Becoming a Filmmaker in Dallas
By Diane Webb
with Aurek Brillowski
Whether it be a burning desire to promote awareness of a social concern or a subject matter dear to you, or Hollywood glamour and fame, or simply the need to create through a moving medium, filmmaking can be a very exciting endeavor. Unfortunately, a mere 3 page essay cannot begin to encompass what may be required. However, we hope to provide some significant resources and insight to get you headed in the right direction.
Fortunately for most of us, the first place to start no longer has to be Hollywood. Dallas right now provides both the aspiring director and the veteran producer of features all the resources needed for the majority of films produced today.
Indeed, the Dallas area has been involved in the film and television industry for many years. From 1962’s version of State Fair with Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, and Ann-Margret to the creepy Logan’s Run with much of it’s set at Valley View Mall, to Oliver Stone’s JFK and Born on the Fourth of July. Along with 50+ other well known films, Dallas and it’s surrounding communities provide one of the widest selection of locations anywhere in the country. And the professional production resources, sets, and crews are all at the ready. And lets certainly not forget, for better or worse, our television productions including Prison Break, Walker, Texas Ranger, and of course old Barney and Wishbone, and of course our very own short-lived reality show, The Benefactor.
And with budgets ranging from a few thousand dollars to over $100 million, filmmaking can have a significant impact on a local economy. Recognizing the growing importance and potential of the filmmaking industry to the local economy the Dallas Film Commission was founded in 2002. The film commission is a department of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, and is a non-profit organization, which is supported by the City of Dallas. Janis Burklund, is the Director of the Dallas Film Commission, and has been promoting the Dallas/Fort Worth area since 1997 thru film commissions.