Insights Into THE ART OF PITCHING

The "art" of pitching shouldn't exist. Even if it does, it has got to change.

It has come to my attention that various groups are holding "pitch parties" and "pitching festivals" where (for a price) they schedule meetings with writers and allow them to pitch ideas to studio reps (some of whom might even be real).

The reason things must change is because every "writer" thinks his screenplay is the best. And every "writer" goes into the meetings with reps from Studio "Acquisitions" with the hope of selling his work and with the idea that he will pitch his screenplay and that they will immediately realize its "masterpiece" potential. What every "writer" doesn't know is that real "agents" have already abandoned this practice.

Writers pitching their work have no idea of what "Acquisitions" really wants while most reps do have an idea in their minds about what they are looking for. Every rep probably has different wants and the entrepreneuers promoting these "events" are making money by turning them into a game; much like "speed dating".

It's now all about showmanship! The person pitching enters the arena like a hunter approaching wild game and carrying his gun with one or two bullets. Real agents arm themselves with a slate of projects and rather than waste time, instead of pitching they ask questions and feel out the reps to get an idea of what they want. They then pitch the project that is closest to meeting the rep's wants. And then, they follow up relentlessly at later dates. They keep changing what they have tailoring it to fit each client's need (as they find out more and more what each rep really needs).

Those who want to sell should take a lesson from the professional agents. Arm yourself with numerous properties. It doesn't matter if they are yours or not; what matters is selling a concept. Go into each meeting with a shotgun rather than a rifle. Be prepared to change your concepts and re-write everything to meet the rep's needs. You will have a much better chance of hitting the target.

Indie Feature "Silence Becomes You" Shot on FilmStream

"Silence Becomes You," is a low-budget independent film directed by Stephanie Sinclaire and starring Alicia Silverstone. Shot entirely using a technology called FilmStream, the film is in production in Lithuania.

"Silence Becomes You" is the first full-length feature film for Sinclaire, a poet and painter with an 18-year history with the King’s Head theatre in Islington, of which she is associate artistic director.

Achieving a very particular look is crucial to the film and Steve Shaw, the film’s technology evangelist, explains that the technology they are using will allow Sinclaire to “drain colours away from memories and flashbacks — make it more noir. Make it look very painterly.”

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MOVIES---Which way to watch? Choose

Steven Soderbergh partners with 2929 to make films for release in theaters and on DVD at the same time.

Some movie fans love the thrill of seeing a new film in a crowded multiplex while others prefer to watch movies in the privacy of their own homes.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh said Thursday that he is partnering with 2929 Entertainment to direct half a dozen high-definition digital movies, with the aim of releasing all simultaneously in theaters, on DVD and on pay cable and satellite television.

Soderbergh already is in production in Ohio on the first of the six planned films — "Bubble," a murder mystery that could debut on the three competing platforms as early as this fall.

"In the next five years, you are going to see some significant paradigm shifts in the entertainment business."

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Sound for Film: To Lav or not to Lav

Beginning filmmakers spend so much time working on their sets, cameras, actors and makeup, etc. Audio is the last thing on their mind. When I ask who handled the location recording, I usually get the same answer: “Oh just a friend of mine who wanted to help out, he had no idea what he was doing”.

Find a television and turn it onto a news program. Notice that little black bug stuck to the anchorman’s tie? That is a lav mic!

It has the advantage of being closer to the source (your mouth) than any other mic. This also gives the advantage of not capturing all the sounds in the room. Lav mic as much as possible! It not only sounds better, it is the type of sound we are use to when it comes to commercial programming.

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Shoot the Plan!

Plan the shoot, shoot the plan, edit the planned shoot.

When production starts you should shoot what you planned to shoot. If that deceptively simple rule were routinely followed, Hollywood epics would never overrun their schedules and amateur productions would never look embarrassing (assuming they didn't crash and burn before completion).

The underlying concept is that crucial decisions are made in pre-production planning that will affect everything that follows, all the way through to the end of post production. A good planner keeps that long timeline in mind, the way a good chess player thinks many moves ahead.

