Volume 4 Number 4
April 1, 2005

• Up Front

• On The Desktop

• Feature Article

• Random Links

• Site Visit

• Opportunities

• Events Calendar

• Career Guides

• JobsNW

• Resources

• Service Directory

• Lighter Side

• Eugene Indie

• PN Archives

Past Issues
Feature Pages
Random Links

• Proscenia Website

ON THE DESKTOP

On The Desktop is devoted to information of specific interest to those working in the fields of TV, Film, and Multimedia. It includes commentary, news, tips, publication links, announcements, and other resources that have recently come across the editor's desktop.

News Bytes

Creator Of Macintosh Dies at 61 (NewsScan) Jef Raskin, the computer interface expert and polymath who conceived Apple's Macintosh computer, has died at 61 of pancreatic cancer. Raskin had been a computer science professor before joining Apple in 1978 as it 31st employee. He left the company three years later, and formed a company called Information Appliance, and began work on his book "The Humane Interface." Besides his computer-related activities, he was a respected mathematician and he conducted the San Francisco Chamber Opera Society, played three instruments, and created artwork that's displayed at New York's Museum of Modern Art. He also received a patent for airplane wing construction, and was an accomplished archer, target shooter and occasional race car driver.

Virtual Reality Certificate Available. The Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory (VREL) at the College of Education, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, offers a Virtual Reality in Education and Training Certificate of 15 hours of graduate courses.  All the graduate and undergraduate VR courses are taught online. You can learn more by visiting the VREL web site or by contacting Dr. Veronica Pantelidis, Co-Director <pantelidisv(at)mail.ecu.edu>.
    The lab publishes VR in the Schools as a web-based, peer reviewed journal, although our issues are occasional, with one coming out soon.

iPod Broadcasts. A new way to share audio material is through the use of iPod broadcasts that iPod users can download and take with them as portable entertainment and information. You can also download material and listen to it on your computer. One source, iPoder.Com explains this evolving use of audio.

"First of all, it's still in development, and may not live up to all expectations. But it does work and hundreds of thousands of people are using it every day.
     iPodder is small program that runs on your computer. Its only purpose is to download audio files, usually mp3's, directly to your mp3 device. Currently iPod is supported on both Windows and Mac.
     And it's not just for iPods! Other devices are supported through Windows Media Player. Any device that can exchange files with WMP will work with iPodder."

Interview with Joe Swanberg.(BRAINTRUSTdv). This year marks the ten-year anniversary of video on the Internet, and BRAINTRUSTdv intends to have a powerful microscope on the subject. This preoccupation will be immersed in our wider preoccupation with a theory and aesthetics of digital video, an ongoing inquiry into this exciting, frustrating, insecure, seditious, and ever-shifting medium and begins with an interview of Joe Swanberg whoes first feature "Kissing on the Mouth" premieres at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin.
    "Kissing on the Mouth" is a movie made up of common themes couched in uncommon images. It concerns the amatory misadventures of four recent college graduates who are trying to come to terms with the world. The story is liberally seasoned with unmitigated depictions of the human body. Swanberg was very aware of what he was trying to achieve with his visual schema.
     "We were very interested in showing the body the same way we show everything else in films. We tried to make no separation between the way we filmed a body and the way we filmed a computer or a table...Nothing in the film is outside of the realm of everyday activity. Not a single thing. Everyday activities should not be shocking. That is how I feel. If they are, there is something wrong with the way we represent ourselves."
      This sprawling, conversational interview goes on to contain in-depth reflections on self-distribution; the role of Internet marketing; the aesthetic disparity between DV and film; the decline of traditional film festivals; the beauty of the 4:3 frame; the durability of the theatrical experience; and the shifting context for short movies on the Internet. Read the Joe Swanberg interview online.

Brain Power and Image Processing. Author Sharyn Hardy Gallagher, University of Massachusetts, comments in her paper, Let-Brained Versus Right-Brained: Which is the better for Learning that the "... short-term memory can retain five to nine separate items at a time that will last approximately 20-30 seconds. Long-term memory holds information that has been learned well. It has unlimited capacity and duration, although information can take some time to be learned well enough to be stored here. The brain is capable of absorbing more than 36,000 images per hour".

