GuidelinesBy Robert Goldrich
October 27, 2000 -- A little more than six months ago, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and the Association of Music Producers (AMP) entered into a strategic alliance (SHOOT, 4/14, p. 1). Now, the first major development nurtured to some extent by that partnership is a set of AMP Music Production Guidelines. These guidelines propose to develop a better understanding of, and a protocol for, every stage of the music process—from demos to bidding, from legal risks to project cancellation (see separate story, p. 1).

How To Profit From The InternetBy tim O'leary
October 27, 2000 -- There's a new craze going around the country, called the Nasdaq dance. Every day, tens of thousands of us who have invested our hard-earned dollars in tech stocks take a breath. Then we log onto the net to watch the wild price fluctuations of our favorite dot com stocks, and, depending on the day, do a little dance of relief or despair.

Grass-Roots ArtBy Robert Goldrich
October 20, 2000 -- The shortage of homegrown talent for the high-tech industry—including computer animation and visual effects houses—has been chronicled in SHOOT over the years. Various solutions have been put forth to address the problem, the highest-profile—albeit short-term—remedy being an increase in the annual allotment of H-1B visas so that foreign artisans can come stateside to take on positions for which companies claim they cannot find qualified American talent.

Got Focus?By Jeff manning
October 20, 2000 -- It was Wednesday (9/6), about 3 p.m., when I got the call. The folks at SAG wanted to know if I'd sign the interim talent agreement. They knew that we'd been casting talent for three "Got Milk?" spots. They may not have known, but had a pretty good idea, that the shoot was scheduled for the following week. It wouldn't have taken much time in the business to figure out that we had over $1 million in production on the line.

FlashbackOctober 20, 2000 -- OCTOBER 20, 1995/Director/DP Kevin Kerslake and director Steve Lowe have signed with A Band Apart Commercials, Hollywood. Kerslake was formerly repped by The Underground, Los Angeles; while Lowe exited bicoastal The End.... New York-based The Farm has added designer/director Boris Bencic, formerly an on-air promo producer at VH-1, New York ....Chicago-based special effects shop Post Effects has hired Jon Tojek as 3-D animator/head of 3-D animation. For the past two years, Tojek had worked as an application engineer for software manufacturer Alias Corporation, Toronto....

Annie-versaryBy Robert Goldrich
October 13, 2000 -- As "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery nears the end of its third year, we can report that it remains gratifying to give exposure to creatively worthwhile spots that otherwise might be relegated to relative obscurity. It's all the more satisfying to see some of that work go on to eventually gain wider-spread recognition.

The Sound Of ChangeBy Chip mullaney
October 13, 2000 -- Interactive technology enables consumers to control their entertainment in many more ways than just channel-change and volume. This said, the advertising industry had better be thinking of ways to take advantage of this technology, because now the consumer has the control.

FlashbackOctober 13, 2000 -- OCTOBER 13, 1995/Former DDB Needham Chicago senior producer Marty Weiss has departed the agency side, signing with Complete Pandemonium, San Francisco.... Bicoastal Chelsea Pictures has opened a New York-based animation division, and named David Lyons, a former producer at now defunct Limelight Commercials, executive producer for animation....Rick Wysocki has been named VP/ managing director of the New York-based film division of Image Bank. Since 1993, Wysocki has been a partner at Imagetel International, a Hawthorne, N.Y.-based manufacturer and marketer of video conferencing equipment....

FlashbackOctober 06, 2000 -- OCTOBER 6, 1995/Hollywood-headquartered HKM Productions is going bicoastal, with the opening of a full-service production office in New York. Robert Wherry, former national head of sales/East Coast and Detroit rep for bicoastal BFCS, will head up the new location....Visual effects/online edit shop The Filmworkers Club, Chicago, has launched a Dallas-based telecine facility. The new office will be staffed by colorist Omar Godinez and general manager Tony Saldi Jr.....Director Mark Foster has signed with Complete Pandemonium, San Francisco. Foster will continue in his role as creative director/director at Gravy Inc., Santa Monica....

Keeping The FlameBy benita raphan
October 06, 2000 -- In the same way that everyone has seen a pigeon—but no one has ever seen a baby pigeon—everyone knows at least one Flame artist, but no one knows how they evolve.