Top Ten Trends For Independent Films in 2009

My 2 main pre-occupations are the Raindance Film Festival and the British Indepednent Film Awards.

Every waking moment I, and the fabulous Raindance team, do nothing except watch films, read scripts and talk to filmmakers, agents, financiers and distributors

Here are the key things we think matter to the world of independent film, in no particular order:

1. Alternative Content in Cinema
Digital screens are being installed in many British cinemas in a trend which will sweep the world. Digital screens allow cinemas to show alternative content. In the UK we are already able to watch sporting matches and opera in cinemas. Cinema goers in certain countries were able to watch the Michael Jackson tributes live in cinema screens too.

What does that mean for independent shorts, features and documentaries? Speak to your local cinema manager and find out! Perhaps your local cinema will end up more like the traditional British pub, with drinks, networking and movies.

2. Self Distribution
It used to be that self-distribution meant getting a van, a bunch of fly posters, and hitting the road. A few days before you pulled up into a town, an advance person would leaflet the place, and when you arrived, you would do some local radio, screen your film at the local rep cinema, collect the box office (minus the venue's share) sell T-shirts, posters, CD's and whatever else you thought you could sell, collect all the nickels and dimes, tank up the van with fuel and hit the road again.

It's all changing thanks to crowd sourcing websites, and the advantages offered by internet distribution.

3. Social Networking
If you don't have a Twitter and Facebook account, get one now. Drop the reluctance to join the 21st century. Social media is the way forward in terms of news, entertainment, advertising and blatant self promotion.

4. Lo Fidelity Filmmaking
Movies on the web don't need to be the same resolution as movies in cinemas. You can shoot films using mobile telephones with video capacity, or with the awesome FLIP camera (pictured)

Paramount Studios thinks that Low Budget is the name of the game and has launched a low budget division.

5, Increased Role of Festivals
Film distributors are increasingly using festival screenings to promote new releases of films. Under the guise of cultural activity and the supposed kudos of playing at big-name festivals, distributors can leverage their marketing budgets to the maximum.

For filmmakers seeking distribution, creating a buzz on the festival circuit is a must. It's the best way to attract distribution.

Here are the 4 Reasons Filmmakers Attend Film Festivals

6. Micro Niche Marketing
Finding an audience for your film most likely means finding a small and loyal following. In the realm of on-line marketing through social media sites like Facebook, Bebo and Twitter it means creating a following of people genuinely interested in your film and your career.

Probably the most important tool filmmakers have in marketing to a niche audience is the understanding and use of key words and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

The bad news is that this is a really time consuming excercise. The good news is that if you are good at it, or become adept at it, you will be able to charge good money for your expert advice - and sell your film.

7. Role of Remakes and Adaptations
Hollywood ran out of good ideas zonks ago. Now they rely on remakes and adaptations of successful comic books and novels. The 2009 example of Twilight is a shining example.

8. The Future of DRM
The movie industry is in trouble, everyone knows that. People all over the world are downloading films as soon as (or even before) they are released. Do they also go to the cinema or buy the DVD? Hollywood says no, and that they are losing crucial revenue because their digital rights are being compromised. Should they change their policy on Digital Rights Management then? Apparently not.

In response they seem to be following the first footsteps of the music industry, cracking down hard on the pirates and not changing their system. Bittorrent site PirateBay was closed down earlier this year, and its founders sent to jail. And yet it wasn't until iTunes came along that the music industry really started stopping the flood of piracy. Giving users what they wanted at a reasonable price seemed enough to stop many "pirates" - normal everyday people. The movie industry will need to learn to do the same.

Pirates will always be one step ahead, technologically speaking, and simply shouting angrily at people won't help. Modern audiences want to watch films when they want, not hear about their amazing release in America and then see nothing for three months. They want to watch them where they want, on their telly or computer, not having to trudge through rain to a crummy cinema full of screaming kids or talking teenagers. As long as their demands are met they do not care about the source of the movie. At the moment pirate copies are all that fill that gap - but provide people with simultaneous DVD, download and theatrical release on a with scaled pricing and you will get happy, legal audiences. This is the future of Digital Rights Managment

9. Multi Format Simultaneous Releasing
Cinema releases combined with DVD and internet releases on the same date will start to become more and more the norm. The Age Of Stupid was an example of such a release in the UK in 2009. Raindance Film Festival has had Day/Date screenigns at the festival and on IPTV platforms like raindance.tv since 2005.

