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Each month we will showcase a City agency employee or an industry specialist who helps to facilitate production in New York City.
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McGowan in her HDNet/Open City Films offices Gretchen McGowan: Seeing New York in High Definition September 1, 2006 - Gretchen McGowan, head of production at HDNet/Open City Films, breaks the mold of a traditional studio production chief. McGowan is currently shifting gears between all aspects of production on 22 different projects. But she's not complaining! McGowan relishes in keeping herself involved in all facets of HDNet/Open City. “I get impatient working one specific angle of any production,” says McGowan. “We're a small company, so I get to wear many hats.” Whatever HDNet/Open City projects lack in size, however, the company more than makes up for it in its significance. HDNet/Open City, created by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner along with Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente in November 2003 (and based here in New York), shoots all projects in high definition. That offers unique challenges for McGowan. “It's both easier and harder at the same time,” she explains. “You can get your movie in the can for less money. Also, I find that directors who screen for an audience at a festival can choose to make changes, whereas it would be prohibitive in another format. There are newer and better formats coming out each month, so that can be challenging. But whereas five years ago it was intimidating, now it's attractive.” In addition to being drawn to both the attractions and trials of shooting in high-def, McGowan is attracted to New York as a film location. The company produced five narrative features last year, four of which were shot in the New York City area: The Architect; along with Diggers, a period piece taking place in the 1970's, which takes a look at the lives of hard-living clamdiggers and the changes swirling around them; Fay Grim, starring Parker Posey, a film revolving around a single mother whose runaway ex-husband may not be everything she thought he was; and Quid Pro Quo, starring Nick Stahl as a wheelchair bound NPR personality, and Vera Farmiga as the able-bodied woman who develops a relationship with him. "We were able to use the tax rebate program. It was exciting. We now have fun exploring new areas of New York, locations you don't see in every New York movie,” says McGowan. “That can be tricky, but we've discovered the borough of Staten Island, [and] we've tried to work in Queens and Brooklyn whenever possible.” The local crews also add to New York's appeal. McGowan, for all of the work she's done in the city, has found that “New York production crews are sophisticated. Every New York technician sort of has another story…they're not just a technician, they have another skill set. Like every New Yorker there are lots of layers there.” She is a bit partial, however, because, as she pointedly remarks, “I'm married to an IATSE member.” McGowan has just as much praise for her co-workers at HDNet/Open City. “We've pulled together a really fantastic team at HDNet films. We have an exciting slate for next year - some projects that will push the limit with regards to visual effects and with regards to budget cap.” It would be understandable that dealing with the intricacies of HD combined with a growing budget may intimidate McGowan. But she shrugs it off. “That's the one thing that shooting in HD has taught us,” says McGowan. “There's always something new to learn.”  More Industry Stars | |
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 design by  The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting 1697 Broadway Suite 602, New York, New York 10019. |
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