written by Jasmine Akakpo, ATLFF365 Marketing Associate
In 2008, more than 10,000 San Franciscans physically stepped into “The Games of Nonchalance,” an alternate reality game world that opened the door to an unforgettable urban exploration for its players. The Institute, directed by Spencer McCall, illustrates the original experiences from the perspective of players immersed in an enigmatic world of hidden messages concealed in graffiti, posters, and art to create a social expedition of realistic imagery. The 2013 Slamdance Official Selection, now in documentary competition consideration at the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival, grants the audience indirect access to “play” the game alongside its players and view the real world in an unconventional way. Although the game concluded in 2011, The Institute allows everyone the opportunity to be inducted and never experience life the same. Here at the Atlanta Film Festival, we were granted the opportunity to interview Spencer McCall and get the inside scoop on all things pertaining to the Games of Nonchalance.
I know that you just got back from Slamdance! We are so excited to have the opportunity to interview you! How was Slamdance?
It was good. It was a lot of fun. It was very exhausting though. I work during the week, a 9-5 job. I took a week off to go up to Park City and I thought it was going to be a vacation. I was up at 6 in the morning and I was getting back to the condo we rented at 11 at night. It was a full day of just a million things to do, interviews, screenings and talking to people. But it was a lot of fun. We had a blast and so many amazing things came from it. We are really, really excited about Atlanta now!
We have had so many people in the office screen your film. Your film was one of our “gossip” films” in the office. We are all curious what you consider the genre of your film to be?
Good question. I don’t want to be too defining. I would still call it a documentary. I don’t even want to say that it lies or that it misconstrues the truth, but what it does is it gets you to realize that a movie is a movie. Whether it is a documentary, reality show, or found footage movie; it is not something that you can take at face value. It’s a representation. It’s a subjective art form and you should question what you’re watching all the time. So I guess for me, I really wanted people to question what they were watching and have fun with it. I like to think of the movie as a puzzle that you somehow have to solve.
How did you hear about the Jejune Institute?
Yeah. It’s kind of a long story. I graduated from SF [sic] State School and was out trying to find a job and do video work. I ended up working for a company that did dog cloning and did that for a couple of years. They went out of business and I went back to where I started. I didn’t have a job again. No one can afford to clone their dogs (laughing). At the time in San Francisco there were these rumors and whispers “You have to go to 580 California. I can’t tell you what’s there but you have to go experience it for yourself. It cost nothing and you won’t regret it.” I went and was definitely spooked out. I thought it was a satellite office for Scientology. It was too weird so I dismissed it. A little while later a good friend of mine Gordo (who’s in the movie and leads the street protest) referred me for video work that they needed for an installation project. At that point I got to meet the makers of the Jejune Institute, Jeff and Uriah. It was a really brief meeting but they told me that they would pay me a small amount of money to do the videos pieces but I would get some good exposure. They told me that the videos are going to be very need to know and they weren’t going to tell me how it’s going to be used or what they are for. I did that for a little bit and they would send me weird archive footage from different contestant sources. Eventually I kept making a few videos for them, some promotion, some for the game itself. When the game ended and the company started to shut down, they gave me a hard drive of 600 hours of player footage that participants shot along with more archive footage. At the time I was still unemployed so I emailed Jeff and asked if I could do something with all this footage now that the game was over. He said, “Knock yourself out.” That’s basically it in a nutshell.
So you started making the film in 2011 after the game was finished?
Yeah. I started in late Fall 2011 and finished Summer 2012
There is so much street art in the film, was the use of art inspired by artist Jeff Hull?
What’s really cool about this project is that it did have some investment, which is still a little bit of a mystery to me. I think some of it came from Jeff, some from other private investors, but the budget was limited. So a lot of the art that was used in the film came from volunteers all throughout the Bay area and around the country. People who started to become familiar with the project or people that were friends of Jeff would contribute to making the maps and other things.
So was Jeff an active role in creating the film?
Yeah. It is kind of funny because when I started it Jeff was probably my first interview and I didn’t end up seeing him again until the film was done. That was about 9 months later. So it was a while. Luckily, Jeff liked the movie..even though maybe… I could have been a lot worse to him. Ultimately he really liked the movie and that was really good. That was really lucky for me.
From all the different individuals you interviewed, what percentage of people actually considered the Jejune Institute to be more than just a game?
