Making Media Now....

...That's the name of the conference I was able to attend this last Friday at BU (thanks to my departmental travel grant). It was a one-day gathering of local media producers, with a particular emphasis on going digital. Highlights:

CAMERA SEMINAR--John Rule of Rule Broadcast Systems showed a series of High Definition (HD) cameras now out on the market for sale and/or rental. HD has become industry standard, and while high-end cameras are going for $25k and up, they're available for rental (which is usually the way productions go). My curiousity was piqued by the Panasonic P2, which was referred to as a "21st Century Bolex" (look it up)....A P2 is still a hefty investment for the department, but I Have A Dream....

DEMYSTIFYING DIGITAL FORMATS--720p vs 1080i vs 1080p....HD vs SD (Standard Definition! Who knew?)......The panel was moderated by Ed Krasnow from Massasoit, who was excellent....Conferences like this are ways for folks like us to finally meet one another, even if it seems crazy that we have to go to Boston (or points further) to do it....

PUTTING IT ALL INTO PERSPECTIVE--David Tames spoke as we finished our box lunches (mmmm, roast beef) on how he saw digital convergence finally locking into place. It felt like he gave us homework assignments, but in a good way. Need to check out blip.tv and joost (pronounced JUICED, I think some Estonians put that together if I am not mistaken)....Also, in addition to the aformentioned Henry Jenkins book CONVERGENCE CULTURE, he also recommended THE WEALTH OF NETWORKS (2006), THE LONG TAIL (2006), and THE FUTURE OF WEB VIDEO (2006)....

PRODUCING AND DELIVERING SHORT VIDEO ON THE WEB--David Tames of kino-eye.com and the lunch talk moderated this panel that was 2/3rds industry, 1/3rd academia. Mike Hudack from blip.tv and Joe Hurd from VideoEgg both discussed their video platform business models...Both are worth a look if you're interested in video blogging or seeing what folks are putting up as far as non-TV "TV shows" on the web....Anna von Someren from MIT had the most provocative take of the three, from my perspective. In discussing web aesthetics, she shifts away from things like cinematography and editing, emphasizing instead the importance of the end-user, emphasizing the importance of "context-based content," participation, and dynamism....To me, von Someren seemed to gesture towards our 220 discussion of multi-platform narrative from last week.

MAKING CONTENT INTERACTIVE--Michelle Haslell is a web consultant and co-founder of NYC-based Missing Pixel. Go to their site www.missingpixel.net to get a sense of the businesses connecting traditional and new media. To produce and maintain a low-end site, they're getting $1-15k; for mid-range, $25-60k; and high-end stuff nets $80-150k. The work flow necessary to make any interactive site worth its bandwidth is eye-opening....

Conferences like this are important for the mental stimulation, for the networking, for the product exposure, and for the teaching resources I'm able to bring back home. My advice: keep an eye out for opportunities to attend such conferences this next year....Heck, think about PRESENTING at one of these conferences! A good place to start is the BSC Undergraduate Research Symposium, held every semester....why not you?