Awkward/Juxtaposition

This Internet Has Been Rated G

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:58:00 +0000

I recently read an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times entitled "You Can't Say That on the Internet" all about the de facto censorship of the Web through algorithmic gatekeepers that are too dumb to know the difference between artful nudity (A Modigliani nude let's say) and the crass porno crap most of aim to avoid. The author, Evgeny Morozov, cites a number of examples, but the two that stood out to me were Apple's censorship of the word Vagina in Naomi Wolf's latest book title (they displayed the word as V****a) and the blacklisting of about 400 words (from bisexual to swastika) from Google's autocomplete function. While these examples may seem relatively trite, it's the underlying cultural shift they represent that brings me pause.

America is no stranger to censorship; book burnings and blacklisting have been a part of our culture for at least as long as we've been a nation. However, these acts were committed by other people and were usually public and with clear perpetrators and motives, making them easier for free speech crusaders to target and fight. But how does one fight a math equation? With the consolidation of most internet activity into the hands of a few large corporations (Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google), our online behavior is becoming more and more subject to the whims of these equations which make value judgments on our words without applying the human filter of context, judgment, and discussion. And for the most part, we don't even realize it.

My mind tends to wander to worst case scenarios fairly quickly, and in this case I foresee a dark future where our dependence on the internet has led us to cede our indignation over censorship and desire to protect our free speech to corporate automatons, whose ostensible power slowly strips our culture of all provocation. We can't let algorithmic drones be the arbiters of language, content, and copyright. While they can help us manage the awesome breadth and depth of internet fodder, we can't automatize the whole system. There needs to be human oversight to protect our humanity. A sanitized internet would reflect a sanitized society, and as a creator and producer I can't think of anything more scary.

On The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:15:00 +0000

For all the folksy sentimentality of The Curious Case of Benhjamin Button, I still find a strange and stirring poetry to it. It’s usually within a science fiction or fantasy construct that I find the most intriguing or poignant lessons about humanity. These bizarre and fantastical situations, and how we imagine we would deal with them, foster a sentiment that feels very real, more real than in many other standard dramas or stories. Perhaps it is in the imagining that we lay bare our dreams and desires, our greatest fears and weaknesses, our attempts to understand how the world works. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button poses a grossly theoretical existential crisis that gets at the very root of mortality and humanity. In Benjamin, humanity epitomizes the deity of time. But not only are we the supreme representation of that formless idol, we are also its single masterwork--its Pieta, its Mona Lisa. We should accept ourselves—the myriad of emotions and experiences that make up a single human lifetime—as a series of brushstrokes on the greatest canvas unimaginable. Our choices, our feelings, our connections with others, bring texture and color and life to this lone work of art that is the ultimate definition of Time. Fear does nothing but make you as the brushstroke less joyful—but the paint meets the canvas all the same. Better to try and hold on to the idea that every moment is worth the same as every other—that they all add to this painting in equal dimension and force. Better to enjoy as many of those moments as possible, so as to make each stroke a little less painful in the application. To see this, it takes an aberration in humanity--a Benjamin Button. When our imagination extends outward, we are finally able to look inward.

Thoughts on "Other Desert Cities

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago I saw Other Desert Cities, Jon Robin Baitz’s latest entry to the crowded Parthenon of dysfunctional family dramedies. In the play, the burden of a misunderstood tragedy, perpetuated by a secret, has caused innumerable tiny fissures in the foundation of a great American family, leading to its eventual collapse and rebirth. And while this definitely rises above the melodrama of his television show Brothers and Sisters, the similarities did give me pause at first.

In simplest terms, the story is about a daughter who returns home at Christmas to visit her parents, aunt and brother. A once-promising novelist, she announces to her family the imminent publication of a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history - a wound that her parents don't want reopened.All the character archetypes are familiar—the sister is the whiny, ubereducated woah-is-me liberal, her younger brother, the overlooked child who self-anesthetizes via superficiality and a biting sarcastic streak, mom and dad of the old republican guard, and the crazy alcoholic Aunt who likes to dish out truths but can’t take them herself.

