Aria Pictures PCS Journey part 1 | Aria Pictures Weblog

Date: May 22, 2009
Author: Gerald Martin Davenport
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Aria Pictures PCS Journey part 1 — Place Called Sacramento

The detailed story of the places, people, events, and films.

Introduction to Access Sacramento – 2009

[ more detailed information can be found in the new Aria Pictures Film Encyclopedia ]

I learned about Access Sacramento’s “A Place Called Sacramento Film Festival” because my daughter was taking acting classes “IT Factor Studios” a Sacramento acting studio run by Ryan McKinney. “Don’t forget to go to the access Sacramento casting call. They need actors.” Ryan reminded the students as they were leaving.

This was on the Access Sacramento website site.

Make a Local Movie This Summer – Join Our 10th Annual “PCS CAST & CREW CALL” Wednesday, May 20

Access Sacramento and The Tenth Annual “Place Called Sacramento Film Festival” invite all local folks interested in local filmmaking to come to the Coloma Community Center at 6:00 PM May 20, 2009. Local, short 10-minute scripts have been judged by local filmmakers and the top ten have been selected for production

On May 20, the ten selected writers/producers will introduce themselves and invite your participation. Experience and inexperienced actors, directors, producers, production, post-production. location scouts, and “craft services” are invited to attend and select which volunteer team you would like to help. Introduce yourself and maybe you will be “cast” or selected to help produce a film to be seen on the Big Screen at the Crest Theater October 4 and posted “on-demand” at www.AccessSacramento.or

Bring your business cards, resumes, headshots, etc. if you have them but they are not necessary. This is NOT a traditional “stand-in-line audition.” Plan to attend from the very beginning (6:00 PM sharp) to hear the scripts and then introduce yourself to the filmmakers of your choosing

Join the fun this summer and help make a movie about your hometown. All ages are invited. Invite your friends and family — we expect to see more than 200 people but hundreds more can be accommodated. Access Sacramento builds community by making movies — only in a place called Sacramento.

Ron Cooper, Executive Director

So, in reality, and technically, it is a screenplay contest and then a movie premiere event. Many people, I guess, submitted a 10-page screenplay to be judged, and those that were selected had the approval to make their movie and then get it projected at the Crest Theatre.

Still sounds exciting. A place I can show my filmmaking experience, knowledge, and skills and meet other filmmakers for future purposes.

So I got things ready: took 4 copies of Paint movie, could not find my demo reel, took 5 copies of my resumé, and some business cards — NOTE: need to redo cards with email and contact info on them — and I met Tamara at Wonderful III for lunch and to get Kyriè's photo and she told me where to get her resumé and I printed 10.

I got started late and ran into some stop-and-go traffic twice. Found the street, which was easy, and just before I go to where I needed I found a nice spot to park on the road under a tree — the whole street was tree-lined — a beautiful part of the city.

Got there and it was the Community Center that had a large courtyard where they had everything set up. Twelve tables for the writer and director or camera or producer, or the kids, of the movie, and the place for people to be on camera. A nice gentleman told us we needed to fill out this form and get on camera, just for actors to create a short, on-camera, biography of themselves that would be put onto a DVD and given to the ten filmmakers for future reference of actor or crew needs.

I then heard we needed to all be on camera even the crew. So I got in line, and he wanted to let me cut, I told him, "I am fine. I am used to showing up early and leaving late, and I am crew."

So I did my thing and had it in front of my face. Met a few new people, mostly girls, and saw a few of the people in Kyriè's acting workshop.

The ten filmmakers were sitting at small tables on the concrete that lined the lawn in the courtyard — but we were not allowed to go talk to them until everyone was done introducing themselves, as Ron told us. So the majority, and I would guess that there was a good 150 – 180 people, were standing and sitting on the chairs on the lawn facing the center podium waiting, but a few — and there always are — people that do not follow rules, signs, or what they are told were already talking with the filmmakers — the notice was also for the filmmakers, but they never listen, they are excited about finding actors and crew to get their movie made.

We were graced by a dance by a Hawaiian dance group that was visiting to get information on creating their own screenplay contest. Ron Cooper introduced each filmmaker who got a chance to speak about themselves and their film: the story and their needs. After everyone was done with that, the attendees could go to the tables of the films that interested them and submit their bio, headshot, and chat with the filmmakers.

Stood around while the writers and their partners introduced themselves. The Push, by Danna Wilber, needed a teen girl, and since I was standing by her table while waiting to do my camera introduction, I handed the guy Kyriè’s photo and resumé. She then mentioned she needed an editor, so I handed the guy my resumé.

The director of The Push happened to take a picture toward me, and I got out of the frame and I told him "I am not in front but behind." He asked what I did, and I asked if he was Gary, the Director? and he was. We talked about editing and filmmaking, and my daughter, so I hope he calls as he needs more editors to help him with his other short movies.

Long story short, well, might be too late for that too. I made it to several tables touting my wares and although many were interested, I found a group of guys who just finished Digital Film School at a local college. I knew they were newbies when they asked me if I knew about “L-Cuts and Cross-Cuts.” I laughed inside and gave them a funny look. “Why? Are you new to editing?”

It was fun, but it was also very amateurish in nature, but the fun was in the journey. Various skill levels and expertise along with a wide range of ages and nationalities were there as both representing a movie and as actors or crew, which by the way was about 75% actors and 25% crew, so the people I talked with made it as though I was in demand, and I knew I would be.

Continue with Aria Pictures PCS Journey part 2

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