One of the most impressive things I've heard about our students, aside from their obvious intelligence, is their work ethic and lack of "jadedness" (is that a word? well, now it is). When we send IC interns out into the "job market," employeers KNOW our students will go the extra mile. Well, that attitude and willingness to do more than expected applies double to the IC grads working in LA, too.
Disney creative exec Mac Torluccio (IC '97) and CAA literary agent Bill Zotti (IC '95) spoke to all of our summer students last Monday night about the film business, their jobs, how they got where they are and all the pitfalls and successes along the way. They were great and everyone in the room responded and learned something. But what stood out most to me was that each of these guys took their Monday nights to give something back. They went above and beyond the call. And not only were they happy to do it, but they want to work with the ICLA program to provide internships, mentoring advice and contacts for the future.
As I said to the group assembled -- it's not as if these guys HAD to do this. I mean, they're not getting paid, they can't take off from work the following day (in fact, both have demanding jobs that keep them in their offices from early in the morning till well past "quitting" time) and they DO have personal lives. The truth is they did it because they WANTED to. They know how much they would have appreciated it as students. And they enjoyed it. A lesson to us all.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Visit from ICLA Grad
ICLA grad Liz Tigelaar, a producer-writer on ABC's hit show "Brothers and Sisters," gave a rollicking talk at the final "writing for series tv" class at the Pendleton Center Wednesday night. Liz attended the ICLA program in 1997 and since then has had an amazingly successful career as a tv writer. Prior to "Brothers and Sisters," she was a producer-writer on such tv shows as "What About Brian?" and "American Dreams." She has also written for "Dirty, Sexy, Money," "Kyle XY," and "Dawson's Creek."
Liz has great enthusiasm for her work but is also quite honest, funny, and self-effacing about the trials and tribulations of a tv writer and the ins and outs of working in television. Her primary advice - keep writing and don't mind when you write badly. It WILL get better with practice, experience and editing. She also suggested that when someone gives you notes on your script to really listen, despite the instinct to explain away "what you really meant." She also shared and laughed at many of the experiences she's had over the years - including the instinct to "explain away" what she really meant in any given script.
Liz will be teaching a one-credit class for us in the fall or spring semesters of 2008-2009. Look for more on that soon. And also look here for many more talks by upcoming grads and non-grad professionals working in the industry.
Liz has great enthusiasm for her work but is also quite honest, funny, and self-effacing about the trials and tribulations of a tv writer and the ins and outs of working in television. Her primary advice - keep writing and don't mind when you write badly. It WILL get better with practice, experience and editing. She also suggested that when someone gives you notes on your script to really listen, despite the instinct to explain away "what you really meant." She also shared and laughed at many of the experiences she's had over the years - including the instinct to "explain away" what she really meant in any given script.
Liz will be teaching a one-credit class for us in the fall or spring semesters of 2008-2009. Look for more on that soon. And also look here for many more talks by upcoming grads and non-grad professionals working in the industry.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
LA Shorts Fest Entries
Attention all IC Filmmakers: The deadline is fast approaching to submit short films to the LA Shorts Fest. This is an extremely popular film festival on the west coast attended by a lot of people in the industry. Many of you are making short films. You want them to be seen, right? So -- this is the next logical step.
The deadline for on-time submission is April 25th. But there is also an extended deadline that allows you to submit films until May 26th. For more information go to: lashorts.com
I'm not normally in favor of entry fees, and would prefer no entry fees at all for artists to display their work. But we do live in a capitalist society with too little support (and it's shrinking) for the arts. Unfortunately, many of these festival's charge fees in order to just stay in business. The LA Fest April 25th deadline costs $49. If you submit in May it costs $59. Not cheap by any means. But perhaps worth it. There are also cash prizes in eight different categories. And the benefit of having your work screened in a respected festival, along with meeting and networking with people in the worldwide filmmaking community.
So it's up to you. But it's important to get seen. Don't be shy about putting your work out there!