That’s interesting. The first act, which is the induction center 10,000 people go through, there were subsequent acts later on which led to the final seminar at the end. By the time it got down to the seminar there was only 50-100 people out of that 10,000. I only ended up interviewing people that went through the entire process, with an exception to Organelle, who got hurt, bailed out and became paranoid after the experience. Organelle was the only one that experienced the game that intense that allowed us to interview him. We had to develop a three-month relationship with him to gain his trust to sit down and interview. There was a number of others that considered the game to be reality, probably more than I would know because they were super freaked out and didn’t want to speak. I am aware of three other people. The voicemails of one of the woman is used in the film. She would call from blocked numbers.
Wow! Do you feel like games like the Jejune Institute will start to catch on around the country? Have they?
They have. It is really cool. I wouldn’t say the Jejune Institute was the first necessarily. There has been a whole lot of alternate reality games and urban exploration movements. A lot of them are marketing something, like a movie, a video game or sometimes a product. You’ll see this all the time. What was really fascinating to me was that this wasn’t marketing anything. I think initially they had the idea of somehow finding a way of monetizing it but eventually they just gave up because they didn’t have an obligation to do anything with the investment necessarily. So they just wanted to give a gift to the world. I know that I wouldn’t have gone into 580 if I were going to be asked for money. That was the thing that was so spooky about it the whole time. People were wondering, “oh my god when are they going to send me a bill?” I know of a number of participants that went on to create their own games because they loved their experience so much. In the film there is the Elsewhere Public Works Agency and from that participants created the Elsewhere Philatelic Society, which is stamp collectors. They created this game that is all about postage and sending things in to get maps. It is really, really neat. Also the Jejune Institute spread itself all the way to Fargo, North Dakota. Apparently there is something similar up there that one of the players who was visiting San Francisco created. I hope more are created because they are pretty cool. It’s a new kind of entertainment. Entertainment is becoming increasingly more and more consolidated onto your telephone or other little electronic form. It’s kind of neat to see that there is something else emerging that is more real and visceral. Of course it’s not for everyone though. It’s a very interactive experience. In some ways making a movie about an interactive experience like this is almost like sacrilege. It’s kind of hypocritical. One of the messages of the movie is to go out in the world and explore what’s around you and maybe stop being such a spectator. At the end of the day, it [The Institute film] was kind of the only way that it was going to live on and I wanted it to live on.
What are your thoughts on individuals that aren’t receptive to your film? How have Q &A sessions been at other film festivals you have attended?? How was the reception?
They have been awesome! They have been really, really cool! I don’t want to give anything away though.
What are you most excited about being a part of the Atlanta Film Festival?
Atlanta Film Festival is super prestigious. It’s one of the best. If there is South by Southwest, you guys are basically South by Southeast in many ways! I am looking forward to it. It’s fun being in the festival circuit. You start to see the same people in multiple festivals. I can’t wait to see your lineup and see if I run into similar filmmakers that I have met on my festival trail.
Describe your film in one sentence?
In 1988 a girl name Evalyn Lucien went missing around the Coit Tower area of San Francisco; 20 years later bizarre flyers and posters started going up all over San Francisco about her disappearance, which led people in the city down a rabbit hole of exploration.
The Institute screens at the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival taking place March 15 – March 24 at the Plaza Theatre, 7 Stages Theatre and additional venues. Come out and join the exploration in search for Evalyn Lucien and experience this unique, alternative game of art. It will be an experience that you will never forget.
March 2nd, 2013
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Limited to 25 students.
$50
Location: The SRL Learning Center at 695 Pylant St., Atlanta, GA 30306
Free Parking
Within the art department, the props department is responsible for purchasing, renting, borrowing or creating everything an actor touches – from all those mini-bottles that Denzel Washington’s character enjoyed in Flight to the footballs and sports equipment used in The Blind Side to the box of chocolates Forrest Gump ate on a bench in Savannah. Even all those umbrellas, purses, shopping bags, and newspapers under an extra’s arm in any movie or TV show are given out by the props dept. But they don’t just procure simple things like these, they also have to remove or cover logos on products placed on set, are responsible for the director’s chairs at video village, and design and build specialty props like some of the weapons used in the Hunger Games and The Walking Dead and the vegan twinkies that had to be invented for Woody Harrelson to munch on in Zombieland.
Learn about the innate skills needed to work in this department, from your ability to design and build specialty props to your ability to research and shop for often bizarre or period finds, what materials, products, and tools are needed for your basic set kit, and what how the entire art department works as a whole – from their duties and responsibilities to the hierarchy and protocol.
Instructors:
Linda Burns – Producer
Brandon Ross – Construction and Puppetry. Credits: Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, Stuff You Should Know, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Center for Puppetry Arts, Home Depot, The History Channel, Lifetime, TLC, USA Network, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Imperial OPA Circus.
