2010
WORLDS COLLIDE: Finding Answers in Today’s Media Chaos
Coming May 1st, 2010, the Biola Media Conference will explore the collision of old and new media as the industry experiences one of the greatest periods of chaos and crisis in its lifetime.
We'll look at how technology and the current economic crisis have set the stage for the collision of traditional models and new digital possibilities. Noting that in periods of dramatic change, often the worst economic times become catalysts for our greatest innovations; we'll explore how creativity, authenticity and innovation will become our pathway to productivity, and how that platform should be harnessed, managed and shared.
Workshops will feature dynamic insider information on story structure with a renowned Hollywood script doctor, the secrets of independent distribution from working producers, and a hands-on tech workshop that examines “Producing Projects in the 21st Century” using tools and technologies available within the last 12 months – and many others.
Set against the backdrop of the world-famous CBS Studio Center Lot in Studio City, CA, the BMC offers you the opportunity to hear numerous front-line speakers, attend career changing workshops, and enjoyed valuable networking opportunities along the New York Street set.
Held on April 25, 2009 and set against the backdrop of the world-famous CBS Studio Center Lot, this year’s conference theme “CLOSING THE DEAL” will bring top professionals in film, television, and digital media together to focus on how to get your project made in today’s global media markets.
We’ll consider audience, demographics, marketing, promotion, distribution and all the details that make your project “profitable” in the mind of a development executive. Workshops will feature the art of pitching, packaging and financing, knowing what projects Hollywood is looking for, discovering niche projects, no-budget filmmaking, legal aspects of deal-making, how power is used in Hollywood, living out your faith, and much more.
"The Biola Media Conference gives you a 30,000 foot view of Hollywood - how it works, how to navigate the system, and how to create powerful relationships.” said Ralph Winter, Producer: X-Men, Wolverine, Fantastic Four and conference speaker, “This year's theme "CLOSING THE DEAL" is especially timely, because wishing doesn't make projects happen.”
"Everyone comes to Hollywood with a dream” added Phil Cooke, CEO/Creative Director of Cooke Pictures and co-host of the Biola Media Conference, “but few know how to make that dream happen. This year's Biola Media Conference focus is on "CLOSING THE DEAL", and will address the keys to taking your project from the dream stage to the sound stage, and in the process, transform your future."
2008 BLUEPRINT HOLLYWOOD
DESIGNING FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
The tyranny of the “mass” in “mass media” is crumbling as new media makers strategize to harness the power of digital opportunities to produce, market and distribute product. Old studio paradigms are cracking under the pressure. New blueprints are needed as an era of social media and digital technology make entertainment and information more personal and customized than ever.
At an all-new location on the CBS lot in Studio City, CA, the 2008 Biola Media Conference provided more of a networking opportunity and educational experience than ever. Crossing all platforms of visual storytelling media, we explored production, content, distribution and marketing with an eye on innovation and design for the digital age.
Held on May 3, 2008, the conference theme explored the new blueprints required in “Designing for the Digital Age”. Top professionals in film, television, and digital media addressed the challenges for Hollywood at the dawn of the online entertainment revolution as well as the innovative options in production, content, distribution and marketing this digital age presents.
“With the rise of YouTube, suddenly everyone can have their own network. So how do we cut through the clutter and build a brand that lasts? The Biola Media Conference is all about designing a career for the digital age,” said Craig Detweiler, director of the grassroots documentary, Purple State of Mind and co-host of the Biola Media Conference.
Set against the backdrop of the world-famous CBS Studio Center Lot in Studio City, CA, conference attendees had the opportunity to hear numerous front-line speakers, attend workshop panel discussions, and enjoyed valuable networking opportunities along the New York Street set. Special sessions featured panels on production, content, platforms, and marketing, with a view to how creativity, delivery systems, and financing can impact their future.
2007 GOLD RUSH
MINING FOR OPPORTUNITY IN THE NEW HOLLYWOOD
“After decades of struggle in Hollywood, we realized we were finally in the “deep end” of the pool with the prior success of “The Passion of the Christ.” explains Craig Detweiler, screenwriter and co-author of “A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture”. “In 2006 we celebrated with hits like “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Exorcism of Emily Rose” and more. But now, with studios actually opening “faith-based” distribution divisions and pastors topping the bestseller lists on a regular basis, it was time to define who we were, and why we’re here.”
“Our theme - The Gold Rush: Mining for Opportunity in the New Hollywood”, added Detweiler, “had us wrestling with our first flush of success. Were we about to see a gold rush, where sub-par products flood the marketplace and spoil this hard earned opportunity? Should we be satisfied to see ourselves as a niche market, what some have termed 'spiritainment'? Or is our calling more inclusive, to communicate to far more than ourselves?”
