Local Filmmakers Honored

Neat story about local filmmakers: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/movies/film-notes-film-short-competition-premieres-633310/

The film tax credit works, and Western Pennsylvania is a winner

Love seeing news articles like this! Keep ‘em coming!

While the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania are generally no strangers to the film and television industry, recent years have seen a massive increase in the visibility of production in the region.

This is thanks, in no small part, to the dedication of Gov. Tom Corbett (and Gov. Ed Rendell before him) and the General Assembly to the Pennsylvania Film Tax Credit Program. Support for the program ensures that filmmakers and television producers will continue to produce films and television shows in Western Pennsylvania, and that Pittsburgh and the entire commonwealth will continue to remain competitive in attracting major films and television shows to the region for years to come.

The governor's inclusion of a $60 million appropriation for the film tax credit in his 2012-13 budget proposal signals his intention to renew support for this important program, and the General Assembly must follow Mr. Corbett's lead and include it in the final budget.

While the film tax credit does offer visible public relations benefits -- major motion pictures such as "Unstoppable," "Love and Other Drugs," "The Next Three Days" and "One Shot" have been filmed in the region in recent years -- the program offers tangible benefits as well and has been responsible for economic growth in the region. Since the program's inception, nearly $242.5 million in state tax credits have been approved and/or awarded to film production companies, which has resulted in estimated total economic activity of $1.8 billion and the creation and sustaining of almost 14,500 jobs statewide.

On the local level, the impact has been equally as impressive. The city saw the creation of nearly 3,000 jobs attributable to films produced by companies that applied for and were approved for state tax credits for film production completed in fiscal year 2010-11 alone. Film and television production has also led to financial incentives and benefits for both individuals and businesses in the region. Pittsburgh and its countryside saw estimated total sales of more than $452 million related to films produced and completed in the region in fiscal 2010-11, and those same films resulted in the commonwealth and its subdivisions receiving more than $14.7 million in state and local taxes. This estimated local economic impact of over $450 million came at a cost to the commonwealth of only $57.7 million dollars in tax credits.

The film tax credit program also ensures the continued viability of Pittsburgh's 31st Street Studios, which we recently purchased. In addition to striving to be an industry leader in production services, studio development and management, 31st Street Studios has the facilities and capabilities necessary to service the entertainment industry and film and television projects of all sizes.

Currently, 31st Street estimates that it will employ between 50 and 100 individuals full time, in addition to more than 500 employees on a contractual basis. Although 31st Street Studios is located in the heart of the Strip District, it is within a 45-minute drive of the landscapes, architecture and greenspace that makes the city and region an attractive destination for the film and television industries.

Large businesses, such as 31st Street Studios, are not the only local entities that benefit from the film tax credit. The Studio Mechanics Local 489, the local chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, benefits immensely from film and television production in the region. In fact, Local 489 has reported that its membership more than doubled between 2006 and 2010, in conjunction with the inception of the tax credit program.

While detractors often argue that films and television shows would come to Western Pennsylvania with or without the tax credit, the numbers indicate that this simply isn't true. For example, the industry's economic impact on the region from film and television production for the years 2007 through 2010 was greater than in the 15-year period of 1990-2005. The Pittsburgh Film Office has reported that 40 feature film and television productions were completed in the region between 2006 and 2010, which is more than the number for the entire period of 1993-2005.

Finally, more and more states are implementing programs similar to Pennsylvania's, meaning that the continued viability and success of the film industry here hinges on the commonwealth's continued dedication to the film tax credit program.

As Pittsburgh and the region emerge from a tough economic period, the film tax credit has been instrumental in ensuring continued growth in the area. The program creates jobs, brings financial benefits to the region's businesses and ensures that Western Pennsylvania will remain an integral part of the film and television industry for years to come.

Christopher Breakwell is CEO of 31st Street Studios in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
First Published 2012-04-10 04:30:49

Read more at the Post Gazette.

The Rust Belt Revival: What’s Happening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

East Liberty isn’t one of those neighborhoods you tend to hear a lot about. However, it’s making a comeback in a really big way. Besides having reasonable rent prices, a strong arts and music foundation, and a population of residents eager to see the neighborhood revived, it also has a host of entrepreneurs, artists, and businesspeople working hard to bring the neighborhood back to its former glory. Their enthusiasm is infectious. Just try reading the article below without feeling pumped up! Anyone wants waffles?

