Variety has announced that after a year of negotiations with Hollywood, the well-known piracy site BitTorrent is going legal. Having gained the support and content for television shows, movies and video games the site is set to compete with the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon among others. The popularity of the website already gives the service a headstart in competition though.
The parent company Netco is hoping that current and former users of this service will help spread support for the new legal downloading. Even with this change, pirates will still be pirates. It seems strange that with all the sites and communities for illegal downloads that creating new and transforming established sites will change the mindset. If someone wants to get an illegal copy, they're gonna get it. But, the hope is that with more and more legal download sites the prices will be driven down and the cost will be less a deterent for piracy.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Any place for a short?
As a filmmaker producing short format stories I'm always on the lookout for outlets for shorts. It is so encouraging to see that nearly everyday more opportunities arise, and I'm not talking YouTube.
Most of these opportunities are with different cable networks, Current TV or IFC. However PBS also is giving more chances for short films to be seen on their series, such as Independent Lens. As a long time Tivo-Devotee I'm excited to see that short films are available for download from them directly to your DVR. I even heard about a contest for short films to be shown on an in-flight airline channel.
With so many chances for short films to be seen in venues besides film festivals, it's only the beginning of a shift. With portable video players so prevelant, the short has a perfect match. Have ten minutes watch a short, there couldn't be a better time to check one out; and there couldn't be a better time to be a short film producer.
Most of these opportunities are with different cable networks, Current TV or IFC. However PBS also is giving more chances for short films to be seen on their series, such as Independent Lens. As a long time Tivo-Devotee I'm excited to see that short films are available for download from them directly to your DVR. I even heard about a contest for short films to be shown on an in-flight airline channel.
With so many chances for short films to be seen in venues besides film festivals, it's only the beginning of a shift. With portable video players so prevelant, the short has a perfect match. Have ten minutes watch a short, there couldn't be a better time to check one out; and there couldn't be a better time to be a short film producer.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Can the consumer win in the format war?
For Christmas this year I received an XBox 360 HD DVD Player to go along with my 360, before this gift I'd only taken a passing interest in the format war. Not quite sure what this war is? Well, with more important wars being fought I can understand how you would miss this one. The format war is the battle between HD DVD and Blu-Ray for supremacy in the next generation high-def disc market.
So, after receiving my new HD DVD player I thought I better see if HD DVDs would be around long enough for me to use it. After doing an afternoon of web surfing I had found many articles stating HD DVD was the way to go, but nearly as many articles stating Blu-Ray was king. However, it looked as though HD DVD had a big foothold on taking the crown. Well, they may have won the war for 2006, but for 2007 Blu-Ray is now on the verge of taking over.
Still, no matter what format "wins" does this really mean anything good for the consumer? Probably not. The last time a format was so hyped it was between beta and VHS, and we all know VHS won and held on for over 20 years. Since then, it's gone from VHS, to Laser Disc, to DVD, to who knows. With so much turnover in media formats why should anyone put faith in it being around for more than a year? Especially with new players costing over $600, and most previously purchsed HDTVs won't even give you the full benefit of the format, but that issue is for another day.
So, no matter which format wins in this battle the consumer loses. Sure, we'll get better resolution, sound and features with our High Def dvds, but we'll pay through the nose for it. And, we'll have to pay all over again about two years from now when the next next-gen format comes out.
So, after receiving my new HD DVD player I thought I better see if HD DVDs would be around long enough for me to use it. After doing an afternoon of web surfing I had found many articles stating HD DVD was the way to go, but nearly as many articles stating Blu-Ray was king. However, it looked as though HD DVD had a big foothold on taking the crown. Well, they may have won the war for 2006, but for 2007 Blu-Ray is now on the verge of taking over.
Still, no matter what format "wins" does this really mean anything good for the consumer? Probably not. The last time a format was so hyped it was between beta and VHS, and we all know VHS won and held on for over 20 years. Since then, it's gone from VHS, to Laser Disc, to DVD, to who knows. With so much turnover in media formats why should anyone put faith in it being around for more than a year? Especially with new players costing over $600, and most previously purchsed HDTVs won't even give you the full benefit of the format, but that issue is for another day.
So, no matter which format wins in this battle the consumer loses. Sure, we'll get better resolution, sound and features with our High Def dvds, but we'll pay through the nose for it. And, we'll have to pay all over again about two years from now when the next next-gen format comes out.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Democratization Now
If you read my profile you know that I never thought I could be a filmmaker; that was until the digital revolution democratized the filmmaking industry. I had never used an actual film based camera and thought since that was the case I might as well forget about pursuing that careeer. However, with the digital storytelling revolution the entertainment industry has been opened up to a whole new source of content.
Now anyone with a camera and a desire to tell a story has the opportunity to be seen and heard. Whether, the content is good or bad the opportunity exists and that is the beauty of the democratization of filmmaking. The viewing public now has a chance to influence what programming they see and what an incredible power that is. If a story exists that is not being told it only takes a single person to pick up a camera, capture it, and display it for all to see. There are so many outlets for content you never know where it could end up. From the internet to film festivals to theaters to cable channels the possibilities are endless.
Now anyone with a camera and a desire to tell a story has the opportunity to be seen and heard. Whether, the content is good or bad the opportunity exists and that is the beauty of the democratization of filmmaking. The viewing public now has a chance to influence what programming they see and what an incredible power that is. If a story exists that is not being told it only takes a single person to pick up a camera, capture it, and display it for all to see. There are so many outlets for content you never know where it could end up. From the internet to film festivals to theaters to cable channels the possibilities are endless.
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