Distributing Your Short Film: A Symposium for Filmmakers
	Distributing Your Short Film in the Global Marketplace 2-5pm Friday, Nov. 9 | The Bordy Theatre | 216 Tremont Street, Emerson College Free of Charge to Emerson Students & Members of the Public! So you’ve made your short film.  Now what?  With the agonies of fund-raising, shooting and postproduction behind you, how do you best get your film out into the world?  The good news is that more avenues for distribution and exhibition exist today than ever before.  The bad news is that the bewildering number of options that face the short filmmaker can often be paralyzing. “Distributing Your Short Film in the Global Marketplace” is a three-hour symposium designed to demystify the processes of short film distribution and prove that talented and motivated student filmmakers can take their work beyond the classroom and reach audiences around the globe through film festivals, television and the Internet. Moderator Sue Biely is the Director of Business Development & Social Responsibility and Co-Founder of The Nimble Company, a multi-platform media company creating and managing media brands for the post-tv generation, including the beta interactive community hip hop site RapSpace.tv.  Sue will be joined by an expert panel of industry professionals, including: Derry O’Brien, founder and director of Network Ireland TV, an Irish-based TV program and DVD distributor which has specialized in short film distribution internationally for the past 12 years Shane Smith, Director of Programming for Movieola The Short Film Channel, an online provider of cutting edge short films Megan O’Neill, Vice President of Acquisitions and Production for AtomFilms, a leading entertainment provider of short content via internet, broadband services, and mobile devices Cara Longo, Manager of Acquisitions & Programming for the Sundance Channel, formerly Director of Scheduling for the Independent Film Channel Acknowledging that shorts constitute a unique genre with specific modes of distribution and exhibition, Sue and her panel will discuss what makes a good short film good and how making the right decisions can maximize your film’s exposure and get you established.  Discussions will approach distribution from a global perspective, addressing festivals, television, and online video streaming.	Distributing Your Short Film in the Global Marketplace will take place at the Bordy Theatre, 216 Tremont Street in Boston's Theatre District. Members of the public are advised to arrive there at least 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a seat. Supported in part by the Ireland Funds. The Ireland Funds is the largest worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland. Supported in part by Network Ireland Television an Irish-based TV program and DVD distributor which has specialized in short film distribution internationally for the past 12 years.

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While I certainly don't consider myself an expert filmmaker, I've worked on enough films, and exchanged enough horror stories, to feel comfortable giving advice to other independent filmmakers. For this reason, I've decided to write a series of articles about independent film production, with the hope that they'll benefit others in the Beanywood community. Needless to say, these articles will reflect my own experience, so if something here doesn't seem right to you, go with your gut.

I decided to start with the subject of casting because I was inspired by Kevin Cirone's informative article, Rules of Engagement for the Acting World. I thought that having two articles about casting, one by an actor and one by a filmmaker, could be a good way for each group to learn more about the concerns the other has as they go through the casting process together.

I look forward to reading any comments from the Beanywood community. Moreover, if readers have any feedback regarding these articles, please feel free to contact me at any time.

INDEPENDENT FILM-MAKING
Pre-Production: Casting

    Contents:

• Audition Space
• Actor Search/Casting Call
• Scheduling Auditions
• Preparing for Auditions
• During the Audition
• Decision Time

Audition Space:

Let's assume, for the purposes of this article, that you're not using a casting agency. If you could afford one, you wouldn't be running around trying to find an audition space yourself.

Choosing a location for your auditions is more important than you may think. Why? Well, let's break it down:

First, let's think about the proximity of your audition space to the pool of actors you'll be targeting for auditions. Choosing a location in or near the city can make a huge difference for the following reasons:

1. When you're in the city, actors can reach you by car, by public transportation, or by foot. When you're in a suburb, or even further away, actors have to drive out to your location. This can make it more difficult for students and city residents to get to you.
2. The closer you are to the city, the higher the population is. This means you'll be able to find more actors who are close to your audition space. Some actors will drive for hours to get to an audition, but others have to contend with work, school, and family schedules, which means they can't necessarily afford to take half a day off for an audition.
3. People are much more comfortable driving to a place they know. Especially for young women, auditioning in the city -- at a theatre, for instance -- is a much safer prospect than driving out to a secluded area they've never been before.

