“With a click of a button, you open the door in to another world - the one in your mind. That which lurks in shadows now takes a new face, the one inside us all and only unlocked by the imagination. You have fallen into Unknown Realms”

This concerns the launch of the Unknown Realms: Japan channel on various P2P TV and web TV platforms like Vuze, Veoh, iTunes and many others, which coincides with the DVD release of 152 and Rodosha - The Laborer. Finally some of the films that I talked about previously are available on the internet for viewing.

Unknown Realms: Japan is a channel featuring a collection of short films beckoning back to the days of the Twilight Zone, produced by DK PRO (including 152 and Rodosha - The Laborer). The channel explores the mysterious, thrilling and unknown all with a Japanese twist - from psychological mysteries, to stories of haunted train tunnels, to surreal looks at the mundane, including documentaries about hidden aspects of Japan. The channel currently features short films that have screened at various film festivals around the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Italy. It will also feature future films of DK PRO which are currently in production. Attached is a press release for the Unknown Realms: Japan channel with details and links for the channel in all its available platforms as well as details on all the films screening on the channel and 3 films currently in production (available at http://www.dariru.com/unknownrealmspressrelease.pdf). A press kit which includes posters, production stills and images for all films can be downloaded at: http://www.dariru.com/unknownrealmspresskit.rar (14 meg compressed file)

Both 152 and Rodosha - The Laborer are now available on DVD on Amazon.com and all films are currently in negotiation for distribution in addition to being broadcast on Unknown Realms: Japan, so readers would be able to check out the films easily.
sincerely,
Darryl Knickrehm
director DK PRO
http://www.dariru.com

Being tapped to screen your film at one of the country’s top film festivals. That has to be every filmmaker’s dream. The Tribeca Film Festival 2008 runs April 23rd to May 3rd and, newcomer that it may be, after only seven years on the scene, clearly Tribeca has become one of the best places for a filmmaker’s work to be seen. The Digital Filmmaker spoke with a half dozen fortunate filmmakers whose documentaries and animations are among the many kinds of films selected this year. We particularly wanted to know what they hope or expect being included will mean for their film’s future. Call it a look not at the films themselves, but at the filmmaker’s experience. Some filmmakers have been to Tribeca before and are returning with new work. Some are experiencing the festival for the first time. All echo the sentiment of Carlos Carcas, a first timer who is coming all the way from Spain to screen his film “Old Man Bebo”at the festival.
“Just being a part of the Tribeca Film Festival in itself is an honor. As a filmmaker, it’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase one’s work in a prestigious event. When I heard the film had been accepted to compete in Tribeca, I was in a state of shock and euphoria. I always dreamed about participating in Tribeca, and to go with this film is already a prize.”
For information on the festival and its film offerings the festival’s website is at www.tribecafilmfestival.org .

For what the filmmakers have to say, please read on.

Nina Paley “Sita Sings The Blues”

Nina Paley is a returning filmmaker. Two years ago she had a short at Tribeca. One thing she hopes Tribeca will do for “Sita Sings the Blues,” a feature length, animated “breakup film” which receives its North American premiere at Tribeca, is for other festival directors to become aware of it, seeing or hearing of it there. As she explains, it’s a whole lot easier if you know other festival directors are aware of, and also already interested in your work than if you just submit.
“Sita”, which is in what she calls its festival year, screened earlier at the Berlin Film Fesitval, where it had its World Premiere, and “good things came out of Berlin.” Because of Berlin, she was invited to “a whole bunch of other festivals.” Her hope is Tribeca will do the same. And it costs a lot less, she has learned, if they invite you. There are expenses to submitting, for duplication, postage, and so on. These are smaller if festivals ask you to attend.

Paley particularly likes that Tribeca is in New York, where she lives and where she is happy all of her friends can finally see it, in a theater, with other people, in the dark. The way it should be. Being in New York also makes it easier to manage all the work that goes into presenting it. And, she confides, there are a million things to do. As with many filmmakers, money is tight. Trying to get “Sita” out into the world with no money, she can’t, for example, afford p.r. Many a filmmaker will sympathize with that challenge. At least in New York she knows some people in the press. Honor that Tribeca is, she recognizes every great thing creates new problems. She is overwhelmed trying to make all the arrangements, including making sure all the people who helped her get tickets. A friend says of her “She’s like a wolf running through the woods,” trying to do them all.

