Click and play:
Now imagine the integration of text, image, audio, video and game play in a pulp context. Read then play a RIP ROCKET or KNIGHTMARE adventure. Illustrated by the top names in comics and graphic design.
Showing posts with label welcome to the future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label welcome to the future. Show all posts
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Friday, October 02, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
ITunes Xbox Dominate Downloads to Own
From Video Business:
DIGITAL: Market will grow to $2 billion in 2013, Screen Digest says
By Marcy Magiera -- Video Business, 9/15/2009
SEPT. 15 | DIGITAL: LOS ANGELES—Apple’s iTunes clearly dominates purchases of digital movies and TV shows in the U.S., but when it comes to Internet video-on-demand or digital rentals, Xbox Live is a strong challenger, said Screen Digest analyst Arash Amel, speaking today at the Entertainment Merchants Assn.’s Digital Media Pipeline conference.
Amel, Screen Digest’s research director for digital media, forecast that global revenue for digital formats will grow to $2 billion in 2013, from about $500 million this year. U.S. revenue in the first half of the year was about $140 million, he said, with “significant growth in electronic sell-through.”
In EST, or download-to-own, Apple dominates in the U.S. with 82% market share in the first half of 2009, down from 86% a year earlier. In VOD, or digital rentals, however, Apple claims only 52% market share, with Xbox Live at No. 2 with 31%. Amel predicted Xbox will gain more market share when it refreshes its service this fall. No other service has a significant share, though Amazon and Blockbuster are among those at the head of the trailing pack.
Both EST and digital VOD are overwhelmingly driven by new releases, Amel said.
Hmmmmm.....Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Gee, I Wish Comics...
--Didn't cost so much.
--Didn't take up so much space on my bookshelf; in my closet / basement; or under my bed.
--Came to me instead of me having to truck down to the local store.
Welcome to the future.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
It's A Tumor!
From PW: Although Amazon.com has published prose works exclusively on the Kindle before, in a first the online retailer has teamed with graphic novel publisher Archaia to publish Tumor, an original graphic novel by writer Joshua Fialkov and artist Noel Tuazon, initially in a digital edition formatted specifically for the Kindle;Tumor will be released serially on the Kindle before a hardcover print edition is published three to six months later. This is the first time Amazon has published a graphic novel specifically designed for the Kindle 2, and it will be followed by three additional Archaia books released on the Kindle that will be announced during the San Diego Comic-Con International this week.
The venture also offers a glimpse of a future model for serial/digital/print publication. The Kindle e-book will be sectioned into eight, 22-page chapters and, like most Kindle editions
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Future of Pulp is a Double Espresso
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
IMDB Sees Future in Streaming...
IMDB announced that one of their long term goals is to offer one-button steaming for all of the movies listed on their site.
"Obviously, the vision is a long-term one, Needham acknowledged, and it faces hurdles from the slew of content owners who control the vast library of titles the Internet Movie Database provides information about, but as a leading movie-oriented site, it's a very important goal to articulate in public. "The full story here.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Game Changed (Again): Half Life: Escape From City 17
By now, most everyone in the blogosphere has seen this short film by the Purchase Bros:
Certainly Warren Ellis has seen it and has called "Game Just Changed."
Fair enough. And yes I agree - the game has changed. It's called the future.
How they did it is not the point. People are wailing and moaning and gnashing teeth about how MANY favors they called in to get the compositing done, that it isn't exactly like the game (what movie is, you wank?), and so forth.
The fact is - THEY got it done while you were sitting on your "potato chip and ice cream" fed ass asking for someone to do just what they've done - make a movie based on your favorite video game (or comic, or toy, or tv show, or sex doll that doesn't even love you back).
THEY. DID. IT.
(not only that - they did it well)
That's pulp filmmaking. It's this. This and yes, this.
It's getting it done and not bemoaning the fact you don't have any money to pay everyone. It's ingenuity, creativity and persistence.
See what these wanks who are complaining fail to realize is that ANYBODY can do it if they have the money and equipment. It takes genius to get it done for little-to-no-money. There were all those comments that the Bros. had this equipment and that equipment with which to composite and build the CGI.
