Dumped for Thursday

In an attempt to at least partially un-clutter my desktop, a collection of semi-random outrages, videos, and linkage.
The MPAA wants to decide how and when you watch content, again. They not only want to kill your Slingbox, but now they’re talking about prohibiting HD DVR recording of some programs.
Not sure I agree with everything here, [...]

Filed under: Film+Video, Music, Network Politics, Uncategorized

Snag Films

Hopefully there’s a business model here.
Snag Films is the just-launched site for (free) web-distribution of documentaries via web widgets. Founded by Ted Leonsis, Ex-AOL exec and Chairman of web-widget technology company Clearspring, it’s been dubbed “Hulu for documentaries.”
More from Variety:

IndieWire will supply SnagFilms with archival content, news, analysis, blogs and film reviews. IndieWire will also [...]

Filed under: Distribution, Film+Video, Ideas, documentary

DIY Days: Los Angeles, July 26

I’m mad I didn’t see this sooner. Brought to you by the peeps at From Here to Awesome, with support from Current TV.
DIY Days
Saturday, July 26th
1745 North Spring #4
Los Angeles, CA 90012
How do we sustain ourselves as filmmakers and storytellers in this day of shifting film distribution systems? How do we monetize our film and [...]

Filed under: Conferences, DIY, Distribution, Film+Video

YouTube Adds Indie Film Screening

YouTube has opened up a channel/section/whatever for long-form indie films, The YouTube Screen Room.
Check out Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody? written by Miranda July and directed by Miguel Arteta, from the Wholphin DVD series.
The YouTube Screening Room is a platform for top films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve. [...]

Filed under: DIY, Distribution, Film+Video, documentary

The Journal of Short Film

The Journal of Short Film looks quite interesting:
• a quarterly DVD journal containing 90-120 minutes of independent short film per volume
• peer-reviewed by filmmakers and scholars of film theory
• inclusive of all genres of film, favoring independent and underrepresented work
• sold at a low cost—$10/vol., $36/subscription
• non-corporate and ad-free
• open and free submission process
Buy separate [...]

Filed under: Film+Video

Pictures, But Moving.

From Regine @ WMMNA, A slew (How much is a slew?) of videos:
Tate is archiving dozens of videos of artist talks, performances and cultural debate which took place in the museum from 2001 until today. They haven’t finished re-encoding all of the existing material but so far there are over 600 hours of audio and [...]

Filed under: Film+Video

Netflix’s First Set-top Launched

Netflix dropped it’s first set-top box, dubbed “The Netflix Player by Roku” (Roku is a CE company founded by ReplayTV’s Anthony Wood). The device is strictly for watching “Instant Viewing” streams from your Netflix account.
The Pros:

Cheap ($100)
802.11g wireless
Firmware upgradeable (to what extent remains to be seen)
HDMI
optical audio (though no surround–the Netflix streams aren’t surround anyway)
Movies [...]

Filed under: AppleTV, Distribution, Film+Video, video

Monday Mind Expansion

Download The Dennis McKenna (brother of Terence) multimedia collection.
David Lynch’s 55 sec. film using the Lumière brothers’ original equipment (via Boing Boing)
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Also at Boing Boing, a list of psychotronic videos at the Internet Archive.

Filed under: Film+Video, Uncategorized

Chris Ware Animation for This American Life

Some Chris Ware awesomeness.

Chris Ware at Fantagraphics.

Filed under: Animation, Film+Video

Opencut, An Open Source Film Competition

Via Prolost.
Opencut is an open source film competition where (for a $25 entry fee) you get digital footage shot on a RED camera and a shooting script. A description of the first project, “Susannah” is available at the website.

Filed under: Creativity, DIY, Film+Video, Ideas

Odds+Ends for Thursday

Major studios announce day-date DVD/VOD/iTunes releases, and Apple is going to lose a dollar on each movie it sells. Don’t worry, they’ll make up for it on volume.
Video game industry thriving, despite piracy.
Apple buys chip designer P.A. Semiconductor, who just happen to design low-power processors for things like hand-held, portable devices.
NBC is apparently [...]

Filed under: Apple, Film+Video, Flash

Cinema+Video for Monday.

Very Independent Producers is Ted Hope (The Brothers McMullen, Safe, The Ice Storm) and Christine Vachon (I’m Not There, Storytelling, Velvet Goldmine, Boys Don’t Cry) discussing a wide-range of topics and anecdotes on producing independent film.
Errol Morris discusses Standard Operating Procedure. David Edelstein review. Trailer:
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Filed under: Film+Video

Quickies: Thursday

The Fall looks awesome.
Shepard Fairey does covers for 1984 and Animal Farm.
ColorToy is an online color-scheming tool.
Download Richard Serra’s Prisoner’s Dilemma (1974).

The Animation Show:
The Animation Show was started as an annual feature-length theatrical compilation of short films from around the world, exclusively curated by Mike Judge (Office Space, “Beavis and Butt-Head,” “King of the Hill”) [...]

Filed under: Art, Books, Film+Video

Sunday Evening Art Links

In Cory Arcangel’s “Permanent Vacation,” two computers are engaged in an endless loop of bouncing out-of-office auto-responses.

Stanley Donwood, a frequent colloborator with Radiohead (artwork for OK Computer), has an April show in Tokyo.
P2P Art: There’s no original:
Art made for - and only available on - the peer to peer networks.
The original artwork is first shared [...]

Filed under: Art, Film+Video

Producers Institute for New Media Technologies

2008 Producers Institute for New Media Technologies
Bay Area Video Coalition
May 30 – June 8, San Francisco.
Nine documentary teams have been chosen to prototype innovative interactive, mobile, multimedia, and game projects to engage and build audiences for their social issue storytelling during the 2008 Producers Institute for New Media Technologies
Funded by generous lead support from [...]

Filed under: Conferences, Film+Video, Media Technology, New Media