Film Resource Archives - Debra Russell

Debra Recommends LaTour de Force Productions

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Professional Performance Reel Production

Latour de Force Productions will take your footage and help choose your scenes in a fashion that will best represent you, while being consistent with your brand! They custom design your reel, and make it fun to watch – with titles, captions, transitions, and music. They also apply basic color and sound correction; author & burn a DVD with a customized label; and include YouTube; Email; Website; Actors Access, compressions of your reel! In addition, they will also archive your project for future editing sessions.

For actors, directors, production companies, musicians and bands.

Kristina Latour is passionate about working with actors, and creating their customized reels that will showcase them at their best, and make them stand out in the Industry! She has quite a diverse background in the arts having served as performer, writer, producer, and even delving into the casting world. This all informs her work as a Video Editor for Actor/Performer Reels as it’s not only an asset, but also imperative to find an expert editor who understands the field and knows the business of acting. She enjoys giving actors her personal attention, while producing a terrific reel that really expresses who they are at their best!

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Music Licensing with Sarah Gavigan – An Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Music Placed in Films, TV Shows and Ads

0 Comments/in ArtistsMBA Track 4 - Promotion, Marketing & Sales, Sales and Marketing

In these times of Music Industry upheaval and uncertainty, Music Licensing is one of the few areas of the industry that offers clear income potential to the entrepreneurial artist.

I’m thrilled to have Sarah Gavigan as a guest this month, to give us an insider’s look into the Music Licensing business.

In this class you’ll discover:

The range of opportunities in Music Licensing
The top 3 mistakes people make with when submitting music to a Music Supervisor
How to create a strategy allowing you to target the people who are looking for your music

Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Mastery Lab to access the transcript of this class today

Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Foundation, Professional Program members only. Click here to login.

Sarah Gavigan

Sarah Gavigan founded Ten Music in the winter of 2000; the first company of it’s kind to represent Indie Artists and Labels to Advertisers and Brands. 9 years, 45 labels and thousands of placements later, Gavigan is one of the foremost leaders in the field of music licensing.

In 2008 Gavigan developed and taught a course at UCLA entitled “How to get your music licensed in a Commercial.” Today Gavigan Music Supervises, and teaches Musicians and Music Industry professionals how to successfully license their music through her online education program GET YOUR MUSIC LICENSED.

Debra Recommends Audition

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I was lucky enough to study with Michael Shurtleff for 2 years when I was acting in NYC, in the 80’s. In my opinion, this book solidifies in very simple terms the choices an actor must make in order to create a believable character. What’s so beautiful about this, is it enables you to make those choices in the few minutes you have before you step into an audition.

This review is from Amazon.com:

Whether one is an actor, director, writer or teacher, Shurtleff’s book is simply a critical must read. Shurtleff who spent many years as a top casting director possessed an absolute love for the brave souls who dare to place themselves on the stage. His ultimate legacy to his beloved craft is this indispensable “How To” bible.

Much has been written already about his twelve guideposts, and I have nothing new to add to those already glowing (and well deserved) comments. What I did find most illuminative and refreshing is his comments on how to behave at the job interview. It is in this chapter that this book becomes helpful to even the non actor. In this chapter/section, Shurtleff urges all people to realize that ultimately the pressure in the job interview is on the employer and that a good prospect will immediately put the interview board at ease. All too often actors become so self centered and fail to realize that their performance is really about their audience, not them. The same is true therefore of the job interview. It is about the employer, not the employee.

As a teacher, Audition has been most helpful to me as it has provided objective certainty to an area filled with far too many subjective judgements. In other words, Shurtleff has helped define the skills and tasks necessary to train actors in a manner that will help them transition successfully from the educational venue to the professional market. He has given us clear, active objectives to teach toward.

In Audition, Shurtleff articulates what constitutes good, effective acting. Once that becomes defined clearly, then success becomes not a nebulous ideal, but rather a concrete proposition.

If this is not in your theatre library, it is time you add it now.

Buy Audition from Amazon.com

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Debra Recommends TAXI

3 Comments/in Business, Sales and Marketing

I’ve been working with TAXI as a speaker for the yearly conference, the Road Rally, since 2005. I’ve come to know many TAXI Members, as well as Michael Laskow and the other staff who tirelessly work to help their members create a prosperous living doing what they love.

I can without hesitation recommend TAXI Membership to anyone who wants to take their music to the next level through licensing to Film, TV and music libraries, who wants to be exposed to A&R reps in their genre without having to move to LA, New York or Nashville.

If you join TAXI on my recommendation, you will receive a $25 rebate for your first year’s dues from me. In order to do that, you must do the following:

After you join, call TAXI and tell them you were referred by Artist’s EDGE, Studio number #ST1490
Then send me an email with your full name, mailing address and date you joined TAXI.
As soon as I get confirmation from TAXI, I will cut you a check!

Even if you’re not quite ready to join TAXI, I recommend you hang out on The TAXI forum. There is a ton of information, support and opportunity to get feedback to improve your songwriting and recording.

