The Los Angeles AX 2013 – AnimeExpo trade show is a multi-faceted extravaganza for industry followers to explore various aspects of both anime and manga as well as for members of the industry to conduct business. Historically, Anime Expo (AX) has been held on the July 4 weekend as a four-day event beginning in 1992, and is one of the longest running anime conventions along with A-kon in Texas. Anime Expo is a 24-hour convention that offers late-night dances, all night video programming, tabletop gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke. A Cosplay Photography Contest runs throughout the expo in which the winners will receive a cash prize, and his/her art printed on a page of the 2013 programming guide and a badge to Anime Expo 2014.
The expo will present AX Anime and Manga Studies Symposium — a special track of academic talks on the history of anime and manga, the works of individual directors and creators, the ways they represent aspects of Japanese culture, how fans in different countries interact with Japanese culture, and other similar topics. It imports professors and graduate students who teach and write about Japanese visual culture, and gives AX attendees an opportunity to learn more about Japanese animation and comics and to find out about some of the newest trends in anime and manga studies.
The AX Fashion Show will showcase trends in Japanese streetwear and design from Harajuku and Shibuya through panels, a showcase fashion show, and special guests. At Anime Expo’s Battle of the Bands all amateur bands (amateur only) in and around Southern California are able to enter to win the chance to go up against a select number of finalists to go head to head to decide the finalist. One of the enduring traditions of Anime Expo, is the Masquerade extravaganza on day three where Costumers from around the world take to the stage with their exotic anime inspired costumes and performances vying for the “Best of Show” trophy.
Japanese music entertainment, featuring concerts from major J-Pop, Ani-Song, Japanese rock, and Idol Performers, takes place in the Main Events hall. An anticipated PornoGraffitti Concert is scheduled for July 6 at Club Nokia. In other music related activities, “J-MUSIC LIVE VIEWING 2013” is a project started by Live Viewing Japan Inc. that features Japanese artists’ music contents at movie theaters worldwide. The project will help to project on a global scale the performances of Japan’s top artists on the big screen with high definition visual and crisp sound. Live Viewing Japan Inc. hopes to expand the local fan base through this project.
Two unrelated Latin music events will happen concurrently in New York City and only blocks away from each other. The Latin Mixx Conference and Awards is a annual networking event to honor and empowers Latin DJs from all genres. It features educational panels, workshops, artists exhibitions, fashion shows, over 100 exhibitors, as well as pre and post parties. The primary focus of the Latin Mixx Conference, which runs July 9-11, is to educate DJs in the areas of business, promotion, music, and advancements in technology, among other areas which broaden their DJ ability and effectiveness. The Latin Mixx Awards will present winners of the LMX DJ Choice Awards at Stage48. Following this, the Latin Mixx Awards Bash will be held afterward at ZBar.
Although based primarily in mid-town Manhattan, an opening day Latin Alternative Music Conference event on July 9 will be a Bronx Showcase in Crotona Park with performances by Joell Ortiz and RVSB. The first panel on July 11 is a Q*A with the Latin Recording Academy’s Gabriel Abaroa (Latin GRAMMYs) sits down with Ruben Blades immediately followed by DIY 2.0: Tools for the Nueva Generacion presented by Bandzoogle and including: Carolina Arenas (BMI), David Dufresne (Bandzoogle), Pili Montilla (“Te Para Tres” on WAPA-TV), Kendel Ratley (Kickstarter), Tony Van Veen (CD Baby/Disc Makers), Megan West (SoundCloud). On the fourth day of the conference, MITu Network hosts a panel titled, Digital Dinero: Streaming, Social Media and the New Music Economy. Panel participants include: Kenny Cordova, MITu Network, Juan Jose Duran, YouTube/Google, Rocio Gutierrez, Digital Girl, Sean Glover, SoundExchange, Marcos Juarez, Pandora, Camilo Lara, M.I.S./Casete Mexico, Allison Moore, Sony/RED Distribution. Later in the evening there will be a LAMC Spoken Word and Poetry Night at La Casa Azul Bookstore with performances by Bocafloja and Shella Maldonado. Conference closes on July 13.
