DI-01 took place on January 29th and 30th, 2001, at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
The event's theme was "Independent Mediamakers Confront the Digital Transformation." Some 300 presenters and participants attended.
You can read detailed highlights and details of the conference sessions here and view a list of the presenters.
- Highlights of the Conference
- Full Schedule
- Presenters
- Welcome
David Rosen, Convener
- Plenary
The Digital Media Challenge - The Place of Independents within the New Digital Environment
- Breakout: Business
DV: Old Wine in New Bottles? A Portrait of the Digital Media Landscape
- Breakout: Technology
Analog vs. Digital: You Have a Choice
- Breakout: Creativity
Art in the Age of Digital Production & Distribution
- Breakout: Policy
Intellectual Property in a Digital Age – An Oxymoron?
- Breakout: Business
Personal Video & Public Access: The Future of Media Arts Centers
- Breakout: Technology
Digital Cinema: From Mastering to Exhibition
- Plenary
New Digital Distribution Options
MONDAY, 29 January 2001
TUESDAY, 30 January 2001
- Breakout: Technology
Streaming Video: A Real Alternative to TV?
- Breakout: Business
Making an Online Content Deal: Can It Work?
- Breakout: Technology
Enhanced TV: Fiction or the Future
- Plenary:
It's a Wrap: Where Do We Go From Here?
Monday, January 29, 2001
| 8:00 - 9:00 | Registration | |||
9:00 - 9:30 |
Welcome | |||
9:30 - 11:15 |
Plenary The Digital Media Challenge: The Place of Independents Within the New Digital Environment Everything is going digital -- and independents are scrambling to adapt. But just what is the transition in technology all about, really? And where’s the money? What are the tools? Some obstacles for independents are the same ones we’ve always faced -- yet often disguised as "unique to our time" -- but others really are new. Get the Big Picture and be ahead of the curve. Andrew Blau, media consultant Mark Lloyd, Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy Larry Kirkman, Benton Foundation Gigi Sohn, Ford Foundation MOD: Denise Caruso, formerly NYTimes |
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11:15 - 11:30 |
Break |
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11:30 - 1:00 |
TRACK B BREAKOUT Business |
TRACK C BREAKOUT Technology |
TRACK D BREAKOUT Creativity |
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| DV: Old wine
in new bottles? A portrait of the digital media landscape (YBC Theater) Yes, our tools change. But the market also changes. Some places we sold work to have dried up - but new ones are indeed opening. Even smaller independents can unlock a whole panorama of untapped distribution options: ways to reach bigger, wider and whole new audiences with their work. Peter Hamilton, documentary consultant Warrington Hudlin, maker/dvRepublic David Wallace, Senior Producer, BBC MOD: Amy Johns, eCompany, Wired |
Analog Vs Digital: You Have a Choice (YBC Screening Room) And that choice derives from what you are doing creatively. Is digital really "cold" and analog "warm"? If digital is really "today" why do many mediamakers with the ability to use either stick with analog for many projects? What are the objective criteria which should determine your best production strategy. Find a different way to look at the aesthetic dilemmas. Anthony Bregman, Good Machine Rob Nilsson, maker/"Chalk" David Bolt, maker/"Digital Divide" Diane Nelson, KQED MOD: David Leitner, Millimeter/ producer |
Art in the Age of Digital Production & Reproduction (YBC Forum) This session focuses on how the new technology affects specific creative concerns: aesthetic and narrative mandates and options, dictated and afforded by production with digital media. Major emphasis will be placed on advances in setting up ad-hoc and institutional alternative distribution networks, and the effect they have on the creative process. Brad deGraf, Protozoa Natalie Jeremijenko, NYU CAT Tommy Pallotta, Flat Black Films MOD: Barbara London, MOMA |
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1:00 - 2:30 |
Lunch Break |
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2:30 - 4:00 |
TRACK A BREAKOUT Regulatory & Legal |
TRACK B BREAKOUT Business |
TRACK C BREAKOUT Technology |
|
| Intellectual Property in a Digital Age - An Oxymoron? (YBC Theater) Do Napster, MP3 and similar technical revolutionaries really mean the complete end of financial compensation for your creative work? Digital copies are cheap and flawless - but don’t be afraid of the future, find out how to harness it. Mark Litwak, entertainment atty David Liu, Independent Television Service (ITVS) Larry Sapadin, WinStar Richard White, Initial Cut MOD: Peter Hamilton |
Personal Video & Public Access: The Future of Media Arts Centers (YBC Screening Room) Independents traditionally band together to use and share methods, ideas and hardware -- so what is the place of the media arts center in the midst of the digital transformation? How can organizations of fellow media professionals best help you today -- and in the immediate future? Gail Silva, Film Arts Foundation (FAF) Mindy Aronoff, Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) Ken Jordan, Media Channel, author MOD: Neil Sieling |