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Making Your First Movie: ‘Me and You and Everyone We Know’

Indie writer/director Miranda July, whose debut feature “Me and You and Everyone We Know” was a Sundance favorite this year, started her career as a performance artist in Portland, Oregon.

There, July took to the stage as a one-woman band, frequently interacting live with pre-taped video of herself in much the same way her character does in this film. (In addition to writing and directing “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” she stars in the film as well.)

July received a lot of attention for her script, which interweaves a series of stories—a quirky performance artist pursues a recently divorced shoe salesman, a 6-year-old boy has a chat room flirtation with an unwitting middle-aged woman, a pair of teenage girls decides to test their sexual prowess on a willing neighbor, an old widower meets and falls in love with a woman in his retirement home—using the theme of loneliness to tie the loose ends together.

READ MORE.

Life After Darth

George Lucas was born to make underground films.

Then a little movie called Star Wars lured him to the dark side. Can the father of the blockbuster really rediscover his avant-garde soul?

Revenge of the Sith, the final installment of that six-part saga, will soon open on thousands of screens from Chicago to Shanghai after premiering days earlier at the Cannes Film Festival. The epic that has defined Lucas' career and spurred the creation of Industrial Light and Magic is finished, and the director finds himself at a crossroads...

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

THE PSYCHONAUTS: Score one for Interactive Games

Tim Shafer has created a fascinating 3D game that could also be a great movie script.

Forbidden to use his psychic powers by his strict father, Raz runs away from home to train as an international psychic secret agent (a Psychonaut).

Nothing is going to get in the way of his life's dream: not the camp bully, not the apathy of his cynical but cute girlfriend and not the hideous monster that comes out of the lake at night to eat the brains of children...

Like any good children's movie, the cast of characters is stunning and awesome...

READ MORE
REGISTER & MIND MELD in the Forum

Basic Videography: What were you THINKING?!

Have you ever had the impulse to take control of someone else's camcorder?
These are the all-time classic reasons why you might do just that...

1. Subliminal Message: A flash frame in a finished project is the number one "fingernails on a chalkboard" peeve of mine. When they are meant for effect, flash frames are a great editing technique. But when it's just sloppy editing it presents a poor production. After working hours, days, maybe even months on a project, step back and watch it, really watch every frame that passes by. Watch for continuity; watch for match editing, and above all, watch for those dangling flash frames. You don't want to discover the mistake as it goes live on the air, debuts at the major stockholders meeting, or shows at your grandma's life-time achievement party.

2. Steady as she Goes: Have you watched someone's footage (not yours, of course!) that looks as if they're trying to create the next Blair Witch Project? But they're only shooting little Janey's ballet recital...

READ MORE...

"Chasing Ghosts" Completes DI Workflow on Mac

"Chasing Ghosts," an indie feature film that will make its theatrical debut this fall, is the first of its kind to go through the digital intermediate workflow entirely on the Mac.

Kyle Jackson, and producer Alan Pao, wanted to develop a cost-effective workflow that would make a true, high-quality indie DI solution possible, giving them control over manipulation of the digitized image files. They wanted to capture the feel of old black and white noir films but retain a modern look, a challenging proposition given the limited time and money of an indie.

In concert with Final Cut Pro experts, Tunnel Post's creative team responded with the look they wanted as well as a DI that gives indies a new tool with which to compete with bigger Hollywood productions.

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Videography FAQ: Post-Production

Video editing is the process of deleting, arranging and otherwise selecting raw footage to create a final product that's more appealing than what has been recorded sequentially by the camera.

The big advantage that editing affords is the ability to cut out the parts of your video that just do not belong. If, as an example, you have some footage of a family gathering, and certain parts are shaky, overexposed or just plain boring, editing will allow you to get rid of the bad parts and save only the good.

Of course, there's much more to editing than just selecting the good parts over bad. There's a fine art to the arrangement of shots within a scene, one which has earned many an Oscar for Hollywood film editors.

The various methods used to edit video footage include in-camera, assemble, insert and digital nonlinear editing...

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What is UMD

Upon releasing the PlayStation Portable, Sony also unleashed a new, proprietary media format called the universal media disc (UMD).

