Saturday, April 1, 2017
OLD FASHIONED Red Carpet Screening Photos - from 2015
Check out photos from the 2015 Red Carpet Screening of OLD FASHIONED~ written and directed by, and starring Rik Swartzwelder. https://bigpicturecon.shutterfly.com/22
Friday, October 9, 2015
Congratulations to Our Selected Filmmakers for Making the Cut!!
We are pleased to share the short films selected for screening at the BigPictureCon Short Film Festival, which takes place at the 2015 BigPictureCon Film & Technology Conference Sunday, October 18. Below are the titles and directors of this year's official selections:
Aesthetics of Anxiety - A Collection by Bayan Sardari ... Ehsan Abbasi
Bumblebees ... Jenna Kanell
Clown Nose Job ... Leanna Adams
Companion ... Sean O'Neil
Farewell ... Raymond Wood
Max ... Rajesh Naroth
Morning Shift ... Gary Weeks
Mother ... Ameer Muhammad
Music of the Speheres ... George Judd
Pelicans and Their Allies - Just Like July Official Video ... Robert Higgs
Serenade ... Rob Tiffin
Sir Knight of Nothing ... Georden Whitman
The Players ... Slade Curtis
The Prodigy ... David Traverso
What If ... Taishyka Turner
Wipeout ... Paul Murphy
The Short Film Festival takes place on campus at Clayton State University at the University Center (UC) Rm 272, Sunday, October 18 at 6:30pm. Tickets are included with BigPictureCon All Access Regular and All Access Student Passes, and the Sunday One-Day Pass. Non-pass holders can purchase tickets online here for $5.00 ea through Fri 10/16/15. Tickets will be $10.00 at the door.
Friday, November 7, 2014
2014 Georgia BigPictureCon Exceeds 2013 conference
The 2014 Georgia BigPictureCon took place Oct. 5-6 at the Clayton State University Conference Center and continued previous conference traditions of bringing Atlanta filmmakers together for education and networking.
BigPictureCon founder and producer Nancy Howard said the primary goal for the 2014 conference was to increase attendance and awareness of the event, which began in 2005 and repeated in 2007, 2009 and 2013. “We lost a bit of momentum doing the conference sporadically like we had to in the past,’ Howard shared. But the work she and the other conference organizers did to get into an annual routine certainly succeeded, increasing attendance by 19 percent over the last conference to well over 200 participants.
“This year’s conference was outstanding,” she said. “We had fantastic speakers.”
Serving as the closing keynote speaker was Michael Donaldson, an independent film and entertainment attorney from Donaldson+Calif Law Firm in Los Angeles. He shared best practices on fair use of intellectual property and other legal advice for emerging filmmakers and content creators. Opening keynotes Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch, co-creators of the web network Black&SexyTV, spoke about their experiences and insights on how to maneuver the Hollywood and independent film festival system to help anyone seeking to develop creative content.
As always, the hands-on workshops were the most popular activities. The panel on sound design by audio engineer Joe Howell was well-received, as was the mobile digital camera workshop headed by Amani Channel. A surprise hit was the legal panel featuring Donaldson, attorney Keisha Perry and Georgia Lawyers for the Arts representative David Mayer.
The conference this year took place at Clayton State University. Howard said Clayton State’s Conference Center had everything the BigPictureCon needed as far as space, support and services. Howard in particular credited FilmClayton, the county’s film office, with helping everything work out.
“The services that the Clayton County Film Office makes available to up and coming filmmakers and the locations and industry knowledge and activity they have there makes them an excellent resource,” she said. “It was a great partnership so we’d be honored to come and bring our 10th anniversary conference back there in 2015!”
“What’s important for our office is to help promote jobs and training in the industry,” said FilmClayton Director Grant Wainscott. The goal is to create a qualified workforce to bring filmmaking to Clayton. Having the conference at Clayton State University, where film training is already taking place, is a natural fit, since it allows the film office to promote CSU programs to the BigPictureCon audience. FilmClayton thought it was so important to promote the conference that it provided a $2,000 sponsorship.
