Fanatik about 48

This past weekend Fanatik Productions was fortunate enough to put a team together to compete in the 48-hour film festival. For those of you who do not know the 48-hour film festival is a competition that spans several cities world wide for the chance to be shown at the Cannes film festival. The team assembled has 48 hours to make a film based on the elements provided by the producers of the individual cities. The competition is fierce but there is also a chance to network and a sense of support for local and visiting artist. Without giving too much away about the film we did this year, I would like to tell you just a few of the funny things that happened to us while making this it, however I won’t. What I will do is post a documentary of the production of our film “Intrepid”. However if you just can’t wait to see how it turned out or some of the other great films that were made this past weekend than please log on to http://2012atlanta48hfp.eventbrite.com/ to purchase your screening tickets if you will be in the Atlanta area. Tickets are just $10 online and 12.50 at the door. The screening location is The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306 so if you are going to be in the area please check out the festival and show us and the other artist some support. In the mean time show us some support on our web series the builder which started out as a 48 hour film festival short, If you have not seen it you can view it at our kickstarter campaign I have posted the link below http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fanatikproductions/the-builder-web-series-first-season

New Web Series The Builder

Many people all over the world want to make films and be creative. South Carolina is no different in that respect. However we are very different in many other facets, the least of which being an outlet to show creative work in. I have had the pleasure to work with many people from all over the country, and by far I have found the people of South Carolina to be just as well informed and adept at there jobs as any other group of citizens from any other location. However there is one issue that continuously keeps South Carolinian's from joining the ranks of Georgia and North Carolina. That is a lack of support for their own natives. I have sat back and watched others put in work and bring great opportunities to the table for all to enjoy the fruit only to have that fruit spoil on the table waiting for people to get involved. I am hopeful that we will be able to break this trend with this project. The Builder was inspired during a 48 hour film festival in Atlanta. It is about a scientist who has the ability to bring peoples loved ones back, however the procedure does not always work properly then the builder is forced to reclaim the rebuilt individual, to the dismay of the loved ones of the newly resuscitated person. Check out the pilot and leave your comments. We need everyone's support to build something epic here in South Carolina. The Executive Producers, Director, and Editor of this series all are graduates of the University of South Carolina. Two of the members involved have also earned Master's Degree in entertainment business form Full Sail University. Let's prove to everyone we have what it takes and are capable of getting be hind our own people. click on the link below and support the kickstarter campaign. Your help is greatly appreciated. There are some great incentives being offered to supporters, so take a moment and tell a friend

Killer support for a love story....killer?

First I want to thank all of the people that have been supporting this blog and Fanatik Productions. We appreciate all of you and we hope that you continue to travel with us as we enter in to a new phase of development.
We are currently in pre-production for our short film Killer Love Story. It is a dark comedy about relationships and the secrets we keep from each other to keep up the veil of happiness. The main character Regina is put in an awkward situation when she gets an unexpected proposal from her boyfriend, one that she is not very happy with to say the least.
The script was written by Thaddeus W. Jones Jr, and Ashley N. Johnson. Thaddeus will Serve as the Director of the film project. While Ashley will serve as the film’s Producer. Brandon Glover a recent graduate of Full Sail University, will serve as the Director of Photography. All three have been involved with numerous film productions as well as film competitions. Thaddeus and Brandon are both graduates of the University of South Carolina, and are Masters’ degree recipients from Full Sail University. Ashley is a graduating senior at the University of South Carolina. Here are some examples of their work.

Sopa: I thought that was a type of chair?

So in case you have been living under a rock and are just hearing about SOPA let me help bring you up to speed. SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act; the proposed bill would hold websites responsible for the actions of their users. Effectively immobilizing the overseas sites that provide pirated material. The problem is that the bill is written in such a way that the terms are very broad and border on censorship. Many of the proponents of this act are the companies with the most to gain by eliminating piracy anyway they can, this includes large companies such as Paramount, and Time Warner. These companies have definitely been affected by the loss of revenue from piracy. However does that mean that we should be told where we can go and what we can see on the internet? We all want to stop the piracy of copyrighted materials, however is this the way we should go about it.
Do you want to live in a country that restricts what you can see and where you can go on the internet. Opponents of this act claim that this is the very nature of this act, and that even though it may not intended to censor the American public in actuality that is exactly what it would do. Tech companies such as Google, and social sites such as Facebook are opposing the act on that basis. In my opinion, we must find a way to limit the piracy without jeopardizing the companies in the US, which cannot control the actions of their users. This is similar to prosecuting a car dealer if the owner of the car decides to go out and use the car in the commission of a crime. Are we going to hold all carmakers and dealers responsible? No, what we would do is write a law that would be precise in action, and that is what needs to happen here. I welcome all opinions on the matter the only way we can change things is to start a dialogue.


References
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/technology/sopa_explained/index.htm

Real Time with Bill Maher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7bIDBD6eus

All around SC.

There is a movement in South Carolina that is bringing back real Hip-Hop. This is more evident with the release of a video that is not filled with flash and half naked video girls. The video All around da town by Fat Rat da Czar, and Directed by SMD is not one of the videos that glorifies violence or the mistreatment of women, it is a poetic narrative expanding on experiences from real situations that many face while trying to take care of a family. Now, I am not at all saying that there is not a time and place for that sort of thing. Everyone has moments that need to be scored by that type of music, however everyday life is not nor will it ever be an after dark video. So for me, and many others that think like me, this is a refreshing escape back to what Hip-Hop is the embodiment of, growing, changing and building up our own communities. It is not hard to see where we are as opposed to where we came from. Musically, artists want to push the envelope and be the next to say or do the most outlandish or controversial thing. It is just good business to create press opportunities and keep your name in rotation. Somewhere along the way we forgot what it was that we were really doing. Our music is the manifestation of the communities we live and grew up in, or at least it was. The music business over the last decade has been all about the business of making money and the heart and soul that once was the catalyst was replaced by a need for fame and notoriety. Maybe the day of an artist really feeling something when a song is written is gone, maybe not. One thing is sure as long as there are artist out there willing to share their experiences Hip-hop still has a fighting chance to make a difference.


Refrences
http://blogcritics.org/music/article/explaining-the-fall-of-hip-hop/
http://allhiphop.com/2009/08/24/lawyer-calls-for-hip-hop-%C2%93morality-clause-in-contracts/