Paley has a sales rep, but is still looking for a distributor, which she also hopes will materialize because of Tribeca. She knows “Sita” is a tough sell. A niche. It’s animated, but not for kids. Looking for her best deal, the hope is Tribeca will give it “a big push.” She will also tell you she has always made art. She makes the films she does “because I want to see it. When I started I wasn’t thinking about getting into the Tribeca Film Festival. I was just thinking about the film.”
Of course, being one of the filmmakers at a major festival, she is looking forward to seeing others’ work.
What would she say to aspiring filmmakers about themselves applying to Tribeca? Her advice is simple. “Send it in. Who knows how this works. It’s a mystery.” In her words, “Of course, I’ve had more rejections in my life than acceptance.” Basically, she’s saying, all you can do is not get in. And maybe, miracle of miracles, you will.

When the Digital Filmmaker asks Paley what she got out of Tribeca the last time she was there two years ago, she doesn’t hesitate a moment. With great enthusiasm she will tell you, “They gave me a great bag of swag.” What was in it? “Final Cut Pro!” What else was in there? “Lip balm. Sunglasses. A nice bag. Who cares!” Not when the freebie bag has Final Cut Pro!

Alas, the swag bag laws have tightened. Since last she was at Tribeca there’s been a swag bag crackdown, so she doesn’t expect that again.

But a decent distribution deal would be nice.

Robert Drew “A President to Remember”

Famed documentarian Robert Drew brings an intimate look at President John Kennedy to Tribeca in his “A President to Remember.” He has been to many a festival and to Tribeca before. “What this festival and other successful festivals do… Tribeca more than most,” he tells us, “it creates a two week thriving film community. It energizes people. Broadens your viewpoints.”

Like Paley, he is aware when Tribeca selects a film then many of the other major festivals around the world want you to come. They issue invitations. So it has a multiplier effect. The festivals he cares about are the ones that feature documentaries or are all docs. Tribeca is a broad picture. Hollywood is a part of it, but documentaries are given top billing. He feels well treated there. His film gets reviewed at the head of the list.

Furthermore, he has observed, people make a festival. Good people are the secret. This particular group that works behind the scenes at Tribeca, people you never hear about, “is amazing.” A smart bunch. Some might ask, for example, why another Kennedy film. With them, he didn’t have to explain anything. They knew this is a big year for presidential politics.
The last film he had at Tribeca was of his WWII experience. Unbeknownst to him, while it was screening at the Amsterdam festival, one of Tribeca’s top people was seeing it there and when he got back to the United States, before he could call them, she called him. To Drew, that means the folks who run Tribeca are enterprising. Then he has nothing but praise for the way they handled it. They billed it prominently. Gave it good projection. Got a good audience there.

For “A President to Remember,” this year’s entry, Drew explains, this film is meant for people who didn’t experience JFK directly. He is hoping people will realize once we had a history of great presidents. Which, in his opinion, the current administration doesn’t reflect. What Tribeca is doing for him. First, they selected it. Out of the hundreds of films that are submitted, it is “good for the film that it was selected. Good that then they will show it four or five times with excellent projection, good p.r. Hopefully, it will draw crowds.” More importantly, being in the festival “would then accomplish the purpose of the film, which is to remind people of a great president” who held office at a time when we respected and admired the man in the White House. He thinks the film has a job to do. And this festival will help it do that.

We wanted to know the importance of this festival to him when he’s been in so many. And had so many successes. “Yes, I still get excited.” The film he’s working on is always the most important. And Tribeca is “an important boost.”

Dori Bernstein “Gotta Dance”

Dori Bernstein we reached in post-production, putting the finishing touches on her entry “Gotta Dance.” Two years ago, she was at Tribeca with “Show Business: The Road to Broadway, ” where it premiered, and it was “huge, fantastic, the perfect place to launch the film.” Tribeca launched it “on such a high level” and gave them an opening which attracted distributor attention and press attention. They were given a red carpet spotlight premiere. She calls that “a magical night.” The film dealt with Broadway, and as Tribeca is in New York, the Broadway community came. What happened to them at Tribeca was “very valuable to catapulting the film. As a result, we did get theatrical distribution release. It played all around the country. Now it’s out on DVD.”

Also an incredible experience is what Bernstein says was the personal handling. “Tribeca took such good care of us and the film. Even after the festival was over. They continued to be very supportive of their filmmakers.” Bernstein says the festival put word of their film in their online newsletter. Sent email blasts when it was released, telling people where it was playing. Helped to publicize it throughout its life.

Now she returns with “Gotta Dance.” “Gotta Dance” is a world premiere. She is ecstatic that she got in. Especially after only sending in a rough cut. She felt from Day One that Tribeca was the perfect place for her latest film. It was her dream to get in. But she is well aware, “This is a tough one to get into. At the end of the day, either it fits what they need or it doesn’t, even if you’ve been in before.” But she also knows the festival had confidence in her — seeing just a rough cut — “that it would turn out well and be finished on time.”

