The Road Less Travelled

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This road is between Omeo and the Snowy River Road in Victoria. It was a beautiful part of the world

Formats available: Microsoft Video (.avi)

Tags: omeo, road, dusty, dry, dirt

How 'Australia's Got Talent' treats Jack Dan

Jack Dan Blake was no doubt pleased when he got to be on new TV show 'Australia's Got Talent'. He was featured in the promotions for the up and coming show as seen on this YouTube clip.

In front of a live studio audience his performance seemed to go well. This is a clip of how it seemed that night.

This is what was shown on TV on Sunday night. Editing changes everything. So what do you think of that?

Jaman - Future for Indie Films?

Jaman is according to its site

"Jaman is a new online community for people that enjoy world
cinema. For filmmakers, jaman is a global and secure way of distributing
cinematic quality films and documentaries over the Internet. "

There are some good offerings on the site. Different countries have licencing restrictions and there are free downloads and rentals as well as fees associated with some of these services. It is in beta. There are currently 2 Australian films, Siam Sunset and 15 Amore. I have seen Siam Sunset and enjoyed it. It is a black comedy with fantasy and escapism. Some great scenery. I loved what it said about colour.

I have yet to see 15 Amore, but can't access it via this site. It looks great. There is a preview that can be viewed.

There are forums and groups where users can discuss the films they view. I think this is an amazing resource for film lovers. I live in regional Australia and it is very rare for independant film to make it's way to our local cinema. The video stores don't always stock them either. Websites like this will allow all to enjoy the choice.

Tropfest Finalists Screenings

The Tropfest finalist short films will be shown around the country tomorrow night. Tropfest is the worlds largest short film festival. The signature item for this year is the sneeze. In Melbourne the event will stage at the Myer Music Bowl. In Gippsland it can be seen at the Yarram Theatre. All other states and regional information is available on the Tropfest website.

To watch previous films go to the following link: Tropfest finalist films, or order copies here.

New Magnify Channels - February 2007

Magnify are exploding with channels now. Each time I check in, there are new ones. Here are new channels worth checking out:

Movies
Public Domain Movies - Only 22 movies today, but potentially an interesting site, particularly for those who like old movies.
Some of them run for over an hour and I haven't watched them right through yet. Interesting concept though.




The TV Trail
Runs with a similar concept but I have a feeling these shows are not public domain. The Simpsons, Six Million Dollar Man and Twilight Zone are some of the shows featured on the home page of the channel.

I notice that many have created channels that so far contain nothing. I guess, Magnify is getting a lot of media right now and people are just staking claims, so to speak, creating their own spaces within this space with hopes for the future.

It is a space to watch.
The falling brick channel received over 500 views today. That's great! There is an interesting clip that was submitted today about the classic Australian delicacy of Tim Tams. Called 'Slam', it is interesting and whilst it runs a little long, is worth a watch.

Coming Soon to Movies: Starter for 10

Starter for 10, which has not yet been released has a sountrack featuring Kate Bush. It was produced by Tom Hanks. It sounds great. Set in England and meant for people who grew up in the 80s. Me!

Good News for Magnify.net

I am pleased to read "Magnify.net raises $1.2 Million". I have found the people at Magnify to be really helpful and I love what they are doing. It is great to be able to create your own channel and they just keep adding features. It is fun to use and the team are supportive and helpful if you have any issues. What more can users ask for?

Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks

My daughter introduced the Dixie Chicks to me. They are great. A good clip too. Enjoy!

Three Dollars

I watched 'Three Dollars' for the second time this week. I love this film. The central character, Eddie, is such a compassionate person and his suffering hurts. I cried during the railway station scene, knowing this is how we behave in public as humans, inhumanely. I love the way Eddie treats others.

Another great Australian film that many have never heard of!

Snowy River Road via Suggan Buggan

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Picturesque road to Jindabyne along Snowy River, via Suggan Buggan.        

Formats available: Microsoft Video (.avi)

Tags: road, travel, australia, mountains, view, suggan buggan, snowy river, jindabyne

Aussie Film/Media Blogs to check out

I am always looking for interesting blogs to read about the topics I am interested in so I though others may similarly enjoy a list to check out. I have added these to my feeds and will watch them for a month or so in my to read folder. If they are generally good, I will move them to a more permanent position. Let me know if I am missing anything good.

Graeme Watson
Inside Film
Stale Popcorn
R-Views
What I watched today

That will do for today.

My Favourite Magnify Channels

I have some of my own, but there are some great channels.

Here is a selection from Magnify:

All about Tesla

Amnesty International

world history

Organic gardening

Backpackers Stories

Magnify is really taking off. The number of channels grows daily. There is good traffic on these sites. I am pleased because all my interactions with the Magnify team have been pleasant and I am confident they are going to be a great success.

Revenue Sharing coming soon to YouTube

I have never uploaded a clip to YouTube. I have committed to Revver to house my collections and I am more than happy with this arrangement.
This latest news that I have read on Nalt's blog is interesting though. I wonder how this will change the online video world?
I have used YouTube to find videos to use on my blogs on occasion and imagine this could improve the quality of the video's.
I wonder if they will be able to continue to allow people without the rights to continue that if they are revenue sharing?
In the BBC version of this news:

"The offer applies only to people who own the full copyright of the videos that they are uploading to the YouTube website."

