GreenSpeak.TV Blog

Innovation Journalism Conference: Update on Environmental Reporting Sessions

2010-06-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

I attended the 7th Innovation Journalism conference at Stanford today and learned about environmental journalism from two unique points of view in breakout sessions during the conference proceedings.

Quest - KQED's Science Journalism Programming

Producer: KQED
Budget: $2.5 million annual budget
Funding: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Science Foundation

Output:
Radio: 50 (weekly) radio shows
Television: 20 half hours television programs (2 long and 1 short story)
Online: web site
Education: Classroom teacher guides
Distribution: KQED, online and syndicates content to partner and mainstream media providers (free)

Paul Rogers, the half time managing editor of Quest (he works half time as an environmental reporter for San Jose Mercury News the rest of the time), led a breakout session on the Quest production effort. It has a collaborative, open source approach to creating content internally- for instance, using wikis for notes used by all the staff - collaborative decision making in deciding which stories to cover, and cross utilizing audio from TV for radio programming, for example.

Quest has built an enviable track record of success, winning a number of Emmys and has received additional funding from the National Science Foundation to extend its success to PBS stations in other markets including Seattle, Philadelphia and Tampa. Rogers talked about how other locations can replicate its success with resources as low as $100,000 or less.

Greentech Media A Venture-Funded Media Startup

Producer: Greentech Media
Budget: unknown
Funding: venture capital

Online: web site
Conferences: for profit conferences
Research Group: for pay research reports

Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media provided insight into a daily web journalism site that publishes information on all forms of cleantech and greentech developments.

I'll provide more detail on this venture soon.

The Power of the Visual

2010-06-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

A remarkable new graphical style is emerging from the internet soup - visually scribed videos. Before you say what's that, have a quick look and you'll see how it's marrying text and graphics to talking.

This is a fabulous stylistic technique that environmentalists could use to great effect.

The creators of these videos is Cognitive Media in the UK.

Drawn to Yellowstone

2010-06-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Last summer I visited Yellowstone for the first time and was struck by the story of how the art made of the place sold Congress on making it into a national park - the first national park, in fact. I took lots of photos of the art intending to begin a class series on environmentalists and visual media with this story.

Now a new PBS documentary (made by local filmmakers in Wyoming) chronicles the tale in its full glory. See the film's web site for details: Drawn to Yellowstone. Check out the video clips on the site - it looks quite good. Peter Coyote narrates.

Dirt The Movie

2010-05-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

A great new documentary...you can rent it on Netflix.

Wondering About The Latest Oil Spill?

2010-05-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here's what Riki Ott has to say about the latest oil spill...take a look.

I just ordered her book and companion DVD Not One Drop and you can too! It's all on Amazon.com.

Just Like on Jon Stewart: You Can View CPAN Clips Too!

2010-03-17T12:56:00.001-07:00

One of the regular (and funny) segments running on The Daily Show features government representatives and the changes in their rhetoric over the years. Jon Stewart's relentless minions isolate and find sudden changes in political viewpoints to show the hideously partisan underpinnings of elected representatives.

Well now citizens have that same power at their fingertips. You no longer have to have a full time CPAN research team to find comments of elected officials from the last 25 years. You know have CPAN's entire archive available online for all to see.

Read details here in the New York Times coverage of CPAN's archives launch.

Or visit CPAN's top picks from its archives here.

Treasure Trove For Environmentalists: EPA Releases 15,000 Photos

2010-03-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

A remarkable step forward in the ability of Americans to see environmental degradation:

The EPA has just released 15,000 photos taken in the 1970s and made them available on Flickr. Learn more in this Mother Jones article.

Environmentalists can use these photos to compare with current photos to show impacts.

Go here to see the photos: they're in the National Archives on Flickr.

Jalaka Has A Cool Map Ap

2010-03-03T23:25:00.000-08:00

Did you know that for just $10 you can get a map building ap that lets you create great looking interactive maps in Flash? Check out Jalaka.com.

Banff Mountain Film Festival: in Bay Area Now!

2010-03-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Don't miss the latest Banff Mountain Film Festival coming this week to the Bay Area:

For screening times and locations, see here.

My New Favorite TV Show: Crime Scene Wild

2010-03-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this new series on Planet Green? Check it out here:

Here's a link to the current schedule.

And another link to the web site of Freeland Foundation, the nonprofit activist group that's behind this program.

It's kind of like Whale Wars - enviro reality TV. That's hot!

Here's another YouTube video promo of the show:

My New Favorite Ap

2010-03-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

For many people, Flash IS a video, and that's why I am highlighting this great FREE tool that lets you make self-running Flash movies from your Powerpoint presentations. This is huge help for many people who would rather have a 5 or 15 or even a 60 minute presentation that their web visitors or Facebook friends can see on demand.

Here's how to get started with iSpring.

Top of My Wish List

2010-02-23T23:49:00.001-08:00

This amazing new 360 degree video camcorder must have thousands of uses...I am not sure how I would use it, but I know if I had one, I would figure it out in short order. Take a look:

Find, specs on the Sony site and buying info here. It sells on the Sony site for $189.

From Zero to 25,000 Views

2010-02-02T10:27:00.001-08:00

This summer I spent some time consulting (pro bono) to a fabulous group called Elephant Voices. Elephant Voices is the nonprofit home of the world-famous elephant researcher Joyce Poole, who made breakthrough discoveries in elephant communication during her decades of research studying elephants in Ambroseli, a game preserve in Africa.

Joyce and her husband and partner in her work Petter Granli took the consulting advice to heart and I'm happy to see they've been publishing new Animoto videos about their work now in trying to stop the ivory trade, which is decimating elephant populations in Africa. The rising affluence among Chinese people seems to be at the heart of the increasing demand for ivory. Here's a video the two of them made and posted this week:

They have a YouTube channel and have 25,000 views.

Another friend, and a great support of Elephant Voices, Coco Hall (who introduced me to Joyce and Petter) also made her own video using Animoto. It uses video as well as photos to tell a rather more harrowing video. I will post a link to the second video example here.