Second, let's think about the type of location you'll want to use. Here are some things to consider:

1. Don't ever, ever hold auditions in a hotel room. I don't care if your parents own the hotel. It's creepy and inappropriate. While we're on the subject, don't hold auditions at your home, either.
2. You'll want to find a place that has a separate audition space and waiting area. This may seem pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times novice filmmakers find themselves with a bunch of actors with nowhere to sit, cluttering up a hallway. Not only is this poor planning, it's disrespectful to the actors. Can you imagine wanting to work for someone who couldn't think far enough ahead to bring chairs?
3. If possible, try to find a location that has even a loose affiliation with the arts -- a small auditorium; a theatre; an acting school; a dance studio. You'll probably find your actors more relaxed in this type of environment than they would be at a law office or some other unrelated business.

Third, let's think about the actual room where you'll be conducting your auditions:

1. Make sure the room isn't too cramped. You'll want some distance between yourself and the actors who are reading for you. This way you won't be focused just on their faces; you'll get a better feel for their body language and their overall skill and comfort as actors.
2. You'll no doubt want to take notes during the auditioning process, so make sure to have a table or desk in the room.
3. Test out the sound in your audition space. If the actors in the waiting room can hear the auditions taking place, they'll be preoccupied with the thought of other actors listening in on their auditions, so they won't be at their best when they read for you.

Actor Search/Casting Call:

There are two reliable ways to find actors: first, you can go out and search for them, and second, you can ask them to come to you. My suggestion is to use both of these approaches.

Let's first tackle the prospect of actively searching for actors. Unless you want to roam the streets aimlessly, asking strangers if they can act, you've probably got three options:

1. Go to local screenings and performances to scout talent.
2. Get recommendations from other filmmakers and industry professionals.
3. Search online databases for local actors: when it comes to this option, my suggestion is to start right here on this site with the Beanywood Advanced People Search. As opposed to a lot of other online databases, Beanywood lets you do what casting agencies do -- a detailed search for a specific age, height, weight, hair color, etc. Always take advantage of the tools you've been given.

Now let's tackle the prospect of getting actors to come to you. How do you do this? By sending out a casting call. When you sit down to write it, make sure to include the following information:

1. The name of your production company
2. The type of project you're shooting (feature/short; drama/comedy/horror)
3. The shooting format (35 mm/16 mm/HD/DV): the more specific you are, the more organized you appear. Simply being organized and efficient can go a long way toward winning people over. Moreover, if you happen to be shooting on film, you'll certainly want to advertise this fact. Most actors will go to great lengths for the the opportunity to be in a film, as opposed to "just another DV movie."
4. Who are you looking for? (gender; age group; specific appearance; accents and other special skills): when it comes to things such as age and ethnic appearance, make sure to ask yourself if these factors are actually relevant to the character. If they're not relevant, then exclude this information from your casting call. Otherwise, you'll just be limiting your pool of actors for no good reason.
5. Is this a union or non-union shoot? If you don't include this information, you'll probably get about fifty e-mails asking this very question. Save yourself the headache.
6. Is this a paying job? If it's not, then just say so. Tricking people doesn't win you any points.
7. When will the film be shooting? Even if you don't have your production dates set in stone, it's good to include a ballpark time frame. Believe me, it's disheartening to discover a fantastic actor, only to find out afterward that he/she will be away for the month you'll be shooting.
8. Where will the film be shooting? If you're not shooting in the area, and there will be travel involved, you should be up front about that.
9. Is there any nudity required? If so, always tell the actors in advance, either in your casting call or when you contact them to schedule their auditions. Note: in my opinion, it's inappropriate to ask any actor to do a nude scene if he/she is working for no pay.
10. Your contact information: I'd include an e-mail address (where the actors can send their head shots and résumés) but not a phone number. If you include a phone number, you could easily end up with a hundred voicemail messages from people you're not even interested in auditioning.

