Authors — Randy Astle
-
POV’s Third Nonfiction Transmedia Hackathon
The most encouraging aspect of POV’s third hackathon, which wrapped with a public presentation Sunday night, was the social commitment of the five projects. When they hit close to home, events like Monday’s bombing in Boston can make you step back and reevaluate your work, its purpose and meaning. So it was gratifying, a day earlier, to see how committed the hackathon teams were to remedying some kind of societal problem, including some situated half a world away. Over two days the participants worked together to use new technologies to make real strides against issues like homelessness, war, and the […]
by Randy Astle on Apr 17, 2013 -
Audio Watermarks for the Second Screen
Buzz about the second screen is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, as this recent (and, for me, incredibly thought-provoking) Filmmaker article by Scott Macaulay shows. Coordinating content on two devices to play (in any sense of that word) simultaneously, which some have called “orchestrated media,” is one of the next big things, and it’s causing content creators to search for new ways to make their dual-screen programs stand out. First, as that article points out, it requires new mental paradigms for filmmakers/digital storytellers as they plan and execute their work. But second, and just as important, it requires the technological means to […]
by Randy Astle on Apr 1, 2013 -
The Emmys Create New Interactive Media Awards
One sign of transmedia’s inevitable movement to the center of mainstream media–not just technophile or indie fare–is its representation in the major awards. And while a film released on iTunes still may not be Oscar-eligible, digital media awards have been progressing far beyond the Webbys for years, with more popping up all the time. The Emmys are particularly interesting, though, because in a way they represent the heart of what mainstream television audiences are watching and praising. It’s notable, then, that the International Digital Emmy Awards will reach their eighth year at MIPTV in Cannes with the ceremony on April […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 29, 2013 -
FilmAid Launches Multimedia Doc, Dadaab Stories
Dadaab lies in eastern Kenya, not far from the Somali border. The area hosts the largest complex of refugee camps in the world, with over 474,000 people, primarily Somalis, living in the combined Dadaab and Alinjugur camps, making it larger than Atlanta, Miami, Oakland, or New Orleans. The sheer size of the camp makes life difficult, causing most residents to stay there long-term as well; the camp has just turned 20, and many children have never lived anywhere else. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, events in Somalia since 2011 have forced many more people across the […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 25, 2013 -
Storytelling for Social Change at Facebook
Tuesday night Facebook hosted a panel discussion about social issue-oriented transmedia at their office in midtown Manhattan. The event was co-sponsored by the Tides Foundation, a San Francisco nonprofit that funds philanthropic ventures, and featured Beth Janson, executive director of the Tribeca Film Institute and representing its All Access program, Didi Bethurum of the social action campaign 10×10 and the documentary Girl Rising, Michelle Byrd of Games for Change, and Libby Leffler, Facebook’s Strategic Partner Manager who interfaces with nonprofits, charities, and philanthropic causes. A lot of the work discussed by the panel comes in the wake of the Half […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 22, 2013 -
Five Questions with Orc Wars Director Kohl Glass
Microbudget film doesn’t venture into the expensive world of science fiction too often, and certainly not the brand that features hordes of orcs and other fantasy creatures. But that’s exactly where Emmy-winning director Kohl Glass, whose short film Der Ostwind played at Sundance in 2007, wanted to go with his debut feature, Orc Wars. The film, which has wrapped and is currently gathering its finishing funds on Kickstarter, features ex-Marine John Norton (Rusty Joiner) who buys an isolated western ranch that turns out to contain a portal to another world; when orcs use it to threaten an elf princess (Masiela Lusha) […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 15, 2013 -
Digital Publishing for Filmmakers: The Karada and The Silent History
Transmedia by definition requires producers to work in more than one medium; the fun, most of the time, is in devising ways to carry a narrative (or narrative world) across different platforms, making them engage with each other while best utilizing each platform’s unique capabilities. Sometimes, however, it’s sufficient to work exclusively in a single non-film medium — and it can get the creative juices flowing if you’re stuck in a rut. After all, Bergman had his fiction (besides his theater work), Woody Allen has his clarinet, and Pasolini had pretty much everything. I’ve recently been working more on my […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 4, 2013 -
TFI Sandbox for Documentary Transmedia
As transmedia has moved past its buzzword beginnings, resources and organizations have sprung up to support the creative community involved in multiplatform narratives. The latest of these comes from the Tribeca Film Institute, which last week launched an online hub for all things transmedia — particularly nonfiction — called TFI Sandbox. The name, of course, indicates a place where producers can come to play and develop techniques, strategies, and specific projects, and thus the website offers a plethora of training material as well as links, resources, and, perhaps most importantly, an open door for producers to get familiar with TFI […]
by Randy Astle on Feb 28, 2013 -
Interactivity Through Biology with many worlds
The words “interactive film” obviously evoke some kind of audience engagement, but what that actually means can — and does — change with every project. While there have been a lot of innovations with screenings in public venues, interactive films often tend to play best online or on mobile devices where viewers can input information and make narrative decisions. The new short film many worlds seeks to turn this on its head a little bit and redefine interactivity by, first, making it completely unconscious for viewers and, second, allowing it to take place in a traditional theater. Billed as “a […]
by Randy Astle on Feb 15, 2013 -
Lydia Antonini and Josh Feldman on Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
At the beginning of the year, Filmmaker’s Scott Macaulay pointed out again — like many others have as well — that features are no longer the default format-of-choice for indie filmmakers. And as forms like the web series mature, we’re seeing more of the kinks getting worked out and more filmmakers and others finding innovative ways to release and promote new work. Take Netflix’s high-profile series House of Cards, which was just released all at once instead of in spaced-out (i.e. weekly) increments; we’ve yet to see the show’s long tail, but its initial viewer data (that is, its engagement […]
by Randy Astle on Feb 14, 2013