Japanese News View of The Cove

2010-02-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

The Making of THE COVE

2010-01-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

You'll see the trailer of the film for the first two and a half minutes of this video but then comes a Making of video that shows you how the hidden cameras (underwater and a nest) were created and placed:

Stop Motion Animation

2010-01-31T13:57:00.001-08:00

This year was the year Stop Motion Animation had its Hollywood closeup with not one but two movies - Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline. Stop motion is gaining ground in web video as well, from us non studio types.

Here's one fine example of a video made entirely in stop motion - using only post it notes! Granted this is pretty grand but you could also do something much smaller and have it be impactful.

Think about how you could use stickies and basic graphic concepts to get your point across.

Here's a bit about the making of Fantastic Mr. Fox. You'll get an idea of how hard a feature film is - but then don't forget you can, like the video above, get your message across just with stickies, too!

Here is a making of video about Coraline as well:

What ideas does stop motion inspire for you?

Visualizing Climate Change (and Solutions): Our History

2010-01-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

For 50 years, the Santa-Cruz-based artists the Harrisons have been making art about ecosystems and climate change. They spoke Saturday at the KALA Institute in Berkeley to a gathering of artists and art lovers about their current exhibit at KALA.

In 2010, we look at it and think of Google maps and how we are now able to visualize environmental changes, but in their day, there was hardly anyone doing it. And even today, it's great to see how the Tibetan plateau looks - in a giant photo - and try to understand what it will mean when all those glaciers melt down, depriving Asia of most of its water supply. Seeing it in the spaciousness (both physical and emotional and mental space) of a gallery lets us focus and see more clearly.

It's time to learn all we can about their work and carry it forward.

Take a Wild Guess

2010-01-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

How many people do you think watched the State of the Union address on TV?

Online?

Here's the answer from the White House:

48 million on TV

1.3 million online

1.3, eh?

http://mashable.com/2010/01/29/state-of-the-union-numbers/

You could also have watched it on the government's iPhone ap...or added yours to the 9,000 questions posed on CitizenTube.com (a U.S. government channel). There were also 50,000 people on Facebook.

What do you do after The Story of Stuff? The Cap and Trade Video

2010-01-29T00:38:00.000-08:00

Replicating success isn't as easy as it you might think. Will The Cap and Trade video be able to catch up to its popular predecessor - The Story of Stuff - which has been seen by over 7 million people?

So far the count for the Cap and Trade animated short (made by Berkeley's own Free Range Studio, an animation house) stands at 268,000 views to date - highly respectable - and we'll stay tuned to its trajectory and wish it well.

The Stuff group now has 2 more COMING SOON videos. One will focus on The Story of Electronics. Another on The Story of Bottled Water. Learn more here.

The Class of Jan. 22, 2010

2010-01-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

Here's moi (Pam) with web video marketing class from last week held at Techliminal, a wonderful walk-in tech salon and beehive of activity in downtown Oakland.

This intro class had four students: a volunteer from the Oakland Rose Garden; Tora Rocha, of Oakland's Morcom Rose Garden; Oakland resident John Klein; and Michael Mitrani, Earth Island Institute (not pictured).

Tora made a very successful video for the rose garden which has been posted on the garden's Facebook page and has attracted a lot of comments, attention and PRAISE. Tora says it's also attracted many new friends and followers to the garden's Facebook group.

Here's her Animoto video about the wonderful volunteers in the garden:

NEXT CLASS: FEB. 19

The next Intro to Web Video Marketing Class will be held Friday, Feb. 19, from 9 to 3 pm. For more info, visit www.webvideomarketingclub.com where you can also register for the Feb. class. The fee is $95. You'll learn how to use web video for your business or cause, without having to learn how to shoot and edit video, using free or low-cost tools and services. Come discover how video can make your organization grow!

A FREE Professionally Made Video - Yes, FREE

2010-01-28T00:05:00.001-08:00

Turnhere.com's been experimenting with various pricing over the last few years as it tries to become the go to place for professionally produced, low-cost videos for small businesses and others. This summer the price was $500 for a 2 minute piece (shot on location at your place). Earlier it was $899. Now - it's FREE. Yes, you read that right - FREE FOR A ONE MINUTE VIDEO SHOT ON LOCATION.

It's free for three months, at least.

After that, you'll need to start paying - you have choices. The $19.99 a month plan promotes your video here there and everywhere online. If you want to download a copy of the video and post it yourself, that'll run you $599. Still, it seems like the steal/deal of the century to me.

So let's review the economics of the situation here:

You order and receive a video - FREE.
If, after three months, you like it and want TurnHere to promote you in search, online, in Google Local, etc. - you pay only $20 a month. That's $240 a year including SEO, etc.

If you want to do your own online placement, you pay $599.

But if you get a video and use it for a year, that's going to run you 9 months at $20 = $180. Yowsa.

I say - Go For It - and soon. Who knows when this offer will change up on you. And you'll go - oh no, I shudda, cudda, wudda. Sign up now! You've got nothing to lose.

Check it out here.

Pollan Video on Fora.TV

2010-01-27T13:03:00.001-08:00

What's Your Favorite Green Video?

2010-01-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

If you were a small environmental organization, what video would you want to make to get your point across and perhaps also raise funds for your group? I am sure there are some great ones out there....what are some of the best ones you've seen lately?

I am putting together a top 10 list and a top 100 list so send your thoughts to me!

Great Video Example

2010-01-27T11:59:00.001-08:00

I am getting ready to teach some classes to environmental groups on using web video and looking for best practices examples when this appeared in my email inbox from a friend - check it out!

See It Online: Hidden Bounty of Marin: Family Farms in Transition

2009-11-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

Photo: Steve Quirt (left) helped rancher Mike Gale make the transition to organic farming.

Ever wondered where that Strauss milk comes from? Or that Cowgirl Creamery cheese? This 27 minutes film gives you a virtual tour of the top producers and growers in West Marin.

You can watch the film in its entirety on YouTube in HD - awesome!

• Story about the film from Marin IJ
• See film here

If only every farmers market participant could have a short video online telling their story - how cool would that be.

Amazon Chief Reaches Out to Google Earth Outreach

2009-11-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

Photo: Amazon Sui Indian Chief Almir, 32, at Mill Valley Film Festival screening of the film Trading Bows and Arrows For Laptops

Google Earth Outreach continued to work with the Amazon Indian tribe that enlisted their aid in 2007 to help reverse deforestation of their native areas.