10. Archive Values
Filmmakers who make a number of films over the careers (and hopefully that is you!) will see the value of their back catalogue increase over time as different distribution windows open up. Remember that the new platforms of mobile telephony and IPTV will require different technical requirements than traditional television and cinema, so plan for segments or chapters of your story so they can be more readily adapted to new distribution platforms

Elliot Grove has worked intensively with writers at Raindance in London England since 1992. He founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993, the British Independent Film Awards in 1998, and Raindance.TV in 2007. He has produced over 150 short films, and 5 feature films. He has written eight scripts, one of which is currently in pre-production. His first feature film, TABLE 5 was shot on 35mm and completed for a total of £278.38. He teaches writers and producers in the UK, Europe. Japan and America. He has written three books which have become industry standards: RAINDANCE WRITERS LAB 2nd Edition (Focal Press 2008), RAINDANCE PRODUCERS LAB (Focal Press 2004) and 130 PROJECTS TO GET YOU INTO FILMMAKING (Barrons 2009). His first novel THE BANDIT QUEEN is scheduled for publication in 2010.

Open University awarded Elliot and Honourary Doctorate for services to film education in 2009.

http://www.raindance.co.uk

Karaoke 101 - Everything You Need to Know About Karaoke

Karaoke mania is sweeping the world! Have you taken your trip up to the stage yet to belt out your favorite song to those you know and love? If not, you might just find yourself on the singing end of your nearest karaoke system very soon! So what is this karaoke, anyway? What's the buzz about the newest karaoke player? What do you need to know to be "in the know" about this latest craze? Here are some facts, figures, karaoke lingo, and trivia you may want to know.

Karaoke is a Japanese word, made up of abbreviations of two other Japanese words. "Kara" comes from the word "karappo", meaning empty. "Oke" comes from the word "okesutura", meaning orchestra. So "Karaoke" literally means empty orchestra. Karaoke players play the music of the songs, without the lead vocals. So empty orchestra means you get the music without the voices.

The first karaoke system was invented in the 1970's in Kobe, Japan, by Daisuk Inoue, a musician. He leased his karaoke player for 100 yen, and Karaoke soon became the fun thing to do.

Unfortunately, he did not get a patent for his invention, and someone else went on to patent it under a different name, "Minus-One". As you see, his Minus-One system didn't catch on near as well as the catchy "Karaoke", so Daisuk still got his claim to fame. Word of Daisuk's new machine spread, and from Japan it has now become wildly popular all across Asia, Europe, and the USA.

Perhaps karaoke players are most popular of all in Finland. Finland holds several world Karaoke records. They have more karaoke bars per capita than any other place in the world. They hold the world record for the largest amount of people singing the same karaoke song at one time: 80,000 people! What song were they singing? Hard Rock Hallelujah! Finland also holds the world record for the longest round of non-stop Karaoke singing: 240 hours!

Imagine that! Now you can use your karaoke system to come up with new world records!

Karaoke Lingo:

What's a new craze without it's own specialized vocabulary to go with it? Here are some karaoke words to know:

Karaoke Player - this is the karaoke machine itself. It plays karaoke songs, or music without the words. The lyrics are shown on a monitor so people can still sing the song even if they don't know the words.

Spinning Karaoke - this is cycling on stationary bicycles while singing karaoke. What a workout!

KJ - this is the Karaoke DJ. He runs the karaoke system, and gets everyone involved. He adjusts the karaoke player to alter the key or the pitch to better match the voice range of the singer, and adds some echo, so that everyone sounds more professional.

Kamikaze Karaoke - In Kamikaze Karaoke, the KJ will choose a pitch number for you, and you have to try to sing the song in that pitch.

