Industry Contingent Lobbies, Gains Support From Key Legislators.
By Additional reporting by Kathy DeSalvo
The Association of Imaging Technology and Sound (ITS) hopes to put its member post houses in a better position to afford the transition to DTV (including hi-def television), helping to make certain purchases at future National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conventions a less daunting financial proposition. While its proposals—which include a research and development tax credit—won’t come to fruition in time to make a difference in facility buying power at the upcoming NAB confab from April 8-13 in Las Vegas, the ITS continues to broaden its reach in Washington, D.C.
Last month (3/21), an industry delegation—consisting of ITS president Terry Rainey; ITS chairman David Case of Production Masters Inc., Pittsburgh; ITS treasurer and past chairman Rob Henninger of Henninger Media Services, Arlington, Va.; ITS government affairs manager Tracy Murley; and Bob Dotchin of the ITS-hired D.C. lobbying firm The Advocacy Group—met with Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House of Representatives’ Telecommunications Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
"Representative Tauzin was very receptive and more than willing to help us explore various possible solutions," related Rainey, who identified those options as the R&D tax credit, a change in equipment depreciation schedules, and a loan program that could involve the Small Business Administration. Rainey said he was encouraged by the fact that Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, came to the meeting to formally introduce the ITS contingent to Tauzin.
"We’ve made significant progress over the past several months," said Case. "We have the attention of some key legislators. The postproduction industry is hitting their radar screens."
Clearly, the R&D investment tax credit tops the ITS wish list. But, according to Rainey, Tauzin noted that gaining a tax break in the current session of Congress will be a challenge. Tauzin suggested that the ITS not put all its eggs in that basket, and additionally look into the depreciation schedule and loan program alternatives.
The ITS is doing just that, related Rainey, while "still plugging away" at the tax credit. ITS national and Southern California chapter board member Bob Solomon, senior VP/finance of the Burbank-headquartered Four Media Company, drafted a tax credit proposal. Weller’s chief legislative aide then teamed with Solomon to fine-tune the language, and submitted the measure to the House Legislative Council, which is expected to put the proposal into the form of a bill. The ITS then plans to recruit legislator sponsors for the bill, with Weller being a leading candidate. In all likelihood, conjectured Rainey, the measure would ultimately become an amendment that’s piggy-backed onto another bill.
The ITS has long contended that some financial assistance is needed if post facilities are to develop the technical infrastructure required in DTV, hi-def and other emerging digital media—business sectors that figure to be an important part of the global economy. The proposed R&D tax credit would be computed at 20 percent of a domestic post company’s current capital expenses incurred for digital post machinery and equipment, less a dollar amount equal to the facility’s average annual gross receipts from DTV post services during the prior four years. The intent is to encourage the domestic construction of an advanced digital post infrastructure when the current demand for such services may not justify the required expense. The measure would be structured to effectively increase the threshold for tax credit qualification as the revenue generated by digital television post services grows. Digital postproduction equipment would be defined in the context of the Advanced Television Systems Committee standards, which have been adopted by the FCC for digital TV. Among those qualifying for the proposed R&D credit would be digital video and audio post facilities, animation houses and post equipment rental companies.
NAB 2000
As reflected in last week’s survey of industry execs regarding what they expect and hope to find at this month’s NAB (SHOOT, 3/31, p. 1), new media figures prominently. Continuing in that vein is Kirk Hokanson, executive producer of Voodoo Films, Minneapolis. Hokanson is also president of the Minnesota chapter of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), and serves as chairman of the national AICP’s new technologies committee.
"What I’m looking for [at NAB] are the new technologies that will have an impact and will be important to the future of our industry … that we need to educate our [AICP] members about," related Hokanson. "The biggest thing we’re interested in is the convergence of digital television and new media, as well as the new technologies.
"For instance, we’ll be taking a look at DVD authoring software, if in fact DVD becomes the replacement for three-quarter-inch tape," he continued. "For production companies that have to do a lot of tailoring [of their directors’ reels], it gets into a very complicated authoring situation. Should production companies outsource it to a facility that would archive all your materials and burn DVDs? Or should they have it in-house and learn how to run authoring software and burn their own DVDs? We’re going to talk to vendors and see where things are right now. We’re going to need to figure out how to [produce DVDs] very quickly and responsively to the ad community."
Hokanson added: "We also have to learn about new technologies involved in high-definition television as well as Internet strategies for advertising. [One issue is] do we want to take our standard commercials and convert them to MPEG formats for the Internet, or do we want to do total re-edits that are more tailored to Internet marketing strategies? I suspect it’s a combination of both, but what does that mean to the producers?"
In addition to the wares and demos on exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands, the NAB will present "super sessions" at different venues to sift through the changing media landscape. For example, one session will explore the convergence of entertainment and technology, offering a view of the entertainment industry in 2010. Another will examine enhanced television and interactivity, featuring keynote speaker Mitchell Kertzman, president/ CEO of Liberate Technologies, a provider of a software platform for delivering Internet-enhanced content and applications to information appliances such as television set-top boxes and game consoles. The enhanced TV session is slated for April 12, 2-6 p.m., at the Venetian Hotel.
As earlier reported, advertisers and agencies are beginning to experiment in enhanced spots— a recent example being J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, which test-ran such an ad for the Ford Focus in five markets during CBS’ Grammy Awards telecast in February (SHOOT, 3/10, p. 1).
Judge Upholds Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Against Alec Baldwin In “Rust” Shooting
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.
"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
A spokesperson for Baldwin's lawyers said Friday that they had no immediate reaction to teh decision.
The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin's trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers say investigators "buried" the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey can now decide whether to appeal to a higher court.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for "Rust," was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer โ... Read More