November 2007 Archives
Over at Cable and Broadcast there is a great article that explores the world of the webisode. As writers in the US strike over rights to earnings from online content, a deeper question is asked, can you make money from online content?
Dan Ackerman Greenberg is the co-founder of The Comotion Group, a company that specialises in viral videos for advertising. In an article at TechCrunch he discusses the secrets to making a viral video work.
Now we know where we went wrong with this viral video for FTI from a few years ago, it should have had a naked woman in it.
Now we know where we went wrong with this viral video for FTI from a few years ago, it should have had a naked woman in it.
One of the things I love about Facebook is that it shows you how your
friends are interconnected, your mutual aquaintances. It can reveal
some surprising connections that you were previously unaware of. For
example, I know Khrob Edmonds because he's a filmmaker and
Ricci Lee Adams becasue she dated my younger brother a decade ago - but
Khrob knows Ricci because half a decade ago she was an agent and he was
an actor. I know Sunissa Brown because of her work in the screen
industry and television actress Zoe Ventoura because I studied dance
under her mother choreographer Ruth Osborne. Sunissa knows Zoe
because they both went to High School together.
Now a new application on the social networking site allows you to create a 'friend wheel' a visual representation of your online aquaintainces.
This is instantly a very revealing process. If you travel around my friend wheel in a clockwise direction, you come across the following groups of people.
A few local film producers and people who previously worked in the WA screen industry or visited us from interstate.
Then there is a purple section that is completely disconnected from the rest of my circle of friends. Ten names in a row - who know each other but none of my other aquaintances. They are all people I worked with at Star Cruises, another career, another country, another life.
In the red at three o'clock are a few people on my circle who only know me and nobody else in the circle. They comprise people I worked with in the casino industry in Australia, people I was in Boy Scouts with and one new student at FTI, who just joined Facebook recently.
The next section in orange is animators, they know each other and at first glance appear to have a high level of links to people in the video/film area of the screen industry. A closer inspection though reveals that the people they connect to are largely FTI employees.
The yellow section at 5pm moves into people working in the intenrnet, new media area in Perth before moving into the busiest section, the green section - which is local early career filmmakers. Filmmakers extends up through the blue section past 10pm.
Dancers arrive at 11pm, people who I know from Steps Youth Dance Company, Contempory Dance Centre and the WA Academy of Performing Arts.
At 11:55 is the last group, people who have lived with my younger brother. It's a combination of his flatmates and our nephew.
So there it is, all my online social interactions in one clear picture. A life that includes phases of being a High School Student, a Dancer, A Casino Manager and working in the Screen Industry.
There are other valubale insights in a diagram like this though. It is reguarly stated that animators are less social that video/film based filmmakers - and this would back up that claim. Another part of the local screen industry that is less connected appear to be early career writers and producers - another observation that has often be made.
This is very subjective though, it is people I know, it's entirely from my point of view, there could be a whole bunch of filmmakers or animators out there who we have just never met. However as more connections are made through facebook a continuing more ellaborate picture will begin to emerge.
Visualisations such as these can also be useful from the persepctive of marketing activities, spreading the word. From the diagram it is clear if I wanted someone who had a lot of interconnection with particular subgroups - they stand out clearly in the visualisation.
If we're friends on Facebook you can check out the diagram in detail. If we're not friends and you read this blog, send a friend request through.
Now a new application on the social networking site allows you to create a 'friend wheel' a visual representation of your online aquaintainces.
This is instantly a very revealing process. If you travel around my friend wheel in a clockwise direction, you come across the following groups of people. A few local film producers and people who previously worked in the WA screen industry or visited us from interstate.
Then there is a purple section that is completely disconnected from the rest of my circle of friends. Ten names in a row - who know each other but none of my other aquaintances. They are all people I worked with at Star Cruises, another career, another country, another life.
In the red at three o'clock are a few people on my circle who only know me and nobody else in the circle. They comprise people I worked with in the casino industry in Australia, people I was in Boy Scouts with and one new student at FTI, who just joined Facebook recently.
The next section in orange is animators, they know each other and at first glance appear to have a high level of links to people in the video/film area of the screen industry. A closer inspection though reveals that the people they connect to are largely FTI employees.
The yellow section at 5pm moves into people working in the intenrnet, new media area in Perth before moving into the busiest section, the green section - which is local early career filmmakers. Filmmakers extends up through the blue section past 10pm.
Dancers arrive at 11pm, people who I know from Steps Youth Dance Company, Contempory Dance Centre and the WA Academy of Performing Arts.
At 11:55 is the last group, people who have lived with my younger brother. It's a combination of his flatmates and our nephew.
So there it is, all my online social interactions in one clear picture. A life that includes phases of being a High School Student, a Dancer, A Casino Manager and working in the Screen Industry.
There are other valubale insights in a diagram like this though. It is reguarly stated that animators are less social that video/film based filmmakers - and this would back up that claim. Another part of the local screen industry that is less connected appear to be early career writers and producers - another observation that has often be made.
This is very subjective though, it is people I know, it's entirely from my point of view, there could be a whole bunch of filmmakers or animators out there who we have just never met. However as more connections are made through facebook a continuing more ellaborate picture will begin to emerge.
Visualisations such as these can also be useful from the persepctive of marketing activities, spreading the word. From the diagram it is clear if I wanted someone who had a lot of interconnection with particular subgroups - they stand out clearly in the visualisation.
If we're friends on Facebook you can check out the diagram in detail. If we're not friends and you read this blog, send a friend request through.
