Movies vs. TV

Ok now you all now I have been around the media, communications, and business for many years. But I had, for the first time, been part of a recent movie shoot. Now all the technical details about camera white balance, audio levels, framing and the like are all about the same no matter where you go. And this was no Scorsese flick. It did have however, a small group of dedicated and very creative people. I was the 2nd camera, just there to do what I could. Not one to point out the details that were obvious to me and my camera assistant, not to mention the police questioning, there are some important differences between these two genres, Movies vs. TV.

One distinct difference was that there is no time constraint. Meaning that if a crew call is 9am in television then every body shows up at 9am. Here it seems to be 9ish. Not that it's a negative because we wait around anyway getting the actors into character and looking at all the angles, setting up all the shots. Another difference is that television lighting is additive and movie lighting is subtractive. Now when and if the kids (relative to me) can keep their enthusiasm and they can get a chance to put more of these Indie type films under their belts, they will learn that the attention to detail and the command and control aspects of doing any type of production will lead them to the top. I just hope the next Cecil B. DeMille takes me with them.

Glenn A. Stilwell
It's a GAS Productions
www.itsagasproductions.com
glenn@itsagasproductions.com
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Real numbers from Radio Business Report/Television Business Report

I loved the radio and I loved the newspaper but how much can we take without realizing that the light coming our way is a train. It also occurs to me that television is already setting itself up for the next evolution of New Media.  This article in Radio Business Report shows real metrics backing up my dismay. Radio and Newspaper people better get with it... :((

Glenn A. Stilwell
www.itsagasproductions.com

Media Speed.....zooom, zoooom...

In my previous post I eluded to the speed at which outlets other than the local newspaper have taken over the delivery of the "news". I wanted here to hold up 2 examples of how I think the newspaper, as an up to the day news delivery system, is dead.

I've been saving these links in my quiver for more than a week now and I need to get them off of my desktop. I won't offer much comment because they both play to speed and speak for themselves.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/06/cnet.real.time.search.twitter/index.html?hpt=Mid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1490

Have fun digesting this revelation.

Glenn A. Stilwell
It's a GAS Productions
www.itsagasproductions.com
glenn@itsagasproductions.com

SacBee

Well it's been a week since the passing of my father. And while I don't want to explore that particular event here, it gives me time to open one particular aspect of what he has given me, the experience of the local paper. In this case it's the fish wrap we call the Sacramento Bee. The Bee has been around my parents house from the time my family moved to NorCal in 1976. The newspaper has been a part of my entire life. Now with the evolution of the new media, it's time to dig at the open wound of the old media's "elephant in the room".

The paper, the ink, the font, the predictability, and the way it felt in your fingers, gave comfort to the information hungry masses from the time scribes wrote on parchment in caves on the dead sea to the  meadows on the foot of Mt. Fuji. Now, times seem to be pushing the paper to the fringe of an old bird cage. As their customer aged and young people embraced the newest technology print media in general has failed to rope in and make devotees of old business models. You can't show a eye popping 3D graphic on a static, non-imaginative piece of newsprint. Maybe because the print technology has been around for so long it's like trying to stop a supertanker on a dime? For a couple of years the Bee had a tag line that read, "Life Captured Daily". To those of us who saw the writing on the wall, we edited that phrase to read, "Fluff Captured Daily". What they missed was that bringing news to the people as fast as possible was not something that they could do given the boundaries they must live in. That became the realm of the Internet. Instant delivery of breaking news and events from all over the world now appear within seconds of real time. In addition to just raw images, accounts and video created by average Joes, every other media outlet was shifting it's resources to carve out a slice of the Convergent Media pie. TV stations post stories earlier than most, they're doing the traffic in the morning with impressive video and graphics. I no longed need to read the paper for information, I can get anything I need from the AP wire. That's all they're putting in the paper anyway. And don't get me started on their website!

What can they do to survive and bring me back? Well, don't think of yourself and a knower of all. You must learn to adapt to readers while at the same time write things that young people will read. Personally I would love for them the do more investigative reporting. They are the 4th pillar of government aren't they? Put more video and audio on your website, become the TV station on the web. Everybody is kicking your ass with that kind of stuff, and as the saying goes, "if you can't beat em, join them".

Glenn A. Stilwell
It's a GAS Productions
www.itsagasproductions.com
glenn@itsagasproductions.com

90 Percent of Life is just showing up...Woody Allen

As I've stated before I am the King of New Media. That said there is a higher power, it's the content you produce. There are about a zillion plus infinity videos, and another gazillion audio podcasts. Which means there are probably only 10 media pieces worth watching or listening to. There are many Kings in the universe so you and I must be able to differentiate ourselves from the guy in his mothers basement making endless supplies of drivel. One key factor is being as professional as possible. I have to admit I am not always as diplomatic as I could be, but I'm the King, right? From a runner or production assistant, to the director of a live TV show, show up on time, be presentable and dressed for your position, ask for what you need, don't screw around, be respectful of your peers and learn as much as you can each day.

Glenn A. Stilwell
It's a GAS Productions
www.itsagasproductions.com
glenn@itsagasproductions.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, Welcome to the NEW MEDIA!

As I sit in front of you here today, I am going to proclaim myself as the self appointed King of the NEW MEDIA. What is the new media you ask? Well, the new media is the same as the old media. The names have changed to protect the innocent. The same influences and the phrase "content is king" still apply. If we look into the backroom of any successful production, whether it be for film, television, web, phone or whatever comes along next week, you'll find 2 distinct groups. The ones with the money, trying to make more, and the ones who have a dream of creating the next great thing. Now it's just a matter of how you, the general public, are going to see it. Are you going to pay $15 to see the 20 years in the making epic struggle of the Indians or are you going to watch a squirrel surfing on your iPod? With so many channels of distribution, the combined creative function of the universe has ended up on YouTube, controlled by Google. (look over your shoulder Mr. Gates, here they come) The New Media will become a totally encompassing and theoretically fractional battle of the same two groups. Welcome to the new world Mr. Columbus, you've burned our ships, where do we go from here?