Skepticism immediately grew concerning this format; only the Sony PlayStation Portable supports the universal media disc format and only content developers are able to create UMD discs.

The Sony PlayStation Portable is a beautifully designed handheld device. The disc is only two and a half inches wide and weighs only .35 ounces but it still has plenty of space for material with its 1.8 gigabyte capacity.

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Infinite Vision (2004)

Independent Documentaries and Docudramas Inspire.

INFINITE VISION tells the story of Dr. V(enkataswamy), the legendary eye surgeon from South India who made it his mission to restore sight to the blind and whose work has resulted in one of the world's most extraordinary models of service delivery.

In 25 years, Dr. V and his team have turned what started out as an 11-bed eye clinic in an old temple-city into the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world.

Taking its compassionate services to the doorstep of rural India, Aravind's stunningly effective strategies have created a self-sustaining system that now treats over 1.4 million patients each year, two-thirds of them, for free.

READ MORE...

Is Recording On Location Worth It?

Often when working on a film, whether it is a short or a feature, I come across a certain mentality that has proliferated in the filmmaking business. It’s the standard quote, “Oh, we can just fix that in post”.

This statement, though painless when uttered on location, can have very serious ramifications later on. Now I’m not saying perfect sound must be achieved, as it’s hard enough to get the visuals and performance locked down the way your mind’s eye envisioned.

But capturing the right dialogue can be worth its weight in gold when it comes time to edit. That combined with a few tips and tricks on location can make the editing process much easier and in turn more cost effective. Dialogue Is King!

READ MORE, THEN DECIDE.

Mozart's Sister Subject of New Film

Slated for production in Winter 2005 is "The Wonder Child", a biopic on Nannerl Mozart, the musically gifted sister of Amadeus Mozart

"The Wonder Child" will be the first of a trilogy of biopics on three female musical Wunderkinder of the early 19th century. The "Wunderkind Trilogy" will include films on Clara Schumann (wife of Robert Schumann) and Fanny Mendelssohn (sister of Felix Mendelssohn).

The award-winning screenplays for "The Wonder Child" and "Clara" were written by USA screenwriters Anthony Zaccaro and Miriam Queensen.

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THE WEREWOLF SOLUTION

Problem: Create a short film in 24 hours.

Synopsis : A young genius discovers the Werewolf Solution. But what IS the Werewolf Solution?

Filmed in New York City for the Midnight Movie Making Madness 24 hour make-a-film competition, short Independent films are better than ever...

SEE THE WEREWOLF SOLUTION

SHORT FILMS for April

GREAT SHORT INDEPENDENT FILMS fresh from the Festivals:

Learn Self Defense by Chris Harding
The Old Crocodile (Toshi Wo Totta Wani) by Koji Yamamura
Sheol by Rubén Möller
The Tooth by Nathan Stone; and
Egg by Behn Zeitlin

Includes QuickTime movie clips!

READ MORE and WATCH THE FILMS

PSP and the Games People Play

Sony’s new PlayStation Portable and the challenges of creating big games for the small screen:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. says that its PSP — short for PlayStation Portable — is already addictive. The integrated portable entertainment system, which offers 3D games, music and movies as well as communication and wireless networking, carried the suggested retail price of $249.99.

A new addiction is born: Half a million units of the PSP were sold within the first two days of its release.

READ MORE...

The Digital Eye

The nomadic nature of the visual effects industry:

If you’re afraid of change you’re in for a terrifying ride. The digital industry has always required us to work in strange ways. Many of us have longed for a post at an established company with benefits and job security and free food and posh offices and awesome equipment and software.

Consider that studios won’t need much in the way of physical plants or expensive offices anymore. This might create an even bigger boom in boutique studios… or is it possibly going to launch some new kind of mega virtual studios that take on massive 600-1000 shot contracts?

If you want to take a look at decentralization in action, go to www.pixelcorps.com and take a look around. With a thousand people in 20 countries participating, Alex Lindsay and his teams are spreading digital production training and opportunity around the world.

Talent knows no geographical boundaries.

READ MORE...

Integrating 35mm, 16mm and Super 8 in Indie Films

First, Last and Always: Indie filmmakers must learn to be resourceful.