Next, let's think about the format of your casting call. While there isn't any sort of industry standard for a casting call, you should always remember a few things:

1. Write professionally, and use proper English (assuming you're targeting an English-speaking audience): I don't care if you're bad with grammar and spelling. Have someone else look it over, and use the spellcheck function in your word processor. If you write like an amateur, you won't be taken seriously, and you shouldn't be.
2. Write in 3rd person. "7 Fluid Oz. Productions LLP is seeking actors for its upcoming film" is simply more professional than "I'm looking for actors for my film."
3. Don't embellish. This won't help you. I don't care if you think this is "the best script ever." You don't put that in a casting call. I don't care if you're absolutely sure that the film is going to get "tons of exposure." Have you actually signed a distribution agreement? Have you already been invited to screen your film at prestigious festivals? No, I didn't think so. So please, don't waste anyone's time with outrageous statements. If you've had success with your previous films, then go ahead and put that information in the casting call. If your films have won awards or been released on DVD, then that says something about your work.

Here's an example of a professionally written casting call:

Unnamed Productions is seeking actors for its upcoming feature-length dramatic thriller. The film will be shot on 16 mm, in the Boston area, over a period of 3 weeks in either June or July.

Needed: Males (18-50); Females (18-40) -- martial arts training preferred, but not required.

This is a non-union shoot with some up front pay for leads, but mostly deferred.

If interested, please send your head shot and résumé to cast@unnamedprodco.com.

Unnamed Productions' previous work has been released on DVD and screened at six film festivals, including the Newport International and the Tribeca Underground. For more information about Unnamed Productions, please visit www.unnamedprodco.com.

So, it's time to send out your casting call. But where? Well, here's a list of sites that I've had a lot of success with (most of which you'll also find in Kevin Cirone's Beanywood article, Rules of Engagement):

1. beanywood.com: in addition to the Advanced People Search, Beanywood's Forum has a "Jobs/Gigs" section where you can post cast and crew calls.
2. boston.craigslist.org: there's a "tv/film/video" category for paid jobs and a "talent" category for no/low/deferred pay gigs. Posting in the "tv/film/video" category costs money, so unless you have a significant budget, I'd skip this one. You'll get plenty of responses from the "talent" category.
3. nefilm.com: good exposure, but it's worth noting that casting calls can take up to a week to get posted on the site.
4. netheater411.com: mostly for theatre actors (as the site's name would suggest) but still a valuable place to advertise.

Scheduling Auditions:

It's time to think about scheduling your auditions. Here are some things to consider as you get ready to set a date and contact the actors you've targeted:

First, you'll need to choose a day and time:

1. If possible, hold auditions over the course of at least two days. This will give actors with scheduling conflicts a better chance of attending your auditions. Also, this will give you the opportunity to consider your own work during the first day of auditions, and then alter your technique, if you feel it's necessary.
2. In my experience, Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday auditions tend to work the best. Not only do most people have the day off from work and school on weekends, it's often a little easier to find an audition space then. Now, you may ask yourself, "Don't people like to go out and relax on the weekends?" Well, that's true. In most cases, though, an actor will skip out on an afternoon with friends in order to audition for a film -- and if they'd rather go to a bar than an audition, they're probably not the kind of people you want on your set.
3. Don't schedule your auditions on a holiday or a holiday weekend (this also applies to spring break). Not only do people go away for certain holidays, it's a little presumptuous to ask someone to skip Easter Mass or a Passover Seder to come audition for your movie.
4. If you hold auditions on a weekday, don't start until the afternoon (most people work for a living).

Second, you'll need to schedule times for your actors. Simply telling them that auditions are between ten and five is a bad idea. While actors are rarely treated as such, they are, in fact, human beings. Being forced to sit around indefinitely is frustrating and exhausting. On top of that, people do better work when they feel respected. Showing regard for the actors' time is an important first step in building a solid working relationship.

