Scott Kirsner sent over this interview that he did with “Heroes” creator Tim Kring. The discussion centers on crafting stories that transcend a single medium, spreading across television, books, games, and online graphic novels. Interviewed by Scott Kirsner, editor of CinemaTech and author of “Fans, Friends & Followers.”

Special Note for those in LA: Scott Kirsner and Peter Broderick will be holding a
DISTRIBUTION U.: A One-Day Crash Course on the New …

This year before Sundance kicked off a number of exhibitors, bookers and filmmakers gathered for an event called Art House Convergence. During the three day conference 51 Art Houses met in Salt Lake City to discuss the major issues facing the industry and how they can work together to share resources. The following video is of producer Ted Hope’s closing keynote. Hope’s remarks present his vision of where filmmakers will …

Scott Kirsner sat down with Fred Seibert the other day to have a discussion about the future of web content. Fred Seibert was a key creative force at Nickelodeon, MTV, and Hanna Barbera, and now runs nextnewnetworks and Frederator, both of which focus on creating and distributing content for the digital realm, and building communities around it.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We’re introduced to the dudes as the fall tour kicks off in Columbia, MO, where we weather sellout screenings, impromptu parades, and travel delays before heading west.

Current Tour Schedule:
First Leg
Sep 19 – Sep 21
Columbia, MO
Oct 1 – Oct 6
Santa Fe, NM
Oct 7
Alburqueque, NM …

There is power in the crowd. When they rise up they can fund, create, distribute and promote. But how do you turn an audience into an active community where members become collaborators?
Panelists: Slava Rubin (indieGoGo), Skot Leach (Lost Zombie), Jason Harris (Mekanism), Bryan Kennedy (Mobmov.org), Blair Erickson (Millions of Us) Discussion Leader: Lance Weiler

We just wrapped DIY DAYS SF but the content is still filtering in from the LA edition. Big thanks to all the volunteers who come out with their gear to help us document the events. In this keynote from the LA event, Marshall Herskovitz details his experience working within the system and his most recent explorations into serialized content for the web. For more info visit www.quarterlife.com

For anyone who isn’t reading Brian Chirls’ blog you are missing out on a valuable resource. He’s a self professed Indie Nerd Filmmaker (Director, Distributor, Technologist) with a unique perspective on the emerging digital DIY movement. In addition to contributing to the Workbook Project he is also the Head of Theatrical for From Here to Awesome.
by Brian Chirls – Here at SXSW, I’ve met a number of cool, smart, ambitious …

by Alex Afterman – Since 2003 I have run a video label called Heretic Films. I used to refer to our company as a DVD label, and sure enough DVD is what we specialized in (with occasional forays in to theatrical and television, but I always was clear with potential acquisitions that first and foremost we were a DVD company).
Back in the old days it was easy to see …

M dot Strange reports – This was part of a presentation called “Adventures in self distribution” I describe the journey I took with my animated feature film “We are the Strange” From my bedroom to Sundance and beyond and back to my little studio again after turning down Hollywood deals and deciding to self distribute and make my films my way.
M dot Strange: Berlin Talent Campus 08 from M dot …

For those of you who don’t know FROM HERE TO AWESOME is an extension of the workbook project. In the spirit of bringing an open source philosophy to various parts of the filmmaking process, FHTA is focused on education, discovery and distribution. Over the next few months leading up to the festival’s kick off in Paris on June 3rd, FHTA is constructing a series of vids that detail the current …

Kfir Pravda reports – With the entrance of Yahoo! to live broadcasting field, and rumors about Ustream / Microsoft flirt , live Internet broadcasting is back in the headlines. There are many players in this market, some doing better than others. Technology is not a major differentiator, however competitors vary in feature set. Let’s see who is doing what.
I focused on main and interesting players today – Ustream, …

* WEB SERIES
Joe Swanberg and Ronald Bronstein have a new web series entitled Butterknife. The series is a comedic Phillip Marlow-sque detective yarn which features real life husband and wife, Ronald and Mary Bronstein. The official site states “Each episode contrasts the unusual, hysterical and tense interactions of P.I. work with a disarming look at a married couple working on a healthy relationship.”

WHY:Joe’s done some interesting work for Nerve.com …

The promise of unlimited choice and shelf space due to an emerging on-demand universe of content has many in the industry struggling to figure out how new media revenue should be divided. This highly contentious issue is at the center of the current WGA strike. But while the WGA and the Hollywood studios duke it out over Internet residuals, many independent filmmakers are simply trying to figure out how to …

I’m pleased to introduce a new contributor to the Workbook Project. Kfir Pravda is a marketer, content creator and blogger. His blog “Media, Technology and Rebel Filmmaking” is read and quoted by investors, venture capitalists, CEOs of technology companies, content creators and bloggers.
Kfir reports – In the past things were clear – broadcast television required a specific level of production. Lighting, sound, camera quality – all were parts of …

SITE: www.mogulus.com
SERVICE: TV studio in a browser —
Broadband penetration + drop in bandwidth costs + low cost gear + Mogulus = your very own TV channel. There has been a rise in streaming video solutions hoping to do for video what push button publishing did for blogs. Their focus is ease of use and the target audience is anyone who wants to pick up a camera. The term “Public …

* PROJECTS
What can the most successful doll on the planet show us about being Jewish today? Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film mixes old school narration with a new school visual style. THE TRIBE weaves together archival footage, graphics, animation, Barbie dioramas, and slam poetry to take audiences on an electric ride through the complex history of both the Barbie doll and the Jewish people- from Biblical times to present …

This past weekend Arin Crumley of Four Eyed Monsters and myself did a panel about all things DIY called “Fast Forward – Filmmakers Seize Control.” The Vancouver International Film Festival held a special one week forum around the art and craft of filmmaking. Brian Chirls of FEM was kind of enough to man the camera – he had done a viral marketing panel earlier in the week.
Big thanks to the …

A number of panels and interviews from last week’s IFP Filmmaker Conference have surfaced online. The following is a collection of media and links.
Scott Kirsner from CinemaTech talks with Brett Gaylor, a Montreal-based filmmaker who is exploring new ways that large groups can collaborate on documentaries. Shot at the 2007 IFP Filmmaker Conference in New York.