Interesting....

Legacy of Blogging and Online Video

One of the reasons I blog and make my little clips for revver is to keep a journal for my family. I have a great, great grandmother who wrote a couple of small novels and pamphlet’s that are housed in the State Library of Victoria and I loved discovering this. I have diaries that were my grandmothers and I treasure her handwriting and her little observations of life. I hope to have grandchildren and I imagine they could be as interested as I am.
Some of the videos I have made are of places that will change in the future. Climate will change the landscape. Increasing populations will develop places and they won’t be recognisable. It is a historic legacy as well to see little glimpses of places.
I know my clips aren’t highly entertaining right now and it could seem like a waste of time, yet I imagine some of them could have value for others at some time. I video things that take my attention for now and I don’t edit or think too much about them. I expect I will improve over time, I will get better equipment and become better at capturing things. I learn more about the technology and I enjoy learning this.
The learning about the technology and tools of the Internet is another motivating force for me. I find I can’t spend the time to learn something if it has no purpose for me and I read this post from Beet.tv with interest this morning. It is true. All the videos that are being archived on the Internet will make a rich resource for future generations.

The future of Video shops

I guess they are more DVD shops now, but anyway, last night I went to my local video shop to hire some DVD's and it was really challenging to find something I hadn't seen or wanted to watch. I looked around and noticed that the library had shrunk. There was a pile of used DVDs at the front of the shop. It felt like an unannounced closing down sale and I felt pretty sad.
I know this has been predicted and discussed by many and I remember when I was in a shop nearly 20 years ago, saying to my business partner, we have to get out of this shop. Shops are going to be gone. I was way ahead of myself at the time. We sold that business and I was really happy with the profit we made, and to be free of having to go to the shop everyday. However, that aside, the business is still successfully running, exactly where it was when I left it.
I think though that music and video shops might be in trouble though. It certainly looks like it. I guess the only thing keeping them going are all those people who don't really understand or want to know about computers.

Latest Revver News

I was delighted to read in the Revver forum today that they are looking at the accounts. I have felt that my stats aren't being properly recorded and I was astonished when I returned from holidays and found that although I had received over a hundred views a day on Magnify on just one of my channels, which is almost exclusively revver videos, my balance had not shifted! I was paid over $200 in the last payment for a months earnings. My next payment will be only $50ish and the way this month is shaping up, there would have to be something massive occur for me to make it to $20. I know I had 3 weeks of not uploading. I was under the impression that whenever clips were viewed they would have ads on them, no matter how old they were. I wonder if this is not so. Perhaps I need to ask that on the forum. I won't bother them though until I hear the outcome of their current investigations.
I love Revver and think it is such a great idea and such a great service for video producers that I hate to complain to them. In the past I have found them to be fair and transparent in their communications with me, so I just trust that order will be restored. I guess also if they were experiencing a difficulty, I wouldn't want to add pressure.
I have finally got a widget of clips on this blog, but I would prefer it not to be above the header of my blog. It's the best I can do right now. The one on this blog is of my clips that have received over a hundred views. I have also added a widget to Joh Blogs of the clips from our holiday if you are interested. I have also written on that blog about the films I have seen lately.

Whilst I've been away on Holidays......

Magnify has announced it's launch of .09. I love this site. If you make videos and want to create a channel I would recommend Magnify. If you like watching videos and want to create a channel to share your video's, again Magnify. The possibilities are endless. It is a really useful site. I look forward to seeing the changes that are coming. They have over 1800 channels now.
They are supportive and encouraging. It is getting quite good traffic also for some of my videos. My videos are not really viral, but more sharing sights I've seen on my little trips, so the traffic I get would be small compared to those who are intentionally going for the audiences. You can create a channel based on any topic that interests you. I encourage you to check it out.
You can share the revenue they earn through revver accounts and google adsense, which makes life simple.
Revver has been very quiet for me whilst I was away. In saying that I have not earnt a cent until I put a couple of new clips up when I returned. I have received over a hundred views per day on one of my magnify channels but this hasn't translated into any revenue from Revver, so I am surprised by that.
Both Magnify and Revver have forums and I have noticed in the forums that others have also seen a slowdown in their revenue from Revver, so I guess the Christmas/New Year period has been a quiet one. Those forums are a great way to stay in touch and lesson the panic when things don't seem to be right. It always seems better when others are experiencing the same thing, don't you think?

Goanna at Cape Conron

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This big reptile joined us for our picnic lunch at Cape Conran during the holidays. After Mr Magnificent attempted a conversation with it, it scampered off, slowly.

Formats available: Microsoft Video (.avi)

Tags: goanna, australia, cape conron, travel

Imperfections = magic

Sometimes the magic is in the imperfections writes Kathy Sierra. Creating Passionate Users is one of my favourite blogs. I especially love the graphs and this post is no exception.
Those flaws that come from having a low budget, or not enough time, tend to keep things real. It keeps us conscious of the human behind the creation and that's a good thing. Check it out.

Bushfire sky

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The sky in the afternoon in Latrobe Valley. The fires are at Toongabbie which is about 10kms away.? It was windy and the light was eerie

Formats available: Microsoft Video (.avi)

Tags: sky, wind, tree, smoke, fires