TAMPA BAY FILM
THE VOICE OF TAMPA INDIE FILM
NEWS 05/04/12 - Big changes coming to Tampa Bay Film!
We are working on a brand new Tampa Bay Film site now. It will be a lot different than what we have had until now. Among the features of the new site will be an all-new online film festival and an independent film blog built into the site! Our network will be discontinued; please ignore earlier announcements about expansion in this area. As of today, we have disabled most links to external web sites, and have disabled our right hand intersite navigation menu. The new site will be entirely new, and coded from scratch, with all new content, so please do not bookmark any of our site sections, as those sections will not exist in the new site. We are starting over with this web site. Stay tuned.
NEWS 04/03/12 - Tampa Film Revolution, the new online publication of Tampa Bay Film, to launch on April 4, 2012.
We are hard at work on our latest site, an online publication called Tampa Film Revolution, which will launch on Wednesday, April 4, 2012. This new site, which will be formatted much like leading Tampa pop culture site Frontier Pop, sharing an updated Pioneer Class site format, will be the sister sites of Frontier Pop and Advanced Model (which has yet to launch). Unlike Frontier Pop and Advanced Model, however, both of which are updated with monthly issues, Tampa Film Revolution will be updated as needed, and will be formatted more like a super blog. This means that most of the new blog posts which would go to the Tampa Film Blog will be going to Tampa Film Revolution this year. We will resume heavy updates on the Tampa Film Blog once it gets to where it needs to be in the search engines, as the Tampa Film Blog will continue to be the official blog of Tampa Bay Film (the existing 600+ pages of blog post on the Tampa Film Blog will be heavily referenced from an array of sites to get it there, too, but it will take time). Tampa Film Revolution will be more like a hybrid of a blog and an online magazine.
NEWS 03/23/12 - Tampa Indie Film War Continues; Flaws In Tampa Indie Film Need To Be Addressed.
Note: The use of the term “war” in this post is not meant to be a threat, nor is it indicative of any unethical, unprofessional, or illegal activity. We believe in what we are doing, and although we have a cause, a cause which will benefit all indie filmmakers and independent filmmaking in the Tampa Bay market, as well as the indie film industry as a whole, we do respect the rights of others who have earned our respect. The term “war” demonstrates our fight for change in Tampa indie film, and to bring standards to the Tampa independent film scene. Thank you for your attention.
Tampa Bay Film and
our allies have been trying to taper down our activities in a Tampa indie
film war which has been ongoing since January 2008, especially because,
as we have been winning, it’s a lot like continuing to hammer smoldering
ruins, but this war must continue. We’ve been relaxing our efforts
while looking around to assess the damage that we have done to unethical
parts of the market, as well as to plan our next move. The goal was never
to run the pretenders in the film scene out of business and to make them
third-rate powers, although that has already been accomplished by default,
as these insecure amateurs cannot take criticism, but to continue our
criticism of shady politics and self-serving agendas still present in
the Tampa Bay independent film scene so that they can eventually be addressed.
Winding down our “unpopular” activities was premature, and
this will now be reversed and expanded upon. We have to do this to pave
the way for the future. The Tampa Bay market must be tenderized and conditioned
for what it coming.
A more intense phase of the war is coming.
Our voice is going to become a scream, and we are going to scream for
years to come. We will become impossible to ignore.
Tampa Bay Film, our sites, and our allies, will be in a renewed, all-out
war to prepare for change in Tampa indie film by the summer of 2012, and
this effort is expected to continue until mid 2014, or later, if needed.
It will be long-term, at an intensity much higher than anything seen before,
and it will delay our public events and film festivals (for obvious reasons,
one of them being that the controversy that we will stir up in the market
would undermine, and conflict with, the marketing of a film festival or
event. We want the fallout of our efforts to subside before we roll out
these events, and this will take years. With the only people right now
who are criticizing us about the length of time that we are taking with
these projects being people who we do not want to get involved with to
begin with, this is not a problem). It is among our goals to see that,
when our film festivals and events do finally happen, that some of the
current competition is not even around by then (although they still could
not compete with us even now). We are going to make many of the
film festivals, film schools, and indie film workshops look so overpriced,
pretentious, outdated, and irrelevant that their struggle to stay in business
will be too much for many of them to handle, as the market will be become
very bitter to them. Many will be unable to adapt to the new conditions
that we impose upon the market, and will fail to stay in business. The
market will be conditioned for what we will bring to it.
Right now, as of Spring, 2012, we have seen some disturbing trends in
Tampa Bay independent film. Without going into too much detail, here,
as we will save that for a new Tampa Film Blog post addressing
these trends, we will say that, in our opinion, that independent
filmmaking and the support for independent filmmaking in the Tampa Bay
area is a mere shadow of what is once was, if you could say that the efforts
of Tampa filmmakers with limited talent, and half-baked amateur film festivals,
really did much to support or advance anything, that is, if they were
sincere to begin with. There is no independent film scene in the Tampa
Bay area worth writing about, let alone supporting. By default, too, this
means that there is no Tampa indie film community. On
the flip side, there is no longer an indie film clique here, too, which
is good in the long run, but in the short term there is a power vacuum
which has been filled with large film festivals which, in our opinion,
have absolutely no intention of supporting indie film in Tampa Bay.
Seriously, think about it. What have the Tampa film festivals
done for independent film in Tampa Bay, lately (if ever)? Anyone
made any good independent films after buying into one of the filmmaking
workshops that some of them sell, and, if so (or even if you did not,
but you made a good film), anyone get a distribution deal, or at least,
worthwhile exposure for their film by showing them at one of these festivals
(that is, if you can get accepted at all)? Don’t look at us, though...
We are not a filmmaker who will make a deal with the devil and
sell-out his filmmaking brothers while hypocritically publically proclaiming
support for them, or some insecure film blogger who mindless
promotes EVERYONE and kisses butt just to be accepted.
