Tell me this doesn't look like "Riot Gear Mickey Mouse"
(It's really a riot cop in Georgia putting down a demonstration - which seems like the continental sport of choice for Asian countries.)
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Killer Rampage Rat
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Volume 3 - Invading Jackson Heights
If you have been in New York for long enough, you've probably heard one of the semi-true urban legends about the city. (You can ride the six past the original City Hall Station. Steve Brodie never jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge. Rudy Giuliani planned September Eleventh to get back at his half-cousin/ex-wife for painting a portrait of Mary out of Cow dung.)
One of my favoites is this: Queens is the most ethnically diverse place on the planet. A variant of this has it that Jackson Heights, Zip Code 11372, is the most diverse neighborhood in the world.
So for round 3 of the Grab Bag we are going to combine the in-the-street assignments of Vol 1 and the overarching topic of Vol 2 for a one-neighborhood free-for-all. We are invading Jackson Heights!
You know how this works. We want stories. Show us the weirdos, the one of a kinds, the transplants, the nativists. Tell us about the train or the first Garden City Development.
The whole world is fair game.
VJ Grab Bag Vol 2 Wrap Up
Thanks to everyone who came out for the 2nd Volume of the VJ Grab Bag. I've been out of town for a few weeks but I will have the videos up in a few days along with the "Save Me a Dance" Music Video and some info for the next round of the Grab Bag. (Sorry, no pictures this time.)
Also, if you are in the area, stop by the South 4th Bar & Cafe and say hello to the guys who hosted. It was a great venue.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
FastCompany Videos
The Videos are up!
Go here to read the article.
Go here to see video. (Watch watch watch... it's about Spies and You Tube and a bunch of other stuff you know you love.)
Here's the old article which explains what this is all about
I will be shooting a story in Cambridge, MA next week. The story follows the release of a new internet technology called Podzinger. From the Podzinger website:
PodZinger is the only search engine that allows users to find audio and video content based on keyword searches and then skim the results for relevancethe same way they would for text.
This means that Podzinger can transcribe video and audio into text. The applications for this are rooted in the Defense & Security industry’s need to transform audio conversations intosearchable text. It’s a lot like magic, and our video is going to try and capturethat magic.
I saw ‘our’ because I will be working with Adam Penenberg for this project (Thanks Anne!). From Adam’s website:
A journalism professor at New York University, Penenberg is the assistant director of the Business & Economic Program, heads the department's ethics committee and teaches investigative reporting, magazine writing and media ethics to graduate students.
Prof. Penenberg is also a writer for a magazine called Fast Company and he wrote a fascinating article for their February issue. The article follows Jeff Han, the engineer behind a new, multi-touch computer console. This might sound familiar to people who watched any of the Apple iPhone keynote (Use Podzinger to search YouTube for the iPhone and this is what you get). That new toy is essentially using Jeff’s technology.
You can watch a beautiful clip of Jeff’s Multi-Touch Platform at Fast Company.
The upcoming video (the one I will be shooting in Cambridge) is an attempt by Fast Company Magazine to integrate print and internet resources. You know I am going to love anyone who says that sentence out loud.
Alright, so this is all getting a little bit scattershot, but there is a unifying thread here. Each of these toys, the Podzinger, the multi-touch, they are all elements. Tiny steps. None of them are paradigm changing, but they are all paradigm shifting. It takes many tiny steps to create a revolution, and the more of these technologies we have, the more opportunities we have. True, some will fail, but neither of these toys seem likely to become dust collectors.
The Podzinger, for example, has applications totally unrelated to the web, or to government snooping. Imagine an application that can transcribe tapes for you, without you logging them yourself. Won’t get a spy excited, but spend a few hours looking over tapes and you will see why I can’t wait to get my hands on Podzinger.
My point is, integration is key. We are constantly trying to find ways to make technology increase our production. But we are also looking at technology as a way to open new, previously unimagined doors. It’s like we are floating up a mountain and each new technology has the potential to see on top of the next precipice.