(Waffle Shop)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
When artist Jon Rubin moved to Pittsburgh in 2006 to teach at Carnegie Mellon University, he decided to experiment with some of the local materials: cheap real estate and good people. "Midwestern culture values openness and community engagement," he observes. Three years ago, he rented a storefront in the city's emerging East Liberty district for $500 a month and opened Waffle Shop, a place where hip locals can enjoy breakfast fare at all hours while participating in Web-streamed talk shows covering topics from "Michael Jackson and Teabaggers" to "Dolphin Breeding in Appalachia." The following year Rubin and artist Dawn Weleski turned the space next door into Conflict Kitchen, whose rotating menu draws from countries that the U.S. government has a political beef with—like Iran or Venezuela—helping expand the community's culinary and cultural consciousness. As Rubin says: "We're creating the place where we want to live now."

•••

(Sam Franklin, executive director of the Office of Teacher Effectiveness)

THE PUBLIC-EDUCATION MAVERICK
In 2006, when the Steel City's Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent Mark Roosevelt issued the "Pittsburgh Promise"—that all the city's qualified high-school graduates could receive financial help to attend college—Sam Franklin was still a Carnegie Mellon grad student. Today, as the executive director of the two-year-old Office of Teacher Effectiveness, the Maryland native is trying to ensure that every one of the city's graduates is qualified, with a raft of techniques to evaluate and encourage teachers, funded in part by a $40 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These include financial incentives and promotions for high performers. "We've historically treated—and compensated—all teachers similarly, regardless of their actual effectiveness," Franklin, 31, explains. Pittsburgh's unique character makes it an ideal springboard for broader reform, he adds. "The city is modest enough that you can actually get things done," he says, "but big enough so they can truly matter on a national level."

•••

(One of Grow Pittsburgh's urban farms)

THE STEEL CITY'S GRAY GARDENS
Developers are gradually rebuilding Pittsburgh's blighted areas, but more than 20,000 vacant lots remain. Since its founding in 2005, Grow Pittsburgh has been turning these plots into community gardens and urban farms, providing summer internships for kids and health education for all—not to mention food: The organization helps distribute produce to low-income kitchens and works with local chefs to place its lettuce and leeks in high-end restaurants.

•••

THE URBAN REPURPOSERS
The husband-and-wife-led architecture firm EDGE Studio is driving a renaissance in Pittsburgh's skyline by way of imaginative renovations. Its 2010 expansion of the East Liberty branch of the Carnegie Library used a rain-screen exterior to give the staid Nixon-era institutional building unexpected sculptural flourishes, while last year's Wigle Whiskey distillery turned a bleak warehouse into a glowing space with chandeliers made of whiskey bottles.

•••

THE ART HUB OF THE FUTURE
Yes, it's the cornerstone of the soon-to-boom Penn Ave Arts District, but Assemble is more than a gallery. The year-old space feels more like an informal classroom where visitors come for the interactive, tech-focused art, then stay for the hacker workshops, PechaKucha presentations, and dance parties. Built by Nina Marie Barbuto, a native Pittsburgher who returned after a stint in L.A., as a hub for aspiring creatives, Assemble is a place for first drafts, manifestos, artistic experimentation—paint the walls, break out the solder guns. In Pittsburgh, Barbuto observes, "You don't need much to make things happen."

•••

(Jeremy Kulousek (seated) and Eric Dan (right) of ID Labs)

HIP-HOP'S NEW HIT-MAKERS
Detroit has always had Motown, and Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but unlike its fellow Rust Belt cities, Pittsburgh has never been much of a music mecca. Until, that is, hometown hero Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" became the city's de facto anthem during the Steelers' 2010-2011 Super Bowl run. The guys behind the rapper are Eric Dan (a.k.a. E. Dan), 35, who launched ID Labs as a recording studio in 2003, and Jeremy Kulousek (a.k.a. Big Jerm), 26, who joined him three years later. Around the same time, a teenage Khalifa scored an internship answering phones and sweeping floors, which eventually led to a fruitful collaboration: ID Labs produced (and Dan cowrote) about half the songs on Khalifa's hit album Rolling Papers. For the past few years, the duo have been working with other local hip-hop talent, including Mac Miller (whose viral hit "Donald Trump" has 52 million YouTube views and counting), Boaz, and Khalifa's protégé Chevy Woods. Despite pressure to move to one of the coasts, Dan insists that ID Labs is staying put: "We enjoy being outside the fray."