With the absolute joke that independent filmmaking has been in
the Tampa Bay area in the past ten years (100 Tears,
Experiment 7, 99, Mondo Socko, A Grave
Matter, Web Of Darkness, Bloody Mary, anyone?),
we really cannot blame the big film festivals in the Tampa Bay area for
not supporting a bunch of amateur, poor efforts. We wouldn’t. It’s
just that, in our opinion, that these same Tampa film festivals would
not support independent film in the Tampa Bay area even if the films were
good; film festivals such as the Gasparilla International
Film Festival (we are getting really sick and tired of seeing
all of these creatively-bankrupt events riding the coat-tails of the Gasparilla
name, which tarnishes it. What do pirates have to do with films, music,
and art? Well, unless some peer to peer networks or overseas download
web sites sponsor them, we suppose........ ), or GIFF
(The acronym is much more original, IMO!), The Sunscreen Film
Festival (the best of the large film festivals, in our opinion,
with an original brand and a cool logo, too; we just have a few issues
with them selling expensive filmmaking workshops and in the way that the
events are organized) were not set up to support indie filmmaking in Tampa
Bay, but rather either attract outside movie productions to use Tampa
Bay as a location for the next large-budget movie, and/or to sell filmmaking
classes and workshops to aspiring filmmakers (with NO proof that the classes
and workshops have actually led to any “filmmakers” making
any successful independent film worth watching. These classes and workshops,
in our opinion, are just set up to make money, and to teach their students
the Hollywood way of making films, which is not practical or cost-effective
for this market. With most aspiring filmmakers unable to start any film
doing it that Hollywood way, with the cost of admission far too high,
it kills any chance of innovation in Tampa indie film, as well as keeps
most out of the game when they could participate. Could this be why there
are no success stories in the Tampa Bay market from their “graduate”
students? Don’t worry, though, as we are going to do something about
this. Someone has to! This will prove to be the key to the future of Tampa
indie film!).
Again, it is our opinion that these large Tampa Film Festivals do absolutely
nothing to support independent filmmaking in the Tampa Bay market (and
token P.R. gestures such as showing poorly-made Tampa Bay independent
films do NOT count as support; Do not confuse them humoring filmmakers
as actual support), as they are set up to either market the Tampa
Bay market to outside film production companies which would compete with
local filmmaking efforts (filmmaking efforts by Tampa filmmakers,
that is) or/ and to sell over-priced filmmaking classes and workshops
to aspiring filmmakers with no realistic benefit to the filmmaking students.
This means that very little is being done to actually support Tampa independent
film, and this is a perfect opportunity for Tampa Bay Film
to work on market leadership in a neglected market. We believe
in independent filmmaking in Tampa Bay, and believe that, with a new generations
of indie filmmakers making innovative and creative independent films in
Tampa Bay, that Tampa indie film can be a leader in worldwide independent
filmmaking.
Sadly, with no innovative, great indie films being made here at the moment
(at least not enough to support a network of film festivals which are
optimized to support Tampa indie film), Tampa Bay Film will be prolonging
our initial plans with the following actions.
1. Tampa
Bay Film site updates and expansion of site network
Currently, there are 8 main Tampa Bay Film sites, with just over half
of those sites barely updated, and running with content cannibalized from
the original Tampa Bay Film site before it split up into several sites.
We have also made rookie mistakes in the past by being sloppy in our content
update organization in the Tampa Bay Film sites that we have updated.
This has hurt our SEO efforts. This WILL change. We will fix the sites,
and will forge on with everything that we are capable of.
Recent successes with sites such as Frontier Pop and Tampa Bay Modeling,
which dominate search results for their target markets, as well as advances
made with the development of the network of Mosaic Class marketing and
support sites for Aurora PhotoArts, have helped us optimize our SEO strategy.
The current Tampa Bay Film sites will be regularly updated and expanded.
We will also be launching at least 8 more Tampa Bay Film sites in 2012,
bringing the total number of sites in our network to 16, which is double
what it is, now. We are going to work very hard, and be very aggressive,
about achieving and maintaining search engine, and market, superiority.
We should achieve this by the end of 2012, but do not have to be there
until 2014. 2014? Well, that time frame is a mix of good news/ bad news.
2. Film
festivals delayed until they are actually needed
With Tampa Bay Film launching an all-out, prolonged assault on the market,
and with very few worthwhile independent films being made in the Tampa
Bay market, our film festivals are going to be delayed until we are good
and ready to deploy them. We will also wait for the production of a lot
of Tampa Bay independent films by Tampa filmmakers, in a wide variety
of genres, are being produced to support our film festivals. While the
deployment schedule, relative to the launch of other events in the network,
is the same (i.e. The Reverence Film Festival leading into the Tampa Film
Showcase, leading into another Reverence Film Festival a year after the
first, then the launch of the Frontier Film Festival a year after the
Tampa Film Showcase launches, and then the launch of the first Tampa Film
Conference a few months after the debut of the Frontier Film Festival),
it is going to be, literally, YEARS before we produce ANY public film
festival event. We will start our film festivals when we are ready
to, and when the Tampa indie film market is at the level where it can
support the festivals, as the emphasis of those film festivals, unlike
current large Tampa film festivals, is on Tampa Bay independent filmmaking.
When? Don’t expect the first Reverence film festival until 2015,
at the earliest, and if that holds, the debut of the Tampa Film Showcase
would be January 2016.
Everyone can wait, because we will. This will give the Tampa Bay market
time for the economy to improve, for a new generation of Tampa
filmmakers to start making innovative indie films worth supporting,
and for the dust to settle from a very intense war in the Tampa indie
film market which will probably last until 2014.
That doesn’t mean that we will not be doing our underground film
festivals. We will be doing them starting this year, and that includes
the Halloween Drive-In, which has been delayed for several years, now.
Also, this means that we can concentrate on the Tampa Bay
Film Online Film Festival, which has been very successful,
despite the lack of updates in 2011 (the review of that year should prove
to be interesting, at least), and it is the dominant film festival
in the Tampa Bay market, with more films and “attendance”
than all of the film festivals in Tampa Bay, as well as Florida, combined.