Now their story is told in this 8 minute film Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops which screened at the festival - but you can watch the entire piece on YouTube right here:

One million new saplings have already been planted - proof positive that we can indeed turn deforestation around if we direct our resources in that direction. This is also a compelling illustration of the power of online mapping and visualizing data to aid activists efforts.

Read more about this story in the Chronicle's coverage of the campaign.

Homegrown, Film about Urban Family Farm, Screened at Mill Valley Film Festival

2009-10-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Fall in the Bay Area and it's time for...The Mill Valley Film Festival. The festival usually features a few green films - this year not as many as last year but oh well. Films I saw were Homegrown, Hidden Bounty of Marin: Farm Families in Transition, and Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops. I'll post about the latter two films in other posts. Also screening was Tapped, a film about bottled water.

Homegrown - "Sustainablity" From Your Own Backyard"

A family in LA living near a freeway starts an urban farm and raises their own supply as well as becoming a small market farm supplying local restaurants and stores. It's cool to see how "revolutionary" the family's approach to lifestyle is, yet there are sacrifices. One also has to question just how sustainable the family's $500 water bill is (as well as the source of the water), but it's well worth a look.

• MVFF description
• Movie web site

Awesome Activist Animation Campaign Continues: 350.org + Free Range Studios

2009-06-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

It's all part of acting responsibly in the face of the latest climate change report, out yesterday from Copenhagen.

Rise Up Climate Change Artists

2009-06-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

There's a contest with cash prizes for ya. See here.

Premiering in Theaters - AND on YouTube: Home the Movie

2009-06-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

YouTube and Google are touting the simultaneous release of a film online and in theaters with the project Home.

Here's the preview or see the entire 90 minute film on YouTube. Free through June 14.

Looking for the Last Train to Clarksville?

2009-05-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Green has some very consumer oriented videos. Here's one about green aps for your iPhone:

Green iPhone Apps | ZapRoot @ Yahoo! Video

NetSquared Photos

2009-05-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Slideshow here.

The Other Green Winner at NetSquared Conference: AMIS

2009-05-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Microsoft for its Mobile Challenge awards for nonprofits for awarding two of its awards to green projects. The criteria for its grants is working on issues of the UN Millennial Development Goals, a great set of guiding principles.

Because they were so impressed with the AMIS project from Cameroon, the judges awarded it an honorary mention and added a $1,000 grant.

• Amis Web Site

Here's a video for more info about AMIS:

Second place in the MS Mobile Challenge went to Face The Change, which won $10,000 towards an SMS and MMS based system to involve Bangladeshi villagers in policy-making around climate change, which is expected to significantly affect them, as the country is at or below sea level in many places. You can read more about the project on the NetSquared web site.

Yahoo Green Award for Mobile Goes to Datagro

2009-05-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've been attending the NetSquared conference this year which was focused on mobile technologies.

A number of awards are given out at the event including prizes (which come with cash) by Yahoo Green, Microsoft, French American Charitable Trust and Netsquared itself.

Very few green projects won in the fierce competition between many worthy nonprofits. Some 46 competed for the Microsoft awards, while 14 competed for the NetSquared grants.

The audience voted on the best projects for the NetSquared event, which added a lot of networking and socializing (with extra purpose) to the event, a nice twist on the usual conference dynamics.

Thanks to Yahoo Green, which was the only green-specific award given at the event. I also noticed that overall, those who won the awards tended to communicate well and had YouTube videos as well as pretty darn great web sites.

The Yahoo Green mobile award ($5,000 in search marketing) went to Datagro. Datagro also won one of five $5,000 awards from the French American Charitable Trust - which yields real cash.

So, my advice is - if you go videoless to the fair, be forewarned: you're at a significant disadvantage. Congrats to Datagro for doing their video! It paid off.

Here's their final pitch to the Netsquared audience (which didn't award them a prize):

In addition, here's a video about Datagro from the team at Netsquared from interviews conducted at the conference:

Also - kudos to Netsquared itself for making sure the highlights of the conference were captured on video, including these 1:1 interviews with the Netsquared Mobile Challenge project teams as well as the final pitches.

Climate Corps - Environmental Defense Fund's New Pro-Active Business Initiative

2009-05-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Aniboom

2009-05-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

When it comes to crowdsourcing your next animation, look at Aniboom.com. They've got more than 3,000 animators around the world.

Here's one video that is a PSA for the earth:

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

EPA Chief's Talk at the Aspen Institute

2009-05-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Crowdsourcing for Environmental Coverage

2009-05-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

I just attended the Human Rights Watch conference and am now at the Innovation Journalism conference - and in both cases, I've been hearing a bit about crowdsourcing and hearing about some novel approaches.

Crowdsourcing, which really means using the wisdom of crowds as a combined input - like birdwatchers reporting on migrations, etc. - is now being interpreted by two new groups in a broader way.

Allvoices.com is set up to let anyone be a reporter. Its aimed at letting people outside the developed world in particular have a voice in a journalistic context. It pays a very nominal sum to contributors (like $1 for 1,000 page views). One does not have to be approved by the site as a contributor - so there is no background check, etc. So anyone can be a contributor on their site.

Allvoices.com is venture-funded.

Spot.us is aimed at using the crowd as a lead for an assignment desk. Stories are funded by the crowd. Spot.us as a site is funded as a nonprofit with a staff of 2. Community funds are used to pay reporters for story assignments. It is not using the technique of having many people contribute in the classic crowdsourcing model.

River of Renewal (Klamath River): Screens May 29 in SF

2009-05-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

The film River of Renewal will screen Friday May 29 from 6 to 8 pm at Delancey Street Theater.

A Klamath River salmon reception will begin at 6.

The film screens at 6:40.

Seating is limited. RSVP to harriet@moss.net. For more info, click here.

The Greening of Southie

2009-05-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

The New Yorker this week featured a short piece GREEN COLLARS about a screening of this new film The Greening of Southie by the filmmaker to a group of blue - now green - collar workers in Astoria. Great viewing! See the trailer here or visit the film's site.

More Techno Wonders from Soul of the New Machine Conference at Berkeley

2009-05-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

It was easy to overlook the technology and booth exhibits at the recent Soul of the New Machine conference sponsored by Berkeley's Human Rights Center, what with all the great panels and talks. One could lose sight of what was enabling all this information to fly around the world at warp speed, making it, we hope, so soon there will be no place for bad guys to hide out. Just kidding.

