CHICAS PRODUCTIONS

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. It was once so rich that Concorde used to fly from Caracas to Paris. But in the last three years its economy has collapsed. Hunger has gripped the nation for years. Now, it’s killing people and animals that are dying of starvation. The Venezuelan government knows, but won’t admit it!!! Four in five Venezuelans live in poverty. People queue for hours to buy food. Much of the time they go without. People are also dying from a lack of medicines. Inflation is at 82,766% and there are warnings it could exceed one million per cent by the end of this year. Venezuelans are trying to get out. The UN says 2.3 million people have fled the country - 7% of the population.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

ASCAP gets cable TV boost...

While overall payments and revenues at ASCAP remained relatively flat, the performance rights group logged substantial increases in revenue from cable TV, according to unaudited 2012 financial figures the org presented on Monday.

In total, ASCAP managed to distribute more royalties to songwriters, publishers and copyright holders than last year, despite accruing less in total revenue: Annual revenue of $941 million represented a 4.5% decline from 2011, while total royalty payments accounted for $827 million, a slight gain of about $3 million from 2011.

Owing to a growth in cable TV and a number of license agreements with cablers, ASCAP's revenue from cable television increased 20% over last year, representing $204 million in income. In contrast, revenue from network television was down slightly, at $104 million.

ASCAP acknowledged the impact of a DMX rate court settlement upon its decreased revenues. It credited itself, however, with reducing operating expense, which fell to 11.3% from 12% last year.
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ASCAP's president and chairman Paul Williams pointed toward the org's advocacy efforts in a statement, saying, "We are navigating in a complex, rapidly changing environment in which huge, cash-rich technology companies are developing business models that fly fast and free with our copyrights. Only a thriving community of songwriters and composers — who can make a decent living from their work — can ensure a vibrant music ecosystem going forward."

Thank you Variety

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France Examines Even Tougher Anti-Piracy Laws...

Regulatory body issues first report aimed at curbing the streaming and downloading of copyrighted content.

PARIS: Already home to some of the strictest anti-piracy laws for users, France's Internet Authority (HADOPI) has issued a new report examining ways to curb usage of streaming and direct download sites.

Internet Providers Launch Copyright Alert System
Looking to stop piracy at the source, the report suggests a combination of techniques including site blocking or domain seizures if operators do not comply.
The authority suggests the implementation of content recognition by site owners, including digital fingerprinting technology. These systems could be used to remove content upon the request of copyright holders, similar to YouTube or DailyMotion, or restrict user access based on location.
If site operators are unwilling to add these mechanisms or if illegal content reappears on the site, the report suggests initial steps such as search engine de-listings. If sites fail to comply with the warnings, HADOPI suggests it could also resort to involving the the courts in order to seize or permanently block the domains.
The agency would also seek to target the finances of any sites subject to the copyright alerts, taking steps to block PayPal accounts, the use of credit cards and third party advertising. Again looking to the courts, HADOPI suggests that if financial partners refused to cooperate, it would seek legal action.
Since 2010, the country has had a "three-strikes" warning system to combat torrenting, but while HADOPI has seen "a clear downtrend in illegal P2P" usage, the new report focuses on streaming and direct downloading sites (DDL) which the agency sees as sites that are "specialized in the massive exploitation of illegal content."
The current system sends a series of warnings to users before alerting the authorities. By the end of 2012, 3 million IP addresses had been issued a first warning, but only 14 were referred to French prosecutors after a `third strike.' In September 2012, the first case was sent to court with the account owner found guilty for his wife's downloading of Rihanna songs and ultimately receiving a fine of $196 (€150), though the court decided against terminating the account.
ISPs in the U.S. have just followed suit with the Copyright Alert System (CAS), a similar "six-strikes" warning system, that was launched earlier this week.
The HADOPI report will be reviewed further before the agency decides on any action.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

Film London Creates Department for Artists Looking to Make Movies...

The U.K. government-backed agency appoints current production and talent development tsar Maggie Ellis to run the newly formed unit.