It is up and running 24/7, by the way, and has been for years now, with
indie films constantly being watched any given hour, with more than one
person watching, and more than one film playing, at the same time. There
is no better marketing or promotion platform for independent film in Tampa
Bay! This means, of course, that our first films will now debut on the
online film festival and not at one of our film festival events.
3. The
War for Tampa indie film
We are going to hit this market hard over a long period of time. We will
be reviewing indie films, film festivals, film workshops, film schools,
filmmakers, and everything else going on. We will be criticizing them,
too, and if they are not up to snuff, we will be putting them in their
place.
The Tampa indie film war started between Tampa Bay Film and the Tampa
indie film clique in January 2008. We defeated them, and won, by 2010,
especially since the insecure players in the Tampa indie film market could
not handle criticism. The war has been ongoing since, although our targets
have been less organized, and the action less intense (we’ve seen
some of the old players still try to hang in there, but really, when you
try to do the same thing over and over again, is anything going to improve?
You've failed, and you continue to fail... Deal with it, and give it up!
You guys will continue to be nobody's!). This changes this year, as we
will be going after the large film festivals, the film schools, indie
film workshops, pretender filmmakers, and the hypocrisy in the Tampa Bay
market. The Tampa Bay Film sites will be expanded, and our voice, the
voice of Tampa indie film, will be heard.
This is war, and a war for change (please note that our term for war does
not mean, or represent, in any way, a threat to anyone, nor does it mean
that we will be doing anything illegal or unethical. We will not slander,
libel, or harass, anyone. This said, anyone putting themselves
out there and promoting anything to do with independent film is fair game
for criticism, if warranted. We will name them, too). For the
most part, expect a TON of independent film and film festival reviews
(these will be published on TampaFilmReview.Com, a Tampa
Bay Film site in our network). We will also be reviewing every film playing
in our online film festival on Tampa Film Review. Also,
expect a lot of articles about Tampa indie film to be published on Tampa
Bay Film and our relevant Tampa Bay Film sites. We will also be linking,
a lot, to relevant content on the Tampa Film Blog from
all of the Tampa Bay Film sites, as well as our other sites, such as Frontier
Pop. We have over 70 affiliated sites in all, now, so this should be very
effective.
The next few issues of Frontier Pop, starting with the April 2012 issue,
will be dedicated to independent film, and will heavily reference to,
and link to, content, both old and new, on the Tampa Bay Film sites.
It is going to be a long spring and summer for all of the indie film and
industry players in the Tampa Bay market.
4. Tampa
indie filmmaking revolution to show new filmmakers the way. Filmmaking
and workshops to spearhead the revolution.
While Tampa Bay Film and our allies soften up the Tampa Bay market, our
affiliated independent filmmaking projects and workshops will not only
show the upcoming new generation of Tampa indie filmmakers the way, but
our workshops, done through our new Tampa Workshops,
TampaWorkshops.Com web site, will undermine more expensive workshops and
film schools in the Tampa Bay area. Our workshops will have plenty of
actual independent film work referenced, and it will be far less expensive
(we are thinking less than $50.00 for a workshop, which is a LOT less
than what Tampa Workshops will be selling its photography workshops for,
which will be $250.00 and up. The market for filmmakers is smaller, and
we really want to help as many filmmakers get started as possible while
purposely undermining those who are out to make money at the expense of
aspiring filmmakers with film schools and less relevant indie film workshops.
Additionally, to maximize the support of new filmmakers in Tampa Bay,
we will also have free tutorials and coverage on Tampa Bay Film, so aspiring
filmmakers do not have to actually invest in a workshop if they do not
want to. The information will be free on the web site, but if they wish
to put that information to practice, and gain experience, then they can
take it to the next level and invest in an indie filmmaking workshop),
and far more relevant, to Tampa filmmakers than what the other guys are
doing. Although we will make money producing these workshops,
it’s not about making money for us. We do this because we believe
in it! It is all about expanding and advancing independent filmmaking
in the Tampa Bay market. Not only will our workshops be an unbeatable
value for aspiring indie filmmakers, but they will be the seeds of revolution
in independent filmmaking, as well as the beginning of the first REAL
Tampa indie film community.
Affiliated independent film production companies Dream Nine Studios and
another indie film label operated under Dream Nine Studios will begin
producing our revolutionary, and even experimental, independent films
this fall, as we now have most of the resources and equipment that we
need to make these films (as of this month, the financial deadlock which
has plagued us since late 2006 has ended! We will now move forward). Some
of those films will debut on our online film festival, as well as at our
underground film festivals, as our public film festivals have been delayed.
Tampa Workshops will begin offering independent filmmaking workshops
in the Tampa Bay area in 2013, once we have some films to use as references.
Also, Tampa Bay Film will be publishing extensive coverage in the making
of these films, as well as free online tutorials for filmmakers, on the
main Tampa Bay Film site.
After all, it’s not really about the money for us. The money is
only the benefit of what we will be doing, and not the actual goal. The
goal is to inspire filmmakers to make groundbreaking, innovative films
in the Tampa Bay market, to establish a Tampa Bay independent film scene
worthy of respect and support, and to work towards the first Tampa independent
film community. We believe in what we are doing, and we are sincere about
supporting talented filmmaking in the Tampa Bay film scene. We fight for
the filmmakers, and for the advancement of Tampa independent film! Also,
by helping others, we can all work together to improve the integrity of
the Tampa indie film market, and we all benefit!
The following are upgrades that are scheduled for this spring, and which will begin in April, 2012.
Tampa Bay Film
Spring 2012 Upgrade
*** Synch all networked sites in design for intersite navigation continuity.
Add support content for each site. Link to relevant published content
on other Tampa Bay Film sites, especially the Tampa Film Blog, from top
performing Tampa Bay Film sites and ally sites, such as Frontier Pop ***
Super Raptor Raptor Class sites exclusively used by Tampa Bay Film
Tampa Bay Film main site (TampaBayFilm.Com)
LEFT MENU - Selected site section navigation
Updates
Film Sites (All Tampa Bay Film sites referenced in directory database)
Risks
Features
Jobs
Services
Resources
Contact
RIGHT MENU - Featured
Tampa Bay Film Intersite/ meta site navigation
Keep in mind that there are now more than 8 Tampa Bay Film sites, and
the right-side menu only links to the main eight. There will be as many
as 16 Tampa Bay Film sites by 2013. All of the sites will be linked to
from text links at the bottom of each page of the site, as well as the
Tampa Bay Film sites and the Resources sections.