Andrew Duncan – Props, Set Design, and Graphic Design. Credits: False River, Sweet Home Alabama, Run Ronnie Run, Remember the Titans, Mama Flora’s Family, Black Dog, Flash, Lawless, Savanahh, Past the Bleachers, Pet Semetary 2.
Laurie Garner – Props and Set Dressing. Credits: Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, A.C.O.D, Flight, Coma, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Standing Up, Revolution, Blues for Willadean, The Change-Up, Teen Wolf, Christmas Cupid, The Little Death.
Alexandra West – Props and Set Dressing. Christmas Cupid, Drop Dead Diva, Blues for Willadean, Wanderlust, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Flight, A.C.O.D.
March 2, 2013
10am – 3pm
Location: Georgia State University, Classroom South
General Registration — $90
ATLFF365 & WIFTA — $75
As you probably know, Georgia is quickly becoming the go-to state for film and television productions. Our state’s lucrative tax incentive program has made this an exciting time for those in the entertainment industry. In order to meet the demands of the burgeoning Southeast, Production Accounting and Crew Services, LLC , Atlanta Film Festival 365, and Women in Film and Television in Atlanta (WIFTA) are partnering on a preparatory seminar that will introduce job opportunities in production accounting. Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 2, 2013, as this will be Phase I of this monumental seminar. During this phase, attendees will learn the role and the importance of all the positions in the accounting department.
You will also learn the day to day responsibilities of each position and how the records they process are used to present important financial information to producers and studio executives. After Phase I, you will be knowledgeable enough to know if the accounting department is right for you! Immediately following, Production Accounting and Crew Services (PACS) will offer Phase II of the accounting seminar where each participant will receive hands on training. Each person in attendance will walk away with enough knowledge and the skill set required to work for PACS in the accounting department on a film or television show. Please Note that attendance in the first seminar is mandatory for participation in phase two, “Film & Television Accounting Seminar: 102”.
To register click on the button below. Or register at www.pacsintl.com under the training section, where you will find additional information about the training courses. The cost for the Film & Television Accounting Seminar: 101 is $90. If you are a member of WIFTA or ATLFF365, receive a discount and the cost will be $75.00.
Special for undergraduate students, first five to use promo code student13 can register for $35. Must show a current student i.d. at check-in.
Cheryl Jenkins has been creating and managing production budgets for over 15 years as a production accountant and line producer. Jenkins started her career in Hollywood working on projects for major studios like Fox, NBC/Universal, New Line Television and MTV on projects such as The Last Comic Standing, The Real Wedding Crashers and Family Foreman. Here in Georgia, Jenkins, who is also owner of Production Accounting and Crew Services Int’l has been the go-to professional fornotable productions like My Super Psycho Sweet 16, Gamers and Single Ladies.
When it comes to film or television production, Lisa Annitti is a great source for help with watching your bottom line. That’s because of the career path she has followed on the financial side of the entertainment industry. In fact, Annitti has spent the past 13 years working her way through the ranks in the accounting department with production companies such as ABC, Sony, Fox and CBS. Lisa is currently the production accountant on the hit ABC show, “Revenge,” where she oversees the day-to-day budget and operations in the accounting department.
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March 2, 2013
9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Working in Locations – An Overview
This course is designed for the individual considering the locations department as their entry into the film production industry. The course will detail the duties and responsibilities of the locations department and staff from the manager to the production assistant. It will also help you determine if you have the correct skill set, work ethic and personality to be successful as a freelancer in locations. Attendees should bring a notebook, pen or pencil to the class and will be required to turn off their cell phones during the duration of the course.
Limited to 25 students preferably with no prior experience in the locations department.
$50.00
Location: The SRL Learning Center at 695 Pylant St., Atlanta, GA 30306
Free Parking
Instructor: Location Manager Michael Riley
Credits Include: The Walking Dead, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Three Can Play That Game, Stomp the Yard, ATL, Warm Springs, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Sweet Home Alabama, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Passing Glory, Black Dog, Fled, The Real McCoy, and more, as well as hundreds of commercials.
Schedule: Class meets 5 times between February and May 2013
Price per session: $40-members, $55-non-members
Class Location: Classroom South Building, Room 208 95 Decatur St Atlanta 30303 Mapquest
GSU Map: www.gsu.edu/map/29457.html
Course Description:
The “Advanced Screenwriting Mentored Workshop” with instructor Kathy Cabrera is designed for students who have a screenplay that is ready to be fully developed and written. Students will receive mentored guidance in a collaborative small group setting to help develop their initial story into a detailed outline, and to start writing their screenplay pages. Many students who have taken this class in the past have used the collaborative environment as a support system they needed to write their very first screenplay. The class will meet three remaining times between March and May 2013.