But my eyes were truly opened wide about all the cool new mobile aps that were springing up everywhere you looked. Cell Alert is using mobile phones to help Sri Lankan girls (in Sri Lanka) get web development jobs as soon as they are posted on elance.com so they can make some money for the family. The Guardian, an Android phone software, lets you go into real mobile stealth mode, letting ordinary citizens become human rights watchdogs in scary places. And the Bug Base, my personal favorite, lets you take a device not much bigger than an iPod or iPhone and become a Linux-based data collector and transmitter by plugging in modules.

Read more about the amazing technology highlights on the Netsquared site or just enjoy the photos here.

This is Way Cool

2009-05-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, probably since the debut of the iPhone, since I've seen any really cool hardware lately. But I have to say, at the Human Rights Conference last week, focused on social media, I encountered some new hardware that is really note- and newSworthy. Bug Labs' Bug Base, a Linux box, and modules are not much bigger than an iPhone but they do everything a field activist, researcher, or documentarian would need - from video and audio capture to GPS positioning and uplinking. They may soon be able to analyze chemicals as well.

See it here:

While the video showcases their use for human rights activists, they could be immensely useful to anyone doing environmental work as well.

Edible City FIlm

2009-05-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Great new documentary film on local food that's coming out soon! Fundraisers are happening - so please come and join in the fun/ding.

Fundraiser
Michael Pollan in person!
May 30, 5-8 pm, Berkeley
For more info, email: dashielle AT ediblecitymovie.com

For more info about the film project, see www.ediblecitymovie.com

Opening Day at the David Brower Center

2009-05-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Enjoy these photos of the opening day at the Brower Center.

From the opening ceremonies with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Amy Tobin (Brower Center Executive Director), environmental justice activitist Carl Anthony, State Rep. Nancy Skinner, Earth Island Institute Vice President Ken Brower, and Earth Island Executive Director John Knox to a building tour and film panel, see what happened at this gala event.

Or see them here (with captions or bigger) on Flickr.

Forest Service: Free Footage for FIlmmakers!

2009-05-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

One more thing to know about the Forest Service is that it provides free footage for filmmakers. The Forest Service has hundreds of hours of video available for you to use.

For more information, contact Ann Dunsky, Audiovisual Producer, Public Affairs and Communication at the Forest Service's Vallejo, California office. The contact number is 707-562-8681 or email adunsky@fs.fed.us.

Forest Service's Greenfire: The Story of Aldo Leopold

2009-05-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Brower Center opening was provided a unique opportunity to see some rarely seen environmental films. Ann and Steve Dunsky of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region previewed a 20 minute excerpt of their new film Greenfire: The Story of Aldo Leopold. They're working on an inspiring film about Aldo Leopold, in partnership with the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

Until the new film Greenfire is completed (perhaps a year from now?), you might want to check out their previous film about the Forest Service, The Greatest Good, available for sale on DVD.

David Brower Center Opens!

2009-05-12T14:49:00.001-07:00

The new David Brower Center opened this Sunday in Berkeley. Want to see what it's like? Check out this video:

Opening day festivities on Sunday, May 10 included a number of environmental films, including this Oldie But Goodie: the 1989 The Life and Times of David Brower by John de Graaf.

Copies are available through Earth Island Institute for the DVD for $25.

Texas Coal Wars Film on Sundance Tonight

2009-05-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to see this fabulous film on Sunday during the day long festivities at the opening of the new David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley.

It's an very inspiring story about mayors getting together with their townspeople to oppose a corrupt governor's attempt to fastrack 12 new coal plants in Texas. The bulk of the plants would have been located around Waco (where I was born!). See the trailer here or visit the web site for more info.

It will air on the Sundance channel today. See the listing for more details.

Crude the Movie -> Goldman Prize

2009-05-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

I just saw Crude the film at the SF Film Festival in Berkeley. An excellent film that narrates the complex ins and outs of the legal battle of 13 years against Chevron. The conflict is sometimes called the Chernobyl of the Amazon. Although there's no clip online for Crude the Movie, you can enjoy a clip about the story here:

The story will also be the subject of a 60 Minutes piece on Sunday night.

Here is the print story from Vanity Fair:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/05/texaco200705

The two leaders recently won a Goldman prize for their efforts.

I'll Be Teaching Web Video Marketing at UCBerkeley Extension

2009-04-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Interested in learning more about web video marketing for your organization? If so, you might want to consider taking my brand new course in web video marketing at U.C. Berkeley's Extension.

Details here.

Pete Seeger: Singing in the Chorus

2009-04-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Peter Seeger's PBS special is a great tribute to America's folksinger - and a great environmentalist! Learn more about how he grew a movement to save the Hudson River in this documentary.

Here's the promo clip:

"This land was made for you and me" takes on new meaning!

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T14:10:00.001-07:00

Wild China: A Real Upper

2009-04-22T00:12:00.000-07:00

I must have missed it when it aired on PBS, but I have been enjoying watching the BBC series Wild China quite a bit - thanks to Netflix.

Perhaps you will, too. Stunning photography, fresh images, and a whole country to discover. Much of the wildlife seems out of this world. I, for one, would now love to go on some nature tours in China. This series fills an important gap in our images of China.

It's a six part series and it's even available in Blu-Ray.

Frontline: Poisoned Waters

2009-04-22T00:10:00.001-07:00

Have a look online at the latest Frontline show on the environment here.

Frontline Focuses on Water: Don't Miss Next Week's Two Hour Special Report

2009-04-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

Green for All and Van Jones - Doing the Web Video Thang

2009-04-01T08:58:00.001-07:00

I've written here before about how effectively Green for All has been using media. I'm going to bring it up again because you may have heard by now that Van Jones is now part of the Obama administration. How did he get there? Well, he IS charismatic and funny and profound - and he used web video well.

Here's the "branding ID" video from his own web site:

It should teach us all - Rule 1: communicate your vision well!

And here's where it's going - the latest video from Green for All gives you all the news from PowerShift 09 in DC:

NOVA's Extreme Ice Show: Surreal

2009-03-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

The gripping images and great story of NOVA's "Extreme Ice" episode can now be seen online (for a week).