In the first act the roles feel somewhat stale and predictable. While the dialogue is snappy and fun, the situation feels worn and stale. Rachel Griffiths, Justin Kirk and Judith Light bring little dimension to their roles. They come off as flat, and not particularly engaging. What saves the first act from mediocrity is the wonderfully bitchy matriarch Stockard Channing and Stacy Keach, whose nuanced performance as head of the family was moving and believable. Part Ronald Reagan, part Swede Levov, this character’s layered complicated role and conflicting sense of self comes through in his constant stopping and starting of thoughts, his pleading with his wife and child, his desire above all to keep the past dead and buried. Here we start to realize that all is not as it seems, that the image of republican rigidness and self-righteousness his son and daughter see is merely a role, one that in the final act of the play is effectively turned on its head. It is revealed that how we have come to understand his character is really just a single perspective, lacking all the evidence.

Few plays have pulled off the twist ending with more aplomb than Other Desert Cities. These old guard conservatives are a lot more complicated than the one-dimensional caricatures their children see. Families, like politics, operate on the same type of carefully constructed fictions that require utter devotion to in order to survive.

The Gang's All Here: The Muppets Movie

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:33:00 +0000

The other night I took a walk down memory lane. The vehicle was The Muppets, a surprisingly good movie musical about the things that get left behind in our rush to be grownups. The gang was all there –Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Animal. And by the time I heard the bom bom bom of The Muppet Show theme song, I had already been transported well back into my childhood. How many movies these days allow us to live out our nostalgia intact, without ruining the very essence of the thing we miss? These muppets haven’t been dumbed down or tampered with or coaxed into playing some saccharine version of themselves. They may be a little older, a little banged up, but as soon they appear on screen its clear they have the same charming presence and quirky personalities as they did in their heyday.

The power of seeing your childhood victorious on screen can be an easy thrill, but it doesn’t have to come cheap, and with this film it sure doesn’t. Witty and at times venturing into the absurd, this muppets film is pure theatrical showmanship with a tinge of mania and desperation. What if Kermit doesn't succeed and the muppets lose their theater? The same fear is present for the filmmakers, who have been given the burden of one last chance to see if there’s still any love (or money) left in these characters. Fortunately, in Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segal’s deft hands, there appears to be life after death. They take a risk with Chris Cooper rapping, and with the chorus of chickens singing a G-rated version of Cee-lo Green's Fuck You, but both gambles turn out to integrate seamlessly into the fabric of what Muppetdom and this film are all about. The muppets live for the pure joy of entertaining and their happiness is infectious. I found myself wiping many tears of laughter and delight from my eyes and already making promises to myself to come back to see it again.

Cartier: "Painted Love"

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Elegant execution. Sometimes, Art + Commerce do play nice.

Phantom Tollbooth Documentary!

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:26:00 +0000

I can't even begin to express how excited I am for this. This book made me fall in love with language and fantasy in equal parts, and has taught me that being curious is always way more fun than feigning boredom.

First thoughts on Amor Towles "Rules of Civility"

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:45:00 +0000

Like all good writing, Amor Towles Rules of Civility deftly transports you into its intended environment. Here, it’s the chink chink of glasses, the heavy stench of cigarette smoke, and the bright baubles of the well-heeled classes of late 1930s New York. The mysterious but plucky Katey Kontent is our guide, and her fondness for Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is no accident. Even from 140 pages in, the comparisons to Pip are evident, but what keeps this from traveling toward an expected and unsurprising conclusion is the lack of idealism and naiveté with which Katey confronts her world. This doesn’t appear to be a bildungsroman. Not too far into the novel, it becomes clear that Katey has already reinvented herself once when she moved from the Russian ghetto of Brighton Beach to the prim but poor Mrs Martingale’s boarding house. The opportunity comes again for her and her friend Eve on New Years Eve in 1937, when they come across a wide-eyed, deep-pocketed New York blueblood. A series of events follow that bring Katey and Eve out of the Lower East Side and up Fifth Avenue, altering the course of their lives forever.

Only half way through the novel, I’m still in the dark as to where they end up (though we know from the Preface that Katey has made it to 1969 with a husband in tow), what’s lost in the journey, and whether it’s for better or worse. But the thrill of the era is captured so resplendently in each paragraph that it seemed a shame not to jot my thoughts down on impulse. Whether it turns into a great novel or is merely the best-written pitch for a film I’ve ever come across remains to be seen. Either way, it makes me thirsty for a dry martini and an extra hundred pages. I doubt I’ll be ready to leave the party by the time I get to the end.

