I’m not a big fan of video trailers in fiction e-books because  I’ve already purchased the book and I’m not interested in a visual interpretation of what I’m about to read.  I want to create my own images from the author’s words.  However, the use of video in non-fiction works not only enhances the purchase it’s a bargain you won’t get in the hardcover version. The digital extras now being included in many children’s books, cookbooks, fitness books and how to books make you want to jump right out of your reading chair and do a happy dance.

For example the digital version of Return to Beauty by Narine Nikogosian with video by filmmaker Chris Chambers  includes 16 videos and 83 pages making this digital experience and purchase more extraordinary than receiving double coupons from your local supermarket.  With a price tag of only 6.99 versus the hardcover price of 25.00 what’s not to love?  The hardcover at almost three times the price doesn’t offer the “how to videos” seen in the digital version.  Below, the author demonstrates how to mix up her honey, oatmeal and egg yolk facial to remove fine lines and wrinkles. Hmmm…sounds delicious.

This book is one of the many offerings from Simon & Schuster available on the Vook.  But if you don’t have a Vook you can download the application to your iPhone for 3.99 – still a bargain.  For those of you who have yet to purchase an e-reader, your iPhone can pull double duty very easily.  Simply download the Stanza , the B&N reader or the Kindle apps for free onto your iPhone and you’ll be reading with the ease of a thumb swipe in seconds.  I’ve done, and I love it.

If you have children, The Disney Digital Book site has very interesting features that will enhance your child’s learning experience and love for reading and storytelling.

While ebooks now offer us many extras, I’m afraid the ereader as a separate reading device may soon be a thing of the past with the release of the tablet.  The tablet promises to be an all-in-one must have device.  But I caution you, it won’t be cheap to consolidate your gaming, book reading and movie watching . Personally, I have  never been an early adopter of any new gadget, I usually wait for them to work out the bugs and offer the next version that is invariably more powerful  and adorned with more bells and whistles.  For the moment, I’ll stick with what I have and wait for the next version of the tablet with hopefully a lower price tag.

Whether you choose an ereader or a tablet, it appears video will be an integral part of any digital download – yet another venue for production work.  What types of videos can you envision for this market?

Ten minute newsreels aired before the ‘double feature’ and began with world events, followed by stories of national interest.  Typically a segment on fashion, entertainment, or the latest pop culture craze like the hulu hoop or ping pong would round out the reel before ending with a sports segment.  Sound familiar?  It’s the news format of today, or if you separate each segment you’ve got YouTube.

Considering there were no PDA’s, no internet and Twitter was a word associated with a bird – newsreels were a surprisingly swift way to get visual information.  In 1927 when Charles Lindberg took off from Roosevelt Field for his historic trans-Atlantic flight it was captured on film.  The negative was then rushed back from Long Island and later that evening audiences at the Roxy Theatre in Manhattan were able to relive that moment on film.

There wasn’t anything newsreels didn’t capture.  From the Wright Brothers first attempt at flying in 1903¸ to the Great Depression, on through to WWII, Babe Ruth, The Duke of Windsor’s abdication and the Dionne Quintuplets – the men behind the cameras were recording it all and it was being watched by millions in theaters across America.

Today, many cringe at what is posted on YouTube, or seen in the news. Some complain that we’ve become a culture who glorify ‘gore’ and that images are too graphic, but it’s not a new trend and it’s not a result of the internet.  This type of visual, in your face graphic recording was captured by newsreels long before TV News, YouTube or the Internet was a thought in any one’s mind. The assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia was explicit, yet it was shown in newsreels throughout the country.  Every moment of the shocking Hindenburg disaster was watched by horrified theater goers.

The technology of YouTube is new, the idea – not so much.  We’re a people that want information, as fast as we can get it, and that’s been going on since man could communicate.

Surviving in the digital age as a filmmaker requires knowing the latest in lenses, cameras, shooting formats and ways to tell a story.  At 83 film director Roger Corman of Little Shop of Horrors and Pit and the Pendulum fame is most definitely changing with the times.  His latest venture Splatter staring Corey Feldman has been picked up by Fireworks International for global distribution.  His three part webisode was originally featured on Netflix in October 2009 and offers viewers the opportunity to select the direction of the series by presenting a number of alternative story lines as the episodes progress.

In an interview with SciFiPulse, Corman was quoted as saying, “We’ve come a long way from trucking 35mm film prints to the drive-in. Now, through the medium of the internet, filmmakers can reach the audience immediately, and open them up to new experiences in interactive storytelling. Viewers can now decide the outcome of the story for themselves—provided the writer and director can present all the options. The devil is in the details, and it’s a new kind of entertainment for a fast-changing audience.”

Take a look at Splatter and decide if interactive story telling works for you.  A word of caution, this series is not for the faint of heart – the title says it all.

(l-r) Julie Keck, artist, me, Jessica King

Social media experts have devised a formula for success on twitter: 70% sharing information with others, 20% engaging in conversation and 10% promotion.  I’ve never been one to follow rules – it’s  not that I generally work outside convention, but when I hear the words ‘should’ or ‘must’ I tend to closely inspect the source and see if it’s right for me before I blindly follow.  However, following is what it’s all about on Twitter.

I tend to follow TV production people and film makers.  I would definitely call this group ‘rule breakers’.  Seriously, can you make a film or television show without breaking some rules?  By nature, this is a group that likes to talk and needs a place to promote their work.  That’s why I follow this group, I enjoy the conversation and I want to know what’s happening in the industry.  When some of the people I follow converse 50% of the time, promote 30% of the time and share information 20% of the time, it doesn’t bother me – we’re creatives not mathematicians.