Read More......Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Screening! Friday the 13th!
Screening at the fantabulous South 4th Bar & Cafe. You know Bembe? You the Williamsburg Bridge? Right there. Expect food and an extended Happy Hour at the Bar. Tell everyone you know, starting with your pet cockroach.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Updater
It's been a while since I've said something here, but the workload has been madness. Everyone has been working on some fine shorts, and here's a recap of the latest...
Mr. Graham Meriwether will be screening a short about the Pagan Spring Celebration known as the Ostara Ritual.
Mr. O'Hare will shower us with the love of a singing Atheist guy person.
Mr. Bernal, featuring the work of Ms. Kaleem will be contributing a short about non-believer marriage rituals
Mr. Ix and Mr. Zier will give us a vox populi confettit of evangelicals on easter
and... well we will have some surprises for you.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
F48 - Ep 66: Highway Revenge
A new episode will be airing Thursday at 9PM ET and again on Friday at 1PM ET. The episode follows two stories, one in Detroit and one in Memphis. Graham and I shot for the Detroit segments. Our story follows the murder of a driver on the interstate. It took a lot of effort to shoot this episode and we are very excited to see it go to air.
Read More......Thursday, March 1, 2007
Plastic Bag Pillow
Go show some love over at Treehugger's Convenient Truth Contest. Our resident hippie Graham posts us a little clip showing how he solves a problem we all have... how to deal with an excess of plastic bags. I know you have this problem. Even if you got a dog that craps a lot, you still can't get rid of them fast enough. So go watch...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
VJ Academy: Video Releases
You know the old story about the tribespeople who think that cameras steal souls? Well they might be right, or they might be luddites, but either way, if you are picking up a camera and want to make a piece, you should know the rules and regulations when it comes to video releases.
The basic questions you have to answer (and usually prove) are: does my subject realize that I am going to use this footage for my own purposes; will they allow it; and to what degree do I have to respect their good name (libel).
The rules are very different for every venue. Let's go through 3...
At one end of the spectrum, you need release forms for anyone who appears in a video, any place which appears or in which video was taken (if the place appears prominently), and any music which appears in the piece. These rules apply most stringently for network and cable television and for widely released movies. I can provide you with templates for each of these release forms.
At the other end of the spectrum, film festivals are not-for-profit events and they therefore have loopholes. One loophole, for example, is that you can use unlicensed music. As for appearance releases, the risk you run is that the person will be upset for libelous reasons. If the project were ever picked up for sale (which is possible) and you don't have a release you run the risk of your subject suing for compensation (and you also run the risk that the buyer won't buy it).
Then, right in the middle, there's news. News Crews rarely get releases. Instead they ask
people to say and spell their first and last name. This is known as a video release. By making it clear to the subject that they are being filmed, news agencies argue that the burden is on the subject to prove that they were unfairly portrayed or that their image was stolen or misused. For this reason, news crews will never show a person's face when they need shots of obesity or hair loss (you've probably seen the blurry shots of a crowd, or the shots where they show people from their neck down).
For our purposes, I would encourage you to always get personal releases and try to avoid using copyrighted music. The music is unlikely to cause grief at first, but it could be tricky later on. The rules on music are pretty much the same as the rules of sampling music.
Monday, February 19, 2007
VJ Academy: Intro
I'm going to start putting up posts that will provide info useful for production. In addition I compiled a collection of videos from the last few International VJ Awards and will be handing them out in the next few days.
If you would like to learn more about the Video Journalism movement, the first place you should look is Sabine Streich's VJ Queen vblog. The site is very new, but the content is of a high quality.
Unfortunately, some of it's in German, so... yeah. Choose wisely.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Just so we are all on the same page...
What happens when you assign stories to a dozen Video Journalists? The VJs go out and find a character and present the truth of that character’s world. What happens when a dozen VJs find a dozen truths? What happens when the truths contradict each other?
