Making Money In The Entertainment Business

Posted on April 30, 2013 by ctaylor

Milwaukee's Annual Money Conference, How to Make Money in the Entertainment Business.

How to Make Money in the Entertainment Business- Milwaukee Money Conference

What’s up party people? You know I thought it a little bit odd that a conference on financial literacy would request me to come speak on entertainment business. If you ask me to come speak to a group though, I am on my way.

So last Saturday, I touched down in Milwaukee at the old Parkman Middle School, which is now called BEAM. I walked into a small classroom with about 10 people in it and began my 45-minute session with a ton of urgency because it is only 45 minutes and anyone who knows me, knows that I have much more wind than 45 minutes. Furthermore, I am currently in the process of releasing my new album “Regular People Rap” so the entire episode felt super current and relevant to me.

We made the most of that session and it was worth the drive and time to spend a few moments sharing with the people what I have been learning in my time away from Milwaukee. I am a Milwaukee native and I miss living at home tremendously, for me to be able to come home and share a little of my College Degrees and experiences feels so rewarding. If you call me and would like for me to come to your conference or organization to discuss media education or entertainment, I will be on my way commune and share with you as well. In the end, giving back is all that we really have.

Milwaukee Money Conference Flyer

-Chris “Godxilla” Taylor

Check out what programs are offered at Madison Media Institute.

Entertainment & Media Business Special Guest Lectures

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Matkins

It’s a busy week for the Entertainment & Media Business program!

It’s great when a few things co-incide to make a better more connected class. This week in Associates Entertainment & Media Business, we’ll be talking about film/ad/tv placements. I’m going to bring in a piece of that section from my new book with tips from Gabe McDonough (an architect of deals that have included pairing Bud Light Lime with Santigold and Os Mutantes with McDonald’s) and Gary Calamar (an American DJ and Grammy Award-nominated film and television music supervisor whose credits include Six Feet Under, House, True Blood, Dexter and Varsity Blues. He also hosts a long-running program on the influential radio station KCRW in Santa Monica, CA)

THEN Mike Huberty will stop by to chat about Broadjam – a Madison based company that connects music seekers with music providers! awesome stuff!

Mike Huberty is the manager of Artist Services at Broadjam and deals directly with the music publishers, supervisors, and A&R people looking for these songs.

Broadjam is a musician-oriented webhosting and services company as well as running music listings that connect songwriters and artists with music industry professionals. Mike Huberty is the manager of Artist Services at Broadjam and deals directly with the music publishers, supervisors, and A&R people looking for these songs.

This weeks Special Guest Lecture Schedule:

Wednesday:
9:00 a.m. – Theater Building B – CHINA – An inside look at the Chinese music scene – traditional instruments and scratch djs!

2:30 p.m. PUNK! – The history of PUNK as a guy who was in a band with Johnny Rotten and in the UK in the middle of it all

Thursday:
1:30 p.m. Mike Huberty of BROADJAM will be joining the associates EMB class in room 103 to talk about film & ad placements for music.

4:00 p.m.- Building B Theater CHINA-An inside look at the Chinese music scene – traditional instruments and scratch djs!

Great stuff – see you in class!

-Martin A.

Check out how you can be a part of the Entertainment & Media Business Program!

Design School vs. Online Tutorials

Posted on April 29, 2013 by tmickleburgh

Learn Graphic Design and Web Design at Madison Media Institute!

Choosing a design school over learning from online tutorials is a challenge many people face.The digital revolution happened quickly in the field of visual design. It is less than 30 years since Apple and Adobe introduced desktop publishing, and only 20 years since the unveiling of Mosaic, the first web browser. There are plenty of designers working today who learned their trade at the drawing board, not the workstation, but what about someone just starting out? What kind of design school might they look for? Do they need a school at all, or is it possible to learn a design program from online tutorials?

To answer the last question first: yes and no. You might learn a software program from the Internet, but that is not learning to be a designer. Designers communicate messages to specific audiences; they inform, persuade or simply entertain, using colors, shapes, pictures and text to create messages that are clearly understood. Software like the Adobe Creative Suite is extremely useful in the design process, but it doesn’t design, any more that a pencil and paper design. These are just the tools.