Outside of Time and Space in Bombay Beach

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Thinking of a series of dreams
Where the time and the tempo drag,
And there's no exit in any direction
'Cept the one that you can't see with your eyes.
Wasn't making any great connections,
Wasn't falling for any intricate schemes.
Nothing that would pass inspection,
Just thinking of a series of dreams.
--Bob Dylan "Series of Dreams"

What defines a well-lived life? What makes a man rich? Or happy? Some version of these questions lies at the root of most cinematic endeavors, and Bombay Beach is no exception. The film takes place in an insular, dying, desert seascape outside of time, populated by atypical individuals who seem like they were plucked from the negatives of Diane Arbus and Walker Evans. The lives of this band of eccentrics have been written off by society as bleak and hopeless, but this very isolation and abandonment has cultivated a different, no less vibrant and loving community.

In the neighborhoods in and around Bombay Beach there is no Obama or Romney or Bachmann talk. There is no anxiety about “the future of things”. There is no media or marketing or malls.There is no constantly updating Facebook stream, or Linkedin profile, or rss feed. There is a dying sea and the sun and long stretches of road and sand. There are tin roofs and trailers. There is garbage and wire and flea-bitten mutts that snuggle with empty beer cans and restless children. But through the eyes of director Alma Har’el’s camera, Bombay Beach also contains magic and innocence and whimsy. There is deeply felt emotion and friendship. There are games of pretend and large group potlucks. Here, in this surreal place where time does not rush ceaselessly into the future, a moment is felt for its full weight. It's not a means to an end but is the end itself. While the lives of these economically marginalized folks are captured for what they are, Har’el finds a romantic spirit embedded. The film’s folksy and dreamy score complement a shooting style in which her subjects appear like mythical beings, entering shots larger than life, captured in the soft light of the magic hour, or up so close that every wrinkle and freckle is heavy with reverence.

And then there is the dancing. The choreographed moments dispersed throughout the film bring the already alien landscape of the Salton Sea further out of time, essentially constructing an alternate post-apocalyptic version of America that is breathtaking in its strangeness. We see the shadow of a large man and wife spin against the siding of house, and a group of children clasp hands in a choreographed dance of the game red rover. One of my favorite moments is a masked dance between two teen lovers in a gazebo lit up by Christmas lights. Somehow it doesn’t feel forced. Somehow it feels honest and beautiful.

Har’el’s Bombay Beach is graceful in its decrepitude and wise in its ignorance. Whether the residents profiled feel the same warm glow and magic she projects onto them and their lives is another story. Regardless, it is a strange and intriguing landscape so distant from the America I know. One I would very much like to visit, even if only in a dream.

Bombay Beach // Trailer from Alma Har'el on Vimeo.

The Eyes of Michael Shannon

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:53:00 +0000

There’s a scene in Jeff Nichol’s disquieting new film Take Shelter in which Michael Shannon pulls his car over to the side of the road. We are beside him, looking through his windshield. The road ahead is blown out by the white emptiness of overexposed daylight. The rear view mirror floats there, hanging on nothing. On it’s own, its already a jarring shot. The reflective surface lying in wait against the oppressive glare of the afternoon sun. This is in contrast to the crackle of thunder heard moments earlier. The sound of a storm brewing. A storm that no one but Shannon’s character Curtis can hear or feel.

We return to the mirror. In its reflection are Curtis’ eyes. They are panicked and wild and frightened, but they are also intelligent and piercing. They are eyes that bore holes into you and burn indelible marks into your subconscious, leaving you unsettled and ill at ease. Is this man crazy, or does he know something? You are nervous. Maybe even a little scared. With just his eyes against the bright light of day, the anxiety of the narrative—of this man—becomes more than just moving images, but a palpable sensation that surrounds you and locks you in. There is something unearthly about them. Set low on the forehead, they look out at you from the mirror with an unnatural cerulean blue. With nothing else in the frame, you can only concentrate on the intensity with which these eyes are emitting its message:

Something is coming. There is reason to fear. Why doesn’t anyone see?

