I wish we could go to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia today. We’d love to visit Monifa. Cute little funny looking thing it is!
Thanks BoingBoing!
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Author: Ted Hope
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The Mainstream Is Waking Up
The LA Times and NY Times have each run their requisite articles on DIY Distribution. Now Screen International is speaking up on the need to bring the films to the audiences (vs. bringing audiences to the films).
The trick now is to mobilise audiences, market and increasingly distribute to the places they want to watch the film. And, of course, set the budget accordingly.
But it’s also vital to ignore the orthodox – surely the mission of independent film. It is, for example, snobbish and self-defeating to suggest that no one outside an educated elite wants film that challenges. If that’s true, then why make films? Music and books don’t seem to share that view. And the big film franchises from Batman to Bond have done their very best to apply as much shade as possible.
The indie film-maker needs to take on the fight. This is the time for a little less “we’re doomed” and a little more “yes we can”.
I am really curious if we will see this “yes we can” spirit invade Sundance this year, or will filmmakers keep believing in angels and demons.
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Lightning Strikes
It may be powerful stuff, and a tad scary, but you have to admit it’s pretty cool. Still, we are pretty happy to only observe it on YouTube… There are lots of videos up, but very few that really do this aspect of nature justice.
Still, even seeing this video, I know I never have to see real lightning up close, thank you very much.
Where are all the great ones? They must exist somewhere. Although this one is pretty beautiful…
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Movies In Another Universe
Okay, sure they will be the same films, but looking at these posters for Hollywood films of 20 & 30 years ago, all redone by Polish artists for then Soviet-controlled Poland, makes me want to see all of them! They look so much better this way.
How great would it be if our posters could look this good! Wellmedicated has put together a great list of 50 Incredible Film Posters From Poland.
Can you name the film by the poster? The Hollywood Studios would say it’s a problem if you can’t, but to me that’s the joy.
I meet with filmmakers and film executives on a daily basis. And I am consistently reminded what an absolute bunch of luddites we all are. Seriously. We will be unable to move forward towards a Truly Free Film culture until people commit to using the tools available to us to have a better life.
I am heartened by the election which, among other things, demonstrated that the pain of the present was greater than our fear of the future. Now hopefully our community will follow suit and admit the same. Towards that end I think we need to organize free seminars that explain the basic tools and how to use them. I have been preparing an outline for such a seminar which I will soon share with you for input. The problem is of course how to bring these seminars directly to the people who need them.
Beth Kanter at Beth’s Blog did a lot of the work for you already. This is a great link (with videos and other links) that lays out the basics: blogs, Technocrati, RSS feeds, tags, Flickr, video sharing, Wiki, widgets, Creative Commons & copyright, mashup, social networking, Twitter, and Second Life. Whew! Things change fast and some of this is already dated, but then again this post was already out of date by the time I posted it.
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People Power
So many positive things have come out of this election.
Certainly one of them is my renewed love for email. It’s been a total thrill to watch different videos go viral. Whether it’s comics or photos, it’s been a delight to open my email box and see the different expressions people have found to express their delight in the outcome. I have never seen anything like it and it feels like each one brings us closer together.
I had the pleasure of receiving Charles Stone’s preparation email thoughts as he got ready to shoot and post Wassup 2008, and thus share in the thrill as it became the top viral video of the week. I loved getting and seeing all the BattlegroundPostcards that Gus Van Sant and other filmmakers shot and posted. Another friend sent me each video that Lee Hirsch made on Local Voices in Joplin, MO , and when they then got the news that Obama would visit, I felt a wave rush through my body. Time and time again you saw the people take the media into their own hands and bring change. Each time I knew the world had changed for the better.
I didn’t see this video until after the victory. It may not be by a professional filmmaker, but it captures how fresh this campaign was due to folks doing what they loved and sharing it. And it proves that everything is always better when delivered with a good sense of humor.
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What Our Country REALLY Looks Like
By now you might have seen those maps that are done to show how people voted. You know, the red and blue ones where blue represents Obama and the Democrats, and red represents McCain and the Republicans. Never mind that in most other countries red usually represents what is called the left and blue usually represents the right, but these maps are confusing for other reasons too.
Mostly the political maps are confusing because they are drawn for geographical purposes and not based on population (how many people there are). Geography works for when you have to get from place to place (like walk or ride your bike) but it doesn’t represent people (and how they live or work or vote).
This is what it looks like when you change the map and draw the states in terms of how many people live where (i.e. make the more popular regions larger). It shows you how much Americans wanted Obama — a whole lot! (Unless maybe if you live in Texas).
And just to remind you, this is what the map looks like when you forget about what matters most in this world: people.
If you want to learn more about these maps, you can click here.
