a technocrane takes hours of set upwith multiple crew, a tech and a big trailer.It’s a big footprint,” says Koff. “Not tomention, moving a technocrane from pointA to point B can often be a huge task. Theseare non-issues with our rigs.”

Koff mentions that directors and DPsoften quickly recognize the practicality of theCoptercam on set and keep it around formuch longer than expected.

“The biggest difference about our systemversus a full-size helicopter is we are able toget shots that aren’t possible with a full-sizeaircraft,” he says. “The clients hire us for aspecific shot, but when they actually see howeasy it is to move around and how versatileit is, we start getting really busy. We end upstaying for 8 or 10 hours because they startpicking up every shot under the moon that

our rig can be used for.” LAcoptercam has worked on major

LACOPTERCAM BRINGS AERIALSHOOTING TO NEW HEIGHTS

productions such as Nicholas Sparks’ newfilm The Best of Me, CW’s Starcrossed, CNN’sInside Man, and many industrial commer-cials. Next up is a three-day shoot withTabasco.

One of the reasons for the company’ssuccess is its dedication to excellence.

“Our company has a very high level ofservice,” says Koff. “We will turn jobs downif we feel our rigs are not the best platformfor the client’s vision. I like to under-prom-ise and over-deliver.”

Koff also makes every effort to ensuresafety and efficiency on set.

“We will show up to set with a primaryand a secondary copter, just in case a pieceof equipment isn’t working. That way theclient isn’t out of their shot,” he explains.“Myself as the pilot and my gimbal opera-tor will walk through with the DP and direc-tor and make sure we are all on the samepage. We try not to put the helicopter in theair until everybody is ready, until all safetyprecautions are taken, and until the shot iswell planned and thought out. We do systemchecks before and after each flight.”

But the safety provisions don’t stop there.In fact, Koff ’s new safety system is more thanjust useful, it’s awesome.

“We are currently rigging three of our rigswith ballistic parachutes,” he says. “This isa brand new thing that will be thoroughly

tested and will serve as an additional failsafe.It’s a last-ditch safety system that deploys ifsomething were to go wrong in the air.”

The drone helicopter business is a delicateone, as any mistake or misuse of the equip-ment could be detrimental.

“It worries me that people who are inex-perienced and don’t have concern for safetyare claiming that they can provide a serv-ice,” says Koff. “My company is fullyinsured. We have multiple rigs that we go tolocations with, and we treat it like a business.We know that there is a magnifying glass onthis industry. If one novice comes in anddrops a copter into a crowd, it brings a nega-tive light to the entire commercial droneindustry.”

LAcoptercam is the first company of itskind in Louisiana and is taking the industryto new heights of achievement.

“We are in the final stages of testing ourfirst unmanned airplane camera platform,”says Koff. “This plane will allow us to shootglass-smooth images with a three-axis brush-less gimbal and hold professional cinemacameras. The plane will allow us to fly atheights and speeds not possible with heli-copter platforms. From all the R&D I’vedone, I believe this is the first ever aerialcinema airplane platform.” LFV

For more information, go to www.LAcoptercam.com.

Flying through the Hero Garden on the NicholasSparks film The Best of Me.

Shooting inside theMercedes Benz Super-dome for Monster Jam

with Octo #1.


LOUISIANAPRODUCTION & POST EQUIPMENT RENTAL

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3rd Coast Digital FilmsBaton Rouge, LA225-751-3456www.3cdf.com

Abstract Productions LLCNew Orleans: 504-644-4185Baton Rouge: 225-297-2595www.abstractproductions.net

444 CameraHarahan, LA504-734-3973www.444camera.com

American AVLNew Orleans, LA888-835-8039www.americanavl.com

Advanced Audio & Stage Lighting Inc.Denham Springs, LA 225-667-4855www.advancedaudiobr.com

Atherton PicturesNew Orleans, LA 504-818-2190www.athertonpictures.com

Anytime Rentals New Orleans, LA504-261-4881www.anytime-rentals.com

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AV Express, Inc.Baton Rouge, LA225-929-6961www.avexpressbr.com

Available Lighting, Inc.New Orleans, LA504-831-5214www.availablelighting.com

Berning ProductionsMetairie, LA504-838-3960www.berning.com

Blade StudiosShreveport, LA318-213-0777www.bladestudios.com

CamTrekNew Orleans, LA504-734-3973www.camtrek.net

Center Staging, Inc. New Orleans, LA504-247-0020www.centerstaging.net

Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.New Orleans, LA504-731-6050www.chapman-leonard.com

