Some Notes from the 2009 Producers Institute Opening Panel

Really fun conversation this morning at the opening session of the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, covering all things related to the evolution of documentary storytelling.

Lots of people have been Tweeting from the event using the tag "#pint09." While there wasn't a live video feed of the panel as promised, I'm told that recorded video will show up soon (and I'll link to it once it does.)

I blogged earlier about some of the topics we planned to cover. We got to about half of them.

A few random notes, mostly sparked by things the audience said:

1. If you focus too much on new technologies and communications platforms, like Twitter and iPhone apps and Facebook, you can risk missing a big chunk of your audience (unless your film is intended explicitly at people under 35.) What about people over 35? Filmmakers ought to think about making their film available and generating buzz in traditional places (like theaters, film fests, Netflix, and Amazon) as well as on the Interwebs, iTunes, mobile devices, house parties, etc.

2. A lot of filmmakers can get intimidated by how much there is to do in this new world of audience cultivation and digital distribution: so many new platforms, formats, and modes of interactivity. But I also think there are so many new ways that you can seek out help from people you've never met. Your creative crew can grow from five to fifty if you know how to ask for assistance and get people involved (with tools like wikis, Ning, and even simple blogs like this one). Of course, you also have to be open to the kind of ideas and contributions you get -- and be willing to give up a bit of control in exchange for getting pro bono assistance from folks around the world. (In Fans, Friends & Followers, Jonathan Coulton, Robert Greenwald, and Timo Vuorensola talk about their approaches to crowdsourcing.)

3. We need a good way to connect filmmakers with social media experts, for advice/guidance/collaboration. Even tech-savvy filmmakers can benefit from smart ideas about engaging the audience and getting them talking about your work... and many social media folks would love to sink their teeth into some substantial film projects. Perhaps this is a job for the 2009 edition of The Conversation, now sort of in the planning stages for NYC later this year.
(We're still trying to nail down the right venue.) But if there are other initiatives doing this sort of thing, let me know...

Calling All Documentarians: Your Ideas About the Future of Doc Storytelling

The great Wendy Levy of BAVC has asked me to moderate a panel this Saturday in San Francisco, for the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies. Here's the description and the list of panelists. I'd love to get your questions, comments, and predictions here -- and we'll weave them into the conversation Saturday morning as much as possible (with credit). I'm told the panel will be live streamed here.

Descrip and panelists:

The Future of Visual Storytelling:
Content-Driven Technologies and the New Documentary Movement

There is no question that the way people consume content has fundamentally changed over the last several years. Whether online, on mobile devices, DVD/BluRay, or in physical spaces, the way we tell stories is also changing. What is the future of documentary filmmaking, with the reality of shorter attention spans, laptop culture and evolving technology that enables new ways to interact with narrative content? This panel will explore the emerging developments, new opportunities and technical challenges in the field – is interactivity the end of traditional narrativity?

Panelists:

Lance Weiler, The Workbook Project

Mark Gibson, Media Consultant

Tina Singleton, Witness

Joaquin Alvarado, CPB

Here are some of the topics I plan to bring up... feel free to respond or to add others in the comments below.

Round 1: In five years, what will people mean when they say “documentary”? What will have changed, what will remain the same about the form? What new possibilities will documentary storytellers be seizing?

Round 2: What today feels to you like the platform or new technology that offers the most potential for documentary storytellers to connect with audiences and change the world? (IE, the iPhone, games, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)

Round 3: What’s the most significant change you see taking place among viewers, and the way they consume/create/interact with content?

Round 4: What’s one project that to you feels like it represents a new, experimental (perhaps interactive) direction in documentary storytelling?

Round 5: What is the role of the director, producer, and the creative team? Are they ringmasters, conversation catalysts, community organizers? How does the work of creating new elements around the film balance with all the work of creating the film itself? What about giving up control – how does that square with the traditional control-oriented nature of filmmaking?

Round 6: What question would you like to ask the audience, or your fellow panelists?

Where Documentaries Collide with Games, Social Networks, and Virtual Worlds

Every summer, the Bay Area Video Coalition runs the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, which has quickly become one the world's foremost petri dishes for experimentation at the intersection of film, games, social networks, and virtual worlds.

If that's an intersection that interests you, the list of projects just accepted into this summer's workshop is well worth a look.

Here's a sample:

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE
Project Director: Paco de Onis
The ICC is the first permanent international tribunal set up to try individuals for crimes against humanity. "The Reckoning" is a documentary about the critical early years of the ICC as it issues arrest warrants in Uganda and puts two Congolese warlords on trial and shakes up the Colombian justice system. Through the Institute, the team will develop a social network, a casual game application for educational distribution, and a cell phone/text messaging tool to bring stakeholders into the network in order to increase understanding and awareness of the ICC, and generate a global discussion about international justice and the role it can play in deterring mass atrocities.