Welcome to the web log of Videography and Digital Cinema contributing editor, writer/producer/director, Jon Leland.

Point your browser here for my posts (and hopefully useful insights) about the rapidly changing worlds of streaming video, electronic media and interactive communications. I'll do my best to offer tips on web authoring tools, the DV video revolution, e-business earthquakes, e-marketing madness, online service business muddl

Under the NAB Big Top
I'm just back from the Las Vegas big top circus of video gear and services that is also known as NAB or the National Association of Broadcasters convention. A yearly extravaganza of everything video.

Due to time constraints, I'll have to make my online reports from NAB a series of Blog Blurbs because I'm not going to get nearly all I want to share with you into this one posting. Not even close.

The single thing that I saw that had the biggest impact on me was unexpected. I saw a high quality, big screen HD demo that made me a believer in digital cinema. I've always thought of high definition video (HD) as a new kind of video (and TV), not a new kind of film. But this demo showed HD on a movie level projector, i.e. a $150K Christie that WamNet showed in a night club theater. It was really a kind of cinematic experience that was not only digital video, but (dare I say it?) better than film. And I don't say that easily. It was jaw-dropping, dazzling and visually very exciting.

The show was a bit smaller than in the past, but still vast. Thankfully, the focus seems to have shifted from the main floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center which is always filled with cameras, decks, trucks, dishes and other hardware, to the Sands where all things digital live including non-linear systems and E-topia area in the basement of the Sands where streamers and other innovators were placed. The Sands alone was still bigger than most tradeshows.

Bottom line, the video industry is alive and well. Yes, there's a downturn in the economy, but no video professional with even half a vision can ignore the fact that our industry is continuing to change at a mind-boggling rate. And, from what I saw, those who make their livings in the video arena are still investing in order to keep up with the market. And while the Internet video markets may not be growing as fast as many people predicted, they are unquestionably growing and becoming more important along with digital set top boxes, high definition video and many other new and emerging technologies.

Stay tuned. :) (My next posting will be more product specific.)
posted by Jon Leland at 2:17 PM

Traveling Music
I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. Still, to be honest, I wonder if anyone really cares?

Truth is that I'm barely getting my magazine writing done at the moment. I've also got some recent magazine articles almost ready for posting on MediaMall.com... but I'm off in the AM to lovely Las Vegas to attend the NAB (Nat'l Asson. of Broadcasters) trade show.

I'll be back. We'll post some new articles. I'll post some insider insights here. And I'll have more news on streaming, DV, and more.

Stay tuned, and thanks for looking in on me. :)
posted by Jon Leland at 3:29 PM

Flashers Cheer FLIX
I've never seen anything quite like it... FlashForward2001, Day 3:
It happened at the end of a workshop by conference co-producer, Lynda Weinman of Lynda.com, where she and her video guy described the hassles of importing QuickTime video into Flash and then exporting it out again as QuickTime in order to combine video with Flash's interactivity and vector animation capabilities.

They saved 7 minutes at the end of their workshop for the new product that I mentioned below, FLIX by Wildform Internet Media Software. And the crowd went wild. They loved that FINALLY, digital video (not just QuickTime) can be encoded in Flash's native SWF file format. They loved the $99. price point too.

It was nice to see a small, self-funded software company find a valuable niche. Wildform (a three person company) has created a product that is needed. The demand for it was palpable and real. Clearly this small company has struck a chord. Flash developers want video inside of Flash, not only to combine it with the great interactivity and vector-based animations that Flash delivers, but because there are more Flash players already installed in web browsers than any of the other media players (including Real, QuickTime and Windows Media). Flash is the path of least resistance for the distribution of Rich Media on the Web. Now, there's a convenient way to incorporate video into Flash projects and to then publish them in their native format.

Notes:
1. A Mac version of FLIX is already under development and is expected within a month or two.
2. I'll be doing a full review of FLIX and writing more on this subject soon.
3. There's more on the FlashForward2001 conference below.
posted by Jon Leland at 3:37 PM

FlashForward2001 Conference Rocks!
No question: Flash (the Macromedia vector animation and interactive multimedia environment) is changing the Web. I'm taking advantage of the FlashForward2001 conference in San Francisco this week to upgrade my capabilities and learn more.