It's all about how you look at things! When your budget is tight or non-existant, you search for ways to accomplish the impossible.

Faced with the high cost of buying stock footage for his feature HORRORS OF WAR, filmmaker Peter John Ross decided it would be less expensive to film the Normandy invasion...

READ MORE...and SEE THE TRAILER...

In Search of STUFF

Everyone seems to know what art is; but is it all in the eye of the beholder?

I always figured that there was a difference between For The Birds and Breakfast on the Grass. Seemed damn simple enough: one evokes emotions, the other challenges the mind. For me, art challenges the mind. Sensory perception is fine and dandy but it doesn't explain WHY. As Homer once said, "Why me laugh?"

From Plato to Aristotle to Nietzsche to Murder, She Wrote...take it all in and try to find meaning.

READ MORE...

More Electronics Firms Join Debate to End DVD War

More electronics companies have joined talks between Japan's Sony Corp (SNE.N). and Toshiba Corp. in order to develop a common format for next-generation DVDs and end a fierce battle.

Key companies involved in the format war, including Matsushita's Panasonic and Netherlands-based Philips are also studying ways to end the three-year stand-off that is threatening to stifle the industry's growth, but sources said that the discussions would take a long time, adding that a positive outcome was not guaranteed...

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Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story

INDIE FILMS can be outstanding entertainment and they can ask the questions that commercial movies avoid---Does violence have a place on television? Are violent words just cause for violent action? How do you respond to slurs?

RING OF FIRE is a sad and haunting tale of a six-time world champion boxer whose life took a sudden and dark turn.

Griffith was certainly not meant for the career that ultimately pretty much destroyed his life. A person of genuine charm and a certain gentleness - he was not what many might associate with the personality of a champion professional boxer.

READ MORE and WATCH THE TRAILER

It Came From the Animation Table

Ray Harryhausen, a professional stop-motion animator since the 1940s, has hooked at least two generations of fans at Saturday matinees with his mythological and zoological creations.

Baby Boomers know him from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts; a generation later young Gen-Xers blew their minds on Clash of the Titans.

Over the years, Harryhausen has had his hand in over a dozen family-friendly adventures and atomic-age disaster potboilers — dropping spinning UFOs on Washington in Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers, mixing grumpy dinosaurs and lighthouses in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, putting Baghdad’s finest on the edge of disaster in a trio of Sinbad movies, and dropping a T-Rex into the Old West in The Valley of Gwangi.

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Model Sheets vs. Business Models

How Independent Animators Work Within the System

The gigantic, rapacious corporation taking advantage of the struggling artist eager to see his creations come to life is a long-lived, durable cliché — but one with roots planted firmly in reality.

Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster had to learn the hard way about protecting their rights to their cartoon creation. Their sad story has given pause to contract signers (and work to intellectual property lawyers) ever since.

READ MORE...

FREE MUSIC for INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS

Tight budget? Can't afford to score your film?

One of the common things occuring today thanks to DV is that everyone feels they can just steal popular or even copyrighted music & use it in their movies.

Here is a solution - use this music for free and don't worry. Check out these FREE MUSIC Downloads & Descriptions. All royalty free MUSIC - meaning download & use it - there's no lawsuit or cease and desist if you do.

The Free MP3's are for Indie Movie Makers. Here are some instrumental music that you can use in your productions that's legal & free. All you have to do is credit the composer - Peter John Ross.

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC...

Don’t Budget Yourself Out of Business… Or Budget Blues

Independent producer/director Mark Simon talks about the death nail to independent production: underbids and over-promises.

Mark Simon knows firsthand about the budgeting blues. He has seen artists open up shop as independent production companies, and then shut down six months later...

I see a growing stain by the front door and I realize it’s time to take my pet peeve, Lowball, on a walk. Let me introduce you to my pet peeve.

Lowball underbids and over-promises.

READ MORE...

Indies Turn to Features

Independent animated feature film production is on the rise as costs come down and self-financing becomes a reality.

A growing number of independent animated films are in production, with budgets ranging from less than $5 million to more than $20 million. As the price of animation production has decreased, more producers are able to self-finance their properties and maintain creative control. Still, they face challenges in securing the exposure they need to succeed.