She wanted to and is thrilled to be at Tribeca, not only because it is such a spectacular festival, but also “because everyone is here.” Meaning everyone in the film is in New York area. Her senior hip hop dancers and the New Jersey Nets, “which is what makes the screening so special. The lights will come up at the end and the cast of the movie is going to be there.” Up on stage. What a moment. Not only will they get to see the film while the audience does, but the audience will get to see her stars.

Her dream is for every distributor to see the film, fall in love with it and want it desperately.

Tribeca makes that possible.

Douglas Tirola “An Omar Broadway Film”

Douglas Tirola is new as a filmmaker to Tribeca, but not new to Tribeca itself. He’s been before, wearing a different hat. Taking pitches in the All Access program, not screening his own film. This is the first doc he’s directed.
For this particular film, “this was THE festival we wanted to go to.” Tirola always pictured it being at Tribeca. For a few reasons. One of which is that “An Omar Broadway Film” takes place almost entirely in Newark and East Orange, right across the river.

Another because, after being involved for six years with the All Access program, he feels a relationship with the festival. “I think they do a great job. They make you feel they are making a long-term commitment to you.” He feels they really want the movie to go where it can go — beyond the festival circuit. Tirola describes a kindness, feeling treated like family, with all the “support for us and for the film.” He thinks that’s unique. He’s been in other festivals. It’s not always that way. “Since the movie was accepted the level of and amount of support from different people at the festival is extraordinary.”

The Digital Filmmaker talked to Tirola the morning after a pre-Tribeca event. What he found remarkable was that questions from the various festival workers went beyond their immediate area of responsibility. Someone in p.r. might ask about distribution and vice versa. People had actually seen the film. Dozens of films are in the festival and he could see they actually knew his movie. Had actually watched more than the first five minutes of his film (and the others). They could talk about the movie. And because they had actually seen it, Tirola feels they will be better prepared to support it.
His takeaway. Instead of solely being concerned with how the festival fares, they seem to care about what the festival can do for the film. Tirola believes the festival people genuinely care and want his movie to “find its home” not only at but after the festival. For him he will always feel “this connection to Tribeca.” For anything that needs being done, “There are six people helping me, far beyond what does happen at the festival itself.”
His expectations beyond the festival? He has a couple.

“We’re just like a lot of movies. We got it made far enough to submit to festivals and because it got accepted, now that it’s in, we went to final production.” Now that it’s in finished form, with that boost from the festival, obviously, he hopes for theatrical distribution. “The goal is to find a distributor who best understands the film and will get it out to an audience.” And here again, Tribeca is a help. Tirola hasn’t “been to all the festivals in the world, but I will say because Tribeca is in New York City, you get the New York industry people.” More of them are here than most other places that hold festivals. Then there is a further wrinkle. The uniqueness of Tribeca being in New York City, plus the support of the people behind the festival, means you get more diversity in the audience — a great mix of industry people, film devotees and just regular folks. People in the business get to see the film at screenings with regular folks, not just the crew who flew out to see the movie, and “being in New York, where the audience and the crowd is a little tougher, if the movie plays in that bit tougher room and a potential distributor sees the audience is on the side of the movie, that’s an advantage.” After all, Tirola is trying to show there is an audience out there for “An Omar Broadway Film.” Being at Tribeca make that happen.

“An Omar Broadway Film” is about, as Tirola puts it, “a guy who is in prison.” So he can’t be there. But another main character is his mother. A woman who lives in a modest house in East Orange, New Jersey — she gets to be there. Tirola says, “If for some reason this is the only premiere the movie ever has, it’s important for us that the mom be there and it be special.” And Tribeca helps make it special, even going so far as to help them find a place after the screening to have a party.

At the end of the day, “It’s a documentary. This is probably the biggest opening and biggest stage it will have.”

Andy Abrahams Wilson “Under Our Skin”

Andy Abraham Wilson is a first timer. Tribeca is the place where he’s launching his doc, “Under Our Skin” and he calls it “the best venue for this film.” Partly that’s because of the subject matter. “Under Our Skin” is about the Lyme Disease epidemic. And New York and the Tri-state area were a hot spot epidemic area. Hence, a perfect place to premiere.
He hasn’t been there yet, but already he feels what the other filmmakers describe, under the heading, “treating us well and they really care.”

Wilson, of course, hopes for sold out crowds. He’s excited about getting this film out to the public. He’s also excited also being asked to be on a panel, Behind the Scenes. Only three filmmakers will be on that panel and he’s the only non-fiction filmmaker.