I spent Sunday getting more familiar with the Flash 5 application by taking a workshop co-led by Amanda Farr, the founder of the excellent Flash community resource web site, Virtual-FX.net, and author of the clear and valuable book on getting started with the software Foundation Flash 5 (yes, I recommend it).

Today, I attended the keynote by Macromedia CEO Kevin Lynch and had a meeting with the folks from Wildform, Internet Media Software. The keynote was pleasantly hype free. And I was especially pleased to see Macromedia aggressively promoting Useability (i.e. interfaces that work and communicate well.) In fact, Macromedia a great new section on there web site promoting Flash usability at www.macromedia.com/go/usability.

I was impressed with Wildform. They're Flash effects generator called SWFX is basically open source shareware. It has 200 built-in Flash text effects. You can also add your own (if you know Flash). And it costs only $20.

Their new tool, FLIX, is the only tool out there (as far as I know) that converts digital video to the Flash (.swf) file format. I'm planning to write about it in more detail because this ability seems important to me. It makes video on the web more interactive. It allows video to be played without another player (Flash is the most widely distributed browser plug-in out there). And, it enables video to be easily embedded in email and ad banners, and more.

I was also VERY impressed with the Flash community. It's real. It shares ideas, source code and even animations with each other. (In fact, Flash 5 even has something called Smart Clips that enable whole Flash objects to be shared). They seem (by and large) to be more motivated by communicating well and by technology than by making money. And, this community is VERY creative. In other words, they are my kind of people, and they are making a difference. ;-)

It was refreshing to be amongst them.
Stay tuned.
posted by Jon Leland at 2:50 PM

Adobe Kicks Off Premiere 6 with Primer
Actually, Adobe kicked off the launch of Premiere 6 with a live satellite seminar/demo event broadcast live to about 8 cities in the US and Canada. I was at the Metreon in San Francisco this morning where the crowd overflowed from the iMAX theatre into two more regular movie theatres. Maybe digital video's (DV's) time has come?

In any case, I was impressed not only with the turnout at the event, but also with the product. I'll be writing a detailed review for Videography (which will appear on Media Mall soon under "Tools That Rule," but Adobe may well have captured the lead in desktop non-linear editing software. Great new interface. DV native. Excellent functionalities. Etc. And about half the price of Final Cut Pro.

Also, excellent integration -- on the PC at least -- with realtime effects boards from Pinnacle (the DV500 Plus) and Matrox (the RT2000) that cost less than $1,000. Which means a system including PC, monitor, Premiere 6, Firewire, 128MB RAM, 30 gig HD and one of these realtime video cards including a breakout box for analog input now costs less that $3,000! Compaq was offering exactly this kind of system on the Adobe broadcast.

Those of you who are just getting started or who are interested in getting started with DV editing will likely benefit from a new "DV Primer" that Adobe has just published in PDF format. You may use this link to download: (PDF: 2.4 MB / 31 pages) or visit www.adobe.com/motion.
posted by Jon Leland at 3:54 PM

Apple Handheld Rumor
Here's a hot rumor... and I love that rumors are now pictures, rather than just words. :)

I was first made aware of this by my underground reporter, Mickey Mac, who picked up on it on the SiliconValley.com web site which is published by the San Jose Mercury News.
posted by Jon Leland at 3:50 PM

New Streaming Magazine, New Writing Assignment
I'm pleased to be taking on a new writing assignment with Streaming Media Magazine which is published by the same folks who do the StreamingMedia.com web site. I'm going to be covering how the entertainment biz is convergening with streaming world. New entertainment forms, etc. etc.

Today, it was my pleasure to see the premiere issue of this magazine covering the "Business • Technology • Content" of the streaming media space. The content is relevant and interesting; and the look is clean and very readable. Thank God.

If you're interested in the business, technology and/or content of the streaming media universe, I highly recommend that you subscribe (not only to read my new columns :) by using this link. It's free for qualified professionals. Enjoy.
posted by Jon Leland at 4:17 PM

Revolutionary Media Site-ing
I'm impressed. Here's a web site that is truly grass roots, absolutely global, features video, is open to contributions from everybody, runs on open source code (PHP) and more. It's indymedia.org. It grew out of the demonstrations against the WTO in Seattle and features content from a whole collective of alternative media organizations. Check it out.

