Brave New Media

Ending This Project

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:56:00 +0000

Here's a playlist of the videos I made doing this project. It's been fun but I feel like I want to continue videoblogging on my personal blog. You can see more at http://www.tanjabarnes.com.

Thanks!

Patric Verrone on the American Idol Truth Tour

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:30:00 +0000

Brave New Media #16 - American Idol Truth Tour Part 3 from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Brave New Media #015 - American Idol Truth Tour - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:45:00 +0000

Brave New Media #015 - American Idol Truth Tour - Part 2 from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Brave New Media #014 - American Idol Truth Tour - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Brave New Media #014 - American Idol Truth Tour - Part 1 from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Today on KCRW's "The Business" SAG & AFTRA Presidents Have A Bitchfest

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:49:00 +0000

This special edition of The Business features a rare head-to-head conversation about future of acting with the dueling presidents of SAG and AFTRA. It's the first time the leaders have spoken since March 29.

Download MP3 here.

Brave New Media #013 - Susan Olsen (aka VDOVault) on the Proposed AFTRA Contract

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:48:00 +0000

Click to Play

Susan is a huge supporter of entertainment professionals including SAG and WGA. She's also the liaison of the fan group of "Law & Order - Criminal Intent". More info at http://BraveNewMedia.tv

Craig Newmark on Craiglist's Effect on Newspapers

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:44:00 +0000

Follow Me!

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:40:00 +0000

"Follow me!" is the new, pc way to say "Stalk me!" and I invite you to do so on Twitter, a microblogging application in which users can make posts in 140 characters or less.

Here's a recent -- and I might add pithy -- post I made yesterday:

"Note to self: The show is the brand, not the network. Nobody remembers what network "American Idol" airs on. That's why Hulu works."

Stalk me. Follow me. It's all the same. All you have to do is click here.

On The Media: "One For The Books"

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:09:00 +0000

book, originally uploaded by flyzipper.

Disruptive technology is revolutionizing the business model of the print industry -- from soup to nuts, from books to newspapers. Last week "On The Media" re-aired a show dedicated to one of their favorite topics – books. From their website: "From Oprah's Book Club to the Google Library Project, the way we buy, search, read and even discuss books is changing." Read the trancripts here.

The big problem in new media is not just building an audience, but enabling advertisers to capture eyeballs, an issue that even old media giants in network television must contend with. Therein lies the problem of which Alan Rosenberg spoke in my vidcast Brave New Media episode #007 in which he explains the problem of product integration as proposed by the AMPTP and what it means for actors.

Now instead of a healthy debate that I proposed in the Writers' Strike Chronicles as to what is the more powerful invention the Internet or the printing press, I'm now wondering what are some of more powerful invention for television: color? The remote control? (Hey kids! Let's mute commercials!) Or Tivo? (Forget it! Let's skip'em altogether!).

My two cents. YMMV.

Brave New Media #012 - Joss Whedon

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Click to Play

Joss Whedon was a guest on my last podcast "The Writers Strike Chronicles". I met up with Whedon at the SAG Solidarity Rally on 9 June 2008. More info at http://bravenewmedia.tv

Brave New Media #011 - Alan Katz

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:01:00 +0000

Click to Play

Writer Alan Katz, strike captain for the WGA, was a guest on my last podcast "The Writers Strike Chronicles". I met up with Katz at the SAG Solidarity Rally on 9 June 2008. More info at http://bravenewmedia.tv

SAG TOWN HALL MEETING - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:53:00 +0000

ATTN: SAG MEMBERS

Attend the member town hall meeting in Los Angeles for updates on the current status of TV/Theatrical contract negotiations.

Hear the updates and participate in the question and answer session. Your negotiators need to hear from you!

WHO: Screen Actors Guild President
Alan Rosenberg and National
Executive Director and Chief
Negotiator Doug Allen .

WHAT: Update on the current status of
TV/Theatrical Contract
Negotiations.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 11, 2008
from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Harmony Gold Preview House
7655 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Note: Please bring your SAG membership card (paid thru May 2008) for admittance. Parents/Guardians of SAG members under 18-years old may attend with the minor.

Parking is available in rear and street parking.

Brave New Media #010 - Keith Carradine & Alan Rosenberg

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Brave New Media #010 - Keith Carradine & Alan Rosenberg from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

This clip features actor Keith Carradine followed by Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg at the SAG Solidarity Rally. Recorded 9 June 2008.

