BAVC Media

Serial Storytellers: Episodic Producing – Full Series
2021-07-01 17:30 UTC | CA
Learn the ins and outs of developing and producing a series with Chris Martin (Production Manager, Sorry to Bother You).

About this event

Creating a great series not only needs a sparkling script but a showrunner who can make it come to life. From Game of Thrones to Insecure, it is up to the showrunner to craft the story then bring it into production and post. Thanks to their unique position in the writer’s room and the producer’s chair, the showrunner is a critical role in any episodic project.
This three-part class will cover the basic steps to bring your script from page to screen. We’ll go through industry-standard procedures: scheduling, budgeting, casting, finding locations, hiring crew, and other logistical planning to keep your production focussed, safe, and legal.
Whether this is your first project, or you’ve spent time on set before, this intensive will be an important guide for how to produce a series and what production really looks like in today’s industry.

Dates: July 1, July 8, July 15
Times: 5:30-7:30pm PST with optional “office hours” until 8:00pm, and a mid-session break
Location: Online
Who is this for? These sessions are designed for filmmakers, actors, writers and other creatives interested in learning fundamentals of producing episodics (television, web series, and other digital formats) in a supportive digital community space.
Instructor: Chris Martin

July 1
Part 1: Understanding how episodics work – what does it mean to plan for multiple slices of a single story in the real world?

The role of the show runner; the five phases of live action – what does it mean to move a script from development through post-production and final delivery / distribution? What’s needed and expected in each phase?
Crewing up – roles responsibilities and hierarchies of the set – who’s in charge?
The Sweet Spot Intro – Is your script ready?
Looking ahead: what are some of the decisions we should be considering once we have a good working draft

July 8
Part 2: From Script to Production – A non-creative but creatively critical look at your script as you consider production and post-production.

Script Analysis and Breakdown
Getting down to it: Introducing the Budget and the Schedule. Putting what you know about your script into real world terms: Time, Money and Quality.
Finding your cast, scouting and securing locations
Heading into Production: Getting the most out of prep.

July 15
Part 3: Managing Production and Post-Production

Production Do’s and Don’ts: call sheets, improvising the schedule. What are the questions you’ll ask yourself every day?
From Production to Post-Production. What to expect in the phases Post covers (editorial, sound, VFX / finishing). Aren’t you glad you have money left over
The Business: permits, agreements, contracts, releases. The paperwork.
More business: legalities, licenses, plus resources for royalty free assets.
Safety Meeting: Safety first and safety last. No dumb questions.
Is it a wrap yet? So how’s your project now? Trouble-shooting and brainstorming.

Chris Martin is a producer, line producer, and writer with over twelve years experience in film, television, and commercials. A producer of five theatrical and documentary projects, and an Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award nominee, his credits include Sorry to Bother You, 55 Steps, La Mission, Pushing Dead, Test, The Heartbreak Kid, Mistress of Spices, CBS’ Alive, ESPN’s Bonds on Bonds, Sundance Channel’s Big Ideas for a Small Planet, and Discovery Channel’s I (Almost) Got Away With It. A participant in the 2017 Cannes Marché du Film Producers Network he is twice finalist to the Sundance Institute Producer’s Lab.

Become a BAVC Media Member and save 20% on this and other BAVC Media classes! Email membership@bavc.org for a discount code after you sign up.
Along with the young people who will already be taking this series of workshops for free, BAVC Media is able to provide 50% discount scholarships to full-time students and people who are unemployed – just email development@bavc.org.

Town Talks: Episodic Storytelling
2021-06-24 17:00
Join us for the first ever “Town Talks” – a monthly kick-back hosted by BAVC Media, convening Bay Area mediamakers to connect & share.

About this event

Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC Media) is thrilled to announce Town Talks – a new virtual kickback, convening Bay Area mediamakers to mingle, connect, talk shop and tell stories of creative struggle and triumph. We will explore themes with guest artists like episodic storytelling, building your crew, recruiting on-screen talent, telling authentic stories and the nitty gritty of fundraising and distribution. In an intimate series of community conversations, we hope to host an intentional and inclusive space for creatives to break bread and exchange ideas.

Join us for our first Town Talks on Wednesday, June 24th where we will dive into the world of web series with the following local legends (you don’t want to miss this!):

Morgan Mathews and Gene Finley – Bit.
Josh Healey and Reyna Amaya – The North Pole
Florencia Manovil – Dyke Central

Conversation facilitated by Dawn Valadez

Get cozy with a drink, mocktail or snack at 5pm PST, the conversation kicks off at 5:30pm PST.

