Activity Report December 2013 - January 2014 _____________________________________________________________________ ______ Points of Interest Oklahoma Film Rebate Queue: FY13: August: Osage County: Final Rebate Application received December 9, 2013. Under final review. FY14: The Veil: Currently in post-production. Final rebate application pending. On January 28, OF&MO announced the reopening of the rebate queue on February 4 for remaining FY14 (July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014), funds. FY14 rebate funds can only apply to expenditures made prior to July 1 of this year. On July 12, 2012, when the rebate queue was opened for Fiscal Year 14, five films were prequalified that day, committing the full annual rebate funding of $5 million. Since that time, two films have been removed from the rebate queue, with the final claims for three others coming in less than their initial estimated rebate amount after completion of both the third party CPA review and the final OF&MO review. This has freed up approximately $3 million in FY14 funds. FY14 Legislative Agenda: Senate Bill 1721, authored by Senator Clark Jolley, and House Bill 2580, authored by Representative Todd Thomsen, were filed in December to provide a ten-year extension to the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program. Currently set to expire on July 1, 2014, the identical bills would extend the program until July 1, 2024. Since we are facing another tough budget year in Oklahoma, the primary objective was deemed to be an extension of the sunset date of the program. We will be sending industry updates via email as to the progress of the bills. 2014 Sundance Film Festival: OF&MO was pleased to attend the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, to network with industry partners and promote Oklahoma’s film industry to a national and international audience. 2014 was a big year for Oklahoma at the festival. OF&MO was there to promote and lend support to Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate film Rudderless, which premiered and was selected as the festival’s closing night film, as well as This May Be the Last Time, a documentary written and directed by Oklahoman Sterlin Harjo, and produced by Tulsa’s This Land Films. As a co-sponsor of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Beyond Cinema Media Studio, OF&MO was able to utilize the high profile Main Street venue as a meeting and networking space, and as a site for our VIP networking reception attended by120 invited guests. Attendees included local and out-of-state filmmakers, film industry representatives and partners of OF&MO. We were able to prominently display signage and marketing materials at the venue throughout the festival. Additionally, OF&MO participated in a live webinar discussion, “From State to Slate,” in partnership with Entertainment Partners and LA 411 at the Utah Film Commission’s space The Hub on Main Street. Jill Simpson represented Oklahoma and was joined by Rudderless director, William H. Macy, and producer, Keith Kjarval. The panel also included representatives from the states of New Mexico, Texas and Minnesota along with filmmakers 2 with films in the festival representing each jurisdiction. The discussion recognized the importance of the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program during the filming of Rudderless and was received by an audience of 156 online viewers. The webinar is archived and can be viewed at engage.vevent/index.jsp?eid=1584&seid=39. Lastly, OF&MO also co-hosted an evening VIP reception and networking event with Entertainment Partners and LA 411 at The Hub on Main Street, which brought together industry members, film commissions and filmmakers to talk shop and share ideas and incentive options for projects in development. Oklahoma’s Buffalo Lounge at SXSW 2014: Plans are being finalized for the fourth annual Buffalo Lounge at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. The Oklahoma booth at the SXSW Tradeshow will be open March 9-12 at the Austin Convention Center and Buffalo Lounge events will take place at Avenue on Congress March 10-13. Events will include an Elevator Pitch Contest for Interactive businesses, music showcases highlighting Oklahoma musicians and a film industry webinar hosted by Entertainment Partners, Variety411 and OF&MO. An official press release will be issued in mid-February with information on sponsors, and specific details regarding the schedule of Buffalo Lounge events at SXSW. To receive press releases from OF&MO, please sign up here: ok.gov/triton/modules/oknotify/index.php?id=200. For more information on The Buffalo Lounge, sponsorships, or any other questions, please e-mail Abby Kurin at aekurin@gmail. You may also log on to thebuffalolounge. Public Relations & Industry