These are the questions we want to answer in the VJ Grab Bag - Volume 2. And that’s why our topic will be Atheism.
I just want to make this clear: We are not looking to promote Atheism, but rather to turn a critical, investigative eye on the many interesting elements of life for a Non-Believer.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Volume 2 Research JumpStart
Use the following questions to develop story ideas. Some of the suggestions have characters or organizations associated with them that can be used as starting points.
- Fundamentalism: Are fundamentalist Atheists a contradiction? Are they effective evangelicals? What’s the point?
- Politics: Can an Atheist be elected to public office? Find one. Are Atheists driven to one political party over another? Does being an Atheist also mean that the person is pro choice, pro stem cell research, pro homosexuality - is this some sort of a political alignment?
- Coming Out: Is it difficult to come out as an Atheist? What makes it a controversy? Is it frivolous to say you are ‘coming out’ when you decide to be an Atheist?
- New Atheism: Are New Atheists driven by politics, faith or revelation? Is it rational to embrace Atheism because of government policies? Are George Bush’s policy’s driving people towards Atheism? Is it just fashionable?
- Reverse Osmosis: Is Atheism a dead-end for spirituality? Do many Atheists later turn into believers?
- Faith: Is faith in science different from faith in religion?
- Organizing: Is it a contradiction to be an organized Atheist? What is unifying the Atheists?
- Spirituality: Can you be a good person and be an Atheist? Is there a moral sacrifice you make in choosing Atheism?
- Rituals: What does an Atheist Wedding look like? Funeral?
- Taxonomy: Brights, Freethinkers, Nonbelievers, Agnostics…what’s the difference? Why differentiate?
- Daily Life: What is it like for Atheists to survive in a society that is filled with rituals that are symbolic of religion? Is being Atheist somehow unnatural? Do Atheists live longer? How many Atheists are there?
- Public Perception: What do people think of Atheists? Are they evil? Do they shower? Conduct a “Man on the Street” Survey
- War: Are there ever any Atheists in Foxholes? Find one.
- Make your own religion: What kinds of religions are people making for themselves? Paganism? Infidel? Are people shopping for a religion?
- Technology: How are Atheists using cable TV and the internet? Is it a forum for discussion or is it an evangelical tool?
You don't have to dig too deep to find story ideas here. Looking forward to your feedback.
(Thanks to Sheherzad)
Volume 2
For the Second Round of the Grab Bag, we have a couple of new objectives.
The biggest change between Rounds 1 & 2 will be in the kinds of content we are looking for. Instead of searching for stories and characters from all walks of life, we will be focusing on a specific topic. In an effort to choose the most fertile field, we have chosen to have all of our stories revolve around Atheism.
Another big change will be in our roster. We are looking to increase the number of contributors. We are also looking to add to our ranks more people who have worked as Video Journalists, camera, editors, writers, whatever. The reason here is that we want the Grab Bag to be a forum for people to experiment. The more mixed our group of contributors, the more likely it is that the work we feature will break boundaries and invent new forms. To that end, I will also be showing several exceptional videos on this site in the coming weeks.
The third major shift is in distribution. We are considering ways to simultaneously release the videos in several formats. We will have a screening of course, but as we develop we will be working on a website which houses the videos and arranges them in a functional, clear way. We hope to use this new site to as a kind of online publication, reminiscent of literary journals, but with flashing, blinking lights. We are also looking at a couple of alternative distribution methods, such as a DVD release (a VJ mix-tape?). Any ideas are welcome.
All of this means: we need your help. If you have any skills in web design (I sure don’t) or any production skills and you want to get involved, just send me an email.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Report from Volume 1
I don't think any of us expected the success of the screening this weekend. We had a packed house and a lot of great people showed up to keep us laughing all night.
And of course, we had some exceptional videos to showcase. Thanks to everyone who came out and kept the place warm. More importantly, thanks to everyone who shared their work with us.
