A FEW MORE WORDS FROM OUR LEADER
It’s been one of those weeks. For every setback, there’s been an exciting development. For every grindingly painful issue, there’s been joyful discovery. The worst news of the week is that the MEAA and supposedly SAG are trying really hard behind the scenes to scare people away from the project. And the best news? People are coming out of the woodwork to lend their quiet and not-so-quiet support.
The Australian Film Commission will not be endorsing the film, simply investing AU$50,000 for post and interactive work. But don’t believe everything you read in print. I read this week in a MEAA news bulletin that the Creative Commons Australia team are re-writing the Aus licenses to include performers moral rights (not a bad thing in itself). I rang them personally this week and found out that they’d said no such thing. Who’s zooming who you might ask… Information warfare is not science fiction.
I don’t know about you but I’m learning a lot about modern film-making that isn’t on the tin and that the bleeding edge still bleeds - one way of knowing you’re still alive they say! I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s been a hard couple of weeks. But for those who’ve been pitching in for the last few weeks, months, and in some cases years, hang in there. It’s only a movie after all, but one that’s well and truly on the map now, before camera roll, without a penny or cent spent on marketing, and that can only mean we’re onto something. What exactly that something is, remains to be seen. Your contribution may be more important than you may realize. It’s a re-mixable film after all. And in the refrain of NBC President, Herb Schlosser, renowned for his caring sharing approach to producers pitching their wares - “Who cares?” Respect, .M.
YAHOO TRIALS CREATIVE COMMONS SEARCH FACILITY
Yahoo has become the first mainstream search engine to allow users to restrict their search to material that has only Some Rights Reserved. All rights reserved protection is a good thing for many authors and artists, but what about those who want you to use their work freely, without permission but on certain conditions? Yahoo's Creative Commons Search engine helps you quickly find those authors and the work they have marked as free to use with only some rights reserved: http://search.yahoo.com/cc
MAPPED OUT
Google has come up trumps once again by launching a new set of interactive maps that are draggable, in other words - no clicking and waiting for graphics to reload each time you want to view the adjacent parts of a map. If you wanna see something really mind-blowing, click on the 'Satellite' function. Who needs VFX when you've got Google Maps! http://maps.google.com
MEAA VS MOD FILMS
MEAA is up in arms over growing support for Sanctuary, but obviously not everyone is all that impressed with them right now! Film-maker, Playwright and respected blogger Brian Flemming writes: http://www.slumdance.com/blogs/brian_flemming/archives/001540.html
DEARLY DEPARTED RELIGIOUS LEADER QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded." - Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)