Being on a panel can only help. As any filmmaker knows, going to a festival is all about visibility and awareness. Wilson takes it further. Creating awareness and buzz about the film is important. “All filmmakers want to create awareness and buzz about their film.” But he also wants to “create buzz and awareness about the issue. The Lyme Disease epidemic.” His sister had it. He thought she was malingering. This film, he quips is “ penance for the way he treated her.” More earnestly, he had a friend who got sick, then sicker and sicker, with a mysterious illness. Eventually she was seriously ill. He was very concerned. She was very concerned. Many wrong diagnoses followed, until, finally, the diagnosis of Lyme Disease. So the film is as much about the issue. And the issue is personal.

So, it seems, even for a newcomer, is the relationship to Tribeca.

“Everyone wants their film to do well, “ he reminds us. “Tribeca is a big festival. Lots of people are coordinating. It feels like they our holding our hands.” Compared to other festivals, “they seem to have an investment… an engagement with the film.”

“It feels like they are holding our hands.” Wilson has been to other festivals. He doesn’t think all others get that treatment. “Under Our Skin” has a prime screening time. He, too, cites the newsletter, tracking the film after its play.
And, of course, there’s that panel discussion.

Eileen Douglas is a broadcast journalist turned independent documentary filmmaker. Former 1010 WINS New York anchor/reporter and correspondent for “ABC-TV’s Lifetime Magazine,” she is the author of “Rachel and the Upside Down Heart,” and co-producer of the films “My Grandfather’s House” and “Luboml:My Heart Remembers.” She can be reached at www.douglas-steinman.com.

“A President to Remember: In the Company of John F. Kennedy.” Produced and Directed by Robert Drew
Narrated by Alec Baldwin

Call it nostalgia. Call it remembrance. Call it a reminder of how things were before John F. Kennedy was assassinated forty-five years ago in 1963. In every way, you will be right. Today, President John F Kennedy is a man steeped in myth, especially to today’s generation and probably for anyone under fifty years old. He is an icon unlike almost any other American president except for possibly Abraham Lincoln. Robert Drew’s latest film is not for the cynical, the know-it-alls, or those who will say, I’ve been there, done that. It is an unabashed, affectionate look at John F Kennedy. Few people really know anything about him except the obvious.

Almost fifty years ago Robert Drew helped develop hand-held cameras that allowed him and his crews to enter, as flies on the wall, the inner world of Kennedy – with his permission, of course — as he campaigned for president, then won the Oval Office, and then went through a host of crises that he solved with a dedicated staff. For this film, Drew culled highlights of Kennedy’s life from the four major films he directed about him during those heady years. In “A President to Remember” we watch JFK campaign for president. We witness speeches he made – especially portions of the one about his Catholicism and how it would not affect how he would govern the country. We see excerpts of John Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the debate that changed the tone of the campaign and then helped to turn the election his way.

Importantly, Drew and his cameras had access to the Oval Office during two major confrontations when Kennedy was president. The major foreign crisis was, of course, when the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushev moved missiles into Cuba. Here we see JFK interacting with his advisors, not panicking, being thoughtful, and being careful because one false step and the world could have seen nuclear war. Kennedy was able to face down the Soviet Union and cause Khrushev and his military to remove the missiles, thus allowing the world to breathe more easily without the possibility of nuclear war.

The other powerful set of scenes that take place in the Oval Office were those during the time when Governor George Wallace of Alabama refused to allow black students to enter the University of Alabama. Driven by Attorney General Robert Kennedy and ably assisted by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, it was an epic diplomatic battle over state rights between Alabama, in the person of George Wallace, and the Federal government over who had control of desegregation. Troops massed. Large crowds gathered. The nation was tense because Wallace threatened to stand in the schoolhouse door and not admit the two African-American students. We observe the Kennedy brothers being calm and resolute in the face of a defiant George Wallace. We watch as they face down Governor Wallace and finally win. The two students are admitted. President Kennedy goes on TV that night and sets the tone for future government commitments to civil rights. I seriously doubt that any president today would allow such intimate access to show the highest in government at work. I have to wonder what the result of President George Bush going to war with Iraq would have had, had at least some of his discussions been recorded for posterity.

Though the film does not take us through everything in Kennedy’s life, we do get to see him on trips to the Berlin Wall, and his journey to Ireland. We see the sometimes awkward grace of Jackie Kennedy, how she supported him in her role as First Lady, the intimate looks she gives him, and her ability to win people with her smile and her gentle charm.

Is this film worth seeing? If you know very little about John F Kennedy and his presidency, the answer is yes. If you think you know more than you do, the answer is still yes. If you know in detail everything about JFK, the answer is a strong yes. We will probably never see the likes of John F Kennedy again. The film refreshes our memory. Rush to wherever it is playing. It is not comprehensive. It cannot be. It is selective. In these selections, however enough of JFK’s intellect, his wit, his caring attitude, his humanity and his style show through, if even only in small doses, to make the movie worth your time when it comes to a theater near you. This is especially so with the Democratic Party campaign for its candidate for president nearly over and the campaign for a new president about to being.