No, they didn't have any of that.
They just had the guts to get it done.
Certainly Warren Ellis has seen it and has called "Game Just Changed."
Fair enough. And yes I agree - the game has changed. It's called the future.
How they did it is not the point. People are wailing and moaning and gnashing teeth about how MANY favors they called in to get the compositing done, that it isn't exactly like the game (what movie is, you wank?), and so forth.
The fact is - THEY got it done while you were sitting on your "potato chip and ice cream" fed ass asking for someone to do just what they've done - make a movie based on your favorite video game (or comic, or toy, or tv show, or sex doll that doesn't even love you back).
THEY. DID. IT.
(not only that - they did it well)
That's pulp filmmaking. It's this. This and yes, this.
It's getting it done and not bemoaning the fact you don't have any money to pay everyone. It's ingenuity, creativity and persistence.
See what these wanks who are complaining fail to realize is that ANYBODY can do it if they have the money and equipment. It takes genius to get it done for little-to-no-money. There were all those comments that the Bros. had this equipment and that equipment with which to composite and build the CGI.
No, they didn't have any of that.
They just had the guts to get it done.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
See This? It's Called The Future...
And you can order one right here.
And yes, it is the future. Already, estimates have put Kindle-related sales (devices and e-books) in the $750M range for 2010.
Combine that with the fact that large book chains like Borders are on the DNR list, and you can see the way the wind is blowing.
Features:
Slim & Lightweight: Just over 1/3 inch and 10.2 ounces
Books in under 60 seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for crisp images and text; even reads well in bright sunlight
Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging
More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books
Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns
Read-to-Me: Text-to-Speech feature means Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud.
No Wireless Bills: No monthly wireless bills, data plans, or commitments. Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity so you won’t see a monthly wireless bill.
Large Selection: Over 230,000 books, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines and blogs available
Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise
-------------------------------------------Note: all sales of Kindles from the above link go to support pulpy projects on this blog.
I will be adding more Amazon-related material so you too can get MPB-recommended books, graphic novels, DVDs and other cool stuff. It's just our way of stirring the economic pot by letting you in on bargains you can't afford to pass up.
(And let's just say that Kindle 2 will play an important part of your Mad Pulp Bastard's game plan for 2009 and forward)
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Entrepreneurship on a Sunday
Been working hard on the business plan today.4 hours straight and I'm only now
getting out of my chair for an ass-stretch. I like that I'm so excited about this that I put in the time to try and get it all right - all the ducks in a row and so forth.I've got bids out there for certain services I can't do myself due to time restrictions , but everything else is going to be based on the free tools available on the web, our chutzpah and our cadre of like-minded pulpsters who want to give this a kick in the pants and get it going. (or maybe just give me a kick in the boys -- Enthusiasm is hard to gauge.)
For those of you who know already - don't say a word. (Okay, you can tease a bit if you want) To the rest of you - the following pictures all mean something (at least to me). That's really all I can say at this moment.
(Oh and I don't no where I got all of these illustrations on the web. I thank the artists for allowing me to use them to illustrate my point. No rights are implied by my using them)
Monday, December 29, 2008
Is This It? (Yes, And It's More Than Enough)
In my Deck Chairs post, Deep Structure had the following comment:
Well yes and no. (What, You thought this would be an easy answer?)
Let's look at this from a historical perspective and (attempt to) show how refinement and reconfiguration figure into how cool the internet is in comparison to other, "more traditional" media, and how that's making a major difference in how the economics of the entertainment industry is shifting.
Whew!
In the Beginning:
So, from this historical perspective media has to start with story. That is, communication around the campfire as people begin to connect the dots into imparting information from one person to another. Speaking and singing mainly. Putting together known sounds that always mean the same thing. If you know that sound then you know the idea behind it.
But, then you run into the roadblock that you have to pass your stories down verbally to the next generation so they don't get lost...but gee, they do get lost (in translation) don't they? Nobody tells the same story the same way. Variation and nuance creep in. So how does Alley Oop and co. make sure that their verbal stories stay around for awhile?
