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EDUCATION » Media Literacy Institute
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BUSINESS OF FILM * * * POSTPONED * * *
SPEAKER/PANELIST BIOS
JIM BARHAM
Greg's first independent feature 'Fifth Ward', which he wrote, produced, edited, and directed, was shot on 35mm. It was the Best Feature Winner at the 1997 New Orleans Black Film Festival and picked up awards for Best Director and Feature at the 1998 30th Parallel Film Festival in Austin. The movie was acquired by York/Maverick Entertainment and released nationwide in March of 2000 to Blockbuster and Hollywood Videos and later ran on BET Action PPV. It aired on Black Starz Encore via Urban Entertainment. Greg's sophomore studio film, 'Thug Life', was financed and distributed by York/Maverick Entertainment. It had a limited theatrical run followed by a national release to video in March of 2001. “Thug Life” premiered on Showtime Extreme during the month of April 2002. On “Diamonds from the Bantus”, Greg’s third feature project which wrapped production in March 2002, he served as co-writer and producer. The cast featured Michael and Janet Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, and Todd Bridges, star of the hit television series “Diff’rent Strokes”. Since then, Greg has produced and directed numerous films, including My Big Phat Hip Hop Family, Treasure in Da Hood and the acclaimed biopic Ressurection: The J. R. richards Story. Greg recently served in the capacity of producer and co-director on the Warner Brother’s feature “American Dream” based on the ascent of the multi-platinum music artist Mike Jones. When his schedule permits, Greg enjoys teaching filmmaking. He founded the Fifth Ward Young Filmmaker's Project in 1992. Through the program, Greg instructed over a hundred youths from 1992 to 1996. In 1995, Houston Mayor Bob Lanier and Council Member Michael Yarbrough awarded him citations for his service, involvement, and contribution to the Fifth Ward community. In association with Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), he recently taught a filmmaking class at Project Row Houses for underprivileged youths to give them the opportunity to learn the craft and art of storytelling through film. Greg has been featured in the following national publications: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, DETAILS, THE SOURCE, BILLBOARD MAGAZINE, and SCRIPT MAGAZINE, along with other regional and local magazines and newspapers, such as TEXAS MONTHLY.
BARRY COFFING His Company Musicsupervisor.com Inc. has preferred vender status with Disney, ABC, Paramount TV and CBS. Barry has lectured on the music business at USC, Vanderbilt and The University of Houston. Website: www.musicsupervisor.com
Don Gillespie began working as a production assistant in television on the Sony lot (then Tristar/Columbia). Shortly thereafter, he moved into feature films, such as "Lost in Yonkers," and eventually applied his natural affinity for numbers by working as an accountant on such films as "Men in Black" and "Multiplicity." He started as an accounting clerk and moved up through the ranks as 2nd assistant, 1st assistant and payroll accountant. Other features include "Deep Impact" and "Erin Brockovich."
After garnering 18 years of experience from the well-respected publishing houses of Rondor Music, Famous Music, Polygram Music and Universal Music Group respectively, Roanna branched out into consulting, music clearance and music supervision through her company WOW Sounds. WOW Sounds has represented the Dallas Cowboys, PEN Music, Pacific Electric Music and Burnt Orange Productions and has successfully placed songs with "The OC," "Sex and the City," "Roswell," "Boston Public," "Felicity" as well as features such as "Armageddon" (Sony) and "The Miracle" (Disney). The most recent music supervision projects include: "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," "Elvis and Anabelle," and "Itty Bitty Titty Committee." Two documentaries, "A Place to Dance," and "Dirt," round out the full spectrum of Roanna's music supervision credits.