So, here are some things to consider when building your schedule:

1. Call your actors. Don't e-mail them. Why? First, talking to someone can give you a better feel for his/her demeanor than exchanging e-mails. Casting means more than simply finding good actors. It means choosing actors with whom you'll work well. Second, most actors will have questions for you -- questions about the production; questions about your experience; questions about the characters in the screenplay. It's easier to answer these over the phone than it is to answer them by e-mail, especially if your answers bring more questions.
2. Make sure that any actor under the age of 18 is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. As a matter of fact, you should speak to the parent before you even schedule his/her child for an audition. The last thing you need is an angry parent making your life miserable.
3. Try to schedule specific times. In my experience, four actors per hour is a good pace. Each director works differently, but I find that fifteen minutes gives you ample time to see what an actor can do.
4. Send your actors directions to the audition space. This makes their lives easier; it shows them you value their time, and it reduces the chance of people showing up late, which can throw off your schedule.
5. Send your actors sides from the script. Not having to go in for a cold read helps an actor's audition tremendously. Despite this fact, sending out pages scares a lot of directors, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. If you're that terrified about someone stealing your material, just register your script through either the Writers Guild of America or the U.S. Copyright Office.
6. Many actors will ask if they should prepare a monologue. It's entirely up to you, of course, but I've never found this particularly helpful. Chances are, the actor is going to show up with a monologue that plays to his/her strengths. What's important, though, is how capable the actor is of tackling the material in your script. Assuming you're sending the actor pages from your script ahead of time, a prepared monologue shouldn't be necessary.
7. If the actor is under the age of 18, make sure you send the script to the parent. This way the parent can look through the script for adult material before hading it off to his/her child. If there is adult material, try to find a way for the child to audition that will satisfy any concerns the parent may have. For instance, if there's adult material in the script, but none of it is in a scene with the child, you can make sure that the child only sees pages from his/her scene. Moreover, you can make sure the child is never on set while the more adult scenes are being filmed.
8. Give the actors a cell number they can call if they're running late or have to cancel their audition. This will make your life a lot easier.
9. If it's going to be a long day, make sure to schedule time for lunch and/or dinner. This may sound obvious, but in the excitement of scheduling actors, you might be surprised how easy this is to forget.

Third, many directors like to hold callbacks so they can have a second look at their best prospects. While this isn't always necessary, it can certainly be a lot of help. Once you've picked your cast, you're stuck with them. It's best to be sure you've made the right choices.

Preparing for Auditions:

All phases of film-making require plenty of preparation, and audition day is no exception. So, what do you need to do?

1. Print out extra copies of your script. Obviously you'll need scripts for yourself and everyone working with you during the audition process, but it's always good to have extras. As a matter of fact, you might want to have a few copies sitting in the waiting area, in case an actor has trouble printing out a copy before leaving for the audition. It's also a good idea to keep extra copies in the audition room because actors can unintentionally leave with one of your copies.
2. Have scripts available with highlighted dialogue cues. This will make the actors' lives easier. Now, many directors don't like to do anything that feels like "babying" an actor. There's a big difference, though, between babying someone and simply making his/her job easier. The cast's job is hard enough, and the goal is to get the best performance out of them you possibly can. Anything you can do to facilitate this is worth your consideration. Besides, if you want to see what an actor can do under pressure, you can always have them read a few pages cold, and also improvise a little during the audition.
3. Print up an audition form for the actors to fill out while they're waiting to read for you. Audition forms are a fantastic way to collect information without having to waste valuable audition time. Here's a list of information worth collecting on the form:
   • Name
   • Mailing address
   • Home phone number
   • Cell phone number
   • E-Mail address
   • Emergency contact information
   • Food/fabric/other allergies (this could affect craft services, wardrobe, etc.)
   • Availability during the expected shoot dates/rehearsal times/callback dates
   • Is he/she under 18? If so, is a parent/guardian here? (If not, don't let the actor audition.)
   • Is there any material in the script that makes him/her uncomfortable?
   • Any other questions/concerns?
4. Bring water and cups for the actors. Actors' throats can dry out while they're auditioning (especially if they're nervous). Having water for them is practical, and it once again shows that you're attentive to the needs of people working for you.
5. Print up signs to hang in noticeable areas so the actors know they're in the right place. Don't make your actors wander around the building, wondering if they're lost.
6. Have a video camera available so you can tape the auditions. Not only is it helpful to review the auditions when making your decisions, it's important to see how actors look and come across on camera. It's often very different from how they appear in person.
7. Establish your casting team. While the director almost always has the final say when it comes to casting (at least on an independent film) it's important to have a team with you during the auditioning process. You'll want other people (usually the producers and/or a casting director) there to help you evaluate the actors' performances. Sometimes they'll pick up on things you don't notice. In addition, you'll want someone there (a casting director/assistant, most likely) to read with the actors so you don't have to do it. Having someone with previous performance experience can be a big help.
8. Try to have both men and women on the casting team. Ask any actress, and I bet she'll have a story about showing up for an audition, only to find a couple of sleazy guys leering at her during the whole audition. Having a woman present can certainly help put her mind at ease.
9. Define your team's roles ahead of time. In some cases, only the director will work with the actors, while the other members of the team will observe. Some directors, on the other hand, like the producers and casting director to be actively involved. Whatever you decide, make sure everyone is on the same page before your first actor comes in to read.