CineleaseJefferson: 504-267-9075 Shreveport: 318-207-0299www.cinelease.com

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CineSouth LightingNew Orleans, LA 318-426-8014www.cinesouthlighting.com

Composite Effects, LLCBaton Rouge, LA225-756-7875www.compositeeffects.com

Comprehensive Technical GroupKenner, LA504-466-4454www.ctgatlanta.com

Covert Camera BikesPrairieville, LA 888-761-6664www.covertcamerabikes.com



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The Creative BlocBaton Rouge, LA225-266-0100www.thecreativebloc.org

Division CameraBaton Rouge, LA225-308-9990www.divisioncamera.com

Digital FXBaton Rouge, LA225-763-6010www.digitalfx.tv

Event RentalGretna, LA504-362-8368 x217www.youreventdelivered.com

Event ProducersNew Orleans, LA 504-218-4564www.eventproducers.com

GSE Audio VisualKenner, LA888-573-6847

Full Motion ProductionsHarahan, LA504-220-2129www.fullmotionproductions.com

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Gulf Coast Tent RentalsHarahan, LA 504-468-8368www.gulfcoast-tent.com

Hertz Entertainment ServicesKenner, LA877-HES-7320www.hertzentertainment.com

Holbrook Multi MediaLafayette, LA337-989-2237www.holbrookmultimedia.com

Hollywood RentalsSylmar, CA (additional locations in Baton Rouge & New Orleans)818-407-7824www.hollywoodrentals.com

Iron Grip, LLCNew Orleans, LA504-450-1721www.irongripllc.com

LA Post, Inc.Baton Rouge, LA 225-303-0165www.lapostgroup.com

Lightnin Production RentalsLawrenceville, GA770-963-1234www.lightnin.com

Louisiana Media Productions Baton Rouge, LA225-610-1641www.lampbr.com

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Louisiana Public Broadcasting Baton Rouge, LA225-333-2269www.lpb.org

M&M Sound and Media Alexandria, LA318-452-2958www.mandmsoundandmedia.com

M3 SystemsFolsom, LA504-616-3999www.m3systems-jibs.com

MBS Equipment Co.Culver City, CA (additional location in New Orleans)310-558-3100www.mbseco.com



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NOLA Film LogisticsMetairie, LA504-710-3626www.nolafl.com

Outland Technology, Inc.Slidell, LA 985-847-1104www.outlandtech.com

Ophion EntertainmentAbita Springs, LA501-772-8078www.ophionfilms.com

Panavision New OrleansHarahan, LA504-733-3055www.panavision.com

Pace SystemsNew Orleans, LA504-837-4224www.pacesys.com

Paskal LightingNew Orleans, LA504-602-9510www.paskal.com

Paramount on LocationNew Orleans, LA504-736-2177www.paramountonlocation.com

MOBILE

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The Pinnacle Group Audio VideoLake Charles, LA337-477-7469www.pingroup.com

Pro-Cam LouisianaKenner, LA877-773-2266www.procamrentals.com

Production Plus Studio Rentals Shreveport, LA310-321-7813 www.productionpluss.com

Production Zone/Media 2-Way RadioDallas, TX214-935-3800www.media2wayradio.com; www.productionzone.com

Propaganda AudioNew Orleans, LA504-229-0773www.propagandagroup.com

PSAV - New OrleansNew Orleans, LA504-830-4360www.psav.com

Pyramid Audio Productions, Inc.New Orleans, LA 504-731-3412www.pyramidaudio.net

Quixote Studios LLCSaint Rose, LA504-465-8321www.quixote.com

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/BIKE

S

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IAL FX

EQUIP

MENT

Ragtime RentalsBaton Rouge, LA225-330-6902www.ragtimerentals.com

Reece Cinematography LLCNew Orleans, LA504-390-7781www.reececinematography.com

Rhino StagingGonzales, LA 225-644-5600www.rhinostaging.com

Royal ProductionsMetairie, LA800-776-9252www.royalproductions.com



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RZI Lighting, LLCNew Orleans, LA504-525-5600www.rzilighting.com