Tampa Bay Film (TampaBayFilm.Com)
Tampa Film Blog (TampaFilmBlog.Com)
Watch Films (Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival, TampaOnlineFilmFestival.Com)
Film Festival (Tampa Film Showcase, TampaFilmShowcase.Com)
Film Festivals (TampaFilmFestivals.Com)
Reviews (TampaFilmReview.Com)
Conference (TampaFilmConference.Com)
Community (TampaFilmCommunity.Com)
Annex Tampa Bay Film sites
CoffeehouseFilmReview.Com
TampaFilmSlam.Com (About to launch)
(Six more are in development)
NEWS 02/04/12
- It’s a new year for Tampa Bay Film, and a lot
of projects are in the works, but work on the Tampa Bay Film sites will
be slow for the first half of the year, as we are working on other projects
which are part of the foundation for what we will be doing in independent
film in the Tampa Bay market.
Please see the latest on the Tampa Film Blog
for more.
In the summer of 2012, we will be launching a brand new Tampa Bay Film
site which will take point for online marketing and SEO of the Tampa Bay
Film sites. At first, the new site will stand on its own, using the latest
advancements in SEO developed by Frontier Pop and other web projects,
and content added to that site will be properly organized as it is added
for maximum performance (the new site will be the Frontier Pop of Tampa
Bay Film, which is encouraging because Frontier Pop completely destroyed
a rival pop culture site, especially in search engine results). Once dominant,
content will resume being added to the Tampa Bay Film sites, and each
addition will be organized properly and referenced on the new marketing
site. Posts on the Tampa Film Blog, which are already organized, will
be constantly referenced from all relevant content updates on the Tampa
Bay Film marketing site and the sites in the Tampa Bay Film network so
that the search engines can properly index them. The Tampa Bay Film Online
Film Festival, which is doing extremely well in SEO performance, will
also be used to build traffic to the other Tampa Bay Film sites.
Expect a LOT of film reviews for not only independent films in the Tampa
Bay area, but indie films done throughout the world. We will be writing
reviews for every film on the online film festival, too, and all of those
reviews will be published on the Tampa Film Review Tampa Bay Film site,
which will also reference blog posts on the Tampa Film Blog. Once all
of that content on the Tampa Film Blog is indexed in the search engines,
Tampa Bay Film will impossible to ignore by anyone looking for information
on independent film and filmmaking, especially in the Tampa Bay market.
We are NOT going away.
With all of this steady, and relevant, work, the Tampa Bay Film sites
will realize their SEO performance goals by 2014 (if you need proof that
this will work, you only have to look at what we have done with our sister
sites), which at that point will be redundant because Tampa Bay Film,
and all of its interconnected sites, will be aggressively marketed and
promoted at our film festivals, events, and other events throughout the
Tampa Bay area. We will not be ignored, and everyone will learn the_truth.
We are still annoyed by all of the self-proclaimed indie filmmakers in
the Tampa Bay area who are still at their old schemes, as well as so-called
film festivals trying to sell workshops and film school classes, teaching
tired and hard-to-achieve ways of doing independent films that fail to
bring indie film in Tampa Bay to the level that it needs to be at to be
relevant in the independent film industry, let alone even think about
assuming any kind of leadership role. So-called Tampa filmmakers have
FAILED to put independent film in Tampa Bay on the map, and that is why
so many others, including large Tampa film festivals, disrespect Tampa
indie filmmaking and use what few resources that we have here to attract
others here. This will not work, and history has proven that.
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over
again and expect a different result. In our opinion, those so-called filmmakers
and film festivals who try to sell workshops and classes are only out
to make money at the expense of others. It is pointless and useless, Joe,
just like you are. Those who have sold out Tampa indie film for their
own petty and self-serving reasons will be known by what they have done,
and they will pay with their careers. They are not your friend, despite
what they claim, and we are not their friend; they are what they do, and
we do not support those who sell out Tampa filmmaking and independent
filmmakers. Neither should you.
For those of you out there who want to make a career out of taking advantage
of the dreams of aspiring filmmakers by selling schools, workshops, classes,
and courses, well, we are going to fix that. Through Tampa
Workshops, we will be offering low cost, relevant workshops
for aspiring filmmakers which will get the job done, and actually HELP
filmmakers. You will not be able to compete, and we will be an effective,
unbeatable value. How will this work? Look around, and you will see a
lot which will indicate how the future of Tampa indie film will work.
We are already well into development, and the solutions are being worked
out in other industries right now. It is a prelude for what is going to
come in Tampa indie film, which all roads will lead into. The era of reckoning
will come for indie filmmaking in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay Film, C. A. Passinault,
and our allies will drive the pretenders from the Tampa Bay indie film
industry, and cast them out into the gutter, where they, and their work,
belong.
Right now, C. A. Passinault is working on his photography and modeling
businesses. These businesses will support our indie film projects and
support projects, and it is a large part of the support infrastructure
that Tampa Bay Film needs. Passinault already has most of his filmmaking
gear (ironically, acquired for some other projects late in 2011), and
once his scripts for his first short films are done, he will make those
independent films later in 2012. By 2013, the fruits of those first films
will be able to be seen, and it will become obvious that they future of
independent film begins here. By 2015, Tampa Bay Film will be the dominant
force in Tampa indie film, as it should be. After all, we are genuine,
and we are working hard to support both real, talented filmmakers, and
the future of Tampa indie film.
NEWS 08/30/11
- We know that it sounds like a broken record of sorts,
and we’ve even lost count on how many times that we’ve been
pushing back the launch of our film festivals and indie film events, but
keep in mind that all of these schedules are dependent upon each other,
as all of the events are interconnected. We also want the resources in
place to do everything right so that we can deliver consistent quality
and effective support for Tampa filmmakers. It will be worth the wait,
we can assure you all.
