We’ve made it to the “let’s circle back after the holidays” time of year. The time when phone calls and texts go from “Urgent!” to “Happy/Merry,” emails slow and meetings reschedule. While this traditionally is a seasonal break from our hectic industry, this year is different. If you’re like us, we are hoping that calls, texts, emails and meetings, flood our final weeks of the year, we’ve had our break, let’s get to work! This year’s emotional work rollercoaster has certainly reached new highs and lows. We saw the industry successfully end COVID protocol restrictions and the WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiate better deals for their members. We endured months of work stoppages resulting in unrecoverable lost wages and healthcare benefits. But with a new year quickly upon us, the coaster is leveling out and we are anticipating a speedy start of production.
Despite the industry’s ups and downs, Keys to the Production Office has had an incredible second year. The book has been added to more and more university libraries across the country, is being used in multiple production management classes at educational institutions and we’ve held workshops and seminars nationwide to help ready the next generation of industry professionals for the year ahead. In addition, we’ve found new collaborations with industry organizations and participated in educational webseries’ and podcasts. We want everyone to have the “Keys” to succeed!
The 4th quarter of 2023 has not lost momentum. For the second time this year we were honored to guest teach for Quinnipiac University’s Production Management class hosted by professor Blythe Frank. In October, the NC Film Office hosted us in Wilmington, NC to conduct our Keys to the Production Office supplemental 2- day workshop Mastering the Art of Production Office Operations. The event sold out in weeks and received glowing reviews.
Individually, Gilana traveled to the Austin Film Festival for the premiere of I’ll Be There, a feature film she co-produced in Texas back in 2022. The screenings were well received and the film won the Audience Award for Best Texas Feature! Additionally, Gilana wrote and produced a short film in early November which she hopes will grace the festival circuit in 2024. Just after Thanksgiving, Gilana’s organization, NYFTDI (New York Film and Television for Diversity & Inclusion) relaunched their below-the-line mentorship program for the 2024 Winter-Spring season.
On the heels of her incredibly successful 2-day Carmel Film Forum workshop in August, Jen participated as a guest lecturer for a Production Management class at Indiana University. IU is one of the institutions that has adopted Keys to the Production Office as a class textbook. She attends many local filmmaker events, including those hosted by Heartland Film in the hope of making new connections, growing the industry in Indiana and unlocking more doors.
We have exciting new collaborations brewing and will continue to post updates on our Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as on the website.
Want to help share the joy of Keys to the Production Office in 2024? Contact us at keystotheproductionoffice@gmail.com to set up workshops and guest lectures for your programs.