Community Media - Interactive World

In pure, that is to say, realistic terms, a ‘no-budget film’ is a myth. Leave no- budget-film to rich kids. And over-hyped websites. For the rest of us, having a plan , and having a budget are essentials, not just media hype. I’m tired of reading no-budget sites that begin the words  ‘whether your budget is $2000 or $100,000’ – that looks to me like a budget.  It would be more accurate to speak about low -budget, non-commercial or volunteer-led film-making, rather than ‘no-budget’ film-making. Let's also admit that a film can be made for next-to-nothing if you are living in an affluent country. Let’s concede also that there are many ways to reduce costs, save money, and cut corners. Vision, versatility and sheer doggedness will get you a long way. But many of the 'costs' are simply transferred elsewhere: by borrowing equipment from a government/ community organization, or from an individual, or a private, a charity or an NGO; by shari...

Lord Puttnam in Birmingham. Screen WM Event at the Birmingham Hippodrome. 10th June 2009 It was reassuring to hear Lord Puttnam speak. What an asset he is for the industry and for those who care about film. In particular, I enjoyed his emphasis on the social role of film. It's so easy to fall in with the prophets of technological progress, innovation, and digital skills, as though these are a worthy end in themselves; as though we could eliminate poverty through digital equality and having more gadgets. (Across most of Africa 97% of the population is not online.) Lord Puttnam reminded us of need for a prior engagement with community and citizenship which might be supported by the dream of improved communications; social connection rather than fascist exclusion. Also resonant for me in his speech was the notion of global dialogues and environmental issues. He was looking to the new, younger generations to raise awareness and understanding. He appeared to be critical of the lack of a...

Time to turn up the volume and press record. Let's communicate. Getting your message out may not be as difficult as you think. When we started our community film festival in Northampton we had few difficulties gaining the attention of local, regional and national media. The BBC spent a whole day with us; we had several radio appearances and multiple pages of coverage in the newspapers. If we had paid for our publicity as advertisement we would have needed tens of thousands of dollars. As a small non-profit venture our project needed the oxygen of free publicity to make it a success. In these cash-strapped times a well-crafted press release is an excellent source of free publicity and not as difficult as you may think. In our rush to digital we often forget the reach, coverage and the value of the existing traditional media. In fact, local media are hungry for news items to fill their columns. National media and regional TV, however, tend to cover larger events of ‘natio...