- Friday, January 30
- Saturday, January 31
- Sunday, February 1
6:30- 9:30 pm |
Opening Night Indie Block Party The Battery Street Digital Space and LinkTV will host an Indie Block Party at 950 Battery Street @ Green in San Francisco. Admission is free for conference attendees, or $10 at the door. Visit http://www.batterydigital.com/di2004/ for more info |
| 8:00- 9:15 am |
Registration |
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9:15- 9:30 |
Welcome & Opening Remarks |
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9:30- 10:50 |
Plenary Session 1 The Secret Life of Indies: A Digital Status Report Over the last two decades, the independent filmmaker has become both the model of uncompromising creative spirit and a symbol of the artistic American dream. While many independent makers use their first film success as a calling card to land multi-million-dollar Hollywood projects, many others continue to work outside the studio system holding fiercely to their independence to ensure artistic control. How are independents combining their original visions with business savvy—and shaping the future of production and distribution alike? This panel is a platform for independent media makers to discuss the state of the field by exploring creative and business issues as well as their social concerns. Mark Decena Director & co-writer, Dopamine Warrington Hudlin Founder, dvRepublic; producer “House Party,” “Boomerang” and “Bebe’s Kids.” Harvey Kahn We Don’t Live Here Anymore (Sundance 2004) Michael Fox Film critic, SF Weekly; Moderator |
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11:00- 12:20 |
Breakout Sessions |
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| Who Owns This? A Creative Alternative to Intellectual Property Even as Congress and the Supreme Court extend copyright protection to 99 years, the media conglomerates - Hollywood studios, giant record labels and major publishers – continue to devour intellectual property. Faced by a shrinking public domain, some independent media makers have gone looking for alternatives to the current intellectual property regime. What are the options—and how can independents benefit? Profiling the alternative model championed by Creative Commons, this panel examines efforts to increase the sum of source material available online and to create cheaper, easier public licenses for a variety of creative works (including websites, scholarship, music, film, photography, literature, and courseware). Can an alternative model work and be sustained? Panelists include: Glenn Brown Executive Director , creativecommons.com Rick Prelinger Prelinger Archives and the Internet Archive Wendy Seltzer Staff Attorney, Fair Use & Intellectual Property, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Moderator Siva Vaidhyanathan author “Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity” and Assistant Professor in the Department of Culture and Communication, New York University |
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| New Money For New Art: Funding Options in the Digital Age Media artists have quickly seized the new tools and techniques of digital technology to express their creative visions in astonishing new ways. But what new forms of support – financial, resources and institutional – are available to help foster and sustain these new forms? Looking at the models of two innovative New York institutions, Eyebeam and Creative Capital, this panel explores organizational support for art in the digital age. Eyebeam provides access, education and support for students, artists and the general public in the field of art and technology; Creative Capital is a catalyst for artists pursuing innovation in form and/or content in the performing and visual arts, film and video, and emerging art forms. Panelists include: Christine Elbel Executive Director, Fleishhacker Foundation John Johnson Founder and Executive Director, Eyebeam Ruby Lerner Chief Executive Officer and President, Creative Capital Dana Plautz Chair, Art and Entertainment Research Committee, Intel |
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| Indies of the World, Unite? Rethinking Community In the face of global media conglomerates, a regressive Bush administration and an endless dot-bomb recession economy, the seeds of a new emboldened independent media community continue to thrive. But what does it mean to speak of community and how can it be sustained? This panel looks to define the independent media community and examine the possibilities for independents looking to tap their collective power for influence and change. Panelists include: Mark Graham Vice President of Technology, iVillage.com Alyce Myatt Multimedia Editor, OneWorld TV Howard Rheingold author of "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution” and “The Virtual Community” Sanford Rosenberg President, Media Research Associates David Rosen author & independent media consultant; Moderator |
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| What’s Our Mission? How Digital Impacts Media Arts Organizations In the Bay Area, a rich network of media arts organization provide invaluable support to diverse media makers, fostering their creative spirit and building community. This panel explores the impact of digital technologies on the role and mission of these organizations. Audience members are invited to actively contribute their experiences and ideas in an open discussion about how media organizations can maximize their impact and meet the Bay Area community’s needs. Panelists Include: Andrew Blau practitioner, Global Business Network (GBN) Helen De Michiel National Director, National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) Jeff Perlstein Executive Director, Media Alliance Eddie Wong Executive Director, National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA) |
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12:30- 2:00 |
Lunch Special Interest Groups |
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| 2:10 - 3:30 |
Breakout Sessions |