•••

(Matthew Ciccone at the Beauty Shoppe)

THE IDEA INCUBATOR
Creative entrepreneurship is booming in post-industrial Pittsburgh, and Matthew Ciccone is a major reason why. After stints working in New York City and Chicago, the 32-year-old developer returned to his hometown to attend graduate school in urban design and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, then in 2009 launched the boutique real-estate company Edile, which caters to the nascent arts and high-tech industries in the fast-emerging neighborhood of East Liberty. Last year, he opened the Beauty Shoppe, a sleek coworking space for fledging start-ups who've outgrown the tables at Starbucks: In fact, the price of a desk—$9 a day with a monthly membership—is based on the cost of three lattes, says Ciccone (if the name sounds familiar, it's because he's a distant cousin of that slightly more famous Ciccone, Madonna). Next up: a second, larger Beauty Shoppe location, as well as a different kind of shared workspace aimed at small manufacturers—anyone from roboticists to whiskey distillers, according to Ciccone—who need somewhere to produce their products. Ciccone is also partnering with the Ace Hotel to open a local outpost in 2014 in a vacant century-old YMCA building. "It's a rare opportunity," he says, "to shape a city where you actually live and hope to raise a family."

•••

Know This Neighborhood: East Liberty, Pittsburgh
In barely a decade, Sliberty, as the locals call it, has gone from an industrial wasteland to Pittsburgh's answer to Silicon Valley. Two years ago it improbably became home to a major Google office, and half a dozen tech start-ups have followed suit.

THE TOP SPOTS

Dinette: High-end pizza with ingredients from the roof garden.
5996 Penn Circle South, 412-362-0202 ; dinette-pgh.com
Shadow Lounge: A neighborhood nightlife institution, with hip-hop DJs, parties, and film screenings.
5972 Baum Blvd., 412-363-5248 ; shadowlounge.net
Waffle Shop and Conflict Kitchen: 124 S. Highland Ave., 724-681-3886 ; waffleshop.org, conflictkitchen.org
Zeke's Coffee: Its small-batch roasts are served gratis to tenants of the Beauty Shoppe.
6012 Penn St., 412-670-6231 ; zekescoffeepgh.com

FACT: Pittsburgh is America's most livable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, thanks to lifestyle factors like culture, education, and infrastructure.

Read More http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201204/rust-belt-revival-pittsburgh-pennsylvania#ixzz1r5HoyTK6

The Dark Knight Rises T-Shirt Design Contest

Feeling artistic? Design a Dark Knight Rises T-shirt and Christopher Nolan might see your work!

Design By Humans is looking for several artistic Humans to design epic t-shirts, inspired by the upcoming, highly anticipated film The Dark Knight Rises, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures.


The top 3 winners will be chosen by Director/Writer/Producer Christopher Nolan!


This exclusive contest is your rare opportunity to produce artwork for one of the most renowned movie entities on the planet and have a chance to get your design seen by the Art Department at Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight Rises filmmakers.


From the top 10 finalists selected, the top 3 winners will be chosen by The Dark Knight Rises Director/Writer/Producer Christopher Nolan and Producer Emma Thomas. Collectively, finalists will have the opportunity to win up to $12,500 in prize money for their winning t-shirt design, with the top prize being $3,500. The contest starts now and we will be accepting submissions until April 11th at midnight. The contest is free to enter, but you must follow the guidelines and accept the terms below.


Contest Guidelines

• If the logo is to be used, artist must use the official Bat emblem from The Dark Knight Rises as provided in this link.
• Interpretations of The Dark Knight Rises versions of Batman, Catwoman, Bane and other Batman elements are allowed.
• Two-Face, The Joker or Scarecrow are not allowed and will be rejected.
• All submissions are reviewed by Design By Humans and Warner Bros.

Prizes

• 1st Place - $3,500 plus 12 shirts of artist choice
• 2nd Place - $3,000 plus 12 shirts of artist choice
• 3rd Place - $2,500 plus 12 shirts of artist choice
• 4th Place - $2,000 plus 12 shirts of artist choice
• 5th Place - $1,500 plus 12 shirts of artist choice
• 6th - 10th Place - Option to sell artwork to DBH

Contest Deadlines
March 19, 2012 - Official The Dark Knight Rises contest begins
April 11, 2012 - Midnight PST - Submission ends
April 22, 2012 - Midnight PST - Online voting ends
April 30, 2012 - Top 5 Winners Countdown Begins


Read more at DesignByHumans.com.