DEENA KALAI Prior to launching her own contact, Deena was a partner in McCoy Kalai, PLLC, where she practiced in the areas of entertainment law and intellectual property. The firm provided counsel in corporate transactions and represented businesses in various aspects of business and intellectual property litigation. Always active in her community, she is affiliated with or donates time to many organizations including, the Austin Film Society, Women’s Advocacy Project, Volunteer Legal Services, Texas Freedom Network, and various professional associations in Texas and New York. Deena frequently provides pro bono services in Spanish for low-income immigrants, in addition to her pro bono activities for entertainment industry clients. She has lectured at several legal workshops and conferences and serves on the board of Reel Women in Austin. Deena is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the New York State Bar. She is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, and holds a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Texas, with a concentration on hip hop and feminist film theory. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Miami, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Website: www.deenakalai.com
As co-head of global acquisitions, she acquires and leads SHORTS on iTUNES USA, UK & Canada, and acquires films for SHORTS TV, BT-VISION, JOOST & global television, new media and airline clients. Linda has contributed to Sharon Badal’s “Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film” (Focal Press). She can be found at international festivals scouting for cinematic gems in all genres, producing video podcasts for SHORTS TV, and serving on juries and panels. She holds an MA in film. Her credits include co-founder/director of the DreamWorks Short Film Festival; member of Hanna-Barbera’s development team for WHAT A CARTOON!; worldwide acquisitions director for EVEO; head of shorts for THE HATCHERY; senior programmer for the Palm Springs Short Film Festival; and world cinema screener for the Sundance Film Festival. Her editing and associate producing credits for feature films include SHREK, THE ROAD TO EL DORADO, PRINCE OF EGYPT, REALITY BITES, and THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE. She has worked as a documentary cameraman in Afghanistan and Huehuetla, Mexico; has written a screenplay, UNTIL THE DAY’S END; and is a photographer for the World Peace Project.
Clark Richards is a trial attorney who represents individuals, businesses, and municipalities to successfully resolve legal disputes. His professional training and breadth of experience allow him to draw upon every available legal option to fully represent his clients' interests. Clark effectively and efficiently resolves disputes by informal means, alternative dispute resolution, or, if necessary, a full jury trial. As an integral member of Richards Rodriguez & Skeith's Clark's legal specialty focuses on commercial litigation with emphasis on intellectual property, entertainment and media. He represents entertainment producers, broadcasters and software companies in order to protect precious intellectual capital such as trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and related intangible rights. Acting as defense for television and radio station interests, he has obtained dismissals or summary judgments in multiple lawsuits over defamation and invasion of privacy. Clark is the son of the late Texas Governor Ann Richards, who was an enthusiastic and influential advocate for the Texas film industry. Clark continues to work toward bringing production jobs to our state as a board member of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA). As an avocation, Clark enjoys making digital movies. Some of his movies have even screened in Austin's celebrated film festivals. As an active member of the local film scene, Clark volunteers for the SXSW Film Festival and serves on the board of the Mobile Film School.
DANAE RINGELMAN, CFA
Danae founded IndieGoGo to democratize the film funding process. Passionate about helping filmmakers embrace new opportunities online, Danae often speaks at conferences and in classrooms on Film 2.0. Recent speaking engagements include Los Angeles Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, International Documentary Association, California Lawyers for the Arts, IFP Labs, and various university film programs. Danae brings entertainment industry and film finance expertise. Prior to IndieGoGo, Danae was a securities analyst at Cowen & Co. where she covered entertainment and video game companies including Pixar, Lions Gate, Disney, and Electronic Arts. Danae also focused on cable network, NFL, newspaper and hedge fund clientele while at JPMorgan's Investment Bank and Private Bank. In the wake of 9/11, Danae co-produced a concert reading of Incident at Vichy, an Arthur Miller play addressing the politically charged topic of racial profiling. Danae is a CFA charterholder and holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Danae was also a Morehead Scholar and Varsity Rower at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Website: www.indiegogo.com
Al Staehely is an entertainment lawyer based in Houston, Texas. He has specialized in legal matters pertaining to the music and film industries since 1979. His clients include musicians, record labels, music publishing companies, and distribution companies. He handles various matters related to recording, publishing, sub-publishing, and licensing both domestically and internationally. Staehely has represented film production companies, optioned life-story rights, and cleared music rights for films including the Academy Award-nominated documentary For All Mankind. He also represents clients with respect to litigation in all matters related to the entertainment business, including copyright and trademark issues. In addition to his practice, Staehely has taught music publishing and music business law at both the Art Institute of Houston and St. Thomas University, also in Houston. He has also served as adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching Entertainment Law. Staehely attends MIDEM, the international music industry convention in Cannes, France, each year. Website: www.music-lawyer.com
Jake Starkey is an independent filmmaker/producer based in Houston, Texas. He has worked in all capacities of filmmaking from PA to Producer and thoroughly enjoys the process. His goal is to put Houston on the map as a film friendly city.