Julie Saul, owner of one of New York City’s most pretigious contemporary photography and art galleries, will be the juror for the 2008 Photo Review Photography Competition. The Photo Review, a highly acclaimed critical journal of photography, is sponsoring its 24th annual photography competition with a difference. Instead of only installing an exhibit that would be seen by a limited number of people, The Photo Review will reproduce accepted entries in its 2008 competition issue and on its website. Thus, the accepted photographs will be seen by thousands of people all across the world and entrants will have a tangible benefit from the competition.

Also, the prize-winning photographers will be chosen for an exhibition at the photography gallery of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and will be exhibited on The Photo Review’s website.

Because their work was seen in The Photo Review, past winners have been given one-person exhibitions, have had their work reproduced in other leading photography magazines, and have sold their work to collectors throughout the country.

Awards include a Microtek ArtixScan M1 Dual Media Scanner ($650), a copy of SilverFast HDR Studio digital camera RAW conversion software from LaserSoft Imaging ($499), a Lensbaby 3G Lens and Wide Angle / Telephoto kit ($359), camera bags from Lowepro ($200 and $100), a $250 gift certificate from Calumet Photographic, a $250 gift certificate for Museo Fine Art Paper, two $50 gift certificates from Sprint Systems, and $250 in cash prizes.

An entry fee of $30 for up to three prints, slides, or images on CD and $5 each for up to two additional images entitles all entrants to a copy of the catalogue. In addition, all entrants will be able to subscribe to The Photo Review for $35, a 20% discount.

All entries must be received by mail between May 1 and May 15, 2008.

For a prospectus and details, send a self-addressed, stamped business-size (#10) envelope to: The Photo Review, 140 East Richardson Avenue, Suite 301, Langhorne, PA 19047. The prospectus may also be downloaded from The Photo Review website, www.photoreview.org . For further information call 215/891-0214.

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Think Tank Photo today released three new or completely upgraded rolling bags that provide more protection and security for transporting heavy and expensive photography gear. All three rollers feature advanced security features, such as front and back cable locks, a TSA lock, and the Security Plate “Lost and Found” service.

Airport Airstream — This new, small roller complies with international air travel guidelines and accommodates up to a 400mm lens and multiple DSLRs and lenses. It features new and enhanced security features: TSA combination lock for the zipper sliders, a security cable for securing the roller to immovable objects, a front cable and lock for securing a laptop case to the bag, and the new Security Plate system for easy identification. With Think Tank Photo’s new Security Plate photographers can register their roller’s unique serial number at the company’s Lost and Found site. If Think Tank Photo is informed that a lost or stolen bag has been located, it will contact registered users at no charge. The optional Airport Airstream Low Divider Set lets up to a 15″ laptop lay safely inside of the roller.

Airport Security V2.0 — This large roller, which is renowned for its ability to hold a large amount of gear while complying with most USA domestic airline size requirements, has been completely upgraded. Like the Airport Airstream, it now comes with all of the company’s enhanced security features. In addition, the optional Airport Security Low Divider Set is now available, which allows the Artificial Intelligence 15 & 17 laptop cases or the Cable Management 50 to lay inside of the roller.

Airport International V2.0 –This new version of the popular mid-sized roller was recently named a 2008 winner of the “Hot One Award.” In making this award the judges noted that the Airport International was “the first large rolling camera bag to meet all international carry-on size requirements.” The roller, which now includes the new enhanced security features, was designed to accommodate a 300 2.8, 400 2.8, or 500 4 with lens hoods, multiple DSLR bodies and lenses, and other photography accessories.
The AI Low Divider Set is also available for safe laptop storage.

“With all of these rollers we’ve listened to photographer fears and designed in strong, customizable features that allow them to use this rolling camera bag not only as a means of transporting equipment from one site to the next, but for storing it securely during a shoot,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s founder and lead designer. “As they are rollers, photographers can move quickly from one flight to the next and without the burden of carrying this weight on their shoulders. The goal is to minimize the wear and tear on their bodies and the fears associated with transporting expensive photographic equipment.”

About Think Tank Photo
Headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, Think Tank Photo http://www.thinktankphoto.com is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work and developing inventive new carrying solutions that meet their needs. They are dedicated to using only the highest quality materials and design principles, and employing materials that are environmentally benign.

