Actors, an Acting Teacher and a Casting Agent Share Their Experience at the acting panel on this past Saturday as part of the Northampton Independent Film Festival
Pat Mc Corkle: As one of New York's most respected casting directors, Pat McCorkle has amassed an impressive list of credits in all genres. Her expertise ranges from feature film to Primetime TV to Broadway Stage and Regional Theatre. Her numerous credits include: Broadway productions of "Thge Lieutenant of Inishmore,: "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" with Ashley Judd; "Bobbi Boland;" and "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" with Ellen Burstyn; 3lbs. "Chapelle's Show;" the "Jamie Kennedy Experiment;" CBS-TV's "Hack" and "The Education of Max Bickford;" numerous feature films such as " "Rollerball;" Showtime's "Ruby's Bucket of Blood" with Angela Basset; TNT's "Monday Night Mayhem" starring John Turturro' MGM/USA's "The Thomas Crown Affair" and many more. She has also cast for The Arena Stage, The George Street Playhouse and The Guthrie Theatre.
Peter Berkrot: Peter has taught acting to adults and children, written for the stage, and has run acting workshops throughout New England. He wrote and directed several short films about teens and AIDS for New Hampshire public television. As a director he has staged SARAJEVO: VOICES OF THE SEIGE, ROMEO AND JULIET, WAITING FOR LEFTY, and THE BREAKFAST CLUB FOR NEW VOICES.
Leslie Kendall: Leslie was born in Los Angeles and began performing at the age of ten, creating the title role in L.A. Chamber Ballet's adaptation of the children's classic THE LITTLE PRINCE, Leslie co-starred in NBC's NUTCRACKER: MONEY, MADNESS AND MURDER, playing Lee Remick's daughter, and has guest starred on television series such as CLUELESS and STAR TREK DS9. She was also a regular on CHARLIE HOOVER.
Robert Gomes: Robert has had roles on SEX AND THE CITY, ED, LAW AND ORDER and ALL MY CHILDREN. His extensive theater background includes roles on Broadway (including the Lincoln Center Theater) off-Broadway, and major regional US theaters.
Independent vs Studio Productions
Leslie Kendall: As an actor in an independent production, you have more involvement. You see more, you learn more. When there is more of a bonding process and openness that comes with more involvement-The performance is better as a result. When you are a part of a studio production, you are waiting in your trailer to be escorted to the set. This leaves the performance colder from the get-go.
Getting to The Core of a Character
Peter Berkrot: The key to getting to a character's core is to examine what the character wants. What is the character's ultimate goal, and how does this affect the way they interact with people. How do they interact with people of different status? Children, their boss, their wife?
Peter recommends the books "Black and White" by David Mamet and "Acting For the Camera" by Tony Barr
Robert Gomes: On the short film BODY/ANTIBODY Robert came into the audition trying-out for one character and left the audition with the news that he would be trying-out for an entirely different character with much less preparation than the first. Robert read Michael Caine's book "Acting on Film" cover to cover. Since the new character was afflicted withobsessive compulsive disorder Robert watched as many documentaries as possible before the next audition. He found that these were not nearly as helpful as one film which documented a woman afflicted with the condition while she was put into an environment she had no control over. The difference was that he was studying the woman from a behavioral standpoint as opposed to a psychological standpoint. Looking to the reaction under stressful conditions such as the movement of the hands and the breathing were the key to playing a character with the condition than just understanding the reasons the person acts the way they did.
Make sure to catch the panels this coming weekend at the second installment of the Northampton Independent Film Festival
Saturday, November 10th 10:30 am-Women Filmmakers' Panel
Saturday, November 10th 1:00 pm-Florentine Films/Hott Productions Retrospective
Join AFI representatives for an introduction to the Conservatory's Master of Fine Arts film program and a screening of award-winning student films.
At the world-renowned AFI Conservatory, a dedicated group of working professionals from the film and television communities serve as mentors in a hands-on, production-based environment nurturing the talents of tomorrow's storytellers.
With an emphasis on narrative visual storytelling, each class breaks into teams that mirror a real production environment. Those teams collaborate on and produce more films than at any other graduate level film program.
Since 1969, over 3,500 artists have graduated from the AFI Conservatory. These graduates have, and will continue to have, a major impact on the art of film, television and digital media into the 21st century.
This event is open to the public and free of charge.
Understanding Mobile Media: Untapped Opportunities and Hidden Challenges
One Hour - Thursday, October 18, 2007 – 9 a.m. (PT) / Noon (ET)
Driven by a society that wants instant gratification, 24-hour access and portability above all else, consumers have forever changed entertainment.
As the term mass media threatens to become obsolete, the time has come to engage and start a one-on-one dialog through the only medium that is always on, and never leaves consumer's side - the mobile phone. The audience for mobile exceeds broadcast TV, the web, and cable in sheer numbers and functionality. There are currently 2.3 billion mobile phones in the world, with which the average person spends 10-15 hours per day. On top of that the mobile channel offers the most personalized user experience yet, with rich media, personalization and interactive capabilities available anytime, anywhere.
But it's complicated - dozens of mobile operators and network configurations; hundreds of devices with a variety of media formats; and numerous channels of distribution with different business models. Overcoming these hurdles is tough.