Wainscott also spoke on the first day of the conference, welcoming participants to Clayton County and explaining what kind of services the county and CSU could provide. Although Wainscott had to leave later that day, he said a coworker who stayed for the conference reported it went well. He definitely hopes the conference will return to Clayton.
“We’d love to see attendance grow and grow every year and we’d love to see how we can help with that,” he said.
"The Big Picture Con was a life-changing experience for many of the attendees who came from as far away as St. Louis and Tampa to be part of this event,” said Clayton film instructor Jonathan Harris, who assisted in arranging to bring the event to CSU, and also taught the editing workshop, one of the highest-rated sessions at the conference. “Face to face with industry professionals, they learned real-world and hands-on skills they will need to succeed in this industry. More importantly, they were inspired to create by the other media makers in attendance.” He said his students were energized by the conference and are writing new films and collaborating with each other as a result of their participation.
Linda Sayseng, one of Harris’ students, volunteered at the conference. She organized the prize giveaways for some of the sessions and workshops, prepared name badges, and served as a session monitor.
“I enjoyed the panels and workshops offered,” she said. “I believe the editing workshop was a great benefit.” She said she learned wonderful ideas about how to engage her audience through film and about networking. She also liked how the panelists were willing to engage in one-on-one networking with participants.
The next conference will take place Oct. 18-19, 2015, and will be the 10th anniversary of the BigPictureCon. Some very special programs and features are being planned – so stay tuned!
BigPictureCon founder and producer Nancy Howard said the primary goal for the 2014 conference was to increase attendance and awareness of the event, which began in 2005 and repeated in 2007, 2009 and 2013. “We lost a bit of momentum doing the conference sporadically like we had to in the past,’ Howard shared. But the work she and the other conference organizers did to get into an annual routine certainly succeeded, increasing attendance by 19 percent over the last conference to well over 200 participants.
“This year’s conference was outstanding,” she said. “We had fantastic speakers.”
Serving as the closing keynote speaker was Michael Donaldson, an independent film and entertainment attorney from Donaldson+Calif Law Firm in Los Angeles. He shared best practices on fair use of intellectual property and other legal advice for emerging filmmakers and content creators. Opening keynotes Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch, co-creators of the web network Black&SexyTV, spoke about their experiences and insights on how to maneuver the Hollywood and independent film festival system to help anyone seeking to develop creative content.
BigPictureCon Founder NANCY HOWARD (in green), with keynote speakers MICHAEL DONALDSON,
NUMA PERRIER and DENNIS DORTCH, and BPC Program Coordinator MELISSA RANDLE (center)
As always, the hands-on workshops were the most popular activities. The panel on sound design by audio engineer Joe Howell was well-received, as was the mobile digital camera workshop headed by Amani Channel. A surprise hit was the legal panel featuring Donaldson, attorney Keisha Perry and Georgia Lawyers for the Arts representative David Mayer.
The conference this year took place at Clayton State University. Howard said Clayton State’s Conference Center had everything the BigPictureCon needed as far as space, support and services. Howard in particular credited FilmClayton, the county’s film office, with helping everything work out.
“The services that the Clayton County Film Office makes available to up and coming filmmakers and the locations and industry knowledge and activity they have there makes them an excellent resource,” she said. “It was a great partnership so we’d be honored to come and bring our 10th anniversary conference back there in 2015!”
 |
| Grant Wainscott |
“What’s important for our office is to help promote jobs and training in the industry,” said FilmClayton Director Grant Wainscott. The goal is to create a qualified workforce to bring filmmaking to Clayton. Having the conference at Clayton State University, where film training is already taking place, is a natural fit, since it allows the film office to promote CSU programs to the BigPictureCon audience. FilmClayton thought it was so important to promote the conference that it provided a $2,000 sponsorship.
Wainscott also spoke on the first day of the conference, welcoming participants to Clayton County and explaining what kind of services the county and CSU could provide. Although Wainscott had to leave later that day, he said a coworker who stayed for the conference reported it went well. He definitely hopes the conference will return to Clayton.
“We’d love to see attendance grow and grow every year and we’d love to see how we can help with that,” he said.