- SG
The deadline for on-time submission is April 25th. But there is also an extended deadline that allows you to submit films until May 26th. For more information go to: lashorts.com
I'm not normally in favor of entry fees, and would prefer no entry fees at all for artists to display their work. But we do live in a capitalist society with too little support (and it's shrinking) for the arts. Unfortunately, many of these festival's charge fees in order to just stay in business. The LA Fest April 25th deadline costs $49. If you submit in May it costs $59. Not cheap by any means. But perhaps worth it. There are also cash prizes in eight different categories. And the benefit of having your work screened in a respected festival, along with meeting and networking with people in the worldwide filmmaking community.
So it's up to you. But it's important to get seen. Don't be shy about putting your work out there!
- SG
Monday, April 7, 2008
Live from Ithaca
I'm actually not in L.A. but in Ithaca - meeting summer and fall '08 students and reuniting with former students. It's so great to see everyone moving on with their work and getting to know others about to start on the L.A. adventure. The one constant seems to be -- what will I do when a graduate; how do I navigate the real world?
The best advice I can give is what I said at a panel at FLEFF (the Finger Lakes Film Festival, though most of you know that, right?) - which is to work hard, dig down deep and BE YOURSELF. If you're a writer it means bringing "you" to everything you write. Not autobiography but you need to find a way to somehow personalize what you write. If you're studying or doing a job -- how do you add your own personal spin to it? What about the subject particularly interests you? If you say nothing interests you, you might not be digging deep enough or thinking hard enough about it. Don't just skim the surface but try to imagine how you, and perhaps only you, see this. This might help all of us to look at this subject in a different way.
If it's a job (even something seemingly mindless or part-time, you say?) how will you specifically make this job exciting for you, and not simply "phone it in?" Perhaps the people you work with would appreciate someone who can not only accomplish the work but add something they haven't seen before? (and trust me, they will). It's a given that you never know what can happen as a result of your efforts, large and small. You never know who is watching or who you will re-meet years later. (this is particularly true of the entertainment industry). The world runs on the cause and effect principal (even me, who only took earth science in high school, knows that).
If after all this, you're still not "feeling it" - well, this might not be the area of study, the job or the project for you. That's okay. But don't give up without challenging yourself. You KNOW you can usually redouble your efforts. I mean, we all can, right? (That might even be one reason I'm blogging from Ithaca).
See you back in the Big Orange soon. - S.
The best advice I can give is what I said at a panel at FLEFF (the Finger Lakes Film Festival, though most of you know that, right?) - which is to work hard, dig down deep and BE YOURSELF. If you're a writer it means bringing "you" to everything you write. Not autobiography but you need to find a way to somehow personalize what you write. If you're studying or doing a job -- how do you add your own personal spin to it? What about the subject particularly interests you? If you say nothing interests you, you might not be digging deep enough or thinking hard enough about it. Don't just skim the surface but try to imagine how you, and perhaps only you, see this. This might help all of us to look at this subject in a different way.
If it's a job (even something seemingly mindless or part-time, you say?) how will you specifically make this job exciting for you, and not simply "phone it in?" Perhaps the people you work with would appreciate someone who can not only accomplish the work but add something they haven't seen before? (and trust me, they will). It's a given that you never know what can happen as a result of your efforts, large and small. You never know who is watching or who you will re-meet years later. (this is particularly true of the entertainment industry). The world runs on the cause and effect principal (even me, who only took earth science in high school, knows that).
If after all this, you're still not "feeling it" - well, this might not be the area of study, the job or the project for you. That's okay. But don't give up without challenging yourself. You KNOW you can usually redouble your efforts. I mean, we all can, right? (That might even be one reason I'm blogging from Ithaca).
See you back in the Big Orange soon. - S.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
ICLA Mentor Pix
It's overdue, but here are some pictures from our recent ICLA Mentor Event. I don't mean to be the focus of half the pictures - somehow it worked out that way - curious how that happens! (even when you are not taking the photos...)
To access the pix, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24408581@N07/
This was the first in a series of mentor evenings we'll be having each semester. A couple of more panels planned in the next 6 weeks. Check back soon for more info! - S.
