mediageek

Month: November 2005

  • Jason Scott Nails It on Broke “Independent” Filmmakers

    Jason Scott, creator of the BBS Documentary, was four days ahead of me in commenting on the Times story about the poor broke independent filmmakers I commented on earlier today. He takes the gloves off, and it’s a one-two punch: It is maddening to me to read this, to see yet another set of filmmakers…

  • The Importance of Realistic Expectations

    A week and a half ago the NY Times ran a piece about two independent filmmakers who are drowning in debt, even though their film has been screened at 16 different festivals. The catch is that it hasn’t been picked up for distribution. This observation from the article certainly rings true: And Geoffrey Gilmore, director…

  • Grateful Dead Prove There’s Really No Such Thing as a Kinder Capitalist

    One might argue that the Grateful Dead made their fortune through a combination of luck and savvy marketing. Realizing that after the 60s hippie culture faded away they were unlikely to make it as platinum selling recording artists, the band came to rely on touring as its steady income. Although it’s hard to see it…

  • Senate Communications Hearing Orgy with our Spectrum and Internet Rights in the Middle

    Perhaps responding to criticism that he’s been dragging his feet on comm stuff, Senate Commerce Committee Chair has schedule a virtual assload of hearings for the first 11 weeks of the next session on various communications related issues. My guess is that this is all prep work for the forthcoming Telecommunications Act of 2006, and…

  • Stream Anything with VLC

    Engadget has a how-to for streaming anything with the free VLC player, which is obviously more than a player, since it also includes a streaming server. What’s nice about VLC is that you don’t have to be tied to a patent-protected format like MP3 or some varietal of MPEG video. Streaming makes a great way…

  • DAT RIP? So long, and thanks for all the MP3s.

    According to Engadget and this Japanese press release Sony has finally killed Digital Audio Tape, ending production of the final model, introduced in 1997. DAT is really the grandfather of MP3. It was the first digital recording medium offered to the public, and it scared the bejeezus out of the recording industry, just like file-trading…

  • Streaming Media West Sessions On-Line

    If your interest was piqued at all by my (long) posts from Streaming Media West, you can check out some of the sessions for yourself. Most of them are now available in streaming video, although not my session (it was only audio recorded). If you actually do video webcasts, I recommend watching the session on…

  • News Headlines from the 11-25-05 Radioshow: Warner Pays for Payola; Abernathy Leaving FCC One Commissioner Short; UK Pirate Sweep

    These are the news headlines as read on the Nov. 25 edition of the mediageek radioshow: Warner Pays for Payola; Abernathy Leaving FCC One Commissioner Short; UK Pirate Sweep Warner Pays for Payola Warner Music Group is the next major recording label to settle payola charges with New York State attorney general, Elliot Spitzer. According…

  • Rest of Pirate Radio USA Interview Will Be Posted by Midnight

    Like I did with the part of the interview with WFMU’s Ken Freedman that didn’t air during the regular radio show, I will post about six minutes of my interview with DJ Him and DJ Her who produced the documentary Pirate Radio USA that there wasn’t time to air during today’s radioshow. If you’re already…

  • Streaming Media Isn’t Just Streaming Media Anymore

    One of the recurring themes of the Streaming Media West conference is that “streaming media” is too narrow and no longer captures everything that is being discussed, and that most of the people here deal with. Podcasting and video blogging have been big topics, even if it’s clear that the folks here have no more…