DISCUSSION ON THE FILM COMMISSIONERS RETREAT (DISCUSSION ONLY)

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 22, 2016 MEETING - DRAFT 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place City Hall, Room 416 San Francisco, CA CALL TO ORDER President Villy Wang called the meeting to order at 2:00pm. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Villy Wang Jon Rubin Peter Bratt Mark Fishkin Melanie Blum Matt Stiker Jonathan Moscone Commissioners Excused: Denise Bradley-Tyson Marlene Sharon Saritzky APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 28, 2016 MEETING (ACTION ITEM) President Wang asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the January 28, 2016 meeting. Commissioner Blum made the motion and Commissioner Fishkin seconded the motion. President Wang asked for comments and none was given. The minutes were approved. PRESIDENT S REPORT (DISCUSSION ONLY) President Wang began by stating her excitement to begin her term as President. In honor of Black History Month, she stated the quote by George Washington Carver, Where there is no vision, there is no hope. That being said she is looking forward to this upcoming year of teamwork together. DISCUSSION ON THE FILM COMMISSIONERS RETREAT (DISCUSSION ONLY) President Wang continued her report by diving into the ideas for the Film Commissioners retreat proposed in the previous meeting. She believed that this a good place to start to talk about what the roles of the Commissioners. This retreat would ultimately be broken down into two separate ideas to create a strategic plan: 1) logistics of the Film Commissioners and 2) the need for additional Commissioners. 1 DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETT PLACE, ROOM 473, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA TEL: (415) FAX: (415)

2 She suggested putting together a poll to lock down the date. Executive Director Robbins mentioned using Doodle to put out a range of dates and times to figure out the Commissioners availability. President Wang mentioned that this type of retreat would require a facilitator to lead the event. She continued that the retreat length would be four to five hours. President Wang stated that it is important to see where the strengths and gaps within the Film Commission lie to help determine what type of additional Commissioners are needed. She read a statement regarding the parameters of the Film Commission which state that the Film Commission consists of 11 members, six of which must live in the local county. Commissioner Blum offered to donate the space and food for the retreat. Commissioner Moscone asked if anyone knew if other Commissions have nominating committees. President Wang stated she did not know. Commissioner Blum added that she didn t know Commissioners could nominate people. Executive Director Robbins noted to the Commissioners that forming committees must be treated as a meeting and therefore all notes and minutes must be posted. She effectively noted that discussing this at the retreat however would not require this. Commissioner Blum mentioned that it would be good to find out what the conflicts of interests are for prospective Commissioners. This is mainly because some are working individuals in the film community and do not know what type of work or activity constitutes as a conflict of interest. President Wang stated that her ideal date for this retreat would be within this quarter. Although April sounds aggressive it would be preferred. Additionally, May could be considered for the retreat and June would be the latest. Commissioner Rubin suggested that the Commission should provide the process of input to the agenda for this retreat. Commissioner Stiker added that the retreat seems to have two separate items to discuss. One item is the need to set goals for collective understanding. The second item is the possible nomination of new individuals for Film Commissioners. President Wang suggested that the agenda of the retreat be kept clear and simply focus on where the gaps are and where strength lie within the current Commissioners. Commissioner Fishkin mentioned that the facilitator hired to head this retreat will want to work on the agenda as well. He added that there needs to be consideration for compensating this facilitator for the time to prepare and execute this retreat. A short discussion began about how much facilitators cost and if anyone was clear on the rate of compensation for such work. Executive Director Robbins mentioned that the Film Office must first look into what funds they have to hire a facilitator for this retreat. Commissioner Moscone mentioned that this facilitator should be able to analyze the plan the Commissioners come up with but not necessarily critique it.

3 President Wang stated that part of the process is obtaining insight as to what is the Film Office s culture and how it works. Commissioner Stiker stated that the agenda for the retreat might come down to what they want to solve that day. The issue of the Film Office may require a business consultant type to separately analyze that situation. Commissioner Rubin asked if they could create a type of working document for their preferred agenda for the retreat and objective ideas. From there it can be easier to deduce what type of facilitator is needed. DISCUSSION ON THE FILM OFFICE (DISCUSSION ONLY) Commissioner Fishkin suggested narrowing the scope of this retreat to how the Commission can help the office run more efficiently. Commissioner Moscone stated that they must first look at what they are currently doing before they can figure out what the Film Office needs to do to run more efficiently. Commissioner Blum stated that since the Commissioners are not often in the trenches, they are not aware of the volume of permits for the office. Executive Director Robbins stated that she is concerned about the offices volume of work and that it is hard to balance it all. She mentioned the best steps now are to move the permitting process online. Commissioner Blum mentioned that many cities have this issue and have to consider what type of technology supports it. Commissioner Stiker mentioned he does not believe the Commissioners can do much directly to help with the online permitting process but suggested the Film Office tell them what they can help with that is within their means. Executive Director Robbins stated that the placing the permit online is only one of the issues as another timeconsuming issue with permits is contacting the various agencies involved in each location. Commissioner Fishkin noted that that is why it is important to clarify their own roles as Commissioners and how much they can support the Film Office. President Wang agreed that this is the intention of the Film Commissioners and that this is why it s important to clarify how they can best support the office to meet our goals. DISCUSSION ON THE FILM COMMISSIONS SUPPORT OF THE FILM OFFICE (DISCUSSION ONLY) President Wang mentioned that it is part of the Commission s responsibility to support the Film Office. Such support can be found by attending the mixers the Film Office has organized. The Film Office has set the following dates for their upcoming mixers this year: Thursday, March 10, 2016 (6:00pm 8:00pm at Utopia) Thursday, June 16 or June 23, 2016 Thursday, September 15, 2016 (TBC) December 2016 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT (DISCUSSION ONLY)