The course is best suited for students who are already up to speed on the elementary basics of writing a screenplay. Students with knowledge of the screenwriting basics who are new to taking classes with the Atlanta Film Festival 365 are welcome to join (prior classes, like Screenwriting 101, are not required pre-requisites).
Students can work at their own pace but will have the opportunity each class to share their story outlines and excerpts of the scripts they develop in the course for direct feedback from the instructor and fellow students. Students will be expected to also provide collaborative feedback on each other’s work, and can also submit questions they have between classes via email (and a private Facebook group if students are interested) to the instructor and each other. While some students at the earliest stages of a project may use this course as an opportunity to fully develop their story into a detailed outline and complete the first 30 pages of a script, students who are further along in their projects can also treat each class meeting as a deadline and expect to finish a full draft of their script.
The dates of each class follow: NOTE – SESSION #1 STARTS AT 10am – HOWEVER YOU WILL BE SCHEDULED IN A SPECIFIC SESSION THAT MAY TAKE PLACE LATER IN THE DAY. PLEASE CONTACT INSTRUCTOR FOR CONFIRMATION.
This series currently has 3 sessions, happening at 10AM, 12:30PM, and 3:00PM. Please contact the instructor once you register (via email kathyAcabrera AT yahoo.com) to confirm your scheduled session.
As part of our ‘Screenwriting 101’ workshop from Fall 2012 that just wrapped in December 2012, we are offering our first-time writers who have graduated from the class the opportunity to have professional actors perform 10 pages of their screenplays in a special read-through event on Saturday, January 12th at 10AM at:
The Plaza Theater
1049 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
We are inviting actors from the local community who would like to volunteer their time and perform the work written by screenwriting students. It will be a memorable event for the writers and we thank you in advance for your support! Actors interested in participating can RSVP ahead of time or come day of by contacting Soweto Bosia at soweto@atlantafilmfestival.com. Participating actors will receive 4 tickets for the Atlanta Film Festival (excludes Opening or Closing Night).
The read-through event (no on-camera performance) will last approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours. And, refreshments will be provided.
Our student writers’ scripts include the following genres:
- coming of age / drama
- horror/comedy
- romantic comedy
- drama
- comedy
And, we are seeking multiple actors for each of the following descriptions to provide variety for students’ scripts to be performed:
- Male – 40-50s
- Female – 30s+
- Male – “Father” role of adult children – 50s+
- Female – “Mother” role of adult children – 50s+
- Male – teen aged / early 20s
- Female – lead in romantic comedies – 20-30s
Thank you for your support!
February 19, 2013
Manuel’s Tavern
In February we’ll be talking to Matt Goldberg, Managing Editor of Collider.com. Covering film year round for nearly 6 years at Collider, Matt has also covered a range of festivals including Sundance, Toronto International Film Festival, the Atlanta Film Festival, WonderCon, and San Diego Comic-Con. We’ll be talking to Matt about the current world of film journalism, what catches his and his readers attention and his views on the industry.
Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7:30pm – 9:30pm at Manuel’s Tavern conversations with Atlanta and Georgia filmmakers about a specific film, company, group or collective as we talk about their projects and network. EDBI is a place to become part of the conversation.
FREE and Open to the Public
Manuel’s Tavern
602 N Highland Avenue Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30307
January 15, 2013
Manuel’s Tavern
Chris Holland of Film Festival Secrets and Atlanta Film Festival Operations Manager will be helping us kick off the 2013 EDBI lineup.
Chris Holland has worked with film festivals for more than a decade. In the early days of the internet he was a film critic and later he joined the staff of the Austin Film Festival. In 2006 Holland joined film distributor B-Side Entertainment as the Director of Festival Operations, working with festivals like Sundance, AFI Fest, and SILVERDOCS to market films to audiences and to discover emerging new voices in cinema. In 2008 he published Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers and began working as an consultant on marketing and festival strategy with independent filmmakers around the world. Chris currently lives in Atlanta, GA where he serves as an advisor to the Atlanta Film Festival.
