I attended the first part of today’s “Canopy” event at the WildRivers 101 Film Festival held in Access Humboldt’s site at Eureka High School. It got off to a slow start and was sorely under attended. It’s too bad, because a great discussion took place for those who were there. Topics ranged from collaborations between video and film professionals, to training resources for youth, to the grey areas surrounding intellectual property and fair use.
Before the session began I got a tour of what will become Access Humboldt’s impressive video facilities. The layout includes a sound proof production room with lighting grid something not available anywhere else in the area as far as I know. Editing workstations and complete editing “rooms” give this facility the potential for a huge amount of creative activity. An unusual addition is a room they call Studio B that provides all the equipment for presenting a live talk show with room for guests. You can even switch to a live feed from the larger production room if you want.
Beyond that Access Humboldt allows you to air you products on the cable access channels and will soon include the ability to distribute them on the Internet simply by checking a box when you submit your video to them for airing.
In addition to this opportunity, Paul Benson, a local entrepreneur is offering an outlet for local producers to to present their productions online in a commercial environment and share in the revenue. Humvidx.com promises not only revenue share but a better presentation environment than YouTube.
FILMHumboldt (link doesn’t work, at publishing time, but maybe will later) seeks to promote the area as a digital hub encouraging out of the area productions and locals alike to use the region as a backdrop and to pool the resources of producers, directors, actors, editors and technicians in developing digital media products for current and emerging markets.
It’s impressive how much energy, time and money is going in to providing resources for people to create and share digital media. The question I have is whether there is really a pool of talent and expertise that can take advantage of these opportunities. As Sean McLaughlin director of Access Humboldt said “We have the tools, but we don’t have the people”. A good deal of training is going to have to happen in order for people to take full advantage of what’s being offered. Is there a enough drive and creative talent out there to start producing quality material for all these venues? It’s not as easy as blogging, folks. With today’s meager turnout it’s hard to imagine where this talent will come from. Perhaps tomorrow’s session at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center which focuses on film/video and social change will have a larger audience. Check the WildRivers 101 Film Festival site for more information.
Thanks for filling in with some information I missed. Regarding the “people”. I don’t doubt there are plenty of creative people locally. Given the amount of techncial understanding it takes to create quality multi-media products, my concern is over how many creative people will have the interest or discipline to climb that learning curve. I took the Final Cut Pro Class with you. Given your schedule how much editing have you done that you would call ready for air? Me? Zero. But I’m an old guy. So, maybe it’s a generational thing.
Thanks for the write up on the Canopy: Digital Bridge Day event with Wild Rivers 101 Film Festival.
Access Humboldt is a proud sponsor of these efforts, which are also supported by Ink People Center for the Arts. One very important announcement at the event was about the plans for Access Humboldt and Ink People to develop digital animation facilities in collaboration with youth programs and leading educators including Clyde Johnson (College of the Redwoods) and Julian Lang.
Also, in the afternoon session we had a great conversation with some “Hollywood” folks – from Big Screen Entertainment (part of Paramount Pictures). They were very enthusiastic about the resources at Eureka High School/Eureka Adult School, especially the high-end Mac classroom full of production grade film/media technology that was developed with Digital Pathways – Eureka!
Finally, just let me clarify your quote of me, regarding the need for training and cultivation of young talent in our community. Humboldt does have the people with creative talent, intelligence and dedication to develop world class digital media programs.
But we need to organize and develop more specific skills locally to support the creation, organizing, archiving and distribution of local media content. We need more training to develop our digital media skills!
I have no doubt that young and old, the local voices of Humboldt County will step forward with innovative approaches to the meet the challenges and capture the creative opportunities posed by next generation digital broadband media!