"Imagine what it would be like if TV actually were good. It
would be the end of everything we know." (Marvin Minsky)

Photographer: Micky Hulse

Up Front NW
By Gary Ferrington

The recent London bombings have brought into focus a relatively new medium for the reporting of the news - the use of video cell phones. The BBC notes that cellphone's provided the first on-site images from the attack sites around the city. Video sequences taken by underground passengers played on the nightly news around the world.
      Technology has indeed changed the way we communicate with one another. Cellphone technology opens communication with the rest of the world without the installation of land line connections. A whole new technology that has evolved and by passed the old.
      This month's feature takes a look at technological change and the tools that, once indispensable, have fallen abandoned by the wayside.
      Meanwhile the drum beat goes on as people adapt and adopt new ways. The Eastman Kodak company, a giant in film technology, has recently laid off thousands of employees as consumers now shoot their pictures using digital cameras. Will film soon be impossible to find on the store shelf? Perhaps so. The phasing out of audio cassettes and VHS tapes is perhaps an indicator of the future for film.
      Change is inevitable but often difficult for many to accept without reluctance. Meanwhile, be prepared, HDTV will be the standard by 2009 and your current TV set obsolete. Fortunately, you'll be able to purchase a converter box for your old TV set if you're not ready for the digital age of broadcasting. But within a few years analogue TV will be a medium of the past.

 This month:

Feature Article: We live in a time when it seems most everything has become digital. But it wasn't that long ago the world was basically analogue. This month's feature looks at the technology that has been left along the road to the future.

Random Links: Indie film and media artists are finding community media centers provide support for the production of film, video, and computer based presentations. These centers offer screenings, workshops, classes, and tools to facilitate production work by artists of all ages.

Site Visit: The Aftermath Media studio is a Medford, Oregon production facility developing interactive storytelling

Lighter Side: If you were a classroom projectionist you'll enjoy AV Geeks Film Archive web site as it provides access to over 50 of these wonderful educational films that now have developed a life beyond their intended purpose as little cultural time capsules of our immediate past.

On The Desktop: News from world sources about film, video, and multimedia.

NW JOBS: Current postings of career opportunities in: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and occasionally other nearby states.

From Our Readers.

"I enjoyed your essay about single concept film for web based use. Well done, and very useful as is all your newsletter. I have come to set aside a portion of my day to read through it and try out some of the sites. When you write your book based on the newsletter, I think it would appeal to more than those people interested in multimedia." K.M Corvallis, OR.

"At the current rate the number of corporate universities will exceed the number of traditional universities by the year 2010." K.M Corvallis, OR.

Proscenia Newsletter. This publication is dedicated to news about events, activities, careers, jobs, and technical information of interest to the multimedia community. This is a free monthly web-based publication made available without commercial advertising.

The Up Front, Feature and Random Links sections of this Newsletter are copyrighted by Proscenia Interactive ©2003 - 2005. This single phrase notice to be used when reproducing portions of the newsletter, in any format: From The Proscenia Newsletter - Copyright 2005. <http://www.proscenia.net/news.html>The use of all other quoted copyrighted material must be cleared with copyright owners.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Proscenia Interactive. The Proscenia Newsletter provides links to other sites as a matter of reader convenience and is not responsible for content provided from other sources.

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