See-Hear ProductionsBogalusa, LA985-886-9358www.seehearpro.com

Second Line StagesNew Orleans, LA504-528-3050www.secondlinestages.com

Solomon GroupNew Orleans, LA504-252-4500www.solomongroup.com

Smart SourceNew Orleans, LA504-737-2247www.smartsourcerentals.com

Spectrum of NOLA (Spectrum FX)Harahan, LA504-322-7236www.spectrumeffects.com

Soupfactory DigitalMetairie, LA504-813-7856www.soupfactorydigital.com

MOBILE

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StageLightNew Orleans, LA 504-818-1880www.stagelight.com

Story Teller Effects Group LLCJefferson, LA504-832-9800www.storytellerfx.com

VER - Video Equipment Rentals New Orleans, LA504-831-6966www.verrents.com

Vidox Motion ImageryLafayette, LA 337-237-1700www.vidox.com

Worldwide FXShreveport, LA318-841-3582www.wwfx.net

WyndChaser LightingBaton Rouge, LA225-216-1546www.wyndchaserlighting.com

YES ProductionsMetairie, LA800-736-8812www.yesproductions.com

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LOUISIANASUPPORT EQUIPMENT RENTAL

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Abstract Productions LLCNew Orleans: 504-644-4185Baton Rouge: 225-297-2595www.abstractproductions.net

Aggreko, Inc.Baton Rouge: 225-751-3525; Lake Charles: 337-625-3450New Iberia: 337-365-5479; New Orleans: 504-461-0556Shreveport: 877-603-6021www.aggreko.com

ACT TechnologiesReserve, LA985-536-2934www.acttechnologies.com

American AVLNew Orleans, LA888-835-8039www.americanavl.com

American Audio Visual, LLCBaton Rouge, LA225-928-3334www.aavbr.com

Audio Visual Mart Inc.Kenner, LA504-733-1500www.av-mart.com

Anytime Rentals New Orleans, LA504-261-4881www.anytime-rentals.com

AV ExpressBaton Rouge, LA225-929-6961www.avexpressbr.com

Available LightingNew Orleans, LA504-831-5214www.availablelighting.com

Barnstorm CinemaNew Orleans, LA504-458-4665www.barnstormcinema.com

Berning ProductionsMetairie, LA504-838-3960www.berning.com

Blue Hawk AviationNew Orleans, LA504-613-6630www.bluehawkaviation.com

Blueline RentalWest Monroe, LA318-398-9030www.bluelinerental.com

Briggs EquipmentNew Orleans: 504-733-5640Baton Rouge: 225-926-9206www.briggsequipment.com

Camera Copters, Inc.Miami, FL888-463-7953www.cameracopters.com

Carruth Brothers Lumber Co., Inc.New Orleans, LA 504-522-1113www.carruthlumber.net

CAT Entertainment ServicesBaton Rouge, LA225-389-1181www.es-cat.com

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Center Staging, Inc. New Orleans, LA504-247-0020www.centerstaging.net


• Cameraships • Storyships • Location Scouting • Motion Picture Manual • Mobile Refueling

• Ground Support & Communications.

704.792.1807

• Two In-House Cinefl ex Camera Systems • Wescam • SpaceCam • Tyler Mounts • GSS Camera System

• Arri Alexa • Red & Sony F55 Camera Options• Custom Cinefl ex Mounts for Vehicle, Marine,

Motorcycle and Snowmobile Applications

Camera Systems • Nation Wide Coverage • SAG Pilots



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Chaps Party RentalsNew Orleans, LA504-944-2536www.chapspartyrentals.com

CineSouth LightingNew Orleans, LA 318-426-8014www.cinesouthlighting.com

CineleaseJefferson: 504-267-9075 Shreveport: 318-207-0299www.cinelease.com

DCAV New OrleansNew Orleans, LA504-813-0845www.dcavno.com

Comprehensive Technical GroupKenner, LA504-466-4454www.ctgatlanta.com

Encore Event RentalsShreveport, LA318-222-2000www.encoreeventrentals.com

Digital FXBaton Rouge, LA225-763-6010www.digitalfx.tv

Event ProducersNew Orleans, LA 504-218-4564www.eventproducers.com

Event RentalGretna, LA504-362-8368 x217www.youreventdelivered.com

Event RestroomNew Orleans: 866-424-4164Lafayette: 337-269-0358www.yourrestroomdelivered.com