I went to Take Shelter this evening on a whim. It had been awhile since I went to the movies by myself—one of my favorite things to do in NYC. Fortunately, the crappy weather and lack of appealing plans presented me with this rare opportunity and I checked to see what was at the Angelika. I'd seen the trailer for Take Shelter months back and had been hooked by a scene in which Michael Shannon's character is confronted by a flock of swarming CGI birds. But even more than the birds I was intrigued to see Shannon take on a leading man role. Over the past ten years he has appeared in a number of supporting parts to extreme effect, stealing the show from the lead every time. Here again, he doesn't disappoint. The film itself is already impressive—a taut, moody discourse on the generally unsettling and anxiety ridden state of the country. But Shannon takes the film's ethereal and saturnine canvas and grounds it convincingly in the character of Curtis. He is a man on the edge, but of insanity or an awful truth? The answer is left unclear. And we are left with the impression of Shannon’s intense eyes, daring us to wonder what is coming next.

Bringing VOD to the Dinner Table.

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:50:00 +0000

VOD won’t kill the theatrical release, but it may just help save independent filmmaking.

For the last decade, VOD has been the bastard cousin of theatrical and DVD distribution. Before the much-buzzed about HDNet day-and-date release of Soderbergh’s Bubble, the idea of on-demand television viewing was associated primarily with porn and boxing. Initially, the Bubble experiment put a bad aftertaste in the mouths of most theater owners and directors alike. Theater owners felt that a simultaneous release on pay-per-view and in theaters would be bad for their business, eroding revenues and further commoditizing the theatrical experience. Directors, blinded by the bright lights and spurious prestige of a theatrical release, saw VOD releases as dirty; a dumping ground for second-rate films from hack filmmakers. No one took it seriously as a viable distribution outlet capable of wide viewership and a real rate of return.

Fast forward to 2011. VOD hasn’t completely lost its sleazy finish, but it getting close. It’s picked up a number of supporters in the indie distribution world, and it may be their open armed embrace of the technology that has led to their survival. The two most well known companies, Magnolia Pictures and IFC Entertainment, have partnerships with cable providers like Comcast allowing them to offer movies on branded V.O.D. channels on the same day they were released in theaters. These companies believe that this strategy gives films a wider audience (and as a result, more opportunity for profit) than it would have with just a theatrical and DVD release. According to Geoff Gilmore, chief creative officer of Tribeca Enterprises: “Independent films are failing in the theatrical box office all over America right now — 80 per cent of them don’t make $100,000,” he said. “We have to find new ways of marketing this work that involves a range of different things that are not just the traditional theatrical system.”

This past year, Magnolia Pictures took things even further with its release of All Good Things. Using what has been termed an Ultra VOD strategy; the film played on VOD first, and then rolled into theaters. While the $20 million Ryan Gosling/Kristen Dunst thriller only made a paltry $644,535 theatrically worldwide, it performed spectacularly on V.O.D., selling over $5 million in rentals priced at about $10.99. Even some of the more mainstream “art house” distribs have taken note. Seven months ago, Focus Features launched its own VOD label, Focus World. If a more conservative operation such as this is willing to take a chance it’s probably because they see some real potential to diversify their offerings with minimal risk.

Continuing this trend, Filmmaker magazine has started a VOD calendar that curates the top independent VOD releases each month.

So what does this mean? Well, if you’re a progressive filmmaker not wedded to a traditional release strategy, it means you now have more opportunity to make money doing what you love to do. The days of getting a wide theatrical release and a $20 million P&A commitment are over. But imagine any Comcast or Verizon FIOs subscriber being just one click away (and perhaps $10.99) from your film. It’s much easier to sell a customer on an impulse purchase from the safety of their couch. They don’t have to go anywhere. And as more and more people get comfortable making purchases via their internet-enabled tv, potential profit margins will grow and grow.

Now I’m not suggesting that filmmaking should be all about the bottom line. But it’s naïve to think that quality non-mainstream films will continue to get funded if they can’t offer any potential for profit. Art is a business just like any other and to be apathetic to that fact is just plain dumb. As technology continues to make the home viewing environment both more theatrical and more connected, the opportunity for a film to reach its audience at the quality in which it was intended is becoming a greater reality.

Content vs. Context - who's king?

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:45:00 +0000

The tagline “content is king” has been shouted from the rooftops by every internet entrepreneur from a prescient Bill Gates in ‘96 to desperate digital content houses in today’s saturated market trying to justify their product. For years, content was supposed to be the great white hype of the internet, providing a rich and fertile soil for publishers and media moguls to raise huge profits by way of hungry advertisers looking for new venues to reach customers. Corporations like Microsoft and AOL saw that it wasn’t enough to own the hose or the portal, they needed to own the content to send through it. Some believed a certain level of quality was necessary (hence the birth of video portals like Hulu) while others believed the answer just came down to quantity (Google’s purchase of Youtube).

