Please be advised that this newsletter, the articles herein and the following information are protected under United States Copyright Law and therefore may be reproduced only with direct and specific permission of the publisher and the project producers.

 

NEWS & EVENTS: (Scroll on down to keep reading.)
Please email your submissions, articles and press releases

        Hester Schell continues teaching at SF School of Digital Filmmaking. MORE HERE.

        Latest DIGI School feature, with many SFSDF students,
        Moonlight Sonata by Celik Kayalar. TRAILER HERE.
San Francisco, CA
June 24 , 2008-


The Green Room was bursting with energy as the SAG/Northern California/SF branch celebrated 75 years of Union solidarity. We ate cake, and enjoyed fine wines served on the balcony overlooking Van Ness Avenue and the dome of San Francisco City Hall. Speeches were kept to a minimum and a good time was had by all.


Enjoy the snapshots! CLICK HERE FOR THE PHOTO SPREAD!

GOING GREEN ON SET by Hester Schell
April 22, 2008 EARTH DAY

If not us, who?  If not now, when?
The pile of garbage bags grows as we’re about to wrap-out on another Bay Area “low budget feature for festivals.”  Somewhere a PA waits for instructions on where to take it. I have to admit, I did ask for it: “I’ll do the recycling.”  I sift through garbage removing water bottles and soda cans.  I post signs:  “This is Garbage,” and “This is Recycling.”  It takes 7 days to break a habit.  This two week feature gives me hope.

Most of us do it at home anyway: separating out bottles, cans, plastic and cardboard. Yeah, we’re busy making a movie and we’re on the run. With nine cast members, 15 to 20 crew coming and going, that’s a lot of cases of soda cans and water bottles. No more excuses. Here are a few simple things production managers can do to reduce the carbon footprint on set -

-BYOWB.  Bring your own water bottle and re-fill them from 5 gallon portables, or better yet, use the tap.  If it’s vitamin water you want, add instant vitamin powder. There’s an added benefit: cash savings.   If you just can’t switch to BYOWB then put a permanent marker next to the water bottles and get everyone put their names on bottles they’ve opened so they can finish it. 

-ELIMINATE SYTROFOAM.  Just don’t buy it. Get it off the set, period.   Instruct craft services and catering to purchase bio-degradable and high content post consumer recycled paper products.  Apart from keeping this obnoxious and toxic material out of the landfill, your coffee flavor won’t be spoiled by melting styrene, which by the way is a known carcinogen.  Or, add a crate of ceramic mugs to the craft list and have a PA take the cups home and run them through the dishwasher.   Take it a step further by asking staff to bring a coffee mug.  It’s not that hard to put a coffee mug in your back pack. By the way, if you’re going to shoot up in Portland, Oregon, anytime soon, you’ll have to - it’s the law.  There’s no Styrofoam in Multnomah County, by voter approval quite awhile ago.   Just for fun, do an Internet search for banned Styrofoam, and you’ll find a host of communities getting rid of it.   Hip up, y’all.

- PRINT BACK TO BACK. Duh…Just do it, whenever possible, and use soy based inks. Make it high percentage post consumer recycled paper.  Use those one sided drafts your friends marked up to print the shot logs, call sheets, strip boards and contact sheets whenever possible.

- POWER DOWN at meal breaks whenever possible.

- EAT LOWER ON THE FOOD CHAIN whenever possible.

- UTLILIZE businesses and suppliers that support energy savings, and hotels, that support sustainable laundry practices.

- REPLACE INCANDESCENT BULBS withhigh efficiency wherever you can.

-CARPOOL carpool carpool to location location location.

- Two simple words:  RECHARGABLE BATTERIES. Get rid of the disposables. They’re not.  And they’re toxic.  

-RECYCLE OLD BATTERIES.  Put a bag or a box next to the bottle and can bin and make a sign for battery recycling.

- GO DIGITAL. Many of us have already made the jump to HD, by-passing all those nasty polluting, chemicals from traditional filmmaking from the last century. 

Sure, it’s asking a lot, but we really can make a difference with every choice we make:  be part of the solution.  Someone is going to be inconvenienced by it and complain, but these are the kinds of changes necessary if we’re going to save the planet.

By all means, add to this list.  Start with cardboard, battery, bottle and can recycling and see where else you can go with it.   It’s a start.  Reducing our carbon footprint can easily translate into our working environment.   Here are a few helpful websites with ordering and pricing information for bio-degradable food service products:

www.ecoproducts.com
www.mrtakeoutbags.com
www.container-recyling.org
www.treecycle.com

THE SCOOP ON RELEASE FROMS - WHY WE DON'T SIGN AT AUDITIONS
by Hester Schell
OK, this issue is really...reelly....burning me up... Please folks, the only way to stop inexperienced and unknowing filmmakers from insisting you sign a release at the audition is not to sign them. IF YOU GET THE PART, READ On....