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Debra Recommends I Am A Professional Artist

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The Key To Survival and Success in the World of the Arts

by Gilli Moon

My dear friend, Gilli Moon, brings a level of reality to this topic filled with illusions and lies. And she does it with great humor and compassion. A fellow TAXI Road Rally speaker, she created Songsalive! and several other resources for musicians. I’ve also interviewed her for the Artist’s EDGE Membership.

Amazon says:

Some say succeeding in the Arts as a professional Artist is all about fame and fortune. So much of our desires are based on false illusions about the industry and what we read in glossy magazines. Being a professional Artist is a life long journey of becoming who you want to be, and achieving success through what you love to do. It’s about living your dream. It’s also about setting goals that you alone determine if they have rewarded you rather than what the industry defines as success.

The Arts industry, whether that be in music, theatre, film, writing, dance or any business about Art, can be cruel and very un-artistic. It’s often about survival, especially survival of the fittest. It can feel like a competitive war against large corporations, those who judge you (which can even include your family) and the other artists who are also climbing their way to the top. Gilli Moon, artist, author and record company owner, brings to you her first book, I Am a Professional Artist offering Artists who’ve chosen the professional path, practical steps in harnessing one’s creative abilities to succeed and survive in the Arts and enjoy your artistry at the same time.

Including interviews with various professional Artists, I Am a Professional Artist combines a self-empowering practical guide in surviving and succeeding in the Arts with key business principles and spiritual nourishment. Consider it an Artistic soul’s survival guide in business!

I AM a Professional Artist follows 2 simple principles: If you want to be a professional Artist, the first thing to realize is that you have to be two people: An Artist, and a Business person. The second principle is based on her own coined phrase: The three Os: Optimism + Organized equals Opportunity I Am a Professional Artist will certainly change the thinking of any professional artist who may doubt themselves or their art, who may feel pressured by the industry, or may feel the hardship of the roller coaster ride.

Buy this book now

Debra Recommends Screen Actors Guild

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Screen Actors Guild is the most distinguished performer’s union in the world. Their members are experienced professionals who require certain standards of working conditions, compensation and benefits. Membership is often a major milestone in an actor’s career; every SAG card issued symbolizes success and solidarity with a community of 120,000 talented and accomplished artists worldwide.

In addition to negotiating and enforcing contracts for professional performers, Screen Actors Guild also offers members the tools to navigate the industry and expand their craft along the way. From the workshops of the SAG conservatory to resources for young actors, the Guild protects and enhances members’ quality of life on and off set.

www.sag.org

Debra Recommends Writers Guild of America

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The Writers Guild of America is a labor union
composed of the thousands of writers who write the television shows, movies, news programs, documentaries, animation, CD-ROMs, and content for new-media technologies that keep audiences constantly entertained and informed.

If you are interested in writing professionally for screen, television, or new media, this resource is for you.

Writers Guild of America – West

Writers Guild of America – East

Debra Recommends Directors Guild of America

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Today, through the collective voice of more than 14,000 members that the DGA represents, the Guild seeks to protect directorial teams’ legal and artistic rights, contend for their creative freedom, and strengthen their ability to develop meaningful and credible careers.

www.dga.org

Business Management for the Creative Mind

0 Comments/in Business

To find out where Debra is appearing, check the Workshops and Events page. Bring Debra in to speak to your group or conference of 40 or more people.

Or How to Run Your Arts & Entertainment Industry Business

How many times have you thought to yourself, “I’m an Artist! I’m just no good at business!” In this dynamic, interactive workshop, I’ll dispel this common myth and help you identify and apply your unique talents to create a successful business without sacrificing your art or your integrity. Whether you’re freelance, self-employed or working around a day job, acknowledging that you are a small business owner is key to creating success with your art.

In this Workshop you can expect to learn:

5 Hats of the Business Owner
How to overcome the 5 Biggest Challenges
3 Keys to Success with your business

You will walk away with the ability to see yourself at home in the world of business, to use your innate skills and take on the challenges that may now seem overwhelming to you. This workshop is appropriate for artists such as writers, musicians and actors as well as those in the production, management and venue side of the Arts and Entertainment Industry.

Debra Russell applies principles of business and organizations to the lives and work of artists, giving them new ways to deal with their lives and careers. Her workshops provide valuable tools for both performers and presenters. Her approach gives practical advice and motivation, rather than pop-psych feel-good fluff.I think the most important thing I got from Business Management for the Creative Mind is the idea that thinking of the arts in a business-like way isn’t “evil” or “unartistic”. Left brain vs. right brain thinking aren’t enemies, rather they can work together. If you can accept input from both sides, you can be both artistic and organized…and that’s a good thing!
Nick Smith, Performing storyteller, Board Member of Caltech Folk Music Society, California Traditional Music Society,
and FARWest

Debra Recommends International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

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IATSE or International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees is a union of professional stagehands, motion picture technicians, and allied crafts. Different locals of the IATSE have their own web-sites and contact pages. Do a Google search for the Union you’re interested in.

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Professional Performance Reel Production

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Listen to the Interview:

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Sarah Gavigan

The Key To Survival and Success in the World of the Arts

Or How to Run Your Arts & Entertainment Industry Business

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