A good design school will offer teachers who have experience as working designers, and can explain the context and the process of making designs. It will provide training in current software, and access to the relevant hardware, and it will show you how the different software works together and fits into the design process. It will offer training in the traditional skills of drawing and coloring, but it will also tackle web design and development. Finally, it should feel creative. There should be work on the walls, and an enthusiasm among your fellow learners.

You’ll be a student for a relatively short time, but you’ll never stop learning; that’s the nature of visual design.

Choosing the right design school is making the right start.

-Tim M.

Learn about the Digital Art and Design Program offered at Madison Media Institute!

Media Careers: What is EMB?

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Mikeb

Media Careers are plentiful. Make yours a reality and learn from some of the biggest names in business, like Mike Bailey (left) and Martin Atkins (right) former drummer of Nine Inch Nails

Media Careers

Media careers offer a wide variety of appealing options for people interested in multi-media, management, and digital marketing, among many more things.

“What is EMB?”

As the Department Chair for the Entertainment & Media Business Program this is a question I hear quite often. I’d like to say it’s where Louis C.K., Radiohead, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jack Dorsey are informing your future, but that is only part of the story. If there were one overriding theme to EMB, it would be Social Media and the World Wide Web. EMB is about Marketing, Management, Entrepreneurship and the Internet, none of which happen without the web.

EMB students are learning to market themselves, their projects, their skills and their businesses – as well as learning how to these things for others. Whatever your background and whichever MMI program you come from – recording, video, gaming, design – the EMB program helps develop skills that facilitate becoming a well-rounded, diverse individual – ultimately a more employable individual prepared for a variety of media careers. The technical skills you learn in an MMI Associates Program, combine with the knowledge and experience you gain in EMB will prepare you for a career in the world of entertainment and beyond; weather you’re a project manager, running your own business, developing full-scale campaigns for clients, or just becoming a more equipped and employable person in the job market.

The program encompasses a balanced variety of courses in marketing, public relations, event management, project development and entrepreneurship. We have courses concentrating on new mobile applications, web platforms and online trends, alongside classes that focus on search engine optimization and web analytics. We’ve also developed some exciting new General Education classes; an Environmental Science class based around sustainable living, and Art in the Community, which explores the Arts happening all around the Madison area.

Perhaps the most attractive part of the program is that it allows you to customize a portion of the content to suit your likes and interests. Students are encouraged to get involved in projects outside the classroom and use them to develop skills AND get credit. Almost any media related project, if you’re willing to put forth the effort to make it happen, we’ll make it part of your EMB experience.

Finally, we should not underestimate the basic fact that it’s a Bachelor Degree, providing value for more than just interest in the music business, but rather a piece of paper that means quite a bit once you’re in the job market. That’s not meant to undermine your Associate Degree; the Associate Degree is an excellent accomplishment and a great stepping-stone to what you do next. However, a Bachelor Degree tends to make you more employable, and right now most jobs, even entry-level jobs, require a Bachelor Degree for consideration.

I’ve been part of the EMB program since its inception, what it is has constantly morphed and changed just like the industries we’re feeding. For me, the excitement is being a student of the entertainment business; I’m always interested and always trying to share my knowledge and enthusiasm for this material with those willing to listen. Sit in on one of our classes to see what kind of media careers you can pursue.

-Mike B.

Find out how you can enroll in the MMI Entertainment & Media Business Program!

MMI Students Showcased At GMCC Business Expo!

Posted on April 22, 2013 by lmael

MMI students to be showcased at the 2013 GMCC Business Expo!

While the media age has changed the way we do business having most of us making our purchases online, reviewing resumes through Pinterest or meeting our next mate through a dot com site, there is still no substitution when job hunting for meeting someone face-to-face, looking them their eye and shaking their hand. We are still a world made up of real people who want to do business with someone they know. The same is true for meeting potential job candidates. Most business leaders are always building their “bench strength” everywhere they go. They view each person they meet as a potential employee candidate.