"The Big Picture Con was a life-changing experience for many of the attendees who came from as far away as St. Louis and Tampa to be part of this event,” said Clayton film instructor Jonathan Harris, who assisted in arranging to bring the event to CSU, and also taught the editing workshop, one of the highest-rated sessions at the conference. “Face to face with industry professionals, they learned real-world and hands-on skills they will need to succeed in this industry. More importantly, they were inspired to create by the other media makers in attendance.” He said his students were energized by the conference and are writing new films and collaborating with each other as a result of their participation.
 |
| Linda Sayseng |
“I enjoyed the panels and workshops offered,” she said. “I believe the editing workshop was a great benefit.” She said she learned wonderful ideas about how to engage her audience through film and about networking. She also liked how the panelists were willing to engage in one-on-one networking with participants.
The next conference will take place Oct. 18-19, 2015, and will be the 10th anniversary of the BigPictureCon. Some very special programs and features are being planned – so stay tuned!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Special Screening of Horror Film PROSPER Coming This Halloween
DULUTH, Ga.--The horror film Prosper, created by BigPictureCon speaker Deronte Smith, will have another screening at the Studio Movie Grill Duluth Halloween night.
Prosper, the tale of a group of teens who must escape from the clutches of an immortal witch descended from one of the women hanged in the Salem trials, was written and directed by Smith and produced by Smith as well as William Bearyman and Renonda Anderson. The film's stars include Shayla Love, April Hollingsworth, Davien Harlis, Nicholas Wolfe, and Anastasia Pekhtereva.
The screening will take place October 31st at 10 p.m. The Studio Movie Grill Duluth is located at 3850 Venture Dr., Duluth, GA 30096. For tickets, contact the theater at 770-299-7100.
Prosper, the tale of a group of teens who must escape from the clutches of an immortal witch descended from one of the women hanged in the Salem trials, was written and directed by Smith and produced by Smith as well as William Bearyman and Renonda Anderson. The film's stars include Shayla Love, April Hollingsworth, Davien Harlis, Nicholas Wolfe, and Anastasia Pekhtereva.
The screening will take place October 31st at 10 p.m. The Studio Movie Grill Duluth is located at 3850 Venture Dr., Duluth, GA 30096. For tickets, contact the theater at 770-299-7100.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Short Film "Boy in the Box" Coming to Georgia BigPictureCon
Award-winning short Boy in the Box to be screened at the Georgia BigPictureCon.
ATLANTA, Ga. — The 2014 Georgia BigPictureCon Short Film Festival will feature is Boy in the Box, an award-winning short directed by local filmmaking team the Bontrager brothers - DeWayne and LaWayne.
DeWayne Bontrager said the film, which is about a boy put in a coma after being hit by a texting driver and his journey into recovery, was inspired by seeing an oversized grocery cart.
“I saw it one day at our client’s warehouse and said, “How can we use that in a movie?” he said. This led to the idea of a boy making a box and entering an imaginary world much like children do. The title is a play on the term a “Jack in the Box” — the protagonist is named Jack and when he pops out of the box, it resembles a Jack in the box.
Cast as Jack is Royce Mann, an award-winning child prodigy. The Bontrangers met the Mann family at a local meet and greet event and recognized Royce’s potential immediately.
“We knew instantly he was the boy we were waiting for to play the part of Jack,” he said. “Royce was 9 and going on 13 – we knew that this boy would understand direction.”
According to a Q&A on the popular movie website IMDb, the film was shot in the metro Atlanta area. Locations included Fired and Wired in the Virginia Highlands area, whose owners allowed them to shoot there until 11 p.m., as well as the Atlanta Aesthetic Surgery Center. The film won “Best Actor” and “Best Special Effects” in the 2012 48-Hour Film Project.
Bontrager thanks all the friends and family who helped make the film possible. The doctor who delivered LaWayne’s daughter found the Atlanta Aesthetic Surgery Center for them and helped build the sets. They borrowed the extra-large shopping cart from their client and the scenes inside the box were shot with the help of Atlanta Feed the Hungry and Ashwood Development. A traffic cone was borrowed from Costco.
Bontranger said Boy in a Box is an inspiring film, shedding light on the rapidly growing issue of texting while driving and overall phone distractions drivers allow in their vehicles. The film could be a PSA on the dangers of texting and driving.