Well known 'You Tube' video blogger Meme Molly posted a video which is a letter to her own body, a positive acceptance of her physical being, it's quite empowering. This has led to a stack of teenagers making videos about their acceptance of body issues. Take a look at the work of Apples and Mustard or What About Adam or Disney Kid 1. The absolute best one though is from Frezned.
It's interesting though how these ideas spread and the creativity appears and interesting mutations on an original ideas spring forth.
It's interesting though how these ideas spread and the creativity appears and interesting mutations on an original ideas spring forth.
30 Days of Night
Opening in Cinema's today is the film '30 Days of Night', this scary vampire flick is based on the work of local comic artist Ben Templesmith and features Perth born actress Melissa George. Director Davd Slade's previous film 'Hard Candy' certainly casued a lot of talk around the local film community.
Ben Templesmith will be signing comics at ComicZone at 572 Hay Street on Saturday from 11am, a 5th aniversary edition of '30 Days of Night' has just been released as well.
Artrage Northbridge Festival
The Artrage festival kicks off at 6pm on Friday and runs throughout the weekend. Artists who participanted in the recent 24 hour comic festival that was held at FTI will be seeling their work during the festival.
Opening in Cinema's today is the film '30 Days of Night', this scary vampire flick is based on the work of local comic artist Ben Templesmith and features Perth born actress Melissa George. Director Davd Slade's previous film 'Hard Candy' certainly casued a lot of talk around the local film community.
Ben Templesmith will be signing comics at ComicZone at 572 Hay Street on Saturday from 11am, a 5th aniversary edition of '30 Days of Night' has just been released as well.
Artrage Northbridge Festival
The Artrage festival kicks off at 6pm on Friday and runs throughout the weekend. Artists who participanted in the recent 24 hour comic festival that was held at FTI will be seeling their work during the festival.
The introduction of directors commentries as a special feature on DVD's has provided a generation of new filmmakers with the best mentors available. From my local DVD store I can get hours of advice with Ridley Scott, Robert Zemekis and Bernardo Bertolucci.
Increasingly though more of the fimmaking process is becoming part of the product, storyboards are made available, design sketches are realsed as books and the shooting script can be bought as well, behind the scenes footage is now standard.
Increasingly the filmmaking process is revealing more and more of what goes on behind the scenes and subsiduary work product is now becoming part of the main event.
Yesterday we posted about the new film '10mph' and how it's using the Radiohead model of distribution and payment. Did you notice the film also has a manual on how you yourself can make a film using their methodology. Similarily the film 'Four Eyed Monsters' lists on it's website all the equipment used to make the film.
The team behind '10mph' have already begun planning their next project, a new film called '10 Yards' which focusses on Fantasy Football, you can visit it's site and by a t-shirt for the film to help them get the film made and listen to podcasts about the films development. This example is pulling the curtain back a little further than the directors commentarries and behind the scenes, giving the audience exposure into the worlds of development and preproduction.
The next step is a logical one, we will be asking the audience to give us the ideas for the film.
Join the Forum Discussion
Which DVD's have the Best Directors Commentaries?
Increasingly though more of the fimmaking process is becoming part of the product, storyboards are made available, design sketches are realsed as books and the shooting script can be bought as well, behind the scenes footage is now standard.
Increasingly the filmmaking process is revealing more and more of what goes on behind the scenes and subsiduary work product is now becoming part of the main event.
Yesterday we posted about the new film '10mph' and how it's using the Radiohead model of distribution and payment. Did you notice the film also has a manual on how you yourself can make a film using their methodology. Similarily the film 'Four Eyed Monsters' lists on it's website all the equipment used to make the film.
The team behind '10mph' have already begun planning their next project, a new film called '10 Yards' which focusses on Fantasy Football, you can visit it's site and by a t-shirt for the film to help them get the film made and listen to podcasts about the films development. This example is pulling the curtain back a little further than the directors commentarries and behind the scenes, giving the audience exposure into the worlds of development and preproduction.
The next step is a logical one, we will be asking the audience to give us the ideas for the film.
Join the Forum Discussion
Which DVD's have the Best Directors Commentaries?
Over in the 'Training Wheels' blog we recently had a post about the business model being used by rock band Radiohead on their new album and asked the question if this model could work for film?
Now there is a film being distibuted through this method, the new documentary '10mph' is about two American guys who quit their corporate jobs and head off across the country on Segways, those vertical two wheeled driving machines. If you want to see this film it can be downloaded from their site, just pay what you think it's worth.
This is certainly different to the Radiohead model because Radiohead are a very established brand with loyal consumers. These guys could be anybody.
I wonder if the local cinema could work this way, pay what you believe to be a fair price?
Now there is a film being distibuted through this method, the new documentary '10mph' is about two American guys who quit their corporate jobs and head off across the country on Segways, those vertical two wheeled driving machines. If you want to see this film it can be downloaded from their site, just pay what you think it's worth.
This is certainly different to the Radiohead model because Radiohead are a very established brand with loyal consumers. These guys could be anybody.
I wonder if the local cinema could work this way, pay what you believe to be a fair price?
What will media be like in the future? Will virtual worlds ever take off? How will consumerism fit in? Will I get a holodeck, I'm still waiting for my jetpack?
Take a look at Prometeus, this new YouTube video that presents some ideas on what's happening and where we might be going.
Take a look at Prometeus, this new YouTube video that presents some ideas on what's happening and where we might be going.