It is a difficult task to put in extra hours to work on a volunteer project. I am very proud and happy with all the work that came from our experiment and I'm looking forward to working with everyone for Round 2.
For more photos and videos from the screening, Go below the fold...
The screening program was made of 5 original videos, and 4 contributions from friends, old and new.
My favorite for the night was Daniel & Jeff's profile of James Spencer. The video has the distinct feeling of an Ode to James Brown. I was especially impressed by the limited use of music. When the soundtrack finally came up in the end, the video turned a classic funk ballad into a moving requiem.
The second clip also followed a soulful man, Daddy Bruce. The rib master sang his old song from the corner of a small shack in Boulder, Colorado. Fittingly, his customers are wacky troubadors and slightly dazed college kids. This video was the only one produced by a professional VJ, our very own Graham Meriwether, and shows how rewarding it is to find a strong, unique character and let them speak in their own voice. 
In between two videos about meat, we were treated to the unusual genius of Vit, a Czech Marionette maestro, and the producer of an opera called, Once There Was a Village. Created by Mark Bernal, this video was being cut up until the very last minute. It seems puppeteers are a hard bunch to nail down, and it took a little extra time to find a group who was performing. The music comes from my favorite punk marching band, the HMB.
Another hit came in the form of a bleeting goat. "Fresh Meat" was produced by Kieran O'Hare and was the first video he has created. Be happy they weren't killing goats the day he went shooting. Be happy that you can see it right here.
And because blood and guts and old men are generally depressing, we finished our main program with Mayen Ma's "Waltz Cafe Comedy Hour." Showcasing the talents of one of Astoria's exhuberant artists, Mayen's video made me miss the souvlaki and many great little Astorian Cafes. As you may have read, Mayen had more than a few setbacks in making her piece. Happily, her clip got the place laughing after a few gruesome minutes in the butchery.
Once again, thanks to everyone who showed up and everyone who showed something. If you want to contribute to future Grab Bag's let us know. Also, thanks to Connie Sun for hosting us and for taking the photos.
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is called a beautiful evening.
Photo Overload
The screening was a huge success. Enjoy some photo overload at our rough, remote site...
James Spencer
Created by Jeff French and Daniel Zier, this video has the distinct feeling of an Ode to James Brown. I was especially impressed by the limited use of music. When the soundtrack finally came up in the end, the video turned a classic funk ballad into a moving requiem.
Fresh Meat
"Fresh Meat" was produced by Kieran O'Hare and was the first video he has created. Be happy they weren't killing goats the day he went shooting. Be happy that you can see it right here.
Daddy Bruce
In this clip, the rib master sings his old song from the corner of a small shack in Boulder, Colorado. Fittingly, his customers are wacky troubadors and slightly dazed college kids. This video was the only one produced by a professional VJ, our very own Graham Meriwether, and shows how rewarding it is to find a strong, unique character and let them speak in their own voice.
Waltz Comedy
Showcasing the talents of one of Astoria's exhuberant artists, Mayen's video made me miss the souvlaki and many great little Astorian Cafes. As you may have read, Mayen had more than a few setbacks in making her piece. Happily, her piece got the place laughing after a few gruesome minutes in the butchery.
Marionette Opera
At the 1st VJ Grab Bag, we were treated to the rambling genius of Vit, a Czech Marionette maestro, and the producer of an opera called, Once There Was a Village. Created by Mark Bernal, this video was being cut up until the very last minute. It seems puppeteers are a hard bunch to nail down, and it took a little extra time to find a group who was performing. The music comes from my favorite punk marching band, the HMB.
Read More......Saturday, February 10, 2007
1st VJ Grab Bag - Tonight!
Get them booties on and put the final touches on your audio. We are screening to-night.
The screening will take place at 8PM with a little libation and some edible accompaniment. If you can't make it to the screening, give us a call. Doubtless we will be nearby having a post apocalyptic drink. We will also have photos and a wrap up right here, right away.
