Our Art At Risk

Hey all,

First off, please excuse the delay in my article. I've been at a relatively arduous film shoot all this morning/afternoon.

As for what I'm writing about today, I'm sure some of you may have guessed.

Recently, I attended the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards. Now, those of you in attendence or those having watched online would know what I am talking about when I say that it was nothing short of a trainwreck. Sans gruesome details, it didn't go off well.

But I'm not here to complain or whine about an off-color evening. I'm here, instead, to discuss what it means for our community -- and it's not what you may think.

Some people considered that night to mean a major step back for New Media, a display to those in the more traditional industries that we, as a community, were immature and undeserving of attention and respect. To some degree that is true, but it goes beyond that.

This small hiccup in the history of Web TV is not some mark of decline or great decay, but, in my opinion, a catalyst for greater expansion and recognition.

Why?

Because it gave us the chance to take an honestly objective view of what we were seen as for that one night. It showed us how some consider our medium and our community. This new vantage point also, fortunately, imparted a certain necessity. A necessity to unite, without any bickering, insulting or disagreements, for the sole purpose of taking our medium to a plane it has not seen, and that some believe it cannot reach. This is a very tight-knit group, Web TV, and the only way we will succeed is to act as a single, aligned force, and that is what we are truely becoming. Because that is what we are. We all want the same things, we all share many common goals and no one of us can do it alone. It started with the Streamys Winners Celebration last night, put on by the marvelous Kim Evey and Jenni Powell, and the signs of change are becoming more prominent.

Some reading this may think my points are blown out of proportion, my ideas unrealistic or exaggerated. I respect such a viewpoint, but have but one thing to offer up as proof of the validity in my urgency:

http://www.savetheinternet.com/

Efforts to hand the internet over to major corporations have reached the highest levels of government, and if we want to keep our internet free and for all, we need to fight. This is an example of the unity I discussed. We need to band together to secure the future of our medium and our art.

I urge you to take action, I urge you to contribute in any way possible. Sign the petition, call your local congressperson or representative (it takes two minutes), donate if you can, help us hold on to what brought us together in the first place, and what, we hope, will keep us together for years to come.


I'll be back next week with more on this, and an interesting story from my past that I think you will enjoy.


All the best,

Vince Caso

A Question For You All

Hey everyone,

I wanted to talk about something that I realized recently, something that I thought was rather interesting. But first, I want to give you some context:

The other day I was working very hard on a video I was making for a business that I co-founded. This video had taken several days to pull together and, thanks to GarageBand and iMovie '09, was seeing major setbacks. Confusing interfaces, a lack of features, and a frequent corruption of files lead me to near hair-pulling instances of frustration.

Realistically, this video should have taken less than a day. It's relatively short, requires no actual filming (just voiceover), and a comparatively small amount of editing. But no.

The situation came to a head when my GarageBand file, containing the voiceover, became corrupted for the 3rd time. This effectively wiped half of my recording and scrambled the rest into a bass-ackward garble. On top of that, the program I was using to edit the visual portion, iMovie '09, had, itself, a somewhat ridiculous interface and was missing a lot of the features I had come to know and love. I'd had enough at this point. Remembering back to my highschool days, and the film class I took therein, I recalled a specific program that was simple and easy, but still allowed for a high degree of customization. iMovie HD 6. Arguably the highest point in the iMovie-chronology. (Which, I suppose, isn't saying much, since there ARE a number of programs out there faaar better than iMovie. I had just grown attached to it growing up and knew its features so well already that it was the first place I turned to.)

Now that is a relatively old program we're talking about. I recalled, at one point, Apple giving away free downloads of it to owners of iMovie '08 (another, if you will excuse me, piece of crap). I hurredly checked the Apple support site for any trace of it, but discovered it had been taken down long ago. I didn't know where to turn, and I had lost my own copy of iLife '06 ages past.

Well, it took me an hour, but eventually I found it. It was still being hosted -- legally, I might add. And, despite the fact that this accomplishment was not that big of a deal, I was very excited. I then sat down and over the course of 6 or so hours, re-recorded every piece of dialogue, edited every piece of video and had the whole thing finished and done, rewarding myself with sleep at 6 AM.

But, having gone through all of this -- something I am sure many others have -- it led me to think.. is it just me, or are a number of older technologies actually better than what is on the market now?

To provide examples: you have people complaining about Windows Vista and Windows 7 vs. Windows XP, or -- as above -- about iMovie HD 6 vs. newer versions. Even hardware, such as the recent iPad, have come under fire. Some people seem to think that these newer technologies and programs lack any progressive improvements, or are just plain needless, while others argue that they represent the future of the field, and will take time to be integrated into society to the point where they're generally accepted.

I mean, sure, there have been "radical" ideas in the past that, when actually used by people, soon became commonplace. I can only imagine how cars, televisions, or computers were first received in their initial developments. Branching out further, this applies to many areas of pop culture. Such as the Beatles, early in their career, being turned down for a record label because "groups with guitars are on their way out".

Sometimes it is hard to predict exactly how things will turn out, or how a given influence or technology will impact society, until you actually see its effects bear out with time. Even in the context of past events, it can still be tricky, since civilization is always changing, and the attitudes of a given populace can vary greatly from generation to generation.


So I now leave it up to you, where do you stand? Please, do post up and tell me your opinion, I am interested in seeing what the consensus on this subject is.



Until next Friday,

Vince Caso

Coming Down the Pipeline

Well, this is the first official sentence of my first official article of my first official blog written, officially, by me.

I wanted to take the time this week to update you all on some new projects I have coming down the pipeline (ahh, now the title makes sense).

First, as some of you know, I'm shooting a new webseries entitled "The End". Photos for it are up, and it's looking pretty intense. Link here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-End/271357669143?ref=ts

Nothing like being covered in blood, sweat and tears (and never your own). The crew members are great people, very sweet and dedicated. I'll release more details as they come about.

Now, I'm sure one thing you guys want to hear about most is The Guild Season 4, amirite? Well, I can't talk too much about it as of yet, but do not worry, it IS planned. We do not want to just stop making the show, we're having too much damn fun! Shooting/release/content I can't speak much of, unfortunately. But take to heart, for now, the fact that it IS going to happen. :)

There are two more projects that I am going to soon be involved in, but I cannot, as yet, talk about them. You guys will know everything I do as soon as I have the green light, which will hopefully be soon! You'll love them, they are damn wicked projects. (My apologies in regards to the secrecy of all this. You know how the business can be!)


Thus concludes my first article, short as it may be. I promise next week something beefier, tastier, jucier and likely containing more innuendos.


Take care,


Vince Caso