Have you ever wondered how the magic of film-making is done? There is a certain art behind being able to glue someone’s attention completely to the screen. At times, Hollywood must relocate their set to cities in order to get adequate footage, causing disruption to the community. On Dec. 3, 2009, the Film Friendly Texas Workshop presented their workshop to some lucky attendees at La Posada Hotel. The program is meant to provide training and suggestions on how communities can deal with on-location filming.
One of Texas A&M International University’s own Communication students, Ana Kristel Gamboa, took part in the program. As a student hoping to work in the film industry when she graduates, Ana was eager to learn from the instructors.
“The instructors gave us an overview of the location scouting process,” said Gamboa. “A location scout researches location in different communities.” She continued, “The scout takes a variety of photos of locations that the film needs since they need to provide many choices to the producer. Then they taught us how to take photos of locations, how to ask permission to property owners, making contacts, paperwork, etc. They also gave us sample guidelines for filiming.”
Ana said she learned a lot of things she didn’t know at the workshop. “We learned how to handle on-location filming, so we can bring ‘Hollywood’ to Laredo. Who knows? Maybe Laredo could one day be Manhattan in a future film.”
According to Ana, there have been plenty of famous films that have used locations in Texas for their set. Some of them include Secondhand Lions, The Alamo (biggest budget movie made in Texas), Miss Congeniality, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Apollo 13, and even Sin City.
The cost of the workshop is $99 per person. For more information, you can visit, http://www.governor.state.tx.us/film/film_friendly/program_certification .