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... :: April 28, 2010 :: ... |
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Activity Update |
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As of today, 19 productions are pre-qualified for the Alaska Film Industry Tax Credit. These pre-qualified productions anticipate spending over $51 million in Alaska and could receive over $17 million in tax credits. Among the pre-qualified productions are 9 non-fiction TV productions, 3 documentaries, 3 feature films, 2 TV dramas, an IMAX 3D production and a TV commercial. Several new productions are on the verge of pre-qualification and should be pre-qualified in the next week or two. The Film Office had a booth at the AFCI Locations Trade Show (LTS) in Santa Monica earlier this month (April 15 - 17). Volunteer representatives from the Alaska Film Group joined us for this important industry event. Interest in Alaska was strong with much attention being focused on our incentives. Over 100 attendees gave us their contact information and the Film Office has already followed-up with an e-mail. LTS is one of the most important events of its kind, and Alaska's presence lets filmmakers know that Alaska is open for business and that we're ready to help them make movies. Dave Worrell from the Film Office has been invited to participate in a panel discussion on incentives at a symposium sponsored by "The Incentives Office" on May 6th. Several other states' film offices will also participate, and there will be representatives from several film financing organizations as well. It should be a lively discussion. These symposiums are well attended by producers looking to stay on top of incentive offerings and financing options. Dave has also scheduled follow-up meetings with filmmakers who's projects look good for Alaska. It will be a busy trip. |
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Production Contact Information In deference to the desires of the most restrictive productions, the Film Office protects - as proprietary - the information provided with pre-qualification forms. In practice, this means that we can't facilitate interaction between Alaska crew, talent and service providers except through our online crew and service provider database. We believe this is more restrictive than the majority of productions would like, and certainly more restrictive than Alaskans interested in working with productions would like. Based on input from the Alaska Film Group and others, we have added a new section to the Pre-Qualification Form to address the issue. Here is what has changed: We've added a voluntary section to the pre-qualification form requesting "releasable" contact information. The information requested is what we will provide when productions ask for assistance with crew and casting calls as well as our assistance marketing their tax credits. It could also be released in response to public information requests. It gives filmmakers the opportunity to designate an “on the ground” contact for their project in addition to the “designated production company representative” (e.g. the company president/producer/ etc.) that previously was the only contact we had information for. The balance of the pre-qualification form and required documentation remains proprietary and is not released. Should a production choose not to provide this additional contact information, we'll continue to consider their pre-qualification packet proprietary and not release any information. We have implemented this new section on the Pre-Qualification Form and requested that productions that have already pre-qualified also provide the information. As we receive requests from producers for assistance we'll be posting the information on the "reeljobs" blog on your account page of our ReelScout system. (You must be logged into your account to access our "reeljobs" blog.) We'll use our Facebook (film.alaska.gov) and Twitter (AKFilmOffice) feeds as well as this newsletter to let you know that new information is available on reeljobs. |
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Alaska's Online Locations Library - May Teleconference Filmmakers are actively looking for places to film - and they are looking for places that match their internal vision. We all know that Alaska offers an endless supply of great locations - the real determining factor is the budget. Nonetheless, filmmakers want to be able to search for just the right place to match their vision, and in today's world of online instant gratification we need to give them what they're looking for, or they'll go to someplace else that does. To make that possible, we have invested in ReelScout, a location database widely used by film offices around the country. Now we have this great tool that filmmakers can use to search for just the right location but we're having a hard time filling up the database with useful images and information. We started with the State's image bank but the images are dated and the location information is sparse, and in some instances, simply incorrect. Our challenge: how do we fill a database so that when, for example, a filmmaker is looking for an "Alaska Log Cabin" we can supply a variety of places around the state that are visually interesting, accessible and most importantly, available? We realized the obvious place to start is with you: folks who have a vested interest in seeing filmmakers choose Alaska locations instead of other places. To that end, we've worked with ReelScout on a module that will allow anyone to upload locations to the database. We don't anticipate opening it to the public at large, but we hope that many of you will be willing to help us develop our database by providing location information and photographs. We've scheduled a teleconference for Thursday, May 20, from 10 to 11 a.m. to talk about the technology and to give a quick overview of how to use it. Folks in Anchorage are welcome to join us in the Department of Commerce Conference Room on the 17th floor of the Atwood Building. We encourage people outside of Anchorage to call in: |
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Online Crew and Service Provider Listings The online Crew and Service listings module of ReelScout is our primary way of connecting filmmakers with the crew and service resources they'll need to work in Alaska.
Take the time to review and update your listings frequently - it's the best no cost marketing tool you'll find. And there is another reason to check your account often: when a production asks us for assistance with a crew call, we'll post that information on the "reeljobs" link on your account homepage. Questions about your listing? Give us a call! |
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New Feature: Alaska Film Industry News Have something exciting to share with the rest of Alaska's Film Industry? A new project, product, or piece of equipment? From now on this is the spot! We'll feature selected items that we think are "newsworthy." Here is an example: ZatzWorks (formerly Alaska Aerials and Wildlife HD) now has the complete Cineflex package attached to a dedicated helicopter. Starting in April (now) they can shoot anything, anywhere in Alaska at the drop of a hat. For more information contact Daniel Zatz at (907) 299-1885. Send your news item to alaskafilm@alaska.gov and we'll try to get it in the next newsletter. |
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Alaska Film Office This e-mail was sent by the Alaska Film Office. To not receive further e-mails from the Alaska Film Office, please reply to this e-mail with "unlist" in the Subject line. |
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