During the Audition:

It's audition time, so what should you keep in mind as actors are reading for you?

It's important to know how actors respond to different kinds of pressures. For this reason, I suggest including the following elements during the audition:

1. Begin with the material you sent them. Your actors are most likely going to be nervous going into the audition, so why not try to make them comfortable? Give them a chance to work with material they already know so you can see what they're capable of when they have the opportunity to prepare for a role.
2. Throw in a quick scene the actors have never read so you can see how they respond to a cold read. While casting a film based on cold reads can be dangerous, there's definitely merit in the cold read. Chances are, you're going to end up changing dialogue and altering some of your scenes during the shoot. A cold read will help you see how quickly actors can absorb new material.
3. Try some improv. This is a great way to see if an actor can think on his/her feet. Moreover, watching the actor improvise gives you the opportunity to see how the actor has interpreted his/her character from the script. This can be useful both in casting and in determining how an audience may interpret the character based on the current draft of the script.

Whether the actors are good or bad, make sure to give them direction so you can see how they respond. Sometimes an actor will butcher an initial reading, but then improve greatly with direction. On the other hand, an actor can at first appear very good, but with a little direction, it becomes obvious that he/she has no range at all.

Taking notes about the actors can be helpful, but don't spend too much time looking down at your notebook. You may miss some of the subtleties of an actor's performance. On top of that, an actor's performance may be pleasing to the ear, but that doesn't mean the physical performance is any good.

Decision Time:

There's no way for me to tell you who to cast (and why would you want me to?) but I do think you should keep a couple of things in mind as you make your final decisions:

1. Sometimes it's obvious who you're going to cast in a given role, but if it's not, don't necessarily cast the actor who came the closest to your vision of the character. If you're having a hard time deciding between two actors, you might want to cast the actor who responded to direction better, even if he/she didn't nail the audition. You and the actors will have plenty of time to rehearse both off and on set, so your actors don't have to be perfect during the audition. What they need to be is capable and able to take direction.
2. Personality is extremely important. When you're shooting an independent film, you don't have the time, energy, or resources to deal with a cast or crew member who's going to be egocentric or otherwise problematic. On an indie film, it's important to surround yourself with team players who won't desert you when the going gets tough, and who won't monopolize your time with trivial matters. After all, you're all there to work hard and make the best film you possibly can make.

I hope this article was helpful. Once again, I look forward to your comments.

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FREE NATPE WEB SEMINAR

Understanding Mobile Media: Untapped Opportunities and Hidden Challenges

One Hour - Thursday, October 18, 2007 – 9 a.m. (PT) / Noon (ET)

Driven by a society that wants instant gratification, 24-hour access and portability above all else, consumers have forever changed entertainment.

