LOCATION:  The Nightingale, 1084 North Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642

DATE:  Wednesday, May 18th

TIME:  7PM

PRICE:  $10 non-members, $5 members

The IFP is pleased to launch a new salon/discussion series for media makers in the Chicagoland and Midwestern region: MEET YOUR DIGITAL PARTNERS.  The goal is to bring together people from a broad array of fields related to media making, to exchange ideas and talk about developing visual and aural stories in a variety of cross-platform arenas.

 With the convergence of technology, there is a lot of talk of making work that can be relevant across a multitude of platforms.  Yet media makers may not know where to meet potential collaborators outside their usual circle.  Stay relevant and make new connections by attending this open forum, whether you’re a game developer, filmmaker, social media producer, advertiser, audio artist, or cross-platform media maker. 

Round #1 of this experiment features the following media artists:

Ian Pottmeyer graduated college prepared to be an opera singer. From there he became a composer, then a composer of video game soundtracks.  Now he creates the games themselves at Studio Cypher, a game design studio based in Bloomington, Indiana.  As part of the three-man team, he takes on numerous design roles, from game to graphic to web to audio.  Ian’s games are often marked by his desire to help players be as personally creative as possible. On May 18th, he’ll be giving a crash course in game design to help ensure that everyone who comes across your experience feels like they can participate and have fun.

Ben Groenevelt makes fast, robust websites for non-profits, artists, musicians as well as small businesses and larger corporations.  His tool of choice is Drupal, an open-source content management systems (CMS) used to build sites like the whitehouse.gov and grammy.com.  He also, along with other open source devotees, spends his time giving back to Drupal’s open source community.  He will be presenting, “What is this Drupal Thing?” giving a brief overview of what Drupal is and some of the powerful tools it provides to build dynamic, content rich web sites.

Cole Pierce is a Chicago based artist who makes paintings, video installations and audio multiples.  He earned his MFA in Art Theory & Practice from Northwestern in 2007 and has exhibited work at Antenna Gallery, Old Gold, Vega Estates, and is curating a group show at the Milwaukee Avenue Art Festival for the third consecutive year.  He co-authors Field Mic, a sound art and music blog, and contributes music mixes to Headphone Commute’s podcast series. He is currently a videographer and educator at the Chicago Teachers’ Center of NEIU.

Jon Satrom is a new-media artist, educator, designer, and organizer.  He performs realtime audio and video, celebrates obsolescence, and cultivates glitches.  Satrom operates a production company called studiothread http://studiothread.com and teaches in the Department of Film Video New Media Animation at the School of the Art Institute. He will discuss “Strategies for Shattering Through Glowing Rectangles.”  Riffing on Gene Youngblood’s Expanded Cinema (1970), Satrom will discuss new-media art’s potential to sculpt stories, transcend technologies, and remix our relationship(s) with cinema. 

Able Parris is a designer, art director, and illustrator. He learned graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design before opening his own niche design studio in Providence, RI.  His collage art has shown nationally, and has been published internationally.  He co-authors Field Mic, a sound art and music blog, and contributes to We Love Typography, the beloved typography site that’s like an FFFFound for type-related content.  Currently, he spends his days at McKinney in Durham, NC practicing design and art direction in the context of advertising.

IFP PRODUCERS SERIES: SHOOT YOUR MOVIE, ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE 

Saturday, March 19th

$25 members/$30 non-members for the full day of events. 

Pre-registration is required. 

To register email Christy @ chicago@ifp.org.  

Deadline to register is Friday, March 18th at Noon. 

Schedule:

10AM – 1PM 5D/7D Camera Workshop

LOCATION: ProGear Rental (1740 W. Carroll Ave, just south of Grand and west of Ashland. Plenty of free parking.) 

Join us for a Canon 5D, 7D and D60 Workshop including an overview with Canon’s Ed Meyers, a hands-on demo and discussions about data management, rigging, lighting, lenses, audio and renting a full production package. This workshop will tell you everything you need to know to shoot your movie or just become bettter informed about these cameras and gear. Also, please bring a CompactFlash card so you have an opportunity to test the cameras out and review your results at home. Lunch will be provided. 

Sponsored by Canon, Fletcher Chicago, ProGear Rental, Barbizon Lighting and IFP Chicago. 

2PM – 4:30PM PUSHING THE ELEPHANT Screening

LOCATION: Chicago Cultural Center (78 E Washington St., at Washington & Michigan Ave.)

ITVS Community Cinema and IFP Chicago are proud to present Arts Engine’s internationally acclaimed documentary, PUSHING THE ELEPHANT, about Rose Mapendo, a Congolese woman who lost her family to violence and became an international advocate of forgiveness and reconciliation. We are also delighted to host Arts Engine’s Director of Production and Director of PUSHING THE ELEPHANT, Beth Davenport, who will participate in a discussion after the screening. Arts Engine is a New York based social-issue documentary production company, an online community of filmmakers and activists through Mediarights.org, and creators of the film festival Media That Matters. If you want to know how to engage your audience from the day you begin shooting, Arts Engine is an organization that can help guide your way. 

5PM – 7PM Post-Screening Meet and Greet

LOCATION: Elephant & Castle (185 N. Wabash)

Join us for a post-screening meet up at Elephant & Castle, where you will have an opportunity to talk to people from Arts Engine, ITVS Community Cinema, IFP Chicago and filmmakers from PUSHING THE ELEPHANT as well as other participants from the day.

Sponsored by ITVS, Arts Engine and IFP/Chicago.

Save the date for more IFP Producers Series Events!

APRIL 20th and MAY 18th: Meet Your Digital Partners

April 25: 10am to 3pm
1104 S. Wabash, Room 302
$40 for Members; $65 for All Others

IF YOU ARE RAISING MONEY FOR A FEATURE, DO NOT MISS THIS SESSION!

Ideal for producers/filmmakers who are preparing to raise funds from angel investors, this presentation focuses on the key elements of an independent film business plan, including structure, layout, and research.

Also discussed are insights on the ethics and psychology of selling high risk investments, guidelines for assembling a fundraising team, tools for making deals more attractive, tips for identifying the best financing prospects, and suggestions for maintaining successful relationships with investors.

The presentation is hosted by filmmaker Stu Pollard, whose producing credits include Ira & Abby, True Adolescents, Dirty Country, Keep Your Distance, and Nice Guys Sleep Alone. He has spoken at a number of leading film schools and organizations, including the Sundance Institute, IFP Phoenix, Film Independent, the Dallas Producers Association, and USC. His business plans have raised more than $7 million in production funds. www.pollardfilm.com

Yvonne Welbon, Producer/Director/Self-Distribution Consultant – Yvonne is setting up a website at www.selfdistribution.org. In the meantime, she has posted relevant links and information to http://del.icio.us/selfdistribution.

David Kwok, Tribeca Programmer – 2007 Tribeca All Access workshop