Dhaka based International Academy of Film and Media is arranging the first ever week-long Sound Design workshop for Film and TV with sound designer and engineer, Harikumar Pillai. The session will cover technique of sound recording, sound design for Cinema and TV, with screenings and discussions of films as well as introduction to modern techniques, technology and application in the field of sound recording including digital recording.
The entire workshop will run through August 8 and be led by Bollywood Sound Mixer and Designer, Harikumar Pillai, a well regarded alumni of the Film and TV Institute of India, Pune (FTII, Pune, India) and currently engaged as Sound Designer on a Hindi feature film produced by Twilight Entertainment, a Film Production House based out of Mumbai, India. His numerous credits over 18 years of location/studio experience include projects with BBC, Channel Four, New York TV, FORD Foundation, ISRAEL TV, NFBC, ZDF, Discovery, Nat. Geographic, OHM TV, Cinema Vision, Zee TV, Sony TV, National Network, STAR TV, Independent Film Producers etc. Especially notable are “Peepli Live” (2010), India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film of that year and “The Road Home” (2011) which was in the running for the 84th Academy Awards.
This year Melbourne International Film Festival stretches into almost a three week run, running up to August 19. In recent years, MIFF has extended its activities to include a selection of industry and filmmaker focused programs to complement its core business – the screening program. These are: Accelerator – a four-day educational and inspirational skills development program for up-and-coming directors with short films screening at MIFF; MIFF 37° South Market – a four-day film financing market for producers with market-ready projects pitching to potential international and local co-financing partners; MIFF Premiere Fund – MIFF’s own investment and loan fund, providing essential financing support for local feature-length films. In its first year, the MIFF Premiere Fund films made up six of the 10 world premieres at MIFF.
Four of the six MIFF Premiere Fund films were sold-out screenings. The Opening Night Gala, featuring the film, The Sapphires (Australia’s answer to The Supremes), ends the night followed by the official after party in the Plaza Ballroom at the Regent Theatre, where an open bar, canapes and all-night entertainment run late. A mid-festival gala includes the screening of “Save Your Legs!” (written by actor Brendan Cowell, ABC TV’s The Slap, MIFF 11) followed by an exclusive after party with the films’ cast in the Festival Lounge. Closing night screening of “Mental,” the Official After Party follows the Red Carpet and Screening events.
Created in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for his band, Lollapalooza is an anticipated annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance, comedy performances and craft booths. Known for introducing and popularizing some of the big musical names, this year’s lineup performing in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park will include: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Afghan Whigs, The Black Keys, Of Monsters And Men, Avichi, Skream & Benga, Sigur Ros, The Gaslight Anthem, Childish Gambino, Aloe Blacc, Sigur Ros, and many others as just a partial listing.
Here is a quick rundown of activities to look forward to: Red Bull Soundstage provides a platform for emerging musicians to showcase their talents and offers more resources and opportunities through its interactive network; Sony Electrolounge is a digital lounge showcasing the latest tech, the hottest gadgets and must-see mobile devices; at the PlayStation Society tent visitors can check out the newly released PS Vita and new and pre-released PS3 games, win PlayStation prizes and VIP and side stage passes; at the Play Room by Google Play exclusive Lollapalooza artist interviews and performances happen across the street from the Google Play stage; The Toyota Prius Family Playground hosts a playground full of everyone’s favorite childhood games with a Toyota twist; The #DellLive Lounge powered by Dell and Intel will feature a photo wall to get your pics on the live stream, music machine to crank out some beats to share with friends, and get spray tatted and gifted while watching a live stream of the festival; the Fender Fan Oasis is where anyone can get the chance to play the iconic Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar or Mustang guitars. And like past festivals the f.y.e. Autograph Tent will be set up for each day’s (August 3-5) schedule of artist autograph sessions. Official after show venues include: Metro, Lincoln Hall, House of Blues, Schubas and other venues.
Music patrons can support music education in local Napa Valley schools and be part of a special music and wine event on August 11 as Nashville songwriters and Napa Valley winemakers come together to present a program of music and wine paired with the stories behind their creations. Proceeds benefit Notes for Education, an organization dedicated to the enrichment of children in the communities through arts and literacy. Notes funds area programs that bring music, art and literacy to school age children, with the goal of ensuring special music, arts, and reading programs for children continue to be available.
Featured songwriters will include: Jessi Alexander, Dave Berg, Morgane Hayes Stapleton, Eric Paslay, Jon Randall and Chris Stapleton. The evening fare includes served appetizers during a walk-around wine tasting to meet and mingle with the winemakers and songwriters, and a sit-down family style Farm-to-Table dinner paired with white and red wines poured by the Winemakers themselves. The entertainment portion takes place inside the Baldacci wine caves and features six songwriters performing two one hour sets.
Photo Image Brazil is a well regarded trade fair in Latin America for the photo and imaging industries that will be held in Sao Paulo, August 14-16. On exhibit will be accessories for image reception, Albums and frames, conventional and digital video cameras, conventional and digital photographic cameras, copying equipment, audio visual equipment, test equipment, equipments for photographic studios, films, waste management, recording equipment, Imagesetter, graphic printing and film papers, printers, lenses for photographic and video cameras, minilabs, APS Systems, professional camera and lighting systems. Additionally, PhotoImage Brazil Seminars and Workshops are events which will take place simultaneously to the expo, providing technical photography and filming professionals with international trends on improving their work.
The Big Sky Songwriters Festival brings songwriting workshops, seminars and live performances right at the foot of majestic Lone Peak in Big Sky. Scheduled workshops will include: “Navigating The Industry,” “Publishing 201,” “Acoustic Brunch,” where attendees will get to play songs written during a previous BSSF session and then play them before an audience. Big Sky Resort is a 3,600-acre (15 km) resort located in southwestern Montana in Madison County, an hour south of Bozeman via U.S. Highway 191.