The Kaua’i Music Festival (KMF) and Songwriter Conference in Lihue is a celebration of the art and craft of songwriting. Opening on July 10, the KMF Songwriter Conference will teach songwriting skills to its attendees. Through one-on-one meetings, small group sessions, workshops, panel discussions, open mic activities, and more, attendees will be able to consult and get feedback directly from the Grammy, Emmy, and Na Hoku-winning songwriters, producers, TV and Film Music Supervisors, A&R Executives, and other music industry people in attendance. In addition to the regular songwriting workshops and one-on-one meetings, there will be two panel discussions and a number of “Informational Workshops” to help working musicians and songwriters.
Panel 1: “Placing Your Music in TV & Film”, will be presented by the State of Hawaii, DBEDT, Creative Industries Division. Panel 2: “Writing and Composing for TV & Film”, will cover a broad range of topics. Regular BMI contributor, Jason Blume, leads a workshop: “Everything You Need to Know About Placing Your Music in TV & Films” which will clarify the process of pitching your songs for TV shows and movies. Orchestration mock-ups, Hybrid instrumentation, and structure will be in a session covered by David Trotter. Frank Palazzolo will lead a session, “Composing for TV – Parts 1 & 2”, using a short video segment from a popular TV show (with network authorization) and ask attendees to team up to compose music for the clip. Many more sessions are planned.
The Kaua`i Music Festival is a 501(c)(3) organization that hosts or co-hosts numerous events throughout the year, leading up to the signature four-day annual Songwriter Conference. The National Songwriters Association International consists of songwriters from all genres of music, professional and amateur, who are committed to protecting the rights and future of the profession of songwriting, and to educate, elevate, and celebrate the songwriter and to act as a unifying force within the music community and the community at large. Day four ends the festival with an Open Mic and Party time in Shutter’s Lounge.
The annual Las Vegas TicketSummit conference and trade show is aimed at the ticketing and live entertainment industry. This three-day event starting on July 17 features industry seminars, a concurrent trade show, and networking opportunities for industry professionals. The Ticket Summit All-Access Pass includes entry to: all Panel and Keynote sessions, Exhibit Hall, all conference catered events, and Ticket Summit After Dark events, including but not limited to the Networking Cocktail Party and Closing Gala. Ticket Summit Executive Director, Molly A. Mérez gives the event’s opening address detailing important industry updates and announcements pertaining to the show. There is a Networking Cocktail Party at the end of the first night. Ticket Summit Game Night closes the second night. The event’s Closing Gala will be at The Bank.
The Las Vegas Film Festival offers a variety of film screenings including Oscar-winning films to world premieres, exclusive celebrity tributes and interviews, interactive panel discussions, a screenplay competition, red carpet parties, a filmmaker reception, as well as a closing night ceremony and awards. The festival program showcases Feature Films, Shorts, Foreign Films, Documentaries, Animation, Music Videos, Television Pilots, a Nevada Filmmakers Showcase, Experimental Films, a Screenplay Competition and more. Panels slated for presentation include: The Art of Storytelling, The Business of Filmmaking, Filmmakers on Filmmaking. This year’s festival running July 18-21 will make available over $15,000 in cash and prizes to winning filmmakers and screenwriters. Juried and audience awards are presented in several categories to celebrate achievements in filmmaking, screenwriting and acting. The Emerging Filmmakers Scholarship Dinner on opening day celebrates new voices in cinema and is the Las Vegas Film Festival’s opportunity to enable future projects through scholarships. A three course, pre-fixe gourmet dinner will be served with a selection of liquor, beer, wine and champagne open bar at the Five Diamond rated Piero’s Italian Cuisine.
Comic-Con International San Diego is generally acknowledged to be the largest comics convention of its kind in the world. While passing through various stages of its development Comic-Con has been involved in showcasing, creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular arts including, film, television, gaming, anime, animation, sci-fi, fantasy, etc… for over 40 years. Originally showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television, and related popular arts, the convention now includes a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels
Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon and the Alternative Press Expo (APE), both held in San Francisco, in northern California. Here’s a quick tag list summarizing most of the events or activities that will happen at this year’s Comic-Com: Comic Creator Connection, Fan Tables, awards, retailers, Eisner Awards, Masquerade, Artists’ Alley, Comics Arts Conference, Blood Drive, preview night, special guests, Hall of Fame, Autograph Area, film festival, Cosplay, Games, Portfolio Review, anime, exhibit hall, children’s film festival, art show. This year’s Comic-Con event lasts from July 18-21.