They can't. But what they can do is assign a pictogram to a concept and draw that on a cave wall. That way, anyone who understands the pictograms can read the story any time they want. A refinement of the storytelling process.
This leads to sculpture - a three dimensional representation of an idea or story. Again a refinement of the storytelling process. Different, yet...
Eventually, over thousands of years and only in certain parts of the world, pictograms lead to clay tablets, decorative elements on clay pots, alphabets, papyrus and scrolls. Some parts of the world still pass their stories down from generation to generation verbally or through dance. Those stories are told only in groups and you must be presentfor all of it in order to get the whole story. If you are late to the party - you miss out.
Eventually we get to the Middle Ages and the Illuminated Manuscript. Rare things they are. Only for the wealthy or the religious. Locked away from the common man's hands. Until Gutenberg comes along.
Print changes everything:
Gutenberg comes along and invents the printing press, and suddenly books aren't so expensive anymore, and they aren't locked away in nobles' homes or monasteries or cathedrals anymore. They are out in the open for many more people to enjoy and discuss and share.
Then, someone says, "Hey - why don't we print cheaper books, announcements really and we can sell those cheaply to everyone. We'll call them Newspapers. We can have the riders who travel between the towns distribute them."
Eventually that led to a lot of things - more books, more news, newspapers, almanacs, flyers, etc... and of course, the printers needed more content to satisfy the publics need for new and more entertainment. Writers wrote furiously, crafting stories for these papers that were eventually collected into books. The world became a smaller place as stories that were local became regional and eventuallly became national. Ideas, customs and myths were spread all over the planet.
And it spurred people on to read.
Oh, the Drama (and the Music):
Going backwards and parallel a bit... dramatists picked up the mantle and performed their stories taken from myths and scrolls and even clay tablets. Rules began to form on how dramtic stories should be told to best effect...
Butof course, in many cases if you weren't at the play - you missed the story.
But then, when printing finally came around, different theater companies could license a play from the author and perform the work themselves. More and more people could go to their local theater to see a production instead of having to travel far to see some drama of note.
Same goes for music - suddenly a group could buy the music to perform. Of course, as more and more plays, books and sheet music made the rounds via merchant ships, the more culture was seeded and cross-pollinated.
All because a man named Gutenberg decided to refine the process required to create a book.
Creative Engines:
The Industrial Revolution takes hold of the world and as a result, more and more people are working and print costs get cheaper and cheaper as do the costs of shipping a book overseas. Steamships make the journey in less than half the time of sailing vessels. Suddenly, news and entertainment becomes more timely and relevant.
But those geniuses of the time think faster than the speed of print, and invent the telegraph. Suddenly, you don't need to ship news - you can wire it to a place that's hooked up. Eventually, telegraphed news is sent to towns and then printed up by the local papers for distribution.
A refinement as to how papers received their news. Driven by innovation and technology and someone who could make the connections as to how they could use this for their media (an entrepreneur).
Same goes for the phonograph - people suddenly had access to sound the same way they have had access to books. All they needed was a record player. Hmmm... still expensive, but that would change too.
Modern Times:
So here we are in the early 1900's and telegrams give way to telephones (though not right away). Books are classed into two different areas - hardcover books and dime novels. It's not surprising that dime novels are outselling hardcovers about 6 to 1 -- they are cheaper, they come out every month and feature the same characters and they are written and designed with entertainment in mind.
As this is happening, radio comes along and becomes the means of mass-communication for many of the richer folks in the city (those that can afford radios). The newspaper is still the major form for the common man.
That is, until they start playing records on the radio... Then everyone wanted a radio. Wow! Free records! The phonograph industry was in an uproar. "Why, they can't do this to us! Giving songs away for free? Who will want to buy records if they hear them for free on the radio?! It's an outrage!" (and an eventual lawsuit the record companies lost because they failed to prove they lost sales. In fact, their sales tripled within that first year).
Then radio had run through all of the old stuff so they had to create new stuff to take the place of it. Readings of older plays adapted for the radio, Novels read every day. Vaudeville acts. Then of course, they realized they had to create new content - specifically for radio. New plays, new bands, new comedians, new vaudeville acts.
