I've been off the radar. They brought me back into corporate culture and it feels good. In April I began working at Studio D at Waggener Edstrom. By July I was running the entire team. I'm not exactly sure if that is their folly or my luck. Studio D's promise is what I've tried to write about in this space. The opportunity to pull the ties of digital storytelling in a new direction. A place were reactive social media content can transact with qualitative experiences that create impact.
The transformation of the magazine publishing model is here. The iPad is the catalyst. It is as significant as the change from Radio to TV seventy years ago. Remarkable.
Jesse just turned me on to the most amazing presentation from Jesse Schell. He is a Carnegie Mellon professor and ex-Disney Imagineer who proposes that Games have broken into "reality." He uses the successes of Guitar Hero, Organic Food, Wii, Webkins, Mafia Wars to highlight this argument. Check out his DICE 2010 presentation.
Painful but true. I've not been on for months my dear friends. Life, work, the holidays pushed me back from my appointed duties.
However I am coming back with a vengeance. This blog entry is focused on my dear friend Zia Mohajerjasbi. Winner of the prestigious Genius Award from Seattle's supreme alt newspaper The Stranger. Heady praise for a young man 24 years old. Mohajerjasbi is redefining not only filmmaking in Seattle, but the entire production ethos of indie film in this city.
Zia and I joke constantly about craft service. On my sets I insist that we have meal breaks + coffee and wholesome snacks. Zia tells me that he never promises food. He tells his crews they will be leaner working with him, because they'll be living off their body fat. Zia's images speak for themselves. Lean and mean is how he shoots and it all shows up on the screen. Mr. Mohajerjasbi made this blog because he is the future of transmedia. An Artist that uses all forms of media from YouTube to Facebook to Vimeo to get his work and message out. He even posts on his current projects on his website Love & Shoe Strings where you will find Behind-the-Scene-How-To-Videos of his erecter set camera set up.
I am constantly in awe of his results. I believe you will be too.
In October, Ted Hope blogged about Brian Newman's remarkable talk on the future of independent media. http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/. Brian is the former CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute. I have not been able to get his positioning out of my head. The image quality is poor. Hit play, go in the clip at 1:15. You will inspired.
Lately I've been obsessed with the thoughtful ramblings of Producer Ted Hope. Ted is the Co-founder of 'This is that' and is a former Good Machine partner and producer responsible for groundbreaking films: Adventureland, The Savages, 21 grams, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Thumbsucker, American Splendor, Storytelling, In the Bedroom and Brother's McMullen - just to name a few out of the 50 odd films he has made.
Recently Ted read his manifesto of sorts at a recent NYFA event. His ideas are right on target. Listen his thoughts on the current Indie Film issues swirling around filmmakers, how he selects projects & filmmakers, he talks about his start in film plus gives the most coherent description of transmedia strategy that I've heard outside of Jesse's insight on Global Couch. Enjoy.
Alexander Olch’s The Windmill Movie is a beautiful portrait of Richard Rogers, Alex's film professor and mentor at Harvard. Olch sifted through decades of archival footage of Roger's and the movie he never finished. This film is a testament to all of us to finish the stories we start and to go after our dreams.
Friends in NY The Windmill Movie is now playing at Film Forum and in Washington D.C. with more cities to follow. Read more: The New York Times at and Valet
This morning, NBC announced Jesse Alexander's new pilot DAY ONE would make their 2009-2010 schedule. It is such amazing news for such an old friend who deserves all the success in the world.
The language of visual media is constantly changing. We thrist for intimacy, revelatory experiences that provide greater meaning to our lives. Some new cameras like the SprintCam have the ability to do that for us. This footage is the first SprintCam v3 showreel, made for NAB 2009 exhibition. Most of these are 1000FPS shots, made during a recent rugby match in the Stade de France, in Paris. The jello® shot at the end is 2500FPS!
Mike Ambs and Amanda Walker, are the creative force behind ProjectPedal.com, a site which documents Mike and Amanda’s five year struggle to produce a feature-length documentary about a cross-country bike trip from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine which will ultimately be titled “For Thousands of Miles.”
The film is beautifully told and exquisitely shot. What's remarkable about this project is that it plays host to a big idea, communicate the importance of wanting to tell and story and using every means necessary to tell it -- even when you have little money. It proves that compelling storytelling can live within a variety of media.
This week I got turned on to the future of streaming television. Boxee is the first significant HDTV technology I've seen to successfully bridge the television gap to the Internet. It is currently an open source application that is in alpha. What you will first notice when Boxee is downloaded is that takes just minutes to get the product up and running. Boxee is able to quickly stream a terrific picture to your HDTV. A whole host of quality providers like Netflix, Next New Networks, Hulu are connect to Boxee pipe. Boxee will make you want to disconnect your cable and satellite TV if you don't watch broadcast television that often. For the TIVO box junkies this technology is minutes away from being adapted into other time-shifting/recording products. If you want to stream TV shows from the web, Netflix on to your home theater screen Boxee has figured it out.
Another rapidly growing form of Transmedia is internet television. One successful example is Current TV. It is an Emmy award winning independent media company led by former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt.
There is also another terrific example -- Link TV. 1 out of 4 American homes have Link TV because of DIRECTTV and DISH. It is a non-commercial American satellite television network that provides "diverse perspectives on world and national issues." Their internet presence is what I am most impressed with. They have a vast array of international films, documentaries, news programing and world music videos. Link TV is giving voice to communities that are underrepresented in conventional media.
Don't believe there is a problem with conventional media?
Watch what Robert Kennedy Jr. says about that. By the way, Link TV's funding comes exclusively from viewers and foundations not from satellite providers.