Product Specifications
Airport Airstream
Internal Dimensions: 13.5” W x 6.5-7.5” D x 15.5” H (34 x 16.5 x 39.5 cm)
External Dimensions: 14” W x 8” D x 17.5” H (36 x 20.5 x 44.5 cm)
Weight: 9 - 10.5 lbs (weight varies depending on accessories)
Price: $289

Airport International V2.0
Internal Dimensions: 13” W x 6.5” – 7.5” D x 18.5” H (33 x 16.5-19 x 47 cm)
External Dimensions: 14” W x 8” D x 21” H (36 x 20 x 53 cm)
Weight: 9.5–11.5 lbs; 4.3–5.2 kg (weight varies depending on accessories used)
Price: $329

Airport Security V2.0
Internal Dimensions: 13” W x 7-8” D x 21” H (33 x 18-20 x 53 cm)
External Dimensions: 14” W x 9” D x 22” H (35.5 x 23 x 56 cm)
Weight: 12 - 14 lbs/5.4 - 6.4 kgs (weight varies on accessories used)
Price: $369

Chicago, IL - Zacuto is announcing the release their new packages for the Letus35 Extreme Lens Adapter [http://www.zacuto.com/Letus.htm]. Zacuto’s product line for Letus35 Extreme [http://store.zacuto.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=37] features a complete setup for handheld use that is lightweight - while integrating all the functionality of Zacuto’s highly rated line of camera support accessories. Besides the handheld package, configurations are also available in two other kits for tripod mounting.

Zacuto’s Letus Studio Handheld Package [http://www.zacuto.com/Letus_studio_handheld_kit.htm] includes the Letus35 Shallow Depth of Field Adapter [http://www.adapterplace.com/content/view/21/5/lang,en/] plus all the Zacuto brand hardware necessary to achieve a balanced and completely quick-releasable (Zacuto trademark) shooting outfit that is quick to setup and fast to move about on location.

The DOF adapter is a powerful tool, allowing inexpensive DV, HDV and HD cameras with small CCD’s
to capture a shallow depth-of-field to achieve a 35mm motion picture look. One interesting benefit is that while the DOF is very similar to 35mm film cameras; with the 1/3″ pickup area, the field-of-view is much wider. This is a huge benefit to independent filmmakers because they are typically on location vs. a studio and need the widest field-of-view (wide angle) they can get. The Letus35 Extreme adapter is an affordable yet high quality unit which is easy to use and will fit all cameras.

“After extensive tests, I’ve found that Letus35 Extreme loses the least amount of light of any of the DOF adapters on the market (including P+S-Technik & the Movie Tube)” says, Jens Bogehegn, Product Designer/Technician Zacuto USA.

“We invented a new part just for the Letus35 called the Z-Riser [http://www.zacuto.com/Z-Riser.htm]. When using a DOF adapter two issues are important. Balance & Support [http://www.zacuto.com/Letus_07.htm]. These setups tend to be very front heavy so designing the system with balance is critical for both handheld and tripod use. Second, support is key to your equipment lasting. Electronics are delicate, in a Zacuto setup, the electronic components including the Letus35 just sit with no pressure on them on the Zacuto rig. The Zacuto setup has to take all of the stresses or damage will occur to the electronic components.” Says, Steve Weiss, Product Designer/Sales Zacuto USA.

The Zacuto Letus35 Extreme case [http://www.zacuto.com/Letus_Zacuto_case.htm] is the first of its kind to be able to put the entire built Letus35 setup in a case fully assembled. It could take 30 minutes to assemble all of the parts of your rig each time you set it up. “The less you take the components on and off the less breakage you will have. Plus, you can come out of the case and shoot within 1 minute, who wouldn’t want that?” says, Steve Weiss, Product Designer/Sales, Zacuto USA.

“Our handheld kit for the Letus35 adapter uses more than a dozen of Zacuto’s best products, including our latest (Version 3) Universal Baseplate [http://store.zacuto.com/product.php?productid=30&cat=0&page=1] and Z-grips [http://store.zacuto.com/product.php?productid=69&cat=0&page=1] ” says Steve Weiss, Zacuto’s Co-Designer/Sales Director. “Z-Grips give you that Zacuto low hand position that DP’s say is much less fatiguing when shooting for many hours. Plus, the handgrips themselves fully articulate for further comfort.”

For more information about the Zacuto/Letus Extreme Configurations visit http://www.zacuto.com/Letus.htm

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded seven years ago after the 9/11 attacks to revitalize lower Manhattan through a celebration of film and culture. Since its founding, the Festival has generated more then $425 million in economic activity for New York City. It has been a home to more than 950 filmmakers debuting stories from around the corner to around the globe.

Each year, the strength of the film program has increased. The acclaimed documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side, which premiered and was acquired at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, was just nominated for Best Documentary at the 2008 Academy Awards. Another 2008 Academy Award nominee, Salim Baba, had its North American debut at the 2007 Festival and is now up for Best Documentary Short Subject. The 2007 Festival also featured more than 30 films that received distribution.

