Month: March 2008

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Obama In 30 Seconds: $20,000 in Film Gear

Just received this email from MoveOn.org. Looks like a great opportunity for the more politically inclined filmmakers out there.

Today, we’re launching an ad contest called “Obama in 30 Seconds.” Anyone can make an ad about Obama between now and April 1. The public will vote on the best ads, and a panel of top artists, film professionals, and netroots heroes will pick a winner from among the finalists. (Judges include Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Naomi Wolf, Oliver Stone, John Legend, Donna Edwards, and Markos Moulitsas. The full list is below.)

We’ll air the winning Obama ad nationally, and the winner will receive a gift certificate for $20,000 in video equipment. Whether you’re definitely interested or need time to think about it, let us know—we’ll keep you in the loop as the contest proceeds. Get contest details, sign up, and watch a short video of MoveOn’s Eli Pariser describing the contest by clicking here:

There you have it. Visit the site for details and take your shot at $20,000 in video equipment.

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The Lighter Side of Film

The title of this post could also be “Don’t take yourself too seriously.” If you’re having trouble seeing the humor in a situation or taking your own project too seriously, check out Movie-A-Minute (also helpful for dealing with pretentious film buffs). It features well-known movies condensed to often comical summaries, such as Citizen Cane:

Orson Welles

Rosebud. (dies)

Reporter

What does it mean?

Everybody Else

We don’t know.

THE END

Although simplification can lead to humor, it can also be useful in distilling the theme or purpose of your story. So try it out, you’ll likely benefit from taking a step back, and you might learn something in the process.

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Rebranding II

Palindrome’s post about Rebranding got me thinking. This blog has evolved to be about more than just the independent film scene. As young professionals in the media industry, we have naturally come to focus on the next wave of opportunities for those who create media. Whether storytellers, citizen journalists, documentarians, or activists, the landscape is changing for anyone who creates media. It seems silly to have a blog named after a medium that will be mostly a relic to the next generation of media creators.

In an era where iPhones and other portable video players are creating new outlets for creative folk it seems more natural to focus on the future of media than it’s past. The excitement of living in an age when digital reproduction and distribution has eroded the marginal cost of delivering one’s creations to the masses (or niches) encompasses far more than the realm bounded by the concept of “indie film”. To that end, I have looked at several new URLs for this blog, but found all of them taken; most by people who haven’t actually bothered to do much but squat on them.

The process of defining and redefining what we explore will likely continue indefinitely, but the tipping point for switching URL approaches as we gain readers. At some point it becomes more trouble than it is worth to change that part of the brand. Thus, our current goal is to find and claim a URL that will encompass all the discussions we post, rather than one that implies a confinement to a single medium.