The Conversation 2010: Post-Game Notes & Analysis

Thanks to everyone who made The Conversation @ Columbia happen last Saturday — after I'd moderated my opening panel on building an audience, I mostly felt like I was free to goof off and just eavesdrop on other sessions, workshops, and lunch groups.

We're posting all of the links, notes, tweets, and other material from the event over here, on The Conversation's official blog.

Open to your thoughts on what we should talk about next time, and where we should hold it. (Last time was UC/Berkeley in October 2008.)

In SoCal? "Produced By" Conference, June 4-6

The line-up for the 2010 "Produced By" Conference, organized by the Producers Guild of America, looks great. Speakers include Mark Cuban of Landmark and 2929 Entertainment; James L. Brooks; Brian Grazer; and Darla K. Anderson, producer of "Monsters, Inc." and the upcoming "Toy Story 3." They've also got sessions on producing online content and videogames; DIY and hybrid distribution; and indie film marketing.

If you're a PGA member, it's just $295 to attend; for others, the price is steep: $995. The event takes place at 20th Century Fox Studios. (There's a discounted rate of $595 if you are in another guild or a member of various film industry groups, so that's worth checking out.)

Convo NYC Sold Out ... But We're Looking for a Shooter

I'm both happy and a bit sorry to say that the New York edition of The Conversation, March 27th at Columbia University, is now sold out. (I've already gotten a handful of e-mails from people asking how they can get in...)

But ... we are looking for a one- or two-person crew to shoot the three main panels of the day and help us share them after the event (likely on Vimeo or a similar site). You'll get a comp pass to the entire day, which will let you participate in the lunch discussions and afternoon workshops. Get in touch with me if you're interested.

Update: We found someone great. Thanks for the responses!

Three Quick Links for the SXSW Crowd

- For my session with ze frank on Saturday, March 13th at 3:30 PM, you can submit questions (and vote on questions submitted by others) right here.

- For my session with Gary Hustwit on Sunday, March 14th at 3:30 PM, you can submit questions (and vote) right here.

- Finally, here's some info about getting your free copy of the Fans, Friends & Followers e-book (a $12 value, as they say on teevee). (BoingBoing was kind enough to blog about the e-book offer, which only lasts for the duration of SXSW, earlier this week.)

(If you find me at the event, I may also have paperback copies of FFF with me [$15], which I'm happy to inscribe. Don't be afraid to ask...)

What I'll Be Up to at SXSW

I'm always psyched to go down to Austin in March for South by Southwest. Austin makes you feel hip even if you are not. I love seeing movies at the Alamo Drafthouse and the Paramount. I really enjoy the collision of interactive people and filmmakers in the same space. I always eat too much barbecue.

This year, I'm doing two sessions there.

One is an on-stage conversation with the pioneering Web artist, prankster, and videomaker ze frank, on Saturday, March 13th. I talked to ze for my book "Fans, Friends & Followers," and I've seen him speak, but we've never really met in person, so I'm looking forward to it. One of the themes we're hoping to explore is how do you really connect with people in the digital realm, get them engaged, get them participating in meaningful ways.

The second, on Sunday, March 14th, is a session with doc-maker Gary Hustwit. I'm going to share some of the tools and strategies from "Fans, Friends & Followers," and we're going to talk about Gary's experiences building awareness for films like "Helvetica" and "Objectified," and how he has handled his DVD and digital distribution.

Hope to see you there -- and if not, SXSW is great about getting videos of all their sessions online in the months after the festival.