“We hope that all viewers will question the next time they reach for their phone while driving to text someone,” he said.
ATLANTA, Ga. — The 2014 Georgia BigPictureCon Short Film Festival will feature is Boy in the Box, an award-winning short directed by local filmmaking team the Bontrager brothers - DeWayne and LaWayne.
DeWayne Bontrager said the film, which is about a boy put in a coma after being hit by a texting driver and his journey into recovery, was inspired by seeing an oversized grocery cart.
“I saw it one day at our client’s warehouse and said, “How can we use that in a movie?” he said. This led to the idea of a boy making a box and entering an imaginary world much like children do. The title is a play on the term a “Jack in the Box” — the protagonist is named Jack and when he pops out of the box, it resembles a Jack in the box.
Cast as Jack is Royce Mann, an award-winning child prodigy. The Bontrangers met the Mann family at a local meet and greet event and recognized Royce’s potential immediately.
“We knew instantly he was the boy we were waiting for to play the part of Jack,” he said. “Royce was 9 and going on 13 – we knew that this boy would understand direction.”
According to a Q&A on the popular movie website IMDb, the film was shot in the metro Atlanta area. Locations included Fired and Wired in the Virginia Highlands area, whose owners allowed them to shoot there until 11 p.m., as well as the Atlanta Aesthetic Surgery Center. The film won “Best Actor” and “Best Special Effects” in the 2012 48-Hour Film Project.
Bontrager thanks all the friends and family who helped make the film possible. The doctor who delivered LaWayne’s daughter found the Atlanta Aesthetic Surgery Center for them and helped build the sets. They borrowed the extra-large shopping cart from their client and the scenes inside the box were shot with the help of Atlanta Feed the Hungry and Ashwood Development. A traffic cone was borrowed from Costco.
Bontranger said Boy in a Box is an inspiring film, shedding light on the rapidly growing issue of texting while driving and overall phone distractions drivers allow in their vehicles. The film could be a PSA on the dangers of texting and driving.
“We hope that all viewers will question the next time they reach for their phone while driving to text someone,” he said.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Check Out the 2014 BigPictureCon's Short Films!
MORROW, Ga.--The final selections have been made for the 2014 Georgia BigPictureCon Short Film Festival. Several films come from Georgia, with a few from other parts of the U.S., while one comes all the way from France.
The film titles are listed below:
*I Need My Monster
*Dream Robber
*Boy in The Box
*Glass Half-Full
*Zugzwang
*Evolution
*Am I Awake?
*The Proposal
*Relativity Explained to Children
*Sonder
*Sophia
*Invictus
Boy in the Box and Invictus are Atlanta-made films, while The Proposal hails from Clayton State University itself. Relativity Explained to Children comes to us from France.
The festival is open to everyone. Tickets are only $5. For more information about the conference and the film festival, visit the official website.
The film titles are listed below:
*I Need My Monster
*Dream Robber
*Boy in The Box
*Glass Half-Full
*Zugzwang
*Evolution
*Am I Awake?
*The Proposal
*Relativity Explained to Children
*Sonder
*Sophia
*Invictus
Boy in the Box and Invictus are Atlanta-made films, while The Proposal hails from Clayton State University itself. Relativity Explained to Children comes to us from France.
The festival is open to everyone. Tickets are only $5. For more information about the conference and the film festival, visit the official website.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Half-Price Groupon for 2014 BigPictureCon!
It's the deal you've been waiting for! Take advantage of our Groupon offer for a great chance to attend the 2014 Georgia BigPictureCon for HALF PRICE!
Discount available for Student or Regular All-Access Passes, making admission as little as $80 for regular passes, and $55 for students. For the standard Groupon offer site, click here. For the mobile site, click here. The offer is of limited duration, so grab it today! For questions or additional conference information, visit BigPictureCon.com, or call 770-354-4027.
Discount available for Student or Regular All-Access Passes, making admission as little as $80 for regular passes, and $55 for students. For the standard Groupon offer site, click here. For the mobile site, click here. The offer is of limited duration, so grab it today! For questions or additional conference information, visit BigPictureCon.com, or call 770-354-4027.
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