PS - If you have any suggestions on panels or events you'd like to happen, let me know.
To access the pix, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24408581@N07/
This was the first in a series of mentor evenings we'll be having each semester. A couple of more panels planned in the next 6 weeks. Check back soon for more info! - S.
PS - If you have any suggestions on panels or events you'd like to happen, let me know.
Friday, February 29, 2008
ICLA Mentors
Thanks to all the ICLA alumns and spring, 2008 students who made our first ICLA Mentor evening a rousing success! Approximately 125 of you gathered last night at the Pendleton Center for the launch of a program that we hope will help connect each group of students attending the L.A. program with alumns of the program working in the L.A. entertainment industry and related fields.
What the evening showed me is the huge interest people who have gone through the program have in staying connected to us and the school. That was not only heartening but encouraging to know that each group of students we have can benefit from the experiences, expertise and contacts of each prior class. There is already an active network of IC grads who exchange information and contacts and it's our hope to broaden that group and make it a bit easier for everyone to communicate.
After getting reacquainted (and eating!) during the first hour, we separated our alumn mentors into four different rooms divided by individual fields: writing and development; producing, directing and physical production; journalism, advertising and new media; and recent grads with entry level jobs in any and all of those fields. Our current students were then given the opportunity to go into each room and talk to people working in their specific fields. It was so truly exciting to see that our grads are working directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and animators while others are executives, agents, journalists, editors, and account exex. And that's not to leave out students involved in gaming, online journalism and production and even some who are entrepeneurs with their own businesses. Or many others in jobs too numerous to mention here.
A special nod also to many of our recent grads just getting started. Many work on and off as production assistants, apprentice editors and production coordinators, and assistants. Their determination, work ethic and boldness to take the necessary steps to move out here to fulfill their dreams are to be especially admired. Getting started can be challenging but I can't count the number of alumns with solid jobs and careers who voluntarily came up to both myself and Steve Tropiano and credited their LA internship and the people they met out here with both educating them about their field and introducing them to the people who gave them their first opportunities. That's really encouraging.
Our task now is to broaden the scope a bit and see if we can get more of our alumns involved in creating educational and potential internship/work opportunties for our students, or perhaps just serving as a sounding board for a studens who might be trying to choice between several different paths in front of them. To that end, we are in the process of putting together a series of smaller informal panels with working alumns in specific fields; creating an email mentor list for our incoming students; and planning numerous other activities we will let you all know about in the future. If anyone has ANY suggestions at all, please post here or email me at: sginsber@ithaca.edu. (that's sginsber, not sginsberg - for some reason I the final "g" in my last name was omitted from my Ithaca email account. I've never been able to figure out why but now, for some reason, I kinda like it that way :).
Again -- thanks to everyone!! And a special thanks to our adminstrative assistant (and IC alumn!) Holly Pietromonaco and program/services coordinator Jon Bassinger-Flores for helping us all make this event so special.
I will post some pictures of the event soon.
What the evening showed me is the huge interest people who have gone through the program have in staying connected to us and the school. That was not only heartening but encouraging to know that each group of students we have can benefit from the experiences, expertise and contacts of each prior class. There is already an active network of IC grads who exchange information and contacts and it's our hope to broaden that group and make it a bit easier for everyone to communicate.
After getting reacquainted (and eating!) during the first hour, we separated our alumn mentors into four different rooms divided by individual fields: writing and development; producing, directing and physical production; journalism, advertising and new media; and recent grads with entry level jobs in any and all of those fields. Our current students were then given the opportunity to go into each room and talk to people working in their specific fields. It was so truly exciting to see that our grads are working directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and animators while others are executives, agents, journalists, editors, and account exex. And that's not to leave out students involved in gaming, online journalism and production and even some who are entrepeneurs with their own businesses. Or many others in jobs too numerous to mention here.