However, the best and most trying characteristic about the internet is its inherent democracy. Sure, you can own SOME content, but you can’t own it all. Content went from being relatively scarce to being ubiquitous. Bloggers make content. Flickr photographers make content. Facebook posts are content. Tumblr publishers make content. It turns out content isn’t king because it isn't scarce. With over 234 million websites, over 133 million blogs, and over 64 million tweets per day, content is everywhere, it's overwhelming, and it's gone from quality to shitty white noise.

For most consumers like me, this “content din” has reached such a crescendo that I’ve lost my faith in Search. Yes, I said it. Search, which was once critical for helping me find content that was interesting and relevant, now pulls up results that just seem, well, too obtuse. And I find navigating content dumping grounds like Youtube too exhausting (that’s not to say I don’t view embedded or shared youtube videos. I just don’t search the site).

So what are people like me doing on the internet these days if we’re not actively searching for new media and content? We know from networking giant Cisco Systems that the amount of Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015, so it’s not that people have unplugged. It’s just that there has been a paradigm shift in the way internet users find and consume their media. Rather than go out and look for media, we’re waiting for the media to come to us.

In a nutshell: The period of exploration on the internet is over. We’ve moved into a period of contextual discovery. Put aptly by Ashkan Karbasfrooshan in TechCrunch: “The context—Facebook, Twitter, email—in which people are introduced to media and consume it is becoming more important than the content itself. Content is no longer king, context is.”

Using myself as an example—I no longer find myself brazenly entering random search strings into Google, hoping relevant and interesting links pop up. I rarely even visit curated niche sites like Funny or Die. I find that I now wait and see what my various networks—from Facebook to Digg to LinkedIn to Flixster--bring me first. Each of these provides me with socially contextual content about things I care about. It’s how I find the best videos to watch, articles to read, and products to purchase.

What that means for independent web content producers, I’m still not quite sure. This sentiment of search malaise will be pervasive and problematic for smaller content publishers who have seen a marked decline in ad revenue. Without the considerable resources of portals managed by IAC, NBC, or AOL it’s getting harder and harder for them to be found and attract advertisers. Saying “social media is the answer” is like saying the sky is blue. So what? I can’t remember the last time someone recommended that I watch a web series. Social media means nothing if people aren’t sharing and I don’t think anyone (not even Michael Eisner) has figured out how to push the contextual discovery of these products. Maybe the key is creating incentives and reinforcements, or creating more links back to the content in the real world via live events or merchandising. But continuing to assert that having content—regardless of whether its quality, fills a niche, or is in mass—is enough will lead to continued disappointment in viewership.

Time Warner FTW, Again.

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Jeff Bewkes may be guilty of double talk sometimes, but that doesn't mean he isn't a smart guy. Warner's acquisition of Flixster proves it. The next phase of Flixster's service will provide a user-friendly interface for people who want to manage their home video collections in the digital cloud, the company's CFO John Martin told an investor conference sponsored by Barclays Capital. Consumers will be able to "upload your existing physical DVDs, have the ability access them across multiple devices anywhere you want, have the ability to manage your collections with social aspects as well, go in, have friends see what movie collections they have, (and) see who has been watching those films," he says.

On Deadline, there are a few negative comments on how DVDs are dead, and no one is going to want to spend the time to convert their physical DVDs and upload them to the cloud. While that may be true, I still don't think this is a "lame idea" (sorry, GornCaptain). The true value in purchasing this service is the access to the mountains of data generated by the sharing, liking, commenting on and posting of films, television shows, trailers, clips, and web series.

For all Hollywood's recent embrace of "social", they've yet to advance beyond a campaign model. Social efforts and data-collection are film-focused, and the insights learned from each process are thrown out after the film is released on DVD and other platforms. With each new movie, marketing departments are essentially reinventing the wheel. Dan Scheinman notes in a post on Cisco's blog a conversation he had with one startup that "said it was fascinating to watch studio CFOs scrutinize the ROI on every campaign as measured by impressions, click through rates, etc, but then walk away from the most valuable assets–the data and the relationship with the consumer–that the social app was generating."

