Aviation Cinemaking

Speaking at the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton

AVIATION FILM MAKER TO

SPEAK AT ATI DEC. 17^TH EVENT

DAYTON, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2009—Film producer Adam White, a graduate of Wright State University’s film program in 1995 and a specialist in aviation cinema, will be guest speaker at the Thursday  Dec. 17^th Anniversary of Powered Flight celebration and dinner in Dayton.

The annual event is hosted by Aviation Trail, Inc. and the National Aviation Hall of Fame and  will be held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Springfield Pike. Again this year the evening will feature the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight, announcement of inductees into the 2010 NAHF, and the traditional Wright family dinner.

Earlier this fall the Hall of Fame announced one 2010 inductee: Clay Lacy, jet charter pioneer, veteran pilot, and pioneering aviation cinematographer.

White’s talk Dec. 17 will focus on aviation cinema.  His production company Hemlock Films (www.Hemlockfilms.com) is headquartered in Cleveland and has received acclaim for the film “Red Tail Reborn,” a documentary on a P-51C Mustang flown by the Tuskegee airmen during World War II and efforts to restore and fly the aircraft 50 years after the war. The plane was airborne again last July.

 The film was awarded three Emmys at the Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards held in this year: best informational/instructional film, best music composition/arrangement, and best research.

A sequel, “Flight of the Red Tail,” has finished production and will be available on DVD Nov. 27. White has completed another aviation-related film, “The Restorers” which focuses on restoration of old aircraft.  

A specialist in  use of the SteadiCam camera—which he learned from its inventor Garrett Brown-- White’s company also works in industrial films, commercials, aviation videos, web and DVD projects, and mainstream feature films. Hemlock Films material has aired on PBS, Discovery Europe, and National Geographic television channels.

White is a native of Northeast Ohio and grew up in Geauga County east of Cleveland. A licensed pilot, White is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

 

Celebration of the Anniversary of Powered Flight begins at 6 p.m. in the NAHF’s Learning Center and dinner is served at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Modern Flight Gallery. White’s speech should occur about 8 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $60 a person. Requests for reservations should arrive at ATI no later than Monday, Dec. 14. Mail your check to ATI, P.O. Box 633, Wright Brothers Branch, Dayton, OH 45409.

CONTACTS:

Aviation Trail (www.aviationtrailinc.org): Marvin Christian 937 275 5271

National Aviation Hall of Fame (www.nationalaviation.org): Ron Kaplan 937 256 0944 ext. 16

Fortune Favors the Bold

  It was a beautiful day in Northeast Ohio when I saw Spiderman dragged up the street by a truck.  Not the normal sight on Euclid Avenue, but a glorious one to me.  I am a local film & commercial technician who works on film crews.  I was employed on the big-budget film set for Spiderman3, along with many of my Ohio associates.  The Northcoast became Hollywood.

    That was over two years ago.

    Since then, only a handful of shooting days have graced Cleveland and the Buckeye state, making it tough to earn a living.  We have had to make due with smaller commercials, industrial videos, or shoots that are out of state.  Other states around the country have enjoyed visiting productions with long shooting schedules and many dollars pumped into the local economies. 

    How big is the difference?  Here’s an example:

    When a crew is driving to location, the locations department usually sets up signs to follow.  Makes it easy to find your place of employment, seeing that lone sign reading “To Set.”  Recently I visited Louisiana, a state with an aggressive tax incentive.  I pulled up to a stop sign that read like the sign post from the show M*A*S*H.  I had to read each sign’s production name to make sure I was following the right path. 

    What are we missing here in Ohio? 

    Two words: Tax Incentive.

    Ohio is one of only a few states left in the country that does not have a tax incentive for film productions.  Some states, like Louisiana, Michigan, and New Mexico enjoy dozens of movie and television productions per year. 

    Tax incentives are what lure films to these states.  Productions can save millions of dollars by filming in tax friendly states, while at the same time contributing to the state’s local economy.  Ohio has been fighting an uphill battle.  Our state’s film commissions have been trying to attract productions for years.  Without any state incentives, though, they’re in a boxing match with both arms tied behind their back.

    Hope is on the horizon, though.

    House Bill 196 is designed to authorize a tax incentive for motion picture productions in the state of Ohio.  Just last week the bill was passed out of the Ways and Means committee to the House floor for a vote this coming Tuesday, Dec 2^nd.  While congressional support of the bill seems likely, Governor Ted Strickland has all but publically said he will veto this bill. 

    Ohio is dying.  Along with folks from many other industries who are moving away from here, many veterans of the state’s film & video industry have left for greener pastures.  They’ve left, travelling to states that actually support motion picture production as, what some have called a “recession-proof” industry. 

    A robust film industry would mean skilled, taxpaying technicians could remain in the state, earning a good wage.  It would mean young graduates wouldn’t have to automatically leave the state to work in film.  It would mean a permanent infrastructure would be built in the way of equipment rental houses, studios and post production facilities.  It would also mean the economy at large would benefit by supporting the visiting productions including, hotels, cabs, restaurants, clubs, security, construction, and many more.

    A tax incentive is not about “giving Hollywood a discount.”  Supporters of HB 196 are not trying to give Ohio a leg up on the competition.  The train has already left the station.  Last week, Illinois renewed their state Tax Incentive.  Every state that borders Ohio has a tax incentive already in place.  HB 196 would actually let Ohio in to the game.   It is my hope, and the hope of many, that the Strickland/Fisher administration’s political opposition will subside. HB 196 is about growing Ohio.

    As the country wades through the current economic crisis, it is clear that the old models of business need to be revamped.  We must be creative and bold to kick-start our economy, and be prosperous once again.  I would love to have the dilemma of too many productions to work for.  Too many film jobs to choose from.  I would like to be driving through Cleveland, and see our own production signpost.

Sincerely, and full of hope,

Adam White

Hemlock Films(216) 496-5013
www.hemlockfilms.com