As you might expect, there's not a whole lot of artstalk happening here at Netroots Nation -- it's a long way from NPAC, both geographically and philosophically. (Honestly, though, if we are actually serious about building momentum for a national arts policy or cabinet-level Secretary of Culture position, then we should probably have some kind of presence at this conference.) There is, however, a small but notable contingent of filmmakers (including a surprise appearance by this Oscar-winning documentarian), several documentary screenings, and a string of panels devoted to discussion of film and online video. This makes sense -- there's been a real surge of interest in documentary films over the past decade, as technology has radically reduced the barriers to entry and enabled alternative modes of distribution.
Yesterday's panel tossed around the question Can Film Do the Job Media Used To Do? The speakers included Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, both producers on Farenheit 9/11 and co-directors of Trouble The Water (of which more later); Mark Bimbaum and Jim Schembeck, co-directors of The Big Buy; Matthew O'Neill, co-director of HBO's Baghdad ER; and filmmaker and UT Austin prof Paul Stekler.
One recurring topic in this conversation involved the massive technology-driven changes in the film industry in recent years -- changes that, like the transformations in the music industry, are both exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, there are now unprecedented opportunities for independent filmmakers to get their work out there -- as one panelist pointed out, anyone can buy a Flip video camera for $100, shoot a documentary, and upload it to YouTube. On the other hand, much of the existing institutional support for documentary films has gone by the wayside -- Paul Stekler observed that 35 years ago, all of the panelists would have had steady jobs making documentaries at PBS -- that level of institutional investment just doesn't exist anymore. In fact, Mark Bimbaum's latest project, Stop The Presses, is about the looming crisis in the newspaper business, which is on track for a music-industry scale collapse.
The panelists observed that (as you might expect) most film and network TV execs are shockingly ignorant about viral video, BitTorrent, and the other technological developments that are transforming their industry, although they are now desperately trying to catch up. There was some concern about how the new types of delivery affect the reception of a work -- there is, after all, a huge difference between an active, collective, powerfully emotional experience like going out to see a film in a theatre, versus watching the same content on a computer or on your iPhone. Everyone recognized the importance of getting the work out to a broad audience and feeding the hunger for new ideas, but no one seems certain how newly emerging formats will affect content -- or how they will affect the bottom line. The traditional model for documentary filmmakers is to try to generate buzz around film festival screenings and ideally some kind of limited (inevitably money-losing) theatrical release, then use that momentum to try to drive DVD sales. But what happens to that revenue stream when the DVD format goes the way of the CD? Some filmmakers are experimenting with house-party screenings and the like, and it's clear there are more opportunities than ever to tell new stories and begin new conversations -- but there are also serious questions about long-term sustainability.
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