Sunday, 27 October 2013
Switched On: Behind enemy lines
“Post-Print” Startup Stateless Media Creates Short, Smart Documentaries For The Web
My recent conversation with Stateless Media's Peter Savodnik was a bit discombobulating. He's had what seems like a successful career in longform journalism, with publications in The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, GQ, and elsewhere. Yet he sounded awfully pessimistic about print - and as someone who makes his living as a writer, that's not exactly what I wanted to hear.
On the other hand, Savodnik has a vision for what might replace the feature magazine articles that he used to write, and he's pursuing it through his new company. (Stateless Media's website describes the content as “post-print storytelling”.) Traditional media outlets, he argued, aren't giving the younger audience “what they want.”
“We can lament the fact that people don't want to read long, thoughtful stories, but that doesn't change the facts on the ground,” he said. “I guess my very strong feeling is that we have a real opportunity here to reconnect with millions and millions of media consumers.”
The vehicle for that connection is something Savodnik has dubbed the “shortreal”, which is essentially an 11-minute online documentary. Stateless Media has released two shortreals thus far, one called “The Brothers Shaikh” (embedded at the end of this post) and a second called “Chutzpah“. And it just released the trailer for a third (which you can watch below), “Being Radler,” covering “the hunt for an East German spy.”
I thought “Chutzpah”, in particular, was well done - it addresses a familiar topic (politician Anthony Weiner), but in a fresh and entertaining way (and according to the Stateless Media site, it has been viewed 14,326 times).
But what makes a shortreal different from any other online video and actually worthy of a new buzzword? Savodnik argued that the aims are implicit in the name - a shortreal doesn't take much time to watch (the 11-minute duration was chosen because it's half the length of a 30-minute TV episode, minus the commercials) and it tells a true story. That storytelling, he added, is what's missing from many documentaries, some of which are more concerned about being beautiful, while others are “cause-driven” and “predictable”: “We know from the start where we're being led and what we're going to think.”
“I have the utmost respect for that, but a story is a real story,” Savodnik said. “There are complicated characters who develop over time.”
The initial shortreals were directed by filmmakers Edward Perkins and Kannan Arunasalam. Perkins told me via email that even though he's directed documentary films for the National Geographic Channel and behind-the-scenes featurettes for films include The Eagle and Searching For Sugar Man, shortreals are “fundamentally different from anything I have worked on before” because they combine “the best of investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking.”
“People have always wanted to hear great stories, and will continue to do so,” he said. “But the way in which they want to consume stories is changing. We want to give people people these stories exactly how and when they want them. On phones. On laptops. On tablets. And in a short 11 minute format that still explores complex issues, embraces ambiguity, and throws up surprises.”
Arunasalam said that a shortreal is closer to a short film than a documentary, “with a very cinematic look and feel.” He offered this explanation for how they're put together:
For me, it's an interesting dynamic between the investigative journalist and the filmmaker working together. Usually, as a filmmaker you're on your own to tell the story. But here, the story is reported by the journalist, who does the investigating and the digging for characters and story-lines - so far mainly by Peter - and the responsibility of making the film rests with the filmmaker. With the Stateless Media approach, the skills of both filmmaker and journalist are fine-tuned to the storytelling process, to make the best possible film.
Stateless has been self-funded thus far, and it sounds like it's still very much in the experimental stages - for example, Savodnik said he learned a lot from the production of “The Brothers Sheikh” that led to big improvements in “Chutzpah”.
The ultimate goal, he said, is to build out a team of filmmakers who create shortreals from around the world, and to turn Stateless Media into the destination site for that content: “Basically the stories that we like to tell are stories that are - I guess there's no other way to put it - unexpected, stories that don't fit into conventional frameworks.”
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/40TYVCBFjJU/
Photos of White Nexus 5 Smartphone Leak Online
New York City Street Lights to Get LED Overhaul
'First Look' Robot Does the Dirty Work For You
Nexus 5 reportedly due to launch on November 1st, will be available in black and white models
Nueva versión/homenaje de La Guerra de los Mundos de Jeff Wayne
Es una creación de Ollie Teeba de The Herbaliser formada por música suya que acompaña a todo el diálogo grabado por Richard Burton para la versión de Jeff Wayne, que es mucho más del incluido en esta y que Teeba encontró en uno de los discos de la edición del coleccionista del original.
Se emitió en la segunda hora de la edición del 25 de octubre de Solid Steel ; también se puede oír y descargar de Solid Steel Radio Show 25/10/2013 Part 3 + 4 - Ollie Teeba (The Herbaliser).
Y claro, siempre es una oportunidad para volver a escuchar la versión de Jeff Wayne, que después de todos estos años sigue pareciéndome magnífica.
(Vía MetaFilter).
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/musica/nueva-version-homenaje-guerra-de-los-mundos-de-jeff-wayne.html
Medium opens its social publishing platform to all Twitter users
Map Dive: paracaidismo sobre los mapas de Google
En Map Dive puedes jugar con los mapas de Google de otra forma haciendo descender a un muñeco desde las alturas hasta los lugares más emblemáticos que se marcan como objetivos. Basta usar las teclas del cursor y seguir las indicaciones; no es demasiado complicado y desde luego permite ver las ciudades... de otra forma.
En la página del juego se puede ver el «cómo se hizo» y hasta descargar el código fuente.
(Vía The Next Web.)
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/juegos-y-diversion/map-dive-paracaidismo.html
The Cult of LEGO, un libro para los apasionados de esas piezas multicolor
Escrito por John Baichtal de Make y Joe Meno de BrickJournal este libro es un viaje ilustrado por creaciones hechas con Lego de gente de todo el mundo y de todo tipo de perfiles, desde profesionales del Lego hasta aficionados.
The Cult of LEGO está disponible en Kindle, pero yo creo que es uno de estos que hay que tener en papel.
(Vía Brain Pickings).
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/libros/the-cult-of-lego-un-libro-para-los-apasionados-de-esas-piezas-multicolor.html
Time Machines - Wireless wonder
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Amazonian biosphere, 3D-printed coral reefs and an 11-acre portrait
The After Math: two new iPads, two new Windows Phones and Instagram news
Tesco Hudl review: Can a supermarket chain put out a decent tablet?
iPad Air coming to US Cellular and regional carriers starting November 8th
Watch The Disrupt Europe Hackathon Right Here
Here at Disrupt Europe in Berlin, coders, hackers, engineers, and designers spent the last 24 hours to build the best product possible.
There has been trials and tribulations, hotdogs and donuts, and quite a bit of Club Mate, and it all culminates today with the Hackathon Presentations.
We have around 100 hacks hitting the Disrupt stage, each getting one minute to present to a panel of incredible judges, including TechStars Managing Director in London Jon Bradford and SoundCloud's VP of Engineering Alexander Grosse.
The winner will walk away with $5,000, along with 2 tickets to TechCrunch Disrupt Europe. Plus, our API sponsors are offering up some amazing prizes as well, including the opportunity to win a Lumia 925 from Yammer.
It should be a Hackathon to remember, which is why this video will be available until the end of time (or the Internet), but there's nothing like watching the drama unfold live.
Sit back, relax, and perhaps witness the inception of the next GroupMe.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/eVmZtxA6gc0/
Alcatel's 7-inch OneTouch Pop tablets are colorful, and subject to leaks
Nokia Lumia 929 caught on video, may reach Verizon by Thanksgiving
Ask Engadget: best device for the elderly?
Jony Ive turns Mac Pro RED for charity
Thermoelectric Bracelet Heats or Cools Your Body in One Switch
