15 November, 2007
WSC Show #8 - Interview with Ted Lang and Marvin Silbermintz
In today’s episode we talk to was Ted Lang and Marvin Silbermintz, a coupla writers on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno at the picket lines of NBC Studios. Recorded Monday, 12 November 2007.
There's More To The Internet Than Just YouTube
As I walk the picket lines with the writers, the number one question I ask is: "what type of new media do you consume?". After a bunch of stammering, the number one answer from you striking writers -- our survey says -- "YouTube".
As if YouTube is the end all and be all of new media. As if.
So, class is now in session for alternate media channels on the Internet.
Today we're going to learn about Joost.
Ever heard of it?
Joost is a system for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the Web using peer-to-peer TV technology, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (founders of Skype and Kazaa). It boasts over 15,000+ TV shows and 250+ channels. You remember the term "peer-to-peer" or "p2p"? Yeah, that was the same technology that put Napster in the news a few years ago.
Here's the official word about Joost:
"What's Joost? It's free TV, with the choice to watch alone or with friends. Joost is packed with internet tools such as instant messaging and channel chat, allowing people to really share the TV experience. It's a completely secure platform for content owners that respects their rights, while protecting and enhancing their brands. And it's an incredibly flexible way for advertisers to reach a truly global audience, in ways that really work. Joost isn't just video on the internet – it's the next generation of television for viewers, content owners and advertisers everywhere."
Click image for more info.Joost is free, supported by highly targeted ads based on people's actual watching habits, their friends' viewing patterns, and information they volunteer. Ad revenue is split between Joost and the content owners. Kinda like network TV was like back in the days of "I Love Lucy".
Any questions?
Your homework tonight: sign-up for Joost, choose your Joost name and create a channel. Play around with the platform. Be sure to socially network and make friends.
Class dismissed.
Shane Stranahan: I Walk The Line
Shane Stranahan does it again!
As blogged and podcasted previously in the WSC, 15 year-old homeschooler and citizen journalist spent four hours walking the WGA picket lines in front of NBC studios on Monday. Shane also got an interview with hyphenate and strike captain Brian Hartt where they discussed the effect the strike is having on below the line people in the industry.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
As blogged and podcasted previously in the WSC, 15 year-old homeschooler and citizen journalist spent four hours walking the WGA picket lines in front of NBC studios on Monday. Shane also got an interview with hyphenate and strike captain Brian Hartt where they discussed the effect the strike is having on below the line people in the industry.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
14 November, 2007
WSC Show #7 - Interview with Tom Astle
It’s day 10 of the Writers’ Strike. In today’s episode of the Writers’ Strike Chronicles, Alicyn and I talk to writer-producer Tom Astle in front of the picket lines at NBC studios. Recorded Monday, 12 November 2007.
WGA Strike gets violent!
Posted by okaplan
Starring Seth Menachem & Avi Rothman
Written by a striking writer (before the strike, actually)
Directed by Oren Kaplan
WGA Strike & New Technologies
As posted on YouTube by wgadotorg, Phil Robinson (Sneakers, Field of Dreams) speaks on the history of the WGA and the confluence of new technologies and the entertainment industry.
Photo of the Day on Flickr
A picture paints a thousand words, but what about this photo? Talk about nickle and diming it. I *heart* the fact those are Canadian pennies. Woot!
Just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.
Upcoming Event (LA): Tonight! Drinks are on Matt Sherman!
Tonight, tonight,
Won't be just any night...
Attention all WGA members. Drown your sorrows tonight at Vice, compliments of Matt Sherman. Here's the dealio as reported in UnitedHollywood:
Won't be just any night...
Attention all WGA members. Drown your sorrows tonight at Vice, compliments of Matt Sherman. Here's the dealio as reported in UnitedHollywood:
"Matt Sherman Management has invited all WGA members to enjoy drinks on the house. Wednesday November 14th from 7 pm to 9:30 pm at VICE, 6364 Hollywood Blvd. between Ivar and Cahuenga. Please bring your WGA card for admittance. [Well played, Matt Sherman, well played.]"
Upcoming Event (SF): Video Salon Redux
Now on Upcoming.com comes Video Salon Redux, a new monthly series focusing on online video and internet based visual media.
To sign up or sign in, click here.
To sign up or sign in, click here.
In the coming months, VSR will showcase a range of diverse subjects such as machinima, lifecasting, episodic content, mashups, distributed collaboration, personal storytelling, copyright and licensing as well as reality hacking.
VSR is co-produced by Michael O'Rourke (D7TV.com) and Eddie Codel (Geekentertainment.tv) and is kindly hosted at Dimension 7 Studios in downtown San Francisco. If you are interested in presenting at a future VSR, please contact one of us.