And advertising took off. Soap Operas were born. Sitcoms were born. Radio dramas were born, but all of them had their roots in other media, other storytelling forms.
And of course there was the Nickelodeon. So named because it cost a nickel to turn the crank on the machine. This "new medium" was a refinement and hybrid of stage drama and photography. Thomas Edison tried to get the independent (thieving) film companies to pay him a royalty every time they used his projectors and cameras. So these "entrepreneurs" packed up and moved west to get out of Edison's reach. No more copyright infringement.
Hollywood was born. Those guys who fled the east, became the gatekeepers of who saw what and where. You didn't play ball with them, then your movie would get locked out of many of the theater circuits around the country. They actually became the thing they were fleeing from.
Then television - a hybrid of movies and radio You buy the television you get the programs for free thanks to advertising. Families of several houses would get together and watch programs together (kind of like huddling around the campfire-eh?). This was different than radio and yet the same. We saw things we used to only hear before. Plays were produced on television and ways of producing those plays for the camera (and a live audience) were developed.
But for the most part, if you wanted to make a living telling stories in media, you had to work with these guys somehow someway. You had many hurdles to go through before your show even made it to the air. Things that didn't fit within the narrow margin of the networks wanted were excluded.
Also, as in previous centuries the media was kept separate from one another. Books were books. Radio was radio. Television was television. Movies were movies (unless they were shown on TV and then they were Million Dollar Movies). They each had to be exported or licensed to another country in order to share those stories.
Then it was all refined again.
Welcome to the Future:
The internet is all those media and more, hybridized into this massive web of information and connection all around the world. It has no borders nor boundaries. It is:
Text fiction, art, music/sound, video, animation, communication, information and game play. It's also software and functionality and organization. It's always on. It's free (for the most part) and somehow it all works together.
It is a refinement of all the media that has come before... and it's growing and evolving all the time. It's immediate. It's interactive... and it's mine.
And yes, it's yours.
It's affecting how we tell our stories, and to whom we are telling them. It's affecting distribution because we don't need those networks or studios in order to tell our stories - we are our networks and our studios. And we have access to many experts in many arenas to help us accomplish the tasks we set forth... to tell stories and get paid for it. The business of making media - any or all media - has been refined to this point of being a complex body of story. Remember:
If that isn't more. If that isn't innovative, then I don't know what is...
thank for you giving a clear definition of how the internet is working for artists. that's about the most succinct explanation i've heard yet.
so i understand that. BUT, i still find myself asking, is that it?
it's hard to believe the entertainment juggernaut of tv and film is going to be replaced by 4min videoboxes of askaninja-types or godforbid, rosario dawson-jawing-at-a-screen-types.
surely there's got to be more to this revolutionary new medium than just a refining of the old process?
Well yes and no. (What, You thought this would be an easy answer?)
Let's look at this from a historical perspective and (attempt to) show how refinement and reconfiguration figure into how cool the internet is in comparison to other, "more traditional" media, and how that's making a major difference in how the economics of the entertainment industry is shifting.
Whew!
In the Beginning:
So, from this historical perspective media has to start with story. That is, communication around the campfire as people begin to connect the dots into imparting information from one person to another. Speaking and singing mainly. Putting together known sounds that always mean the same thing. If you know that sound then you know the idea behind it.
But, then you run into the roadblock that you have to pass your stories down verbally to the next generation so they don't get lost...but gee, they do get lost (in translation) don't they? Nobody tells the same story the same way. Variation and nuance creep in. So how does Alley Oop and co. make sure that their verbal stories stay around for awhile?
They can't. But what they can do is assign a pictogram to a concept and draw that on a cave wall. That way, anyone who understands the pictograms can read the story any time they want. A refinement of the storytelling process.
This leads to sculpture - a three dimensional representation of an idea or story. Again a refinement of the storytelling process. Different, yet...
Eventually, over thousands of years and only in certain parts of the world, pictograms lead to clay tablets, decorative elements on clay pots, alphabets, papyrus and scrolls. Some parts of the world still pass their stories down from generation to generation verbally or through dance. Those stories are told only in groups and you must be presentfor all of it in order to get the whole story. If you are late to the party - you miss out.