Capturing Cultural Value. (Scout Report) Various policy analysts, politicians, and other persons have become increasingly intrigued by the potential that various cultural programs and initiatives may have in terms of economic development in their respective regions. This report, authored by John Holden on behalf of the Demos Group in London, examines the way in which government views the potential benefits of various cultural programs. In this 62-page report, Holden argues that arts and other such programs should be funded because of their cultural contribution to society, rather than for the increasingly popular reason given by many units of governance, which is that they can effectively deliver government policy. The report goes on to argue that government should move from a target-oriented, top-down approach to one that is more cognizant of the full range of values created by culture. Download as PDF.

Sacred Land Film Project. (Apple) Native Americans today must fight to protect hundreds of sacred places threatened by mining, development, rock climbing, New Age ceremonies and other threats
      A unique collaboration between environmental activists and Native Americans, the Sacred Land Film Project aims to tell stories, inspire dialogue about American history and stimulate reconciliation between Indians and non-Indians--and ultimately between humanity and the Earth.
      View film clips from the Sacred Land Film Project.

SXSW Music Conference showcases. (Apple) Don't worry if you missed the South by Southwest 2005 Film, Interactive and Music Conferences & Festivals in Austin--you can get all the highlights online at the SXSW site. SXSW Music Conference showcases nearly 1,300 musical acts from around the world on 50 stages in downtown Austin. Read more about and listen to music from each group. Dip into the SXSW Film Festival trailers for a taste of the latest independent films. Also enjoy video coverage of the festival featuring panels, interviews, film premieres and band showcases. Music, movies and technology await you at the SXSW 2005 site.

Back to the Future: Reflections on the Brief History of Video Moviemaking. (BRAINTRUSTdv) With the gracious permission of the International Cinematographers' Guild, BRAINTRUSTdv has reprinted Russ Alsobrook's "Back to the Future: Reflections on the Brief History of Video Moviemaking." Moving briskly from skepticism to incredulity,       Alsobrook challenges his reader: "All of a sudden, everyone and his brother's dog is making a 'digital film'—is this the ultimate oxymoron?"
Writing in 2001, Alsobrook recounts the numerous abortive attempts (beginning in the 1950s) to incorporate video technology into the worlds of broadcast television and studio filmmaking.
      "In 1947, legendary cinematographer Leon Shamroy, ASC, made the following prediction. 'New engineering developments loom on the horizon...not far off is the "electronic camera"...that will place a more refined instrument in the hands of the cameraman, an instrument of greater sensitivity and mobility.' With the passing of every decade there seems to be a renewed interest in video as a recording medium for theatrical motion pictures."
      Delightfully snide and breezily informative, this piece continues to be relevant for anyone interested in the evolution of electronic cinema. Read the Alsobrook essay.

Internet: The Mainstreaming of Online Life (Scout Report) Web-browsers have been a commonplace of the online experience for approximately a decade, and in some ways, everyday use of the Internet has transformed certain aspects of modern life. This fourteen-page report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, authored by Lee Rainie and John Horrigan, takes a critical look at how the Internet has woven itself into mainstream American life. As might be expected, the report concludes that much of the online world mirrors the activities of the offline world. The report also notes that during the early days of the Internet the average user tended to be young white males with a high income level, and that during the past few years, this pattern has changed dramatically. Overall, the report is well-written and also complemented by a nice series of tables and graphs. Download as PDF.

"Assisted Living" Director Interview. (BRAINTRUSTdv) Elliot Greenebaum's "Assisted Living" was conceived and shot as a fifty-fifty solution of DV and film. Yet in the release version of the movie, only six minutes of DV footage remain.
    "I showed the film to six smart people who I had never met," explains Greenebaum. "They said the interviews on DV were boring and I didn't
need them. My instinct was that since they all agreed about that, they were probably right."
    Humble and plaintive, impolitic and iconoclastic, Greenebaum attempts to explain his movie, which has been buffeted by sharp criticism and a distribution soap opera. Featuring a uniquely introspective supplement, this interview is at times uncomfortably confessional.
    "I hate making films so much that the only possible reason I could generate that could fuel that sort of process would be the idea that they could make people happy to have been born and raise consciousness...I began this because I wanted to be loved—-or liked. I felt that if I were a filmmaker this would happen." Read the Greenebaum interview