READ MORE...

Cowboys and Indies: the Vertically-Integrated Individual

“Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks were as much about budgets as they were about scientific experiments. The artist is forever tied to the businessman... Artists don’t live on gingerbread gathered under the rainbow, we need to pay rent and pay the dentist like anyone else.”

Christopher Panzner examines how independent producers have to be a vertically-integrated individual as well as a little bit of a cowboy to survive in the industry.

LEARN MORE...

Fresh from the Festivals

Taylor Jessen reviews five short films...

Command Z by Candy Kugel and Vincent Cafarelli
Prowlies at the River by Adam Phillips
Still I Remain (like a fish out of water) by Tom Gibbons
Woman in the Attic by Chansoo Kim; and
Patricia Grey by Anne Koizumi.

Includes QuickTime movie clips!

READ MORE...

GUNNER PALACE

Some War Stories NEVER make the nightly news...

Indie filmmaking scores a triumph as 400 American Soldiers carry out their mission from a bombed-out pleasure palace once owned by Saddam hussein. This is their story....

VIEW THE TRAILER...

Learn more: GUNNER PALACE.

Motion differences between film and video

In order to give your video a really convincing film-looked, don't wait till you've edited the whole thing. Process your original footage selections, then import the processed clips into your NLE system for editing.

If you do this you'll save time in the long run by not having to worry about setting key frames between scenes for color corrections and motion effects.

READ MORE...

The truth behind 'The Tooth'

BEST ANIMATION; BEST CHILDREN'S FILM; BEST SHORT

"The Tooth" actually came about indirectly through Tropfest, an annual short film festival that takes place in Sydney. Each year the festival requires that you make a film that includes a specific item, and for this particular year the item was 'rock'.

I came up with this little story and the plan was to finish the film in 3 months for the festival deadline. I figured a nice little 3d short would have a good chance of being popular at the festival.

Unfortunately...or fortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, we didn't finish on time and then decided just to push the quality as far as we could and not specify a deadline. In the end it took 16 months to complete.

READ MORE...

SEE THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Showcase: Double Negative's vfx for 'The Jacket'

DIGITAL FILMMAKING TAKES A NEW DIRECTION

Returning Gulf War veteran Jack Starks is accused of murdering a police officer and incarcerated in a Mental Institution. While in the care of Dr. Becker he is subjected to a series of brutal unorthodox confinement treatments designed to reduce his aggression.

The challenge of creating the vfx for "The Jacket" was entirely design based. We had a script in which the main character was hallucinating while experiencing mental breakdown, travelling through his own fragmented memories and time itself.

Our task was to visualise this process. We had to convey Jack's disorientation, terror, disturbed state of mind and journey through time.

READ THE ENTIRE VFXblog

3ds max 7 Review

MASTERING DIGITAL CINEMA

Those interested in 3D animation, special effects or gaming production might want to learn more about the new 3ds max.

3ds max 7 offers a very simple and efficient way to create and use normal maps. Join Ryan Lesser as he takes a look at the improvements to and raesons for Discreet's 3ds max version 7 release.

READ MORE...

TV Worldwide Teams With 'Blair Witch' Director

TV Worldwide, a web-based global TV network, announced that it has signed an agreement with "Blair Witch" creator Dan Myrick Pictures to stream “The Strand”, the first full length, live-action, independently produced-narrative episodic intended specifically for the web.

The series’ first streaming “webisode” will be launched as part of TV Worldwide’s live webcast of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2005 Show in Las Vegas.

The webisode webcast, broadcast live from the TV Worldwide webcast booth on the NAB 2005 show floor will feature a pre-launch show with Myrick and other “Strand” producers, actors and creators interacting with webcast participants worldwide via e-mail.

Read More...

Shanghai Triad

A CHINESE HOMAGE TO AMERICAN GANGSTER FILMS....

Shanghai Triad, features actress Gong Li and was directed by Yimou Zhang. The images in this award-winning film are as beautiful as those in The Godfather, Part 1.