Eventually we get to the Middle Ages and the Illuminated Manuscript. Rare things they are. Only for the wealthy or the religious. Locked away from the common man's hands. Until Gutenberg comes along.
Print changes everything:
Gutenberg comes along and invents the printing press, and suddenly books aren't so expensive anymore, and they aren't locked away in nobles' homes or monasteries or cathedrals anymore. They are out in the open for many more people to enjoy and discuss and share.
Then, someone says, "Hey - why don't we print cheaper books, announcements really and we can sell those cheaply to everyone. We'll call them Newspapers. We can have the riders who travel between the towns distribute them."
Eventually that led to a lot of things - more books, more news, newspapers, almanacs, flyers, etc... and of course, the printers needed more content to satisfy the publics need for new and more entertainment. Writers wrote furiously, crafting stories for these papers that were eventually collected into books. The world became a smaller place as stories that were local became regional and eventuallly became national. Ideas, customs and myths were spread all over the planet.
And it spurred people on to read.
Oh, the Drama (and the Music):
Going backwards and parallel a bit... dramatists picked up the mantle and performed their stories taken from myths and scrolls and even clay tablets. Rules began to form on how dramtic stories should be told to best effect...
Butof course, in many cases if you weren't at the play - you missed the story.
But then, when printing finally came around, different theater companies could license a play from the author and perform the work themselves. More and more people could go to their local theater to see a production instead of having to travel far to see some drama of note.
Same goes for music - suddenly a group could buy the music to perform. Of course, as more and more plays, books and sheet music made the rounds via merchant ships, the more culture was seeded and cross-pollinated.
All because a man named Gutenberg decided to refine the process required to create a book.
Creative Engines:
The Industrial Revolution takes hold of the world and as a result, more and more people are working and print costs get cheaper and cheaper as do the costs of shipping a book overseas. Steamships make the journey in less than half the time of sailing vessels. Suddenly, news and entertainment becomes more timely and relevant.
But those geniuses of the time think faster than the speed of print, and invent the telegraph. Suddenly, you don't need to ship news - you can wire it to a place that's hooked up. Eventually, telegraphed news is sent to towns and then printed up by the local papers for distribution.
A refinement as to how papers received their news. Driven by innovation and technology and someone who could make the connections as to how they could use this for their media (an entrepreneur).
Same goes for the phonograph - people suddenly had access to sound the same way they have had access to books. All they needed was a record player. Hmmm... still expensive, but that would change too.
Modern Times:
So here we are in the early 1900's and telegrams give way to telephones (though not right away). Books are classed into two different areas - hardcover books and dime novels. It's not surprising that dime novels are outselling hardcovers about 6 to 1 -- they are cheaper, they come out every month and feature the same characters and they are written and designed with entertainment in mind.
As this is happening, radio comes along and becomes the means of mass-communication for many of the richer folks in the city (those that can afford radios). The newspaper is still the major form for the common man.
That is, until they start playing records on the radio... Then everyone wanted a radio. Wow! Free records! The phonograph industry was in an uproar. "Why, they can't do this to us! Giving songs away for free? Who will want to buy records if they hear them for free on the radio?! It's an outrage!" (and an eventual lawsuit the record companies lost because they failed to prove they lost sales. In fact, their sales tripled within that first year).
Then radio had run through all of the old stuff so they had to create new stuff to take the place of it. Readings of older plays adapted for the radio, Novels read every day. Vaudeville acts. Then of course, they realized they had to create new content - specifically for radio. New plays, new bands, new comedians, new vaudeville acts.
And advertising took off. Soap Operas were born. Sitcoms were born. Radio dramas were born, but all of them had their roots in other media, other storytelling forms.
And of course there was the Nickelodeon. So named because it cost a nickel to turn the crank on the machine. This "new medium" was a refinement and hybrid of stage drama and photography. Thomas Edison tried to get the independent (thieving) film companies to pay him a royalty every time they used his projectors and cameras. So these "entrepreneurs" packed up and moved west to get out of Edison's reach. No more copyright infringement.