6:30-7:30 cocktails/refreshments/happy hour
7:30-8:30 Introduction & curated presentations from
>> Michael O'Rourke: D7 TV
D7TV is a production company creating original content for internet television and mobile devices. D7TV will be showcasing its original short content ranging from news to comedy to lifestyle programming and discussing its future plans for creating branded entertainment.
>> Eddie Codel & Irina Slutsky: Geek Entertainment TV
Geek Entertainment TV reports from deep inside the bubble as it re-inflates. Eddie & Irina will give a quick history & overview of GETV and show a few favorite episodes. Irina is organizing The Winnies in LA at the end of the month and will have some announcements.
>> Nick Douglas: LookShiny / Goggle Burn:
Nick Douglas is starting a site named Goggle Burn, a VH1 for the web. He'll show his favorite online series to show why movies on the Internet don't have to be "America's Funniest Home Videos."
8:30-9:00 open salon: 5 minutes to show your stuff
9:30-11:00 salon/networking/ambient lounge
WGA Strike: Unionizing the Web
The U.C. Berkeley Digital Media & Entertainment blog asks:
Check it here.
"As the industry loses “share of attention” (and revenues) to web video, where does independent film-making fit into all this? Does a union still serve a purpose? Seeing as any video can find its way onto the unlimited shelf space of the internet (and our mail from Netflix), can working with producers willing to fairly compensate writers provide an attractive alternative to union bargaining with studios?"
Check it here.
13 November, 2007
WSC Show #6 - Interview with Matt Ember
It's day 9 of the Writer’s Strike. In today’s episode, Alicyn and I take to the picket lines in front of NBC studios and meet with writer-producer Matt Ember. Recorded Monday, 12 November 2007.
I’m a little late in getting today’s show up and that’s because I was working on a commercial production today. There I learned that commercial writers aren’t covered under the WGA. (Since I don’t know enough about this, I won’t comment). Perhaps it was impossible to know I was on the job by all the moblog posts I made from the set.
Bill Moyers on Democracy Now
Bill Moyers was on Democracy Now earlier this year when he spoke to 3,500 activists, journalists and concerned citizens gathered in Memphis, Tennessee for the third National Conference on Media Reform. Speakers called for the preservation of a free and open Internet, the end of media consolidation and a more democratic and diverse media system. Moyers opened the conference with a stirring address.
Cue the slider to about 07:15 to begin the coverage of Moyers speech.
Moyers:
"A few huge corporations now dominate the media landscape in America. Almost all the networks carried by most cable systems are owned by one of the major media common conglomerates. Two-thirds of today's newspapers are monopolies.'"As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace; and those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are undergoing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content and to shift their focus in a mainstream direction, which means being more attentive to establishment views than to the bleak realities of powerlessness that shape the lives of ordinary people.'
"What does today's media system mean for the notion of an informed public cherished by democratic theory? Quite literally, it means that virtually everything the average person sees or hears, outside of her own personal communications, is determined by the interests of private, unaccountable executives and investors whose primary goal is increasing profits and raising the share prices. More insidiously, this small group of elites determines what ordinary people do not see or hear."
Read the transcript here.
It's also worth checking out this blog post about entitled "Media Solidarity" on the Hullabaloo blog by digby. Here's a snippet:
Atrios and Matt Stoller make a good point about how the press is covering the WGA strike. And it just proves how corporate values rule the media. After all, the strikers in this case are fellow members of the media themselves, and yet they're getting hostile coverage. And likewise, many of the news people who are covering them are in unions too. There can be no reasons other than corporate pressure to explain the hostility or the fact the strike is being virtually blacked out in the local press despite stars and political activists showing up to picket along with ordinary Americans.
And now a word from the other side.
The UPI reports "Peter Chernin, president of Fox parent News Corp., said the Writers Guild of America strike will probably save his company money."
Check it here.
The Death of Television
Gizmodo, the on-line gadget guide blog, says "TV is not disappearing anytime soon, but clearly, it's going to be replaced by either the internet or some TV/internet hybrid."
Read the entire article "The WGA strike and the death of television" here.
12 November, 2007
NPR Piece on Showrunner's Position During Strike
Here is a really interesting piece from "All Things Considered" on NPR that focuses on the unique position of showrunners during the strike.
Check it out here.