LONDON – Film London, the British capital's movie agency familiar to Hollywood's location decision makers, is setting up a dedicated department for artists looking to make movies.

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The U.K. government-backed agency has tasked current head of production and talent development Maggie Ellis with the job of overseeing the newly created department.
STORY: BFI to Decide on U.K. Applications for TV Production Tax Credits
Ellis is named head of Artists' Moving Image and will aim to build on the growth in artists turning to film.
Funded by Arts Council England (ACE), Film London launched its Artists' Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) in 2005 to provide British capital-based artists working in the moving image access to funding, guidance, development opportunities and promotional and exhibition platforms.
The present set up runs the successful Film London Jarman Award, an annual prize which awards $16,000 (£10,000) and a broadcast commission alongside FLAMIN Productions, the commissioning fund behind the multi award-winning Two Years At Sea directed by Ben Rivers and West Hinder by Elizabeth Price, who won last year's Turner Prize, the U.K.'s highest profile art nod.
Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: "Over the past seven years we have seen extraordinary growth and development in this sector. This is of course down to the talent of the artists and the work, but in part it is also a result of the work of FLAMIN, which has been integral in supporting and nurturing many of those individuals in this area of work. Maggie has been a guiding force in that work and her appointment as Head of Artists' Moving Image will ensure she is in a position to drive it further."
Ellis said: "When we started this work at Film London we were one of very few voices championing artists' moving image practice. Artists' films are now being released theatrically in cinemas as well as being screened in galleries and across other platforms, commanding large audiences. This work is gaining in profile and momentum – a fact demonstrated last year when three of the four artists nominated for the Turner Prize were moving image artists. We have seen an exciting blurring of boundaries over the past few years, due in no small part to Film London's and ACE's commitment to artist film-makers."
Film London will appoint a new head of talent development and production in the coming months with Ellis continuing to oversee all of the agency's production activity including Film London Microwave and its shorts and training programs.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

NAB 2013: Deluxe to Showcase Cloud-Based Playout Platform...

MediaCloud service is developed for broadcasters and content owners.

Deluxe will feature its new cloud-based playout platform at the upcoming NAB Show, April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

NAB 2013: Jon Landau to Keynote Cinema Technology Summit
Deluxe, Technicolor Begin Orderly Retreat From Film Services
For the past year the MediaCloud service has been quietly tested by several broadcasters, reported Maurizio Cimelli, managing director of MediaCloud. It includes tools to enable versioning for new media platforms and distribution over IP to transmission headends.
While core customers would be broadcasters, it could also be used by content owners, Cimelli said, noting that the platform includes select tools for video content creation, management and online delivery, as well as additional Deluxe Media services such as archiving.
Developed over the course of two years for an undisclosed sum, Deluxe MediaCloud supports full HD image quality and operates on a private cloud.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood executives predict technology-fueled changes..

Grainge has devoted his career to the business, having worked with and signed a multitude of songwriters and artists, including U2, Elton John, ABBA, Eurythmics, Metallica and Amy Winehouse. These days he's been focusing on building digital distribution models and technology partnerships around the world (and serves as a United Kingdom trade ambassador).

Some of that Grainge gravitas was on display at this week's Innovation Forum, a two-day event in Los Angeles that attracted prominent players from media, technology and venture capital -- and a surprise remote appearance by British Prime Minister David Cameron from 10 Downing Street (who put in a plug for British film and TV production).

One session featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood -- Grainge, Sony Corp. of America Chief Executive Michael Lynton, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment co-CEO Ari Emanuel, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and FX Network President John Landgraf -- produced some surprising insights about the intersection of technology and entertainment.

Katzenberg predicted that a decade from now, Hollywood films will be ubiquitously available a short time after their theatrical debuts. The price people pay to watch a movie might well be dictated by screen size -- in his words, "based on the square inch," almost like commercial real estate.

