August Media & Showbiz Industry Networking Events

You can learn the strategies and pitfalls to avoid in raising and managing money for a documentary or feature film when Downtown Community Television (DCTV) conducts a session on the matter at its headquarters in New York on August 4. The artistry of film, TV and multimedia are explored through seminars, panel discussions featuring Hans Zimmer, David Newman and John Ottman at the “Inaugural Composer Expo” happening on August 4 in Hollywood. Writer/producer Sarah Goldfinger and writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn are this month’s guest speakers who discuss working in television at an Alameda Writers Group Meeting taking place August 5 in Glendale.

A “Women in Film WIF Actors Group Meeting” is structured to convey the message that while the art of performing is a craft it is a business first, and the process for achieving this, during a meeting on August 5 in Hollywood. Search Engine Strategies 2006 features expert presentations and panel discussions that cover all aspects of search engine-related promotion, taking place August 7-10 in San Jose. At the Midwest Music Summit in Indianapolis, it’s party central! with a BMI Day Party Co-sponsored by PLAYBACK, and more on tap beginning August 10. The 58th Annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, limited to Los Angeles area TV stations, go on August 12 in Los Angeles. Authors Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis discuss the 3 minute pitch versus the 15 minute pitch and sign their book at “The Many Ways To Pitch” book signing session August 12 in Los Angeles. For those involved in low-budget film projects, SAG Theatrical Business Representatives will walk you through signing SAG Low Budget Agreements from start to finish, on August 14. There are meetings in Los Angeles and New York that are held the 2nd Thursday of every month.

Discover how the business of creating and distributing games is maturing and how the set of Microsoft tools and technologies can help prepare you, your titles for this lucrative field at the “Gamefest: Microsoft Game Technology Conference” happening in Seattle August 14-15. NJ Songwriters in the Round takes place every third Tuesday at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. Four artists/songwriters showcase their material in an acoustic, listening room environment. “Building Blocks 2006” is an event in San Jose addressing emerging communication technologies as transforming Entertainment, Communication Technologies and the Global Communications Network, running August 15-17. At the “Bandwidth Music and Technology Conference” in San Francisco, opening August 18 for two days, professionals in the music and technology industries explore current issues as well as future trends through panels, speakers, one-on-one networking. For “Music For the Screen…” Todd and Jeff Brabec explain the deals for songs and scores in feature films and television series, and the money that can be made both during a session taking place in New York City on August 20. The World Science Fiction Convention, which only hits the Southern California area once every 10 years or so, arrives in Los Angeles August 23-27 with usual convention programming in addition to a special 40th anniversary celebration of Star Trek with actors, writers, and behind-the-scenes technicians from all of the incarnations of the series. BMI conducts a “Star In You Seminar” on August 29, in New York City, which will then be followed by a live performance.

The above events are only a sampling of what is listed. Many of the events above have a submission process for indie and/or performing artists to take part in. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page at http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. Experience the newly relaunched message board on The Actor’s Checklist which now permits user profiles and private messaging which you can find at http://actorschecklist.com/phpBB2/.