Useful sites Category: Digital Rebellion Blog

Twitter

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:23:26 MST

After years of wondering what the fuss was about, I have finally signed up to Twitter.

What's Twitter? It's basically a mini blog where you post very short messages up to 140 characters. It's great for letting people know what you are doing, asking questions and getting feedback. The beauty of it is the 140 character limit - this ensures posts are quick and to the point. Perfect for the modern age!

It'd be nice to have a little post production community where people can help each other out or just get to know each other. From a business perspective, it's also a great way of getting feedback on our products in order to improve them.

So if you want to follow me on Twitter, my Twitter URL is:
http://twitter.com/digitalreb

How to get your films on the iTunes Store

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:31:13 MDT

This is very cool. TuneCore is a company that acts as an intermediate between indie musicians and Apple, allowing them to put their content on the iTunes Store for a flat fee per month. They've now extended this to video content.

I actually think their video deal is better than their music one because you just pay an up-front fee and then any money made on the film (after Apple's cut) goes to you in full. The fee varies according to the length of the content - for example, a 60 minute film costs $550 and a 90 minute one costs $770. The deal is non-exclusive, can be canceled at any time and you retain all rights to your content. Note that your content must be approved by Apple first.

This is a great way for independent filmmakers without a distribution deal to get their projects out to a large audience. More details are available here.

Escape Studios delivers online CG learning tool

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:28:14 MDT

I just received this in my inbox. Escape Studios, a London-based visual effects facility well known for its excellent CG courses, are now offering a system to study various CG courses via the internet. Previously the barriers to their courses were that you had to take the course in London (and if you're not a citizen, visas complicate things) and that you had to commit a period of several months to the course. You can now learn from anywhere in the world, at any time and take as much time as you like to complete the course.

The courses take the form of HD video tutorials and they are currently offering Maya Core (an introductory course) and Renderman as course options. Maya Core is 1,999 GBP (around $3,500 at today's exchange rate) but each module is available separately for 400 GBP (~$700). Renderman Freelance (for individuals) is $995, Renderman Commercial (for companies) is $3,995 and Renderman Education (for schools) is $3,995. Renderman certification is also available for an additional $100.

With over 600 videos for the Maya Core course alone, it looks incredibly detailed. Should you run into problems, you can ask an instructor a question or seek help from Escape's online community. They are offering a demo area with 2.5 hours worth of footage for free (after registration) which is definitely worth a look.

And if you're looking for work in the visual effects industry, I fully recommend their job site. It's UK-centric but they are now starting to branch out into other countries.

Moby offers royalty free film music to non-commercial films

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:00:36 MST

Moby is offering royalty-free film music to "independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short."

If you are using it for commercial use, you can apply for an "easy" license with all proceeds being given to the Humane Society.

This represents the third example this year (that I can think of, let me know if I missed anything) of a major artist bypassing a record label. The first was Prince, who released his album Planet Earth for free in a UK newspaper, then Radiohead released their album In Rainbows on the internet for whatever price downloaders were willing to pay.

Life is getting harder for the record labels because the viral nature of the internet means that some established artists are questioning the need for a middleman.

[via HDForIndies]

Soundsnap: new sound sharing web site

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:04:42 MDT

Soundsnap is a royalty-free sound sharing site that is completely free to use. Good quality royalty-free sound and music is difficult to find on the internet unless you're prepared to pay a premium for it. For some projects, the premium is completely worth it, and for others it isn't.

It's very simple. You can browse and search for specific sound effects and music types or upload your own, similar to YouTube. The license is pleasing too - attribution is optional and you can commercially distribute your movie with these sounds and music. The only thing you can't do is distribute them separately from the movie, such as on a soundtrack CD for example, but that is completely understandable as it conflicts with their business model.

All in all, this site looks very promising for filmmakers, sound designers, editors and musicians.