Hudson Valley Film Commission

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a not-for-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization that promotes and creates sustainable economic development by supporting and attracting film, video and media production in the Hudson Valley, Catskills.

The HVFC is supported in part by:

ULSTER COUNTY IDA - Whether you're interested in relocating, expanding, starting a business or producing your next film, you'll find Ulster County a great place to work and live. Nestled between the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, Ulster County boasts a strong and diversified economy that encourages collaboration, innovation, and growth. For complete info visit the Ulster County Industrial Agency

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.

Looking for Lakeside home for film starring Katie Holmes.

2012-01-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Looking for Lakeside home for film starring Katie Holmes...
Here are some of the specifics the production company is looking for.

The film is set in 1984 at the weekend LAKESIDE home of a celebrated actress, who travels there for Memorial Day weekend.
- The estate is managed by a caretaker and his wife, who live in a smaller house on the property.
- There is a barn and an outhouse.
- The house needs to have at least 4 bedrooms, preferably more.
- There is a veranda.
- One of the upstairs bathrooms oversees the lake.

Email photos to filmcommission@me.com with contact info of owner or representative.

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posted by:

Hudson Valley Film Commission

PO Box 1406, 13 Rock City Road

Woodstock, NY 12498

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The HVFC is supported in part by:

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.

Kate_Bedingfield@mpaa.org

TAX INCENTIVES IN NEW YORK STATE ARE WORKING

2011-12-03T06:26:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 30, 2011

TAX INCENTIVES IN NEW YORK STATE ARE WORKING ANALYSIS OF NEW BLS DATA SHOWS CREDITS BOOST JOBS AND INVESTMENT

Production Applications up 66% in 2011; Industry Responsible for 141,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON – Analysis of the latest data recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which covers the year 2010, shows that the motion picture and television production industry is responsible for more than 141,000 jobs in New York, including direct production-related jobs as well as indirect jobs in businesses working with the production industry.

The core production jobs covered in the 2010 jobs report of the New York State Comptroller are up to 43,000, an increase of 20% from the 2008 figure cited in that report (36,000), and an increase of 22% over 2009. There was a production slowdown in 2009 reflecting uncertainty about the incentive program. With additional production-related jobs not captured in the core data, the number of direct jobs reaches 48,690, up 13% (nearly 5,600 jobs) over 2009. Annual job growth between 2009 and 2010 in New York State was flat (0%) and nationwide was down 1%.

New York
Motion Picture & TV Industry Employment 2004    2005    2006    2007    2008    2009    2010    10 vs. 09
Core production jobs (NY Comptroller’s report)  31,517 33,816 34,077 34,050 35,920 35,233 42,942 22%
Production-related jobs 38,744 41,606 42,306 42,355 43,921  43,092  48,690  13%
Total production-related jobs (including indirect)      112,214 120,505 122,530 122,674 127,208 124,807 141,021 13%
Source: Analysis of BLS data, using SIC to NAICS bridge and RIMS II model from Bureau of Economic Analysis^[i]

The New York state production incentives have been a boon to production since adoption. The production incentive is a 30% refundable tax credit applied against qualified expenditures. In addition to the BLS report, the incentives’ success is also measured by the growth in NY projects. In 2010, the New York Film Incentive program received 91 applications for the incentives, including 71 motion pictures, 6 television pilots and 14 television series. In 2011, the program had a 66% boost, with 137 applications to date, including 91 motion pictures, 20 television pilots and 26 television series, according to the Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development Website.

So far in 2011, films shot in New York include The Bourne Legacy, Broken City, Men in Black III, and New Year’s Eve, and television series include Blue Bloods, Boardwalk Empire, Damages, Person of Interest, Glee, Gossip Girl, and Pan Am. As an example of the impact filming has locally, the film Arthur, which shot in New York for 48 days in 2010, spent more than $26 million with local vendors, and made more than 4,300 local hires, including 1,043 crew members.