During the Big Sky Songwriters Festival, horseback riding, hiking, and biking the trails are available on the mountain, with zipline, golf, and tennis available further down by the Meadow Village. Fly fishing and whitewater rafting are done on the Gallatin River and there are excursions into nearby Yellowstone National Park. The five day festival opens August 15 with a meet and greet cocktail sip.
Film Florida is a not-for-profit corporation based in Jacksonville that provides a leadership role in Florida’s film and entertainment industries by representing a coalition of interests, including private industry, local film commissions, industry associations, educational institutions and labor organizations. Its purpose is to offer to businesses and individuals the benefits of a statewide trade association to promote the creation of jobs in the film and entertainment production industries and to promote economic development and tourism.
Film Florida meets quarterly to discuss topics and issues of concern to the region, and then moves forward with a plan of action to help achieve our goals. They are closely connected with the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment, helping to craft the film incentives offered by the state. The upcoming Film Florida Quarterly Business and Marketing Meeting session actually takes place from August 23-24, but a Welcome Reception will be given at the Sakana Blue Bar the evening before.
The Pentedattilo Film Festival is an international short film festival born in 2006 in the ghost town of Pentedattilo by a group of young filmmakers. PFF was conceived and created by non-profit organization Pro Pentedattilo, an association working for the structural and cultural revival of the village of Pentedattilo, and by Ram Film, a film company based in Reggio Calabria, which has among its objectives the promotion of the surrounding areas through the development and the production of film projects.
The two organizations work together in order to produce the festival along with several public and private organizations. According to the organizers, during the festival run the landscape of Pentedattilo – founded as a colony of the Greek city of Chalcis in 640 BC – becomes a thriving economic center harkening back to the Greek-Roman period, and an meeting place, both physically and metaphorically. Put another way as they describe it: a sort of “Territorio in Movimento,” (Land in Motion) as it has been defined by the festival. Territorio in Movimento means a land finally breathing and living. Festival organizer, Pro Pentedattilo Association, active since 1996, has the social and cultural purpose of promoting the image of forgotten sites, transforming them from “abandonment monuments” to “encounter places.”
The workshop, “Breaking into Hollywood: You Have the Next Idea for the Great Hollywood Film – What You Need to Know” will identify the different roles Producers have making a film and which role is best suited for you. Some topics to be covered range from: How to get your idea read/seen by the right people; Coming up with a Good Idea/What Makes an Idea Good?; The Art of the Pitch/Preparation/Writing a Treatment; Where do Movies Come From? Instructor Wendy Kram has developed and produced award-winning film and television projects with Oscar talent for Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, HBO, ABC, NBC, CBS, Showtime and Lifetime. Her credits include “Mad Money” with Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes, “Making Mr. Right” with Dean Cain for Lifetime, and “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal” for CBS. Check-in begins at 12:30 pm but for security reasons, you must RSVP before 10 pm on August 23 or you will not be admitted onto the lot.
The international Tanzmesse NRW to be held in Dusseldorf, August 29 until September 1, is a biennial marketplace and festival platform for communicating and networking in Dance companies taking part in Internationale Tanzmesse NRW, in Dusseldorf. Shown are (clockwise from top): Howool Baek, TANZMESSE ZOO, Martin SchlNpfer / Forellenquintett Marl Pounds cia do Amaral, Balbir Singh Dance Company, TANZMESSE Cloud Gate 2, Stuart Pimsler Dance, and (center) the field of contemporary dance. At the Tanzmesse, international dance companies and artists present their work live on stage and choreographers, dancers, agencies, presenters and cultural institutions worldwide network and interact in a “marketplace” assembled for this purpose. Initiated in 1994 as the “Tanzmesse NRW” in Essen, Germany, the original goal of the Tanzmesse was to create a platform for dance companies from North-Rhine Westphalia that would introduce and present choreographic work from the region.
The Tanzmesse sought to create a presentational mix of performance and discussion. In 1997 the Tanzmesse then expanded the marketplace to include international companies and organizations to become a “World Market of Dance Regions.” In 2002 the internationale tanzmesse NRW relocated to the City of Dusseldorf, the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia, to take advantage of additional stages and the substantial facilities at the NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft. The “Open Studios – Panels – Performance Parcours” segment of the program will be given from August 30 through September 1.
The Amplitude Film Festival (AFF) promotes and celebrates all extreme sports, along with the culture and environment to which they belong, by creating opportunities for people to share experiences, challenge ideas, and find inspiration in aspects of life outside the norm. Categories for submission include: Ocean Culture – celebrates the culture of ocean life such as coastal activities, sand boarding, surfing and deep sea diving; Mountain Culture – celebrates the culture of mountain life and activities such as skiing, snowboarding or ice climbing; cUrban Life culture – street activities such as skateboarding, BMX biking or free running, or the people and societies that make the inner city; Spirit of Adventure – represented by film that celebrates the culture and adventure of any extreme sports regardless of the environment. There will be a BBQ and bar on site. The Norwich based festival is for one day on August 30.
The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page which now has a language translation button to convert page contents into most widely used international languages.
This month’s photo composite includes dance companies taking part in Internationale Tanzmesse NRW, in Dusseldorf and sound recordist Harikumar Pillai of Mumbai posing with DP Jack Green on a movie set. Gazing ahead into the next month, be aware that… the NY Games Conference will be in New York City, electronic media expo IBC 2012 will be in Amsterdam, Los Angeles International Short Film Festival will be in Hollywood, Ottawa International Animation Festival will be in Ontario, International Trade Fair for Cine Equipment and Technology which will take place in Munich.