JUST WHEN IS PILOT SEASON???
by Ann Hester
The digital revolution has somewhat leveled the playing field with increases in the number of projects being produced. We know this doesn't necessarily translate in a paycheck.
CLICK HERE to continue with this article.
RUNAWAY PRODUCTION-
Costing California Millions-
National Crisis, or fair market economics?
San Francisco, CA– Click here to read this article. TAX BREAK BEING SOUGHT FOR FILMING
by James Bates,
Los Angeles Times, 11 January 2002    Click here to read this article.

From the L.A. Times- Article about Governor Gray Davis' plan to keep more filming in California rather than less expensive locations in Canada and Australia.

COMMERCIALS: Bread and Butter... or better?
 Giovannie Pico, talks about "spec." jobs. That's "speculative" in case you were wondering.
Click on this

MORE FILMMAKERS GO DIGITAL
Perhaps you've noticed it too: more and more filmmakers are requesting that actors email production offices for audition information and visit web sites for casting details and character breakdowns. We've also noticed an increase in filmmakers requesting digital headshots and resume submissions via email. In addition, more filmmakers are requesting that their audition announcements go immediately onto our web site in the passcode-protected area where you get your audition information. Continued...

Bay Area Casting News is now only available via this web site.
Click "SUBSCRIBE" to get started.

Dear BACN:
I just wanted to tell you how grateful we are to receive your support. A large number of actors and actresses have contacted us regarding the film through your site. Thank you and everyone associated with BACN.
Sincerely,
Koji Goto,
Casting Director
DEAR BACN:
I want to take this opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate BACN. I was a hard copy subscriber and missed my BACN issues terribly when I was not online. I am so grateful to now be online and to be able to resume my BACN subscription. I work the leads avidly and enjoy reading the articles. I appreciated your recent article on "Auditions..." I did not know that I shouldn't sign a release form at the audition. That has certainly come up from time to time and now I know what to say!
I agree with you on the pay issue for non-union indie film actors. I wish we could all stand together!
I can't believe how much competition there is out there to work for free! It is sickening how actors are taken advantage of sometimes. I am SAG eligible and know the pay will be better once I join the union, but I am concerned the workload will decrease! I just love to act and need to be able to support that habit! Thanks again for all your hard work and support!
Glorinda Marie -Actor

DEAR BACN:
Having been a BACN member for several years, I can say without pause that many, many projects I've become aware of, and submitted my materials for, would never have been known to me unless I had been a subscriber to BACN. And it's not only the audition news, and well presented resources, the articles and other helpful tools I've read since becoming a BACN subscriber have proven to be invaluable to me. I can happily say that the numerous independent, and feature film, and V/O gigs I've been fortunate enough to do, were all initially audition listings on BACN. Hester, your great work and vision are an inspiration to this gal.
Cheers, Jules Divens ACTORS RETREAT 11/04 - It is such a pleasure to work with somebody who clearly knows what she is talking about,who gives positive feedback and who so obviously knows the business. What a treat to have a safe, positive environment in which to take risks and make mistakes - an atmosphere so conducive. Thanks!
Maya Maher

It was a great introduction and refresher of the opportunities and ways to overcome challenges in the area. Just being in front of a camera: that experience of being on film helps loosen me up and prepares me for auditions.
Ashley RockwoodSUBSCRIBER QUOTES -I want to take a moment and thank you so much for your website...This weekend, thanks to audition info from BACN, I'm participating in a delightful film shoot directed by a very talented young SFSU student.  The big surprise is that the other 2 actors are L.A. pros and friends of his family! I'm very lucky.. wouldn't have known about it were it not for your website.
Best wishes,
Debbie Rakotomalala

LET US KNOW... letters@bayareacasting.com

REMINDERS:
Do not ever sign a release at an audition.
Never take your clothes off at an audition.
Never do anything you're not completely comfortable with.
Do not put your home address, or your social security number on your resume.
Advance notice is required for nudity, and must be discussed before you agree to do a role.


ADDITONAL REVIEWS, New column.


PHOTOS POSTED:
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LET'S TAKE A WALK...TV Series Information
Please be advised that this newsletter, the articles herein and the following information are protected under United States Copyright Law
and therefore may be reproduced only with direct and specific permission of the publisher and the project producers.