Mike Jackman, co-chair of New York Production Alliance, an organization of guilds, unions, vendors and individuals representing the film industry in New York, explained how the program benefits the state, “The new job figures released by BLS confirm what all of us working in and around this industry know to be true, that film and television production continues to be a catalyst for New York's economic recovery. It is of no surprise the only dip in job growth came during 2009, a year funding for the New York State incentive briefly ran dry. The New York State Film Credit, created by the legislature and preserved under Governor Cuomo continues to create job opportunities for New Yorkers across the economic spectrum.”

Speaking to the importance of the tax incentives to labor unions in the city, John Ford, president of IA local 52 said, “On behalf of the men and women at Local 52, we are so pleased by the impact of these programs in terms of real job growth. The robustness of production in New York means that there is more opportunity and competition for professional studio mechanics, artists and craftspeople.”

Richard Masur, chair of the Screen Actors Guild national legislative committee and former Guild President, agreed stating, “Film tax credits create jobs, stimulate local economies, and keep film productions in-state. Screen Actors Guild members have seen an increase in work due to these credits, including a 30 percent increase in background actor workdays. These extra days of employment keep actors working and help them to qualify for health insurance and pension benefits."

“States know that film and television production bring increased investment and good jobs, which is why New York put incentives in place and why you see the positive year-after-year growth in this sector,” said Vans Stevenson, Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs at the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA). He continued, “Competition among states and Canada is fierce for these jobs because they are the kinds of work people want – with benefits and an average salary of $79,000 a year – and that’s why a state like New York focuses on growing this sector of their economy.”

Stevenson also challenged recent claims that the production tax credit was somehow directly impacting funding for public schools, particularly in New York City. “The assertion that public school students don’t have the educational resources because there is a budget allocation for the production incentive program is intellectually dishonest and factually incorrect,” Stevenson said. He continued, “For example, in 2009 the motion picture and television production companies spent $5.1 for every $1.00 invested by the state in the program, according to the report on the Empire State Film Production Credit issued August 2010 by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York State Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development. That is a very positive return on investment for state residents and the New York economy.”

Nationwide, the film and television industry contributes in a very real way to the economies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The industry in total, including production and distribution, is made up of more than 115,000 businesses, 81 percent of which employ fewer than 10 people. The industry supports more than 2.2 million jobs and generates about $13 billion in taxes and $40 billion in payments to vendors, suppliers and other businesses.

About the MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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For more information, contact:

MPAA Washington, D.C.

Kate Bedingfield

(202) 293-1966

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posted by

Hudson Valley Film Commission

PO Box 1406, 86 Mill Hill road

Woodstock, NY 12498

The HVFC is supported in part by:

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.

Intro to Avid Media Composer Video Editing workshop

2011-11-16T08:11:00.001-08:00

DECEMBER 10, 2011 from 2 - 5:30pm

The Woodstock Film Festival and Marist College will hold an Intro to Avid Media Composer Video Editing workshop on the Marist campus.

The workshop will be conducted by Avid Certified Instructor Jeff Bass.

Are you shooting your own short film, or making your own documentary? Do you ever wish you knew how to put together a rough cut or trailer? Do you ever feel a slave to your editor's availability?

Take control of the editing room and learn the basics through this great introductory Avid workshop with Jeff Bass, an Avid Certified Instructor.

This course will cover the following editing skill sets:

- Input of video and audio, including Avid's Emmy Award-winning AMA (Avid Media Access)
- Project management techniques
- How to build a rough cut
- Fine-tuning the cut for pacing and rhythm
- Audio enhancement
- Creating and editing graphic titles
- Output for DVD or the web

*This introductory course includes computers and software. No need to bring your own.

The Intro to Avid workshop is presented exclusively through the Woodstock Film Festival and Marist College at a very low rate of $50 for three hours of intensive hands-on learning.

Click here to SIGN UP NOW

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posted by

Hudson Valley Film Commission

PO Box 1406, 86 Mill Hill road

Woodstock, NY 12498

The HVFC is supported in part by:

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.

Ulster County set GRAVITY Premiers Online

2011-11-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a fantastic film at a film festival and wished you could see it again or show it to others from the comfort of your own home or office? Thanks to online creative media outlets such as Vimeo, iTunes Youtube and others, it has become easier to find your once-obscure festival favorites on the web.

