I’ve just added some links to the blogroll on the right hand side of this blog that link to sites working to protect our digital rights. The more excited I get by the possibilities for filmmakers in the digital age the more aware I am that we need to fight to continue to exercise our creativity (flexible copyright law is key here) and keep the channels of distribution open (if you don’t know what net neutrality is I really urge…

Scott Kirsner of CinemaTech was commissioned by ITVS to investigate how indepedent filmmakers are working with new technologies and to answer the following questions: Opening Up Production to Participation During pre-production and production, how are filmmakers communicating with audiences, widely dispersed teams, funders and prospective subjects in new ways? What new opportunities for involvement and participation are they exploring? Finding New Audiences Once a project is completed and ready for release/broadcast, how are filmmakers using blogs, social networks, games and…

Shooters, If your film is engaged with campaigning for social change, you might be interested in co-pilot.net as a means of discussing and seeding your project. Please come back to Tools to report when you have had a chance to try it out. Launches 22 October: co-pilot.net is an online resource designed to collate knowledge and experiences and enable open discussion for those working at the intersection of art, technology and social change. Anyone is welcome to join, share and…

Just a heads up that I am also blogging over on the Shooting People TOOLS blog about the new(ish) digital, webbified world of production and distribution. Check it out for a link to download the Shooting People/BAFTA Short Sighted book of contacts for filmmakers making shorts (including some tips for filmmaking in a Web2.0 world written by moi), plus lots of other good stuff: most recently links to the Peter Broderick indieWIRE articles on new distribution strategies and The Film…

Instead of yelling at your TV, send your thoughts via Twitter during the debate tonight. Some tweets will be added to the Current live broadcast. And if you’re in NYC you can participate in Hack the Debate in 3-D at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO: HACK THE DEBATE – 3D! video_dumbo presents Current TV’s “Hack the Debate,” an interactive broadcast of the first presidential debate. For visual enhancement, video_dumbo will transform the Broadcast into 3D based on a new polarized…

Lina Srivastava, a consultant who works with nonprofits, activists and other change agents, has written an interesting blog piece on the possibilities of transmedia storytelling for nonprofits. The phrase comes from the brilliant mind of Henry Jenkins and essentially describes a multiplatform approach. Jenkins talks mainly about fictional worlds but it can be applied to documentary work too, although of course the process and experience might differ somewhat. Jenkins describes transmedia storytelling as follows: Transmedia storytelling represents a process where…

Calling all Scottish Shooters, Early Bird Booking for Partnerships 2.0 closes at 5pm, Wednesday 10 September 2008. The Forum, which is being is being hosted by the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, will explore how to develop audiences for the arts, film and the wider creative industries by maximising (Web 2.0) technology and new partnerships. Chaired by Scottish broadcaster and journalist Muriel Gray, international keynote speakers include Zurich-based Gerd Leonhard, one of the world’s leading media futurists, and Brian…

Calling techynerdygeeky filmmakers! Today is your last chance to vote for your favorite SXSW Interactive panels. There’s some good stuff on there and a lot of it is very relevant to filmmakers. Have a look at all the panels listed under Digital Filmmaking for starters. But don’t stop there digital citizens! Filmmakers who go to non-filmmaking panels at SXSW always seem to learn the most and get really inspired so have a look at everything on offer and start getting…

Scott Macaulay had some interesting things to say about how the way that we watch stuff affects our impression of it in the latest Filmmaker newsletter. He writes about a comment left in response to Noah Harlan’s post about new business models: Rather than debate business models, this poster said, why don’t filmmakers just focus on making a good picture? He (or, perhaps another anonymous poster) wrote, “I don’t see distribution as the thorn in indie’s side. I see quality…

HD EXPO is coming to NYC (September 22-25) after seven successful years establishing itself as the premier trade show, education, and community event for the content creation industry. Registration for the EXPO is FREE in advance and includes all panels, exhibit hall and Intensive Workshops which sounds like a very good deal to us indeed! Workshops include Sony, Panasonic and Adobe equipment and software and there will be panels on subjects like The Art of Editing in the 21st Century:…