The Confluence

From time immemorial, love has been the subject of poets, artists, psychologists, philosophers, and now neuroscientists. It is a perpetual query as one navigates many confounding factors that make up the experience of “love,” from evolutionary biological drives to the exalted notions of unconditional love, and all the nitty gritty, everyday details in between.

If. I Love You is an experimental fiction feature film set in Portland, Oregon.  The film illustrates love from an investigative, at times deconstructionist, perspective.   It utilizes both traditional and experimental directorial techniques.  Its format is a cohesive, interwoven collection of short films that tackle the perennial topic of love from a variety of compelling perspectives, including marginalized social groups and topics.  Told with an investigative, psychologically oriented lens, it is driven by a fundamental outlook that romantic relationship reflects the quality of one’s relationship with oneself.  Moreover, it strives through its stories to present a deeper view of what viable, fulfilling intimate connection means, and to explore and transcend the fairytale notions of love we have been bombarded with in this media culture.  This project will also feature the traits and locations of Portland—both iconic and obscure.

Please check out the project and become a part of making it a reality! http://kck.st/1j3JziV

Zarr Studios and crew take 1st Place Golf

FROM THE OMPA SPORTS DESK:

Governators Lisa and Nathan Cherrington (pictured with Will Vinton and members of his team The Vintones) defeated all comers to win the 1st Place in the OMPA Classic croquet tournament, powered by Zarr Studios.

Congratulations Nathan Cherrington and his wife, Lisa, The Governators, who trounced all comers at the 5-hour croquet tournament of the OMPA Classic powered by Zarr Studios. The Governators, representing the Oregon Governor’s Office of Film and Television, upset Barefoot Bullseyes Signa Cheney and Curtis Kidwell of Bullseye Disc, who were in fact as barefoot as they advertised. The defending champions, Defending Champions, Tim Oakley and Aaron Douglas were easily trounced in the first rounds, as were many other former and aspiring croquet champs. Play ensued all day in the double elimination, regulation tournament under ideal weather conditions. Golf teams joined croquet guests and other VIPs at the dinner also sponsored by Zarr Studios, hosted by comedian Ron Osborn and OMPA executive director Tom McFadden who were among the evening’s many special guests. Quite a few stellar raffle prizes were handed out by the Red Thread prize patrol, as well as the following athletic awards:

• Bill Floyd of ABS awarded the Women’s KP to Kim Coleman from R2C Group – who also won the Strategy Insurance Women’s Long Drive (awarded by Dennis Noreen!)
• Men’s KP was awarded to John-Michael Pilot of Zarr Studios team
• Pacific Grip & Lighting Men’s Long Drive winner was Shane Fusion, also playing for Zarr Studios
• Putt Putt winner Michael Fried, representing SAG-AFTRA Portland Local
• Jesse Lee Vint accepted First Place Golf Award on behalf of the Zarr Studios‘ team which included Dennis Troutman Daniel Baldwin and David Morgan, with an unbelievable score of 53
• Last place was earned by actors Danny Bruno and Hank Cartwright (Wesen Bud Wurstner and Jerry Baxter on TV’s Grimm) who golfed for Wurstner Refrigerator Repair
• Joel Krebs, D.C. Rahe, Brad Boyer and Shane Fusion of team Lucky Limo snatched 2nd place in golf, and Dan Hergert, Jon Stengle, John O’Connell and Jack Johnson of team CMD caught 3rd

 Read More »

The RevolverDMS team recently crafted the perfect cocktail of sizzle and narrative for the Pacific Northwest franchise giant Pizza Schmizza. “We wanted to produce a video that captured the essence and energy of their thriving pub scene. I’ve been to Pizza Schmizza during large crowd events both during the day- and also late night dance parties- and enjoy each experience for very different reasons,” said Revolver Partner Benjamin James. “We wanted to produce a fun story and associate it with their colorful brand.”

The idea originated from various BeatsÔ commercials that feature star athletes such as Kevin Garnett, Richard Sherman and Colin Kaepernick. These commercials place the athlete in an increasingly hostile crowd scene. When the crowd becomes too overwhelming, the athletes use BeatsÔ headphones as an escape from the noise or negative environment through music. As Benjamin points out, “There’s just really something interesting about shutting the world completely out and doing your own thing.”  Read More »

UPDATE: This event has been rescheduled to the fall. To find out more about the reschedule, please join the MeetUp Group: http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Your-Startup/

If you’re a member of the creative class overflowing Portland’s bar scene, bike lanes and barista joints, you might want to take note of an event taking place later this month.

Portland creatives with an eye for film will converge in downtown Portland as part of Documentary Weekend. The event bills itself as an opportunity for people interested in film and documentaries – producers, actors, editors, directors, and film crews but also people with no experience at all – to meet form teams, then create a five-minute documentary in less than 30 hours.

