DESIGNERS THAT TYPE. When readers flip to page 34 in the latest issue of Volume One, they will be greeted with an assortment of typewritten memos – which mimic the Courier typeface of screenplays and motion picture scripts – for our latest feature story, "Reel Us Back In."

At the Volume One office this past week, we felt a distinct sense of nostalgia, as though we’d been transported back in time. A time when ideas came to life, line by line, from fingers dancing across the keys on a gently whirring typewriter (peppered by the occasional ding!).

We brought the old machine in to create typewritten memos – which mimic the familiar Courier typeface of screenplays and major motion picture scripts – which focus on the future; what cinema in Wisconsin could become in the years to come.

When you flip to page 34 in the issue, you’ll be greeted by a multi-page, custom-designed spread with behind-the-scenes shots from regional productions and other statewide stats part of our latest feature story, “Reel Us Back In.”

In collaboration with our editorial, design and video production staff, this story has been months in the making, stemming back to July of last year when Wisconsin repositioned itself to once again offer statewide film incentives and reestablish a film office.

Opening page of the feature story, "Reel Us Back In," as it appears in Volume One's March 19 issue.

With Film Wisconsin – the state’s new film office – and incentives now in operation, we turned the spotlight on our own community. Local filmmakers, videojournalists, state representatives and many others have shared their challenges, hopes and unanswered questions surrounding the impact a statewide office could have on our region of western Wisconsin.

“Reel Us Back In” puts the pieces together, moving from Wisconsin’s history in film to a close-up on the efforts of Chippewa Vallians, and explores the state’s next act – specifically, how local communities intend to leverage this new era of filmmaking and collaboration.

And it wouldn’t be a feature story about film without a video component to add to the storytelling! We have put together an additional sequence of interviews to spotlight what local filmmakers love about filming in their state. These are some of the folks who have, and continue to, create – even without state film incentives.

The classic industry phrase “the show must go on” continues to echo through my mind. Now, “it’s time to reel us all back in and then see what we can do for the state.”

Read “Reel Us Back In” online at VolumeOne.org/film – or pick up the latest issue in a newsstand near you in the Chippewa Valley. Special thanks to creatives of the Eau Claire Filmmakers group; University of Wisconsin-Stout faculty; Visit Eau Claire and City of Eau Claire staff; Film Wisconsin staff; our state representatives and many more.