Building the American Dream
2021-06-05 19:00 - 21:00
An intimate screening and discussion in the East Bay

About this event

For those who cannot attend the San Francisco premiere at SF DocFest, BAVC Media is hosting a second screening in Oakland in partnership with local advocacy groups in hopes that more people can have an early chance to see this timely and powerful film.
Co-presented by StudioToBe and UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program along with local education and advocacy groups to be announced.
Doors open at 7 for a reception and discussion before the film.
Across Texas, an unstoppable construction boom drives urban sprawl and luxury high-rises. Its dirty secret: abuse of immigrant labor. BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM captures a turning point as a movement forms to fight widespread construction industry injustices. Grieving their son, a Mexican family campaigns for a life-and-death safety ordinance. A Salvadorian electrician couple owed thousands in back pay fights for their children’s future. A bereaved son battles to protect others from his family’s preventable tragedy. A story of courage, resilience and community, the film reveals shocking truths about the hardworking immigrants who build the American Dream, from which they are excluded.
“An eye-opener about the abuse of workers whose immigration status makes them victims.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Chelsea Hernandez tugs at our heartstrings and puts fuel to a fire of righteous anger.” –FilmThreat

From Video Activism to Early Immersive Media
2021-06-03 17:00 - 19:30
Watch the evolution of video art and activism in the archives of early video pioneers, The People’s Video Theater and Survival Arts Media

About this event

Join us as we follow the story of early video collectives The People’s Video Theatre and Survival Arts Media through their archive of preserved analog video. From their roots as video activists to their mind-expanding experiments with video art and early immersive media performances, the story of PVT and SAM is the story of early video’s growth into its own distinct form of expression and storytelling.
This event includes a screening and a Q&A session with former members of the collectives, Howard Gutstadt and Ben Levine, as well as NYU archivist Kelly Haydon. The entire stream will be recorded for future viewing.

In these 90 minutes you will…
• Gain context for and learn the importance of archival footages
• Understand the history of early video, with emphasis on community impact
• See remarkable footage from the archives

Background
The People’s Video Theater and its successor Survival Arts Media were pioneering video collectives active in New York State during the late 1960’s –1970’s. PVT-SAM along with the Videofreex, Raindance and Global Village, and individual artists defined analog video as a distinct creative medium as opposed to the independent filmmaking of the era. In February of 2020, 10 terabytes of digital files restored at BAVC Media from analog tapes in the PVT-SAM archive were accessioned to the NYU Special Collections Library in Manhattan. The breadth of the early video archival content spans liberation movements–such as those organized by women, LGBT communities and people with disabilities–downtown SOHO artists and culture, video street theater, environmental and health issues, live immersive media performance, electronic art works and the Artists Craftsman Anthology.
In March of 2020 Netflix premiered Crip Camp, an deeply moving documentary film about the heroic personalities and collective struggles and fights involved in bringing rights to the disability community. This documentary contained a number of arresting images from archival video and film sources, and among these were clips from Camp Jened, a summer camp where teenagers with disabilities were given the opportunity to be themselves. In a beautiful twist of fate, the Camp Jened footage was captured by members of PVT, who were in the right place at the right time and were the right people to do it. Through their unique documentary methods the PVT members were able to capture the personalities and struggles of the camp goers, and playback the video images allowing the teenagers to see their own images reproduced on television.
This event includes a screening of archival content from the PVT-SAM collective. Some of this material was used for Crip Camp, while some of it hasn’t been seen by the public in over 40 years. After the screening there will be a Q&A session with former members of the collectives, Howard Gutstadt and Ben Levine and NYU archivist Kelly Haydon.

About the Guest Speakers
Howard Gutstadt and Ben Levine (People’s Video Theater – Survival Arts Media)
Howard Gutstadt and Ben Levine were early members of People’s Video Theater in New York in the early 1970s. The collective traveled the region with their Sony PortaPak cameras, playing back video for their subjects to facilitate discussion and participation in the storytelling process, and documenting various counterculture and liberation movements.
Howard Gutstadt and Ben Levine went on to co-found Survival Arts Media, which explored the use of video in diverse areas including: improvisational street theater, political activism, artistic biography, public access television, and immersive multimedia performance.
Howard relocated to Berkeley, CA in 1978 to establish Digital Image Productions and work with Sony and Autodesk Corporations to develop software tools for artists. Today he lives in San Francisco, CA, where he is a consultant and educator focused on the intersection of contemporary arts and moving media technologies.
In 1976 Ben moved to Maine and founded the documentary and distance learning lab at the University of Maine In Augusta. He later became an independent producer of community education and social issue documentaries. Working within marginalized communities, he adapted PVT/SAM’s community participation methods using video feedback, founding Speaking Place in 2010 to document and revive endangered languages.
Kelly Haydon (NYU Elmer H. Bobst Library)
Kelly Haydon is the Audiovisual Archivist for Special Collections at New York University’s Elmer C. Bobst Library. Previously, she was the Preservation Manager at Bay Area Video Coalition. She holds degrees from NYU’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program (where she is also an adjunct professor) and School of Visual Arts. In addition to XFR Collective, she is a volunteer archivist at Third World Newsreel.

