Sweet Blog Title
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Fascinated by how our transition from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age is impacting the flow and economics of information, content and entertainment.
Pursuits include creating and producing original web video and consulting with writers, musicians, artists and small businesses on how they can use the internet to increase both their fan-bases and their revenue.
Always on the lookout for enthusiastic collaborators. Drop me a line - david.title@gmail.com
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- Here's my interview with Isabella Rosselini from the red carpet last night at the Webby's: http://tiny.cc/eb99b
This one little tweet from comedian and actor Eugene Mirman demonstrates just how important web content is becoming even for the stars of the big and small screen. I don't think we would have seen Isabella Rosselini walking the red carpet for something called The Webby's even two years ago. And she was just one of many stars who turned out.
Much like the IT guy who checks to see if you've plugged in your computer, this rep should have asked the caller to more closely examine his frozen pizza.
Listen until the end for a laugh-out-loud pay-off.
There is something appealing about this weekly video being put out by the White House, giving a small taste of the world inside the West Wing and what Obama does on a daily basis. It's certainly not something I could have imagined coming out of the Bush administration.
Still, I am left wondering a few things:
1) Why is the sound quality for the voice-over so poor? Hard to believe they couldn't afford a decent microphone. It sounds like it was recorded into the built-in laptop mic.
2) While it's a nice start, why isn't there much more video like this available? Especially as a way to keep young people connected, Obama and his team should be flooding YouTube, Facebook and Twitter with the sorts of humanizing videos that take us past the rhetoric and politics and into the heart of government.
In today's corporate art sponsorship news, check out this video that explores CNN's multi-platform campaign to get their slogan "Beyond Borders" out into the world.
Among the projects was a series of street art installations by El Bocho in Berlin.
I'm curious to know just how much editorial input the client has with these artists. Is this a blank check situation or very much a work-for-hire with strict guidelines for creation?
The interwebs have been a-blaze with trailers and commentaries on two films well on their way to cult horror status.
One is BIRDEMIC, made as a labor of love by a complete Hollywood outsider, and the other is THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, a much more glossy if no less absurd entry made all the more perplexing due to the fact that it is being released by IFCFilms.
Both films seem to be riding the wave of "this is so bad you've got to see it!" From the look of things, people are actually seeing both films in surprisingly large numbers.
It will be interesting to see if either film actually turns a profit for investors. Neither cost a whole lot to make and the advertising seems largely free and based on the most powerful influencer: word of mouth.
Are we seeing a new path for filmmakers?
The soon-to-be-no-more Boards Magazine had a very interesting post about a Philips campaign that gave money to five emerging filmmakers to create short films based on the same six lines of dialogue.
In the article, veteran directors bemoan the demise of the old commercial system which served as a training ground for young directors, giving them controlled environments where they could gain experience on a big set with a big budget.
These days, as I can attest from the inside, big-budget commercials are a rarity and young directors can no longer look at the commercial world as a safe, profitable haven where they can cut their teeth.
So, will corporations now be more than patrons and sponsors and become the force behind the actual training of the next wave of directors? Do corporations have a vested interest in developing the sorts of directors who can make big commercials?
The alternative is for directors to "prove it on YouTube" which is all just dandy unless you need a director who has experience with helicopter shots and 500 extras...
OK, maybe it's just because it is on my mind, but I am seeing a ton of examples of corporate financing of artistic endeavors today.
Now, this one is pretty "advertorial" and I don't think it really stands up as one of David Lynch's great works, it is becoming pretty clear who will be paying for most of the more compelling content.
Following up on my earlier post re: corporate arts sponsorships comes news of a partnership between Intel and Vice that is creating the opportunity for all sorts of artists to create new and exciting works.