Think Tank Photo announces the release of Hydrophobia™ 300 - 600, the first rain cover specifically designed to be pre-mounted for quick deployment. When in the field, where inclement weather can destroy a shot or gear, photographers need a simple and hassle free system for immediately deploying a rain cover to protect their SLRs and lenses.

When it appears it may rain, photographers attach the Hydrophobia over their lenses before going out into the field, rolling it up tight and out of the way. Then, when weather threatens, they simply unroll the rain cover over the rest of the lens and body, securely protecting both. The rain cover fits onto a 300 f2.8, 400 f2.8, 500 f4, and 600 f4, making it ideally suited for sports and nature photographers.

Hydrophobia comes with two extended sleeves through which photographers insert their arms to access all of their camera controls. It allows them to shoot vertically in either direction, and they can add a tele-converter to the lens by simply unzipping the back. (Eyepieces for different camera models are sold separately.)

The fabric used on the Hydrophobia is ten times as waterproof as normal fabric. Instead of a “spray” coating, a “film” is applied to the underside of the fabric, as well as a tricot mesh to protect it, making it a far more impenetrable three-layer fabric. In addition a waterproof tape is applied to all seams, providing an even more waterproof barrier.

Other key features include:

• Clear PU back and top to see controls.

• Memory cards and batteries can be changed without taking the cover off.

For professionals and amateur SLR shooters who can’t afford to lose a shot or to have their cameras and lenses damaged, the Hydrophobia 300 - 600 is a powerful new tool for getting the shot in even the roughest conditions.

For more info go to http://www.thinktankphoto.com

These notes are on the matter of Wikipedia. I’m only asking, but isn’t it time the press no longer kowtowed to Jimmy Wales and his cult-like enterprise, Wikipedia. Wales and his creation receive the deference of a saint or a newly crowned king. His treatment in the press is as if he were the founder of a “good” cult, a useful cult, and, fortunately, not one that would inflict mass suicide on its members. Or would it?

In my sporadic and thankfully infrequent use of the site, I find the style turgid, the system difficult to navigate and mostly the words an aggregation of information rather than anything new or exciting. Those elements only serve to further convince me that there are many other ways of finding information. Call me old-fashioned, but I would rather go to the source myself than put my trust in people whose bona fides are questionable at best, and often intellectually weak. I find it difficult to trust a 24 year old whose only strength may be in finding a missing comma and whose only ability is to maneuver his or her way onto the Wikipedia site as well as the Web. Essentially, I have a hard time trusting anyone without proper academic or life credentials.

Recently I turned to Wikipedia to see what it said about Post Modernism, a term now loosely applied to anything anyone thinks is new, and thus beyond the limits of this time or moment we are now living in. In simple terms, post modernism is that which is against modernism, or beyond modernism – whatever that is. My reading of the term says that how we live, think and act today is dreary, lacking in depth, without a future. Is the future now? Is the future coming at the speed of light as I type on my computer keyboard? Is the future in the immediate past as the words spill onto the page? I confess that I do not know. Nor do I think the Wikipedia entry helps clarify the meaning of post modernism. It is a mistake to think we can see into the future when we have enough to do battening down the hatches here in the present – which, incidentally just passed as you read the sentence.

I find the pages on Wikipedia a mess. Though the site liberally quotes seemingly every philosopher even remotely connected to the idea of post modernism and despite all the academic-looking citations, the definitions are still vague, as if the writers are afraid to commit. Surprisingly, the site with its many references, reads as if a copycat version of a real encyclopedia, actually looking and feeling encyclopedic, and the very thing Wikipedia stands against. The writing lacks vigor and is not much help in understanding the term nor how it affects and impacts thought today, especially when used in connection with new media. I can only imagine its pages are purposefully dense. The denser they are, the more difficult it is to critique the mess they are.

After reading page after page, I came away thinking the writing weak, the definitions unclear, and with many questions that still needed answers. I felt that all the hands involved with the section were unsteady. I am betting they were many, but the powers that run Wikipedia will never let us know how many people it took to create a part. Needless to say, I went elsewhere to continue my research and I am glad I did.  I almost found myself seeking my answer in a book of mythological terms, feeling that at least in that kind of work I would discover something with proper age on it that would make sense.

Every entry in Wikipedia reads the same, looks the same, and feels the same. Laying out facts and then piling them one atop the other does not make an encyclopedia. I am not an apologist for the Encyclopedia Britannica or any other similar work. These books also lack style. Style should count for something. Wikipedia pieces uniformly lack style. They are high on what passes for substance – the piling on of purported facts – that only makes for joyless reading. It should not be too much to ask for an entertaining read now and then even when seeking information about something such as the string theory in physics.