Timeline
➜ People’s Video Theater began in the early 1970’s as a group of documentarians using the first portable video recorders as a substitute for film in recording the lives and struggles of underrepresented communities and identities.
➜ PVT Realized that they could videotape their subjects, then playback the images to the subject could watch themselves on screen. This was the first time many of these people could see someone like themselves on television
➜ Eventually the screenings moved from indoor theaters into the street, where public closed-circuit television performances were held. Ordinary people could participate in performances and see themselves on screen as they were performing
➜ PVT turned into Survival Arts Media as the members became interested in creative immersive multimedia experiences, using synthesized and manipulated video signals in creative and artistic ways to create previously unimaginable visual imagery and textures.
➜ 10 TB of footage from ½” Open Reel and U-matic audio cassettes was digitized through BAVC Media’s Preservation Access Program and will be held in NYU’s archive.

Media Activism: Creating Impact After The Credits Roll
2021-05-13 17:00
Learn directly from the insights of the Crip Camp Impact campaign!

About this event

Do you want your film to spark real change after the credits roll? On May 13th, meet the team behind the much buzzed about, Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, who not only crafted a vibrant and nuanced film, but are using it as a tool for catalyzing conversation and creating meaningful social impact. BAVC Media is honored to co-host this virtual event with Crip Camp and People’s Video Theater, providing a unique opportunity to learn directly from the insights of the Crip Camp Impact campaign to ignite inspiration about how you too can center impact from the very beginning as you develop future projects.

Media Activism: Creating Impact After The Credits Roll
Presented by BAVC Media, The People’s Video Theater, and Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
*Live Q&A will follow the discussion*
Thursday, May 13th
5pm-6:30pm PDT
***ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided.

Hosted on VimeoPro
RSVP required – FREE to attend

[ID: Event graphic is green on one side with a scanned film photo taken at Camp Jened presumably in 1971 in which 4 masculine-presenting young folks are looking casually at the camera, wearing summer clothes, and smiling. Two are sitting in wheelchairs and two are standing behind (wearing glasses). The Catskill forests are in the far background. On the other side of the graphic, blue text on cream reads “Media Activism Creating Impact After the Credits Roll; Thursday, May 13th at 5pm PDT, Streaming on Vimeo, RSVP Required, FREE to attend; Co-presented by: Crip Camp Impact Campaign, People’s Video Theater, Bay Area Video Coalition”]

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Town Talks: Expanded Cinema
2020-10-13 17:00 - 19:00
Town Talks: Expanded Cinema

About this event

BAVC Media and CiNEOLA are thrilled to co-present another Town Talk exploring expanded cinema, participatory storytelling, interactivity and questions of memory and belonging with filmmakers Rodrigo Reyes and Miguel Novelo. Town Talks is a virtual community conversation, convening mediamakers to break bread and exchange ideas.
Miguel Novelo is an experimental media artist, filmmaker, and cultural event creator from Yucatan, Mexico. He uses new media, interactivity, and expanded cinema to create immersive sound and expanded image experiences that generate platforms for participatory storytelling. His latest project, an interactive documentary called La Marea, is now showing on CiNEOLA.
Mexican director Rodrigo Reyes makes films deeply grounded in his identity as an immigrant artist, crafting a poetic gaze from the margins of both cultures, using striking imagery to portray the contradictory nature of our shared world, while revealing the potential for transformative change.

Tuesday, October 13th | FREE | 5pm PST / 8pm EST
Via Zoom (link will be sent closer to date) – RSVP REQUIRED

CiNEOLA is a platform for Latin American stories, connecting audiences with diverse representations of Latinoamérica on film.
Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC Media) is a 44-year old community media organization located in San Francisco, California, with a mission to inspire social change by empowering media makers to develop and share diverse stories through art, education and technology.

Please email us at BAVC Media@bavc.org if you have questions for the artists that you would like to submit in advance.
Closed captioning services or sign language interpretation will be made available upon request – please let us know by October 11th if you require interpretation, captioning, ot if there are other accommodations we can possibly provide to make this program accessible to you.