Moviegoers who want a high-quality theatrical experience -- one that could include drinks and a meal, and the best possible projection -- could well pay $35 to $45, Katzenberg said. Those who prefer to watch on a smartphone might pay less than $1.

GRAMMYS 2013: Top nominees | Snubs & surprises | Nominations concert | Full coverage

"Pricing has been screwed up through our industry for a long time," Emanuel said. "We'll get to the right pricing."

The idea of price based on screen, while on its face radical, is not that big a departure from Hollywood's current release strategy, known as "windowing." These days, the price a consumer pays is based on the amount of time that has passed since a movie screened in theaters (the longer the wait, the cheaper a film becomes).

Lynton said technology is driving an even more fundamental transformation in Hollywood. People are getting away from the idea of ownership, he said, and increasingly paying for access to content. (Think Netflix, whose U.S. users pay an $8 monthly subscription fee and gain immediate, unlimited online access to its catalog of movies and TV shows instead of buying DVDs.)

"That's going to change everything we do, in terms of film and content," Lynton said. "People are breaking that emotional hold of 'I have to own it if I'm consuming it.' Once that shifts, a lot goes with it."

FX's Landgraf -- who has helped shepherd the cable network's edgy scripted dramas like "Sons of Anarchy" and dark comedies like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Louie" -- predicted a revolution in TV advertising.

"I'd say pricing is broken in advertising," Landgraf said. "Not only do you have to watch 20 minutes of advertising, it's incredibly irrelevant to you."

In the future, Landgraf said, technology will enable advertisers to more precisely target TV audiences through "addressable advertising."

"We're going to be able to reduce the amount of advertising you watch by 50%," Landgraf said. But "everything you are watching is going to be relevant to you. If you don't have a dog, you don't see an ad for dog food."

Thank you Los Angeles Times

Foreign TV Shoots Boost Ontario’s Economy...

Features drop but network series rep $943 million in local spending
Jennie Punter

TORONTO — Ontario's film and TV industry contributed C$1.28 billion ($1.25 billion) to the provincial economy last year, up slightly from $1.26 billion in 2011, the Ontario Media Development Corporation said Friday.

Despite a dip in both foreign and domestic feature film spending, growth in the TV sector more than made up the difference, with domestic and foreign series representing 76% ($943 million) of Ontario's 2012 total.

The most notable trend was the uptick in foreign, primarily U.S., series — an almost 80% increase from $146 million in 2011 to $263 million in 2012. NBCUniversal's "Hannibal," pictured above with star Mads Mikkelsen, and "Defiance" and Netflix' "Hemlock Grove" were among 18 foreign skeins shot in Ontario last year.

In Toronto, the province's production hub, local industryites have noted a higher level of client retention the past two years, reversing the previous trend of series shooting one season in town then moving to a different jurisdiction.

"These 2012 production levels are a testament to the heavy lifting that we and other stakeholders have committed to in order to create a positive and productive environment for film and television in Ontario," said Jim Mirkopoulos, vice president of operations at Cinespace studios, where the fifth season of NBCUniversal skein "Warehouse 13" and Paul W.S. Anderson's sword-and-sandal pic "Pompeii" will lense this year.

"Lost Girl," "Rookie Blue" and "Beauty and the Beast" were among 140 Canadian series that spent $679 million in Ontario in 2012, an increase from 2011's $609 million total.

Foreign feature spending fell to $103.5 million from 2011's record-busting $266 million; that total included Sony's "Total Recall" and Legendary Pictures' "Pacific Rim," two of the biggest foreign features ever shot in Ontario. Both lensed at Pinewood Toronto Studios.

Domestic features spent $120 million in 2012, a drop from 2011's $161 million on the back of more production — 39 vs. the previous year's 28 — but budgets were lower.

As of Feb. 22, Ontario had 21 productions shooting or in prep, including season two of BBC America's "Copper" and Malcolm Lee's "Best Man II" (Universal).

Thank you Variety

VES Calls for California to Expand Incentives...