Brave New Media #009 - Patric Verrone & David Young

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:16:00 +0000

Brave New Media #009 - Patric Verrone & David Young from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Patric Verrone and David Young, President and Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America West respectively show solidarity towards the Screen Actors Guild in this clip. Recorded 9 June 2008.

Brave New Media #008 - Doug Allen

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Brave New Media #008 - Doug Allen from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Doug Allen, the National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild gives this speech at the SAG Solidarity Rally. Recorded 9 June 2008.

Brave New Media #007 - Alan Rosenberg

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

Brave New Media #007 - Alan Rosenberg from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Alan Rosenberg, President of the Screen Actors Guild, delivers this speech at the SAG Solidarity Rally. Recorded 9 June 2008.

Brave New Media #006 - Anthony DeSantis

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:26:00 +0000

Brave New Media #006 - Anthony DeSantis from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

This clip features Anthony DeSantis, Hollywood board member of the Screen Actors Guild at the SAG Solidarity Rally. Recorded 9 June 2008.

Message from Anthony:

My name is Anthony DeSantis. It is right that I should stand behind what I send out over the internet. You can IMDB me for reference but suffice to say that I qualify as no man's "High-Profile" actor. I am, by definition, a middle class actor. I make most of my money from commercials. I've never made enough in just over ten years in LA to make a living doing TV and film alone but I have made my Plan 1 benefits every year since 1997 primarily due to commercial work. I've never made over $100,000 in one year as an actor. I'm right in the middle class sweet spot. (Full disclosure--I've been on the Hollywood Board of the Screen Actors Guild for 5 years and have run with Membership First each of those years. For those of you who don't know, Membership First has swept the elections save for one or two people here and there for each of those five years. That means that people have believed for those years in what Membership First stood for and what we've been doing for longer than the US Department of Homeland Security has been in existence.)

The above means that I've been around the top 20 per cent or so of my profession for over a decade. Ask anyone in any other professional field who is in the top 20% of their peers if they feel they deserve to be able to buy a house, feed a family of four, have two solid cars and save enough to put those two kids through college and finally retire comfortably?

You bet your ass they believe they should and so should any actor who goes on hundreds of unpaid auditions, books jobs that never air, gets turned down again and again only to show up in "upscale casual" or with an armload of changes or races across town three times in a day through LA traffic so they can avoid the ire of a 20-yr-old intern who thinks you should have made it from Santa Monica to Burbank on time at 5pm for a one-line co-star read. You're damn right we deserve to be paid fairly. What we/you do is invaluable to the creative process. There are no Studios without you. There are no Ad agencies without you. There are no Producers without you. There are no casting agents without you. Without you there are only novels. No films. No TV. No commercials; Just paperback books and the oral tradition.

Is this a time of uncertainty? You bet. Am I afraid that my livelihood is in danger of going away? Damn right. Do I wish there was an easy way out, that we could all select and be able to save what has been built for us by the generations who came before us? I tell you I do.

But Rome is on fire. Your neighbors are quietly disappearing in the dead of night.

This is your time in history to change history. You have the power. How? Is it hard? What do you have to do?

Just show up. That's all.

Just show up. That's all.

WEDNESDAY , JUNE 11 @ The HARMONY GOLD THEATRE on Sunset.

I know you've heard a lot of this before. Maybe you've tuned a lot of it out. I'm going to say it again anyway. I'm going to say it until I have to leave town with my belongings in a Pod because the corporations, in their bottom line sort of way, are squeezing every penny out of that bottom line and leaving me and all the other middle class actors packing their families and their belongings in a station wagon to seek their salvation, ironically, to the East where they came from with their dreams of making their fortunes--their careers in Show Business. Don't worry. The Producers and each and every level of that bloated, economically unsound, bureaucracy will still be pushing low-cost, high-return reality television along with movies shot with stars and a bunch of AFTRA members working along side their non-union friends, and driving their sweet new Bentleys, Beemers, and Benzes. No need to cry for them and their MBA's. They'll even tell you they like going to ArcLight theatres to see the two hour American Idol spectacular (Who ever knew that reality could cross over to Film when movies started tanking at an alarming rate because the stars had no one to act in scenes with?)

Does anyone out there know many actors who make a living solely as an actor doing Guest Stars and Co-stars any more? Ask the old-timers. It used to be possible.

