Emmy Champ ‘Modern Family’ to Showcase Wyoming

The primetime network television winner of five Emmy Awards Sunday night is taking “Modern Family” on a Wyoming dude ranch vacation in its season premiere episode this week. Even before the national broadcast Wednesday, state tourism officials say a half-million dollars in publicity has been garnered by hosting the cast and crew of the ABC sitcom on Lost Creek Ranch in Teton County last month.

Jackson Hole residents along with town and county officials provided financial backing and other incentives to entice show producers to choose a Wyoming location.  “It’s much more beautiful here than it would have been had we faked it in California,” noted Steve Levitan, executive producer of the hit comedy. The show is also hoping to qualify for a cash rebate from the Wyoming Film Office program known as “FIFI” – Film Industry Financial Incentive. That program was extended by the state legislature in the 20ll session.

Diane Shober, Wyoming tourism director, says a media evaluation service is collecting and assessing publicity values.  So far more than 400 newspaper, magazine, and website feature stories have been published about the “Modern Family” premiere set in Wyoming. Shober says the coverage would have cost $492,000 if purchased as advertising. “Once the show is broadcast combined with the re-airings that follow the state will attain publicity on a scale we could never afford in our tourism marketing budget,” Shober added.

Shober’s office bought television time to run Wyoming tourism advertising during the “Modern Family” broadcast Wednesday night in key markets across the country including Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Portland and St. Louis.  That purchase totaled $84,600.

The state tourism office has also built a new landing page on its website –www.wyomingtourism.org – that will move into play this week. Site visitors who show interest in “Modern Family” can be registered to win a free Wyoming vacation at the same ranch where the show was shot.

“We truly believe that not only the guest ranches but all of Wyoming’s tourism industry is poised to gain a major boost from this popular show,” Shober said.

 

For more information on “Modern Family,” visit ABC.com. Photography and video available at www.abcmedianet.com.

AMERICA’S STATE PARKS ANNOUNCES ITS FINALIST IN ITS AMERICA’S STATE PARKS FILMMAKER CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY SONY CREATIVE SOFTWARE

 America’s State Parks today announced nineteen finalists in the America’s State Parks Filmmaker Challenge at the National Association of State Park Directors conference being held at Custer State Park South Dakota. Sponsored by Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing applications, the contest was designed to promote awareness of the value of America’s state park system. Finalist videos can be viewed at http://www.americasstateparks.org/filmmaker.

 

Nineteen (19) finalists were selected by the Contest Judges based on the following criteria: Creative Elements (Cinematography, Editing, Soundtrack, Effective use of Special Effects, and Film Length), and Technical Elements (Film concept, Originality, Coherence, and Overall Enjoyment) (collectively, the “Contest Criteria”). Finalist will be ranked based on voting by the general public.

 

Winners of the competition will receive various Sony prizes including PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Sony VAIO® laptops and Sony Bloggie® cameras. To further encourage participation from park visitors, America’s State Parks will offer a $30 discount to the public on Sony’s recently released Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11, a special offer that is exclusive to America’s State Parks website network. In turn, Sony will also donate $20 from each sale generated through this promotion to America’s State Parks.

 

The general public that visits the Website from September 10 through November 1, are invited to vote for their favorite video. The finalist having the two highest overall votes will be Grand Prize Winners, the third and fourth highest vote getters receive honorable mention.

 

For more information on this promotion or America’s State Parks, visit www.americasstateparks.org. For the America’s State Parks Filmmaker Challenge contest rules and regulations, visit www.americasstateparks.org/filmmaker.

 

For more information on Sony Creative Software’s Imagination Studio Suite and Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11, visitwww.sonycreativesoftware.com.

 

 

About America’s State Parks

America’s State Parks (www.americasstateparks.org) is an alliance of public and private organizations working to promote and enhance the collective national treasure that is the great park system found across our 50 states.  With over 7,000 units and nearly three-quarter of a billion annual visits,America’s State Parks are vital to the American quality of life. Leadership and governance for America’s State Parks comes from members of the National Association of State Park Directors representing each region of the country.

 

About the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD)

Comprised of fifty state park directors, the NASPD (www.naspd.org) was founded in 1962. The mission of the Association is to promote and advance the state park systems of America for their own significance, as well as for their important contributions to the nation’s environment, heritage, health and economy.

 

About Sony Creative Software

Sony Creative Software inspires artistic expression with its award-winning line of products for digital video, audio, and music production, as well as industry-leading technology for DVD production and Blu-ray Disc™ authoring. Sound Forge™ Pro, ACID™ Pro, and Vegas™ Pro software have defined digital content creation for a generation of creative professionals. These signature product lines continue to advance media production by providing powerful, accessible tools. Today, there is a Sony Creative Software application for every level of expertise, including a full line of consumer softwarebased on the company’s professional applications. In addition, Sony Creative Software produces the extensive Sony^® Sound Series collection ofroyalty-free loops and samples, Sony Pictures Sound Effects Series exclusive sound effects, and Vision Series video creation assets. Further, the company provides the industry-leading tools for enterprise-level Blu-ray Disc™ authoring: Blu-code™ encoder, Dualstream 3D™ MVC encoder, Z Depth™ 3D subtitle editing application, and Blu-print^® software. The company’s customers span the globe and include professionals in the film, television, video game, and recording industries, as well as students, educators, and hobbyists. For more information about professional and consumer products, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com.

 

Vegas is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Creative Software Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

 

 

State Parks Seeks Volunteers to help with Trail Building and Maintenance

Come on out for some good, clean, fun (ok, maybe not-so-clean!) and contribute to your Wyoming State Parks in celebration of National Public Lands Day – which officially is September 24th.

We’re looking for some volunteers to help do some trail building and  maintenance  at Glendo State Park, (right near Glendo)  Saturday, September 10th. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Lunch will be provided.  And, after the work is complete, the group will hike or bike to see the “fruits of our labor” so bring your bike if you think you would like to take a bike ride.

Then it’s off to Curt Gowdy State Park between Cheyenne and Laramie on Saturday, September 17th to do some trail maintenance from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Again,  lunch is provided and an after-work trail tour (hike or bike) will be a highlight on these award-winning trails!

We will provide all tools, folks should bring work gloves, water, and sunscreen.

Contact Paul Gritten, Non-motorized Trails Program Coordinator at 307-777-8557 or paul.gritten@wyo.gov for more information and to sign-up.