WSC Show #5 - Interview with Joe Medeiros
It's day 8 of the Writers' Strike. Today I took fellow podcaster Alicyn Packard to the picket lines at NBC Studios, where we interviewed Joe Medeiros, a strike captain for the WGA. Joe is also the head writer for the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. Following our conversation with Joe is an interview with Shane Stranahan, a 15-year old home schooler and citizen journalist. Last week, we blogged about a podcast that Joe recorded with Shane. Recorded Monday, 12 November 2007.
Gettin' Schooled!
Today was my first day on the picket lines.In many ways it felt like primary school on worker's rights. When Tanja first asked me to get involved with "The Writer's Strike Chronicles" I found myself both excited and a bit frightened. I've been out of school for a few years now and if my brain was once a saturated sponge soaked with knowledge, it now appears to be hard and stiff with bits of food still clinging to it. Even when approaching the writing of this blog, I've felt a bit hesitant. I mean many people reading this are writers damn it! What if my subject tenses are incorrect? What if I use the wrong homophone and look like an idiot?
I also had my reservations about conducting interviews. While I do host another podcast focusing on the careers of alumni from my college (it's called "The Emerson Mobcast" for those of you that are interested) I am certainly no pro. Others may dabble in toy airplanes or comic book collections and I am a journalistic hobbiest. So I had my concerns. I mean, I make cartoon voices for a living...what on earth makes me feel qualified to call myself the "media"!?!
But something about the energy down at those picket lines made me think differently. With the advent of new media and the changing role digital technology plays in our lives, many things are being redefined, including media. This is truly a monumental time in the history of the entertainment industry and yet the mainstream news media doesn't seem agree. So perhaps it is up to the "average Joe's" to get the scoop on what's really going down at the picket lines.
I did a quick search on www.dictionary.com to define the term "citizen journalism". Here's what I found.
"Citizen Journalism: the collection, analysis, reporting, or disseminating of news and information outside of traditional professional journalism organizations."
Just think, prior to the web, I would have had to actually get up and find the dictionary! ;o)
So maybe, just maybe, now IS the time for people like me to help get the word out. Perhaps just by acting as a conduit for people to tell their stories, I might be able to help disseminate information to the public. At any rate, it sure is good to be soaking in new information.
Deadline Hollywood Daily Exclusive
Extra! Extra!
Nikki Finke has got a DHD exclusive!
Read all about it: Glimmer Of Hope That Agents Bringing WGA & AMPTP Back In Touch
Nikki Finke has got a DHD exclusive!
Read all about it: Glimmer Of Hope That Agents Bringing WGA & AMPTP Back In Touch
11 November, 2007
Downloading YouTube Videos
Came across a great resource from jdlasica in how to download YouTube vids
The problem with YouTube is the fact that the videos are (apparently) not downloadable. What if you want to rip a vid to your iPod? There's no portability with YouTube! And because you can't Tivo YouTube's content, you'll have to sneak furtive glances at your computer screen when you're supposed to be temping (at least until the strike is over). I'm just sayin'.
Well now, there's a list, from the book Googlepedia by Michael Miller, that lets you download and watch YouTube videos on your own schedule (cue: Alleluia!):
The problem with YouTube is the fact that the videos are (apparently) not downloadable. What if you want to rip a vid to your iPod? There's no portability with YouTube! And because you can't Tivo YouTube's content, you'll have to sneak furtive glances at your computer screen when you're supposed to be temping (at least until the strike is over). I'm just sayin'.
Well now, there's a list, from the book Googlepedia by Michael Miller, that lets you download and watch YouTube videos on your own schedule (cue: Alleluia!):
- dlThis Video Grabber
- FeelingTea
- GooTube FLV Retriever
- KeepVid
- KissYouTube
- Ripzor YouTube
- SaveTube
- SaveYouTube
- TechCrunch YouTube Video Download Tool
- VideoDL
- VideoDownloader
- YouTube Downloader
- YouTubeX
- YouTubia
If you need to convert your downloaded .FLV videos to another format try one these Web-based transcoding services: Ares Tube, Mux, Vixy and -- my personal flava flav -- Zamzar.
Zefrank Reports on the WGA Strike
Photo of the Day: Writers' Strike in front of FOX
I dunno. I personally found math, especially fractions, to be hard!
From SAG: Picket Line Locations for Monday, November 12
Information on WGA Picket Line Locations for Monday, November 12
SAG encourages guild members to, on your own time, to walk any picket line that has been set up by the WGA to show your solidarity. If you are not working (or are on break or lunch) and want to come out to support the WGA picket line, please come to one of the following locations. When you arrive at the location, look for the designated Screen Actors Guild staff member.
REMINDER:
- Please stay at studio locations, and do not join picketers at on-location sites. Screen Actors Guild is not condoning or participating in disruption and/or attempts to shut down location shoots.