4 Executive Director Susannah Robbins began by introducing the Film Commission s new Film Coordinator, Portia Fontes. UPDATE ON PERMITS AND SHOOT DATES Executive Director Robbins gave a quick report on permit numbers since their previous meeting. The Film Commission had 51 permits with 96 shoot days since the previous meeting, with $18,250 in permit fees collected. Last year, during this same period, the Film Commission had 33 permits with 55 shoot days and $10,150 in permit fees. Permits are up 54% in permits; 74% in shoot days and 79% in permit fees since this time last year. Of the 96 days, 23 of them were Super Bowl related, shot by ESPN, Fox & NFL Films, to name a few. UPDATE ON UPCOMING PROJECTS Executive Director Robbins continued her report by talking about upcoming productions slated to shoot this year. The projects include: 1. Etruscan Smile, an indie film starring Roseanne Arquette & Brian Cox, has begun filming. The project has been able to shoot at several locations including the Legion of Honor, with help from Commissioner Blum and Mayor Lee. 2. Chance, a Fox 21/ Hulu Series, has confirmed setting up offices and stage space in the city. With the assistance of John Updike, the production has been able to rent out offices at 501 Cesar Chavez. Their anticipated shoots dates are from April 11 28, 2016 for the pilot and will return from June to November of this year to complete the season. The show will star Hugh Laurie, who plays a San Francisco-based forensic neuropsychiatrist who reluctantly gets sucked into a world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness. After an ill-advised decision regarding an alluring patient, Chance (Laurie) finds himself in the crosshairs of an abusive spouse, who also happens to be a ruthless police detective. In over his head, Chance s descends into the city s shadowy underbelly. 3. When We Rise, an 8-part ABC-TV mini-series with Gus Van Sant directing, will be filming April 4 8, 2016 and return in May or June of this year to film for four more days. 4. Sense8, at Netflix series, will return to the city for filming Season 2. The production will begin prep mid- March and beginning to shoot in May of this year. 5. Murder in the First, a TNT series, plans to film 5 days at the end of April of this year. 6. Cruel Intentions, a pilot based on the feature film, is looking to film two days in April of this year as well. The pilot will be a sequel to the feature film with its main character as the son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe s characters from the original movie. 7. Halt and Catch Fire, an AMC series, has expressed an interest in filming for two days, April 17-18, 2016 possibly. The show is a 1980s drama showcasing the early days of computer coding and the internet. 8. Fairyland, a feature film, is set to prep in July of this year. Executive Director Robbins also mentioned that she is in talks with an indie film interested in finding stage space and filming in the area. The production is looking to begin prep in July of this year and shoot August September. UPDATE ON UPCOMING MIXER Executive Director Robbins invited all Commissioners to the quarterly mixer on Thursday, March 10, 2016 from 6:00pm 8:00pm at Utopia Café in Chinatown (139 Waverly Place). Official invitations would be coming to the Commissioners soon.

5 Executive Director Robbins added that she sees this as a great opportunity to get to know our Chinatown neighbors better since there has been more filming there lately. Commissioner Blum commended Executive Director Robbins on her work to secure the Legion of Honor for Etruscan Smile. She also added that Fiona Ma from the California State Film Commission should be invited to the mixer. Commission Blum asked if permit fees had increased for the last three years. Executive Director Robbins confirmed that she can look into it. President Wang asked if it is possible to get a five-year breakdown to see detailed revenue. Executive Director Robbins stated that it is possible to review these numbers but certain details, such as local hires and local spend, is only available for those few productions that apply for the rebate. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT (DISCUSSION ONLY) Mr. Frank Simone, Business Representative for SAG/AFTRA and the DGA, mentioned that he had stopped by the Legion of Honor when Etruscan Smile was filming there. The shoot seemed to be going excellent and he has been very pleased with the production s employment of members. They are currently employing four DGA members and last week employed 197 SAG members. ADJOURNMENT (ACTION ITEM) President Wang asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting and the meeting adjourned at 2:55 pm.