Eat, Drink & B-Indie join us on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7:30pm – 9:30pm at Manuel’s Tavern conversations with Atlanta and Georgia filmmakers about a specific film, company, group or collective as we talk about their projects and network. EDBI is a place to become part of the conversation
FREE and Open to the Public
Manuel’s Tavern
602 N Highland Avenue Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30307
January 12 & 13: Georgia Production Partnership in association with Atlanta Film Festival 365 and Production Consultants & Equipment are proud to present The PA Academy.
The PA Academy – Two 10 hour days / $125 non-members / $100 members of GPP and ATLFF365
January 12th & 13th, 2013 from 9:00am – 7:00pm
(Lunch provided)
Limit: 50 students
Location: PC&E Atlanta
This two day Production Assistant bootcamp-style workshop is perfect for those just starting their career as a PA as well as those looking to advance their knowledge of what it takes to succeed as an office or on set production assistant working on commercials, industrials, music videos, independent films, television series and studio features. Training includes but is not limited to production terminology and paperwork, film crew titles and job descriptions, set etiquette – do’s and don’ts, how a typical day proceeds, locking up the set, how to help set background, and walkie sign out. We discuss must have PA gear and kits, and provide hands-on walkie and equipment training as well as resume creation and where to find experience as well as paid work. Learn how successful office and set PAs as well as assistant directors got into the business, what they look for when they hire PAs, their tips for success, and what their pet peeves are.
Instructor: Producer Linda Burns runs the Academy with the help of Georgia’s best DGA AD’s and Office and Set PAs working full-time in the industry.
GPP Members use the promotional code provided to you by GPP to register. Advanced registration only. There will be NO Walk-ups available day of.
December 8, 2012:
The world of film festivals is large and confusing. It’s easy to spend a lot of money and time on submissions and end up with little to show for it. Our Film Festival Strategy class in three parts gives you the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of film festival selection and to ask your questions of film festival expert Chris Holland. Holland is the author of Film Festival Secrets and has worked with dozens of film festivals and hundreds of filmmakers to create successful festival strategies.
The class is split into three sessions to allow you to focus on just the topics in which you’re interested. Alternately you may attend all three sessions at a discounted rate.
General $50 / Member $40
Saturday, December 8, 2012: 10am – 12pm
Plaza Theatre, Upstairs Theatre
1049 Ponce De Leon, Ave
The most important factor in your film’s success at film festivals is the film itself. This class will focus on making sure your film will have a fighting chance on the festival circuit before you start submitting.
Topics covered include:
- How good is your film – really?
- How to get honest opinions
- Holding test screenings
- What festival programmers want
- Common mistakes filmmakers make
General $50 / Member $40
Saturday, December 8, 2012: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
Plaza Theatre, Upstairs Theatre
1049 Ponce De Leon, Ave
Competition for the available slots at film festivals is fierce. Filmmakers waste more time, money, and energy than they need to festivals by submitting blindly to a wide range of events instead of carefully targeting the right fests. A little know-how and careful research can help you save money by submitting to fewer festivals while increasing your chances of acceptance at the same time.
Topics covered include:
- Defining yourself, defining your film
- Setting your festival goals
- Picking the right festivals for your film
- Saving money on submissions fees
- Submissions tactics – what works, what doesn’t
General $50 / Member $40
Saturday, December 8, 2012: 3pm – 5pm
Plaza Theatre, Upstairs Theatre
1049 Ponce De Leon, Ave
You’re all set for your festival world premiere – now you just have to get people to show up. Don’t rely on the festival to bring the audience to you! Find out how to pack the house yourself and have a great opening night.
Topics covered include:
- What festivals will do for you – and what they won’t
- Create a web site, mailing list, and electronic press kit
- Bring your own audience
- Engage the press (beyond just the local film critic)
- Tap special interest groups to fill seats
Register for all three and save
General $130 / Member $100
Register for Film Festival Strategy Parts 1 – 3
YOUR FILM COULD BE CHOSEN…
Upon registration, attendees will be encouraged to submit their films for consideration. One attendee per class will be selected to have their film used as a practical example for the topics in that session. Don’t miss this chance to get a personalized jumpstart on your film’s festival strategy!
Instructor: Chris Holland has worked with film festivals for more than a decade. In the early days of the internet he was a film critic and later he joined the staff of the Austin Film Festival. In 2006 Holland joined film distributor B-Side Entertainment as the Director of Festival Operations, working with festivals like Sundance, AFI Fest, and SILVERDOCS to market films to audiences and to discover emerging new voices in cinema. In 2008 he published Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers and began working as an consultant on marketing and festival strategy with independent filmmakers around the world. Chris currently lives in Atlanta, GA where he serves as an advisor to the Atlanta Film Festival.