I watched the show on TV last night - surreal, breathtaking views of icescapes and planet change - before your very eyes. I felt as if this should have been more popular than An Inconvenient Truth with Al Gore as the NOVA show IS the Real Deal. You don't have to watch the Powerpoint show - here's the actual water melting with intelligent commentary from ice experts.

What was even more surreal was the sound of sirens 15 blocks away from my Millsmont (Oakland) house, in the wake of the 4 cop shooting in East Oakland by a crazed rapist/murderer parolee. The TV news helicopters finally left, which had intruded into the peace of a beautiful afternoon here in the Oakland hills.

Meanwhile the papers and airwaves are filled with coverage of the violent crime and fallout. Which is as is should be. But with human emotions shaped by our caveman origins, one wonders when the news will ever be able to cover climate change with the same sense of urgency. Complex news is hard for them to cover - and it seems so distant. But surely there IS a way to connect them.

The end of the NOVA show seemed surreal as well, as the searing, uplifting PBS promo music came up over the ending credits - as if this was another scientifically enlightening program. Well, it was - but you also felt as if you were watching the oncoming train coming for you. It's odd.

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai - Coming to PBS in April

2009-03-23T11:16:00.001-07:00

My favorite documentary of 2008 is coming to PBS - at last! Check the TV schedule for the local broadcast times. It's national broadcast date is April 14 (my birthday) so I am thinking of having a house party to watch it and celebrate!

It's also going to play locally for free at the Oakland Museum and at the San Francisco Public Library. For a complete list of screenings in community theaters, click here.

Oakland
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Oakland Museum of California, James Moore Theatre
1000 Oak St.

San Francisco
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 6:00 PM
San Francisco Main Public Library, Koret Auditorium
100 Larkin St.

I saw this film at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was blown away, along with the rest of the audience. It shudda won the Oscah.

At any rate, I am hoping you can see it - great story, and well done film. See the trailer:

The New Action Sports Spectacle - Planetary Changes Live! The Extreme Ice Project Debuts in Book and on TV

2009-03-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Glaciers cracking, ice streams - 26 time lapse cameras are catching all the action 24/7. Catch photographer James Balag on Terry Gross today - he's promoting the new Nova show next week of ice stream photography. He's got a book out, too.

If you don't see the TV broadcast, the show will be on the Nova site for a week starting March 25.

You can also see a few video clips now on NPR.

Just another reason why it's a great policy for green groups to use visual media. It can tell the story that blabbing on and on just can't.

World Clock: Stats

2009-03-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

Poowaddle is a fun site - with cool clocks, some of which show green stats.

Here's the earth clock. Check out this and more on poowaddle.com.

Sundance Audience Award - The Fuel Film

2009-03-16T10:37:00.001-07:00

The Fuel Film won the audience award at Sundance this year and is starting to come to a few theaters here and there (not yet in the Bay Area, thought). Have a look here and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

The Good News Bears: Green For All

2009-03-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

A lot of the time I see green media is a negative impact force - don't build this, don't do that. It's all about resistance. Or I spend a lot of time looking at how green groups are doing their branding.

Well, after attending the Green For All party last night, where Van Jones passed the baton to his newly appointed heir, as he departs for Washington DC to work in the Obama administration (what an adventure that will be), I was struck by what a great success story this environmental group is. Doubtless, the charismatic leadership and confluence of Obama, jobs meltdown and green economy led to Green For All's rising success, but...let's also make sure we discuss the role of communications in building their base of support and getting the word out.

Green for All raised something like $7 million. And it spent some of this money well - on a great web site, professionally produced by a Seattle green web firm. And on videos (professionally produced in Berkeley) by Free Range Studios (who have mastered the art of the web video aesthetic with bold background text, reinforcing on target messaging). And great use of social media - i.e. they're on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. They're not standing around wondering how to use these tools, like many groups I see, that suffer from a lack of vision from older leadership.

So, to all of you who are still trying to figure it out, it's as easy as looking at the Green for All web site. Just do like them!

Green for All web site

Green for All on YouTube

The Promise of Reality TV

2009-03-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Discovery's Whale Wars series uses the reality TV approach to tell environmental stories. Another group, whose presentation I went to this week, Search for Common Ground, has also explored the potential of this territory with a Hallmark TV pilot The Bridge along slightly different lines. The Bridge uses the contrast-and-compare parallel universes approach in a Jon Alpert-produced pilot that takes two Americans - a cowboy and a radio talk show host - to visit their counterparts in Egypt.

It's an interesting approach - and one environmentalists could learn from and use, too1

See the trailer for The Bridge here:

For more about SFCG's use of video, see their trailer for their media here or visit their YouTube channel (and subscribe):

"Over" Is Revealing

2009-03-09T11:17:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I went out to Stinson Beach, a lovely coastal small town where you still find a bookstore - and it's a good one, so I usually make a point of stopping by. Although I have a no-book-buying policy at the moment, or try to, I had to reach out and buy this fantastic photo book, Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point by Alex. S. MacLean. The book is a series of fabulous aerial photos on nine main environmental topics. And it has a very wonderful introduction from Bill McKibben.

But even without reading a word, you'll be mesmerized by the outstanding images and the environmental impact they reveal. They are as powerful as the image of the earth from space - showing us things we haven't really seen before.

Much like the film Manufactured Landscapes featuring the massive scale photos by Edward Burtynsky, you begin to see - really see - what is going on.

Alex S. MacLean, pilot and environmental photographer

It's the perfect illustration of what visual media about the environment can really do. There's darkness of course in the highway grids and the housing developments - but there's humor, perhaps of a bleak or ironic sort, as well in the

Here's what NPR said of it in its 2008 lineup of Best Books:

There's a lulling and seductive beauty to Alex MacLean's breathtaking aerial photographs of America. Even from the unsteady vantage point of a single-prop plane, MacLean's eye manages to find and capture entrancing geographic patterns and colors. It's only on closer scrutiny that you see the scars and obscene clutter of parking lots and power plants on our once pristine landscape. But MacLean's book is much more than a facile visual indictment of urban sprawl and ecological neglect. It's an extremely thoughtful, well-organized and researched contemplation of where we might be headed — with or without all of those dazzlingly circular superhighways.