Time Warner's purchase of Flixster gives the company access to the type of rich social media that can be mined to determine future interests. Flixster is the #1 social movie site on the iOS, Android and Blackberry mobile platforms with 35 million downloads to date. Its sister site, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, attracts 12 million monthly visitors. With a targeted consumer base of this size and access to all of its activity, analyst will be able to utilize predictive modelling with frightening accuracy. And then marketing--freely--to this same rapt audience? I don't have to be a math genius to see there's huge profits to be made.

The Dangers of Employment

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:01:00 +0000

What they don't tell you about getting a job is how much it can get in the way of your plans. Sure, being poor also tends to do that, but at least it's a little easier on your time. I can't remember the last time I had the energy to think long and hard about my web project, let alone compose a blogpost. With poverty came hunger and creativity, and with employment, complacency and a certain drabness. While my job has taught me new skills, brought me to my dream apartment, introduced me to exciting and interesting folks, and nudged me forward on my path to being an adult, I can't help but mourn my freedom a bit. It's true, I now have freedom from worry about bills, credit card debt, and dining out, but I've lost the freedom to think, be creative and develop new stories.

Every morning I wake up and tell myself "Today is the day where you'll save a little energy to work on your projects". Cut to - evening. Me in bed watching other people's projects, completely spent from my day. Creative energy exists in finite amounts, and when the well is tapped by other sources, it takes more than sleep alone to refill it.

Does this mean I don't want it enough? Sometimes I worry. There are so many who have navigated these waters before me with greater dexterity. Like them, I've talked for so long about how much I want to tell stories--mine or otherwise--but I'm worried that it's become lip service in my case. Yet when I finally do get those few moments in my week or month, when I have both time and energy to think and dream and create, I'm surprised and reassured by the amount of passion I still have for my ideas.

Its unfortunate my employment has had to coincide with the crescendo of so many of my personal goals. I guess in the scheme of things, having too much to do is always better than too little. I just hope I can figure out a way to better balance my plans for Rodshire, USA with my job so that one day, I may be lucky enough to have my employment and side projects be one and the same.

A Content Strategy For Audience Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Indispensable advice from Robert Pratten, Transmedia Storyteller.

A Content Strategy For Audience Engagement

Facebook Fan Page Design

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Sounds easy, but until I had to design one I had no idea that I would have to get comfy using Facebook Markup Language (FBML) to make it happen. FBML enables you to build Facebook applications that deeply integrate into a user's Facebook experience, such as the photobucket slideshow I added this morning. Thanks to FanPage101 for the great instructional video!

What the #@!!% is my Social Media Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Found this witty and topical resource modeled after the popular internet meme What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner. Created by a social media & engagement planner, "what the fuck is my social media strategy" provides simple, easy-to-digest suggestions for how to run a social media campaign (read: no long-winded theoretical discourses). I've already tried to incorporate some of their directives into the social media campaign I'm planning for John Sayles' new film, AMIGO, which you should--if you haven't done so already--follow this link and become a fan on Facebook immediately.

Check out What The Fuck Is My Social Media Strategy

Real Women Walking And Talking

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:00:00 +0000

I came across Allison Bechdel's "Bechdel test" while reading one of Ted Hope's blogs. First popping up in 1985 in her comic Dykes to Watch Out For, the Bechdel test has since become somewhat of a cultural touchstone among females in the business (and those sensitive to the portrayal of women on film), representing the sad truth about the female role in American cinema: that very few films on the marquee are able to pass 3 very simple rules:

1-The film has to have at least two women in it
2- Who talk to each other
3-About something besides a man

Now I'm not a feminist, but I was shocked to see that of the 1145 movies in the database, only about 50% passed all 3 parts of the test. And these were movies that were self-reported!

Studios still don't believe that their audiences want to see anything but white, straight, male leads. And if women are involved, they sure don't want them talking to each other about anything other than love, men and babies. It's hard to say if this widely held opinion has actually been proven right or not because so few movies have been given the marketing and P&A budget to test it. Sure, there may be a greater variety of fare outside of Hollywood, but its a shame that the mainstream has so little faith in the interests of their audience that they continue to perpetuate stereotypes on screen that for the most part have been done away with in real life.

Check out what films pass The Bechdel Test.

Fake Imax is Wack.