A special nod also to many of our recent grads just getting started. Many work on and off as production assistants, apprentice editors and production coordinators, and assistants. Their determination, work ethic and boldness to take the necessary steps to move out here to fulfill their dreams are to be especially admired. Getting started can be challenging but I can't count the number of alumns with solid jobs and careers who voluntarily came up to both myself and Steve Tropiano and credited their LA internship and the people they met out here with both educating them about their field and introducing them to the people who gave them their first opportunities. That's really encouraging.
Our task now is to broaden the scope a bit and see if we can get more of our alumns involved in creating educational and potential internship/work opportunties for our students, or perhaps just serving as a sounding board for a studens who might be trying to choice between several different paths in front of them. To that end, we are in the process of putting together a series of smaller informal panels with working alumns in specific fields; creating an email mentor list for our incoming students; and planning numerous other activities we will let you all know about in the future. If anyone has ANY suggestions at all, please post here or email me at: sginsber@ithaca.edu. (that's sginsber, not sginsberg - for some reason I the final "g" in my last name was omitted from my Ithaca email account. I've never been able to figure out why but now, for some reason, I kinda like it that way :).
Again -- thanks to everyone!! And a special thanks to our adminstrative assistant (and IC alumn!) Holly Pietromonaco and program/services coordinator Jon Bassinger-Flores for helping us all make this event so special.
I will post some pictures of the event soon.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Beware fake agents
A former IC screenwriting student of mine recently emailed for advice. He had just gotten an offer from a "v.p" at an agency called Writers Literary Screenplay Agency (WLscreenplay Agency) who said she was interested in his work. The one caveat -- he was required to PAY a fee to someone "reputable" to "analyze" his screenplay before they took him on. The v.p. (or someone) had read his script and had kind words to say but there was also a very long explanation from the agency offering to either recommend someone they knew or mentioning the student could find an analyst he paid on his own (I'm assuming that analyst would have to meet the agency's requirements.
Here's the point, and burn it into your memory: NO WRITER SHOULD EVER, EVER PAY AN AGENT. OR BE ASKED TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE IN ORDER TO GET AN AGENT. If this is the case, you're likely dealing with some sort of scam. As a writer, or any kind of artist - you are the talent. An agent is the person who represents YOU. You do not PAY them until they make a deal for you. Case closed.
It is very easy to be swayed when people are telling you they like your work. Especially when you're starting out. Especially when it feels like it can be difficult to get a good agent or manager. But don't give into temptation. Your career will eventually move forward if you a. keep doing the work b. keep getting better c. keep putting yourself and your work out into the world.
Don't be taken in by people who want to prey on you and your dreams. If it looks too good to be true, it often is. Use your instincts. Or...email me.
-SG
PS - The agency I mentioned is listed as a group of "scams" by the website: sfwa.org/beware/ Apparently, this agency used to be called the Literary Agency Group. One way to make sure an agent is reputable is to go on the Writer's Guild website (wga.org) and go to the list of wga approved agencies. There's a long list of good people. If in doubt you can call the guild. Or...email me. Again. Whatever you do, don't sell yourself or your talent short!
Here's the point, and burn it into your memory: NO WRITER SHOULD EVER, EVER PAY AN AGENT. OR BE ASKED TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE IN ORDER TO GET AN AGENT. If this is the case, you're likely dealing with some sort of scam. As a writer, or any kind of artist - you are the talent. An agent is the person who represents YOU. You do not PAY them until they make a deal for you. Case closed.
It is very easy to be swayed when people are telling you they like your work. Especially when you're starting out. Especially when it feels like it can be difficult to get a good agent or manager. But don't give into temptation. Your career will eventually move forward if you a. keep doing the work b. keep getting better c. keep putting yourself and your work out into the world.
Don't be taken in by people who want to prey on you and your dreams. If it looks too good to be true, it often is. Use your instincts. Or...email me.
-SG
PS - The agency I mentioned is listed as a group of "scams" by the website: sfwa.org/beware/ Apparently, this agency used to be called the Literary Agency Group. One way to make sure an agent is reputable is to go on the Writer's Guild website (wga.org) and go to the list of wga approved agencies. There's a long list of good people. If in doubt you can call the guild. Or...email me. Again. Whatever you do, don't sell yourself or your talent short!
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