Maybe There’s Some Life In The Old Girl Yet

I never thought I’d write this sentence, but there is an interesting article in USA Today.  It describes a Neilsen-funded study to determine how Americans consume media.  We all know that TV is dead and Web video is king, right?

Ooops.  FTA:

Throw Out Your HDTVs, v2:  Attack Of The 3-D Content!

HDTV penetration in the US hasn’t even got close to the 50% point yet, and already the consumer electronics manufacturers are trying to replace your TV set - AGAIN.

This article from Broadcast Engineering Magazine is entitled:

Consumers warm to idea of 3-D TV in the home, report says

FTA:

“More than half of U.S. adults said having to wear special 3-D glasses or having to hold their heads still to enjoy 3-D TV would not dissuade them from buying a 3-D set for their homes, the study said.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more “believe-it-when-I-see-it” statement in my life.  The craven, money-grubbing attitude of the Consumer Electronics Association never ceases to amaze me.  It is apparent that they are not happy enough with obsoleting 500 million NTSC TVs - no, in their universe it is time to switch AGAIN. 

What do you think?

Are You A Trackball Editor?

It used to be that trackballs were everywhere, but now Kensington seems to be alone in producing them.  I’d much rather use a trackball than a mouse in editing.  If you would as well, Amazon is having a big sale on Kensington trackballs.  Go here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_28490_11597080_fe_txt_1/?docId=1000349921

PS:  Rebates involved.

I like to have a mouse, a trackball and a Contour Designs ShuttlePro2 on my desk at all times.  I don’t use them all at once, obviously, but they definitely all get used.

Here’s the ShuttlePro2:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00027X2YM

The ShuttlePro2 is worth the price for the shuttle/jog-wheel alone; the 13 programmable buttons are just a big bonus.

Here’s to a long, wrist-pain free career for all of us!

Does Reality Belong In A Script?

Several months back, I reviewed the Roku Netflix Player here on PVC.  Well, the name needs to be changed, because just last week the entire contents of the Amazon Video-On-Demand service became available on the Roku.  This is a spectacular addition to the Roku box, which also recently became hi-def enabled.  But that’s not really what this post is about, just the vehicle that drove me here.

So I’m scrolling through the thousands of movies, TV shows and other things available to me now on the Roku through Amazon, looking for a movie I hadn’t managed to see in a theater but still seemed interesting.  I came across “Iron Man,” the Robert Downey Jr. superhero tour-de-force that was a big hit last summer.  I figured all the action in the movie would be a good test of my rather puny 3Mb/sec (on a good day, with the wind at it’s back) AT&T DSL service I use at home.  And the hardware worked perfectly - not a stutter, no blocking, nothing.  I sit back and start to to really enjoy the MOVIE.  It’s great to shake the geek off your shoulders once in a while.

So if you are one of the three dozen folks in the USA that haven’t seen “Iron Man” yet, allow me a bit of a spoiler:  Tony Stark (Robert Downey’s character) is a weapons manufacturer and playboy that has a bit of an awakening in a war zone.  On his return to the USA, he announces that Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons.  In the reaction that follows, the financial world goes crazy, with guess who leading the braying?

Jim Cramer, on his CNBC set of “Mad Money,” screaming that this totally fictitious company is going to drop 40 points because of this announcement.  Yes, the same Jim Cramer that got slapped silly by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show just last week (and, IMHO, totally deservedly so.)  Let me say this again, because this is the crux of the biscuit:  A real-life financial show host, on his real-life set, screaming about an imaginary company.  Am I the only one that finds this a bad idea?

Of course, this is not an isolated incident - almost all news organizations have lent their logos and their reporters to theatrical films in the past.  This blurring of the lines between fact and fiction cannot be a good thing when reputations are on the line.  The business office will likely see it the other way, citing “branding” or “product placement” or whatever, but it was the juxtaposition of Jim Cramer getting pantsed on The Daily Show and my viewing of “Iron Man” - in the same week - that really brought this home for me.

Hey screenwriters!  Is it really just too much work to create a fictional network?  Who remembers who “Network”‘s Howard Beale worked for?  (UBS.)  Who employed Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks and William Hurt in “Broadcast News”?  (Tell you the truth, I can’t even remember.)  In these times of infotainment and constant blurring of the lines between journalism and pure fantasy, I think backing away from using real journalists and their brands in fictional situations would be a good idea.

What do you think?

GM Pulls The Plug On Ken Burns

With the tanking of the US auto industry, pullbacks on advertising and charitable giving had to be in the works.  First it was Tiger Woods and Buick parting ways; now we have the announcement that GM, the primary sponsor of Ken Burns’ documentaries for PBS for the last 22 years, would not renew their contract with Burns’ Florentine Films when it expires this year.  (Here’s a New York Times article.)  This wasn’t any surprise to the organization, who knew almost a year ago that their funding was getting yanked.

I interviewed Ken Burns once, during the promotional push for his series “Baseball.”  I set him up in the stands at Milwaukee’s old County Stadium, and he was a great, engaged subject.  He even signed the bill of my cherished Red Sox cap (a relic from my college days at Boston University).  Here’s hoping that new funding is in place or on the way.  I know a lot of documentarians that either dismiss Burns’ style as stodgy, or just envy his success.  No matter - his is a form with much substance, something to be emulated, not brushed off.

And You ThinkYOU Are An After Effects Hotshot…

Jeez, when I was 12, I was learning guitar and riding my bike.  Kevin Lin is apparently an After Effects master!

Information IS Power…

I know this is a fairly off-topic post, but it is an amazing story nonetheless, and a stunning example of how having information-on-demand can level a playing field.

Last week my family and I spent several days skiing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado (believe me, this was booked and paid for long before the current economic collapse.  It may be my last ski trip ever.)  After four days of wonderful skiing, it was time to go home to Madison.  We were flying on an airline I’ll call Airline A.  We were supposed to connect through Dallas to a regional jet nonstop from DFW to Madison.  Unfortunately, the inbound plane was late, and it would be impossible for us to make the connection in DFW.  So we were rebooked on another Airline A flight through Chicago O’Hare, with a connection to Madison about two hours later.  While setting this arrangement up, the ticket agent got a funny look on her face.  “There seems to be only three seats available on that plane,” she said.  “One of you will have to stand by.”  Seemed like a bad idea, as my wife, two daughters and I all had to be engaged in the real world the next morning.  So the agent disappears behind the wall to talk to the supervisor.  While she was gone, I grabbed my iPod Touch and took advantage of the Yampa Valley Regional Airport’s free WiFi (sorry Boingo, but EVERY AIRPORT should have free WiFi) to access the website of a company I’ll call Airline U.  I found an ORD - MSN flight on Airline U that could get me home that same evening.

The supervisor comes out, stares at the screen, and clucks.  “Sorry,” she said, “but there are only three seats available.  Someone will have to go standby.”

I held up the iPod.  “How about you rebook me on Airline U’s flight?  Seems like a workable solution.”

Then the magic happened.

She looked at the screen again.  “Hey, what do you know?  Another seat just came available!”

I kid you not.  It happened JUST THAT FAST.  Information IS power.

PS:  When we finally got on the plane, there were no less than SIX empty seats.  Airline A’s yield management software could use an update, I think.

I promise I’ll get back to video posts real soon, but this was just so amazing I had to tell somebody!

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