Chinese movies today are considered by many as better than those made in Hollywood - and the Li/Zhang team has produced some of the best to come out of China in the past 10 years, including Ju Dou, Red Sorghum, and Raise the Red Lantern.

Allegory and ambiguity in Zhang Yimou's Shanghai Triad

LEARN MORE...

SEE SHORT INDIE FILMS ONLINE...

Indie films are better than ever...and there are so many to choose from.

INDIE Filmmakers are showing their work (available on many sites) as downloads, all with the hope that they will somehow get noticed or that their work will somehow lead to a Hollywood contract. Visitors to some sites such as ATOM FILMS, can rate the films and offer comments.

SEE FREE short indie films online...

ONE DAY WONDER: The Last Straw

More and more indy filmmakers are answering the challenge to shooting and making the 24-hour film (No, it doesn't last 24 hours---but it was shot in one day).

Daniella Mangialardo played the lead role in the film "The Last Straw" a short film by William M. Johns. The film was shot one day in February a year ago and presented as part of Project Greenlight last fall on Bravo.

SEE THE FILM...

INDIE FILM GATHERING June 3, 4 & 5 Cleveland, Ohio

Make note of the Date: JUNE 3, 4, and 5 in CLEVELAND, Ohio

Independent Film Makers, Writers, Actors, Stunt people, from East and West will meet to network! Competition for Film Makers, Actors, Stunt People, Special effects & Writers! Film Festival / Seminars / Convention / Celebrity Party / Free lectures

Where East meets West...The place to be in 2005!

Get your week end pass now and SAVE!

Video games get more sophisticated!

Are independent films in danger?

Filmmakers working on a budget will find it more and more difficult to compete with game developers. As the line between Hollywood features and computer games begins to blur, one of the hits of the 2004 E3 show was the trailer for the Bioware Xbox Jade Empire game.

A demo video with 20 minutes of gameplay and developer commentary is also posted.

SEE THE JADE EMPIRE TRAILER.

SS THE JADE EMPIRE DEMO VIDEO.

Game Industry Transitions to Next-Gen, Blindfolded

One expects a trumpet fanfare and a whisking away of some giant curtain.

Instead, every five years or so, the video games industry transitions to its next-generation of console hardware in dribs and drabs. The Big 3 manufacturers--Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo--leak information slowly, withhold significant details, playing coy until the very last second.

If this is maddening for consumers, imagine what it's like for the industry players that must build the next-gen software--developers, replicators, and packagers--their hands are essentially tied without specific input from the console makers.

"Sometimes the gamers combing the Internet chat rooms know more about what's going on than we do, and we're making the packaging."

READ MORE...

Television Like You've Never Seen It Before

FILMING IN HIGH DEFINITION?

HDNet offers opportunities for 35mm Films, High Definition Films, and Scripted Series Programming to owners/rightsholders of completed 35mm wide screen motion pictures, high definition films, and scripted fiction series interested in having their film or series broadcast on HDNet.

HDNet World Report Episode Guide-This is a listing, by episode number, of HDNet World Report episodes that have already been produced. Some episodes are available from the HDNet online store as high definition HD-VHS tapes.

SEE MORE>>>

Defining the Future of Digital Audio

Digital audio formats, like satellite radio, online radio, and podcasting--subscription-based programming that is pushed to MP3 players--are creating new business models and opportunities in radio and the music industry.

According to "The Future Of Digital Audio," a new report from Forrester Research, Inc., 20.1 million U.S. households will listen to satellite radio and 12.3 million U.S. households will use their MP3 players to listen to audio podcasts by the end of the decade.

READ MORE.

Will Podcast for Food

Podcasting: One Small Step for Technology, One Giant Leap for Personalized Audio

It's not just for hobbyists anymore, either. Everyone from Paris Hilton to Superman is getting in on the podcasting action.

