Whoops! Say, wasn't there a rug underneath my feet a few minutes ago...?

Rumors have been flying and, in my silence, perhaps understandably so. One rumor is true, one is false. Here's to setting the record straight.

(1) Rumor: MacFilmmakers has disbanded.

Reality: FALSE. MacFilmmakers HAS been on hiatus, mostly planned--first through the November/December holiday period and then through January (for Sundance, where I was out of town for the latter half of the month)--but we are most definitely NOT "disbanded". We do plan to meet again and on a regular, if reduced, schedule (see below). That said...

(2) Rumor: Apple has announced that user groups, such as MacFilmmakers, can no longer schedule rooms on the Apple campus.

Reality: Sadly, this rumor is TRUE. I have confirmed with the powers that be that, as of this moment, the proverbial rug has been yanked out from under our feet as we (and all other user groups) will NOT be allowed to use Apple meeting rooms going forward. However, that is not necessarily the final word on the subject as I am aggressively (but nicely, of course) following through to see if there are creative and/or agreeable workarounds; I'll have more to say about this after such internal exploration has happened. Naturally, even if this icky status quo remains in place, there are other meeting locations that might be available.

So, pending finding a suitable location for March-ish, we are likely to have a MacFilmmakers meeting. Going forward, however, we might be looking at a different kind of schedule, i.e., rather than monthly meetings perhaps quarterly meetings. And/or perhaps more "co-sponsored" meetings, ourselves with other established groups, and then splitting costs that might be associated with room fees (if any).

And, independent of meeting room challenges, there are other ways we can stay vital and viable as a group. For example, there is a short filmmaking project tentatively scheduled for production at the end of March/early April that could involve large portions of our membership--more information on this as the schedule is fleshed out in pre-production.

Anyway, my apologies for my lack of communication. I had planned to send out an update in January before I left for Sundance--and then promptly got sick for the two weeks preceding Sundance. Then, the day I got back from Sundance, I got sick again for another week-ish. Nothing scary either time--and thankfully I was in perfect health during Sundance--but both illnesses were enough to knock me on my keister for those several weeks.

--Kevin