Yes - and more. Kudos to having done the book - now go out and get a copy for yourself. It's definitely one you can savor and ingest over the long haul. Makes a great gift, too. And at $27 on Amazon (or $45 in your local bookstore), why resist?

Search for Common Ground: Media Savvy

2009-03-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

The peace group Search for Common Ground has been using soap operas, reality TV shows and lots of other novel approaches to creating peace in war-torn areas. See their promo trailer here (below). Now imagine similar programming on green issues world wide!

To get more videos (and there are lots), visit their YouTube channel.

The Great Disruption: Mother Nature and Father Greed

2009-03-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Love this article in today's Times from Tom Friedman in which we are reminded (by Conservation International) of the consequences when our environmental systems are depleted. As the vp of CI says, “Mother Nature doesn’t do bailouts.”

Good point!

Read more here.

E2 Available on HULU - FREE

2009-03-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've been raving to friends about the E2 environmental series on PBS which seems to have gotten very little airplay at least in the Bay Area and yet remains one of the best programs on television about environmental matters.

On the series web site, no mention is made of it, but Google search brings up the series site on Hulu.com where you can watch the entire series for FREE. You have to suffer through ads, but that seems a rather small price to pay.

• Hulu's E2 series page

Environmental Impacts of War: Film from the UN Film Festival

2009-03-09T01:45:00.001-07:00

Environmental Film Festival Opens in DC

2009-03-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

I hope to make it to the Environmental FIlm Festival in DC one of these years, but this won't be the one. It runs March 11-22.

For all of us who can't make it, you can still enjoy the short films on their web site. See here.

Patagonia Gets the Award for Funnest Green Videos

2009-03-09T01:12:00.001-07:00

Agree?

Banff Mountain Film Festival Trailer

2009-03-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

I first went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival more than 15 years ago in Banff. What a pleasure. I was there to help facilitate the development of its touring program, then only a gleam in the eye. I had the incredible experience of sitting with the judges - some of the elder greats in Canadian mountaineering - aside from watching wonderful films with a fantastic audience in a glorious setting.

It was sweet this year to see the tour come to life at Wheeler, in the 15th year of its world tour now. I wonder if we could have a green film festival that could tour to 200,000 audience members around the globe....hmmm. What do you think?

Here's the tantalizing trailer that shows you how fun the Banff films are:

And then there's also a wonderful spoof trailer made by a fan:

Silent Snow

2009-03-08T23:57:00.001-07:00

The second night's program from Banff Mountain Film Festival's traveling show brought an interesting environmental film about Greenland called Silent Snow, the story of how toxics collect in seals' tails, the preferred delicacy of Greenlanders' diet, putting pregnant women especially at risk.

A very interesting story and one we certainly don't hear about in the U.S.

See the trailer here:

Part of the film's appeal is unusual and hauntingly beautiful scenes like this one below:

Observations on Young FIlmmakers Making Eco-Docs - or Is Everything a Music Video?

2009-03-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

After two nights of watching the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Berkeley, I've seen a lot of films by what I presume to be younger filmmakers. Collectively, one starts to see differences and similarities across the board.

Remember those old French films of the 1940s and 50s? There's one about Picasso in particular that to me comes to mind. In these films, there is a overbearing soundtrack that leaves no room for one's own thoughts about the images to develop. The music is a piercing statement that is unambiguous and overwhelming.

One can't help but think of Nanook of the North and our film school rhetoric on cultural bias in the documentary. For awhile, the cinema verite movement counter-balanced this with gripping narratives with little music. Now everything seems like one long music video.

Perhaps one day we will look back at the films of this current NOW period on the environment and think of them the way we look at these old Frensh films. This worries me. Just as we have an esthetic about climbing rocks (leave no trace, take only photos, etc.), is it time for us to develop one for our mountain/environmental films as well?

There is less and less sync sound, and more and more wall to wall hip music soundtrack. We see Papua New Guinear kayakers braving incredible waterfalls to visit biodiversity hotspots, cut to hip hop music and visit Greenland's toxic pollution with a classical music score.

Speaking as a filmmaker, it's easier to make flms that are like a series of photographs, cut to alluring music, than to rely on plot, story, character, great cinematography and character development.

It all begins to sound like a trendy 30-something travelogue series - because of the similarity of the soundtracks. I don't want to say to people - hey people, stop making all these movies sound so heartfeltly alike - but that's actually what it comes down to.

Has anyone else noticed this trend?

If so, I'd like to hear your observations.

The other disturbing pattern I've noticed is that almost none of these films are being made by women. Why is this? After years of working on women's film festivals and Northern California Women in Film, and seeing so many women in documentary, it seems odd to me that mountain films would be utterly bereft of the female perspective. Perhaps you, the reader, can offer me more hope to pointing out my error here, and turning me on to a bunch of great new ecofilms from women. Please do.

Another Green Winner: Red Gold

2009-03-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

Just saw the first of two nights of the traveling version of the Banff Mountain Film Festival here in Berkeley. A great audience to be with! Clearly there's another film I need to add to the Best Green Films of 2008 and that is Red Gold which screened tonight. It was the audience choice winner at both Banff and Telluride Mountain Film Festivals - so that ought to tell you something. Have a look at the trailer:

The Unforeseen

2009-03-07T22:00:00.000-08:00

I don't remember if I have posted this trailer in the past but I am pretty sure I didn't - because there wasn't a trailer. Since it's from 2007, I didn't put it on my 2008 Best Green Films list, but it is an ALLSTAR. Buy a copy now!

It speaks to many of the same issues as Red Gold.

David Brower Center Tenants

2009-02-12T11:42:00.001-08:00

David Brower Center, opening in May 2009, will feature several anchor tenants who have committed to being in the building include: Sage (an agricultural group), the Center for Eco-literacy, Madera Group, International Rivers and Earth Island Institute.

Best Green Films of 2008

2009-02-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, the Grammys were on, the BAFTAs were on...and of course the Oscars are coming! In this spirit, Greenspeak is offering the Green Film Awards for best green films of 2008.

Feature:
Wall-E

Hands down, one of the best films of the year, duh, as well as a frightening eco-tale that should be in the DNA of the culture at large and was the cleverest way of inserting these ideas into the hearts and minds of the young set. Bravo.