Off-the-shelf Film Goes to the Big Screen. (Apple) Michael Tucker, the filmmaker who (together with his wife and co-director Petra Epperlein) shot, edited, and produced the now-acclaimed documentary "Gunner Palace," still can't quite believe what he's been able to accomplish. "I mean," says Tucker, "this husband and wife filmmaking duo are sitting in an apartment in Berlin, and we managed to pull this off with two PowerBooks and two desktop Macs." And a powerhouse called Final Cut Pro HD.
    Tucker found he needed little else to finish the film. "Final Cut Pro is so sophisticated now in what it can do right out of the box. Even without any additional plug-ins, for this kind of thing it's perfect," he says. "I was so impressed the first time I saw it transferred to film, thinking 'God, we did all of that without any high-end hardware."

Film Festivals. (Scout Report) Now that the Oscars and Golden Globes have all been awarded, some cineastes may think that the season of film celebration, award shows, and festivals is in a quiet slumber for a few months. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and a quick glance at the Film Festival website quickly dispels that misconception. Online since 1995, the site provides a great resource about previous and upcoming film festivals from all over the world. Here visitors can read the latest headline news from the various festivals, read coverage of the proceedings, and search a prodigious database of information. Visitors may also want to consider signing up to receive the free weekly newsletter or also viewing a selection of popular video clips culled from coverage of recent festivals.

Interview with Michael Tucker. The Making of "Gunner Palace" (Apple) In March, 2003, documentary filmmaker Michael Tucker arrived in Iraq to capture the day-to-day experiences of the 2-3 Field Artillery Battalion (known as the Gunners) stationed in Uday Hussein's former palace in the most volatile area in Baghdad.
     "This is not about the politics," says Tucker. "This is about the the war from the inside out, told by the people caught in the middle.
     "In the beginning, the soldiers were very optimistic across the board. No matter what they thought about the war, they felt they were doing something good. By the time I was there the second time, I think people felt exhausted and ready to go home. You could only take so much. You're going between boredom and this extreme hyperreality. And at the same time there's a disconnect because people in the rest of the worldon'tunderstand what's happening to you."
     Read more about Tucker's documentary, "Gunner Palace," and watch the trailer.

Beyond the Fire: Teen Experiences of War. (Scout Report) The experience of war is traumatic for all persons who happen to be involved in such activities, whether they be soldiers, commanders, or civilians who are caught up in the ensuing maelstrom. This interactive site tells the story of teenagers involved in various conflicts around the globe, and is maintained by the good people at the Independent Lens Organization. Upon reaching the site's homepage, visitors will be enticed by the multimedia portraits of such teenagers, including Naima Margan in Somalia and Shaima Abdul in Afghanistan. After listening to their stories, visitors may elect to offer feedback on the program, or read transcripts of the participants' comments. The features that educators will appreciate include an interactive world map, conflict timelines, and facts about each country. The site is also rounded out by a fine selection of links to outside Web-based resources, such as the World Fact Book and the homepage of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Visit Site.

Children and Media. Individuals interested in the design and production of media programs for children may want to read a recent National Science Foundation article about the use of media by children and youth. Children, TV, Computers and More Media: New Research Shows Pluses, Minuses provides information about some of the current research on kids and media—the good and the bad.

College Students and TV . According to the Associated Press college students watch an average of three hours, 41 minutes of television each day. This is based on a Nielsen Media Research report.

The Building a Better Web Site for Kids article by Famin Ahmed discusses the problems and pitfalls of designing for the child-youth audience. Ahmed interviews Sara DeWitt, Manager of PBS Kids Interactive, and Merry Bruns, Web Writing trainer at ScienceSites Communications, to develop 10 commandments for developing kids' Web sites. These 10 tips should help a designer launch a site that kids will love. Read Full Article.

Material from The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The lack of financial support for NewsScan and its subsequent cancellation of online service has us redesigning the reporting of technology news. This On The Desktop page will now be expanded to cover technology news, Scout Report's software reviews, and other tips, publication links, announcements and items of interest