Hollywood was born. Those guys who fled the east, became the gatekeepers of who saw what and where. You didn't play ball with them, then your movie would get locked out of many of the theater circuits around the country. They actually became the thing they were fleeing from.
Then television - a hybrid of movies and radio You buy the television you get the programs for free thanks to advertising. Families of several houses would get together and watch programs together (kind of like huddling around the campfire-eh?). This was different than radio and yet the same. We saw things we used to only hear before. Plays were produced on television and ways of producing those plays for the camera (and a live audience) were developed.
But for the most part, if you wanted to make a living telling stories in media, you had to work with these guys somehow someway. You had many hurdles to go through before your show even made it to the air. Things that didn't fit within the narrow margin of the networks wanted were excluded.
Also, as in previous centuries the media was kept separate from one another. Books were books. Radio was radio. Television was television. Movies were movies (unless they were shown on TV and then they were Million Dollar Movies). They each had to be exported or licensed to another country in order to share those stories.
Then it was all refined again.
Welcome to the Future:
The internet is all those media and more, hybridized into this massive web of information and connection all around the world. It has no borders nor boundaries. It is:
Text fiction, art, music/sound, video, animation, communication, information and game play. It's also software and functionality and organization. It's always on. It's free (for the most part) and somehow it all works together.
It is a refinement of all the media that has come before... and it's growing and evolving all the time. It's immediate. It's interactive... and it's mine.
And yes, it's yours.
It's affecting how we tell our stories, and to whom we are telling them. It's affecting distribution because we don't need those networks or studios in order to tell our stories - we are our networks and our studios. And we have access to many experts in many arenas to help us accomplish the tasks we set forth... to tell stories and get paid for it. The business of making media - any or all media - has been refined to this point of being a complex body of story. Remember:
Any body is more than the sum of its parts.
If that isn't more. If that isn't innovative, then I don't know what is...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Note to Kid Sis:
Here is my small house inspiration.
Open, efficient and modern. Approximately 900 sq. feet.
Fashioned from readily-available cargo containers.
Cost: 60% less than traditionally-built homes of the same size.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Skinning The Cat: Why Copyright?
Michael Geist of the Toronto Star speaks of his documentary WHY COPYRIGHT?
I am reprinting the entirety of his editorial below:
I am reprinting the entirety of his editorial below:
Internet video goes to the movies
In recent years, much of the interest in online video has focused on its effects on mainstream or conventional television - the emergence of a "clip culture," in which popular segments of television programs draw larger audiences on websites like YouTube than on conventional television. The shift of conventional broadcast to the Internet is remarkable, but it misses important developments for longer-form video.
For example, last week I released Why Copyright? Canadian Voices on Copyright Law, a 47-minute documentary on copyright reform. Produced with filmmaker and law student Daniel Albahary, the documentary examines why copyright has emerged as an important issue. It features a wide range of Canadian voices, including Nettwerk Record's Terry McBride, Hamilton Tiger Cats owner Bob Young, Toronto-based science-fiction author Karl Schroeder and Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart.
While this is hardly the first film about copyright, the release was noteworthy since it occurred exclusively online and in the process highlighted the potential for independent creators to use the power of Internet distribution to level the cultural playing field.
Finding ways to distribute films may have once posed a significant barrier, but that is clearly no longer the case. Why Copyright? was posted to online video sites such as YouTube and Blip.tv, which offer free streaming distribution. Another version was posted to Dot-Sub, a video-streaming site that enables viewers to create subtitles in other languages. Further versions were made available via BitTorrent, allowing people to download the entire DVD of the film.
Within days, thousands of people had viewed the film at virtually no cost (links to the online versions can be found on the Internet at copyrightvoices.ca).
My experience is not unique as the Internet is now filled with examples of filmmakers bypassing the conventional theatre and DVD distribution systems.
For example, earlier this year Michael Moore, one of the world's best-known documentary filmmakers, released his latest work - Slacker Uprising - free online. The film, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, can be downloaded by anyone in Canada and the United States or viewed as a streamed version on Blip.tv.
The same is true for Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, a Finnish parody of Star Trek and Babylon 5 that has been described as the most popular Finnish film of all time. The independent feature-length film has been freely downloaded millions of times and can be viewed as a streamed version on Google Video.