Animated Short:
Varmints

This British-produced short is short of masterpiece, but just barely. It creates an alternate reality, a dreamy fable, that gets into your brain, even though you're not quite sure how. May be available on iTunes soon since it's part of the Oscar Animated Shorts program now touring the country in film theaters. In a best case scenario, you might be able to get this whole collection Netflix. (Do not confuse this with another title which IS on Netflix, also called Varmints, which is about prairie dogs).

Documentary:
Taking Root: Wangari Maathai

An amazing documentary that, due to the vagaries of PBS, was seen in festivals but not in theaters or on TV until April 2009. A must see. A hit at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Available (soon) from Netflix; you can save it to your queue now.

Runner Up:
Burning the Future: Coal in America

A full length feature doc on the horrors of mountaintop removal, this film should move audiences to act against coal, which can never be clean.

Available (soon) from Netflix; you can save it to your queue now.

TV Shows:
American Future - Episode #1

Why do we need the Brits to show us our own country and what's really happening to it? Sigh. The Republicans killed PBS; perhaps the stimulus could restore PBS. One can only hope. Available now on Netflix.

Runners up:
E-squared
Whale Wars

E-squared
E2 (E squared) is the first network show on sustainability. Though a little precious (it's the Phillip Glass-like music that does me in), its visual style and meaty substance bring us the news we really need to know. We should have free bicycles (like they do in Paris) and restore our central rivers (like they did in Korea). If you didn't watch this show, you'd never know - because our media isn't really focusing on these stories. Who knows why? And why argue about it, when you can just rent this series on Netflix and catch up with the world!

Whale Wars
Finally environmentalists as heroes on a reality TV show! I am hoping this warps even more young minds, and gives us all pause. When was the last time you saw a bunch of vegans chase pirates on the high seas. Perhaps there will finally be a way to stop the Japanese from carrying on this way.

Varmints: The Power of Animation

2009-02-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

While Wall-E was probably the top green film of 2008, a close runner up, though no one saw it, is the animated short Varmints, which you can see on the Oscar Animated Shorts program currently touring theatrically. After the Oscars, these films are generally available for rent or purchase on iTunes. Here's a brief clip which doesn't do it justice at all.

Varmints is a mysterious tale, based on the book of the same name, and created by Studio AKA in London, a sort of English Pixar.

With haunting images with a strong eco-theme, the film touches one on a deeply unconscious level. Try to see the program in theaters if you can; or at least check it out on iTunes later. The film was nominated for best animation in the BAFTA awards.

E-Squared: Autodesk's PBS Sustainable Design Series

2009-02-08T14:34:00.001-08:00

E2 - aka E squared - is now in its third season, but you don't have to frantically channel surf to find it nor buy the DVDs. You can simply add it to your Netflix list.

Each season is 6 half hour shows - and not only does it look stylish, it also serves up a ton o examples you won't see regularly anywhere else. Strangely. But - hurray for this outpost of sanity. Here's the trailer from Season 1's China show:

But wait! There's more. They also put out a series of video podcasts that explore the issues in each episode further. Wow.

Subscribe to the producers (kontentreal)'s YouTube channel or view the extra podcasts here.

And take a look at the series web site here.

Three Great Books: Listen to NPR Review on Green Books

2009-02-08T11:16:00.001-08:00

Green titles in print are getting more and more excitng. Listen to the NPR book review roundup of these greats: American Earth (an anthology put together by Bill McKibben), Carbon Age, and Where The Wild Things Were (History of Vanishing Predators). Here's the link.

Carbon Age on Colbert

2009-02-08T11:11:00.001-08:00

Carbon Age - Ok it's a book but you can see the video from Colbert Report here:

For Your DVD Collection: Manufactured Landscapes

2009-02-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, or just want to revisit it, here's the YouTube trailer for Manufactured Landscapes:

You can hear an interview with the photographer and filmmaker here.

Or see the TED Talk with Burtynsky (who won the Ted Prize in 2005) here:

Emerald Brush Award

2009-02-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

First Annual Greenpeace Emerald Brush Award (for greenwashing) goes to BP. The awards citation notes that while BP made a fuss in advertising about the energy fix being an energy mix, but spent 93% of its budget on oil and gas and 1.3% on solar. See here:

Greenwashing Forum Today

2009-02-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

A new group based in Oregon has forged the Greenwashing Index - featured on the Today Show - and is having an all day Greenwashing Forum today. Check out their blog right here.

The group is an alliance with the U of Oregon j-school.

Cartoonicize Your Message with ComicLife

2009-02-06T09:25:00.001-08:00

It's supereasy to use cartoon-icized photos to add va va va voom to your visuals. Of course, you have to have visuals to start with, but let's say you've got some of your own - or you've found some creative commons licensed ones on Flickr that allow your use as well as modification. That narrows it down to millions.

First, go to SeriouslyGreen.org and see how cute and cool their graphics on the opening screen are. Example above.

Second, go to plasq.com and buy ComicLife (available for Mac or Windows) and start adding captions to yo stuff. (There are probably other programs, too; I just happen to use this one.)

Quick and easy.

Third, post away, adding to your site, blog posts, etc. and see if your images get a little viral.

Fourth, let me know how it works out!

State of Green Business Forum: Obama and the Green Economy

2009-02-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the last panel from Monday's State of Green Business forum held at PGE in San Francisco.

I was surprised that there wasn't more of an agenda that these groups had coalesced around. Nonetheless, this is a good snapshot of where people are at.

Of course, it would be nice if they would all see RRI's presentations and watch the Green Plans videos from RRI to learn about what business can and should do - lobby for large-scape, sustainability plans based on the Dutch and New Zealand examples.

I know Holly Kaufman has a deep understanding of environmental policy which wasn't captured in this panel. (See her recent piece in Forbes, for example).

It will be interesting to how people's learning curves develop.

Another First: Superbowl Ads Featuring Green Products

2009-02-03T21:38:00.001-08:00

20 Years Ago: GreenBiz Push for Green Planning

2009-02-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

UN Sec. Gen. Calls for Green Economy

2009-02-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Is there anyone who hasn't given a speech about the green economy this week?

New WSJ Video Coverage: A MishMash of Styles, Substance and Sources

2009-02-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

What a curious video makeover the WSJ has gone through. What's better about it than before? Well in the past they had an insultingly sexist news site - a woman named Bambi would read the news in an office (no set), almost often wearing a professional outfit that displayed her cleavage. Now - post Murdoch - the upgrade...?

