As animal fat is the foundation of the food pyramid at Soul Hole on Union Street, vegetarians should just steer clear… and Cajuns def don’t do vegan. Yet, there I was last night hosting an M3 meeting with Joe and Kathy (Cathy?) Carter, Andrea Maio, David Marek and Lesley Tye. I had the grilled cheese by the by… and survived.
Andrea is researching an M3 event during the TCFF. Maybe she’ll have news on that this week.
The Micro Movie Marathon entry guidelines pass muster. It’s probably a good idea to add place names like Beulah, Petoskey, etc. so “regional” is clear and obvious.
We might eventually form a guild based on trusted membership. This implies knowing each other well and agreeing upon standards of performance. This is a complex undertaking and beyond the scope of M3 presently.
A production guide in contrast is a more near term outcome. Along with rates, expertise, project preferences etc., a production guide could include links to reels, resumes and major projects. This would basically be a searchable reference created by individual movie makers. Linked-in was suggested as a platform. The M3 blog could also export a database of registrants and their vitals.
The production guide could have a strong emphasis on the professional, but I keep coming back to the community as an ecosystem. It’s not just about the professional, student or enthusiast perspective, it’s about how all three interact and sustain each other. It’s not just about director or writers, it’s about actors (!), publicists, fabricators, caterers, etc. Movies are a dynamic mix of disciplines, perspectives, generations…
David wondered how we do talent outreach, for instance. Andrea offered the moth analogy – a bright light will cause a great gathering and circling. To make our meetings attract, we need to do a few things really well. The few things are…
Show and Tell – 2 or 3 community folks talk about what they are working on for about 10 minutes each. 30 minutes total. Could be a script reading, a short movie, tests from an upcoming project, a gear innovation…
Feature – An event or personality that is generally appealing to the community. A “name”, or sneak preview, a game changing development re: production, distribution, etc. 45 minutes.
Social – outside of the formal meeting, casual breakout session(s).
Joe related that doing events 8-10 times a year can be draining, it’s a lot of work. I suggested that rather than poll the membership on what they want, we get selfish and focus on our own immediate gratification. I asked what the folks sitting at the table would get excited about…
Distribution
Reps, Agents, Publicists
Festivals
Researchers
Storytelling
Workflow
We also discussed the connections for cultivating sponsors, and Andy’s name came up. Are there other venues for breakout screenings? What do we do about spin-off special interests, like VFX or festival strategies? Rich Brauer might be a good point person for the WMFVA’s legislative task force. Joe’s going to pass me the LIAA press release link. The balance between being properly compensated for knowledge and experience vs doing whatever it takes to achieve the unprecedented and invaluable.
Since the exodus of Weston, Dan Kelly’s been thinking about how to share the fun of manifesting M3. This meeting shows that there’s no lack of enthusiasm for community. Thanks gang for your effort and insights!