The Four Eyed Monsters team recorded a panel on Viewer Habits with Andrew Barron (Rocket …

Our guest today is Paul Pod, founder of Tape It Off The Internet (TIOTI). TIOTI targets lovers of TV shows and creates a social layer that allows viewers to discover and share media. The concept of social discovery around media is an important trend to follow, especially when it comes to bringing one’s work to an audience.

For more information about Paul and TIOTI click here.

To listen NOW …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Our guest today is Liz Rosenthal. Liz is a producer of film, TV and live events. Her most recent project is an online animated series called, Marsipan about the British space program’s launch of a Mars probe. In our discussion, Liz explains what it’s like to get an animated web series up and running, how they’re building audiences for the work, and ways in which Marsipan and other web shows …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Today our guest is Nicholas Reville, Executive Director of the Participatory Culture Foundation. PCF is a non-profit organization who’s mission is to create tools for broader, deeper engagement with culture and politics. They are working to ensure that the new mass medium of internet TV is open and independent, just like blogging and podcasting. They have a number of FREE tools and services that content creators can use to reach …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

By Christy Dena –
In 1917 poet Guillaume Apollinaire gave a lecture, L’Esprit Nouveau et les Poetès, on what he described as the ‘visible and unfolded book of the future’. He wrote that creators in the future will, ‘like conductors of an orchestra of unbelievable scope,’ have at ‘their disposal the entire world, its noises and its appearances, the thought and language of man, song, dance, all the arts and all …

Scott Kirsner from cinematech sent in this interview with Jaman CEO Gaurav Dhillon.

From Scott
“Jaman makes independent films from around the world available online. In this conversation, we talk about how the site is different from all other online movie marketplaces, Jaman’s social networking features, the terms of the deal Jaman offers to filmmakers, the site’s ability to send content to an AppleTV, and what some filmmakers are doing to market …

When it comes time to creating digital assets for your work, I’ve found that it’s important to devise a plan that will work for your target audience. Finishing the film and expecting people to find your site, and keep returning over time – just isn’t going to happen. But a couple things can help you in your quest to get your work found, and along the way your fans might …

Today we sit down with Mesh Flinders, co-creator of the web sensation Lonelygirl15. In our discussion Mesh explains how his team built a loyal following for the show, and how they’re starting to monetizing the popular web series.

For more info on Mesh and lonelygirl15 click here.
Related: ‘Lonelygirl15′ cozies up to promo deal’ – Variety

To listen NOW click the play button below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Scott Kirsner from CinemaTech was kind of enough to share the following interview. The interview is broken into 3 sections. Make sure to stop by Scott’s blog and to check out his newest book “The Future of Web Video.”

From Scott
“I sat down with

In an interesting experiment FOUR EYED MONSTERS has joined forces with film community site Spout.com Together they are running a 1 week promotion which started yesterday. The promotion has the full movie running on youTube and for each person who signs up for a FREE Spout.com account FEM will receive a dollar.

In traditional models of distribution this type of internet releasing has been known to cause issues with selling …

Today we sit down with Andrew Baron the creator of Rocketboom. An early player in the daily videoblog space, Rocketboom launched in 2004. Over 200,000 viewers download Rocketboom daily across a wide variety of outlets. Andrew explains how he created his own daily show and turned it into a self sustaining model that has a staff of six people.

For more info on Andrew and Rocketboom click here.

To …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Today we are joined by Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky. Miller is a writer, artist and musician. His work often combines art, technology, and politics. One of his recent media projects entitled “Rebirth of a Nation” is a remix of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 “Birth of a Nation.” Miller’s work is at the forefront of the emerging remix culture and during our discussion he shares his feelings about art, technology …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I’m a fan of remixes and mashups. A couple years back mashups exploded onto the scene. One of the most downloaded albums of all time is Danger Mouse’s Grey Album – a creative mashup of JayZ’s black album and the Beatles’ White Album. The Grey Album was plagued by copyright issues and couldn’t be officially released but that only fueled demand and massive downloads via p2p networks.
They often say where …

Our guest today is David Dudas. David is the CTO and co-founder of an interesting remix community called eyespot.com. eyespot enables users to easily shoot, mix and share media. During our conversation we discuss remix culture, media consumption and how content creators can work within the commons.

For more on David Dudas and eyespot click here

To listen NOW click the play button below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Vodpod is a video sharing site with a focus on community. A couple months ago we reviewed their service. This past week they launched an AMAZING embeddable video player. The player can work in social networks, blogs and sites.
What makes the player so interesting is that it can play videos from youTube, google, dailymotion, metacafe, blip.tv and vod:pod, all in a single player. To get your own pod and player …

One of the missions of the Workbook Project is to create a bridge between filmmaking and technology. In an effort to identify new ways to harness the power of the internet, we like to demonstrate things in practical ways. For instance, when I found out that I couldn’t attend the festivities in Park City this year, I started thinking about ways that I could in a virtual sense.
Since I’ve been …

You’ll need a youTube account to test it. Click here to create your own “stream”
YouTube has a new ideas incubator called test tube. The tube’s first concept is a feature called “streams,” which enables users to chat while sharing videos. Recently Lycos Cinema launched a similar service around feature length films. But unlike Lycos Cinema, which is limited to a PC running IE 6 or higher, youTube’s streams can be …