The good news - you can embed the videos (unlike the NYT) and they are much more professional.

But there is a wide diversity of styles, substance and sources - with little branding awareness between apples and oranges.

For instance, click on Obama and Green video, and you get something called the JER, Journal Editorial Reports. We have a nice gray haired host, who appears to be an actual TV professional, just like on real news programs, but we have a panel of participants from the WSJ editorial board. Their credits onscreen only show an affiliation with the WSJ - without a title.

In this clip, Holmn Jenkins provides us with "coverage" of the Obama Green story. Nowhere on screen does it say he is an editorial board member and not a reporter who covers the facts. I shudder to think what news will look like when editorial board members and not reporters are invited to provide news without labeling it "opinion." He is later joined by another editorial board member Daniel Henninger, who also is not labeled "Editorial Board Member."

At the same time, one can also see video news stories sourced from MarketWatch, a business news source, and videos from the WSJ Digital Channel, featuring another editorial board member - but at least identified onscreen as an editorial board member.

Is this the Murdoch way? Some lies, some truth - and a lot of confusion.

I am going to start monitoring environmental story coverage on the FT.com site. Will it be better?

In the meantime, there's Ted.com for the 2009 Ted Conference videos. Unfortunately, one must apparently be a $999 Associate Member to watch the HD webcast live. Here's the page (blog feed, Twitter, and Flickr) for the rest of us mere mortals.

If you want to see some green stories from past TED conferences, go here.

Very Nice PPT from Friedman

2009-02-03T12:53:00.001-08:00

What wasn't in the video - presented very nicely in this new Panopto Player...cool!

See it.

BBC Series on PBS: Simon Schama's Program Is Some of the Best Environmental Reporting Today

2009-02-03T09:43:00.001-08:00

Don't miss the BBC series now airing on PBS called American Future. While the series is concerned with more than the environment, last week's show was one of the best pieces on what happened to America in a historical environmental context. Isn't it a shame we don't have our own U.S. coverage of this topic? Surely it deserves its own six part series. But would Exxon/Mobil fund it? Don't think so. Duh.

Who knew that John Wesley Powell would be the West's first water rights advocate? Who knew that the disaster that was to become the Dustbowl was predicted?

You can get the series on Netflix or buy it on PBS. The environmental show is Show 1 in the series (the rest of the series is not about natural resources).

Unfortunately, no one (apparently) decided to fund a web site for this incredible show. There is a tiny description here on the BBC site.

Thomas Friedman's Newest Videos: Rocking the House!

2009-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

I went to the State of Green Business forum here in SF yesterday, which was a lovely local gathering of about 500 folks from corporate sustainability and environmental entrepreneur space (along with a heavy smattering of marketing and communications people.) I was there doing research for a new book I am working on on green business success stories. You'll be able to see the whole webcast online shortly - check the Greenbiz.com web site, where it is supposed to be posted later today.

All of which made me all the more impressed with where Thomas Friedman is heading - becoming the best advocate and spokesperson in America for green and business causes. Who would have thunk?

I am reading the final pages of his Hot, Flat and Crowded book (which has been MUCH more entertaining than I ever thought possible and stands head and shoulders above his previous globalization book) and checked in today on the Times sites to see his latest and greatest on a whim.

I was delighted and surprised to find his latest video is even better than the book. And to see how nicely the NYT is moving up its video learning scale. Only a year ago, you'd find them posting terrible, amateurish reporters standing in the news room. Now, the video looks great!

You can see it here (since the NYT doesn't offer embed tags - yet. I guess they are trying to protect their advertisers?). Click.

African Soil Map - New Interactive Way to Show Fertility

2009-01-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

See the BBC story here.

You can also listen on BBC's Digital Planet but they have now taken the audio for this show down. If you are desperate to hear it, email them. In the past, they have sent me a free CD of programs that are not the current week.

The best way to keep up with this show is to subscribe via itunes, which will keep as much of the past shows as you like in your itunes library.

Making the Message Visual

2009-01-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Yet another way to visualize your message! Graphic illustrator/facilitator Brandy Agerbeck is the author.

IBM's Green Video...

2009-01-19T19:24:00.001-08:00

What a great video from IBM

Nice techniques, too...

A little too long though.

Up the Yangtze

2008-05-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

Last night's closing film at PFA for the SF International Film Festival was the Canadian film Up The Yangtze. This film will open in the Bay Area June 13 for those of you who missed the sold out festival screenings. The film won the Golden Gate best documentary award at SFIFF.

The film was visually stunning, but surprisingly less about the Yangtze and more about the cruise ship and cultural differences of the Chinese workers and American tourists on board than the broader issues of water redistribution in China and what it means politically and economically.

The music was quite wonderful.

Pros: A very talented shooter from Beiing and a fantastic composer from Montreal have put together the elements for a very sophisticated and enjoyable film.

Cons: It may just be different from what you are expecting from a feature doc on Yangtze.

Still LIfe: Chinese Feature Film About Yangtze Dam

2008-05-05T13:01:00.001-07:00

Still Life was an Antonioni-like, very sophisticated film about the working class people affected by the dam. It doesn't ever really talk about the dam, as a subject; but we see the impact of the dam in these alienated lives, as people search for other people and an easier life - both of which are elusive.

Trailer

The film will play again in the fall at Pacific Film Archive during a retrospective of director Jia Zhang-ke's works.

See the NY Times review

China and the Environment - Berkeley Conference

2008-05-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

It took three months, but the webcast and iTunes podcasts of the best conference I went to last year (ok, second best - the SEJ conference was the best) are now posted on the web.

Berkeley China Initiative: China's Environment

If you want to get started somewhere, try the Ma Jun keynote. But then again all the keynotes are great.

Money for Your Film - Online!

2008-05-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the link of the month:

http://www.scottkirsner.com/webvid/gettingpaid.htm

How to get money for your video online...indispensable guide.

It's been tragic, since Google Video's pay for video service has been gone. Not one of these players is offering anything quite as easy and good as the defunct Google service did, but...at least you can distribute a film online.

I am going to try using Amazon's service to distribute a friend's firefighters training film. Will keep you posted.