Also, keep a look out for info for VJ Grab Bag Volume 2. We are going to announce the changes and accompanying new story ideas tonight. Stay tuned for research links, story suggestions, and photos, fancy, fancy photos from tonight's screening.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Convenient Truth - Call for Entries
The kind folks over at TreeHugger (really, go there right now if you've never been, they are fantastic) are holding a video competition called Convenient Truth and they are calling for entries. Read the flyer for more info or go to TreeHugger TV to get involved.
They will also be sharing a video with us at our screening this Saturday. Make sure you join us so you can see it. (They say it's themed for Valentine's Day.)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
VJGrab Bag Vol. 1 - Screening on Saturday
The VJ Grab Bag is an experiment designed to get people working together. We are a handful of friends challenging each other and trying to launch our ship into the ocean. We've got some big ideas coming up ahead and hope you will join us on Saturday and in our future games. Go take a look around to learn more about the Video Journalism Challenge.
Stay Warm...
Thursday, February 1, 2007
From Tacos to Comics
This entry comes from Mayen Ma...
VJ grab bag. This was not only an exercise in shooting and editing but also in the process of creating a story. My initial piece was going to be on the Taco Truck in Sunnyside. I had my shot list, questions, possible montage ideas, a soundtrack… it was going to be amazing! It was going to be amazing up until 8PM on the first cold night of the season. I had been waiting for the damn truck for 45 minutes and no dice.
Feeling a bit defeated, I returned home in order to regroup. Could I do a piece on the Taco Truck not being there? No, that would only be good if there were other people to talk to on the street and in the dead of winter, I’d be lucky if a passer-by stopped. The next best thing, I thought, would be the Waltz Astoria artist fair.
The Waltz Astoria artist fair happens at Waltz (a coffee shop in Astoria), which is artist friendly, especially for locals. So once again, I gathered my equipment readied my questions and shot list, only to find that the fair wasn’t happening on the particular day I went to shoot. BALLS!
The very friendly barista suggested that I come back on Tuesday night for their comedy night. Right-comedy. It’s not that I don’t like to laugh, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t like being somewhere, in public, feeling like I have to laugh at bad jokes to make the situation less awkward. Waltz is about the size of my living room, so awkward non-laughter was a big concern for me.
Needless to say, I schlepped back to Waltz on a cold Tuesday evening after a long day at work. I started filming the chalking on the sidewalk that acts silent hawkers cajoling Astorians to go to the show. As I was filming the chalking, I spotted a very concerned guy watching my every move suspiciously before entering Waltz. He was Matt Taylor, the host of the comedy night.
After Matt and I got on the same page-he realized I wasn’t filming in order to sue him for graffiti and I realized filming at night is a bit…creepy. Matt proved to be a very humorous character and his show proved that I didn’t hate stand-up comedy.
Some may find the piece to be a bit jumbled. Perhaps it is because I didn’t plan as thoroughly as I would have liked or perhaps because iMovie is a pain in the ass. I blame iMovie.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Fresh meat
Over the past couple of weeks, as a part of the VJ Grab Bag Project, I visited and shot in one of the live poultry markets scattered around my neighborhood, Sunset Park. I've since officially retired the clothes and sneakers I wore during my time there.
Chanel, the charismatic owner, was my main focus. He spoke the best English, and seemed almost validated at having a camera detailing his every move-- even if it was one manned by someone who didn't know what the fuck he was doing. I suppose that falsely introducing myself as a "filmmaker" bought me some legitimacy. I may not be De Sica, but, I mean, I was holding a digital camera in a place where the most complicated piece of machinery was probably the latch to the goat pen.
The other guys were cool too. One guy didn't say a word to me; he just stoically slashed the shit out of sputtering chickens while I tried in vain to get him to give me a play by play. Another guy held a skinned chicken up against my back as a "joke." And one guy wore camoflage and fucked around with the goats in an endearing/borderline abusive type way.