Does this all sound far-fetched? Think of this. AFTRA is out to get 100% jurisdiction in television. How do I know? They said so. (The following is from a post by Matt Kimbrough, AFTRA leader and 08 W&W chair: It is taken from a much longer personal account of the AFTRA SAG situation and how it comes to be where it is. You can find the full post on the internet. It is dated April '08)

"President Connolly created a Strategy Cabinet of elected National Officers and key committee chairs to oversee this independent future. This cabinet first met in the spring of 2004. There, NED Greg Hessinger presented a stark financial future. Without increasing jobs, without organizing new work, without streamlining its operations, AFTRA could be out of business in a decade. The decision was made to make AFTRA's mission to organize work for itself (my bolding) for all categories to be sure, but freelance actors represented the largest population and the area where the most erosion of AFTRA's work had occurred. This had happened again in part because merger, if achieved, would bring all actor's work under one banner. Now that it had failed, twice in five years, AFTRA had to change its culture. It had to look to save itself and no longer expect support from SAG. It began its march for independence, therefore implicit competitiveness in television, with SAG. (my bolding))"

Once AFTRA has all of television (If we stand up now and stop them.), do you think they'll be happy with that? I don't. They'll find a way to promulgate a film contract if they haven't already. All of television? Ludicrous you say? AFTRA has been described by our employers as "cheaper" and "more flexible." That means that AFTRA is willing to sell you, the actor, for less money: less money in residuals, more free runs on cable, with fewer protections, etc. etc. The information is out there. You should be reading it. Even if S.A.G. signed the same contract, *the one that eliminates residuals on made-for-new media productions as of July 1 '08, *offers no protections for product placement, *expects you to negotiate your right to say no to clip use at the time of hire when you are most vulnerable, *gets nothing on DVD, *settles all current and future Force Majeure claims in the studios' favor, and *creates a working environment that allows non-union actors to work along side those actors that the studios get to decide are "professionals." Even if S.A.G. signed that same sub-standard contract it is still very likely that the studios will continue to push new pilot jurisdiction to AFTRA because it's the "cheaper", "more flexible" union. AND DON'T FORGET: Whatever you think of the agency situation, AFTRA has allowed our agents to be partially owned by our employers or anyone who wants to pony up some cash. So, when your agents and your employers lie post-coitally in bed together smoking their Cuban cigars, do you think they're going to want to set up their projects at the "more expensive", "less flexible" union? The union that fought for a decent wage and refused to give away your future? Hell no. AFTRA could have all TV shows (except for the eternal CSI's and ER) within two years: whatever isn't Reality.

Look, I don't hate AFTRA. In many ways I admire their strategy, tenacity and single-minded attack. They are following their script beautifully. That doesn't mean that I should stand quietly by, choosing to appease rather than standing up and saying, "Your strategy is costing me and my friends our careers and I will do all I can to stop you." Haven't we learned from history?

Rome is burning. Leave your fiddles in the closet.

Come Dance with the horse that brung you (I know. Mixing my folkisms). Stand firm with the Screen Actors Guild. It ain't a secret remedy. It's what unions have done in this country for a century. They stood shoulder to shoulder with their brothers against corrupt management (No, I'm not saying the Studios are corrupt, just designed and built on an anti-labor premise.), against scabs, and against those who believe that going along to get along with the boss man is an acceptable strategy while selling out their brothers and sisters who are standing in the streets, defiantly demanding to be paid the way any professional employee deserves to be paid.

In hope and solidarity,

Anthony DeSantis
anthonydesantis _(AT)_mac.com

Brave New Media #005 - Ed Asner

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:57:00 +0000

Brave New Media #005 - Ed Asner from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

This clip features Ed Asner, former president of the Screen Actors Guild at the SAG Solidarity Rally. Recorded 9 June 2008.

NOTE: I f'ed up! It's Alan Rosenberg (not "Rosenthal"). Rush to upload on my part. Sorry!

Hollywood Satire - SAG vs. AFTRA vs. AMPTP

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:09:00 +0000

Thanks to Michael Heister.

AFTRA Members Reach Tentative Agreement on Primetime TV Contract

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:59:00 +0000

It's worth noting that this is the first time ever that an AFTRA email blast came in a timely manner and not posted in the middle of the night. AFTRA's communications to its membership has been abysmal to say the very least about this dinosaur.

May 29, 2008

Dear AFTRA Member:

I am delighted to report that after 17 days of some of the hardest bargaining in which I’ve participated during the past decade as a union leader, your Primetime Negotiating Committee has reached a tentative agreement with the television producers that achieves higher pay and improved working conditions for AFTRA members working on primetime network dramatic programs.