Artist around the world are mixing storytelling, animation, music and live action. The results are stunning. There is a new mode of storytelling forming in our midst. The Narrative now needs to have impact, be direct and have meaning. The exception of course is Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
Jonas Odell is a Swedish music video and film director and founder of FilmTecknarna. He has directed a number of short films, music videos and commercials. At the Berlin Film Festival 2006 his short film "Never like the first time!" was awarded the Golden Bear for Best Short. The image above is from Odell remarkable music video for UK band The Hours for their song "Ali In The Jungle" go here to see it.
My friend Jesse Alexander just put out a new post on his blog Global Couch. It is a must read. He describes the state of Transmedia storytelling. He knows what he is talking about. Jesse is the Co-Executive Producer of Heroes. This NBC show is changing television. They've figured out a way to dynamically engage viewers thus creating the model for engagement television. Heroes's approach is getting noticed by it's Peers (they just won a Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Media Programming) and by Academia (hear Jesse deliver a talk at MIT with the respected Henry Jenkins.)
Convergence culture is pushing media companies to expand beyond their core businesses. They are beginning to spend money to drive content online, to devices and new platforms. Traditional entertainment is imploding. "Creators" you NOW need to rethink EVERYTHING.
The DIY culture for filmmakers is in full display at Indymogul.com. This show helps low budget Soderbergh's enhance their storytelling voices. In this episode IM shows you how to make your own dolly, skateboard wheels and all. Notice the terrific integration of their ad sponsor T-Mobile into the program.
IM is distributed and paid for by the brilliant people at Next New Networks. NNN is a micro-television network that knows how to connect diverse communities to their niche specific shows. The shows invites viewers to contribute, share and distribute content. This amazing Company has had as many as 33 million video views in 1 month across it's 16 micro-networks. They expect to expand to 30 shows by the end of the year. NNN is a Transmedia force and the future of hybrid entertainment.
If you have any interest in Stanley Kubrick I would suggest watching this. It is a remarkable documentary called "Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes." In this documentary Jon Ronson is invited to the Kubrick estate to go through his collections of boxes. It is very insightful. You begin to understand Kubrick's obsession with perfection.
The contents of the boxes are extremely varied and all over the place, from photos to fan letters, and show what a detailed and intelligent man he really was. His nephew Manuel Harlan took tens of thousands of photos of doorways, estate gates, costume shops, anything that would inform his choices on set. Harlin did those for most of his movies. In the film there is a discussion around trying to find the perfect hat for the Droogies to wear in A Clockwork Orange.
This is the kind of terrific documentary that would just drift to the back shelf of your video store. Because companies like Google have a transmedia understanding a documentary like this can reside on the internet forever. I don’t know how long the video will stay up, so watch it ASAP.
Vincent Laforet with Canon support shot a short film REVERIE with a SLR!!! It feels like a lightweight fashion spot but when you see the video you will not believe it. Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR was used. Canon allowed him to borrow the unit for 72 hours. Here is the raw footage (downsized to 1/4 resolution) the files used to create this video were not manipulated in any way. Hats off to Vincent for pulling this off in NYC. Check out the behind the scenes video too.
As I've been saying the cameras are now here. The "Art" needs to match the storytelling. As with all transmedia concepts the reality of technology is only valid if it can involve and prove satisfying to the viewer.
In 1974 the entire nation watched Evel Knievel jump the Snake River. His stupidity and courage was the stuff of global headlines. In 2008 two lone skateboards take on a massive hill like Evel reincarnated. The power of this video is possible because of lightweight HD cameras. It is a simple reality, just two crazy kids in suits skating into oncoming traffic on a steep hill. It makes the Snake River look like a Cakewalk. (Jump in 2:00mins into the action)
Ah Children, Seek and you shall find. All that is good and fun on the web can be found in the stories produced by my dear friends at VBS. VBS is an online broadcast network that carries a mix of domestic and international news, pop and underground culture coverage, and music from all over the place.
Founded by the creators of Vice magazine, alongside creative director Spike Jonze, VBS.TV is an incredibly bright broadband internet television site from the makers of Vice magazine. Their coverage is candid and raw, whether it is sneaking into North Korea or Darfur to interview Mini Minawi of the Sudan Liberation Army or hanging with Surfers at the Red Bull Riders Cup.
Launched in March of 2007 as a free, advertising-supported video network, VBS.TV is updated with 20-30 minutes of original content a day, with more than 30 original series in regular production. VBS.TV content has been featured in MTV International's Best of VBS.TV series. “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” is a feature documentary film was produced from this amazing collective. It premiered at Toronto Film Festival. You won’t want to miss one episode.
A perfect example of the Digital Dolt manifesto can be heard in the music of GirlTalk. He melds melodies like a conductor conducts music. Gillis flawless transitions never need to utilize abrupt screeching scratches of hip hop. Instead Gillis blends mash ups like a maestro. His music is the sticky stuff that makes up new media. Is he Digital Pirate or a new breed of Digital Artist? See what the NYT says about him.
I was turned on to Transmedia Storytelling by my friend Jesse Alexander. I will never look at content creation in the same way.
Transmedia Storytelling extends narrative across multiple platforms: TV, Movies, Cell Phones, Websites, Toys, Video Games, Etc. Reaching new consumers, and immersing existing fans in the world of their favorite franchise, hobby or interest. Many believe the term was coined by MIT Professor Henry Jenkins.
aka Edward Rey is a film, television and new media Producer. He is also a respected Digital Media consultant. He runs the Experience team at Studio D at Waggener Edstrom headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
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