Recognizing this, MMI Career Services has secured booth space at the 2013 GMCC Business Expo and has invited students and graduates to participate! While all the standards will apply – there will be a banner, brochures, candy, mini-bottles of water and a running looping video of all things MMI – there will also be students present with laptops showing off the work they do. They will have resumes and business cards to share and hand out to any and all Expo attendees who are savvy enough to check out the MMI booth. Armed with a bottle of hand sanitizer they will be shaking hands, smiling widely and hoping that on Tuesday, April 23^rd at the Alliant Energy Center they will be introduced to their next employer.

So, if you’re an employer, stop out and see us. We’ll be at booth #323 from 10am to 4pm. If you’re an MMI student or grad and would like to join us – email me at lmael@mediainstitute.edu and see if there are still open spots in our booth staffing schedule.

Remember, we’re always trying to sell either ourselves or the product we represent. Sales is all about building a relationship, establishing trust and relating to someone else. If you’re still wondering why networking and face-to-face meetings are so important, here’s a few points to consider:

· Breaks down barriers– when you meet someone in person they become well, a person instead of a name, a company or something unknown, there’s no hiding behind electronics here.

· Creates a relationship and shared experience – in today’s world we forget that what someone says and how they act can sometimes be two very different things. Meeting someone “live” creates a bond that we can trust and believe in because their words and actions have to match – if this match this causes us to start caring about each other and our opinions of each other.

· Opportunity to view verbal and non-verbal cues – you learn a lot from talking to someone and being able to view their non-verbal cues at the same time. While words tell us a lot the combination of words and actions tell us more. You can’t get that by email, text or twitter.

-Laura M.

Interested in learning more about the programs offered Madison Media Institute?

Independent Digital Film- First Bachelors Of Its Kind

Posted on April 18, 2013 by nellac

Three powerful reasons why you want to be an independent filmmaker.

Independent Digital Film is the newest program at Madison Media Institute.

I couldn’t sleep one night and I was sitting in my office and I realized that I was an independent filmmaker. - Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan)

Darren Aronofsky is one of the premier filmmakers of our time. He has been able to translate a small independent full length feature into a career with magnitude. Is this something you may be interested in as well?

Let’s take a closer look at what it means to be an independent filmmaker. First of all, we know film Inspires, Educates, Explores, Expands, & Entertains.

The Motion Picture and Television production industry has been America’s biggest creative economy but it is dominated by small businesses, individual craftsmen and freelancers. You want to be part of this burgeoning industry. It combines creativity, technology, business and hands-on production; the process is fascinating.

Madison Media Institute is offering the FIRST Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Independent Film.

Students who complete the Independent Digital Film program will be able to not only create independent films, but set up a freelance business as well as work within the many aspects of the film industry.

Students will gain the basic skills and crafts of filmmaking because the industry depends on an economically diverse workforce and vast project collaboration. Over 285,000 people in the US are employed in the production, marketing, manufacturing and distribution of creative film works.

This program prepares students for the reality of the marketplace through the instruction of the filmmaking business and behind -the – scenes aspects of filmmaking but what is influencing the film industry? How is the market changing? There are three powerful reasons.

1. With the influx of online distributors like Netflix’s Red Envelope, YouTube’s Screening Room and Amazon’s Studios, more opportunities are given to all filmmakers.

2. More states are courting Hollywood as locations sites and Hollywood film is still one of the biggest exports of American entertainment.

3. According to the Bureau of Labor, the employment rate will increase rapidly over the next six years. For well trained producers, writers, directors and editors, the increase is expected to 17%.

Many small or indie filmmakers provide the best job prospects for entry level workers and many workers who have formal training can expect to work in the industry fairly quickly. The need for fulfilling the many roles of film production is surpassing the supply. Concentrated and advanced training is particularly relevant as the filmmaking industry begins to expand.