Exchange CommunicationsNew Orleans, LA888-679-6111www.exchangecom.net

Full Motion ProductionsHarahan, LA504-220-2129www.fullmotionproductions.com

Graci ElectricMetairie, LA504-832-7997www.gracihartelectric.com

GSE Audio VisualKenner, LA888-573-6847

Gulf Coast Cinema TrucksHouston, TX713-682-3572 www.gccts.com

Gulf Coast Tent RentalsHarahan, LA 504-468-8368www.gulfcoast-tent.com

Hawthorne Global Aviation ServicesNew Orleans, LA504-248-5240www.hawthorne.aero

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HelivisionConcord, NC704-792-1807www.helivision.com


Wholesale - Retail - Commercial - Private

We will meet your needs!

Medical - Marine - Military

University & Corporate

Automotive & Heavy Machinery

Computers & Back-Up Systems

Digital Cameras & Camcorders

Smartphones, Mobile Devices, & PDA’s

JEFFERSON BATTERY COMPANYMOVIE PRODUCTION BATTERY SUPPLIES

Tel: (504) 835-1685 / Fax: (504) 835-5773 / E-mail: [email protected]

BRANDS: AC Delco, Exide, Universal Power Group, YUASA,

Motorcross, Gates Hawker, Poloroid, Sanyo, Duracell Procell,

Cyclone, Panasonic, Saft, Tadiran, Schumacher Chargers, Cadnica,

Hawker, Powersonic, Enersys, Eagle Picher, Ultra Life, Midtronics,

Autometer, DEKA, Associated Equipment, and many more!

700 Jefferson Highway Jefferson, LA 70121

Batteries for a Portable World

(Energizer Lithium AA)



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Hertz Entertainment ServicesKenner, LA877-HES-7320www.hertzentertainment.com

Hollywood RentalsSylmar, CA (additional locations in Baton Rouge & New Orleans)818-407-7824www.hollywoodrentals.com

Holbrook Multi MediaLafayette, LA337-989-2237www.holbrookmultimedia.com

Home Team ProductionsNew Orleans, LA504-733-8326www.hometeamproductions.net

Hollywood TrucksBaton Rouge: 225-330-6126 New Orleans: 504-528-2480www.hollywoodtrucksllc.com

J Custom Supply Co.Baton Rouge, LA800-226-5657www.jcustom.com

Hotard Coaches & Calco TravelNew Orleans, LA 800-356-6831www.calcohotard.com

Jefferson Battery Co.Jefferson, LA504-835-1685www.thebattman.com

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4500 Chennault Pkwy, Lake Charles, LA 70615 • 337-802-4209 • maxairhelicopters.com • [email protected]

Max Air Helicopters, LLC is a full service helicopter company, located in SW Louisiana, at Chennault Intl. Airport. We utilize full size helicopters, along with heavy lift Cinema UAVs and Digital Camera Stabilizers that will carry virtually any production camera, from a Cannon 5D to the ARRI ALEXA. Add the ability for the DOP to have a remote controlled, video downlink, with remote follow focus and zoom/iris control, LIVE from the camera system, your results will only be limited by your imagination. Utilizing our special quick change mounting system, the Digital Camera Stabilizer can be exchanged between being hand

valuable production time. We also offer sales, service, rental, repair and training for the UAV and Digital Camera Stabilizer.

We Are Your One Stop Shop For All Of Your Aerial Needs! Please visit our website to see all of our aerial services & samples of our work.



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LAcoptercam, LLCMetairie, LA504-656-4649www.lacoptercam.com

Louisiana Lift & Equipment Inc.Alexandria: 318-448-3877; Baton Rouge: 225-753-5700Shreveport: 318-631-5100; St.Rose: 504-463-3400www.lalift.com

Lightnin Production RentalsLawrenceville, GA770-963-1234www.lightnin.com

Louisiana Public Broadcasting Baton Rouge, LA225-333-2269www.lpb.org

Louisiana Media Productions Baton Rouge, LA225-610-1641www.lampbr.com

Max Air Helicopters, LLCLake Charles, LA 337-802-4209www.maxairhelicopters.com

M&M Sound and Media Alexandria, LA318-452-2958www.mandmsoundandmedia.com

MBS Equipment Co.Culver City, CA (additional location in New Orleans)310-558-3100www.mbseco.com

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Cameras Love Us!Lighting Loves Us!

Stunts and Audio, Too!

“We can build any platform, stage or structure in any size or configuration you need!”

www.CenterStaging.Net

.