Development Presented to the Norman Rotary Club information regarding OF&MO and the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program Participated in interviews regarding the rebate program and August: Osage County which were featured on television shows Discover Oklahoma and Oklahoma Horizons Participated in an interview regarding the rebate program for KFOR, Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate Met with Amber Sharples, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Arts Council to discuss overlapping agency interests and concerns Published an Advertisement in the 2014 Sundance Catalog, which featured multiple filming locations in Oklahoma Published an Advertisement in the 2014 Oklahoma Travel Guide, which featured images of posters from productions that filmed in Oklahoma Met with local musician, Gregory Jerome, to discuss his current initiatives and successes in the Oklahoma music industry Met with Trey Rick of ACM@UCO to discuss resources for Synchronization and Copyrighting Attended the 2014 Trail Dance Film Festival in support of Oklahoma films Attended and spoke to key audience members at a VIP screening of August: Osage County in Bartlesville, Oklahoma Met with Lucy Swanson (Guthrie Chamber of Commerce), Mary Coffin (Guthrie Chamber of Commerce) Police Chief Damon Devereaux (City of Guthrie) and Cody Mosley (Economic Development, City of Guthrie) to discuss filming within the community and a feature Film Friendly Oklahoma workshop for the City of Guthrie Met with Carrie Hoge of the SpringHill Suites in Moore to discuss film friendly business opportunities and tour the facilities for the Oklahoma Locations Guide Presented at the Oklahoma State Parks Managers Meeting detailing the most common types of filming requests and the impact they have on Oklahoma State Parks Met with Christopher Domanski, Assistant Dean for the College of Fine Arts, Media, & Design for the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) regarding internship and education opportunities for UCO students Worked with Janet Reed, Executive Director of the Durant Chamber of Commerce, on scheduling a Film Friendly Oklahoma Workshop for South Central/Southeast Oklahoma for February 2014 3 Industry Services and Technology Development Website Update: OF&MO has just received clearance to begin using Google Analytics to track website data. As a result, OF&MO will now implement reporting monthly pageviews instead of total monthly visitors. Pageviews can be defined as an instance of an Internet user visiting a particular page on a website. Google Analytics tracks real humans accessing our website, as opposed to Ok.gov’s webstats, which includes hits from robots and computers. The discrepancy in reported numbers are a result of more accurate reporting techniques, and do not reflect a change in the performance of oklahomafilm.org. Total Pageviews: 1,485 o December 2013: 520 o January 2014: 965 Most Popular Pages o E-Newsletter o Jobs & Internships o Events Calendar User Demographics: o Returning Visitors: 64.9% o New Visitors: 35.1% o Average Visit Duration: 4:27 o User location: United States: 93.39% Pakistan: 5.24% Philippines: .68% Greece, Italy and other: .69% Social Media: Facebook: facebook/OklahomaFilmMusicOffice o Launched in November 2012 o Total Likes: 827 o New Likes in December/January: 116 o Total Reach in December/January: 25,089 Twitter: twitter/OKFilm_Music o Launched in January 2013 o Total Followers: 987 o New Followers in December/January: 236 This Week in Film and Music: To sign up for our weekly e-newsletter, This Week in Film and Music, please visit the Website subscriptions page at: o ok.gov/triton/modules/oknotify/index.php?id=200 o Current Circulation is: 2,724 Digital Location Database: The Reel-Scout Database continues to grow thanks to our community partners. OF&MO would like to extend our gratitude to the following individuals for allowing us to scout locations for the Oklahoma Locations Guide: Carrie Hoge (SpringHill Suites) and Janet Johnson (Seminole Nation Grisso Mansion). 4 This month we collected location images for Reel-Scout from: Yousef Kazemi, Locations Coordinator, OF&MO o Downtown Shawnee - Shawnee, OK Carrie Hoge, Director of Sales, SpringHill Suites by Marriott OKC/Moore o SpringHill Suites by Marriott - Moore, OK Janet Johnson, Development Officer, Seminole Nation Grisso Mansion o Seminole Nation Grisso Mansion - Seminole, OK Music Guide: Just as the Oklahoma Production Guide is a database for all Oklahoma film crew, the Music Guide is an all-inclusive, fully searchable online database for Oklahoma musicians, support services, and venues. Bands, venues, performers, and music businesses can register to be listed at no cost, and users are able to browse the database to find talented artists of all genres, live