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| Art in the Age of Zeros and Ones What new possibilities has digital technology created for visual and other artists? With a stunning array of new tools and techniques at their disposal, many of yesterday’s painters have become today’s digital artists, using technology to forge new visions that until recently were out of reach. In this panel, Greg Niemeyer will screen his film, Organum as part of a discussion on the impact of technology on contemporary art. Panelists include: Shawnee Gibbs Program Coordinator, Youth Sounds Greg Niemeyer Assistant Professor of Art, Technology and Culture, UC Berkeley Departments of Art Practice and Film Studies Dana Plautz Chair, Art and Entertainment Research Committee, Intel - moderator Christine Robbins Associate Professor, School of Fine Arts, USC Beau Takahara Director and CEO of ZeroOne |
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| The New New Journalism: Engaging a Digital Citizenry The media consolidations among print, TV, and radio outlets has combined with the enormous expansion of the Internet to create a new era of journalism. Emerging channels, we blogs and other entities such as Indymedia, Alternet, and Mediachannel have created easy access to alternative sources of information, challenging the hegemony of broadcast TV and cable programming. How have these changes impacted news consumers and working journalists alike? Panelists include: Sandy Close Executive Director, Pacific News Service Dan Gillmor technology columnist, San Jose Mercury News Raj coordinator and co-founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug Danny Schechter Founder and Executive Editor, Mediachannel.org Kim Spencer President, Link TV Chuleenan Svetvilas Editor, Release Print, Film Arts Foundation - moderator |
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| Independent Media & Piracy Are independents champions of the creative commons who download music from the Internet—or struggling artists worried about losing income from their work? Against the background of the Hollywood studios’ and record labels’ much-publicized war against online content theft, what are the options for small, independent media distributors and media makers? How do independents make money if their content is not protected? And how do – or should - public institutions that purchase independent media products, such as libraries, protect these works? This panel tackles the content piracy issue from the perspective of independent media makers. Panelists include: Larry Daressa California Newsreel Wendy Seltzer Staff Attorney, Fair Use & Intellectual Property, Electronic Frontier Foundation Neil Sieling Media arts curator, television producer, and media systems architect; Moderator |
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| Creating A Winning Pitch (Game Workshop) Presented by  What do indies need to know about pitching in the game industry? This panel will explore both the magic and mechanics of a successful pitch, using three game pitches from audience participants as models. The impact of digital technology on the proposal process with also be examined. The panel will feature an open question and answer session with game industry executives. Kurt Busch Vice President Product Development, Konami Mark DeLoura Manager of Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment; Judge, 2004 Independent Games Festival Tracy Fullerton USC School of Cinema-Television Alan Yu Director, Game Developers Conference |
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3:40- 5:00 |
Plenary Session 2 (Dual Sessions) Who’s Standards? The Impact of Digital Distribution on Cinema and Television |
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| Digital Distribution: To the Theatre With Hollywood's Digital Cinema Initiative scheduled to release the final specifications for digital cinema in early 2004, a new era of movie distribution and exhibition is about to get underway. What are these specs and what will happen next? How will these developments affect the growth of independent exhibition, especially in non-traditional venues such as museums, coffee houses, hotels and others? Panelists include: Joel S. Bachar Founder/Creative Director, Microcinema International Robert Hoffman Vice President Marketing and Publicity, Technicolor Gary Meyer Owner, Balboa Theatre, Co-founder Landmark Theaters Rich Mizer President/CEO of Digital Ventures Diversified Inc., Western Regional Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Governor James Canton Chairman and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, Moderator This panel is presented in partnership with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) |
Digital Distribution: To the Home The delivery of media to the home has been a major battleground over three distribution models: packaged products (e.g. CD or DVD), airwaves transmission (terrestrial, satellite, radio, etc.), and wire transmission (cable, telephone.) What will happen after the planned exponential growth of digital video recorders? And what do we need to know about how video-on-demand is increasingly prominent in industry plans for home delivery? Will digital cable or broadband provide independents with a viable alternative to existing cable and terrestrial conglomerate bottlenecks? Panelists include: John Boland Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, KQED John W. Higgins President, San Francisco Community Television Corporation Martin Kuhn Sony Strategic Venture, SONY Corporation Jim Feeley Editor In-Chief, Digital Video magazine - moderator |
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5:00- 7:00 |
DI2004 Indie Media Expo & Reception Please join us for a cocktail reception featuring over 40 exhibitors offering products, services and organizational support to independent media makers. Network with fellow conference attendees, panelists and exhibitors while enjoying appetizers, drinks and light entertainment. Free to conference registrants. For information on exhibiting, please contact us. |
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7:00- 9:00 |