Society also wants a vfx congress for artists worldwide

The Visual Effects Society, prodded to action by recent protests and anger among vfx pros worldwide, has issued a statement with two calls to action for the visual effects industry.

The first calls on the California legisltature and Gov. Jerry Brown to "immediately expand its tax incentive program for the entertainment industry and to include a focused approach concentrated on the visual effects and post-production sectors of the industry."

That aligns the VES with the California portion of the vfx industry, which has complained subisides in other states and countries put it at a fatal disadvantage. However taking such a stand risks alienating much of its membership, which works in those other states and countries. Many of the protesters at Sunday's pre-Oscars visual effects street demonstration complained about foreign subsidies.

"We know that there are some out there who are calling for the elimination of all subsidies and tax incentives everywhere around the world," said the VES statement. "We think that's a great idea and if there were a magic button that could be pressed to make that a reality, we would press it in a nanosecond. Why? Because California can compete with anyone, anywhere if there's a level playing field."

The second VES call to action is the announcement of a visual effects congress to allow "all artists from around the world" to share their concerns and find common ground.

Following Sunday's street prostest planning continues for more action to raise awareness of the problems facing the vfx industry and its artists. Protest organizers are calling for a "Pi day" walkout on March 14 (3.14), in which vfx artists worldwide would not report to work. Efforts by IATSE to organize vfx artists are also expected to pick up.

However the Sunday protest included several distinct factions. Pro-union, anti-subsidy, and general pro-fairness demonstrators walked side by side. VES chair Jeffrey Okun posted a statement following the protest saying that while change is needed and he supported the protesters, "We need a clearer sense of strategic thinking about what we should be asking for with the support of the entire VFX community. I felt that to organize a formal protest without well defined goals was not the best way to capitalize on the anger in our community (although I was heartened to hear that hundreds of artists from our community took part)."

Thank you Variety

Chinese government launches screenwriting contest for U.S. writers...

In the latest effort by China to expand its cultural influence and build stronger ties to Hollywood, government officials in Beijing are looking for U.S.-based screenwriters to help tell their stories.

The Cultural Assets Office of the Beijing Municipal Government on Monday will announce the 2013 Beijing International Screenwriting Competition, which organizers called a "groundbreaking initiative" to foster artistic collaboration and an ongoing creative dialogue between China and the U.S.
Open to U.S.-based contestants of all nationalities, the competition will consider screenplays for feature films and short films centered on Beijing and its culture. Finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Beijing in June to meet with potential investors in their movies. Winners will receive cash prizes totaling more than $100,000.

"This Competition is one of the first established routes for U.S. filmmakers to obtain direct access to the Chinese market," said Competition Chairman Kevin Niu. "It will serve as a model for future cultural collaboration between the U.S. and China — one that bridges the gap between our two cultures."

The endeavor underscores the expanding relationship between China and Hollywood. Several Hollywood studios are building operations in China, which took steps last year to ease restrictions on the number of foreign movies it allows into the country. China also is rapidly expanding its own theater industry to cater to an expanding middle class, and its media companies are heavily investing in the U.S. Dalian Wanda Group last year spent $2.6 billion to acquire AMC Entertainment.

Honorary competition presidents will include Vice-Mayor of Beijing Wei Lu and two-time Academy Award-winning director Mark Harris. Harris and Tracey Trench, producer of "The Pink Panther" and "Ever After," will serve as the competition's grand judges.

Proposals for the first round of the feature film competition are due April 7, and short-film screenplays are due April 20. Up to seven short film grand prize winners will receive financing for the production of their films.
The competition is sponsored by the state-owned Beijing International Creative Industry Corporation. Other partners include LeTV, China's biggest online video content distributor for TV dramas and movies, and Harvardwood, a nonprofit organization for Harvard University alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends working or strongly interested in the arts, media, and entertainment.

Thank you Los Angeles Times

Women in Film Accepting Applications for Film Finishing Fund Grants...

The 28-year-old program has awarded more than $2 million worth of grants to more than 170 movies in its history.

