Television Archives
TV Makes Its Stars
Much is written when movie stars choose to do series television, as in Alec Baldwin's role on this season's 30 Rock. Sometimes overlooked, though, is TV's ability, via weekly exposure and long-term character development, to make its own stars. For a good example, see this profile (registration required, but it's free) of actor Paul Adelstein of Fox's Prison Break.
Shameless Plug
Looking for the perfect gift? What friend or loved one wouldn't enjoy the first season of Family Ties, now available on DVD? Click here to order.
Shameless Plug
Looking for the perfect gift? What friend or loved one wouldn't enjoy the first season of Family Ties, now available on DVD? Click here to order.
Writers Strike?
For an incisive view of the economic issues involved in a possible Writers Guild strike, read this piece by screenwriter Craig Mazin.
A Doctor Takes To The Skies
Among the many communications problems facing general aviation are the challenges of promoting the social and economic benefits that it conveys to areas of the country underserved by commercial aviation. Here's a recent TODAY SHOW segment profiling Dr. Rich Paris as he flies himself to see patients all over a mountainous region of Idaho. As a bonus, see this blog entry from cameraman Ray Farmer on how he shot his best flying footage.
Movies and TV Intersect (and Shameless Plug III)
Time was you could tell movies from TV shows. Movies had big budgets, big effects, and big stars, whereas TV focused on smaller stories and ongoing character development. But in recent years TV has caught up, at least in the realm of narrative ambition and production values, as evidenced by shows like Lost, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, and the CSI franchise. For the latest evidence, check out NBC's big breakout hit, Heroes, and the work of the Emmy-nominated director who shaped it and other recent feature-caliber TV series like Revelations and American Dreams.
Internet TV Grows Up?
For a thoughtful post on the professionalization of internet video, see Laurie Sullivan's NewTeeVee article.
Ephemeral Networking
One under-reported (in my opinion) aspect of broadband video has been how the internet enables ad-hoc networks to spring up around time- or location-specific events. An entire channel devoted to G8 summit coverage is exactly the sort of promise (from a programming perspective) internet video is meant to fulfill and is a fantastic way for a micro-broadcaster to excel where the traditional networks and even cable news organizations fall short.
Is The Internet Outdated?
Recent exponential growth in broadband video, social networking tools, and IP telephony have relied on the ability of the Internet to support such huge data traffic. Now early Internet pioneers are pointing out that the web of webs was never designed to support such bandwidth. Luckily, being pioneers, they're hard at work on the next generation of technical underpinnings for the web. Read about it here (.pdf file).
For Space Enthusiasts Everywhere
Given the ease with which video can be added to websites, many organizations are following the original model of cable television in appealing to ever-narrow but quantifiable audiences. One such example is SpaceFlight Now, which is aimed at the worldwide space enthusiast community. Always a one-stop source for all news about space, it's particularly valuable during Space Shuttle and other NASA missions.