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:35:00 +0000

I'm sure this has been circulating for a while, but I just stumbled across Aziz Ansari's awesome rant about the weak shit IMAX has been pulling on us. In AMC theaters around the country, the IMAX brand has been slapped onto theaters that have large screen digital projections, but not that true awe-inspiring mammoth projection we know from watching shark, train and planet movies at museums and other institutions. This wouldn't be such a big deal if AMC wasn't charging upwards of $5 more for this label. It costs five extra dollars (and sometimes more) to see a film in NYC's AMC Empire 25 IMAX digital theater, with its 28x58-foot (8.5x18 meter) screen. Audiences see the IMAX name on the theater and have no idea until after their ticket has been torn and they walk into the auditorium that that screen is about the same size as the one in the adjacent 35mm auditorium, and less than a quarter the size of the one in the AMC Lincoln Square IMAX 15/70 theater, 26 blocks away.

Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes! Read Aziz's rant for his highly entertaining take on things:

Aziz gets mad at Imax and blogs about it

The Other Foot Drops: Hulu Subscription Service Launches

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:27:00 +0000

I wonder how popular this will be and how these subscription fees will be divvied on the back end? And there's still the issue of telcos being boxed out...

Hulu Launches Subscription Service

No Degree? Then No Film School is for you!

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:33:00 +0000

For those of us who are committed to film-making but don't have the money for fancy (and in my opinion, worthless) advanced degrees, there is the expertly written DIY filmmaking blog No Film School, run by one of the smartest and hardest working filmmakers I've ever met. Ryan Koo not only has a prolific knowledge and keen understanding of both the technical and business sides of content production, he also possesses something twice as valuable: the ability to convey his knowledge in a clear, easy to understand writing style. He also actively solicits suggestions from his readership, which ensures that the information he provides is both topical and useful. Check out his article on Zacuto's Camera shootout below, which compares footage from a number of DSLRs against two 35mm film stocks. Although Ryan wasn't involved in this particular test, I would have never come across such a useful video without checking his site.

Download and watch Zacuto’s Camera Shootout in high quality

Castle in the Sky: Jeff Bewkes' Time Warner

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:05:00 +0000

I must say, I've got to hand it to his guy. Of all the media moguls out there right now, Bewkes seems to be the only one who's walking the talk. Since 2009 he has seen Time Warner grow in quarterly profits while companies like NBC Universal and Viacom continue to falter. Sitting behind News Corp, Time Warner is the second largest media company and, thanks to Bewkes' decision to streamline his company and spin off Time Warner Cable and money drain AOL, he's in the enviable position of operating from a strong base, with modest debt and a war chest of $5 billion in cash.

What does he know that other moguls don't? For one, he sees dollar signs in the union of film and tv programming and video games. Video games have been the one sector of the entertainment industry that has seen steady growth since the beginning of the decade, and, as reported by Ars Technica, the industry is expected to hit $70 billion by 2015. For Bewkes, that number is too big to ignore. Rather than scoop up large unwieldy content generators like NBC Universal, Bewkes has quietly focused on acquiring videogame publishers and developers. And while some critics have been snarking at Bewkes' feet dragging in picking up the MGM library (TW already owns the the studio's pre-1986 vault), Time Warner's has seen its revenue from vidgames rise from $100 million in 2007 to $510 million in 2009, according to the company. Let's be honest--it's unlikely that the Lion is going to be roaring to the tune of that kind of cash. And by controlling the ability to produce content in publishing, film, tv and now videogames, they have the ability to create properties that can completely pervade the marketplace, such as with The Green Lantern reboot.

TV Everywhere? While Bewkes' TV Everywhere strategy has a lot of critics, I must say i'm impressed with his inventiveness when it comes to preserving the bottom line. TV Everywhere will offer viewers online on demand programming so long as they are already paying customers of cable, satellite or telco TV services. This preserves the hefty monthly fees that cable service providers rely on, and the fees collected from these providers by the cable channels. These fees can reach up to $3.65 per subscriber per month for a channel like ESPN, so its clear why either side would be loathe to give these up. This arrangement also makes it less likely that the cable, satellite and telcos will block access to your favorite shows, which it might have considered had you and all your friends canceled your cable TV subscription in favor of streaming everything on Hulu. Although its still unclear what the business model will look like, or how advertising will factor in, its clear from their supporting partners that the idea is being taken VERY seriously (TWC and Comcast have solicited the support of big TV broadcasters including NBCU, Viacom’s MTV Networks and CBS--the only one of the four nationwide free-to-air networks not to have put its programming on Hulu). Comcast began a nationwide test of the system at the end of last year.

