Dallas VideoFest's AltFiction goes online

I'm getting almost daily notices of film festivals pushing back to at least the summer. More interesting in the here and now are the fests that are going online. The latest is the Dallas VideoFest's AltFiction which will be online for FREE.

Here's the skinny from the press release:

Dallas VideoFest’s Alternative Fiction (http://videofest.org/Alternative-Fiction/ April 2-5) partners with Falcon Events, Dallas-based event producers, which specializes in producing live online and virtual events, to deploy the latest live online technology via a secure and robust platform to create a virtual film festival experience in your living room.

“We are recreating the festival experience, showing films, and connecting filmmakers with their audiences, with technology that is just right for the moment,” said Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director of Dallas VideoFest.

Alternative Innovation

Falcon Events has the technology and capability to include film introductions from the Festivals’ film hosts as well as Q&As following films. Viewers will be able to hear and potentially see the filmmakers as they answer the viewers’ questions. Falcon Events has very strict protocols in place to ensure each film’s content is not copied, and each film will only be available live.

Dallas VideoFest has been innovating with technology since 1987, such as showcasing HDTV and VR in 1988,  exhibiting interactive media, and pioneering using files instead of videotapes. We are constantly looking for new easy to connect with audiences, and this is the technology perfect for this moment in time.

“In this time when we are literally homebound, we are looking to be inspired. AltFiction’s narrative films will prove entertainment, inspiration and will be the cure for cabin fever,” Weiss said.

Movie lovers can go online and watch great films at specific times.  Like traditional film festivals, there will be questions and answers and intros to the films from hosts and from the filmmakers, but these will be done on video (and unlike the films themselves will be viewable later online). Audiences can ask questions of the filmmakers and have them answered in real-time. 

Here's how you do it:

 

1. Sign up at OnlineFest.us 
2. Browse content
3. Register for screenings you want to watch
4. Log back in before the event start time to begin viewing (an email reminder goes out 30 minutes prior to the start time)

In addition, viewers can expect a seamless switch into a filmmaker Q&A using a text-based tool that allows attendees to submit questions online.

Why your cell phone photos aren't art

 My mini-rant over at The Austin Chronicle:

"Caroline was at the hospital waiting for word on her daughter. At 77, Caroline's face was distinctive and beautiful. I approached from across the room, took a knee, and asked if I could take her portrait. I was testing out a medium format film camera I'd bought on eBay for cheap, I explained. From her purse, Caroline pulled out a photo of her with her husband in 1955 and held it in her lap. Snap. Then I took a digital pic. Snap again. Email to Caroline's family. Post on Facebook.

Here's the deal you already know: That film camera is a relic. It takes beautiful photographs, but I haven't had a home darkroom since the Nineties, so the film will go into the mail (once I get around to it) to a processing house which will snail mail it back to me. The pink of Caroline's cheeks will likely be more vibrant, the soul reflected in her eyes more soulful, but time will have marched forward."

Read the rest here.

North Texas Book Festival coming to Denton

Winning the North Texas Book Festival Award was a big moment as I was getting the word out on my novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan. It's tough work writing,
and perhaps even tougher to promote your work in a world that is increasingly segmented. Check out this list of writers. They're all working it. If you're in North Texas, go say hello to them and buy a book! Here are the details:

North Texas Book Festival, which celebrates all genres of writing, is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at Patterson-Appleton Center for the Visual Arts in Denton. More than 50 authors from Texas and Oklahoma will sign and sell their books. The festival is open to the public, and there’s no admission charge. In addition, several authors will speak to readers in small sessions. The center is at 400 E. Hickory St.

SXSW 2015 in photos and words

 

I've been remiss is posting here lately, so here are some random images from South by Southwest that give a bit of the feel of the combo music, film and interactive fest. The images are all  ©Joe O'Connell.

I once again covered the film fest for The Austin Chronicle. I interviewed Alan Berg, the head of Austin's very cool Arts & Labor film cooperative about his new doc The Jones Family Will Make a Way. I also got an inside look into the moment the punk rock scene exploded in Austin. I reviewed the films Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine, The Goob and Sailing a Sinking Sea.

More oddness from SXSW

Check out the full photo set here.

Terrence Malick filming again at Austin City Limits fest

We've got confirmation that Terrence Malick's untitled film formerly known as Lawless--which has been lensing around Austin of late--has already been spotting filming at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which just kicked off. And, yes, Ryan Gosling, was in front of--and in this case behind--the camera. See more pix here.

And somewhere in this video, actress Rooney Mara is supposed to be on stage dancing as the Black Keys perform.