A Perfect World

We've all heard the phrase "a perfect world". Now that means many things to many people. I am going to base it on a model of a film community that I know could exist right here in south Florida.Now New York and LA have a long rooted film and television tradition that has been around for nearly a century. Now that has worked well for those two cities, but the world is different, the industry of film and television is different. The internet and new technologies in cameras and software have made the art of movies, television and even commercials move in a beeline to speed and simplicity. The internet alone has made stars out of You Tube practitioners and will continue to reshape the forms of entertainment we watch and enjoy. I feel a shift in our mindset here in Florida could make us the next frontier of film, and all that it entails.
Imagine a group of production houses that develop projects and talent all in studio. Similar to the golden era of Hollywood where the studio system built a dynasty that rivaled no other. Where the internet pushed programming that the viewer controlled and helped spawn new shows. Where we shortened the time frame of creating shows and getting them to market. A new style of pilot season where "we" invest in our projects and collaborate with the goal of producing true "local" productions using our production and talent pools. 
I know that we have the ability to take on such a noble concept, and by controlling all aspects of the process and being social entrepreneurs. we can all benefit  and profit across the board with this. No more hoping that a big name star wants to film in south Florida and that we get a few "5 lines or less" and hold massive castings knowing that the part has already been cast and they're just blowing smoke to make the locals feel good while they drop a few crumbs our way.  Oh and that they'll hire local talent as background and tell us what a great opportunity it is for us to be seen on this film. Yes these productions bring money to our great state, but wouldn't be better if we create more "reel" jobs for locals in front and behind the camera.
Just think if we hired local writers, directors, film crews, actors and all the services that go along with the projects we create. Think about how we can improve the housing market by getting income into the pockets of our people, and how others would come to Florida to be part of our community. Think of all the revenue that would be generated for restaurants, car rentals, department stores, grocery stores, hardware stores and so much more.
Imagine what a perfect world that would be.
I'm Dan Andrews and this is "the business of the business".

You'll work for What?

Now I’m all about getting more work here in Florida for our talent,

but…not at the cost of our dignity. I have seen posts on face book from other organizations trying to help our locals. And that’s great, except working as a principle for $100.00 for a “full day” is ridiculous. That’s right ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a full day.

I feel it is stupid that we accept the poor pay to be on extra on a movie featuring a BIG NAME STAR just because someone said its great experience to be in a movie with that star. Oh, unless of course I’m in the chair next to THE STAR chewing on fake food and grinning right at the camera. But I digress, doing extra work when you are brand new to the industry is a great way to learn how a movie or TV set really works, but even so the pay needs to be appropriate as does the treatment.

I say this because any of us who have been in this industry over the last 20 years knows that our pay has not gone up rather it has slowly slide into the abyss of slave labor all for “the experience”.

I’ve heard the lines from many who are close to the big productions that come to town saying we should be glad for what we get. No we shouldn’t …period. We should get off our begging knees and stand up and create real work for our talent and crews and build a real infrastructure here in Florida.

We also need to stick together and make our pay more realistic. What that is will be matter of discussion. But we all need to think what direction we want our industry to go.

I would love your feed back so please don’t be shy. Thanks for reading and let’s keep this dialog open.

This is Dan Andrews for “the business of the business.”

http://www.floridatalentgroup.net/

Here We Go

Well it's finally happening, I dusted off the keypad and I'm writing the first draft of the new TV series the Davidsons. This project is the first of many in south Florida. We will be using only Florida talent,crew and resources. If all goes right we should be shooting the pilot in 60 to 90 days. Please stay tuned and informed.

Time to bring back the Old

Please stay tuned as I revamp my blog for florida talent and how we can regain our foothold in the film and television industry.
Thank you,
Dan Andrews