Why Copyright? is strictly non-commercial; however, the use of Internet distribution is also emerging as an effective business model. In the case of Slacker Uprising, a DVD version of the movie can be purchased directly from the site, leading to higher profit margins for Moore. The Star Wreck film has also become a commercial success, having earned back the creators' investment through merchandise and DVD sales.
These experiments point to the potential for taking films from the big screen to the computer screen. Combining free Internet streaming or downloading with a commercial model that may include DVD sales, merchandise sales, broadcast license fees and advertising revenues hold the promise of generating wider audiences and providing a financial payback for creators.
The popularity of short clips online may garner the lion's share of attention, but it is the potential to use the same distribution channels for full-length video that may reshape the industry for both creators and the businesses that market and distribute their work.
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He can reached at mgeist @ uottawa.ca or online at www.michaelgeist.ca.
Copyright 2008 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Hard Times...
We are all going through hard times right now in this Post-Bush / Pre-Obama world we live in...
In terms of the entertainment industry, many of the independent distributors are taking it on the chin (or in the boys) (as are the big guys) and are dumping projects, slashing budgets and cutting staff (AT&T is cutting 12,000 jobs) .
No one knows more than I do, how these cutbacks have hurt those of us dealing with these entertainment companies, the auto industry and the music industry. My income has dropped considerably, some would say drastically this year...
So it's with this consideration that I say to everyone:
Diversify your income.
Don't ever think your job is safe. It is not.
Ever.
If you are a writer on a show - finish that novel. If no one wants to buy it for a traditional publisher - then self publish. If you are trying to produce a movie and no one's biting? Produce a web serial. If you are an artist, set up a site and produce your art for sale.
And no - this isn't a substitute for your regular job. It's supplemental income. Finances that keep you from going mental.
Just remember that one of the great literary and pop culture movements arose out of an economic depression - pulp and movies. It will happen again, only more efficiently and with a greater profit margin going to the uh... you know... actual creators.
Embrace what has to be...
More on this later, and I hope an announcement or two.
In terms of the entertainment industry, many of the independent distributors are taking it on the chin (or in the boys) (as are the big guys) and are dumping projects, slashing budgets and cutting staff (AT&T is cutting 12,000 jobs) .
No one knows more than I do, how these cutbacks have hurt those of us dealing with these entertainment companies, the auto industry and the music industry. My income has dropped considerably, some would say drastically this year...
So it's with this consideration that I say to everyone:
Get off your lazy asses and start a business!
Diversify your income.
Don't ever think your job is safe. It is not.
Ever.
If you are a writer on a show - finish that novel. If no one wants to buy it for a traditional publisher - then self publish. If you are trying to produce a movie and no one's biting? Produce a web serial. If you are an artist, set up a site and produce your art for sale.
You are not safe. Ever. Unless you own it.
And no - this isn't a substitute for your regular job. It's supplemental income. Finances that keep you from going mental.
Just remember that one of the great literary and pop culture movements arose out of an economic depression - pulp and movies. It will happen again, only more efficiently and with a greater profit margin going to the uh... you know... actual creators.
Embrace what has to be...
More on this later, and I hope an announcement or two.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Indie v. Corporate Comics by the Numbers:
From the good folks at Publisher's Weekly. (Read first before proceeding)
For those of us who've engaged in the healthy debate over webcomics and the like over at Kung Fu Monkey these numbers prove a lot of things:
1. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it in indie or corporate comics.
2. There are a ton of expenses charged back to the titles in order to make that meager amount. See charts in the article.
So the question becomes: How does the internet save you money, increase your profit margin and reduce the time it takes to get paid?
Important questions to be sure, because as we all know --- business grows or contracts with the economics of a situation.
Over the summer you might have stumbled onto Robert Kirkman’s plea for comics creators to leave DC and Marvel behind for independent publishing (or to come to Image, if you read it with a cynical view). You may also have heard that Brian Bendis attempted to call BS on Kirkman’s plea and debated him on the topic.