Of course, the near-collapse of the economy in late 2008, and the continued
recession, continue to limit what we’ve been able to do, and have
added to our delays. This will change, as our resources will soon be in
place, and will enable our events to thrive even in a recession. These
events WILL eventually happen. Once the first film festival event debuts,
it will set apart a chain of events and dates that are pretty solid; one
reason that we keep pushing everything back is that we need to have the
resources to not only pull off one film festival series, but all of them
so that the schedule of interconnectivity and lead-ins is not disrupted.
This is a lot more than just launching one event series, and it is a bit
more complicated. It’s required, though, and frankly, we would not
want it any other way. This is what Tampa filmmakers and indie filmmaking
in Tampa Bay needs, and it is an example of the resolve that we have toward
supporting independent filmmaking in Tampa Bay!
The primary linchpin of this whole parade getting underway is the production
of the indie films of C. A. Passinault, which will be produced under his
Dream Nine Studios production company, as well as his other indie film
companies. Our film festivals, especially the Reverence Film Festival
and the Tampa Film Showcase monthly film festival and professional networking
event series, need Passinault films to show. Just about all of the initial
Passinault independent films produced the first three years of his “official”
filmmaking career (Passinault has worked on indie films since 1993, so
he is actually a filmmaker with a lot of experience, which will soon be
obvious) will be short films and experimental films, and these are important
to not only build a portfolio of indie films to obtain the investors and
the high-end equipment which will be needed for ambitious feature film
projects, but Passinault intends to inspire a new generation of Tampa
filmmakers by producing good, even revolutionary, independent films utilizing
basic off-the-shelf equipment at very low cost. This will demonstrate
value in indie filmmaking, and will open the door for a new generation
of filmmakers in the Tampa Bay market to make some of the most innovative
independent films in history. These filmmakers will put Tampa indie film
on the map!
Once Passinault begins making his films, the way will be paved for the
beginning of our film festivals and indie film events. Passinault has
indicated recently that he may be able to start production of his first
films in early 2012, using solid HD cameras like the Canon HF series and
off-the-shelf, often re purposed, gear. ALL of these filmmaking efforts
will be heavily documented on Tampa Bay Film and our sites so that other
filmmakers can also make their films using the same low-cost, but effective,
production techniques. Tampa Bay Film encourages aspiring indie filmmakers
to become their own self-contained film school, and to teach themselves
filmmaking while being inspired, and educated, by the efforts of other
indie filmmakers in the Tampa Bay area, as well as elsewhere. Those efforts
will not be without professional guidance, either, as Tampa Bay Film will
be the only film school that you will ever need, and we are free. While
we will not be making any guarantees, nor will we assume any potential
liability for Tampa filmmakers, we intend to document everything that
we do as filmmakers, and make our tools available here for our use, while
allowing other filmmakers to also utilize what works for us for their
projects. That’s a win/ win for everyone, unless you are looking
to exploit Tampa filmmakers, or are trying to run a film school or any
film festival which does not have the best interests of Tampa indie film
in mind.
Currently, based upon the production schedule of C. A. Passinault, we
now have a tentative schedule in place for our film festivals and events.
Keep in mind that these dates are not official, and that they can change
at any time, and without warning (although the relative schedule is set).
They are currently looking good, though.
1.
Tampa
Bay Film Online Film Festival
This launched in January 2007, and it is still going strong. After a relaunch
in 2008 as a stand-alone web site, the Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival
is currently the most effective film festival in Florida, with more “attendance”
and higher viewings of its indie films in its playlist than all Florida
film festivals combined! Open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and
accessible anywhere that there is an Internet connection, there are lots
of people watching films on our online film festival at this very moment,
from all over the world!
No other online film festival in Tampa Bay, or in Florida, even comes
close, although a few have been spotted trying to compete, and some have
appropriated our ideas, which we see as an acknowledgment that we’re
the best.
The Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival has a strong future ahead, with
incredible upgrades planned. It will be interconnected with, and will
tie into, all of out film festival and indie film events, too.
2.
Underground
Film Festivals
2012, assorted schedules as needed.
The first Tampa Bay Film underground film festivals, which are tiny, usually
invitation-only film festivals, are scheduled to debut in 2012. They will
be covered here on Tampa Bay Film like any other film festival event.
Underground film festivals include our now-tentatively branded Tampa Bay
Film Review and the Halloween Drive-In series, as well as others.
3.
Reverence Film Festival
Fall 2015, and every year thereafter.
A hybrid film festival utilizing theme event technologies, with an exploitation
and horror film emphasis (In the spirit of Saints and Sinners film festivals,
the Halloween Horror Picture Show film festivals, the Horror and Hotties
film festival, and the Ladies of the Night film festival), this will be
our first film festival event. The Reverence Film Festival will be the
best horror and exploitation film festival ever done in the Tampa Bay
market, and it will set, and maintain, the standard. It will also be one
of the most innovative, and unique, film festivals ever done, with some
really fun features not found anywhere else.
One reason that some Passinault films need to be done before all of this
can begin is that the Reverence short indie film, by Passinault, will
become a regular feature of this film festival series. Of course, the
first Reverence Film Festival will also serve as a marketing lead-in to
the debut of our Tampa Film Showcase monthly film festival and networking
events.
4.Tampa
Film Showcase monthly film festival and professional networking events
January 2016, and every month thereafter.
The Tampa Film Showcase will be the backbone of all of our film festivals
and indie film events. It will be just as important as our advanced annual
film festival series, the Frontier Film Festival, which the Tampa Film
Showcase leads into. Although the Tampa Film Showcase is a smaller monthly
film festival series, it is expected to be able to put large annual film
festivals in their place by demonstrating that they are not nearly as
cost-effective. Professional networking, too, will be a major component
of the Tampa Film Showcase. Many features of the Tampa Film Showcase are
still highly classified and secret, and will not be revealed until the
event series debuts.