Phil Cooke, creative director of Cooke Pictures and Biola Media Conference strategy team member added, “In our rush to cash in on Hollywood success, we needed to ask ourselves…have we hit the mother lode or discovered fool’s gold? Perhaps more important, are we becoming a sub-culture, the counter-culture, or THE culture?”
“At The 2007 Biola Media Conference, the focus was on the real-life, practical issues of producing films and creating television and other media,” explains Cooke. “From the perspectives of feature films, television, advertising, journalism, digital media, and more, we explored the deeper themes of who we are, what difference we can make in the culture, and how to "mine" our potential in the new Hollywood.”
2006 OUT OF THE CLOSET
CAN CHRISTIANS $AVE HOLLYWOOD?
Box office receipts were shrinking dramatically in 2006. So, what was Hollywood's answer? They served up old sitcoms. So while Hollywood presented do-overs of The Dukes of Hazzard and Bewitched, stories that have been locked up in the basement of the Christian community for half a century or more were emerging. Mass audiences discovered tales of a powerful ring, Aslan the Lion, and the five missionaries who died at the hands of the Auca Indians, when The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and The End of The Spear debuted.
Our untold stories continue to emerge as we stand at the cusp of a burst of new creativity in Hollywood. The Christian community has finally been discovered--as producers and consumers. There has never been a better time to affirm our faith, to come out of the Christian closet. So, the 2006 Biola Media Conference posed the question, “Can Christians $ave Hollywood?” What will it cost us? Are we willing to pay the price?
We assembled a stellar team of luminaries in film, TV, and radio to ask the hard questions and push for more than easy answers at our 2006 BMC. We tapped into their collective, Christian wisdom, to figure out how to seize this opportune moment.
"The timing of the Biola Media Conference is truly divine,” says Craig Detweiler, screenwriter of Extreme Days and The Duke, author of “The Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture” and Chair of the Biola Mass Communication Department. “We've built on the success of Narnia, heard from the producers of the new X-MEN and Mission Impossible movies, and congratulated Scott Derrickson on his page one deal to direct PARADISE LOST, announced in Variety last week. We were thrilled by the caliber of professionals gathered from all aspects of media and we truly expected this to be a historic gathering—a moment of unprecedented celebration and opportunity for the Christian community in Hollywood."
2005 THE DEEP END
NAVIGATING THE OPEN WATERS OF HOLLYWOOD
At the 2005 BIOLA MEDIA CONFERENCE, we dove into THE DEEP END to Navigate the Open Waters of Hollywood. We went deeper... to take more risks as filmmakers, worship leaders and artists.
One of the operative words in our 2005 theme was "open." Ten years prior, people of faith might have been content to figure out how to get a foot in the door in Hollywood. They had adopted a defensive stance: "We're being attacked by the media. How do we defend ourselves? How do we get through a crack in their system?" Now, the questions and the atmosphere have completely changed. Those waters were opened because of Touched by an Angel, Joan of Arcadia, Bruce Almighty, and The Passion of the Christ. Hollywood saw that there was, and is, a massive interest and openness toward spiritual things.
The goals for the 2005 conference were to gather all of the collective wisdom from people of faith who have been working in Hollywood, and figure out a way to impart that to the next generation. We heard from people who have been running a slow steady race built on excellence, ethics, and integrity— who got to where they are by being great at what they do.
We invited experts, people of faith who have sailed the high seas of the Entertainment industry. And we enjoyed the unprecedented premiere of the then, upcoming film, Disney and Walden Media’s, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”.
Talented, faith-affirming producers and directors guided 2003’s box-office blockbusters Bruce Almighty, X2: X-Men United, and Elf. TV Guide noted the surprising success of Joan of Arcadia with a cover story entitled, “God & TV.” Books like The DaVinci Code, bands like P.O.D., and a little film called The Passion of Christ had millions of people discussing Jesus.
After decades of feeling like marginalized outsiders, the Christian community recognized a rare opportunity to move forward. Hopes of getting jobs, influencing content and creating transcendent entertainment had been achieved. The time to lament our inability to influence Hollywood’s content had passed.
People of faith are now working throughout the Entertainment Industry, from music to movies, post-production to public relations. We’re grateful for the pioneering efforts of those who’ve gone before us. Their prayers and vision have come to fruition. After decades of complaining about the media and feeling like marginalized outsiders, the Christian community can celebrate remarkable progress.
So, in the wake of all this good news, the 2004 Biola Media Conference wondered, “What’s Next?” “Where do we go from here?” “Now what?!” We endeavored to explore the questions appropriate to this new context. We contended for a few key men and women willing to put their faith to the test...those who were ready to take risks, to blaze trails, and to innovate. Many, wanting to experience God through your creativity, joined the conversation. The 2004 Biola Media Conference attempted to inspire nothing less than a new renaissance.
The Biola Media Conference successfully reconnected attendees to their profound artistic roots. Recovered their role as leaders in worship and the arts. And rallied them around the endless imagination of God!
