Variety Debuts Artisans, Targeting Hollywood's Below-the-Line Community

LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Variety today announced the launch of a newly branded feature called Artisans, devoting comprehensive coverage on and for the talented individuals who work behind the scenes in the entertainment business. Artisans will debut on July 29, running regularly in the weekly magazine as well as on Variety.com.

The new report will focus on the art and business across the entire spectrum of craftspeople who work in the production and post-production communities for movies and television shows – including cinematographers, production and costume designers, visual effects artists, editors, production and location managers, 2nd unit directors, prop masters, set painters, grips, stunt workers and music supervisors as well as agents who represent below-the-line talent.

"This is an area of the industry that has been widely unreported and Variety intends to own this coverage," says Claudia Eller, Variety editor-in-chief, film. "No movie, TV show or commercial could be made without the hard work of these unsung heroes. And we are committed to telling their stories and shining a spotlight on the tough issues they confront in their jobs."

Each edition of Artisans will include a major feature story; profiles of artists and their skills; news of Hollywood unions and guilds; a spotlight on ever-changing shifts in tax incentives; and the impact of runaway production on the lives of workers and the Southern California economy. Artisans will also feature Variety's unique production charts, powered by Variety Insight, listing major new projects starting around the world. The section will also bring back Variety's Bookings & Signings column – a regular update on who's landing which major below-the-line jobs on new film and TV productions.

Peter Caranicas, Variety managing editor, features, will serve as editor of Artisans, working closely with Eller and VP/executive editor Steven Gaydos. Key staff contributors will include Tim Gray (awards coverage), David S. Cohen (technology), Steve Chagollan (cinematography), Dave McNary (guilds and production incentives), and Ted Johnson (government and legal). Variety's network of overseas writers will contribute production and location stories from around the world, focusing particularly on the international tax incentives that drive global filmmaking.

Artisans coverage will also incorporate online video, including original in-studio interviews and field reports with key industry players. Cohen, Variety's award-winning technology and post-production reporter, will be the producer for Artisans videos. Cohen will share on-camera hosting duties with others from the newsroom.

The inaugural edition of Artisans will coincide with a July 29 cover story by Variety senior film and media reporter Brent Lang about women working below the line – a story focusing on the difficulties they've long faced in a man's world and how they're gradually overcoming them.

The same edition of Variety will also include the magazine's annual Below-the-Line Impact Report, profiling nearly 100 individuals whose craft over the past year has had a major influence on their peers and on the industry as a whole.

The addition of Artisans continues Variety's significant rebranding as the industry's leading source of entertainment business news and analysis in print and online since being acquired by Penske Media Corporation in October 2012.

About Variety
Variety and Variety.com provide the industry with the most comprehensive coverage of motion pictures, television and the digital space.  With respected and experienced news reporters in Los Angeles, New York and around the world, Variety marries its historic coverage of entertainment business with technologically advanced website and new weekly print edition, offering readers the in-depth news coverage needed to remain competitive in the ever-changing entertainment industry.  The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, LA 411, NY 411 – is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

About PMC
Penske Media Corporation (PMC) is a leading digital media and publishing company founded by Jay Penske in 2004. One of the world's largest digital media companies in the world, PMC operates more than 20 websites as well as 40 annual events and conferences. PMC's unique and growing portfolio of brands publishes the web's best original content in entertainment, sports, breaking news, media, finance, technology, fashion, beauty, and health. PMC Studios, Deadline.com, Variety, OnCars, HollywoodLife, ENTV, India.com, Movieline, TVLine, BGR, AwardsLine, LA411, NY411, Young Hollywood Awards, The Style Awards, and Breakthrough of the Year Awards are all part of the expanding PMC portfolio. For more information on PMC and its brands, please visit: www.PMC.com or its digital properties directly.

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SOURCE Variety