Luckily, one of my favorite shorts from this year's Woodstock Film Festival, Pamela Romanowsky's "GRAVITY," is now available to watch online on Vimeo.

The short, which was filmed in Mount Tremper and stars locals Kate Udall and Laurent Rejto, follows Mae, who lives a lonely life with her estranged husband in a small cabin in the middle of the woods. Amid alienation and brutality, Mae forms an unexpected connection with a wounded rabbit, and finds that its fate is tied to her own. Gorgeous cinematography paired with haunting performances make for a gut-wrenching short film.

"Gravity" has screened at a number of other festivals, including Slamdance, and has received several awards, including The National Board of Review's Student Grant Award and was runner up for the Lew Wasserman Award.

A native of Minnesota now living in NYC, director Pamela Romanowsky learned psychology from Macalester College, verité documentary filmmaking from Barbara Kopple, narrative filmmaking from New York University’s graduate film program, and learned everything else by getting lost a lot.

So, without further ado, I present to you, the online premiere of "Gravity" by Pamela Romanowsky:

GRAVITY from Pamela Romanowsky on Vimeo.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE hits theaters

2011-11-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, which was filmed in the Hudson Valley during summer 2010 hits theaters via Fox Searchlight Pictures. Catch the film at Upstate Films (Rhinebeck) November 4-10.

The film, which co-stars Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes and Sarah Paulson, is a powerful psychological thriller about a young woman who rapidly unravels amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader.

2009 Woodstock FIlm Festival Trailblazer Award recipient Ted Hope was one of the executive producers. Durkin decided to shoot in Sullivan County because the family of one of the producers offered their farm as a location for part of the movie.

The film was edited by Narrowsburg native Zac Stuart-Pontier, who also edited “Catfish,” which screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The sound designer was Woodstock's own Coll Anderson (http://www.casoundinc.com).

Olsen and Hawkes spent most of their summer appearing in films that were shooting in the Hudson Valley. Olsen co-stars with Jane Fonda, Chase Crawford, Catherine Keener and Nat Wolff in Bruce Beresford's upcoming PEACE, LOVE, & MISUNDERSTANDING. Hawkes meanwhile co-starred with Vera Farmiga and Joshua Leonard in Farmiga's HIGHER GROUND from BCDF Pictures.

posted by

Hudson Valley Film Commission

PO Box 1406, 86 Mill Hill road

Woodstock, NY 12498

The HVFC is supported in part by:

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.

WHISKEY DITCH needs sweet, scrappy kid and pictures cars

2011-10-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

WHISKEY DITCH directed by NYU grad filmmaker Katrina Whalen, will be filming from November.16-21 in the Hudson Valley area. Whalen – from Wyoming, won the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for her work in filmmaking and animation at Yale. Her animation is featured in Synecdoche, New York. She has worked for Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman, Mark Friedberg, and Julie Taymor.

FILM SUMMARY: When Dot discovers that her father, the local deputy sheriff, has enlisted her own son’s cub scout troop to gather signatures as part of his campaign to keep open the local red light district, she is has no choice to call him out. Set in the wilder days of Wyoming in the 1970s, WHISKEY DITCH is a humorous examination of strong family dynamics against the changing face of the new west.

Resumes, photos, inquiries can be emailed to producer Colin Whitlow at colinwhitlow@gmail.com

CASTING:

Looking for a local child for the role of Sam.

10-12 years old, male. Sweet and scrappy. Wyoming born-and-raised, Sam has a natural curiosity and strong work ethic that comes from his years as a Boy Scout. When his grandfather offers him and his friends free chocolate bars in return for their work collecting signatures for a petition, he is more than happy to oblige.

PICTURE CARS NEEDED:

Need 2-3 1970s cars for exterior set dressing.

Also looking for a 1970s Jeep Wagoneer (or something like that) as a primary car to actually be driven by the owner.

___________________________________________________________________

posted by

Hudson Valley Film Commission

PO Box 1406, 86 Mill Hill road

Woodstock, NY 12498

The HVFC is supported in part by:

Expendables - Cables - Equipment - Tools for Film + Lots More

Right in the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY.