Month: December 2008

Categories
Truly Free Film

Something To Think About: Data Portability

I posted today at InfoWantsToBeFree on what should be one of the top concerns of all Truly Free Filmmakers in this coming year.  

Data Portability (and access) is something that should be built into contracts, particularly when the license fees are as low as they are these days.  It’s the same question as owning what you generate.  It’s a question of what is really free in a free market.  
There’s a lot more to say on the subject and this will be a big topic for discussion here and elsewhere.
Categories
These Are Those Things

The Old Man’s Back Again! Scott Walker Comes Home…

A guest post today from filmmaker Stephen Kijak:

As Ted’s mind was blown by Captain Beefheart (see previous post), I had a similar mind-melt one day in 1990 in SF when someone played me a song called “The Old Man’s Back Again” by a fellow named Scott Walker. ( I discovered Ted is also a Scott fan – so thanks for sharing this space with me.)


The Walker Brothers: “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”:

Inspiration is the thing, isn’t it? The older we get it seems it is harder to be truly blown apart and transformed by music. Those sorts of transformative spells seem easier to fall under in our youth. But no. Time and time again, I have found that Scott Walker will really mess with someone’s head, with their whole life, as it did with mine. So much so that I went and made a film about him. “Scott Walker – 30 Century Man” is my cinematic mix-tape designed to convert you, to shake you up, and to put the fear of Punched Meat in you (you’ll have to see the film…).

The core thesis was “inspiration”. That first song, recorded (I soon discovered) in 1969, seemed to contain in it the seeds of everything that I loved in music; all that dark, cinematic bliss and mystery – where did he get it and how did Bowie, Ferry, Eno, Marc Almond, Tindersticks, The Smiths, Pulp, Divine Comedy, Radiohead, Goldfrapp and countless others get their hands on it and how has it moved through their lives, their music? But as Scott moved from 60’s orch-crooner to contemporary avant-gardist (this is where the meat punching comes in) the inspirational power he transmits is not just about what singer is copping his croon, but about a very intense and focused dedication to craft, pure and simple.

Scott today: “Jesse” a video created by Graham Wood for the film: 

Here is a man who moved through fame and into his ART and has never, ever looked back. That this man found fame and than infamy in the UK while his home-country has all but ignored him (he was born in Hamilton, OH and cut his teeth on the Sunset Strip in the early 60’s) has inspired me to do my damnedest to bring him home, to get America to wake up and take note of one of our great, great musicians, composers, and poets.

Trailer for the film:

(Film starts a limited theatrical on Dec 17th at IFC Center in NYC before moving on to SF and LA and beyond.)

Categories
Issues and Actions

Data Portability: The Free Market Should Swing Both Ways

I hear a lot of anxiety from other newcomers to social networks.  Most of the folks in the film biz I know seem to initially join a network like MyFace for the promotional possibilities and professional networking.  Some get seduced by the actual social functions.  The anxiety often comes from what will be seen and shared and by whom.  Is it good or bad to friend all those who reach out to you even when you don’t know them?  Will anyone tag you in photos from the past that you would prefer to remain forgotten?  That sort of thing.

But there are things that we should be concerned about, things we should ask for, push for, fight for.  Businesses talk about their investment in the technology, but little is said about the user/consumer’s investment.  You create connections.  You tag information.  You provide data, but none of it is yours.  Your life in MyFace is life in a prison cell.  If you leave the network, you leave behind all of your work you created there.  You think you have a 1000 friends but how do you take them to another planet with you when you want to travel.
If 2008 was many things (the year of change, the year of hope, the year unregulated capitalism and greed revealed its true demonic ways), 2009 may well be the year that freedom starts to go both ways, that people push for equal rights for what they create, that we move from impulse to choice.   One can hope at least.
Bill Thompson has a good post on the BBC site “The net and the real cost of free” precisely about data portability.  This issue is central to all media makers.  We need to own and or at least have unlimited access to the data we generate: our friends, our tags, who watches, what they watch, when they watch, where they watch.  Read Bill’s piece and started thinking about what really is yours.
Categories
Bowl Of Noses

Cool Cars #7: The Car Bike


I don’t quite know what it is, but it sure looks cool!  It’s called the PROXIMA.

Categories
Truly Free Film

Helping To Amplify News

The Knight Citizen News Network site is a good resource for good advice on a lot of the issues that bloggers face.

The Knight Citizen News Network is a self-help portal that guides both ordinary citizens and traditional journalists in launching and responsibly operating community news and information sites and that assembles news innovations and research on citizen media projects.

It may be designed for journalism but it applies equally to Truly Free Filmmakers.
Categories
Bowl Of Noses

Crazy Animals #6: Horn Blowing Walrus

This whiskered one rocks out!

Categories
Truly Free Film

Wanted: Web Strategists & Consultants

We have gotten several requests from filmmakers regarding whom they could hire to help them design plans for their films.  First, I think those filmmakers need to move beyond the focus on the film itself, and ask how they can design a web strategy for their work in general.  But moving beyond that issue, I unfortunately don’t have many people to point them to (I would love to hear any recommendations you have).   Fortunately, once again, a lot of great resources and individuals have been gathered over at The Workbook Project.

If you are looking for a consultant or strategist for your web plan, check out Motive on the WBJ site.  Alex Johnson, Ana Domb, Micki Krimmel, Jon Reiss, Hunter Weeks, Liz Rosenthal, and of course Lance Weiler and Arin Crumley are available for hire.  If you are going to Sundance, you best get them on your team sooner rather than later.