Digital Cinema: From Mastering to Exhibition (YBC Forum) From beginning to end -- the hows, whys, and whats of digital cinema. This session, organized by the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) and featuring some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the exploding field of digital cinema, is a must. Jerry Pierce, Universal Tom Scott, EDNet Al Barton, Sony MOD: Rich Mizer, SMPTE |
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4:00 - 4:15 |
Break | |||
4:15 - 5:30 |
Plenary: New Digital Distribution Options The big guys maintain their market dominance through controlling distribution and end-user reception. This panel will expose the pluses and minuses of webcasting, digital broadcast satelite (DBS), digital cable-casting, and handheld platforms -- and workable combinations -- for independent mediamakers. Jan Hauser, Sun Microsystems Robin Mudge, Pearson Broadband Kim Spencer, WorldLink TV Pamela Arthur, Westport Media Res. Larry Daressa, California Newsreel MOD: Neil Sieling |
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6:00 - open |
Reception Sponsored by ITVS and Media Research Associates/Sanford Rosenberg & Carolyn Cavalier Rosenberg (Clouds Restaurant, 720 Howard St. - Terrace Level, 2nd floor, Yerba Buena Gardens) |
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Tuesday, January 30, 2001
| 8:00 - 9:00 | Registration | |||
9:00 - 9:15 |
Welcome (YBC Forum) | |||
9:15 - 10:45 |
Plenary (YBC Forum) Independents Around the World The digital revolution is global -- and we aren’t alone. In fact, often independents in Asia and Europe are way ahead of us in creating and opening new production and distribution techniques. Here are snap-shot profiles from around the world, from people who are on the front lines, of brilliant alternatives you can use right here at home. Roger Garcia, Chinese/Asian film specialist/"Hit Man" David Wallace, Senior Producer, BBC Richard White (UK) – Initial Cut MOD: Peter Hamilton |
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10:45 - 11:30 |
Continental Breakfast (YBC Forum) Sponsored by HelloNetworks |
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11:30 - 1:00 |
TRACK B Breakout Business |
TRACK C Breakout Technology |
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| Making the Web Work: Promoting and Distributing Your Film Online (YBC Screening Room) Full-motion is not quite here yet, and web-casting companies scratch their heads or just plain fold. But the web really does open doors that didn’t exist before. In the wake of "Blair Witch," what are the real issues and opportunities? Does viral marketing offer a true new link? Mark Litwak, ReelPlay Robin Mudge, Pearson Broadband Julia Pimsleur, MediaRights.org MOD: Jaime Canton, Institute for Global Futures (IGF) |
Streaming Video: A Real Alternative? (YBC Forum) The panel will provide a status report on web video streaming, along with a realistic timetable for the medium to reach maturity. Yet even now, crafty independents can actually take advantage of the current limitations in bandwidth. This is the session for mediamakers who know there’s something there, but can’t quite put their hands on what to do with it. Jan Hauser, Sun Microsystems Paras Shah, Mighty Eyes Craig Ellins, HelloNetwork.com Eileen Quigley, RealImpact MOD: David Pescovitz, Wired, etc. |
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1:00 - 2:30 |
Lunch Break | |||
2:30 - 4:00 |
TRACK B Breakout Business |
TRACK C Breakout Technology |
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| Making an Online Content Deal that Actually Pays (YBC Forum) Licensing, contracting, cashing the check -- or giving away the store. Find out what works and what doesn’t in cutting a deal in the digital age. Bring a note pad and get the actual specifics -- the legal landmines and how to disarm them, walk around them, and even turn them into tools you can use. Brad deGraf, Protozoa Mark Pesce, Playfulworld Reichart Von Wolfsheild, Prolific Publishing Rory O’Connor, Globalvision MOD: Timothy Childs, Eyematic |
Enhanced TV: Fiction or the Future (YBC Screening Room) Enhanced TV is in its infancy and is already being superceded by other interactive technologies. Panelists will demonstrate some of the most cutting edge applications of interactivity and lay out a timetable for popular adoption. For the independent mediamaker with an appetite for the grass over the next hill. Nick DeMartino, AFI Axel Roselius, MTV Europe, cachunk Nancy Saslow, Pushy Broad (I) MOD: David Leitner, Millimeter/producer |
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4:00 - 4:15 |
Break | |||
4:15 - 5:30 |
Plenary (YBC Forum) Its a Wrap: Where Do We Go From Here? The closing plenary session is for both evangelists and doomsayers -- a religious weighing of the future of the "independent" concept itself. Is digital availability going to "cheapen us out of the business" entirely? Or can we confidently prepare to bring our work to an eager new world? Andrew Blau Natalie Jeremijenko, NYU CAT Tommy Pallotta, Flat Black Films Michael Nash, Warner Music Group MOD: David Rosen |
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Mindy Aronoff is Director of Creative and Media Services, Bay Area Video Coalition.