Although short indie films will be the emphasis of the Tampa Film Showcase,
it will also screen feature films. Many of the films which are screened
at the Tampa Film Showcase will become a part of the official selection
of the Frontier Film Festival on the following year. A little secret:
the Frontier Film Festival will become a major source of independent films
for the Tampa Film Showcase, an example that you need an annual film festival
to tie into your monthly film festival if you want a supply of good films
to show consistently.
5.
Frontier Film Festival
January 2017, and every year thereafter.
This is our flagship film festival, and it will be a large, advanced annual
film festival. The Frontier Film Festivals is designed to go head to head
with the Gasparilla International Film Festival, the Sarasota Film Festival,
and the Sunscreen Film Festival. The Frontier Film Festival is designed
to dominate them all, and become the standard in annual film festival
events for Tampa independent film and independent filmmaking in Tampa
Bay. This is redundant, however, as it is expected that the Tampa Film
Showcase monthly film festivals, which lead into the Frontier Film Festival,
will also dominate the larger annual film festivals.
Of course, there has to be at least 12 Tampa Film Showcase film festival
and networking events before the Frontier Film Festival can finally debut.
The Frontier Film Festival also has to debut before we can kick off the
Tampa Film Conference, too. See how all of these schedules are dependent
upon the other film festivals and events?
6.
Tampa Film Conference
Spring 2017, and every year thereafter.
This is a very special independent film event series, and it will become
the core of innovation in indie filmmaking in Tampa Bay. This will also
be the key for Tampa filmmakers to becoming worldwide leaders in independent
film. This will also become an important event for the upcoming Tampa
indie film community, once it is established.
Frankly, we are surprised that no one else has thought of an indie film
conference for Tampa filmmakers before we did, but on second thought,
most of the others do not really have the best interests of Tampa filmmakers
and indie filmmaking in Tampa Bay in mind, now, do they?
Although the format and features of the Tampa Film Conference are completed,
details at this time are classified, and are very secret.
7. Other
Frontier Stage Productions and Frontier Event Planning
Events
2012 and ongoing.
All other event projects of our event and production companies will also
be interconnected with our film festivals and indie film events, which
will lead to unmatchable support. More on this, soon.
NEWS 08/26/11
- Prospect of perpetual war in Tampa indie
film increases dramatically upon discovery of evidence which galvanizes
our agenda and which provokes our strongest response yet; Tampa Bay Film
prepares for years of conflict.
(The evidence that we are referring to, however, remains classified,
because our response is on the down-low right now, also a secret, and
revealing that evidence would make it easy to figure out what we did).
While we declared the Tampa indie film war to be over three months ago,
we just did something that may force it to start all over again (but it
had to be done). Regarding the efforts of others, all of this has happened
before, and it looks like it is happening again. Additionally, we discovered
something a few weeks ago which is quite inexcusable, and it proves that
the Tampa indie film clique had malicious intentions toward Tampa Bay
Film from the start.
While we are not declaring war anew, it does look like this perpetual
war in Tampa indie film will continue, especially after some people figure
out what we have done (hopefully, it will take a couple of months for
them to figure it out; we are sure to be condemned for our actions when
they do. What we did is perhaps the most blatant move that we’ve
done since this war all began in 2008, and it is guaranteed to get some
people really mad, although it is a fitting response to what we have discovered).
Historically, our three month break will look like a hiccup in this overall
lengthy campaign, an aggressive campaign for change in Tampa independent
film. The Tampa indie film war will last for many years to come, and we
are gearing up to support a prolonged effort.
In related news, many of the Tampa Bay Film sites are gaining ground in
our efforts to clean up our inconsistent SEO performance. This is especially
true with the Tampa Film Blog. A few weeks ago, we were set to scrap the
existing Tampa Film Blog, use it as an archive, and start all over again
(which is when we discovered something which pretty much made the prospect
of peace in the Tampa indie film scene nearly impossible). After some
thought, however, we decided to continue with the existing Tampa Film
Blog, and so far, it has made some progress. The Tampa Film Blog should
be where it needs to be in just over a year from now, with new posts,
content, and referenced links from other Tampa Bay Film sites. The other
Tampa Bay Film sites will also see a large influx of new content, and
the meta site configuration of the sites will finally see its potential.
There are several new Tampa Bay Film sites, too, which don’t fit
on the right-side menu of the present Super Raptor 
configuration;
the Super Raptor configuration supports eight sites in a meta site configuration,
we are up to at least twelve right now, and it could go as high as sixteen
by the end of 2012. This is why all of the Tampa Bay Film sites will be
among the first to receive new Dreadnought Class web sites, which is expected
by the end of the year. Tampa Bay Film and its sites will all share the
same design, too, for maximum continuity; the meta site will basically
become one huge web site, with each site being a dedicated section under
its own domain name. That design, too, will be a radical departure from
the design that Tampa Bay Film has basically had since in launched in
early 2007; our fifth anniversary will see an entirely new look, and concept,
in resource web sites.
NEWS 08/09/11
- Tampa Bay Film and the Tampa Bay film site network emerges
from its three month hiatus (and review/ planning) to resume updates,
with more content added to the main Tampa Bay Film site, new posts on
the Tampa Film Blog, indie film reviews on our Tampa Film Review site,
and a large upcoming update on the Online Film Festival. The online film
festival will see the addition of a lot of new films in the coming weeks,
too.
While the Tampa indie film war was declared over three months ago on the
Tampa Film Blog, and it is technically over, it’s not going to seem
like it is. We call it as we see it, and there is no way around it. Tampa
filmmakers whom have talent, and whom are actually good won’t have
to worry about anything, but since the majority of Tampa filmmakers are
so bad that they should consider giving up, they are not going to get
good reviews from us (We are not Lisa. We don’t mindlessly and blindly
praise and promote filmmakers, regardless of their work, and our opinions
and reviews can be taken seriously. Tampa indie film needs a strong dose
of the_truth, and reality. We don’t want to be popular, and that’s
not our goal. At the end of the day, we have to be able to respect what
we say and do, and that’s all that matters).