Without a little rule breaking I would never have seen the film “Snow Bunny” at the Queens International Film Festival last night by the talented filmmakers @kingisafink Jessica King and Julie Keck from Chicago. (It was great meeting you Jessica and Julie, nice to put faces to the tweets.)

I also wouldn’t have known that  @MatiasB just completed shooting a profile of the US alpine ski team that will air on NBC January 30th at 8pm.

I would never have had ‘conversations’ with TV producers @jokeandbiagio and discovered their terrific insights into making reality TV shows

I wouldn’t have discovered the truly remarkable viral distribution David Baker is creating with his film MissionX. @indiemoviemaker

And I wouldn’t have seen the very clever shorts created by filmmaker @philontilt

If you want to meet people in your industry, be inspired by others, then get on Twitter.  Break some rules, follow and unfollow people as you like.  And when you read about how things are ‘supposed’ to be done in a social media venue, be a creative, question it.  Is it right for you?

What has Twitter done for you lately?

During pre-production do you ever feel like you’re drowning in a sea of emails?  I do.  I can receive as many as 100 emails in one day.  Just getting all the principals to attend a meeting can create a flurry of emails that would dwarf a basketball player.  At the end of the day, matching up emails and making sure I have the latest on what was decided can be a chore.  So, I’m wondering – wouldn’t it make sense to use Google Wave?  I haven’t tried it, but I’ve read a lot about it.  Mashable describes it here:

Google Wave is a real-time communication platform. It combines aspects of e-mail, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management to build one elegant, in-browser communication client. You can bring a group of friends or business partners together to discuss how your day has been or share files.

Since a wave is a threaded conversation, containing anything ever discussed on a particular topic it would appear to be of value for production companies. Not only are the conversations all in one place, it’s in real time. A wave could be used for script notes, location scouting, budget changes, and on and on and on.

If you ask me – the wave it’s coming my friend.  What do you think?  Useful in a production or not?

The question is why?  Social networking has exploded.  In just the last two years it seems everyone is on line.  They’re either blogging about something, or trying to connect to someone.  I get it, I really do.  But, is it necessary?  Do you really need 500 friends on Facebook?  Do you even know them?  Do you need 2000 followers on Twitter – can you even keep up with them?

When it comes to Twitter, personally, I’m disappointed.  For me it’s like instant messaging on crack.  I know, people will say I’m crazy, but hear me out.  I’ve been on line; I see what people discuss on Twitter.  Do I really need to know what you ate for breakfast, that you walked your dog, or that your armpit smells so you think it’s time for a shower?  Seriously.  I. Don’t.

For authors, publishers and bloggers, it’s a promotional tool.  Talking about the latest release, where to get it, and how to find out more about you.  But, I was talking to an author the other day and I asked the question, “Where’s the real communication?”  “Where’s the one on one?”  The internet is fast and it’s a good way to disseminate information quickly to a large group – but is anyone out there listening?   Or are we all just talking over each other? What happened to honest to goodness live communication?  What happened to picking up the telephone and having a conversation instead of ‘texting’ your thoughts.  Where’s the let’s meet up for coffee or drinks?  When was the last time you wrote a letter, or sent a card?  You know, go to the store, find the Hallmark section, pick out something, write in it, put a stamp on, and send it through the United States Postal system?

I’m prepared for an argument here.  I’m sure there are plenty out there that just think I’m low tech and not with the program.  But, I ask – have we become less communicative with all the social networking?

Who doesn’t like the word “free”? That and “sale” make up almost the entirety of my vocabulary. So, when I heard SHOWTIME’s premiere episode of United States of Tara was available free – I jumped right over to YouTube and watched. As I’ve already said in an earlier post – I loved the show.

This is smart.  Very smart.  It shows that SHOWTIME is thinking with how to use the new media to increase their subscriber base. By allowing the premiere episode of the series to appear for free on portals such as YouTube, Yahoo, Facebook and more, they’ve reached an audience they might not have had access to outside traditional promotional efforts.

The idea of paying for TV when there are so many free options available should make any premium channel take notice and find new ways to reach TV watchers. It appears SHOWTIME took the lead  with this campaign. I’m interested in finding out if their base rises and if people are willing to pay for the service after getting a free taste. I guarantee the other premiums will be following suit shortly.

Okay, okay – if you live anywhere in the contiguious United States you’ve heard the economy is bad.  Okay. Fine.

What I’ve noticed is that people are using social networking more than ever before in search of their next great gig.  Between Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, Plaxo, Reunion and countless others – there’s tons of places to go to ‘meet’ and ‘chat’ with people.  But what happened to the quality of communication?  What happened to meeting someone for coffee or a drink, or even dinner?  Are we doing all our networking over a network?  And do these networks work when you want to get connected, or  find you’re  your next gig?

Here’s what.  I think people need to pick up the phone and call someone.  Force people to move away from the laziness of e-mails and social networking.  Let’s get out there and communicate.  We’re in the communication business.

Just because you have a direct link to someone who has a direct link to someone who has a direct link on Linkedin is no reason to connect with the standard request “I’d like you to join my network.” That’s lazy and shows no imagination or personality.  In this economic climate there are 10 people for every job listed.  Stand out.  Make a statement.  You’re creative; use some creativity, personality and imagination.