Jacksonville film production buffs, look out for the launch of Jacksonville.com’s Cinemania, a community-based group of amateur and professional Florida videographers and filmmakers working to hone their skills. Led by longtime screenwriter Sharon Cobb, the group is designed to help amateur Florida filmmakers and videographers launch their careers and make the jump from part-time purveyors of short films to full time Florida film production professionals.

The group debuts Monday, Feb. 15 with a screening of the four top winners of the 2010 Doorpost Film Project, an annual short film competition. The event takes place at the Five Points Theatre, 1022 Park Street in the Five Points neighborhood of Jacksonville’s Riverside district. Admission is free, but get there early to make sure you’ve got a seat.

The films showing are:

•    The Butterfly Circus, a touching, Great Depression-era story of a circus showman leading his troupe through the America’s devastated landscape, inspiring and being inspired along the way by a cast of characters including a quadriplegic whom they befriend at a carnival sideshow;
•    La Premiere, the story of the Lumiere Brothers, Auguste and Louis, credited with taking motion pictures from the tiny Kinetiscope to the big screen – the invention of the cinema as we know it today;
•    The Rift, a metaphorical tale about a man who wakes up in a dark, despair-ridden place that he fears is Hell and learns a lesson in how one act of love can change the course of a person’s life;
•    Guest Room, a character-driven drama about a man who finds another beaten and passed out at a remote highway rest stop and decides to help, launching a friendship and a journey that proves the people who have the greatest impact on our lives can be the ones we least expect to matter at all.

Cinemania plans monthly film events including film-related workshops and stage screenplay readings, discount screenings of feature films, independent films and films by Florida film production companies Jacksonville video production professionals.

If you’re inspired to launch your own filmmaking career, Digital Video Arts can help. Our Jacksonville video production company is state-of-the-art and our team are industry veterans with unmatched creative energy. Let us help produce your first or next film and give you the professional edge you’ll need to compete and succeed.

Calling all Florida film production and Florida video production enthusiasts: Get your creative juices flowing! “Digital Grafitti,” the world’s first projection art festival is accepting entries for its third annual festival, June 12 2010 in Alys Beach on Florida’s Emerald Coast. This one-of-a-kind festival uses the latest film and video projection technologies to project original video art onto walls and rooftops all over town. In just two years, Digital Graffiti has become a hit among emerging Florida videographers and other Florida film production pros and graffiti artists, as well as attracting thousands of spectators and competitors from around the world. Projects have come from France, Thailand, Belgium, India, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, England, Austria, Ireland, Canada, U.K., China, and all over the U.S.

“Nowhere else does the architecture of an entire community become a canvas for digital art,” Florida Governor Charlie Crist said in a media release announcing Digital Graffiti’s call for entries. “Digital Graffiti embodies the innovation and originality that Florida prides itself on supporting.”

Crist is a big supporter of Florida film and video and has supported much of the Jacksonville film and video industry’s initiatives.

Of course, all the young “starving artist” filmmakers want to know: What’s the prize? In 2009, Digital Graffiti awarded more than $6,000 in cash prizes, including a $2,000 “Best of Show” prize. For 2010, the haul is even bigger. Digital Graffiti will award $10,000 to various category winners with the “Best of Show” winner taking home $5,000. There is no entry fee and artists retain full copyright ownership of their works, though Digital Graffiti , Alys Beach and sponsoring partners do gets unrestricted right to use submissions for promotional purposes. It’s a nice deal for any winning Florida video production pro.

Entry deadline is March 15. Visit www.digitalgraffiti.com for all the info. And of course, if you need help getting your Jacksonville film or video project ready to compete, call Digital Video Arts at 904-281-1001 or 888-340-1010.

Hey Florida film production pros, The annual DocMiami International Film Festival is accepting submissions for its 2010 event May 28-30 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa. The festival recognizes the best among emerging documentary filmmakers from around the world. The popularity of documentaries is exploding these days, with bigger audience numbers and more theatrical releases than ever before.

Here at Digital Video Arts, we know the allure of the documentary – the most effective medium to tell a story in a visually and audibly moving way. Our expert Florida video production team has produced or co-produced numerous documentaries on subjects ranging from the Suwannee River Music Festival to the life and times of legendary pro golfer Bobby Jones to the true stories of men who fought in the Viet Nam War.

Need help getting your documentary produced, finished or packaged in time to submit to DocMiami? Digital Video Arts is a top-rated Florida video production company and Florida recording studio boasting an expert team of film, video and music recording professionals with decades of experience. We can take your film or video production project from concept to completion or assist with your ala carte video production needs including music recording and DVD packaging.

Visit www.docmiami.org for all the info on the 2010 festival. Then, call Digital Video Arts to help you get your project ready to compete.