recap - Interactive Entertainment
A Different World: Filmmaking in the Age of Interactive Entertainment & Digital Games
WIFTA's June program, A Different World: Filmmaking in the Age of Interactive Entertainment & Digital Games, featured Asante Bradford of the GA Dept. of Economic Development, Deborah Thomas of Silly Monkey, LLC and Joseph Saulter of Entertainment Arts Research. The panelists provided introspect into the gaming world and media production professionals’ place in it.
One portion of the program focused on how filmmakers can use interactive platforms to their advantage. Panelists recommended taking full advantage of the Internet. According to the panel, when it comes to promoting your film / TV/ webisode products, fan pages on Facebook and Twitter posts are great ways to use digital media promote your projects. For example, J.J. Abrams promoted his movie trailer for Super 8 via Twitter a day ahead of the national TV release of the trailer. He had a tremendous buzz going with the anticipation of the Twitter-accessible trailer, which spun into increased overall buzz for the film. Personal Web sites were touted as a good way to promote movies too. The goal, whether you use a Web site or a social media site, is to build a following. Your following can then be your “word-of-mouth” promoters of your project. Plus, if your following is large enough, you may even make money from advertisers seeking to help reach the type of people who frequent your Web site / twitter pages.
Later, the discussion turned to work opportunities in the gaming, or interactive entertainment as it was coined that night, industry. The panel was quick to reassure the audience that the interactive entertainment industry, especially here in Georgia, does need voice actors, storytellers and producers to keep up with the surging demands of the digital/ interactive entertainment industries. According to the panel, the opportunities are vast because the notion of games has changed. Today, so called digital games are used today for entertainmentundefinedthe use most associate games withundefinedbut they are also being used for branding, luring audiences to a particular Web site and to promotes products within the games themselves; games are also used in corporate arenas to help people to understand complex processes and for training of a variety of topics / processes/ skills, etc.
So, how do you get the interactive entertainment industry as an actor or production professional? According to the panel, the best thing to do is to network with developers. They suggested that writers, producers and actors check out the Georgia Game Developers Association and attend conferences such as the Game Developer Conference and Siege. The goal is to connect with a handful of good developers. In addition, the panel suggested that actors register on sites like Voices.com too.
Keep up with Reel Focus and visit the WIFTA Web page often. This event was a hot topic! The panelists and audience agreed that the surface was barely scratched that night. So, a part two just may be in the making. Time will tell!
Umberger, Phillips & Crawford Reel In the Crowds…
WIFTA members and the general public piled out for two great programs in August in September. In August, WIFTA hosted a panel about voice over acting. The panel featured actor and voice over agent Jeffrey Umberger as well as veteran voice actors Tom Sullivan and Megan Hayes. Meanwhile, WIFTA’s September program on Film Financing featured Rohan Crawford and Kathilynn Phillips. Crawford provided tips from a business perspectiveundefinedsince, at its core, film financing is a business proposition to potential investors; Phillips shared unconventional methods for paying for production costs through tax incentives and local government programs.