I had fun browsing reports from the demonstrations in Davos in six different languages and watching a video from Australia about Adbusters "Buy Nothing Day." And thanks to StreamingMedia.com's Jason Thompson whose article entitled, "By Any Means Necessary" turned me on to it. Great stuff.
posted by Jon Leland at 1:09 PM

Digital Storytelling Lives!
New mediums need new kinds of artists. Without juicy creative input, new media is just a bunch of wires, silicon and data crap. With the application of real humanity, everything changes. Media comes to life. Impactful stories get told.

As I’ve watched “new media” attempt to become “real media” over the last decade or so, there are few people who did an more incredible job of breathing life into technology than a masterful storyteller named Dana Atchley. He was best known for his interactive theatrical performance, "Next Exit", an extremely personal multimedia performance work that inspired me (and many others) to continue to do battle on the bleeding edge. This work, along with his engaging personality, got Dana dubbed “the father of the Digital Storytelling movement.”

I’m sad to report (if you haven’t already heard) that Dana passed away December 13, 2000 due to complications of a long illness.

Among many other good deeds and creative enterprises, Dana went on to found The Center for Digital Storytelling -- http://www.storycenter.org/ -- which held it’s own regular Digital Storytelling Festival over which Dana presided. More information about this Festival and “Next Exit” may be browsed at:
http://www.nextexit.com/

Certainly Dana will be back with many more “exits” to come; but he will be missed and unquestionably he lives on in all of the inspiration (and belly laughs) that he provided for so many people. I ask that we remember Dana’s kind and generous Spirit, and use his passing as an opportunity to reflect on the heart of what we are doing online and everywhere -- and in each and every moment.

If you want to learn more about Dana or be further inspired, here are a few additional reflections of Dana that complement StoryCenter.org and NextExit.com:

Dana’s “Apple Masters” page:
http://www.apple.com/applemasters/datchley/
Animator and creative services pioneer, Harry Marks’ tribute at:
http://www.apple.com/applemasters/datchley/remembrance.html
Derek Powazek’s remembrance at:
http://www.powazek.com/dana.html

Friends in the Bay Area are invited to attend a memorial service to honor his life at 3:00PM, Sunday, January 28, 2001 at The Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Additional memorial services for Dana will be held later in the year in Crested Butte, Colorado (Dana's "Home Base" for 30 years) and in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

|||||
SUPPORT THE DANA ATCHLEY FOUNDATION
A foundation to continue the spirit and legacy of Dana's vision is in the process of being established. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to:
The Dana Atchley Foundation
3435 Cesar Chavez Street, Studio 221
San Francisco, CA 94110.

If you would like more information about this organization, please contact Joe Lambert at The Center for Digital Storytelling (jello@well.com) or Denise Atchley (denise@nextexit.com).

“Stories never die. They just become classics.”
Dana Atchley
1941-2000
posted by Jon Leland at 5:30 PM

Easy FLASH for the PC
No question, Flash animations are the hot thing on the Web right now. And, you'd think that there would be an easier way to create these, well, flashy little animations. I've done some research and found a program called Swish (available only for the PC platform at swishzone.com and for only $30). However, I haven't found the time to try it myself.

So, today a friend asked me for something "fast and easy" for creating Flash animations (actually, he said, "Isn't there anything besides Flash?"). So I recommended that he try Swish; and he loved it.

Here's what this highly-respected friend said: "This program is probably the best, cleanest shareware program I've ever seen. I spent days trying to figure out Flash without much success - with this, I could follow the tutorial and create a movie in 5 minutes. Wow! I love simple software! Thanks for turning me on to it."
Enjoy!
posted by Jon Leland at 5:20 PM

The Chairman wore stubble. I got close to Mr. Jobs after his keynote as he greeted VIP's. My MacWorld keynote "Special Report" can be found below. Scroll down and enjoy.
posted by Jon Leland at 2:16 PM

Has Ken Burns Gone Too Far?
Don't get me wrong. I'm diggin' (like the utmost), the PBS series "Jazz;" but there IS something about this Burns guy which can give you the idea he's too full of himself. I know that I don't have to explain because here's the perfect parody (thanks, Wade).

"Creating a masterwork that some PBS insiders say will transform the mini-series genre from art form to endurance test, Ken Burns is hard at work on a 100-hour documentary entitled, “Ken Burns’s Ken Burns: A Film by Ken Burns.“" This brilliant tid-bit of humor comes from Newsweek and is available in its unedited form here:
www.msnbc.com/news/514361.asp
posted by Jon Leland at 8:56 PM