Highlights of our new three-year agreement—known as “Exhibit A” of the Network Code—include:

Increases in base pay rates in each year of the contract.
Increases in employer contributions to the AFTRA Health and Retirement Plan to 15% in 2009.
Significant increases in “major role” minimums and overtime pay for three-day players.
A raise in the number of covered background actors in Los Angeles.
Improved terms and conditions for performers on CW programming.
Confirmed jurisdiction over programs produced directly for the Internet and New Media.
New residuals structures for paid Internet downloads (electronic sell-through) and ad-supported streaming that increase the rates currently paid by employers.
Preservation of the bedrock principle of performer consent for non-promotional use of excerpts in New Media.
Expanded access to data on new media transactions plus a sunset stipulation on all New Media provisions, which will allow both sides to revisit this area with fresh and informed viewpoints when the agreement expires in 2011.
We will send you a more thorough description of the proposed deal following the AFTRA National Board meeting next week. (For a fact sheet and more information, read the news release at www.aftra.com.) If approved by the National Board, the agreement will be submitted to you for ratification. When you have had a chance to study the details, I think you will agree that the agreement not only achieves meaningful economic improvements for working performers, but it also makes significant progress in the critical and rapidly growing area of New Media.

This victory for performers in the current challenging environment was due to the hard work and long hours put in by your Negotiating Committee, led by chair Matt Kimbrough, and our dedicated staff, led by National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth and New York Local Executive Director Stephen Burrow—all of whom worked straight through the Memorial Day weekend to conclude negotiations at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Based on our experience in this year’s AFTRA Network Code talks—as well as that of the DGA and WGA in their respective negotiations earlier in the year—we knew going into these talks that we would be confronted with some very challenging issues. This is why we felt it was so important for negotiations over actors’ contracts to begin sooner rather than later, and why we worked so hard to make this happen.

It’s also why the working men and women of the Negotiating Committee took a business-like approach to the talks. Fiery rhetoric has its place, but this victory was a direct result of our willingness to keep focused on our priorities while working hard to find creative solutions to the unforgiving realities of the TV business during this time of rapid change.

This was particularly true when it came to New Media. New Media is changing everything. And, yes change can be uncomfortable. But clinging to the old ways is a recipe for disaster; just ask the thousands of AFTRA members in the recording industry. With this in mind, our goal in these negotiations was not to set up barriers to prevent the employers from entering the New Media business, but to ensure that our members have a fair share and a protected stake in that business as it develops.

We also owe our success to the support we received from the entire Hollywood labor community. Following the long-standing tradition of union solidarity practiced by the Writers, Directors, and Screen Actors Guilds, as well as IATSE, we were happy to welcome observers from all of our sister unions to all of our bargaining sessions (excepting only the confidential sidebars that are a standard part of every negotiation). In particular, we are grateful to SAG for its generosity in giving our negotiators the benefit of its earlier experience bargaining with the AMPTP. This was an extremely helpful favor that we are in the process of returning.

I look forward to discussing the terms of our new agreement with all of you in the very near future. In the meantime, please join me in thanking—and congratulating—our negotiating committee and staff for the magnificent job they have done.

In solidarity,

ROBERTA REARDON
AFTRA National President

Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, George Lucas On Seesmic

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:14:00 +0000

The stars and creators of the latest Indiana Jones movie answers questions via the microvlogging community Seesmic.

Seesmic founder Loic Le Meur explains:

The original idea was to have journalists around the World ask private questions to the actors and they would answer in private, as a way to give access to them. Instead of a fully private interview, most of the conversation has been public during about two hours but there were also many private videos which were posted and answered by journalists.
This experience illustrates how video on the net and Seesmic can be a fantastic way to get our community closer to celebrities and ask them questions directly. They would not have accepted live and the asynchroneous Seesmic format worked very well. They took many more questions from journalists that they would have in face to face as Seesmic passwords were distributed to journalists around the world.

It’s an interesting experiment, and one that is likely to bring a tremendous amount of awareness to the Seesmic community. Seesmic is currently in alpha testing. Join me there! My username is "TanjaB".