In this hour, Nellymoser and INmobile.org will show you how to successfully overcome the hurdles of going mobile and staying there, by focusing on the following:
Getting the Lay of the Mobile Land - Where to start and what you need to know
Selecting your content and delivering it to your target market
Ensuring a compelling experience for the most handsets
Presented by:
John Puterbaugh
Founder and Chief Strategist
Adam Zawel
Chief Collaborating Officer
For Safari Users Only: To register, use another browser or call us and we’ll register you - 310.453.4440
Come be a part of the celebration of the New England Film and Video Festival. Filmmakers who will be screening at the festival will be present as well as local filmmakers.
It will be a blast!!!
Sunday, October 7th
6pm Filmmaker Reception Sponsored by Beanywood
7pm Filmmaker Reception Sponsored by Beanywood
at the Marriott Courtyard 40 Webster St Brookline , MA -Coolidge Corner
Read the next blog posted for details about what the NEFVF has to offer this year.
Marriott Courtyard in Coolidge Corner 40 Webster St Brookline, MA
Panels are moderated by Ty Burr, Film Critic for the Boston Globe and Entertainment Weekly
3pm-New England Film Festival Part 1
Meet the programmers for all of the film festivals thru out New England .They’ll give you a behind the scene look on the selection process and what their plans are for their up coming Festivals.
Lisa Simmons, Roxbury Film Festival
Hilary Nieukirk, Chlotrudis Society Short FIlm Festival
Anna Feder & Kevin Monahan, Boston Underground Film Festival
Judy Lasiter, Woods Hole Film Festival
Trevor F Bartlett, New Hampshire Film Festival
4pm: New England Film Festival Part 2
Meet the programmers for all of the film festivals thru out New England .They’ll give you a behind the scene look on the selection process and what their plans are for their up coming Festivals.
Michelle Fino, Newburyport Documentary Film Festival
George, Rhode Island International Film Festival
Ned Hinkle, Boston Fantastic Film Festival, New England Animation Bash
Charlie Burke, Northhampton Independent Film Festival
Bill Whitman, Snob Film Festival
5pm: Documentary Filmmaking in New England :
Join a lively discussion with local filmmakers and industry professionals about making documentaries in New England .
Ben Oliver, Documentary Filmmaker
Susi Walsh, Executive Director The Center for Independent Documentary
Ziad Hamzeh, Documentary Filmmaker
Sam Kauffmann, Documentary Filmmaker & Professor at BU
Cecil Cox, Documentary Producer
Federico Muchnik, Documentary Filmmaker & Teacher at CDIA
2pm:Internet Distribution-Co-Sponsored by Women in Film New England :
Anna Callahan of SuperIndieFilms.com teaches us the latest in how to get your film online and make money on it too.www.superindiefilms.com
3pm:Internet Marketing:
Boston’s Larry Lawfler, president of yourstorys.com teaches us how to market yourself and films online.This is the nitty gritty of how to present yourself to your audience. www.yourstorys.com
4pm:Financing your Second Film:
Local Entertainment Attorney & Visionary Vinca Jarrett discusses, How to package your project to raise money, and make money on your movie. www.vincajarrett.com
5pm: The Legal Ins and Outs of Making Movies:
Boston’s Premiere Entertainment Lawyer Joel Shames discusses what you need to know from a legal perspective when making a movie.
Please join us for the following:
Parties & Receptions
Thursday, October 4th Opening Night
6pm Pre Screening Reception for Play By Play Men
Coolidge Corner Theatre 290 Harvard Street Brookline , MA Coolidge Corner
9:30pm After Party
Khao Sarn Cuisine 250 Harvard Street Brookline, MA Coolidge Corner Cash Bar, appetizers will be provided.
Saturday, October 6th
at the Marriott Courtyard 40 Webster St Brookline , MA -Coolidge Corner
1pm Filmmaker Lunch
6pm Reception for Susan Cinoman
7pm Reception for Generoso Fierro
Sunday, October 7th
at the Marriott Courtyard 40 Webster St Brookline , MA -Coolidge Corner
1pm Filmmaker Lunch
6-8pm Filmmaker Reception Sponsored by Beanywood
8:30pm NEFVF2007 Music Showcase
Featuring The Charms, The Sterns and Love Grenades with DJ Generoso
Moreand more filmmakers are turning to social media tools and strategies like blogs, RSS, and others to spread the word about their films, increase distribution, and attract audiences who are very much engaged with the subject matter of their films. They are finding that these tools can create great opportunities to generate new connections - not only for their films, but also their careers. And, if you are trying to reach a younger audience, this yet another compelling reason to embrace social media.
Five Steps to Filmmaking 2.0
This workshop is a practical, hands-on session for filmmakers to begin using social media tools to market their work. The workshop will share simple and easy ways to get started. If you're excited about the potential that social media tools like blogs can offer, but not sure where to begin, this workshop is for you.
The workshop will introduce participants to five different tools, demonstrate how to set them up, and what to do first. The workshop will be very interactive and answer participant's questions. The five tools are:
Technorati.com - find people and listen and connect - blog search engine;
Beth Kanter is well known blogger who writes on the topic of how NGOs are using emerging technologies (social media and mobile tools) for social change. She is the author of the highly rated blog, Beth's Blog (http://beth.typepad.com) and Contributing Editor for NGOS and Social Change for BlogHer and writes a weekly column for Netsquared, a project of TechSoup that focuses on nonprofits and web2.0. She served as an editor for the KM4DEV peer journal, for a special issue on Web2.0 adoption for development organizations. She is a leading screencaster and mediamaker about the using new media for social change. She has written numerous articles on the use of social media tools by nonprofits for many online and print publications and she is a frequent conference speaker and workshop leader on this topic, most recently leading sessions at the national PBS Conference, Cambodian Bloggers Summit, and Nonprofit Technology Conference.
