Important Legislative Information

Lobby for more Film & Media Production at Industry Day

It's time to sign up to be present at the capitol: March 17th - Industry Day

The Oregon film and media industry is making itself visible at the State Capitol on Tuesday, March 17, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. This will include displays as well as availability of film industry members in the Galleria of the capitol building.

Your involvement is crucial.

Please make a commitment to participate at the State Capitol by sending your RSVP to: dena.beatty@sag.org

This is our opportunity to put a face on our industry, to meet with legislators and ask for support of the upcoming senate bill, which increases the Production Investment Fund, as well as illustrate the number of workers who rely on this industry. There are a number of displays in the Galleria planned with contributions from many segments of the industry including SAG, AFTRA and IATSE.

What we need at this time is your commitment to be in attendance at the capitol during that day. Many plan to arrive at 10 a.m. During the day we would like to have people plan to visit their individual legislators, visit key committee members and man a table in the Galleria to answer questions from legislators and the general public as they visit our displays.

Again, please make a commitment to participate at the State Capitol by sending your RSVP to: dena.beatty@sag.org

Include: Name, email, phone, how much time you can commit to attending, and the names of your state representative and senator. (You can look up your legislator contact info by visiting the Legislative web site. The address for the State Legislature page is: http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/findset.htm)

This event will be most successful if we can have participation from all areas of the state. The goal is to put Oregon faces on an industry that operates in all legislative districts.

Industry Day Training: next Tuesday at Holocene

Announcing...
Film Community Night: Portland-area Training for Film/Media Production Industry Day

When: Tuesday, March 10
6:30 p.m. doors
7:00 p.m. presentation
8:00 p.m. networking

Where: Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St.
Portland, Oregon

Film Community Night this month is a forum for you to prepare to talk with your legislators on Industry Day in Salem. Consider this a dress rehearsal with mixed drinks, a well-qualified lobbying trainer, and, of course, the fabulous company of Oregon's film and media production community.

Film Community Night is brought to you by: AFTRA, Art Institute of Portland, Film Action Oregon, IATSE Local 488, Northwest Film Center, Oregon Film and Video Office, Oregon Media Production Association, Portland Development Commission, Portland Indie Salon, Portland Mayor's Office of Film and Video, Screen Actors Guild

Letter Writing Campaign

Film incentive legislation has had a positive impact on performers in Oregon. In addition to joining your fellow industry members on Industry Day please write your legislators and tell them how the film and media industry and Oregon’s film incentives have helped you and your career. To save you time we have created a letter template (See below)

Senator/Representative
900 Court Street NE
Salem OR 97301

Dear _____________,
[Write your own opening and concluding paragraph and personalize your letter with your own examples]

I’m an Oregon-based freelance professional working in the film and media industry. I’m writing you this letter because I realize how important the role of the Government is in keeping Oregon’s media industry vibrant and competitive. For the field in which I work, the creation of incentives to support film and media productions that use services provided by Oregon companies have proved to be a winning strategy.

The Oregon Film and Television Office, together with several media associations throughout the state, have done a lot to advertise Oregon and promote it as a great place to make movies. But the budget and the incentives at their disposal have so far only allowed supporting a limited number of projects. The media industry, despite the global economic crisis, still has a lot of energy to grow and represents a great investment. Compared to 2005, in fact, film production, thanks to the incentive programs, has grown by 114 percent.

By increasing support to the film and media industry, freelance workers like me could count on a higher demand of professional services. I urge you please to continue your support of Oregon’s media industry and of our jobs and help us continue to bring revenue to our state. Please vote yes for SB621.