Hitokara - means you must sing the song alone.

Karamovie - movie video clips where they leave out the voices

Health Benefits of Karaoke:

And here is great news - karaoke singing releases endorphins! Those are the "happy hormones" that make us feel good!

In addition, karaoke singing releases stress and tension, and helps exercise the lungs. So the next time you want to head off to your local karaoke bar, you can feel good about it!

Newest Types of Karaoke Player:

Now you can get Karaoke Ipods, Karaoke Cell Phones, and DVD Player/Karaoke System combos. China has a Karaoke car. Japan, and now spreading to other countries, has Karaoke Boxes - karaoke system/sound-insulated rooms.

Latest Karaoke News:

Jackie Chan will sing the opening song for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics - KARAOKE STYLE!

Go figure. Maybe there's something to this karaoke after all. You should try it!

Christine Durham is the founder of The SongStation Studios. - http://www.TheSongStation.com

Can you imagine having 53,000 karaoke songs in one machine!

The SongStation is the only karaoke machine in the world with 53,000 in built music song tracks.

But it is not just a karaoke player. It also an all-in-one system that plays DVD, CDG, CD+G, VCD, MP3 with Dolby Digital features.

Visit our website to find out more about the ultimate home entertainment experience with The SongStation.

All that you know about karaoke will be changed forever...

Is the No Child Left Behind Act Shortchanging Our Children in Music and Art?

Educators have said since its inception that the No Child Left Behind Act was not the solution. Teachers are limited to what and how they can teach; children are dropping out of school and are getting left behind. The act is failing more than it is succeeding, and our children are paying the price, ending up joining the vicious cycle of welfare and poverty due to their lack of education.

The No Child Left Behind Act has a narrow focus on math, science English and testing. In particular, its policy to teach to the test does not teach our children to become well-rounded adults--- adults who can draw on their knowledge and all of their experiences, including music and art. Being able to pass a particular test is not the same thing as being able to resolve problems.

Studies on the Effects of Music

University studies conducted in both Georgia and Texas have found significant links between children who had music instruction and their academic achievements in math, science and language arts. Their studies have found that middle and high school students who participated in music programs scored significantly higher than their peers who did not participate in any kind of music programs. Studies have proven time and again that children who took piano or other musical instrument lessons at an early age elevated their SAT scores considerably in math and languages 11 years later.

A Neurological Research study held in 1999 found that students exposed to music lessons scored a full 100 percent higher on fraction tests than those who learned through conventional teaching methods. In the test, second and third-grade students were taught by first teaching them basic music rhythm notation. They learned about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Math and music are very closely related. Why? In the music world, kids are learning fractions and intervals and positive and negative with every change in an octave. Once learned, the skills are easily translatable in the math world.

A ten-year study performed at UCLA that tracked more than 25,000 students, found that music-making improved test scores regardless of the student's socioeconomic background. Students continued to obtain higher test scores in not only standardized tests, but tests such as the SAT and reading proficiency exams. Another study by the University of Texas found that college-age kids with music backgrounds are emotionally healthier than their non-musician peers. Each group was given three tests, and the study measured anxiety, emotional concerns and alcohol related issues. They found that students with a music background tend to feel more self-confident when facing tests and had fewer battles with alcohol.

The Many Benefits of Music

The world's top academic countries place a high value on music education, whereas the United States places a higher focus on vocabulary, technology, math and science. Yet our children are failing to achieve high scores in math and science! Hungary, the Netherlands and Japan are countries with the highest achievement in the sciences. These three countries have a strong commitment to the world of music education and the power it has to help their children achieve higher grades in math and science. All three countries require music training for their children in the elementary and middle grade school levels and have done so for decades. Their music training includes both instrumental and vocal.

There are other benefits to music. Exposure to music teaches children to express themselves and provides an emotional outlet that keeps them healthier. It gives them a strong sense of self-esteem, self-worth and self-confidence, key ingredients to success in their adult life. It encourages social interaction, inspires creativity and improvisation. It strengthens their communication skills and their ability to express themselves. The world of art, particularly music, is a positive force on all aspects of our children's lives, particularly their academic success. So with all these benefits, why do the schools and the government continue to eliminate music from the educational system?