In related news, with the famine of decent Tampa films being produced
now, our network of film festivals is on hold. Don’t expect to see
our first one until 2013 at the earliest; more about this will be published
on the Tampa Film Blog.
NEWS 05/08/11 - International
Independent Film Site Planned
A new web site project, an international indie film web site which will
tie into every aspect of the Tampa Bay Film sites, is planned. This new
site, planned for launch in late 2011, will be a new Dreadnought Class
web site, the Dreadnought Class site being a late third-generation site
design class with full upgrade capabilities to fourth-generation designs,
designed to initially augment, and then replace, the Raptor 3 and Super
Raptor Class sites as front line resource sites which are optimized for
defending against and combating scams. Although the Dreadnought Class
site has the latest scam fighting and professional support resources built
in, it also features modular expandability, as well as the interlinked
arrayed web site meta site capabilities of the Super Raptor Class sites,
the Venus 3 Venus Class sites, and the Mosaic Class sites (of those three,
the Mosaic Class site being a cutting edge site design class used by Aurora
PhotoArts and Eos MediaArts; it will also be among the most numerous,
with over 24 planned to be online within a year). The Tampa Bay Film sites
will also be converted to Dreadnought Class sites afterwards, with the
plan being that all sites would be converted, and synched, by mid 2012,
just in time for the first Tampa film festival events to launch.
The Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival, which, despite its Tampa Bay
geographical branding, is officially a worldwide international film festival,
will become the official online film festival of this new web site.
The prime mission of this international indie film site will be to inspire
innovation in independent film worldwide, as well as promote Tampa Bay
Film and an indie film innovation resource and support the Tampa indie
film scene and the upcoming Tampa indie film community as a leader in
independent film.
NEWS 05/08/11 - Best
Tampa Film Festival Named for 2011
The best film festival in the Tampa Bay market, in our opinion, is the
Sunscreen Film Festival, easily beating out the Gasparilla International
Film Festival and even the Sarasota Film Festival. Although programming
and organization are similar, the Sunscreen Film Festival has the edge.
One thing that impressed Tampa Bay Film above all else with the Sunscreen
Film Festival is the original name and branding, as well as a top-notch
graphic logo. They are certainly not derivative, and they don’t
capitalize on a Tampa tradition like the Gasparilla International Film
Festival does.
NEWS 04/28/11 - Finished
and uploaded content for our new filmmakers section, which will help investors
evaluate Tampa filmmakers. Also finished our production company section.
These are RECOGNIZED Tampa filmmakers and Tampa indie film production
companies.
We also overhauled the popular Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival, which,
for the past three years, consistently proved itself as the top platform
for the promotion and marketing of independent films. Since the online
film festival is up and running 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and
is available on the Internet via an array of devices everywhere in the
world, our viewing numbers are much higher than all Tampa Bay and Florida
film festival events combined.
The overhaul and upgrade of the online film festival was primarily geared
to addressing the issues of filmmakers pulling their films without warning,
as well as other issue which made films unplayable. This will no longer
be the problem that it has been, because we will NOT REMOVE any film without
the express written permission of the filmmaker (and since we often have
to have proof that it is really you, filmmakers may expect to be required
to call us, too, which is up to our discretion). Filmmakers who rudely
pull down their files without informing us, putting a hole in our playlist,
will find that their film will not be automatically removed from the online
film festival, and that it will be moved to our new Graveyard channel.
The reason for this is to maintain search results position for said film,
and that the filmmaker will be inspired to replace their film file and
make it playable again when they get lots of complaints that all search
inquiries lead to our online film festival, when their film does not play
when people try to watch it (and, as a result, the viewer then proceeds
to watch other films which do work). When the filmmaker also notices that
we are the top result for search inquiries for their film, and that it
does not play, they will then see the logic of making sure that it is
playable. Of course, we also try our best to maintain the integrity of
our playlist and our main indie film channels on the online film festival,
and we don’t want our viewers clicking on a bunch of films which
do not work, which is the reason that we have a Graveyard channel. The
Graveyard channel is for maintaining search positions for indie films
which do not work, while allowing us to remove the film from the general
playlist so that our viewers can watch films which do work.
This is the key to stabilizing the integrity of the playlist on the online
film festival so that we can add a lot more films in its present incarnation,
and make the process cost-effective as far as our time goes. Also, we
expect some filmmakers to try to pull their films when we review them,
and want to discourage this practice. Because it is more difficult to
make us “go away” now, we’ve added a Dumpster channel
for the worst films playing on the online film festival, and will soon
be reviewing as many films as possible on the online film festival, linking
to reviews on the Tampa Film Review Tampa Bay Film site; the reviews linking
back to the films.
NOTE 04/20/11 - The Tampa Film Review site, a Tampa Bay Film site, which has been on hiatus for much of last year, will begin seeing large updates. Upcoming reviews are as follows:
100
Tears
The Marcus Koch / Joe Davison mixed bag slasher/ gore/ snuff indie
film is about to receive the most comprehensive film review that it has
ever received, and this will become the definitive review for the film
on the Internet. Film reviewer C. A. Passinault has spent months, and
countless viewings, compiling 15 pages of notes and studying the film.
Passinault also has knowledge of the film which no one else has, including
anecdotes which people who worked on the film are not even aware of.
The review for 100 Tears may clock in at 20 pages.
Brainjacked
This film, which is much better than 100 Tears, will be split into
three features clocking in at over 30 pages. The review itself may be
over 12. Like 100 Tears, the Tampa Bay Film review of Brainjacked will
become the definitive review for the film on the Internet.
The three parter will include:
1. The Review of Brainjacked (No spoilers, for film fans)
2. Brainjacked Production Review (Spoilers - Production Critique)
3. Brainjacked Lobotomized: Enhancing a classic (Spoilers - Ideas which
could have made Brainjacked better/ one upping)
Passinault, as an entertainment professional and a writer, will also be deconstructing films and putting out ideas which the filmmakers can learn from to make their next efforts better.
