Republica 08 is a conference on web culture and politics, taking place in Berlin from 02.-04. of April 2008. On Friday the 4th they are having a sub-conference on web video. Subjects range from the political aspects of web video communication, Creative Commons, Webisodes, to Open Video Foundations and Web Video Funding possibilities.
I’lll be there, so if you’re around catch me for a chat.
Skid Row is a mini series of 5 parts on the homeless people living in the L.A. area with the same name. The series was developed by Sam Slovick and is produced by Good magazine.
YouTube DirectLink.
I think Skid Row is an example where webvideo can go. The series has a good production value because of it’s emotional soundtrack and the clever usage of animations. It has a very subjective appeal by introducing us to the issue through Slovick’s voice over thoughts. All in all, it’s very entertaining and informative at the same time.
Also check out Good magazine., they understand where the future of online/offline media mixture is heading:
“While so much of today’s media is taking up our space, dumbing us down, and impeding our productivity, GOOD exists to add value. Through a print magazine, feature and documentary films, original multimedia content and local events, GOOD is providing a platform for the ideas, people, and businesses that are driving change in the world.”
Matthias Röckl and Julio Schuback are running production company called I blog NY. They produce a video podcast for the Bavarian Open Radio, where they present interviews and reports from the music and art scene of New York City.
…and once again, all the great photos in this entry are made by the very talented Anne Helmond!
And on yet another rainy morning in Amsterdam (not surprising, you get used to it after a while!), full of curiosity and hopes for the day, I went to the second day of the Video Vortex - Responses to YouTube conference. I was hoping that today would be more fruitful than yesterday, and indeed, what a pleasant surprise! Well, call me selfish, but instead of giving a general overview I will focus on the session that was the most interesting for me personally: Curating Online Video.
On a rainy morning in Amsterdam (that demanded lots of coffee!), the Video Vortex - Responses to YouTube Conference was kicked off at Club 11. I will be blogging on the conference for movingweb, but I was also there because I have been involved with the project through my work at the Netherlands Media Art Institute where we made an exhibition with the same title and related topics. Well, the program of the conference is quite extensive, and I was very disappointed by some of the presentations today (that seemed unprepared, unfocused, had nothing new to say…a total contrast with the first Video Vortex conference in Brussels!). So I will focus on the gems of today’s presentations!
A little reminder for you all that the Video Vortex 2 conference is starting this friday. If you’re able to get to Amsterdam to attend the conference (see the program here) or visit the exhibition.
I`m really sad that I can’t be there but our editor Malka will give us a detailed backstage coverage after the conference.
There is a new project up on keyframe.org - Cinema in the digital Age:
“Life is a Remake. This film is a work in progress. Day by day it is growing, changing length as well as storyline. It is a diary, an essay film, a documentary and a fiction film at the same time. And it is a homage to Kurt Schwitter’s Merzbau.”
“Next To Heaven’s Rob Parrish retires to his video laboratory and downloads public domain films from http://www.archive.org. He then writes and records short monologues based on the images from the films, and then re-edits the films to the newly recorded narrations. The result: Unique short videos (aka “video bonbons”) that are full of flavor!”
via NewTeevee
“iChannel is a collaborative web series about a young man who has his life magically taken over by an audience… YOU. Our goal is a compelling original series where the audience can interact with the creators and the show’s characters in unique, unprecedented ways.”
What I really like about this interactive web-series is it’s ironic and humorous tone. In the first episodes the protagonist is really scared by the audience influencing his life but later on he even asked them for advice.
The second part of the Video Vortex Conference initialized by the Institute of Network Cultures will take place on January 18th and 19th in Amsterdam. Registration has opened!
In response to the increasing potential for video to become a significant form of personal media on the Internet, this conference examines the key issues that are emerging around the independent production and distribution of online video content. What are artists and activists responses to the popularity of user-generated content websites? Is corporate backlash imminent?
After years of talk about digital conversions and crossmedia platforms we are now witnessing the merger of the Internet and television at a pace that no one predicted. For the baby boom generation, that currently forms the film and television establishment, the media organisations and conglomerates, this unfolds as a complete nightmare. Not only because of copyright issues but increasingly due to the shift of audience to vlogging and video-sharing websites as part of the development of a broader participatory culture.