I noticed that there was little or no comment last week over the NYT story about film schools setting up new courses in “technology.” Read “When Film School Isn’t Enough, the EnterTech Age Dawns” here. The story reports that numerous film schools are creating degree or certification programs in what they call the “convergence of entertainment and technology.” Spoiler alert: that phrase doesn’t seem to be a euphemism. These programs, with input from Hollywood executives, are exploring how the film industry can adapt to changing technology. These aren’t history classes; it appears they’re “how does Hollywood make money in the 21st century” classes. Or maybe ie., “Our 80-year old business model isn’t making the returns our investors are demanding, how can we make money off these kids on the Internet?” classes.
But as our lukewarm outrage was brewing, we realized that none of us has actually been to film school. So perhaps these kinds of business classes are common in film school. What do we know, our ranks are an ebb and flow of publishing dropouts, underground filmmakers, grad school dropouts, and slacktivists. But our first instinct is to say get an MBA already. Drop us a line, if you have any insider information for us. For now we will pretend to reserve judgment.
Production update:
We’re in the thick of assembling Volume 5. By the end of the week, everything will be final and the DVD will go into production.
We’re trying to use some more recycled packaging, but of course it costs more than the alternatives. As always in this country, doing the right thing costs more, see ethical food, hybrid cars, urban living, etc. We’ll keep you posted.
We’re also working on setting up some screenings around the country for the fall and winter. We’ll let you know as soon as they are finalized. If you’d like to see a screening in your burg, let us know.
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