Activism and new UK Film: How The Underground Recreated The Hero : Written By Jane Mcconnell     Jane McConnell @janemcconnell  and @futureartists May 8th 2012, Salford, UK   In Emily James’ Just Do It, we watch news packages from major news outlets interlaced with POV footage from protestors scaling the giant cooler chimneys at the Ratcliffe Power Station. For a UK audience, a film like Just Do It is particularly subversive – even controversial. The protests were decade-defining – it…

#OCCUPYMEDIA.   One Film Versus The World. The Lost Generation. They occupied Wall Street. NY. DC, Chicago. London. …What if they occupied the media? #occupymedia New Manchester film The Lost Generation is the UK’s newest feature film to be released independently – at the end of the world – on the 20th December 2012, which takes a searing look at freedom, cyberwarfare and our idea of celebrity.         FILM SYNOPSIS “Think of a law. She’s broken it. Think of…

Project lost generation – a project with a new beat This article a perfect introduction to a variety of future artists workshops that will take place in Leeds, Birminghamduring October and at Channel 4 in London during November. The digital campfire – a social revolution with its own beat. (By  Mark Ashmore FRSA 29/8/11) In this essay I will explore how social communications and convergence culture has put a greater emphasis on storytelling, creating a 3rd tier content distribution network, which is unrecognised by traditional…

I’ve been consulting on the TFI New Media Fund, a new fund for non-fiction interactive or cross-platform projects that focus on a social issue. I’ve been interested in this space for the last few years and it’s fantastic that funders are now coming to the table to support this kind of work. If you’re interested in applying read the FAQ for more information about the kind of work the Fund will support. The idea is to bring storytelling, design and…

Africa United – first time feature of a Shooting People member since 2002 – opening in UK cinemas this weekend, and… well, have a read and see what you think.

Filmmaker Emily James discusses how ‘together we are stronger’ in the making of Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world – a feature documentary about climate activists, using crowd funding by donation and volunteer crew. Already there have been over 100 people who’ve given generously of their time and energy to make Just Do It happen, and no doubt there will be many more before we are done. We’ve had 31 camera people, 25 editors, 17 production volunteers,…

Filmmaker Emily James discusses why she’s choosing to fund her next film, Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world – a feature documentary about climate activists, using crowd funding by donation. So, if one’s publishing under a Creative Commons license (see previous blog), and not charging for viewing the work, how can one raise the funding to make it? In the long term, I don’t know what the big solution is. But it’s clear that big…

Filmmaker Emily James discusses why she’s choosing to release her next film, Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world - a feature documentary about climate activists, under a Creative Commons licence.

Guest blogger, Emily James, is currently in production on a feature documentary about environmental direct action groups, including Plane Stupid, Climate Camp, and Climate Rush. The film is crowd funding, and will be released under a Creative Commons license in early 2011.

Shooters Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas will soon be seeing their feature documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story opening in UK cinemas on 14 May. Four years in the making, American pushes documentary storytelling in a new direction, using a stunning new animation technique to tell the amazing life story of the iconoclastic comedian and his struggle to get his voice heard. For the uninitiated, here’s a brief background of who Bill was and the story the film seeks to…