There are probably millions of stories there, but most of them, unfortunately for a monolingual white boy like me, are in Spanish. But maybe that's the story. Some of my shots are tentative-- I felt uncomfortable being near chickens getting massacred and in an environment where I didn't understand what anyone was saying. Hopefully, people who haven't seen this type of thing-- which is most os us I guess-- will be a bit unnerved by it too.
Or maybe it's the completely the opposite- maybe it's about the way in which we can normalize just about anything we do. Editing with Matt today, I initially wanted to throw up when the stoic guy nearly cut one chicken's head off. After a while though, I forgot what I was looking at; I was just trying to decide if the shot was any good. And my face probably looked a lot like the stoic guy's when he tore back a chicken's head and swiped a knife across its neck.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
First 48 Update
We have two tidbits of news about A&E’s The First 48…
Numero Uno: A new episode will be airing tonight at 9PM ET. The episode follows two stories, one in Detroit and one in Dallas. Graham and I shot for the Detroit episode. Our story follows the murder of two guys driving a pickup truck in a vacant lot and reveals the eccentric life of an old man who lived near by.
And el Segundo: We received the DVDs from Granada Productions of the first episode to make it to air. The show aired in early December and was called Cat and Mouse. You can see a rough version of the clip here.
Written in early July, Detroit:
Outside my window, the weather is too warm and comfortable for people to stay indoors. All throughout the city, you will find folks wandering around, drinking outside of their houses, strolling up their streets. Some of the cops, they say to expect the worst on Thursdays and Fridays because that’s when folks get paid, and getting paid means buying booze. Other cops say, nobody here has jobs so it doesn’t matter what day of the week, you’re always going to find people out there, drinking and smoking. Doing nothing except getting into fights and shooting each other.
Read More......
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Joost is pronounced "Juiced"
The news out of Scandanavia is that Joost has arrived.
The folks behind Kazaa and Skype have now released a beta of their internet video / tv software platform. The application is similar to Kazaa and Skype in that it is not a browser-based program.
I got a chance to play with Joost (pronounced ‘Juiced’) last night and I am a quick fan. I couldn’t stop myself from flipping through channels, fiddling on the instant messaging platform, and enjoying a cornucopia of diverse programming. I went from watching a British racing show, a video news release for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, an old episode of Lassie, and a quirky German program in which people’s faces kept exploding. The best part? When the program isn’t up to your interest, you can just scroll through upcoming shows and watch what you like on any of the theme-organized channels.
The software is still in Beta (not sure why they went public with the name…Venice Project was a beta tester as well) and only runs on Windows XP, for now. This is disappointing. After digging up a beta test password, it took me two more days to find someone willing to let me launch Joost on their machine. Either way, we have something to look forward to with this software.
Why? Because Joost will need content. And what are we if not content producers?
The Venice Project is now Joost. Long live Joost.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Geek Talk: Scripts
I know you will probably dismiss this as geek talk, but let me tell you, I just discovered how to use apple scripts and wow. They are something else. I've always wondered about them, but I dismissed it as too much tech wizardry. Honestly, it is pretty simple and I'm a stooge for not looking into this before.
Why I had to do this: I recently cleared my desktop of all itunes music to make space for a project. When I no longer needed the space, I copied all my songs off my ipod using Senuti. Now I had the files on my comp (actually on an external HD) but I couldn't connect them to the old itunes library because they weren't in exactly the same place.
So I created a folder and chose "Attach a folder Action." I then get to pick from a list of scripts. Each script is a series of automated actions which automatically do things to whatever file you put into that folder (like rotate images, organize, move or change files). I downloaded a script to 'add items to itunes library' and I enabled this script for the folder. Then, all I had to do was drop the homeless files into the new, script-enabled folder and the script automatically opened itunes and started copying all the files into the library. The script can then delete all the files that are duplicated (though I'm going to do this by hand). So much easier than opening each folder and selecting all files and choosing 'open.'