As the term mass media threatens to become obsolete, the time has come to engage and start a one-on-one dialog through the only medium that is always on, and never leaves consumer's side - the mobile phone. The audience for mobile exceeds broadcast TV, the web, and cable in sheer numbers and functionality. There are currently 2.3 billion mobile phones in the world, with which the average person spends 10-15 hours per day. On top of that the mobile channel offers the most personalized user experience yet, with rich media, personalization and interactive capabilities available anytime, anywhere.

But it's complicated - dozens of mobile operators and network configurations; hundreds of devices with a variety of media formats; and numerous channels of distribution with different business models. Overcoming these hurdles is tough.

In this hour, Nellymoser and INmobile.org will show you how to successfully overcome the hurdles of going mobile and staying there, by focusing on the following:
Getting the Lay of the Mobile Land - Where to start and what you need to know
Selecting your content and delivering it to your target market
Ensuring a compelling experience for the most handsets

Presented by:
John Puterbaugh
Founder and Chief Strategist

Adam Zawel
Chief Collaborating Officer

For Safari Users Only: To register, use another browser or call us and we’ll register you - 310.453.4440

Moreand more filmmakers are turning to social media tools and strategies like blogs, RSS, and others to spread the word about their films, increase distribution, and attract audiences who are very  much engaged with the subject matter of their films.   They are finding that these tools can create great opportunities to generate new connections - not only for their films, but also their careers.   And, if you are trying to reach a younger audience, this yet another compelling reason to embrace social media.

 

Five Steps to Filmmaking 2.0

This workshop is a practical, hands-on session for filmmakers to begin using social media tools to market their work.  The workshop will share simple and easy ways to get started.   If you're excited about the potential that social media tools like blogs can offer, but not sure where to begin, this workshop is for you.  

The workshop will introduce participants to five different tools,  demonstrate how to set them up, and what to do first.   The workshop will be very interactive and answer participant's questions.    The five tools are:

• Technorati.com - find people and listen and connect - blog search engine;
• Tagging/del.icio.us;
• Blogs/blogger activity in pairs;
• RSS blogline.com;
• Photosharing flickr.

What you need to bring:

• Bring laptop (if you have); be comfortable with using the Internet
• If have a Yahoo account, bring user ID and password (or you can set one up)
• If you wish, bring a digital camera or have JPEG photos on your computer to start a flickr account.
• Know how to access your email remotely.

The workshop curriculum is based on similar workshops led by Beth Kanter and you can find many resources on her wiki = bethkanter.wikispaces.com    She recently taught a workshop in Cambodia to new bloggers called "Five Steps To Web 2.0."   Here's the curriculum:
http://cloggersummit.wikispaces.com/Web+2.0+Ideas+and+Tools

For more information and to register:
Link
http://www.filmmakerscollab.org/programs/beth-kanter.htm

About the Workshop Leader

Beth Kanter is well known blogger who writes on the topic of how NGOs are using emerging technologies (social media and mobile tools) for social change.    She is the author of the highly rated blog, Beth's Blog (http://beth.typepad.com) and Contributing Editor for NGOS and Social Change for BlogHer and writes a weekly column for Netsquared, a project of TechSoup that focuses on nonprofits and web2.0.   She served as an editor for the KM4DEV peer journal, for a special issue on Web2.0 adoption for development organizations.   She is a leading screencaster and mediamaker about the using new media for social change.   She has written numerous articles on the use of social media tools by nonprofits for many online and print publications and she is a frequent conference speaker and workshop leader on this topic, most recently leading sessions at the national PBS Conference, Cambodian Bloggers Summit, and Nonprofit Technology Conference.  

 

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What is a media brand and why is it so important for a content creator in today's marketplace? It starts with your signature story and its core message. To thrive, you need to create content with a strong hooking interest and a brand promise. There are simple, effective ways to extend your media brand across multiple entertainment and media platforms.

