AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

LA Times “Web Scout” blog
Enter a cineplex this summer and you’re basically wandering into a giant circus. Each tent pole — the biz term for a colossally expensive movie — is sure to include at least one outlandish, or even freakish, main character. Step right up. On your left, watch an old man — incredibly! [...]

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The Hollywood Reporter
Studios are restoring an increasing number of films
It’s a magical experience to view pristine film classics, and these days it seems studios are restoring an increasing number of their most valuable assets for commercial as well as historical reasons.
Among the reasons for this upswing:
>The advent of Blu-ray Disc and larger home displays are [...]

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The Los Angeles Times
The entertainment industry has been pressuring colleges directly and indirectly to teach students the do’s and don’ts of copyrights, hoping such lessons will help abate online piracy. But at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center, students often are the ones giving lessons to Hollywood and the high-tech world about the right way to deliver [...]

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NewTeeVee
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull whips its way into theaters this weekend, and much like his archaeologist hero, Spielberg is still a big believer in the importance of relics. Jones has his crystal skulls, Spielberg clings to his beloved film stock. While recent comments from the director shows he’s not eager [...]

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The Los Angeles Times
Lights, Camera, InterAction turns firms’ employees into film crews in team-building exercises.
The idea that Hollywood has something to teach corporate America about good business practices might sound like the inspiration for a new comedy movie.
But that’s the quite serious premise behind Lights, Camera, InterAction. The Los Angeles firm turns groups of employees [...]

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eSchool News
Students learn 21st-century skills by creating digital media
As technology becomes more integrated into today’s economy, digital-arts programs in schools around the country are inviting students to express themselves and explore global issues while learning basic 21st-century skills. And with the support of some nonprofit foundations, students are taking video to a whole [...]

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NY Times

HISTORY will judge whether Jerry O’Connell will be best remembered as the cornfed football prospect in “Jerry Maguire,” the awkward chubby kid in “Stand by Me,” or as the husband of Rebecca Romijn. But for a few glorious days last month, Mr. O’Connell, 33, was seared into the minds of thousands of Internet surfers [...]

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From BAVC blog by Wendy Levy

I admit it. I read all technology news through a distinctly independent lens. The new gadgets and functionalities and trends interest me mostly in how they can, or will, impact documentary and creative storytelling, advocacy, communities without access, and people in need. At BAVC, we regularly invite tech geeks, filmmakers [...]

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IFC takes Red Bull by the horns - The Hollywood Reporter
IFC is launching an online studio that will yield an original scripted series for the Web.
The cable network is teaming with Red Bull Energy Drink, which will be integrated into the winning submission.
The two companies will use IFC’s Media Lab, an online indie film hub, [...]

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LA Times reported yesterday that the influential TED Conference is moving from Monterey to Long Beach CA, and then today that TED organizers are helping a nonprofit launch a worldwide short film day. Here’s the info:
TED:

The annual Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, an invitation-only confab that attracts movers and shakers such as Bill Gates, Jane Goodall [...]

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