From SAG President Alan Rosenberg

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:29:00 +0000

SAG President Alan Rosenberg recently sent an e-mail to the membership explaining what is being brought to the table as the union returns to negotiations tomorrow with the AMPTP. Below are the points:

The main outstanding issues remain the same as they were in early May:

Middle Class Actors: Actors and background actors are struggling to stay in the game. While management has said they have money to spend here, we want to make sure it’s spent in ways that make a real difference: increases in minimums, including major role, mileage, schedule and money breaks, and more coverage for background actors, for example.

Clips: We have said no to management’s demands of you to give up your right to consent to the use of clips containing your images.

DVD: We simply want the employers to pay your Pension & Health contributions on top of your residual, instead of taking it out of your share of DVD revenues. The entire eligible cast shares only 1% of that revenue. You shouldn’t have to pay your own P& H contributions out of that percentage.

Force Majeur: The SAG contract has longstanding provisions for down periods when a project goes out of production because of an Act of God or strike by another union. We have said no to management’s proposal to wipe away pending claims and to force you to negotiate these rights by yourself

New Media Jurisdiction: SAG wants to cover ALL new media projects, no matter how low the budget. We should not allow major studios and networks to produce non-union new media projects without SAG actors because they have low budgets.

For Immediate Release: The Free Advice Project

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:01:00 +0000

The Free Advice Project is a vlogumentary by Tanja Barnes featuring videos, quotes, poetry, photographs and other forms of digital media on the subject of free advice.

Through the project Barnes aspires to engage in a conversation with the audience to explore the notion of free advice as well as free information using a the electronic medium of the Internet and by incorporating tools, utilities and social media services that are free to use. She hopes to expand the topic to all things free: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of information (not to mention free press, free hugs, free love and free lunches).

This project is set to expire on its 100th webisode but it’s possible the project may extended based on feedback received.

The public is wholeheartedly invited to participate in the Free Advice Project by offering up free advice on any subject. Text comments and/or video comments are requested and much appreciated. Some ways you can offer free advice is by sending an e-mail at freeadvice.tumblr@gmail.com

About The Free Advice Project

The Free Advice Project is a study on free culture. The inspiration for the project came from the expression “Information wants to be free” which was coined by Stewart Brand when he spoke at the first Hackers’ Conference in 1984. Flash forward to current day where various tech pundits believe the value of all things digital is trending towards zero, the Free Advice project questions the future profitability of businesses that are founded on freeconomics.

About The Author

Tanja Barnes is new to vidcasting after spending the past three years creating audio podcasts. She is currently producing content for BraveNewMedia.tv. During the Fall 2007/Winter 2008 Barnes produced and hosted an audio podcast entitled "The Writers Strike Chronicles" (available in iTunes) in which she interviewed writers on the picket line on a daily basis for the duration of the strike. Prior to that, since 2005 produced and hosted a weekly audio podcast about a community of artists, musicians, geeks and freaks that are on the forefront of America's underground arts movement.

YouTube Launches Citizen News Channel

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Google's YouTube is launching a Citizen News channel, highlighting the best news video on the site from around the world. "News on YouTube is huge," says Olivia Ma, YouTube's new news manager. "No longer do you have to be a seasoned journalist to make waves in the news."

I say: true that, Ma!

TrueStories4Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (TANJA BARNES) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:48:00 +0000

Today in my inbox, Toni Perling, one of the many guests I had on the Writers' Strike Chronicles podcast sent me the following announcement about a project entitled TrueStories4Hollywood that she's involved with:

The idea is simple - anyone can post a true story to be searched by prescreened and qualified writers, producers, reps and execs for option or sale. That would be you, Mr. or Ms. Industry Professional! It's FREE, as in no cost to you, as in nada dinero, to sign up and search as a Media Pro.

There are almost forty stories already up and available on the site for your perusal, and more are being added every day. I've already snatched up a couple for myself, as you can see below.

If you're a writer or producer who's already optioned a true story - mazel tov! The site is a perfect place to post as much or as little info about the story as you'd like on the site, including loglines, pictures, videos and links. The site normally charges $50 for a story posting, but we're offering a special family and friends discount of $50 - which means it's FREE! Just use the code JOURNALIST, all caps, when you check out.

And remember, you never have to worry about your story being stolen from the site. All of the Media Pro members who have been granted access are pre-screened, and detailed records are kept as to who accessed your story and when. Plus, if it's a true story, so you've got the rights. So I hope you'll check it out.

And please feel free to forward it to friends and family -- maybe a long-lost second cousin has a true story to tell -- and sell!

Regards,
Toni Perling