Rideback Rise, the nonprofit content accelerator announced last summer by Rideback producer Dan Lin to help level the playing field for Bipoc creators, has revealed its inaugural cohort.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
- 12/5/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rideback Rise, the 501c3 non-profit Bipoc content accelerator launched by producer Dan Lin to advance racial equity, has selected its inaugural cohort of 16 writers and filmmakers who will be financially and creatively supported as they seek to develop their own market-ready mainstream TV and film projects.
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
- 12/5/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Director James Gunn has been named PETA’s 2023 Person of the Year. Per the animal rights organization, Gunn has been selected “for using impressive and stunningly well-crafted CGI animals to inspire tens of millions of moviegoers—who flocked to theaters to see ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’—to have compassion for the millions of animals killed by experimenters in laboratories.”
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
- 12/4/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay, Valerie Wu, Clayton Davis, Jaden Thompson and Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Rain has brought in talent/lit manager and producer Barney Slobodin. He will start in July. Slobodin joins Rain from Cavalry Media, where he helped launch a management division.
On the lit side, he represents Mitchell Lafortune (Kandahar), Benjamin Klein (Winning Time), David Schickler (Banshee), directors Miguel Ortega/Tran Ma (The Ningyo), Tiffanie Hsu (Waterschool) and second unit director, Tim Connolly (Old Man). His acting clients include Ryder McLaughlin (North Hollywood), Mikayla Bartholomew (King Richard), Oliver Cooper (Project X) and Nadiv Molcho (Transatlantic).
Slobodin produced New York Emmy-winning documentary 62,000:1 Three Teams, One City, One Year, about the historic stretch in 1969 when the New York Mets, Jets and Knicks all won championships, for Basil Iwanyk’s sports division, Game1 and SportsNet New York.
Prior to expanding into management, Slobodin worked at Iwanyk’s Thunder Road. He started as an assistant and rose over six years to become VP of Production & Development.
On the lit side, he represents Mitchell Lafortune (Kandahar), Benjamin Klein (Winning Time), David Schickler (Banshee), directors Miguel Ortega/Tran Ma (The Ningyo), Tiffanie Hsu (Waterschool) and second unit director, Tim Connolly (Old Man). His acting clients include Ryder McLaughlin (North Hollywood), Mikayla Bartholomew (King Richard), Oliver Cooper (Project X) and Nadiv Molcho (Transatlantic).
Slobodin produced New York Emmy-winning documentary 62,000:1 Three Teams, One City, One Year, about the historic stretch in 1969 when the New York Mets, Jets and Knicks all won championships, for Basil Iwanyk’s sports division, Game1 and SportsNet New York.
Prior to expanding into management, Slobodin worked at Iwanyk’s Thunder Road. He started as an assistant and rose over six years to become VP of Production & Development.
- 6/21/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
"Cross through the flames, huntress." You've never seen any short film like this before. The Voice in the Hollow is an animated short film created by Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma. Described as "an African fable of sisterhood, envy and ancient evil", it tells the story of Ala and Coa from the Leopards tribe. When her sister outshines her once again, Coa meets a mysterious entity, the morning star and the bestower of gifts, that can grant her wish… It's animated and rendered with the Unreal Engine 5, though it has a stop-motion look and feel. At first glance I thought this was made with marionettes and miniature sets, but it's all CGI and looks incredible. The film features the voices of Janeth Makungo, Rosalie Akinyi, Goodluck Gabriel, and Kaitlyn O'Connell. It's a very dark tale with some seriously frightening imagery, but that's part of why this is a one-of-a-kind creation.
- 12/2/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
If indie CGI is catching on, Tran Ma and Miguel Ortega are at the forefront of it. The pair have made creatures for The Mist, 300 and Transformers while working for some of the best visual effects companies on the planet, but they recently broke out on their own with a wondrous short film spectacle called The Green Ruby Pumpkin. It is a labor of love that they shot in their living room, and with imaginatively intricate beasts brought to life with the highest quality graphics work it’s a delightful Halloween treat that feels more than a few years ahead of its time. Ma and Ortega are part of a movement that is changing the way we think of homemade CGI, expanding its boundaries and proving that it isn’t just the big boys who can drop jaws. Now they’ve converted their entire living space into a studio and need your help to bring an old...
- 7/6/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Feature Ryan Lambie 5 Jul 2013 - 06:00
Mythical beasts. A spiritual sequel to a classic 90s game. They're two Crowdfunding Friday projects we've picked for your consideration...
Warning: casually browsing through a site like Kickstarter at an early hour in the morning - particularly before a revitalising cup of coffee - can result in some bizarre misunderstandings. That's what I learned this week, as I stumbled on some things called 'Narwhal BBQ Skewers'. What kind of monster, I thought, would not only think of cooking a rare kind of whale on a barbecue, but also put the idea on Kickstarter?
As you've probably gathered already, I'd made a bit of a mistake. The project is actually the idea of artist Melissa Dowell, and the skewers are merely stainless steel, narwhal-shaped - and actually rather adorable. Anyway, this rather confusing preamble is intended to lead us gently into the first of this week's selection of crowdfunding projects,...
Mythical beasts. A spiritual sequel to a classic 90s game. They're two Crowdfunding Friday projects we've picked for your consideration...
