Top StoriesNew VP at FOX
Written by Margie Barron
The Fox Broadcasting Company has promoted Shana C. Waterman to senior vice president of current programming. Marcy Ross, the network’s executive VP of current programming, announced that, in this role, Waterman will assume more senior responsibility in overseeing production and serving as a primary creative adviser for Fox’s new and returning series. Waterman’s program slate has included “Glee,” “Fringe,” “Family Guy” and “The Mindy Project,” and she will continue to report to Ross. “Shana is not only a trusted creative partner to our talent, but also a dynamic and inspiring leader within our company,” says Ross. “Her fresh thinking and sharp creative instincts make her a tremendous asset to our programming leadership team.” Kevin Reilly, chairman of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company, also praises Waterman as “a top-flight programming executive.”
Sony’s New Editing Suites for Vegas Pro and Movie Studio Platinum 
DPA Microphones recently helped Emmy Award-winning Production Sound Mixer Ronan Hill deliver crystal-clear dialogue for the HBO hit series “Game of Thrones.” To ensure that his original recordings were as pristine as possible, Hill used DPA’s 4071 lavalier microphones to capture on-location dialogue for the medieval fantasy series’ third season. “The DPA 4071 microphones have really helped to keep ADR on ‘Game of Thrones’ to a minimum, and have contributed to the show receiving a Primetime Emmy for Best Sound,” says Hill. “As someone who was brought up to ‘get it on the boom’ and only use radio mics when there was no other way, I have become a convert to them when used with DPA’s 4071 lavalier microphones. When used outside, the 4071 provides really good isolation from environmental conditions while still retaining a natural vocal quality. It also offers reinforcement to the boom when utilized indoors. It is a rare occasion when these mics aren’t included in my audio mix.”
Sachtler, a company well respected for its camera support products is planning its 2013/14 catalog. Because a cover should represent what a company is all about, the folks at Sachtler have decided to let their users show how they perceive the brand and its values by offering a photo competition. The best shot will be shown on the cover of the new Sachtler catalog and its contributor will get a free FSB 8 tripod system with a Speed Lock tripod. Ace M MS tripod systems will be given-away to two participants in a random drawing.
Band Pro, the Burbank-based film and digital company, now has 3Deep, a revolutionary tool to capture the underwater world in 3D. The creation of Australian Inventor/Filmmaker Pawel Achtel follows on the successful launch of his DeepX underwater housing. 3Deep is for 3D underwater filming without the cumbersome equipment and images degraded by available underwater housings. Achtel’s system does away with ports and uses Nikonos lenses designed for underwater use — with no extra plastic or glass in front of them, they produce sharper images.
I first met Emmy Award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Bill Taylor, ASC in 1977 when I was a USC film student producing a tribute to Taylor’s Oscar-winning boss, Visual Effects Artist Albert Whitlock. Taylor had worked as a cameraman with Whitlock, and when Whitlock retired in 1985, Taylor and Matte Painting Supervisor Syd Dutton founded Illusion Arts, where the team worked on more than 200 movies. Taylor’s film credits include The Fast and the Furious, Bruce Almighty, The Notebook, Milk (for which Taylor and Dutton created more than 150 “invisible” shots) and, more recently, Lawless and First in Flight. 
The new ABC drama “Last Resort” is the latest TV series to film entirely in Hawaii. Executive Producer Shawn Ryan says the show is the culmination of his skills as a producer to do something on a huge scale. “It is a really difficult show from a storytelling standpoint to have the production in Hawaii and to manage that,” he explains. The show’s big budget and scope focuses on the crew of a nuclear submarine that has rogue government forces conspiring against them.
A popular Web destination for horror and suspense media, FEARnet.com is adding to its short-film library and giving fans the power to rate and review content. “Shorts are important to the film community at large,” says Sarah Shannon, FEARnet’s director of programming. “Some are funny, creepy, scary or spoofs. It doesn’t matter how long the short is, [because] as a horror fan you can still get what you want from it.” According to FEARnet President Peter Block, the site’s wide variety of shorts will offer work by established genre stars, as well as give a boost to new filmmakers.