music locations, and other music related companies. It is the first comprehensive music database of its type in Oklahoma. Currently the guide contains 317 music business listings and 425 music talent listings. To register or for more information visit: oklahoma.reel-scout/music_registration.aspx. The Oklahoma Film & Music Office’s Production, Location and Music Guide App: In June of 2013, OF&MO launched our free, downloadable production guide iPhone application. With this app, users can instantly access our database of locations photos and in-state crew; and search for local vendors and instantly view their website. Through a phone’s internal GPS, users are also able to map their current location and get directions to thousands of landmarks instantly. As of September 25, 2013, the OF&MO iPhone app now includes the Oklahoma Music Guide, allowing users to search for Oklahoma musicians and music business quickly and easily. o Total downloads: 453 o New downloads in December/January: 72 OF&MO Internship Program: OF&MO conducted intern interviews and is proud to welcome new student interns for the Spring semester from the University of Oklahoma, the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene University. Katie Baughman, Rebecca Buckner, Christine Elliott, Haley Burr and Sam Duce will assist the office by adding events to the events page on our website and drafting our weekly newsletter This Week in Film and Music. William Muschinske will provide assistance to the Music Guide by contacting local artists and venues and encouraging registration. Emily Long will return for a fourth semester and will assist with the online Locations Guide as well as the weekly newsletter. We wish them a warm welcome and look forward to an exciting semester ahead. Production Recent/Current Film/TV Production Provided Angela Nicholson of Outreach Video & Media Services with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the documentary short, The “True” True Grit Provided Joe James of Snake Oil Productions with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the Animal Planet television series, Finding Bigfoot Provided Dawn Harth and Becky King of Ackerman-McQueen with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of a tourism commercial at Alabaster Caverns State Park Provided Shawn Rodriguez of Evolution Media with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the Bravo Television series, The Real Housewives of Orange County Provided Amy Mellows of Pulse Film with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the MTV International docu-series, Sleeping with the Family Provided Tim Wentz with Shooters Inc. with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the Food Network television series, Restaurant: Impossible Provided Andrew McKay with Sharp Entertainment with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the Travel Channel television series, Chowdown Countdown 5 Upcoming Film/TV Production Provided Malvina Martin with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of a television series on vaccines which will air on PBS/Nova Provided Dan Benedict of Tremendous Entertainment with locations, permitting, and contact information for the filming of the television docu-series Ghost Asylum Met with Tim Rhynes of the Chickasaw Nation and producer Paul Sirmons about upcoming production of Te Ata. Potential Film/TV Production Sent location forms and requested more information from Rachel Hirsch of Sharp Entertainment regarding the filming of the Travel Channel television series, Toy Hunter Sent locations information and offered further assistance to Michael Walsh of RevHiFi Productions regarding his music video production Sent locations information and offered further assistance to Weinstein Co. regarding the feature film production The Ends of the Earth Sent location forms and requested more information from Justin Arwood of Backlot Media regarding his short film Sent location forms and requested more information from Austin Hatcher regarding his short film Sent location forms and requested more information from Tanya Rivers regarding his independent film production Sent incentives information and requested more information from Bobby Galinsky of Apex Feline regarding his film production, A Brand New You Sent location forms and requested more information from Brent MacDonald from Thumbs Up Entertainment regarding his independent feature Sent locations information and requested more information from Cayenne Brander of Avcom Productions regarding her commercial production Sent locations information and requested more information from Christopher Hardwick regarding his music video production more information from Kristin Claiborne of VH1 regarding her television
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:49:47 +0000