Al Barton, Vice President, Engineering, Sony.
Ben Benjamin is the designer of the website superbad.com.
Andrew Blau has worked with foundations and nonprofits for the last 15 years to shape communications policy and technologies in the public interest.
David Bolt is a producer with Studio Miramar, a San Francisco-based media production company founded in 1990.
Anthony Bregman is Vice-President of Production at Good Machine.
James Canton is President of the Institute for Global Futures, a San Francisco-based think tank.
Denise Caruso has been writing about, and for, the converging industries of digital technology, telecommunications and interactive media for more than fifteen years.
C. Timothy Childs helps produce large-scale electronic art for art happenings such as SIGGRAPH and Burning Man.
Lawrence Daressa has since 1974 been Director of California Newsreel, one of the country's oldest nonprofit film producers and distributors.
Brad deGraf has since 1982 been a leader in computer animation in the entertainment industry.
Nick DeMartino is Associate Director of the American Film Institute; he also directs AFI New Media Ventures.
Craig Ellins is President and Chairman, Board of Directors of helloNetworks.
Roger Garcia is a past director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival and is a widely published critic.
Peter Hamilton is a media consultant and author of the multi-client study "Documentary Television Programming in the Digital Era."
Jan Hauser is a Principal Architect for Advanced Techonology at Sun Microsystems.
Warrington Hudlin is the founder of dvRepublic.com and Executive Producer, Black Filmmaker Foundation TV Lab.
Natalie Jeremijenko is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Technology of New York University's Computer Science Department.
Amy Johns is an assistant managing editor of eCompany Now.
Ken Jordan is co-founder of MediaChannel.org.
Larry Kirkman is President of the Benton Foundation.
D. W. Leitner has over forty producer, director, and cinematographer credits in feature-length documentaries.
Mark Litwak is a veteran entertainment attorney based in Beverly Hills, California.
David Liu has produced, written and directed for film and television and is Executive in Charge of Program Development at the Independent Television Service (ITVS).
Mark Lloyd is the Executive Director of the Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, a project of the Tides Center.
Barbara London is video curator at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Richard Mizer founded Digital Ventures Diversified, Inc., in 1998 to develop and market DVD authoring systems for the professional, industrial and commercial markets.
Robin Mudge is a senior producer at the BBC.
Michael Nash is Senior Vice President, Internet Strategy and Business Development, Warner Music Group.
Diane Livia Nelson is Director of Broadcast Services at KQED TV.
Rob Nilsson is a San Francisco-based director who won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for Northern Lights and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Heat and Sunlight.
Rory O'Connor co-founded Globalvision, Inc.
Tommy Pallotta is a digital animator who worked with Richard Linklater on Real Life, a narrative feature film.
David Pescovitz is a contributing editor to Wired and ID Magazine and writes frequently for Scientific American and the Industry Standard.
Jerry Pierce is Senior Vice President, Technology, Universal Pictures.
Julia Pimsleur is the co-founder and president of MediaRights.org, a not-for-profit website.
Eileen Quigley is General Manager of RealImpact and WebActive at RealNetworks
Axel Roselius was most recently Head of Interactive Programs, MTV Networks Europe.
Lawrence Sapadin is Vice President of Business Affairs at Winstar TV & Video, a division of Winstar Communications.
Tom Scott is a founder of Entertainment Digital Network (ED Net) and serves as VP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer.
Paras Shah is Director of Business Development for Mighty Eyes.
Gigi Sohn is a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation's Media Arts and Culture Division.
Baron R. K. Von Wolfsheild is founder of Prolific, a videogame company.
David Wallace is a producer at the BBC's Natural History Unit.
Richard White is a co-founder and board member of INITIAL CUT, an independent interactive media development house.