Meet Your Teacher

Okay, so we’ve told you about the mentors you’ll be working with. But what exactly do these mentors do? What are their job descriptions? Well, every job is important in the well oiled machine of filmmaking, but some are more involved than others, so that’s who we got for your mentors. And remember, all your mentors were hand-picked because they are working pros. That said, here’s a rundown of the four most important jobs on a set…

The producer is the catch-all. Producers do anything and everything from budgeting to hiring directors, crews, and casting. They have to think with both sides of the brain, the creative and the business sides. The producer is there from concept to distribution. His is probably the hardest job on the set, and also one of the most lucrative. The producer acts as a steady hand on the wheel. The producer operates as both a quality control mechanism and also as a key member of the production staff.

The director is the creative visionary. He or she is the person who plans out the cinematic look and texture of the film with the DP (Director of Photography), gives notes on the script, and sometimes works quite closely with the writer. The director is usually on the project from the pre-production stage through the post-production. The director is the creative force behind the movie. Once the director comes on board the film, it really become his/her movie. The director is in charge of crafting and bending the narrative, and the person who is ultimately responsible for the finished product.

The writer is…well, the writer. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Except the screenwriter doesn’t just get to create a masterpiece alone in a candlelit room, he/she takes notes from pretty much everybody under the sun and has to put together something cohesive and entertaining that’s pleasing to almost everybody. So yeah…the writer is basically a magician. The writer is initially responsible for crafting an interesting story. Then after the producers, director, and everyone else becomes involved, the writer molds the screenplay to fit his/her creative ideas into the fold as well.

The editor is the person who puts all the shot footage together. He/she gets a rough assembly together within weeks of the shoot (and sometimes even simultaneous to the shoot), which is always a helpful tool for the director and producers to make sure nothing was missed. The editor is both a creative and a technical advisor. This job also has its own brand of magic…a bit of sleight of hand.

OUR MENTORS HAVE FILM AND TV CREDITS

Identify the city where you live. If accepted into the Film Connection, you could be learning in the production companies where these films and television shows have been produced:

NEW YORK, NY:

Clients: HBO, ESPN, History Channel, Mark Burnett Productions, FOX, NBC, NBC Sports,Yahoo.com, Warner Bros, Amazon.com, Time Warner Cable, Payback Productions, Jennifer Lopez Productions, Lucas Film, 40/40 Club, Chrysler, AMC, BET, Celine Dion, Al Roker, Al Franken, Food Network, MTV, VH1, FX, Fuse TV, Volvo, Vogue, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Showtime, ESPN, Seinfeld, Heineken, Harrah’s Casinos, Wal-Mart, Vonage, Advil, Chrysler, GE, Nestle, PBS, Bravo

TV Productions: Sex and the City, Al Roker, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,

Films: Oral Fixation, Eyes of the Mothman, All Screwed Up, Night Club, Karloff and Me, The Mandala Maker, Rex

BUFFALO, NY:

Clients: Kiss 98.5 FM, AAA, BNI, Buffalo Museum of Science, 3M Powertools, Culligan Water, Fisher Price Toys, New Era Caps, General Motors, United Way, M&T Bank

PHILADELPHIA, PA:

Clients: Samsung, Armani Exchange, Jeff Gordon, Sands Casino, Hotwire.com, Eureka, McDonalds, Philadelphia Wings, Philadelphia Opera House, Philadelphia 76ers, Hilton Inn, Office Max, Bank of America, Walt Disney Company, Kraft Foods, Office Max, Verizon Wireless

Films:

“Ibeatyou.com” (short film ft. Jessica Alba)

“Muzzler 2008” (short film ft. Jessica Alba & Hayden Panitierre)

Music Videos: Barrington Levy: “No War No War”

HARRISBURG, PA:

Clients: NBC, CBS, Maury, CNN, Oprah, Sally, Maury, Hot Rod TV, NHRA, McDonalds Race Team, Enquirer News, Inside Edition, In The Mix

BALTIMORE, MD:

Clients: American Red Cross, Baltimore Aquarium, Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, Dancing with the Stars, Good Samaritan Hospital, Ringling Bros, Washington Nationals, Animal Planet, Comcast Networks, History Channel, Discovery Health, John Hopkins.

