The education program will take place at Victory North Savannah from 9a.m. to 12p.m. and will help participants get to know the production ecosystem in the South Georgia region. “It even goes into details about how you can submit invoices and how you get paid and how you network and how you get yourself out there," said Becky Brownlee, area director of the Savannah SBDC.
“The goal of it is for them to be able to make money with this industry that sends so much money here in our area. And just to know that these production companies, they want to spend their money here. They don't want to bring stuff in from California or elsewhere. They just want to come here and be able to get what they need," she said.
This will be the third time the class is being offered. Participants will get an overview of the Savannah Regional Film Commission, and learn about the impact that some TV productions are having in our area. The class will also share with attendees how they can enhance a digital presence and curate their services to the specific needs and protocols of local productions.Brownlee said they will also review how to register with the film office. "It's really important that anybody that wants to do business with film [and] TV productions in our area, go to the film office and register as a vendor."
Event Speakers:
Walker Dalton – Executive Director of the Savannah Regional Film Commission - Walker Dalton has worked in production and photography for more than 20 years in Los Angeles. He produced photo shoots for ABC, Disney, and NBC. While at NBC he moved into producing the Emmy award winning Jay Leno’s Garage web-series. He left LA in 2018 to produce fashion and documentary films film for the Savannah College Art and Design where he found a love and passion for Savannah production community.
Nora Clark – Production Supervisor – She worked as a producer for the Internet broadcast, sketch comedy show, Friday Nite Bytes, until moving to Savannah in 2011 to teach and choreograph tap throughout the region. After shifting her focus from dance to production, she relocated to New Orleans, LA and moved quickly from Office Production Assistant to Production Coordinator. In 2017 she returned to Savannah and worked on many feature films and television shows including most recently May December. Nora is now a Production Supervisor and founder of her own production company First Teams.
Katie Schuck – Assistant Director of the Savannah Regional Film Commission - Katie Schuck was a freelance filmmaker and producer with more than 15 years’ experience on feature films, commercials, studio television productions and nationally syndicated talk shows. Katie has been with the film commission since its inception seven years ago. As the Assistant Director of the film commission, Katie continues to promote Savannah’s best locations to prospective productions, studios, producers and filmmakers around the world.
Renée Leventis – Manager of Operations of the Savannah Regional Film Commission - She shares in the responsibility of running the bustling Film Commission office, aiding production companies filming in the region, coordinating film commission events, maintaining schedules, supporting, and updating the local crew and businesses database, and much more. She has worked for more than 11 years in the film industry in many different capacities in Atlanta and Savannah, GA.
There will also be a variety of local and experienced film-friendly vendors on the panel discussion.
For more information about this class and others offered through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), visit: https://georgiasbdc.org/training/