So there you have it.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Update from Mark
From Mark on his story:
The path that I'm trying to take with this story is to focus on a puppeteer who makes puppets and also performs them. I know that the Puppet Lending Library is closed for the winter, but, hopefully, they'll open their doors for me. I'm not sure if the museum contact will be the central character of my story. If she isn't, she can hopefully lead me to the character. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Stories & Assignments
Here's a short selection of 'already-assigned' stories matched with their producer. Some Stories don't have links because I don't have enough info at present to post them. 
Mark Bernal = Puppet Museum inside the Grand Army Plaza Arch. That's right...Inside the arch.
Kristina Klebe & Linda Blake = Rudy Delamore
Kieran O'Hare = Warm Tofu Custard. Sold from a Shopping Cart. By an Elderly Chinese Woman. Who doesn't speak English.
Mayen Ma = Taco Truck
Daniel Zier = James Spencer (James Brown Photog)
Ix = Wheel Chair BallRoom Dancing
Graham Meriwether = Road Trip Surprise (GM is on a road trip to California and promises something bizarre and unscripted upon his return.)
We are looking to screen around the first or second of February. More stories & news to come.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Comrades
One of the missions of the VJ Grab Bag is to find and develop a community of content producers. I identify most strongly with the Video Journalists. But I believe that the core philosophies of Video Journalism (one-person production, intimate and experimental storytelling) allow in projects which are wildly different in style and tone. For this reason, I hope to see submissions which askews the cinema-verite heritage of Video Journalism. This can take the form of animation, mockumentary, music videos, etc.
We are on the verge of something new. The form is rough, and remains to be determined. But there are many encouraging examples out there. Take a look at these two sites:
Alive in Baghdad
Alive in Baghdad was formed to counter the sound-bite driven, “Live From” news model. Through the work of a team of Americans and Iraqi correspondents on the ground, Alive in Baghdad shows the occupation through the voices of Iraqis. Alive in Baghdad brings testimonies from individual Iraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, and short news segments from Iraq to you.
Alive in Baghdad gives cameras to Iraqis (recalls Voices of Iraq), lets them shoot the footage, and then has an elaborate but (apparently) effective way to cut the footage together into very compelling video pieces. Spend the time, watch some.
Another online video site is the Venice Project. The details of the site are being kept quiet. (feels like mumbo jumbo hype-building advertising - which is something of a turn off). Depending on what you read/hear/believe, the Venice Project is an online web portal for tv programming. Sound familiar? It should. That is the direction we hope to he be headed towards with our Grab Bag game. Read More......
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Chapter 1
Today is a July Thursday in Detroit, Michigan. The time is 8.19 PM, and the sun is high enough above the horizon that the light hasn’t yet turned golden yellow. Detroit is at the very western edge of the Eastern Time zone and evenings come on slow, the way you would expect them in a remote Alaskan city.
I’m writing because I’m waiting. The phone is next to me, plugged into the wall. I may not get a chance to charge it again in the next twenty-four hours. I’m surprised the call hasn’t come yet. I expected it by now. Maybe I’m not getting reception. Maybe the dispatch desk has forgotten to dial me, again.
I’m here to shoot a television show about the Detroit Homicide Unit. The show is called “The First 48.” It’s a reality television show but the producers like to think of it as a documentary drama. Reality TV has a bad reputation so it makes sense someone would want to obscure what we are creating. The show follows detectives around in several cities as they try to solve murders and catch killers. What this means is we are waiting for people to die a violent, mysterious death so we can start filming the crime-solving story.
I’m here with my colleague, Graham. We work as Video Journalists. Usually this means we run around untethered. But here, our job is to follow orders. This show is a kind of evolved version of “Cops.” There is more of a narrative, but it’s basically the same idea: turn the worst reality into pulp and sell it. All flash and glimmer; no context, no message except: “wait until you see what happens next.” When we were being interviewed for the job the producer told us how the show often employs staged moments. We cringed. She said, “Everyone does it. Public television does it. The best documentary filmmakers do it.” We never do it, but we don’t say anything. We could use the work. Now we are here for six weeks.