- It is critical that SAG picket signs not be displayed at any locations other than the appropriate sites at the studios and networks.
- If you are contracted to work on a television series or motion picture that continues to produce while the WGA is on strike, you are obligated by your personal service agreement and the “No Strike” clause in our collective bargaining agreements to go to work. You can continue to audition for work and accept new work if you choose to do so.
-
- Screen Actors Guild members should not perform the duties covered by WGA contracts. Simply stated, you should not write anything normally written by striking WGA writers.
-
- Finally, and most importantly, we must support our fellow SAG members on every set even if they have to cross a picket line to get to work. They are simply following the advice of their union and honoring their contract. It is not reasonable to expect SAG cast members to risk the potentially enormous personal liability that may flow from refusing to work in the absence of a SAG strike. Please note, the WGA contract includes a similar “No Strike” clause and writers would be bound to the same rules as you are if another union were striking.
In Los Angeles:
PARAMOUNT STUDIOS / RALEIGH STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD
5555 Melrose Avenue & 5300 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Meeting Point: Windsor Gate
Parking Option: Streets south of Melrose
WARNER BROS. STUDIOS
4000 Warner Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91522
Meeting Place: Gate 2-3 on Olive
Parking Option: Street parking around studio
IMPORTANT NOTE: We have also set up a toll-free Screen Actors Guild WGA strike information hot-line number for questions regarding work rules and picket line locations. Through this hotline number, you can get up-to-the-minute information on work rules, picket line locations and help with other questions.
Screen Actors Guild WGA Strike Information Hotline: 1-877-724-7875.
For information on previous communications regarding Screen Actors Guild members and the WGA strike or for a copy of the National Board resolution in support of WGA, go to www.sag.org.
WGA Strike Log: Day 5 - The Rally
wgaamerica wraps up Day 5 of the Writers Strike rally with this video featuring Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Jesse Jackson, Seth MacFarlane, Dennis Haybert and WGA president Patric Verrone.
BTW, I read that although the WGA claims that 4,000 strikers attended the rally the LAPD estimates it was closer to 5,000.
Sunday Morning Comedy: Strike You!
This YouTube video is brought to you by laxhornet about a day in the life of "Matt" during the Writers' Guild Strike.
Starring Matt Boren, Meredith Salenger, Richie Keen, Phil Eisen, Jessica Golden
Writers Strike Chronicles Show #4: Norman Lear's speech and interview with Ron Moskovitz
Norman Lear gave a brief speech in a show of support for the writers at last Friday's protest rally. Then, I talk to screenwriter Ron Moskovitz. Recorded Friday, 9 November 2007.
10 November, 2007
Writers Strike Chronicles Show #3: Seth MacFarlane Speech
On Day 5 of the Writers’ Strike “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane walked the picket lines. He also gave a speech at the protest rally held at steps of the FOX Plaza. Recorded Friday, 9 November 2007.
R.I.P. Norman Mailer 1923 - 2007
We interrupt our strike coverage to acknowledge the death of Norman Mailer who died of acute renal failure this morning in New York.
The most important thing to remember in this blog title is the "dash". The numbers mean little. It's the life that's lived -- the dash -- that tells the story.
Read the story from the New York Times here.
The most important thing to remember in this blog title is the "dash". The numbers mean little. It's the life that's lived -- the dash -- that tells the story.
Read the story from the New York Times here.
Interview with Joe Medeiros
Shane, a 15 year-old homeschooler and citizen journalist from Burbank, recorded this interview with Joe Medeiros, head writer for The Tonight Show and a strike captain for the WGA. This interview was done on Wednesday 7 November 2007 in front of NBC studios.
Ask A Ninja Special Delivery 17 "Writer's Strike"
Ask a Ninja supports the WGA.
In this video, Ninja gives the writers some tips on how to beat the AMPTP. He's also a fine example of why the writers should continue to fight to be cut into the New Media dealio!
WSC #2 - SAG Supports WGA
It’s Day 5 of the Writers’ Strike and today I joined 4,000 picketers to a rally in front of the business offices of Fox Corp. In this recording we hear SAG President Alan Rosenberg give a speech. We also hear actor Cara Delizia share her experiences on the picket lines. Recorded 9 November 2007.
09 November, 2007
Do You Know Who I Am?