These are the opening thoughts before Philipa Burgess (Partner, Creative Convergence) begins her panel entitled Creating Value With a Media Brand. Philipa shared many of her inside tips on how to use available resources to make yourself and your product visible, memorable and in turn profitable. There are now many internet tools you can use to create awareness about yourself and your product. Social networks are a relatively recent phenomenon which breaks down the population into regions and interests. This is extremely helpful in tracking the behavior of the audience you are selling to.

Philipa urges you to "know your audience" See who you are directing your energy and products to. Where do you find them? Where can you find out about them? What do they spend their time doing? What do they spend their money on? Using social networks, blogs and searches, you can find out much of this online (for no cost).

Next, do everything that you can to get your name out to this targeted audience. Create "top of mind awareness" through speaking, interviews and guess appearances. Cross promote with people who hold similar or desired audiences. When people become aware of your name, they make associations with that name. What are they coming to you for? What do they know to expect from you as opposed to your competition? These are just a few pointers from Philipa. She has a course: Your Signature Story:From Content Creator to Media Brand. Check it out at www.creativecvg.com

Philipa Burgess is a partner at Creative Convergence, Inc. The Los Angeles-based entertainment firm represents writers and directors such as Cassandra Taylor (XY) and Chjad Beguelin (Frankenteacher) and consults with entertainment and media brands. Most recently it sold two television projects based on books to the major networks, two projects as cable movies and a book to a major studio currently being developed as a feature film. Burgess started her career at International Creative Management (ICM) before establishing a boutique literary management firm that subsequently evolved intoCreative Convergence. She is a speaker, teacher and writer on the subject of marketing for writers and content creators.

 

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After a decadent three course meal overlooking Hollywood Boulevard at the Highlands. The LATV festival resumed their "Digital Day"of in-depth panels conducted by experts in all things new media.

 

Lisa Osborne, Ross Cox, Sharon Lawrence and Midori Willoughby

The seats filled quickly for the AFI (American Film Institute)'s "Digital Content Showcase" Many filmmakers and web artists who would find the Digital Content Lab branch of the institute mind-blowing, and are not even aware of it's existence. The Digital Content Lab located in Hollywood, CA has been putting together teams of working professionals from the entertainment, design and technology worlds to incubate digital prototypes over the course of the past nine years. The supervising producer of the lab, Lisa Osborne, led the panel of case studies from the lab's recent past. The first example of the lab's success was from the production company Kontentreal. The environmentally centered company wanted a way for viewers of their eco-educational TV series to be able to integrate their own ideas into the viewing experience of the entire audience. This is a tall order if you are familiar with the disparate elements of the technologies that they chose to integrate. The way that the lab is able to help these prototypes become a reality is with the help of mentors who will work on developing and executing these concepts over an 18 month period. Their impressive mentor list appears to be in the hundreds, consisting of higher ups from companies such as Comcast, Brightcove, Schematic, Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Yahoo! just to name a few. The result in the case of Kontentreal's prototype was a breath-taking design which could be accessed from broadband, a Tivo interface, a blue-ray DVD or a mobile device allowing viewers of the TV series to have a seamless interactive experience. For example: If the lab featured an episode on eco-friendly housing, a viewer could take a picture on their mobile phone after the show of an eco-friendly house in their area and email it to the Kontentreal website (which would automatically be geo-tagged on a world map accessible on all the media platforms listed above). This input would be coming from all over the world so you could find examples after the show of eco-friendly houses and resources in your area or other areas of the world. You can get a sense of the magnitude of this project and the possibilities that it has. This was one of four presentations including presentations from Cynergy Films, the Cartoon Network and Stage 9 Digital Media. Watching these presentations was a true goimpse into te future of new media technology. The AFI Digital Content Lab welcomes applications for mentors and protoypes from all over the world.

If are interested, check out the Digital Content Lab site: http://www.afi.com/education/dcl/default.aspx .

If you want to see more of what Kontentreal is all about check out their site: http://www.krfilms.com/

To see what else the LATV festival had to offer check them out at: http://www.latvfest.net/

 

The folks at NATPE who organized the LATV festival will be organizing their annual conference in January so keep an eye out for more info we will post as that approaches.

 

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