NOTE 12/31/10 - We are about to add THREE more Tampa Bay Film sites to the network, which will make a total of 11 Tampa Bay Film sites, although one of them will be a crossover annex site interlinked with DJ Frontier properties. Two of those sites will be new, advanced Marquee Class sites for two of our film festival properties, which are 3rd / 4th Generation web sites with full compatibility with the standard Tampa Bay Film Super Raptor Class site format used by the existing eight Tampa Bay Film Sites. Those new Marquee Class film festival sites will be for our flagship annual film festival, the Frontier Film Festival, as well as the annual Halloween/ Horror theme film festival, the Reverence Film Festival. The third site, the crossover annex site, will be a Super Raptor class site for the Tampa Music Festival. The Tampa Music Festival will replace the music video channel on the Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival, so design synch and continuity with our popular online film festival is critical. The online film festival and the music festival will have a tight interconnectivity, as it will be both an extension of the online film festival and a part of the DJ Frontier web site array. In related news, we are looking at adding a 12th Tampa Bay Film site to our site network in 2011.
WELCOME TO TAMPA BAY FILM, THE VOICE OF TAMPA INDIE FILM
Welcome to the Tampa
Bay Film site, a free resource site for filmmakers and the upcoming Tampa
film community. Tampa Bay Film is the voice of Tampa indie film, and we
are heard, and listened to, as the authority on Tampa indie film. This
web site includes an extensive online film festival which is open all
the time and is available to everyone free of charge. You can now view
independent films from Tampa Bay and Florida from your computer and without
spending a lot of time searching for them online. We are also planning
film festival events in the Tampa Bay area. These advanced film festivals
will be planned, staffed, and executed by film festival partner Eventi
Stage!
While on the subject of our film festival endeavors, we will be covering
other film festivals, reviewing them, and will publish tutorials and articles
which will help to inspire film festival organizers in creating film festivals
which are more effective.
While film festivals are about half of what this site is about, there
is more. We also cover the marketing, promotion, and sales of independent
film. This site is a resource for production professionals and talent
who are involved with the indie film community here in Tampa Bay, and
we have links to career tools, talent and professional contacts, investors,
auditions, and industry jobs. We will even dare to ask the questions that
need to be asked, and offer solutions to professional and ethical issues
that may or may not be apparent.
It is our hope that we can help make the Tampa Bay film scene stronger
and more marketable by helping each individual professional and organization
who is involved in it.
Welcome to the new standard of indie film resources here in Tampa Bay
and the driving force behind the future of independent film in the Tampa
Bay market. We are your new best friend.
TAMPA BAY FILM WEB SITE DIRECTORY
TAMPA BAY FILM UPDATES AND
NEWS - News
and updates for Tampa Bay Film and the Tampa Bay Film site network.
ABOUT TAMPA BAY FILM
- The Tampa Bay Film story,
our history, expansion into the the top Tampa indie film resource, staff,
mission statement, disclaimer, and terms of use. That history section
is going to open some eyes, for sure. It's controversial, and also so
true!
TAMPA BAY FILM FEATURES
- Articles, tutorials, interviews,
and more for anyone involved in Tampa indie film.
TAMPA FILM JOBS
- Film industry jobs for production professionals and casting notices
for talent auditions.
TAMPA
FILM SCAMS -
Our Tampa Bay Film indie film
scam definition database is in the works and should be online shortly,
along with scam-fighting tools geared for indie film makers and some educational
resources for the Tampa Bay indie film community. We will help cut through
the politics, the rumors, and the shady motives.
TAMPA SERVICES
- Photography, event planning,
web site design, design, production support, advertising, and other services
are available.
INDIE FILM RESOURCES
- Career tools, web site links,
and production professional contacts.
CONTACT TAMPA BAY FILM
- Contact information for Tampa
Bay Film and our monthly Tampa Bay Film Mail Bag by Tampa filmmaker Alex
Cain (Alex Cain is a pseudonym for a Tampa filmmaker).
TAMPA BAY FILM
We are serious
about Tampa indie film.
We don’t blindly follow the crowd. We think for ourselves.
We decide.
We call them as we see them.
We are leaders.
We are the voice of Tampa indie film.
Opinions expressed on the Tampa Bay Film web site may not be shared by the professionals shown or represented in our photographs. There may be no photographs of our staff on this web site, and our writers reserve the right to publish under Pseudonyms for their safety. Professionals featured on this web site may not be affiliated with this web site and may not be contributors. Photographs are the property of our contributing photographers from the Tampa Bay and other Florida markets.
Opinions published on Tampa Bay Film may not be shared by our contributors and advertisers. Opinions expressed may not be shared by the Tampa Bay Film web site, and are solely those of the writer or contributor behind them. We reserve the right to withhold the identities of our writers, and may not provide such information if we cannot positively identify the source of the request or their intentions.
Films shown on our online film festival remain the property of the copyright owners, and exist on profiles which were set up by them. No film or intellectual property which belong to others exists on our web site server. Films and externally hosted content may be removed at any time simply by the owner deleting the profile where it is hosted or by writing us so we can remove it at our convenience. We are not a hosting or networking site and do not maintain servers capable of hosting large amounts of content. We are a resource, business, and marketing site for the professional Tampa Bay Film community for the use of production professionals and talent.
All use of the Tampa Bay Film site is covered under our terms of use, and you must read and understand our terms of use and our disclaimer before you can legally use this web site in any way. Usage, which includes viewing our content on any web browser or computer, waives us from any and all claims of slander, libel, cyberstalking, misrepresentation, and invasion of privacy. Please read our DISCLAIMER and TERMS OF USE for more information.
UPDATED 05/04/12
UPDATES AND NEWS - TAMPA BAY FILMMAKERS - TAMPA BAY PRODUCTION COMPANIES - ABOUT TAMPA BAY FILM - TAMPA BAY FILM FEATURES - TAMPA FILM SCAMS - TAMPA FILM JOBS - TAMPA AUDITIONS - TAMPA FILM SERVICES - TAMPA FILM RESOURCES - CONTACT TAMPA BAY FILM
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