Even the nation's top business executives feel that programs in the arts can help repair with America's educational system to better prepare the future workforce. It is time to stop teaching our children to tests and "dumbing down" school books. It does not work. Children are dropping out of school in droves. As a country, we need to bring back the power of the arts to our education system, particularly music. A good education that provides access and exposure to music and art, regardless of a child's socioeconomic background, is perhaps a better answer than the No Child Left Behind Act.

Our family has experienced the positive impact and power music has in education first hand. I grew up in a family of three children. As a child, I took piano lessons for four years, flute for one year and participated in church and school choirs. One of my other siblings also took piano for two years. The two of us who took music lessons quickly grasped fractions and basic math skills, and excelled in reading and the humanities. The sibling who took no music classes early in life encountered multiple problems in school, particularly math, ultimately dropping out of high school because she believed she was simply not smart enough. Then one day she decided to take guitar lessons after becoming involved with her church's worship singers. She went back to school not only finding the success and self-confidence she had not found as a child, but realizing she was indeed an intelligent young woman.

That same sibling pulled her own children out of the public school system because she realized that the No Child Left Behind Act did not work. She has homeschooled her two children through a community charter school that uses both on-hand and internet teaching. She has also made it a point of exposing them to all forms of the arts, including music, and are taught year-round. Both children easily breeze through state required tests with no test anxiety experienced by many public schooled children. They maintain a grade point average of 3.8 - 4.0, and are two grade levels beyond public schooled peers of the same age.

Changing the Face of Education

At a time when our country was comprised of mostly farms and ranches it made sense to free our children to help on the family farm over the summer. It was a necessity. It no longer is. We need a serious conversation on what we really want from our educational system. Our approach to teaching to tests, "dumbing down" text books and providing a narrow focus approach is obviously not working. While the notion of leaving no child behind is a worthy idea in of itself, the No Child Left Behind Act is too restrictive and is not the answer. Providing our children a well-rounded, year-round education that includes not only math, science and language but the world of music, will help our children become the successful adults that will one day lead our businesses and country.

Our children are bright, intelligent and capable of achieving educational greatness with all of the right tools. Involving the very people who teach our children and their parents to help find better and more creative solutions, and providing access to music and the arts in our public schools will help keep our kids in school. We need to give back the power of teaching to the teachers and give the power of a well-rounded education to our children. Together we can help kids achieve the high scores we know them to be capable of achieving and an education that includes the world of music and art.

Here is a math equation for all of us to consider: Exposure to music = quick-to-learn other subjects.

U.S. Senator, Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico), said it best. "Music education can be a positive force on all aspects of a child's life, particularly their academic success. It has proven to be an invaluable tool in classrooms across the country. Given the impact music can have on our children's education, we should support every effort to bring music into their classrooms."

Doing so will perhaps help our children fulfill their dreams and possibilities, and help ensure that no child is left behind. Copyright 2010 Catherine L Pittman - All Rights Reserved (c)

About the Author
Catherine currently resides in Oregon, and is the owner, songwriter and main vocalist for the music production company, Pitter Patter Productions. The company has been producing its own line of original award-winning music for children since 1992, specializing in lullabies and music for toddlers and preschoolers. MP3 downloads of our songs and albums are available at Amazon.com, CD Baby and iTunes. CD's are available at: http://www.pitterpatterproductions.com

Parents: Receive a FREE sampler album download when subscribing to our e-magazine, Parent Patter Magazine. The sampler album includes songs from all of our current and soon to be released albums. Subscribe at: http://www.pitterpatterproductions.com/ParentPatter.html

The Optimal Travel State

So, your bags are packed and you've got all your liquids in their small plastic containers for carry on. It's five in the morning and you're headed for the airport. That glorious trip that you have been planning is finally in sight. But you arrive at that airport and it's hell! There is a morass of people. Line-ups all over the place. You start to feel tense, perhaps a headache is coming on -- now your bags are overweight, somebody stepped on your foot and your kids are cranky. Somehow that great vacation that you had in sight is quickly losing its allure.

