WinGateFilms
Movies are one of the most powerful media for storytelling in the modern age. Although live theater has its own ineffable quality as an artistic outlet for communicating the human experience, motion pictures immortalize artistic performances by capturing sound and images for as long as the human race may last. 100 years from now, 1000 years from now, audiences will still be able to enjoy classic films such as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Casablanca, along with popular box office sensations such as Titanic, Star Wars, E.T., Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Independent film came to prominence with the founding of Sundance in 1979 and the emergence of Miramax in the 1980s. Pioneers of independent films such as John Sayles, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, Gus Van Sant, John Waters, the Coen brothers, and others like Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Darren Aronofsky, etc., paved the way for today's independent filmmaking taking advantage of the digital video technology that makes digital filmmaking affordable to just about anyone.
In the spirit of do-it-yourself digital filmmaking, WinGateFilms served as the production vehicle for Philadelphia area actor, Michael Wingate Jones' first short film, Nothing But Net. Shot over two days on a weekend in October, 2005, orchestrating an on-set crew of about 20 each day, and utilizing over 20 principal actors and 10 or so background players, NBN was an extremely ambitious first-time short film project.
Since being completed in the Spring of 2006, Nothing But Net has enjoyed a modest success on the regional film festival and independent film screening circuit, including screenings at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia and the 2006 Cannes Short Film Corner in France. In 2008, a shortened, revised edit was submitted to additional festivals and venues for screening. This latest version of NBN premiered as an Official Selection at the 2008 Appalachian Film Festival (WV), and also screened as Official Selections of the 2008 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the 2008 Washougal International Film Festival (WA).
Since 2007, WinGateFilms has attended numerous presentations on script development, film financing, distribution and marketing, including events sponsored by the Institute for International Film Financing, Film Synergy Magic, LLC, Scribe Video Center, and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Online summary reviews of some of these programs can be viewed at the WGF Weblog site.
Capitalizing on Mr. Jones' legal and graduate business training (JD/MBA), WinGateFilms also seeks to consult and assist independent filmmakers interested in exploring a variety of issues relating to raising film financing, arranging independent film distribution and producing independent films. The WinGateFilms Resources page at this site collects a wide selection of useful links for this purpose.