“The photo department had never been gathered in the same place at the same time, and … many of the photographers only knew each other from their photo credit bylines.” Until the day they all got laid off.
Category: media
How The Sopranos Changed the Television Industry
“Part of what’s interesting about The Sopranos is that it’s not just an artistic achievement, it’s also the product of real business model innovation. It reflected some broader trends in the industry and had some precursors, but it’s really the show that turned a certain kind of corner about what kinds of programming could be commercially viable and what aspirations it makes sense to finance.”
Why Mobile Devices Won’t Kill Movie Theatres
“People are social animals and I don’t think they want to be chained to their couches, mobile devices and tablets. They want to go out.”
Why Is American Media So Squeamish About Graphic Images?
“A number of studies suggest that the media have grown less likely to publish explicitly violent images in recent decades, even as fictional portrayals of violence in film and video games have intensified. The retreat from graphic photography seems partly the result of increased timidity about offending the audience.”
Public Radio’s Next Great Voice?
“Public radio is enjoying a golden age–you could say that the past decade has been to radio what the 1970s were to film. Besides the famous innovators, like Ira Glass and Radiolab’s Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad, several lesser-known figures have captured the attention of radio enthusiasts.”
Why Pedro Almodóvar Returned To Sex-Filled Screwball Comedy
“My films developed into something more dark and somber in the last years. I don’t know why. I guess I’m growing, aging. It’s life. But this film has a tone that was very familiar to me in the 1980s. And when I was writing it, I almost forgot that I’m an older man. It was a good feeling, feeling younger. But it’s not the same as it was, because I’m not the same, and the world’s not the same.”
‘The Stoned Fox’ Is Russia’s New Internet Sensation
A stuffed toy – “sitting cross-legged, with a vacant stare on its face” – put up for sale on eBay by a young London artist has been adopted by Russian Photoshop wizards, “popp[ing] up in famous Russian paintings, riding the metro or taking instructions from a soccer coach. … Often, the images use the fox’s bizarre appearance to poke fun at figures of authority, a modern version of Soviet-era humor aimed at the powerful.”
They’d Watch Paint Dry: Norwegians Just Love Their Incredibly Boring Television
“Norway’s love affair with slow-moving shows dates back at least to 2009, when an NRK employee suggested putting a camera on top of a train as it made the seven-hour trip from the capital Oslo to the west coast town of Bergen. It was an immediate success.”
Golden Age For TV – But Where’s The Golden Revenue?
“This is, ironically, a new golden age of television, with no end of smart, sophisticated content – call it what you will. You might even call it TV, despite the fact you may never own one. TV is dead. Long live TV.”
Has The XBox Become Big Brother?
“The Xbox One, you see, can recognize you from the others in the room. And, it can track up to six people in the room at a time! It can track whether you’re actively watching the TV, whether you’re watching or just have it on while you’re doing other things. It can tell your reaction to what you’re watching by looking for smiles or grimaces. It can even measure your pulse to see how the show is causing you to react. And, it can do all this in a room completely in the dark. And it can do this for six of you at a time.”