I'm interested to see if Bewke's bets prove to be intelligent and lucrative, or if the moves he's made were solely the product of well-timed luck. While his caution Hollywood-wise has produced a slew of tent pole yawn-fests, as a businessman, he seems to be doing what is best for his empire.

Twitter for Marketing Basics with Dan Zarrella

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:24:00 +0000

As I'm getting deeper and deeper into the development of my web series, I'm starting to think more and more about online marketing strategies and social media tools that will help me to increase awareness quickly and efficiently. I found this video during one particularly long session trolling the internet on a website called http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/. The tips Dan gives are fast and easy to integrate for any DIY marketer. Take a look!

I'm not a businessman but it's a business, man.

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Sun, 09 May 2010 22:27:00 +0000

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I'm in the process of (sloooowly) developing a multimedia project entitled "The Rodshire Archives" about a community of indeterminate location prone to odd occurrences and strange happenstance. Unfortunately, as is the case with most endeavors, a major part of getting this project off the ground will be fund-raising. Being a first-time entrepreneur and a skilled googler, I immediately took to the internet in search of answers as to how to set up an entity through which I could raise money for my project. I figured it would be much easier to get people to donate to a legitimate business entity rather than Julia's second checking account. I googled various search strings such as "incorporating film production company" "starting a production company" and "production company operating agreement". I found a lot of people looking for help, but not a lot of answers. The information I found on NOLO and the Citizen Media Law Project was helpful, but again, it was too general and didn't answer my production company-specific questions, like whether I should form an S-Corp or an LLC, if I formed an LLC whether my company would qualify for the publishing exemption in New York, what other permits or licenses would be needed, how donations are taxed, etc. I couldn't believe that with all the free advice, tutorials, how-to's and helpful hunts out there, there was no DIY guru out there sharing his experience forming an entity to raise capital and produce content!

I'd love for any readers or DIY-ers out there who have experience forming an entity (whether in NY or elsewhere) for a single film or for multiple projects to leave some free advice here, or shoot me an email at julia@rodshire.com with some advice as to who to contact or where to look. Any information I get I'd be happy to put into an online guide to help others who are deciding 1) whether they need to incorporate, and if so, 2)how to navigate the rough legal and bureaucratic waters.

What Disney Can Teach us About Copyright

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:31:00 +0000

So I may be a little late to the party (about 9,640,708 views late) but I thought I'd share this fairly ingenious video with anyone who might also be missing out.

Biggest takeaways? Ideas can't be copyrighted. You can only copyright the form an idea takes. Hence the billion versions of Romeo & Juliet.

A free Santa is a happy Santa.

Copyright lasts for a fixed amount of time. However, that fixed amount of time has grown since the 1970s to be virtually endless, preventing characters like Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain as he should have in 2004(see Copyright Term Extension Act). Can you imagine if the iconic image of Santa Claus was created under current copyright law? It would definitely make me think twice before putting out christmas decorations, lest having to pay heavy royalty fees.

One of the main arguments for copyright is that it protects the value of the work from dilution. However, I feel that a work (in some cases) becomes MORE popular and MORE valuable in the public domain, such as is the case with our friend Santa and the Easter Bunny. Proliferation can be power. By giving everyone ownership, we can ensure the protection and advancement of our favorite books, musical works, films and characters for years to come.

Kelly Chapman Speaks Transmedia

noreply@blogger.com (FilmFlam) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:56:00 +0000

Just finished watching Aussie Kelly Chapman talk about creating ancillary methods of engagement (web video, ARGs, social networks) for television shows (Lost most notably) and films. She walks through a number of well-known examples such as Paranormal Activity and 2012 and discusses her own experiences with the Find 815 ARG and the upcoming feature Jucy. Not only is she a pioneering transmedia producer --a title I hope to hold one day!--but she's also clearly a smart, take charge, kickass chick.

The best part of this presentation is the behind-the-scenes clip she shows of the Jucy crew playing a crass game the characters in the movie play. It starts around 28:30. What a great idea for creating additional material that's not your run of the mill "making of". I'd love to hear what some other non-traditional ideas filmmakers are employing to keep up with their audiences.

Kelly Chapman keynote SPAA Fringe 2009 from KCDC on Vimeo.