But wait. Help is on the way! I call it an Optimal Travel State or OTS for short. It's a state of relaxed alertness helpful for negotiating today's tough travel environment. Would you be interested in learning how to get into an OTS? It's easy, you can do it. Read through the instructions below once and then do the exercise at least 3 times before you go on your trip.

1. Sit in a chair, preferably one that's upright, with your her feet placed firmly on the ground. Pick a spot just slightly above your natural straight gaze on the wall in front of you. You don't have to look at anything specific -- it could be a part of a picture, a mark on the wall, or any other object -- just whatever your eyes happen to land on when you look straight ahead and slightly upwards. Focus right in on this spot noticing all the aspects of it like colour, texture, size, shape, boundaries etc. Let yourself blink naturally.

2. Now, as you continue to look straight ahead at this spot...keeping your eyes in the same position...notice that you can expand your vision outwards to the sides of the room. In the beginning you can see the front corners of the room as you continue to look straight ahead. As you do this, the first change you will notice is likely to be a sense of relaxation around your eyes. As your eyes soften, you will probably begin to notice that your breathing becomes easier, and that you can feel your jaw relax. Perhaps your shoulders become less tense and drop down. Perhaps your tongue even relaxes inside your mouth.

3. As you do this, notice that you can expand your vision even further outwards while still looking straight ahead, so that gradually you begin to see perhaps, the back corners of the room. Slowly, pretend you can expand your vision all around you, so that even though you cannot really see behind you, you can have a sense of what is there. Notice how you feel more relaxed doing this and yet alert to what's in front of you.

4. Now, as this relaxed and aware reaches its peak, take the index finger and thumb of one of your hands and press them together so that you can just feel a definite pressure. This signal is to train your brain remember this relaxed yet alert feeling.

So, you might say, that's all very well, but I'm not always sitting down when I'm travelling! True. So now stand up and do the same exercise. This time I want you to feel your feet firmly planted on the ground, about shoulder width apart. Just be aware of your shoes pressing down, and the floor pressing up in return. Then do the rest of the exercise from 1-4 as above. This time, when you reached that OTS, and you have signalled that you have arrived at that state by pressing your thumb and index finger together, I want you to begin walking slowly around the room. Keep your gaze in front of you, and notice that you can move around the room and sense more than what is in front of your eyes. If you want to practice this in real time before you go to the airport, you could go to the mall or some other crowded place and do it there. This technique works for any place that is large with a lot of people. What you will find is that when you are in this OTS, you will be able to find space automatically between other people, so that you can slide into that space and get to where you want to go quickly and easily. That might be to the check-in counter, the next terminal, or the next restaurant.

This state of relaxed alertness -- the Optimal Travel State -- is also called peripheral vision. It is a neurological state that martial arts people use when they want to be very aware yet relaxed and ready to take action if necessary. It may take you a few tries before you become automatic and natural at it. When you do, you will find that traveling in crowded places becomes more of a pleasure and a lot easier. You will notice that people don't bother you as much; kind of like you are in your own bubble. At the same time you can enjoy looking forward to your destination with renewed excitement.

Copyright Edward Leyton MD 2008
Copyright Accessing Resources for Empowerment 2008

Would you like to have me lead you into this state with my voice? Then download an mp3 file where I talk you through this into the Optimal Travel State. Click here to review the Optimal Travel State on MP3: http://www.arfe.ca/index.php?section=52

Dr. Leyton uses Humanistic Neurolinguistic Psychology (HNLP) and the unconscious mind paying special attention to the sensory cues from you the client, and using the language of suggestion to re-wire your old, unwanted patterns at the unconscious level.

At http://www.arfe.ca you can access resources to help you change your mind - now. Through high quality CDs, MP3s, and phone coaching Dr. Leyton uses his 30 years of experience to help you.