Warning: casually browsing through a site like Kickstarter at an early hour in the morning - particularly before a revitalising cup of coffee - can result in some bizarre misunderstandings. That's what I learned this week, as I stumbled on some things called 'Narwhal BBQ Skewers'. What kind of monster, I thought, would not only think of cooking a rare kind of whale on a barbecue, but also put the idea on Kickstarter?
As you've probably gathered already, I'd made a bit of a mistake. The project is actually the idea of artist Melissa Dowell, and the skewers are merely stainless steel, narwhal-shaped - and actually rather adorable. Anyway, this rather confusing preamble is intended to lead us gently into the first of this week's selection of crowdfunding projects,...
- 7/4/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Why Watch? As the year starts drawing to a close, it’s easy to start thinking about what the best experiences have been. When remembering the best short films seen during 2012, The Green Ruby Pumpkin instantly jumps to the top of the list. It’s an amazing, magical movie with a strange beating heart for ghouls and an imagination for design that’s difficult to rival. With a nursery rhyme rhythm, it tells the story of a wondrous woman who gives out the best candy on Halloween from her green glowing gourd. Since the trick ‘r’ treaters have to impress, the costumes here are as inventive as their CGI execution is top notch. Unfortunately for our lovely host, she may have dismissed the wrong group of candy-seekers from her front porch… Its style is a bit like Pushing Daisies in its playfulness; there’s more glee here than ghastly. It also captures a kind of mythic nature...
- 10/31/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
We get a lot of submissions at FM, especially around this time of year, but I stumbled upon this delightful little short film, that has tremendous effects and production design, and clearly mirrors ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in its poem-y rhyme. This has a pure Halloween bend to it.
The film is written by Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma, with Ortega directing and Ma in charge of the production design. These guys are clearly talented, with some nice CGI, live action and 2D animation, all in a nice single-serve Halloween candy package.
You can find the short film (clocks in at 2:30, or thereabouts) on Vimeo, or just watch below:
And a making-of:...
The film is written by Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma, with Ortega directing and Ma in charge of the production design. These guys are clearly talented, with some nice CGI, live action and 2D animation, all in a nice single-serve Halloween candy package.
You can find the short film (clocks in at 2:30, or thereabouts) on Vimeo, or just watch below:
And a making-of:...
- 10/25/2012
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Two Senior VFX artists, Tran Ma ("Thor," "Alice in Wonderland") and Miguel Ortega ("Jack the Giant Slayer," "Priest"), have crafted an appropriately scary -- and impeccably designed -- Halloween-inspired short film, titled "The Green Ruby Pumpkin." Even more impressive than the film itself is the story behind the short: the entire project was rendered on 7 computers, as well as shot totally in a living room with the help of green screen. "The Green Ruby Pumpkin" is an independent, low budget project that manages to blend CGI and 2D animation almost flawlessly to tell the tale of a magical woman who doles out candies every Halloween, but follows a strict (albeit rhythmical) code: "There is one rule to which all must comply / no candy is given to those who don't try." One night, after a successful evening of dispensing candies to some of the most well-disguised children in town, three boys.
- 10/23/2012
- by Justin Krajeski
- Indiewire
With Halloween just around the corner, we figured it's about time to drop this little holiday-themed short film on you. The Green Ruby Pumpkin was created by visual F/X artists Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma with the entire project shot in their living room.
This short film is the pilot episode for Stage 5's newest anthology series entitled The Continuum, which will feature a new short film each week created specifically for gamers by talented indie filmmakers from around the world.
For more visit the official Stage 5 website, where you can see more films like this in the future. Also, "like" Stage 5 on Facebook and follow Stage 5 on Twitter (@stagefivetv). Find out more about the filmmakers at Monstersculptor.com.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Get in the spirit of Halloween in the comments section below!
This short film is the pilot episode for Stage 5's newest anthology series entitled The Continuum, which will feature a new short film each week created specifically for gamers by talented indie filmmakers from around the world.
For more visit the official Stage 5 website, where you can see more films like this in the future. Also, "like" Stage 5 on Facebook and follow Stage 5 on Twitter (@stagefivetv). Find out more about the filmmakers at Monstersculptor.com.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Get in the spirit of Halloween in the comments section below!
- 10/18/2012
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
Just in time for Halloween, the short The Green Ruby Pumpkin comes along, full of the gothic spirit and creative imagination that goes hand-in-hand with the holiday. Created by VFX artists Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma, the short is reminiscent of a fable-like Tim Burton-themed story, all set in a magical world. The effects are amazing, complete with CGI-rendered characters mixed with live action. It certainly makes me want to see a much longer film set in the world these guys have created. ...
- 10/18/2012
- by Paul Shirey
- JoBlo.com
Here's a wonderful Halloween inspired short film called The Green Ruby Pumpkin, that perfectly captures this wonderfully terrifying holiday season. The magical short was a passion project created by two senior visual effects artists, Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma. A big thanks to Miguel for sending this our way, I love it! And I hope our readers enjoy it as well! Watch the short below, and let us know what you think!
The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo.
You can watch the making of the short below!
The Making of The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo.
The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo.
You can watch the making of the short below!
The Making of The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo.
- 10/18/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
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