Productions: Legends of the Unwired “The Avon Barksdale Story” (Documentary) , Aqua Kids (TV) , Around the House (TV)

Music Videos: Lamb of God “Veterans War”

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Clients: Starz, Papa Johns, National Geographic, Fox, PBS, A&E, Smithsonian Museums, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, ESPN, American Red Cross, TLC, United Way

Productions: A Bridge Apart (Documentary), America at a Crossroads (PBS Documentary), Stories From The Vaults (Smithsonian Channel production hosted by Tom Cavanaugh)

BOSTON, MA

Clients: Coca Cola, Chef Boyardee, Animal Planet, Comedy Central, ATT, CNN, Sports Illustrated, AOL

CLEVELAND, OH

Clients: Progressive Auto Insurance, Cleveland Cavaliers, Nestle Inc, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, United Church of Christ

DETROIT, MI

Clients: General Motors, US Dept. of Defense, US Dept. Of Energy, Pepsi, University of Michigan, Maks TV

TAMPA, FL

Clients: Crab Shack, Real Fighting Championship, World Fighting Championships, Plies, Ron Artest, HDnet, Paramount Pictures, American Records, Florida Orchestra

Productions: Real Fighting Championship V (PPV), Sacred Waters (Documentary), WFC Lockdown, Next (Short Film)

Music Videos: Plies “I am the Club”, Ron Artest “The Game”, Plies “Running my Momma Crazy”, Wisin & Yandell “Llame pa’ Verte”

MIAMI, FL

Clients: Bacardi, Miami Science Museum, Air Force, Tyson Beckford, Wyclef Jean

Productions: “The Beach Chronicles” (film Starring Daryl Hannah, Jimmie Jean Lewis, Jessie Johnson) “Sove Nou” (Documentary narrated by Danny Glover)

ATLANTA, GA

Clients: A&E, Ted Turner Broadcasting, The History Channel, Comcast, TNT, TNN, Bobby Brow, Google, MTV, BET, Aspire Magazine, HDNET, NBC, CherokeeTV Network, Livestrong, The Preservation Channel

Productions: The Quilters News Network (TV), Jim Fowler’s Life in the Wild and Keeping it Wild with Jason Raize (TV series), 56thAnnual Drama Desk Awards, Love Always, Charleston (TV series), Church Mess (Film), For Honor or Glory (Film)

NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE, LA

Productions: Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay, The Open Road (starring Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges), Van Helsing (starring Hugh Jackson, Kate Beckinsale) Blood Out (starring Val Kilmer, 50 Cent), Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Switching the Script (starring Ray J, Bobby V), Wrong Side of Town (starring Dave Bautista)

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Clients: Thermo Scientific, Tony Stewart Foundation, SIMON Malls, Indiana University Health, Childrens Museum Indianapolis, SpinWeb

DENVER, CO

Clients: City of Denver, Paul Mitchell, Comcast, ESPN, Colorado Avalanche, Rebel.TV, KwikTek, US Mint, World Series of Boxing

SEATTLE, WA

Clients: NBC, Fox, Taco Bell, Microsoft, Amazon, Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Club, Three Dollar Bill Cinema, G&L Film Festival

PORTLAND, OR

Clients: Kaiser Permanente, Snap-On, Hollywood Video, HSBC, HD Net, Oster, Intel, Allstate Insurance, Univision, The Hartford Financial, Nabisco, EMI Records

Productions: “This is War, Memories of Iraq”

TUCSON, AZ

Clients: US Army, Boeing, Fender Guitars, Brookstone, Philips, The North Face, Arizona State University, Military Channel, Vitamin Water ft. Steve Nash, Body Choice, Frank Lloyd Wright

SAN DIEGO, CA

Clients: ATT, HP, Pfizer, Pepboys, Honda, Easy Turf, Nivea for Men, DigiTells, Food Network

