Author Archives: Kimb Massey

CINEQUEST SHOWCASES SPARTAN FILMS

Cinequest will preview Spartan Film Studios’ latest feature, “ALWAYS LEARNING” on March 5th at 9:30p.m. at the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

This coming-of-age story is relatable to director Robert Krakower, ’11 radio-television-film, since he was homeschooled just like the main character. Spartan Films spotlight event will include a sneak peek screening of Spartan Films latest, Always Learning, preceded by a highlights video of company productions and an interview with Spartan Films principals, Barnaby Dallas and Nick Martinez, plus the directors of All About Dad and Super Hero Party Clown.

SJSU Today’s Article provides a great overview of Cinequest’s showing of SJSU, Spartan Films and Animation-Illustration films.

Spartan Film Studios was recently featured in the Metro’s Cinequest preview and on the front page of the San Jose Mercury News.

DR. ALISON McKEE AWARDED A SABBATICAL!

Congratulations, Alison McKee!

Herrick Library

Dr. McKee has been awarded a sabbatical for Fall 2013 in order to finish revising her forthcoming book manuscript for Routledge, tentatively titled The Woman’s Film of the 1940s: Gender, Narrative, and History.

Dr. McKee explains, “I’ve always loved ‘woman’s films’ (or ‘weepies’) from the 1940s, perhaps in part because they reminded me of my mother and the period when she was a young woman.  They’re generally love stories, often unhappy ones, and they deal with issues of gender and romance in really interesting ways.”

Because of her expertise in American film history, theory, criticism, and research, Dr. McKee wrote her doctoral dissertation for UCLA’s Department of Film, Television & Digital Media about the woman’s film.  She says, “There hasn’t been a book on the subject of the 1940s woman’s film in almost ten years. What makes mine different from existing literature is that it takes a historical approach:  I explore the relationship between these films and the larger social and cultural context of World War II, as well as the industrial relationship to the film industry and the Production Code Administration at this time.”

As part of her research, Dr. McKee is conducting research this spring and summer at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science’s Margaret Herrick Library, where the PCA files from 1927-1967 are currently held.

In addition to her book for Routledge, Alison is also writing a work of fiction that she anticipates beginning to pitch to literary agents and editors in 2014.

 

CINEQUEST SCREENWRITING WORKSHOPS FEATURE RTVF FACULTY

 CINEQUEST’S WRITERS CELEBRATION

The celebration features presentations by:

RTVF Faculty members Scott Sublett and Barnaby Dallas!

This writer’s day provides a great opportunity for our students to hear from the Academy Award winning writer of Crash, the writer of Fight Club, a Hollywood agent (and Sublett and Dallas as well.)

Normally a day like this would cost hundreds of dollars…Cinequest created a 50% discount deal for students and faculty giving them the entire day for $10.

RTVF Students and Faculty will need to enter the promo code “CQLovesWriters” via the Promotional Code button when purchasing tickets via: THE CINEQUEST WRITER’S CELEBRATION page.

Writers Celebration

“What if…?” A simple two-word question with endless possibilities that storytellers have been posing for thousands of years. What we experience on the screen began as words flowing across a page, emerging from a writer’s imagination. Whether an emerging or pro, or somebody who would like to write his/her first screenplay, join Cinequest’s Writers Celebration.

The Writer’s Celebration will take place on MARCH 2nd

10:00am to 11:15am
 PART I – WRITING THE SCREENPLAY

Track A – MASTER CLASS
SAN JOSE REP

Academy Award-Winner Bobby Moresco (Crash) takes experienced writers on an inspiring exploration of making a truly exceptional movie. Moresco will explore innovative ways to make a good script great and how best to hone the writer’s skills to up their game.

Track B – HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL SCREENPLAY
CAMERA 12 CINEMAS

Bringing the “What-ifs?” to life. Screenwriting expert Scott Sublett will engage participants on effectively crafting their ideas into successful screenplays: focusing on concept, characters, overall structure and scene development.

11:30am to 12:30pm
 PART II – HOW TO PITCH
SAN JOSE REP

Your script is finished and good, but now you need someone to believe it and back it. Finding just the right pitch for those precious face-time seconds could make all the difference. Discover the art of the pitch in a dynamic presentation led by Sean Davis, James Dalessandro, Barnaby Dallas and join the Top Ten Screenwriting Competition Finalists and selected audience members as they pitch their work to industry professionals.Top Ten Finalists, Screenwriting Competition
Philip Chidel, Open Book
Michael Clevenger, Black Mustard
Claire Fowler, Snapper
Mark Heck, Blindman’s Land
Thomas Heys, Accidentes
Nate Lane, Dime Store Saint
David Rich, Through Maria’s Eyes
Melanie Schiele, Butterfly Children
Marie-Juliette Steinsvold, Mrs. Seyerling
Steven Wolfson, Hancock Park

1:30pm to 2:30pm
MAVERICK SPIRIT EVENT – CHUCK PALAHNIUK
SAN JOSE REP

Closing this tremendous celebration, Cinequest will present the Maverick Spirit Award to Chuck Palahniuk, world-renowned novelist and writer of Fight Club, Choke, Lullaby, andDamned. Join us for a moderated conversation with Palahniuk to reveal his keys to writing and storytelling. Award presentation and moderated discussion with Palahniuk preceded by director Andy Mingo’s short film Romance, a love story of our time.

RTVF SPARTAN STUDIOS ON FRONT PAGE OF MERCURY NEWS!

Cinequest 2013: At Spartan Studios, San Jose State students get their shot

 To read the full article go to:

http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_22637227/cinequest-2013-at-spartan-studios-san-jose-state?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

“Cinequest gives the students something to shoot for, something to dream about,” says SJSU teacher Barnaby Dallas, who runs Spartan alongside teacher Nick Martinez. “You never know who will see your screening and where that might lead.”

Dallas is also a script doctor at DreamWorks, so he knows the standards expected in the reel world. He and Martinez try to teach the students that showbiz is more about elbow grease than glitz and glamour.

“It’s a grind,” says Martinez, producer and co-director of Spartan. “We work 13 hours a day for 25 days. That’s the reality.”

Students start at the bottom of the rung by catering and work their way through costume, makeup and lighting. By graduation, they are no longer greenhorns.

METRO PREVIEWS SPARTAN FILMS & CINEQUEST

Here’s a great article on our program and the upcoming Cinequest Film Festival.

Please pass it on. http://www.metroactive.com/features/spartan-films.html

Meet the Spartans

A summer program at SJSU gives novice filmmakers a chance to create a feature at a fraction of the price of NYU or USC
One of the best film schools you’ve never heard of: San Jose State University’s student training facility Spartan Films, which for the last 12 years has led students through summer feature-length filmmaking workshops. As Barnaby Dallas, the coordinator of production at the studio says, “We have something in common with Woody Allen—we’re also always making one film a year.”
…

“It’s like a chemistry lab or any other training facility,” says Martinez. “We’re training the kids, with the idea of a real film at the end. It’s safe, but it’s college. You’re supposed to push the envelope.”

“You can fail,” Dallas says.

“Sometimes you do,” Martinez adds.

Dallas explains: “That’s not how we measure our success, anyway. It’s the training and the education the students get that matters. Some of their films play in Cinequest or smaller film fests. But just because some of the films Spartan makes lack that home-run quality, the students still get trained.”