Dolphin Talent’s Acting + Industry Guide

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a slight, ok maybe major, obsession with the TV show Friday Night Lights. I could go on and on about the production quality, the story lines (although I will skip season 2 in my discussions as I wasn’t a huge fan), and the cast of the show, and believe me I have, but what I find really interesting is the production deals that have occurred to keep the show alive.

Friday Night Lights has long been a critic’s favorite, and has extremely loyal fans, but doesn’t have a large number of those fans that tune in at its regularly scheduled airdate. In its first two season NBC saw remarkable numbers in online viewing and DVRing of the show, but didn’t see great viewership numbers when it aired on TV.  While it could be said that the show never lucked out in getting a good time slot (why would you air a show about football on a Friday night when everyone who would be interested in High School Football is most likely out watching their local high school team?), or that the show had misguided marketing (aiming the show towards 16-25 males when the show is more of a drama than just a sports show), or finally that bebo just never took off the way that facebook or myspace did thus not reaching as many people who frequent social networks as one of the other two networks would have, it did get lucky in one department.

After fans sent mini footballs to NBC and created a “save FNL”(Friday Night Lights) facebook page, the fans and the show, got an inventive break. NBC and the creators of the show Imagine and Film 44 reached out to other networks to see about a production partnership. A deal was reached with Direct TV. For the third season, Direct TV paid for half of the production costs for producing a 13 episode season of FNL, in return Direct TV got the run rights to the series on it’s 101 network. The outcome was so successful for Direct TV that they agreed to an additional 2 seasons for a total of 26 episodes thus saving the show. What makes this deal so unique is that the studio, NBC, made a deal with a TV provider, not another network, thus creating a win win for all involved. NBC was able to keep its little watched fan favorite and Direct TV was able to offer its subscribers exclusive content before they would otherwise be able to view it. And really the champion of this deal is the fans, because we got 3 seasons out of the deal thus allowing us to find out what happens to the members of the Dillon Panthers and whether or not clear eyes and full hearts really means you can’t lose.

For those who are fans: the Season 4 promo for Direct TV’s 101 network, enjoy!

-Megan

There will be no actors strike… As of June 10th, SAG has entered into a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers  that will be valid through June 30, 2011.   

Main changes include increases in wages and pension.  

Often times we meet talented actors in a variety of different states that want to know where we are shooting our next movie.  We reveal that though we are based out of Miami, Florida, we often do not shoot locally.  So how do we determine where the next project will take place?  Often times we must consider the actual screenplay that we going to produce and what the setting of the movie must be.  For example, it wouldn’t make much sense to shoot a surfing movie in the Midwest because there would be no ocean or waves.  The location must make sense with the time period of the film and also fit into the budget.  Most states and locations offer monetary incentives to encourage the production of movies in their area.  The state or country often feels that it will be good publicity for their state and even encourage tourism to that area.  That means producers could get tax credits and sometimes even cash rebates for shooting in a particular location.  Often the tax incentives of a specific place will factor into where exactly a producer decides to shoot.  The more money that a producer gets back or can spend elsewhere in the budget, the better off they are!  Another deciding factor is the amount of people they have who could serve as production crew on location.  There are many films that will shoot in a specific place because of the parameters of the script or if it is based on a book or actual event, but for those that are flexible, producers have a number of things to take into consideration.

-Jennifer

You are definitely in the majority if the words “SAG Strike” leave you in utter confusion.   To keep you in the loop, here are some of the main points from the past 10 months:

- SAG’s contract with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) expired on June 30, 2008

- SAG is asking for increased rates; AMPTP  is willing to offer SAG rates they agreed with AFTRA; SAG wants better deal

- AMPTP made a “final offer” in February with the agreement ending three years from ratification (placing expiration somewhere in 2012); the offer is not the increase SAG’s been fighting for

- SAG pushing for the contract to end June 30, 2011 to coincide with the other unions’ (WGA , AFTRA, DGA) contractual expirations with AMPTP

- AMPTP is now willing to offer the contract to expire on date set by SAG

- SAG board accepted the deal on April 19 and it will now go out for a vote to the members, however, there is still unrest as the offer is not the rate increase SAG has been pushing for the past 10 months

There is MUCH, much more that occurred, however, this is the bare bones, quick fix version. For more information on the history of the SAG situation and up to date info, please visit: www.variety.com  and hollywoodreporter.com

Though actors are usually what we think of when it comes to movies.  There are a number of integral roles that must be filled for a production to occur.  Smaller productions with a lower budget will often have an individual satisfy more than one of these roles, but in larger productions, there is usually a specific person for each job.  Here are a few of the main jobs in making a movie:

Executive Producer:An executive producer is the one that must arrange for both financing and distribution of a specific picture.  Sometimes a distributor will be awarded this title if they played a major role in the financing of a production.  Dolphin Entertainment is the executive producer of the television series “Zoey 101, and “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide“.  We also executive produced the Roxy Hunter Movie Franchise along with a number of Nickelodeon and Liftime movies.

Director: The director is the leader of the production team and responsible for coordinating how actors move and deliver their lines.  He or she must transform the screenplay into cinematic images that satisfy his/her vision.  Directors are usually the most responsible for the end product seen on screen and must be well versed in all technical and performance aspects of production.

Producer:A producer is hired as a liason between the executive producer and the studio.  They must hire the majority of the crew members and manage the financial aspects of the television show or film, including keeping it on budget.

Below the Line Production Jobs:Most production jobs can be categorized as either Below the Line or Above the Line.  Below the Line jobs are technical crew jobs and nonstarring cast members.  The Below the Line budget is usually fixed and the difference originates from the early studio days when the budget top-sheet would literally have a line separating the Above the Line Costs and Below the Line costs. The budget generally refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues. Below are a list of some jobs that would be considered Below the Line:

• Art Director
• Editor
• Continuity
• Composer
• Production Assistant

Above the Line Production Jobs:  Above the Line jobs usually belong to  people whose salaries have been negotiated or spent before the filming begins. Often these jobs are based on specific people that have been lined up before an entire production crew is even hired. Some of the jobs include:

• Screenwriter
• Director
• Producer
• Actors

Remember these are just a few of the many people that make on-screen entertainment possible.  It takes an entire team to make it happen!!

Scenes are organized according to the location of the scene’s setting and the actors involved in the scene. Whereas, a play is performed in the sequential order that the script is written, the screenplay is divided up and sectioned by where each scene takes place. So if ten scenes total throughout the movie take place in a specific restaurant, it makes the most sense to shoot those ten scenes as close together as possible, so that you could rent the restaurant for a few consecutive days and you don’t have to spend money 10 different times throughout the filming of the movie. It cuts down on the amount of time you spend setting up and shooting.

You then want to make sure that you are only hiring actors for the needed amount of time, especially if you have a celebrity that costs quite a bit of money for each day that they have to be on a set. If you can shoot the three scenes that the actor is in one day then you only have to pay them for one day instead of paying the individual for 3 separate days. Shooting films out of order helps save producers time and money, but it does expect an actor to be able to switch from one scene to another and change emotions rather quickly. It just makes acting for film and television more exciting and fun!