For those of us who've engaged in the healthy debate over webcomics and the like over at Kung Fu Monkey these numbers prove a lot of things:
1. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it in indie or corporate comics.
2. There are a ton of expenses charged back to the titles in order to make that meager amount. See charts in the article.
So the question becomes: How does the internet save you money, increase your profit margin and reduce the time it takes to get paid?
Important questions to be sure, because as we all know --- business grows or contracts with the economics of a situation.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Yes, I Voted....
and you should too.
I think it is entirely apropos that I was #6 in line this morning.
On the bus this morning, I was amazed that there were 5 young women (average age 21?) there discussing politics. Politics. They were reading from the informational brochures about each ballot resolution, and discussing it all with such... giddiness, glee? ... that I was touched. While I wouldn't take any of them for Rhodes scholars, they grasped the crux of each of the issues and were able to distill that further into their own lingo (Oh-em-jee, other countries are going to look at us silly if that Sarah Palin gets into office! Being a beauty queen shouldn't get you to the White House ) and their own experience (I live in a house with three generations in it - me, my Moms, and my Granny. I was raised up by two women, and I don't see anything wrong if two women or two men want to settle down and raise a kid. It's the same sort of thing)
They wonderfully made politics their own. I haven't seen that in a long time.
They looked beyond race (they were 1 Asian, 1 African-American, and 3 Latinas), beyond income and education (two were working, the rest in community college), and focused on the issues and their choices and their responsibilities.
(One thing was clear - they wanted more choices. The consensus seemed to be it wasn't working as is, but that there wasn't a clear cut solution at play either. They were shrewd in the way that your grade-school educated, older relative is shrewd -- they could sniff out the fertilizer)
But any way you look at it they felt... involved. It was etched on their faces. With pride no less.
I thanked them for an interesting, entertaining ride on the bus. They asked me who I was voting for. I waived goodbye as I got off the bus, feeling good about the future.
I think it is entirely apropos that I was #6 in line this morning.
On the bus this morning, I was amazed that there were 5 young women (average age 21?) there discussing politics. Politics. They were reading from the informational brochures about each ballot resolution, and discussing it all with such... giddiness, glee? ... that I was touched. While I wouldn't take any of them for Rhodes scholars, they grasped the crux of each of the issues and were able to distill that further into their own lingo (Oh-em-jee, other countries are going to look at us silly if that Sarah Palin gets into office! Being a beauty queen shouldn't get you to the White House ) and their own experience (I live in a house with three generations in it - me, my Moms, and my Granny. I was raised up by two women, and I don't see anything wrong if two women or two men want to settle down and raise a kid. It's the same sort of thing)
They wonderfully made politics their own. I haven't seen that in a long time.
They looked beyond race (they were 1 Asian, 1 African-American, and 3 Latinas), beyond income and education (two were working, the rest in community college), and focused on the issues and their choices and their responsibilities.
(One thing was clear - they wanted more choices. The consensus seemed to be it wasn't working as is, but that there wasn't a clear cut solution at play either. They were shrewd in the way that your grade-school educated, older relative is shrewd -- they could sniff out the fertilizer)
But any way you look at it they felt... involved. It was etched on their faces. With pride no less.
I thanked them for an interesting, entertaining ride on the bus. They asked me who I was voting for. I waived goodbye as I got off the bus, feeling good about the future.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I WANT MY MTV!
And now I can get it anytime I want...
(and I don't have to videotape a whole hour just to replay the videos I want to see like in the good old days)
80's music here I come!
(and I don't have to videotape a whole hour just to replay the videos I want to see like in the good old days)
80's music here I come!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wayne Meet Michael....
Noted filmmaker Wayne Wang has posted his latest film up on YouTube here.
No theatrical yet.
No DVD yet.
Just the internet. (Ha- just!)
For free.
Michael Moore has posted his latest film up here, where you can download it.
No theatrical yet.
No DVD yet.
Just the internet.
For free.
I like where this is heading.
No theatrical yet.
No DVD yet.
Just the internet. (Ha- just!)
For free.
Michael Moore has posted his latest film up here, where you can download it.
No theatrical yet.
No DVD yet.
Just the internet.
For free.
I like where this is heading.
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