Paul D. Miller/DJ Spooky Presents Sound Unbound/Rhythm Science A "live" multi-media presentation of the history of digital art and media from the viewpoint of an artist who uses "found objects" like a dj - i.e. it's a subjective selection where old video material will be remixed and combined with new... history itself will be the material for the mix, and the lecture presentation will focus on how dj culture has evolved out of the same technologies that are used for digital media and art. www.djspooky.com Admission free with conference registration. $30 public. |
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| 8:00- 9:15 am |
Registration |
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9:15- 9:30 |
Welcome & Opening Remarks |
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| 9:30- 10:50 |
Plenary Session 1 (Dual Sessions) | |||
| Mass Media or My Media? Federal Regulations and the Future The recent Congressional reversal of the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to restructure mass media ownership rules was a watershed moment of popular participation in the national political process, uniting all shades of the political spectrum. Does this development signal a growing grassroots movement of media activism taking shape? Where does the community of independent media makers go from here? This panel provides a status report of the current Federal regulatory areas of concern, including the digital divide, broadband, media concentration and Internet common carriage. Panelists include: Nolan Bowie Senior Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Jeff Chester Executive Director, Center for Digital Democracy Ellen Schneider Executive Director, Active Voice - Moderator |
Indie Power! Leveraging Social Capital in the Digital Age As fiercely individual artists and thinkers, independent media makers have been slow to recognize the collective power they wield as apolitical, economic, and socially responsible force. Today, the proliferation of online community-building and information tools makes it easier to self-organize, distribute, and form powerful alliances. This panel will examine technologies and strategies that enable indies to leverage their network and to spend their time, money, and effort in ways that feed back into the indie community. Panelists include: Bart Decrem Foreign Substance, The Mozilla Foundation, OSAF Brad deGraf Media Venture Collective, Internet Archive Greg Steltenpohl Executive Director, Interra Ken Jordan Author, Augmented Social Network Neil Sieling Media arts curator, television producer, and media systems architect; Moderator |
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11:00- 12:20 |
Breakout Sessions |
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| The Media Policy Map for Filmmakers The enormous recent changes in filmmaking practice, from creation to distribution, are driven as much by policy decisions as by digital innovation. How does a creative artist know what to pay attention to, where to go for the most current information, and who’s providing the best pro-filmmaker strategies? The Independent Television Service and American University’s Center for Social Media have teamed up to create a public policy primer to help filmmakers understand the hottest communication policy issues as they affect filmmakers. The ITVS/CSM policy primer will be rele ased at this panel. Panelists include: Pat Aufderheide Professor and Director, Center for Social Media, American University Harold Feld Associate Director, Media Access Project (MAP) Sally Fifer President & CEO Independent Television Service Shari Kizirian Managing Editor, Release Print Magazine Vivian Kleiman Producer, filmmaker and Adjunct Professor, Graduate Program of Documentary Film & Video Production, Stanford University |
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| Creating New Texts, Telling New Stories One of the areas where digital technology is beginning to fulfill its promise of new creative expression is in storytelling. Digital media helps integrate traditionally distinct forms of expression such as text, still images, moving images, audio and vast libraries of documentation and supplementary information—while bridging the gap between audiences and media makers through interactive possibilities. This panel brings together innovative independent storytellers and other artists who are creating new forms of representation. Panelists include: Carroll Parrot Blue author of, “The Dawn At My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing.” Professor, San Diego State University Joe Lambert Co-Director, Center for Digital Storytelling; Moderator Emily Paulos Director, Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California John Sanborn Writer, director: Comedy Central, National Lampoon, Electronic Arts, and eBay Thenmozhi Soundararajan Founder and Executive Director, Third World Majority |
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| Big Brother or Indie Power? Identity, Privacy and Security in the Digital Age With every credit card transaction and log-on to the Internet, we leave a digital trail behind us. Like a fingerprint or DNA marker, this trail can be traced by anyone with the means to follow--the government, an advertiser or an anonymous hacker. But beyond these threats, what new possibilities for collaboration and community does this technology present for independent makers? This panel looks at the threats and opportunities of digital identity, personal privacy and security for independents. Panelists include: Jan Hauser ManyOne Networks; Former Principal Architect, Sun Microsystems Larry Irving Chief Strategist, Privacy Council, Inc. Ken Jordan Augmented Social Network; moderator |