Outside my window, the weather is too warm and comfortable for people to stay indoors. All throughout the city, you will find folks wandering around, drinking outside of their houses, strolling up their streets. Some of the cops, they say to expect the worst on Thursdays and Fridays because that’s when folks get paid, and getting paid means buying booze. Other cops say, nobody here has jobs so it doesn’t matter what day of the week, you’re always going to find people out there, drinking and smoking. Doing nothing except getting into fights and shooting each other.
Before I arrived, I thought I was informed. I never imagined it could be this bad in my own country and I wouldn’t know it. But now, everything I understood about violence, about the police, about the news, about my neighbors and nation, all these old abstract ideas are becoming memories. This is no place for theories about wealth and poverty. Detroit is a hidden, rotting city. Imagine New Orleans before the flood.
It used to be, if you were entering a neighborhood where an officer might be fired upon, the police said you were going into a ‘Delta Zone.’ Before entering a Delta Zone, you always did a little check, made sure you had your bulletproof vest and a couple of extra guys with you, just in case of trouble. The reason they don’t use the phrase Delta Zone anymore is because there are no places where an officer won’t be shot at. Pretty much, all of Detroit is a Delta Zone.
Sitting downtown, knowing I will have to drive out into the gang territories tonight, I’m still waiting for my bulletproof vest to arrive. Just two metal sheets inside a loose canvas shell, every cop tells me bullet-resistant vest is the better phrase for it. I’ve been asking for the vest every week since we’ve been here, but the production’s distribution office in New York hasn’t gotten around to sending it. They say it takes two to three weeks to be made and sent. That was four weeks ago. At some point, it’s clear that it isn’t coming. You can hear the tone in people’s voices when you ask for the vest. They express shock, as in, ‘How did that not get there yet?’ and then they lean away from the phone and ask someone for an update, and an anonymous voice promises it will arrive next week, which is relayed with the same blasé disinterest that you might expect if we were talking about new shoe laces. The supervising producer calls back and says, “just try not to get into any dangerous situations.”
I try to tell her about the Delta Zones but she isn’t listening.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Santacon
Click here to view Santacon
The night before santacon, I went home early.
I had spent the day dropping off Santa costumes, giving classes, working in confusing ways, all over the city, conducting an orchestra. I ended the night early, my friends drinking holiday cheer. It was warm, but I had to go. I had an appointment at 10 AM at the Delancey Lounge. Just me and a hundred other people dressed as Santa, ready to wander the city, I imagined.
I showed up, my costume in my bag, and found myself surrounded by Santas. I knew what was happening, but even still, the sight of half a dozen santas walking around was shocking. Eager to join the crowd, I ducked into a church, put on my costume, and ran over to the bar. Everyone was buzzing, giddy and thristy. The crowd was far beyond what I expected, and I later heard we had grown to near two thousand.
At some point, I looked to Kieran. As the only one who made the early trek with me to our first location, we kept turning to each other in shock, sharing our disbelief. The first bar had its rollgate down, enhancing the delusion that we were at a late night dance party. The hallucination was encouraged by bloody marys, jello shots and whiskey… all of which only serve to confuse and disorient you when you finally go outside and find the sun so fresh and cold you know it isn’t yet noon.
Believe in Santa. Believe in Jesus. Believe in fantasy. Whatever you chose, there have always been holidays in the winter. Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, Yule…these festivals were celebrated at the end of December in pre-Christian times. It seems fair, therefore, to claim that Santacon is a restoration of pagan era festivities. Of course, you wouldn’t reflect on this history when a crowd of Santas are marching through midtown shouting ‘Ho Ho Ho Ho.’
Click here to view Santacon
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