Hey there, folks, this is Tanja Barnes. I started this whole little blog thingy with accompanying podcast about the great Writers' Strike of 2007. But I thought a quick little snapshot of who the hell I think I am might be appropriate 'cause like on the Internet, nobody knows if you're a dog. Excuse me but do I look like a dog to you?I'll begin with qualifying that I am a paid-up, card carrying member of SAG and AFTRA. Back in the day, I was just a kid from North Hollywood with a dream...to be a rich and famous movie star. I did all that I could to learn my craft. To make ends meet, I began my own massage practice -- therapeutic-and-non-sexual-thank-you-very-much -- after reading an article in the Hollywood Reporter about massage therapists to the stars. After I read that, I thought to myself: I could do that. And I did.
As things turned out, for a time I was more successful at massage therapy than acting. I began working backstage at the Universal Amphitheatre (through the help of a buddy) and got my first steady gig (with the help of yet another good friend) on the Simpsons when they were still little bumpers on the Tracy Ullman Show back at Klasky-Csupo. You know how it goes: one thing led to another and pretty soon I was doing massage for a team of hundreds on visual effects movies like "Babe", "Apollo 13", and "Titanic" just to name a few. I also fell into working on Japanese commercials back when they were spending a fuckton of money to have celebrities star in their ads. Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Crazy fun, too.
The years went on and I continued to work in entertainment in one capacity or another. One thing led to another, and another, and another, and pretty soon I was back in the acting game (with the help of a friend...today they call it "networking") only this time I'm not in it to be a super star although I'll admit that would be kinda cool. I am a working actor because I do...(sotto voce)...background.
(gasp!)
OK, whatever. Being the bastard child of a production ain't always easy. No you can't eat that, that's for cast and crew only, and no you can't sit with us because that's for cast and crew only. Bla-bla-bla. You know what guys? Shut the fuck up! I pay my dues! And where would any show be without some people milling out in the background? A ghost town! And no, I'm not one of those idiots that steals food and sleeps on the set. I come from a entertainment family and I am a professional. That's right! And what matters to me...what matters to me are things like health insurance, retirement pensions, yeah, stuff like that seems pretty damn important to me nowadays.
So how did I get to do podcasting?
Well last year, on October 29th, my daddy died of lung cancer. He never smoked a day in his life. It was years since we had seen each other because the Evil Stepmother archetype is real...and...that's all I'm gonna say about that for now....
Anyway, I started recording the conversations we had while he was in the hospital and making little podcasts on my new MacBook Pro as he would tell me how he got his break in Hollywood as a junior draughtsman and eventually ended up being an art director. During the span of his career, my dad was a member of both the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) and the Set Designers & Model Makers Guild (IATSE Local 847). It's been over a year since my dad passed and I think about him every day. One of the things I always carry with me in sharing those last few weeks with him was the fact that he had the best fucking health care money could buy thanks to MPIPHP. It's never easy losing a loved one, but I had comfort in knowing he didn't have to worry about his care or how much a procedure would cost or how we would pay for it.
Hey, would you like to hear a story my dad told me about how he got his break in Hollywood? He was only a small-town boy from a podunk town in Pennsylvania called Elizabeth Township. But he came to California on Route 66, met my mom in art school (she was an art model...that's another story) and got his break from a friend who urged him to give it a try. Click the player below to listen. It was recorded 13 October 2006 at St. Joseph's ICU in Burbank. He was getting a blood transfusion at the time but as we lead out, he was about to get this really invasive procedure done called a bronchoscopy.
Important WGA Strike Update: Rally, FOX Studios, Friday, November 9, 10AM - 12PM
For Los Angeles-Based AFTRA Members Interested in Supporting Striking WGA Writers:The WGA is holding a rally at FOX Studios tomorrow, Friday, November 9, from 10:00AM to 12:00PM:
10301 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles , California 90064
The Meeting Point is the Main Gate on Motor Avenue and Pico Boulevard.
Parking Options: Motor Avenue near Cheviot Recreation Center or Century City Mall. Cheviot Hills Recreational Center Parking Lot, off Motor Avenue (LA Parks and Recreation). It's walking distance to Fox Lot.
Any AFTRA member who attends is asked to confirm directly with AFTRA, by sending an e-mail to WGA2007@aftra.com. Please be sure to let us know when you were there, and how we can contact you for additional updates.
Grey's Cast supports Strike of the WGA (ET ONLINE video)
Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane joining the picket line of the Writers Guild of America on strike.
WSC #1 - Interview with Ed Horowitz
It's Day 4 of the writers' srike. In this interview, I talk to Ed Horowitz on the picket lines of "Hotel For Dogs" starring Don Cheadle. I then talk to a crew member about how the strike is effecting him and his feelings about it. Recorded 8 November 2007.
Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Photos: Courtesy of Steve Morris
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Photos: Courtesy of Steve Morris
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com
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