Group developing area's filmmaking capacity | Rochester Business Journal New York business news and information

Evan Rubenstein's short film "Drive-Thru" uses the context of a tense wait in a fast food line to show a newly married couple's struggle to communicate. The film was shot in the area, using a local crew and actors.

If Rubenstein had filmed in Los Angeles or New York City, where he lived before relocating to Rochester, the film would have cost thousands of dollars. With the help of crew members he met through Rochester Movie Makers Inc., Rubenstein made the film for a fraction of that cost.

Rochester Movie Makers is a non-profit organization that came into existence a little more than two years ago. The group gives people involved in filmmaking an opportunity to collaborate and share ideas, and it fosters more local projects. Though it is a young organization, founder Stan Main plans for it to become an important part of establishing Rochester as a vibrant filmmaking community.

Main studied in Austin, Texas, at an organization called Austin FilmWorks. When he returned to Rochester to work in digital video, he tried to find an organization similar to Austin FilmWorks, a place where aspiring filmmakers, actors and screenwriters could meet and discuss projects. But nothing of the sort existed in Rochester.

"We have Rochester Institute of Technology here and Monroe Community College and (SUNY College at) Brockport, and they might have a film class or two. But there's not a small-scale, low-dough option for people," Main says. "At Austin they offered two semesters' worth of classes, and I thought it was possible to do what Austin FilmWorks did without charging admission. I wanted a place where people could just come and create some structure."

The group he created originally met at the Brighton library, discussing projects that members were working on and hearing from presenters in the filmmaking world. The participants also brought their ideas for short films, ultimately picking the best ones and breaking into teams to make them. Three films were shot during the first summer, in 2008, and eight were shot this year, though not all have been finished yet.

In October many of the films were screened at Water Street Music Hall. Rubenstein says he expected between 30 and 40 people to show up, but the event drew more than 100.

Main envisions Rochester becoming a movie-making hub someday, and that would take the cooperation of many groups with a stake in filmmaking, including his own, he says. Another important step would be keeping RIT film and digital video students here after graduation.

"I've worked with several RIT students, and they graduate and go to New York City, Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles," Main says. "That is definitely a trend we have to stop if this were to become a real filmmaking community.

"We're not there yet, but I don't think it's impossible to get there."

Rochester Movie Makers is an important step toward that goal, Rubenstein says.

"I think the main thing about Rochester Movie Makers, especially for a midsized city, is there are a lot of people working on various projects but nothing connecting them together," he says. "What we didn't have until now was community, or that level of access. Rochester Movie Makers is all about access and community."

The organization helps to connect many people involved in the filmmaking process, not just those who stand behind the lens. Its monthly meetings also draw actors, writers and musicians who score films, Rubenstein notes.

Less experienced members get the chance to be mentored by more seasoned professionals. Derrick Petrush, Rochester Movie Makers co-chairman, owns a video and production company and takes on many freelance assignments locally. He says the group has helped him find people to hire for his productions.

Having a larger group of people with knowledge of digital video production and other filmmaking skills is attractive to larger productions that might consider Rochester as a location, Petrush says.

"The production market here in town isn't yet to the size we would like to see, especially for us freelance guys, but it's good to start to stir up people who are interested," he says.

More films made locally could give Rochester Movie Makers members a chance to learn both on the set and in the classroom. Main brings a series of speakers to the monthly meetings, including John Richardson, executive director of the former Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, now known as 360 | 365. When a graduate of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT filmed a movie locally, Main had him come in as well.

The educational component is related to the organization's recently obtained 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Main says Rochester Movie Makers eventually will move out of shared space at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester and into a space of its own.

To grow the organization to that point, Main says, there must be a greater emphasis on fundraising, which he admits is not his strong suit. The group now collects dues of $25 from voting members and $10 from students-though the public is welcome to attend meetings at the Visual Studies Workshop regardless of dues.

Main says he is looking for sponsorships and working with a member who has business connections and experience in fundraising. He has preliminary plans for a competition in January that will give participants 72 hours to complete a short film on an assigned topic.

With funding, Rochester Movie Makers will further its reach into the community, Main says.

"We would like for our outreach into the inner city to grow so we can allow a low-cost entry into filmmaking for inner city youth," he says. "More importantly, I would like to become a real educational co-op with our own building space and equipment."