The Women in Film Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2013 Film Finishing Fund grants, the fund's co-chairs Betsy Pollock and Nancy Rae Stone said Tuesday. The deadline is April 29, and the winners will be announced in October.

Since its inception 28 years ago, the fund has awarded more than $2 million worth of grants to more than 170 films from all over the world.

Women in Film will grant each winning project up to $15,000 in cash, in-kind and consultation grants. To qualify for entry, submitted projects must be by, for or about women. Filmmakers must have completed at least 90 percent of principal photography and have a rough cut at the time of application.

The program funds both short and long formats in all genres: narrative, documentary, educational, animated and experimental. Entrants do not have to be Women in Film members to apply for a grant, and WIF encourages international applications. Detailed criteria for each category and a download of the application can be obtained at www.wif.org [4].

In celebration of the fund's 28th year, and for each of the eight weeks of the grant cycle

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

Is the VFX Biz in India Tricking Artists Into Working for Free?...

The VFX Soldier blog reposted a message from an Indian vfx artist that was originally posted on the VFXtalk.com blog. Here's the original post. (If you click through, note that the author is using "3D" to mean what is generally called "CG" in America, not stereoscopic 3D.)

This especially got our attention:

There is a disturbing trend in India for the past couple years in India (Especially since around November 2008, around when the recession hit) where VFX artists are forced to work for "experience" or "goodwill i.e we'll keep you in mind" in "apprentice" or "training" positions. These apprenticeships usually last for a period ranging between 3-9 months and are generally unpaid. Some companies at the end of the term of these apprenticeships cut loose the interns stating reasons of "insufficient quality" or the more popular "We just don't have any projects going on right now….We'll call you". OR They might consider extending your training to an extra three months or more, if you choose to remain unpaid for the duration. Whats more, is that you will have to repeat the whole process when you join another studio, because experience certificates and references are non-existent here (unless the studio exec is your close personal friend/relation). It appears that cheap labor isn't good enough, now the labor is required to be free. Thats not to say that people are not selected to full-time or continual work, its just that is very rare. The end result being that the companies, get an almost inexhaustible pool of FREE Labor, allowing them to turn essentially a profit without Cost of production overhead in terms of labor.

Consider this as the visual effects industry in California (and Canada, the U.K., France, Australia and New Zealand) fights for its life. What seems like sweatshop wages from a developed-world point of view can seem like a very good wage in the context of a developing-world economy and culture. But even those modest wages can be undercut by free labor of the kind described in the vfxtalk.com post. What subsidy or business model can compete with free?

Variety's Naman Ramachandran, who reports on India, wrote to us some time back with perspective on wages and vfx practices in India:

The legal requirement for a semi-skilled employee in the film production industry is Rs 224.69 ($4.05) per day and for a skilled worker it is Rs 243.92 ($4.40). Assuming a 26-day work month (India works on Saturdays, too) that would make a salary of Rs 5842 ($105) for a semi-skilled employee and Rs 6342 ($114). Companies like Prime Focus pay more than this.

The amazing thing is, thanks to living with your parents, etc., you can survive on this wage comfortably. The official international benchmark for people below the poverty line is those who have purchasing power of $1.25 or less per day. In India, the official government figure is Rs 28 per day. That's 50 cents at today's exchange rate. If you multiply that by 26 that makes it Rs 726 or $14 per month.
The same practices are in existence across all sectors, not just film. The rise can be gradual or dramatic. After, say, 10 years of experience, upwardly mobile people can expect to earn $150,000 per annum comfortably. And before the 10-year mark, a monthly salary of $1,500 – $1,800 is considered very good in India and you can live well because of lower costs compared to the West.
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Ramachandran also spoke to Rohan Desai, executive director, International Projects, at Prime Focus about reports of poor wages for Indian vfx artists, and of Prime Focus requiring employees put down a deposit, and told us this :

Salaries can be as low as Rs 6,000 at entry level and can go up to Rs 12,000, depending on experience. These are 18-19 year old kids fresh out of university or school and in some cases still in them. The industry has a high churn rate and the deposit is not only to keep them but also to encourage them to stay as they don't want to lose employees to competitors after having trained them. Desai also said that the employees get an excellent medical package and get subsidised food at work.