Former MTV veejay and teen hearthrob Adam Curry developed the iPodder [link to: www.ipodder.org] script. iPodder downloads audio files to MP3 players including iPods and any Windows Media Player-supported device. Curry is about to release, PodShow.com which seeks to make a viable business out of podcasting and targets advertisers, podcasters, and listeners with specific messages regarding what podcasting can offer them. Although the venture is still relatively hush-hush, it’s set to launch later this year and has already sparked serious discussion in the industry.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

Compelling Internet Video Entertainment

Redmond, WA and Los Angeles, CA (April 7, 2005) -

MSN Video, a premier provider of streaming video content online, and IFILM, a leading video entertainment destination on the Web, are joining forces to deliver IFILM content to MSN Video’s free streaming entertainment channel at http://video.msn.com.

With the added IFILM programming, MSN consumers will now have access to the some of the most celebrated, irreverent and timely filmed content on the Web.

Through the agreement between MSN and IFILM, MSN Video consumers will have access to video clips from IFILM’s collection, including select programming from its infamous Viral Video channel, which contains some of the most desired footage on the Web.

LEARN MORE.

Film of the Moment: "Nobody Knows"

NOBODY KNOWS is the fourth fiction feature by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Four siblings live happily with their mother in a small apartment in Tokyo. The children all have different fathers. They have never been to school. The very existence of three of them has been hidden from the landlord. One day, the mother leaves behind a little money and a note, asking her 12-year-old boy to look after the others. And so begins the children's odyssey, a journey nobody knows.

When they are forced to engage with the world outside their cocooned universe, the fragile balance that has sustained them collapses.

Their innocent longing for their mother, their wary fascination toward the outside world, their anxiety over their increasingly desperate situation, their inarticulate cries, their kindness to each other, their determination to survive on wits and courage...

READ MORE.

Slideshow Creation in Photoshop Elements 3.0

Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 offers a lot of image editing tools to perform a variety of tasks. Image enhancement and organization are just a few of its more popular features. Some other features sometimes tend to get overlooked.

One of these features is the capability to create slideshows out of your digital still images. With digital cameras becoming less expensive, a lot of folks want to do more with the images they that photograph. The slideshow creation tool offers some nifty features to create some professional looking slideshow presentations.

LEARN MORE...

Help Editing Your Digital Video

Did you get a new DV camera as a gift?
Looking to edit your video with the new Adobe Premiere Elements?
Don’t know your Firewire from your USB?
DV Editing scare you?
Need to put your video on the web or DVD ?
All of your questions will be answered with Total Training Presents: Digital Video and Adobe Premiere Elements.

READ MORE...

Death of CD and DVD

If you read the press it is obvious that CD is long dead, DVD is rapidly dying and the consumer can’t wait for Blu-ray technology to arrive.

While the HD and BD camps loudly exclaim the technology is here and their approach has won, industry analysts (usually very optimistic) estimate that Blue technology won’t have much of an impact in the next four years. In fact, for the next eight years DVD burners and recorders will remain the product most people buy.

According to IDC they estimate that Blue burners won’t even be 10% of DVD burner sales by 2012.

READ MORE...

Riding Giants

Riding Giant opened the 2004 Sundance Film Festival

Riding Giants, a movie about the birth and evolution of big wave surfing probably wouldn't had been made if the pioneers of big wave riding didn't film themselves back in the 1950s.

The fact that they had the foresight to do so is just one element that enabled filmmaker Stacy Peralta to put together what may be the definitive work on big wave surfing. In addition to the excellent editing, crafty use of image manipulation software, as well as the use of photographs that are pivotal in telling the story, there is a whole host of other aspects that made it into the extras portion of the DVD , including director's commentary, deleted scenes, show premiere footage and more.

LEARN MORE.

Strongbad_email.exe

If you haven’t discovered the absurdity that is Homestar Runner (http://www.homestarrunner.com/), then you are missing out on some of the funniest, well thought out, flash animations on the Internet.

Strong Bad, the “bad guy” of the Homestar Runner series is always looking for ways to steal, cheat, or injure other members of the cast. These are often portrayed in a series of flash animations that get posted at least once a month on the site. The thing that has catapulted Strong Bad into the spotlight brighter than the sites namesake is his responses to viewer e-mail.

For the fans of supporting character Strong Bad, and his hilarious e-mails, you’ll be happy to discover that the first 100 e-mails are now available on DVD .

LEARN MORE, BE AMAZED and ENTERTAINED.