Mark Grimes, event organizer, says “The event is geared to be fast-paced, fun, and exciting, but also hyper-focused on producing that documentary. We’ll assign the topics, attendees use their creativity and imagination to crank out something cool. At the end of the day Saturday, we’ll showcase every documentary before participants. It’s going to be a blast.”

Documentary weekend is 4:30 p.m. Friday July 25, until 9:30 p.m. Saturday July 26 at NedSpace Morrison 619 SW 11th Suite 250. Cost: $35. Breakfast and Dinner provided both days. Participation is limited to 35 people. Whether you’ve made a film or not, want to network or are serious about making a real – if short – documentary film, Documentary Weekend may offer an opportunity for everyone. Bring your smart phones, tablets, whatever portable devices you want to use to produce your documentary.

www.documentaryweekend.com

twitter hashtag: #docweekend

A new initiative from Hollywood Theatre at Open Meadow Middle School has been made possible by a generous $280,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, $100,000 from the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, and $10,500 from the Oregon Arts Commission.

The Hollywood Theatre has already had a three year partnership with Open Meadow High School (OMHS), and coupled with the nearly a decade of working with under-served, middle school age youth, they will “cultivate a sustainable, community powered, school-based media arts program at OMMS, bolstering engagement with students’ families and the surrounding community, and increasing the expertise of educators in the area of media arts”.

The Hollywood Theatre Studio at OMMS told us they, “aim to increase the capacity of Hollywood Theatre (HT) education programs at by building out an unused classroom to create a state of the art, mobile media studio which will:

• expand HT’s existing education programming;
•  facilitate teacher trainings with the goal of integrating media arts across curricula;
• serve as a resource center and access point for out of school arts opportunities at the HT and beyond, connecting students to the larger media arts community.

The HT Studio at OMMS will serve 300 students and facilitate the production of an equal number of media arts projects over the course of a 5 year period. We project that studio programs and activities will increase student performance in a number of targeted, measurable areas, including self confidence, initiative, teamwork skills, problem solving and feelings toward school, bolster engagement with students’ families and the surrounding community, and increase the expertise of educators in the area of media arts”.

The Hollywood Theatre Studio has a number of production labs across Portland.  They already work with:

Grant High School, Native American Youth Family Center, da Vinci Arts Middle, Faubion and Arleta SUN School.

The BendFilm final, final, Without-a-box extended submission deadline is July 14, 2014.  Please get your films in now to one of the “50 best fests” in the country.  We can’t wait to see your film and have you in Bend for the fest!

http://www.withoutabox.com/login/4813

OMPA’s premier event and fundraiser at The Resort at The Mountain on July 11, 2014.

Golf, croquet and a great party are on the table for the Oregon Media Production Association’s annual tournament and fundraiser next Friday, July 11. Mt. Hood serves as the backdrop for this full day of fun, sportsmanship and stewardship of Oregon’s burgeoning media production field. The event is sponsored by production houses and vendors to Oregon’s thriving media production industry, including title sponsor Zarr Studios.

The OMPA Classic is attended by producers, crew, actors and all supporters of OMPA’s work to cultivate business and recruit projects to Oregon, and is a great way to support the work of OMPA. Visit www.ompaclassic.com for more event information.

This is also the premiere fundraising event for the organization’s Media Arts Scholarships which are awarded to students in media-related fields.

“We have many things to celebrate,” remarked Tom McFadden of the OMPA “including passing an enhanced production incentive in Oregon which promises to bring 67% more work in the production of film and television in Oregon this year.”  Read More »

DIGITAL ONE, a premier post-production studio encamped on the banks of the Willamette River, has been honored by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers at the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, for it’s sound design on one of “the best commercials of the year”.

The award-winning web film for the 2014 MasterCraft ProStar titled “Mission 04: History Is History,” was revealed at the AICP Show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY, where it will also be archived in the Department of Film at The Museum of Modern Art until the end of time. Following its premiere at MoMA, “Mission 04: History Is History” will tour museums and cultural institutions around the world as part of the AICP Show Reel.  Read More »

#volunteer at the 2014 Portland Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. Sign-up for spots now at portlandfilmfestival.com/volunteer or come to our next volunteer social on 6/24.

RSVP: facebook.com/events/1424846304446439/

Portland, Or. – BENT Image Lab, http://www.bentimagelab.com the internationally award-winning animation and visual effects company, has opened a new office in New York City. Coming on the heels of its expansion into Spain, the thriving studio specializes in all forms of animation including CG, stop motion, 2D as well as VFX for TV and film, live action projects and post production. The growth is fueled by BENT’s strong commercial roster, its move into long form programming, and its expansion into the digital markets.

 Read More »