Scott Szabo is the composer for two nationally syndicated TV series; “Judge Alex” and “Texas Justice” both on FOX as well as the music for “Divorce Court” (Season 10). In 2005, Scott won the Gold Medal for his music score of the feature film “Dancing in Twilight” at the Park City Film Music Festival. Over the past 20 years, Scott has built a varied music career as an accomplished songwriter and composer of music for film, TV and multimedia. With a wide range of approach to music, from world music to electronic to symphonic orchestra, he has spent years polishing and developing his style. The musical impulse began early in Scott. Born in Austin Texas, he wrote his first song when he was twelve and began performing in rock bands at fifteen. The next year found him accepted into the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston. Szabo was not brought into HSPVA on the basis of his musical talents; however, it was because of his talents in the visual arts. “Of course, I did take music theory and piano courses,” Szabo says, “but art school taught me to think conceptually and emotionally about a composition, be it on a canvas or on a keyboard. I learned that there are multiple ways to look at a problem and how to refine a raw idea. This really helps me as a music composer.” The 1980s and early 1990s saw Scott performing live as a singer and keyboardist through out Texas and the Southwest in bands that he put together while developing his own musical style and technique. Always writing and releasing his original songs, this culminated in Scott being signed to the indie label Fires of August. In 1988 Scott was asked to compose the music for a series of internationally distributed videos for Dow Chemical. Since then, Scott has composed the music for numerous feature films and TV series, as well as many award-winning short films. Additionally, Scott has placed original songs in five feature films and has also written music for nearly 200 commercials and marketing videos for such diverse clients as Shell Oil, Enron, Time Warner, Joe’s Crab Shack, and Continental Airlines. NGUYEN TRAN BIO COMING SOON!
Tom Vaughan studied at the University of Houston with Broadway legend Jose Quintero and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee. He began his professional career as the Artistic Director of the short lived but critically acclaimed West-Mon Repertory Theatre in Houston. It was his work there as a writer and director that got him recognized by Hollywood.
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ENROLLMENT
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Houston based filmmaker, Jim Barham, has been a prominent member of the Texas film and television production community for nearly three decades. His work encompasses commercials, music videos, documentaries and independent features. He is currently producing and directing photography on the SWAMP sponsored Texas music documentary, For The Sake Of The Song: The Story of Anderson Fair, funded by The Houston Endowment, The Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County (Houston Arts Alliance) and many generous individuals. Jim has conducted numerous workshops, seminars and lectures on such subjects as budgeting, pre-production, lighting, and acting for the camera for various institutions and organizations including The University of Houston, Texas A&M University, Sam Houston State University, The Motion Picture Council of Houston, Mercury Studio for Film Actors, and the International Television Association. .jpg)
GREG CARTER
CLARK RICHARDS
Danae Ringelmann is a founder of IndieGoGo, an online social marketplace connecting filmmakers and fans to make independent film happen. The platform provides filmmakers the tools for project funding, recruiting, and promotion, while enabling the audience to discover and connect directly with filmmakers and the causes they support.
JAKE STARKEY
SCOTT SZABO
TOM VAUGHAN