Once they gain some experience, they become in demand and routinely get poached by rivals (I spoke to some and they confirmed this and also their salary levels are similar), and companies like Prime Focus pay more and more. Desai says that the growth factor is very high and people rise through the ranks rapidly. Once they have a few years experience under their belts, they can pick and choose jobs. It's simple market economics.

Coming back to the seemingly low starting salaries, it's important to keep in mind the Indian cultural context. The vast majority of these kids live with their parents until their late 20s and in many cases even after, in joint families. Therefore, there are no rent or food expenses. A movie ticket costs between $4-5 and eating out is pretty cheap, unless you're splurging in Bombay's equivalent of the Chateau Marmont. Local public transport is also dirt cheap and heavily subsidised, with the local trains and buses costing just a few cents and for those wishing to take a tuk tuk, fares average $1.

If you have a first-hand account of visual effects or animation working conditions in the developing world, or about the companies who do business there, we'd love to hear it.

Thank you Variety

Berlinale Co-Production Market expands...

BERLIN -- The Berlinale Co-Production Market is growing this year.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the event has added five more projects from its inaugural Berlinale Residency, and expanded its Company Matching program that allows internationally active production firms from around the world to introduce themselves to international filmmakers.

The Co-Production Market, which runs Feb. 10-12, will present 38 new feature film projects and seven production companies to 450 potential co-production and financing partners.

Among the projects are four U.S. titles, including James Bolton's "A Secret Life," from Charleville Films and Myriad Pictures, and John Michael Morgan's "The Cavanaughs," from DViant Films.

In addition to the official selection, the Co-Production Market also includes three projects from its Rotterdam-Berlinale Express initiative, among them Matt Porterfield's U.S. title "Sollers Point"; 10 from the Talent Project Market -- a partnership with the fest's Talent Campus educational platform; and five from the Berlinale Residency program, which invites five international filmmakers to Berlin to work on their films.

The Residency's participants include Chile's Matias Bize with "The Memory of Water"; Rebecca Daly of Ireland ("Mammal"); Filipino helmer Raya Martin ("The Empire"); "Soy Negro," from Iranian filmmaker Rafi Pitts; and, from the Netherlands, Sacha Polak with "Zurich."

Among the companies making their introduction are Canada's Foundry Films; French shingle Agat Films; Bossa Nova from Brazil; Egypt's Film Clinic; Friland Produksjon from Norway; Dutch group Lemming Film; and Germany's Rohfilm.

"We would like to create a platform for companies to become acquainted and broaden their horizons -- to go beyond thinking from just one project to the next," said Co-Production Market project director Sonja Heinen.

The Berlinale runs Feb. 7-17.

Thank you Variety

Casting 3 SPANISH speaking VETERINARIANS in L.A. for "Dr. VET L.A."

Hi everybody,

Happy holidays!

This is such a great opportunity. I am casting 3 SPANISH speaking VETERINARIANS in L.A. for "Dr. VET L.A." a National Geographic Latin America TV show. There is already "Dr. VET Miami" this time, they're coming to the west-coast! Thought maybe you have great recommendations as I am not from here and I don't own a pet.

OMAVA Producciones, a production company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is currently producing a four-part non-profit documentary in Spanish for The National Geographic Channel Latin America Division, presenting how the management of a veterinary center is at the time of the action. The four-part mini-series will show different situations and emergency cases that occur in the day to day in a veterinary hospital or clinic of Los Angeles and surroundings, highlighting actions that veterinarians and technicians perform when it comes to animal care.

In Behalf of The National Geographic Channel I would like to thank you in advance for your interest, support and cooperation in this project.

Best,

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Ms. Airam Cordido

airam[at]chicas-productions.com

http://chicas-productions.com

Omava US Representative

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