This program also equips students with the hierarchical processes and skills to make quality short films culminating in a Digital Film Final Project in the fourth semester. From managing productions, to finding distributors and production assistants, there will continue to be an increased need and a priority given to highly trained and experienced employees. The marked increase in film festivals in almost every city in the United States is powerful as is the anecdotal evidence of this trend and through innovative technology, this industry continues grows and flourishes.

You want to be an INDEPENDENT filmmaker? The keyword here is “Independent.” Madison Media Institute has the training.

-Nella C.

Find out how you can be a part of the Independent Digital Film program!

Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator’s Conference

Posted on April 18, 2013 by dwettstein

Madison Media Institute Financial Aid Administrator Jenny is present at the Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator’s Conference.

So far it’s been a good conference. Jenny’s team from the conference won the Amazing Race event last night! The photo above is of her team with Dave Brown, winner of season 20 of the Amazing Race who was the speaker last night.

-Deena W.

Madison Media Institute Sponsor of Launchpad Regionals

Posted on April 18, 2013 by mwelter

If you are in high school and have musical talent, Launchpad is definitely the competition for you! Launchpad is a statewide music competition held only for high school students. Madison Media Institute was a sponsor of the Madison Regionals on Friday April 12th at Sun Prairie High School.

It was really great to see the passion and talent in this group of students. At one point, I thought we were on the set of American Idol (some of the singers were outstanding). The Super Star potential was definitely seen that night!

At the end of the Madison completion 3 bands were chosen to move on to the State Finals that will be held on Saturday, June 8^th at Union South (MMI is also a sponsor of this event).

I can’t wait to see the other regional winners all come together and battle it out!

-Megan W.

Check out the MMI Programs you could take to help you make it in the Music Industry!

Willie Nelson at the Overture Center

Posted on April 17, 2013 by willn

Willie Nelson Concert at the Overture Center

So, a month or so ago my Mom wins tickets on 96.3FM Star Country in Madison,. WI. Turns out they’re Willie Nelson tickets, one of her all time favorite musicians. Because she knows I play guitar, and that I have an appreciation for Willie, she invited me along. What can I say, he’s got a good name.

Growing up my mom played classic country all the time. So, I am well versed in the older country scene….Hank Williams Sr., and Jr., Dolly Parton, Kenny Rodgers, Waylon Jennings, Oakridge Boys, George Strait, George Jones, Johnny Cash, the list goes on.

So… I admit, I’m a classic country fan. It’s in my blood, the stuff was playing through our house 24/7.

Anyway,

The concert was April 13^th at the Overture Center. As you can see from the pictures the tickets she won were not that bad, we were in the Orchestra Section, dead center. The Opening act was Peggy Young, who played more of a bluesy country vibe. She was not to bad; she had a smoking guitar player that was tearing up the telecaster. Most interesting was that she is the wife of songwriting legend Neil Young. Of course, Neil had a great solo career but also had a big stake in the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

After Peggy was done, the roadies came in and cleared out the instruments. Leaving only a grand piano, upright acoustic bass, snare drum and a separate section for the bongos, not to forget, of course in the middle of the stage, Willie’s guitar.

All in all, Willie did a good job, he could still work the fret board very well, I’m not sure If he was keeping great time, nor was his voice what it used to be, but give the man a break, he is still touring at 79 years old.

I think the most memorable event was when he sang one of his new songs called “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die.”

For those who don’t know Nelson is the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is in favor of marijuana legalization.

After the show was over, Willie took time to sign autographs and throw out some headbands to the crowd, (which he did during the show as well).

On our way home driving on the Beltline, we cruised passed his tour bus headed towards Cedar Rapids, Iowa for another concert that following night!

-Will N.

Learn more about the programs offered at Madison Media Institute!

Audio Visual: How To Install A TV Mount

Posted on April 16, 2013 by bengwall

How to Install a TV Mount to Metal Studs

MMI Electronic & Audio Visual System’s Instructor Ben Engwall will demonstrate the proper techniques to use in order to properly install a TV mount to metal studs.

Enjoy!

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