(504) 247-0020 (866) 508-0975

30 ft. high stunt platform for “The Courier” movie

We do all the heavy lifting for you and specialize in getting

the job done right the first time, on time, every time.

Center Staging, Inc. Serving New Orleans & The Gulf South Region

We have the best equipment, the best prices and the best service.

What We Do

Camera PlatformsLighting TowersStunt PlatformsCustom PlatformsElectrical DistributionTruss Roof SystemsSound ReinforcementsLighting SystemsConcert StagingFood & Craft BoothsViewing StandsTheater ProductionsSite ConsultantsCam-Lok Connectors

What We Have

Stage CrewsLabor Crews

ScaffoldingMobile Stages

35K ft Wood Decking4K ft Alum. Decking

Multi-Quip GeneratorsPower Distribution

Feeder CableBleachers

Ballast Blocks

Plus all the stuff you need but can neer find



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Millennium StudiosShreveport, LA 318-841-3599www.millenniumstudios.net

New Orleans Moving Pictures Co., LLCTerrytown, LA504-533-8638www.nompco.com

NES RentalsGeismar: 225-673-3155Sulphur: 337-625-4446; Harvey: 504-368-4277www.nesrentals.com

Pace SystemsNew Orleans, LA504-837-4224www.pacesys.com

NOLA Film LogisticsMetairie, LA504-710-3626www.nolafl.com

Paramount on LocationNew Orleans, LA504-736-2177www.paramountonlocation.com

Panther Helicopters, Inc.Belle Chasse, LA 504-394-5803www.pantherhelicopters.com

The Pinnacle Group Audio VideoLake Charles, LA337-477-7469www.pingroup.com

Production Plus Studio Rentals Shreveport, LA310-321-7813 www.productionpluss.com

Production Zone/Media 2-Way RadioDallas, TX214-935-3800www.media2wayradio.comwww.productionzone.com

Professional Restroom Solutions, LLCBenton, LA 318-965-0211www.professionalrestroomsolutions.com

Propaganda AudioNew Orleans, LA504-229-0773www.propagandagroup.com

PSAV - New OrleansNew Orleans, LA504-830-4360www.psav.com

Pyramid Audio Productions, Inc.New Orleans, LA 504-731-3412www.pyramidaudio.net

Quixote Studios LLCSaint Rose, LA504-465-8321www.quixote.com

Rhino StagingGonzales, LA 225-644-5600www.rhinostaging.com

Royal ProductionsMetairie, LA800-776-9252www.royalproductions.com

STAGE E

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RZI Lighting, LLCNew Orleans, LA504-525-5600www.rzilighting.com



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EQUIPMENT RENTED

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Second Line StagesNew Orleans, LA504-528-3050www.secondlinestages.com

Show Time RentalsMetairie, LA 504-883-7329www.showtimerents.com

See-Hear ProductionsBogalusa, LA985-886-9358www.seehearpro.com

Smart SourceNew Orleans, LA504-737-2247www.smartsourcerentals.com

Silver Screen RentalsNew Orleans: 504-737-0555Baton Rouge: 225-810-3005www.silverscreensupplies.com

South Coast Helicopters, Inc.New Orleans, LA888-836-0882www.southcoasthelicopters.com

Solomon GroupNew Orleans, LA504-252-4500www.solomongroup.com

Southern HelicoptersSunshine, LA 225-642-0075www.southernhelicopters.com

StageWorks of LouisianaShreveport, LA318-221-3175www.stageworksla.com

Studio Services, Inc.Sylmar, CA (additional location in New Orleans)888-833-8803www.studioservices.com

SunCruisin’ RVBaton Rouge, LA281-548-7878www.suncruisinrv.com

T & M Aviation, Inc.Abbeville, LA337-893-9074www.tmaviation.com

That’s A WrapSlidell, LA 504-952-9662www.thatsawrapservices.org

VER - Video Equipment Rentals New Orleans, LA504-831-6966www.verrents.com

Workbox, LLCPort Allen, LA888-528-1605www.workboxllc.com

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WyndChaser LightingBaton Rouge, LA225-216-1546www.wyndchaserlighting.com

The Tent ManNew Orleans: 504-780-8368Northshore: 985-624-7368 www.tentmantents.com

Vidox Motion ImageryLafayette, LA 337-237-1700www.vidox.com

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