Productions: School of Thought (Short Film), Summer Sizzle (Food Network)

DALLAS, TX

Clients: PBS, HGTV, Disney XD, ALN, TNT, Cartoon Network, History Channel, Univision, Telemundo, Salvation Army, Health Network, Yamaha, CNN, Larry King Live, CNBC, Fox Business, KTLA, MSNBC

Productions: “The Man Left Behind” (Documentary)

SAN ANTONIO, TX

Clients: HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, Cinemax, TLC, Oprah, Today Show, The History Channel, Discovery Channel, Dateline, America’s Most Wanted, Doctor Phil, ESPN, Atlantic TV, Bloomberg TV, Japanese TV, Inside Edition

ANCHORAGE, AK

Clients: CNN, NBC, Wells Fargo, Dateline, CBS News, A&E, Bloomberg TV, BP, Smithsonian Institution, Princess Cruises, The Daily Show, Inside Edition, McCain Palin, The History Channel, 20/20, Boeing, Vaseline, Shell

Productions: “Godspeed”, “The Proposal” (starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds), The Amazing Race (TV), I shouldn’t Be Alive (TV), Dinner Impossible (TV), Future Weapons (TV)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

Clients: ABC, NBC, CBS, Entertainment Tonight, Discovery Channel, HGTV

SAN JOSE, CA

Clients: Adidas, Diesel Clothing, Vans, Sony, SanDisk, MSC Productions

HONOLULU, HI

Clients: Taco Bell, Ohina, Asthma PSA, Kanu Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, NAPA, AT&T Wireless

LOS ANGELES, CA

Clients: CBS, NBC, HBO

Productions: Love N’ Dancing (starring Amy Smart), Gravesend, The Alphabet Killer (starring Timothy Hutton, Eliza Dushku, Michael Ironside), The Attic (starring Elizabeth Moss), Devil in The Flesh (starring Rose McGowan), Out for Blood (starring Kevin Dillon), Sanity “Stay Away” (Music Video), Brother to Brother (starring Anthony Mackie), Omphalos (starring Emmanuelle Chiriquí), XX/XY (starring Mark Ruffalo), The Hebrew Hammer (starring Adam Goldberg, Andy Dick), Missing in America (starring Danny Glover, Ron Pearlman, Linda Hamilton), The Skeptic (starring Zoe Saldana, Tom Arnold, Tim Daly), California Winter (starring Michael Ironside)

 

Success Stories from Our Students

“The Film Connection gave me the means to pursue screenwriting as a career. I learned from professionals, but I would say that in their own way, they were teachers because they were trying to elevate you.”

“I have worked on countless projects for my mentor’s films as the editor, but one project in particular I am very proud of! When (my mentor’s studio) was first starting up, they had shot a documentary about off road trophy truck racing. They flew down to Vegas and throughout the course of 3 years followed Mark Ewing, owner of Riot racing. capturing his trials and experiences he had while creating the off road racing team, while knowing nothing about the sport. This was the first project that I started working on when I went down to the studio. I was working with 2 other editors to get the project done. And my job on it at the time was the find good B-roll, with supporting dialogue, real time moments, and interviews. It was my job to go through literally dozens of one terabyte hard drives that were filled and find the best of these things. It took forever! But I was getting the work done.”

“Working in the studio over a period of time gave me tons of experience and knowledge. I built a strong relationship with the owner, and his employees. During the time of my externship, I was in production of my short film “Faded.” There were shoot days where I needed certain equipment and lighting. The studio lent us equipment at no charge to help me out. With the advice from experienced crew members, I got my film done with an ultra-low budget, with the screen appearance of a 100 thousand dollar budget.”

“…My mentor Tom has been an amazing resource for me and I am happy that I have been able to keep in contact with him.”

“The team itself was no more then a five person crew, a couple of externs including myself, and the two CEOs in the other room. This really surprised me but at the same time was inspirational that together with each of their skills sets can hold onto such high end clients that they had, some being Wireless X, Philadelphia Wings lacrosse team, and even starting their own TV network to premiere in a few years.”

 

More Student Success Stories