Crew News: Fall 2012

Changes in store for '13 Short Film Contest
The Wyoming Short Film Contest is back for 2013, and we've made some big changes.

First and foremost we've gone back to Strutta, the tried and true platform from the '10 and '11 contests. They have more and more powerful servers, at their disposal and that means fewer freezes and upload problems. Voters can even sign in with Facebook, making their part of the job a breeze. And speaking of voters, their role will be slightly different this year. We're still going to put 10 finalist films in front of our judging panel, but only five of those will come from the popular vote. The other five will come from a juror. We feel that this will strike a balance between the social aspect of the contest and an expert opinion of production values.

We hope that this will be an improvement upon the 2012 contest, and we look forward to seeing all of your entries The prize is still $25,000, and our launch date is January 17.

Date set for 'Django Unchained' premiere
Quentin Tarantino's latest film, Django Unchained, is set to premiere this December 25. If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at the trailer. And keep your eyes peeled at the 1:27 mark. That's the National Elk Refuge and the Grand Tetons in the background.

CWC Hires New Film Professor
Central Wyoming College has a new film professor, and that's good news for Wyoming's film community. Jeremy Nielsen is a Utah native with an MFA in Film & Media Arts from the University of Utah. He's held various teaching positions, brings regional production experience to the table, and has a fresh vision for CWC's film program.

"I really love teaching, and I love the academic part of the film industry," says Nielsen. "In terms of production I'm focusing on a skill set that's applicable to a wide variety of stories. In places like Salt Lake City or Wyoming where you don't get a ton of features, it's important to train students in the electrical, grip, and camera departments, all skills you can apply to industrial, commercial, or TV production." In addition to the film program itself, Nielsen plans to run a summer film camp for high school students with an aim of recruiting them to the film program.

Now in its third year, the CWC film program has ten new students for the 2012 fall semester, along with five graduates of the television program who have elected to stay on for the film courses. "We need to create a crew infrastructure," says Nielsen. "With that infrastructure in place, projects will be enticed to come to town and they will want to use local crew members. We need to start building that infrastructure, and one way to start that is at the college level."

Production Company Profiles: WCM
Wyoming Community Media is a non-profit, Cheyenne based organization dedicated to the democratization of media. "We make film and media accessible, on large screen, small screens, and exhibition space throughout Wyoming," says WCM found Alan O'Hashi.

The organization provides social media and digital media production services, but what makes them unique is their educational focus. WCM works closely with local school districts, colleges and universities to develop "hands-on" practical out-of-school learning opportunities in all facets of production, behind and in front of the camera. Student teams produce programs for community TV channels and web streaming.

"WCM encourages and and celebrates the the arts and the New Creative Economy," O'Hashi says. "It's our goal to integrate creativity and social awareness into the daily lives of the community." To learn more about this company, visit http://www.wyocomedia.com

Film Familiarization Tours
If you follow our blog, you know all about the fam tours we run. In short, we hand pick a few industry VIPs -- location managers, producers, production designers, etc. -- load them into cars, and shuttle them around the best filming locations Wyoming has to offer. The idea is to impress the out-of-towners and bring production back to the state. To that end, if you have any clients or contacts that might benefit from such a trip, we'd love to hear about it. Send your suggestions to info@ filmwyoming.com, and we'll add you to our guest list.

Film Industry Financial Incentive
By this time, you all know the drill. Our Film Industry Financial Incentive (FIFI) program is a cash rebate program for production companies of up to 15% on dollars spent in the state of Wyoming during a film shoot. You've got to spend a minimum amount of $200,000 to qualify and then meet additional criteria to determine the rebate percentage between 12- 15%. What you may not know is that we allow bundling. If you spend $200K on multiple in-state shoots over the course of the year, we allow you to submit those projects all together. Give it another look on our website. That $200K minimum may not be as difficult as you think.

Call for Guest Bloggers
We may not have the distribution of the New York Times, but the Film Office blog it a great source for film news. Whether it's announcing casting calls, featuring local production, or showing off new location photography, it's our goal to serve the Wyoming filmmaker community.

The blog is here to act as your bull horn, talking up your latest project or idea. If you'd like a little exposure, just write a few paragraphs, take a few shots, or send a reel to info@filmwyoming.com. We'll be happy to feature you and your content.

Update Your Crew Listing
One of the most important functions of the Wyoming Film Office is connecting crew with production. And one of our most important tools in that endeavor is our Online Database of Crew & Support Services. Log in and update your profile with new credits and updated contact information. It's our job to get you hired, and this is the best way we know how. If you're having trouble with the login, just email Colin Stricklin at info@filmwyoming. com. He can walk you through the process.

New Address
The Film Office has moved this year. Our new address:

5611 High Plains Road
Cheyenne, WY 82007