nicefishfilms

CES was a cacophony of sights and sounds but Marc Ostrick, Robert Scoble and I made it out of Vegas filled with great options for Scoble's studio. We hunted for the tech that we could implement almost immediately. We met with engineers and technicians from some of the biggest consumer electronic manufactures in an attempt to select a mix of gear that provides the best options for a streaming studio.

In Part 4 of The Spark Series we tour CES with Scoble:



We will be announcing final gear selections soon.

msw

As the year comes to a close, I'm doing the normal reflecting on what's been and more importantly, looking forward to what's next. We've tried to concentrate on film to express what we are seeing in the moving net. This space has taken the short end of the clock as I cut down on the posts. Hope to rectify that in '10.

Caught a few big waves this year- I'm grateful for the journey and for the fellow surfers who I've met along the stream of '09.

It was a year ago today that I wrote of 'the story of the year' being Leo Laporte's 24 hour live coverage of the iPhone. So it seems fitting that as we say farewell to another year I share with you the 'big story' of my year, as I see I.T.



As Marc Ostrick and I thought about visiting with Leo in Petaluma- we thought about his impact on Tech, Media and Distribution. It's good to know that good guys sometimes win. Read the full post on eGuiders.

We've uploaded the full interview with Leo for OPEN remixing - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Thank you to the thousands of people who took time to watch our mini-docs this year. Thank you for showing us that the humanity behind Tech matters most.

msw

Marc Ostrick and I are honored to premier our next mini documentary 'OPEN' on TWITtv today at 2pm PDT. Immediately after the showing we will make the film available at eGuiders. We look forward to connecting with you and discussing what emerging tech and community means to us.

If you are coming here via the showing, welcome and we hope you take the time to explore the blog and follow us on Twitter, FriendFeed or Facebook. Chances are, if you're on a social network you can find us via the user name - nicefishfilms.



msw

We continue our journey through the tools of connection. For me, IT provides the rails for voice to be carried around the world- instantly. I jumped into Twitter early and introduced the service to a wide array of friends. We see the mainstream media jump all over Twitter like it's new. This was called BBS and then SMS but this time the package is slick enough for the general marketplace to understand. I embrace what we can do together using the latest shiny object to send out signals. It's important not to let the tool become the focus. The reason we're seeking connection remains constant - we NEED each other in order to be human. The code of the rails carrying our voices will change - may our melody of conversation continue to be the goal.

Fellow filmmaker and friend Marc Ostrick and I visted the #140 Conference in LA to converse with a great collection of molecules.



For more information about the film, please visit eGuiders.

I enjoy watching things change. Visting the BlowWorld Expo with Marc Ostrick was pretty darn exciting. We are seeing the great democratization of info flow. We are banding together to find the tools that help us express.

Thank you for watching and sharing our mini documentary.

Click To Play

More information about the film can be found at eGuiders

msw

Upon hearing that Building 43's Robert Scoble was visiting the Southland, we immediately thought of arranging a sit-down at the National Academy's Science and Entertainment Exchange. The Exchange is the ultimate Rolodex for Directors and Producers seeking to connect with top scientists. The organization strives to bring science into the everyday conversation through the mediums of film and television.



Camera and Editing: Rocky Barbanica

msw

So what does a classic news brand do to compete in the streaming world? For Time Magazine, the answer to the grow or go equation is to launch a new video service complete with classic and current news features. First published in 1923, the magazine is countering declining ad sales for the print version with a play into the digital field. The site is well done with plenty of social options for sharing including the ubiquitous Twitter and Facebook tools.

The classic videos are sure to be popular as Time has plenty of archives to keep you busy for a few decades. Impressive HD versions are available and they are smart to include links to their official YouTube channel.



msw

Tonight, AMC kicks off Season Three of Mad Men but you have to go back to the 40's to get the first glimpse of a Mad Man in action. In 1947 MGM released The Hucksters with Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr, a look inside the steamy underbelly of the advertising world. Gable plays Vic Norman, a war vet struggling with the moral quandary of an advertising pitchman. It's a world complete with style, hard drinking and romantic pursuits.

Unfortunately, the film is not available on any of the streaming services like Hulu or Sling and hasn't been released on DVD yet. I found a link on YouTube for the film (in 13 parts) that you can watch here.

The art of advertising is the fine line between clever and offensive. Vic warns his boss that someday, 'we just might get sick of it all and turn off our radios.' -





If you're a fan of Mad Men, do yourself a favor and seek out The Hucksters for a look back at the Ad World of the 40's.

AMC has gone social with their promotion of the new season - 'Mad Men Yourself'



msw

Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary

Turning the camera on 40 Documentarians to explore the history, craft and ethics of Documentary Filmmaking.

Director: Ferrari Pepita
Presented by: The National Film Board of Canada



Take it all in then roll.


msw

Together with his Brother David, Albert Maysles helped us see the power of documentary as Art for the first time. For the Maysles Brothers, documentary was the only way to successfully express the experience of their subjects. They set out to show us the beauty of life shot frame-by-frame. Albert trained his skills while working with Giants like Godard.





Albert's approach was to show our world what he saw, he tore down the wall between pre-structured "scene" and life by pulling back the curtain of the moment and documenting what heard. What we know of The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit, is the result of team Maysles forming a moving document of the group's happening.

Before Albert and David, there were only stiff and forced subject matter(s) trying to escape the conventions of the film medium. Their 1968 FILM Salesmen was the birth- a coming to light- of Non-Fiction Feature. Albert states, "(Before Salesmen)... there was nothing to compete with the Hollywood feature film. Documentaries were maybe of feature length, but not Features."

Their use of found materials informs us of the Universe that is the life of these four Boston Door-to-Door Bible Salesmen. It took a new form of media to fully realize what moving images can do- fix time, place and experience through the medium of cinematic expression- Salesmen is the Creation of Documentary as Film.

Through their fine five part series, VBS.tv invites us to discover the real and reel world of Albert Maysles. In Part 3 of their document, VBS Meets Albert Maysles we journey back to "The birth of the nonfiction feature."




Thank you to the Filmmaker Magazine: Blog for leading me to this moving document.

The futurist Francois Truffaunt knew something before the rest of us when he stated, for the record,



There are more tools for documentation today than in any other time in our history. We don't have just a blog, a Ustream, a flckr post, a tweet, or a "status update," we have new and emerging mediums in which to express our artifacts. These are the documents of our experience we leave for others to discover.

msw

photo of David and Albert Maysles via Wikipedia
movie poster of Salesmen via Wikipedia