With attendance topping out at 130,000 in recent years in the primary facility Comic-Con has grown and needed to include satellite locations, spilling over into local hotels and outdoor parks in the area. Programming events, games, anime, the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, and the Eisner Awards all take place outside of the Convention Center, creating a campus-like feel for the convention in downtown San Diego. Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms with events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.
Since its inception in 1996, Fantasia Film Festival based in Montreal has specialized in varied programming and an emphasis on the imaginative cinema of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Fantasia’s offerings span personal visions to international commercial crowd-pleasers rarely seen in North America. In addition to juried competitions, Fantasia has been presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to guests and additional awards offered by industry organizations that include The AQCC Award (Association Québécoises des Critiques de Cinéma), the Séquences Award and L’Écran fantastique Award.
The Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous will make its return at 2013 Fantasia from July 25-28. There will be the Frontières pitch session, conferences on the topics of production and distribution for independent genre films, meeting sessions and cocktail receptions coupled with the regular Fantasia schedule of public screenings and parties. In 2012, Fantasia launched a major new industry-driven venture — the Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous, with the Frontières International Co-Production Market and the Fantasia Film Market. And a year-round online magazine, Spectacular Optical, focuses on essays and interviews to highlight and expose films in the showcase added each day of the festival.
In addition to the co-production market, Fantasia Festival will be hosting a film market within the same dates, to support the sales efforts for the features that will be part of the programming of the 2013 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival which will open July 18 and run through August 6. Sales agents and producers will be provided with a space to meet with prospective buyers. Once again, a video screening room will be in operation.
The Melbourne International Film Festival in the St. Kilda district will present new international cinema along with special retrospectives and tributes, including public panels and an international short film competition. It will highlight Australian cinema by showcasing local talent and offering targeted industry programs: an investment fund, a financing market and a development program for emerging directors.
The July 25 opening night red carpet celebration features director Pedro Almodóvar ‘I’m So Excited’. After the film, patrons can enjoy a champagne toast and mingle with the performers at Hamer Hall, where the festivities continue on into the late night hours, propped up by an open bar, canapés and music. The Festival closes out August 11 with a screening of Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll at Greater Union followed by an after party hosted at Forum Theatre
Complementing Melbourne film screenings is MIFF’s industry program that includes an investment fund (the Premiere Fund) and the director’s development program (Accelerator). MIFF’s finance market (37° South) brings the national and international screen industry to Melbourne during the festival and celebrates Melbourne as a center for screen business. Established in 1952, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is one of the world’s oldest film festivals and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest.
SESAC will launch its Sixth Annual Songwriters Bootcamp on July 26 from Los Angeles. Attendees can choose from a variety of sessions covering several aspects of the music industry. This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Grammy-winning songwriter Rico Love. SESAC will run an open forum and workshop where all questions pertaining to song registrations, song splits, live performances, SoundExchange, and more will be answered. Another panel made up of successful composers in a variety of fields will look into how they got started, how spotting sessions work, the difference between scoring linear and non-linear projects, dealing with temp love, and tips for better client relations. There will be a critique session for attendees to bring their best songs to the designated round-table discussion and have them evaluated for film and TV by some of the attending music supervisors who will discuss what works, what doesn’t work, and how you can craft your songs to have the highest chance of getting a synch placement.
The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page at: http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. The events blog also shows links to pages that are translated into ten of the most widely used international languages read over the Internet other than English. This month’s picture placement highlights comic book genre of the type that will be on exhibit at San Diego Comic-Con. If the photo does not appear in this post please click this link to view it. Looking ahead into the next month, be aware that: The 17th Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival will be in West Hollywood, Lollapalooza 2013 opens in Chicago, Pensacola Para Con: A Convention for Fans of Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Gaming, Anime, Costuming and more will launch in Pensacola, International Film Awards Berlin will be a five day affair in Berlin, the 40th Telluride Film Festival is set to open in Telluride.
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