Ease of reading, comfort of reading, and the joy of reading should all play a part as you seek information. But maybe this is not what Jimmy Wales and his ilk want.  Lacking style means a sameness, something akin to the Cold War days in East Germany when everything behind The Wall was gray, where individuality had no place in life and thought, in heart and mind. With the continuing assault on intellectualism by Wikipedia, there can be only one conclusion: academic credentials count for little or nothing in this brave new world of the anonymous contributor to knowledge.

USC Launches Fellowship and Degree Program for Top Journalists Determined to
Lead Profession

In response to a rapidly evolving industry, USC Annenberg`s School of
Journalism will offer a unique 9-month M.A. degree In response to a rapidly
evolving industry, USC Annenberg`s School of Journalism will offer a unique 9-month M.A. degree
in specialized journalism beginning in August 2008. Top students will be
nominated for the university`s prestigious new USC Annenberg Graduate
Fellowships. These fellowships provide full tuition and stipends to 100
world-class scholars and practitioners in the fields of communications and
digital media each year.

The new M.A. program will provide highly individualized courses of study in
fields as diverse as science, religion, immigration and education. In
addition to journalism classes taught at USC Annenberg, students will take
courses with faculty from USC`s other highly regarded academic units,
including the Rossier School of Education, School of Policy, Planning and
Development, and College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

“Now more than ever, quality journalism requires subject-matter expertise,
advanced reporting skills and knowledge of how new communication
technologies are changing the ways that people learn, think and behave,”
says Roberto Suro, the veteran journalist and researcher who directs the
Specialized Journalism M.A. degree program. “This program offers students a
chance to move forward on all three fronts by putting the resources of a
great university at their disposal.”

Outstanding applicants to the M.A. in Specialized Journalism will be
nominated by the Annenberg School to receive significant financial
assistance and be awarded particular distinction as USC Annenberg Fellows by
the USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship Program.

“The USC Annenberg Fellows will conduct communications and digital media
research, advance bold new ideas in the communication arena and produce
innovative creative works,” said USC vice provost Jean Morrison. “They will
be drawn from a variety of academic programs in the Annenberg School for
Communication, the School of Cinematic Arts and the Viterbi School of
Engineering. The USC Annenberg Fellows will constitute an internationally
recognized and highly regarded group of communications research scholars and
creative practitioners. We are delighted to launch this program and to
accelerate the university`s leadership role in cross-disciplinary
communications-related graduate research and education.”

A report sponsored by the Knight Foundation revealed that the lack of
training opportunities is a top professional concern of U.S. journalists,
outranking even pay and benefits. In addition to basic skills, journalists
and their managers desire training and education in specific topic areas to
enhance their coverage of beats such as health and business.

“Leaders of American journalism believe that there is a strong and
increasing need for expertise in substantive areas covered by the U.S. news
media and of great importance to the society that they serve ­ expertise
that is lacking in the newsrooms of most newspapers, magazines, broadcast
outlets and news Web sites,” says Michael Parks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
former editor of the Los Angeles Times who directs USC Annenberg`s School of
Journalism.

In addition to Professors Suro and Parks, other faculty in the program
include award-winning science author and reporter K.C. Cole; author,
journalist and holder of the Knight Chair in Media and Religion Diane
Winston; Larry Pryor, a former environmental affairs reporter and editor
with the Los Angeles Times, Louisville Courier-Journal and former editor of
USC Annenberg`s Online Journalism Review; and Bill Celis, the award-winning
author and former New York Times education correspondent.

The program is designed for professionals with demonstrated abilities in
journalism as well as recent undergraduate journalism students with strong
academic records and internship experience. Individuals working in all forms
of media and journalistic platforms are invited to apply. Students will be
encouraged to produce journalism that can be published, broadcast or
otherwise disseminated as part of their work in the program.

Applications will be accepted from February 1 to April 2, 2008, and
candidates will be notified of an admission decision within 4 to 6 weeks of
submitting a completed application. For details about the application
process, visit http://annenberg.usc.edu/prospectivestudents.

“Almost more than any other profession, journalism depends on intellectually
versatile practitioners ­ people skilled in the immediate tasks of the
craft, to be sure, but also fluent in the purposes and function of civil
society. Such nimbleness of mind and technique can only be achieved ­ with
quality journalism as its result ­ through a process of continuous
learning,” said Carroll D. Stevens, former director of the Knight Foundation
Fellowships for Journalists in Law at Yale Law School.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC
Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation`s leading
institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their
impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than
1,900 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers degree
programs in journalism, communication, public diplomacy and public
relations. For more information, visit annenberg.usc.edu.