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| Creating A Winning Pitch (Film & Television Workshop) What does it take to win public or private funding in today’s ultra-competitive landscape? This panel will explore both the magic and mechanics of a successful pitch, using three documentary pitches from audience participants as models. The impact of digital technology on the proposal process with also be examined. The panel will feature an open question and answer session with film and television programming executives. Panelists Include: Claire Aguilar Director of Programming, Independent Television Service (ITVS) Cara Mertes Executive Producer, PBS award winning series, P.O.V Mark Samels Executive Producer, American Experience, WGBH Bart Weiss President of the Board AIVF, Director Dallas Video Festival |
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12:30- 2:00 |
Lunch Special Presentation: Enhanced TV What do the latest prototypes of enhanced TV (eTV) look like? Join the American Film Institute (AFI), Independent Lens and their eTV partners for this special demonstration that merges the interactivity of the web with the storytelling power of television. Independent Lens, the weekly primetime PBS series, was selected by AFI Enhanced TV Workshop as one of eight projects for development in 2003. The demonstration will feature the AFI/Independent Lens eTV prototype which was developed over five months by a team of creatives and developers. Erin Flood, American Film Institute Tracy Fullerton, USC School of Cinema-Television Robert Holmes, Sudden Industries Aimee Viles, Senior Product Manager, Ensequence Lois Vossen, Producer, Independent Lens, ITVS |
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| 2:10 - 3:30 |
Breakout Sessions |
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| After the Bubble: The Bay Area & Beyond In the wake of a sustained recession, September 11, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an era of new sobriety has reshaped current thinking about risk and reward. This new era, however, has also ushered in opportunities of new technologies and a unexpected, renewed sense of media activism. This panel assesses the current economic climate and, in particular, the investment and support climate for independent media in the Bay area and beyond. Panelists include: David Lazarus Business Columnist for Lazarus at Large, in the San Francisco Chronicle. Barry Poltermann CEO, Civilian Pictures R. Sean Randolph Presid ent, Bay Area Economic Forum David Rosen author & independent media consultant; Moderator |
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| International Indies: Lessons From Beyond Our Borders From new production and distribution technologies to the tidal pull of globalization, the forces transforming the U.S. media landscape are also reshaping the work of media makers throughout the world. Just as nations like Japan, Korea, and Canada continue to outpace the U.S. in broadband adoption, international independent producers are pioneering technological innovations informed by cultural differences and local markets. Examining developments in Eastern Europe, this panel, sponsored by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, profiles international developments relevant to American artists and independent media makers. Panelists include: Yang Fudong Shanghai-based Film Artist Young Hay Research artist, Centre for Media Technology, City University of Hong Kong Marko Peljhan directed the Ljudmila (Ljubljana Digital Media Center) and is founder of MakroLab, currently teaching at UC Santa Barbara. Alexei Shulgin freelance artist, curator & musician Barbara London moderator - Associate Curator, Department of Film and Video – Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. |
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| Playing the Video Game Is there a place for independents in the exploding field of video games? This panel looks at the video game production process, assessing current opportunities for media makers and the impact of an emerging broadband revolution. How are the diverse talents of independent media makers—from artists to animators, designers to film/video-makers, musicians to programmers—being harnessed by video game developers today? Panelists include: Will Wright Electronic Arts, creator of “SimCity.” Mitzi McGilvray Executive Producer, Tapwave Celia Pearce Arts Research Manager/ Associate Director, Game Culture & Technology Lab, UC Irvine |
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| Independent Radio Goes Digital Radio, especially community public radio, is a vital force in fostering popular discourse in America. Now, with the emergence of digital radio – both online and satellite – local stations and smaller networks can reach nationwide and worldwide audiences. How is this change affecting the way community radio stations are operating, the stories they cover, and the communities they serve? Bringing together representatives from public and community radio, this panel examines the impact of new technologies on distribution, production and content. Panelists include: Ana Lilia Barraza KUBO Radio Bilingüe Peggy Berryhill Independent radio and multimedia Producer; Founder, Native Media Resource Center Lisa Rudman Executive Director, National Radio Project; Moderator Additional panelists to be announced Nicole Sawaya General Manager, KALW |
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3:40- 5:00 |
Plenary 2 Digital Interdependence: Building a Leadership Network of Digital Independents Between the failed promises of the dot-com revolution and the DTV full conversion deadlines looms an ongoing battle for the future of digital technology. In this moment of enormous possibilities and an uncertain path ahead, where will independent makers turn for leadership in 2004? Which existing networks can tap the combined power of independents—or are new organizations needed to plot the course of digital independence? Brewster Kahle Digital Librarian, Director and Co-founder of the Internet Archive Paul D. Miller Digital Artist and Performer (aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid) Alyce Myatt Multimedia Editor, OneWorld TV David Rosen Convener, Digital Independence Thenmozhi Soundararajan Founder and Executive Director, Third World Majority Neil Sieling Media arts curator, television producer, and media systems architect; Moderator |
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