As noted in his book The Long Tail, Chris Anderson’s three forces of the Long Tail include democratizing the tools of production, cutting costs of consumption by democratizing distribution, and connecting supply and demand — or, more simply, as the start of the chapter states, “make it, get it out there, and help me find it.” By reducing the costs of reaching niches, our culture is able to move away from the head of the demand curve (the hits) and towards the tail (the niches). We’ve been given more options, more variety! Anderson says, “For the first time in history, hits and niches are on equal economic footing…popularity no longer has a monopoly on profitability.” Sounds good to me.
I really enjoyed this book, and started googling “long tail” and other combinations online just to read more about it. I came across an article that interested me particularly because I love the performing arts world, as well as the movie-making industry. In this article, major movie-makers from Hollywood admit that shooting digitally changes acting, directing, and the editing process drastically. Now that we are in the digital age, it seems to me that film is being used less and less.
Digital video cameras are a Long Tail toolmaker, and aid in democratizing production (the first force of the Long Tail as I mentioned above). Now that we are in the digital age, it seems to me that film is being used less and less. The everyday use of the digital still-camera is an example of this. Who really carries around a non-digital camera when digital cameras provide us with so much more and at a reasonable price? The accessibility and overall costs (not only of initial purchase, but also including costs of function, maintenance, and printing) associated with the two make digital cameras a winner. What is the repercussion of this? I, personally, take many more photos than I ever have. Additionally, after uploading them to my computer, I spend lots of time adjusting the saturation, sharpness, brightness, and red eye. I’ve been given more power over my photos, and in turn, they are better for it.
I think the same is true for the movie-making industry in this case. If not now, then over time we will see a better quality of movie surface due to this change. Actors have less pressure on them to “get it right the first time” and are given more opportunities to repeat a scene. Directors have more power than ever: a good and bad thing. But, after reading the comments on this article, I think Mike Walsh is on to something when comparing the transition of silent movies to talkies with the article’s mention of a director over-working the star actor unnecessarily:
…Right now we are dealing with unintended fallout from digital “filming”, such as overly long takes or murky colors. The upside is that the cost savings, while unimportant in big budget movies, are important in smaller, character driven productions. Just as the painter’s choice of medium (ie watercolors vs. oils) change the kind of painting they create, eventually a consensus will be reached on how the new systems are used.
Well put.
PODCASTS
Additionally, I’ve been asked to blog about my experience with podcasts and I just have to say that I can’t believe I didn’t get into these sooner. I’ve had iTunes for at least 3 or more years now, and each time I would accidentally click on the ‘podcast’ option, I would quickly exit out and not return. I was missing out on a lot! And it’s FREE (? which still confuses me a bit!)
I listened to a handful of podcasts, but found The Economist’s Democracy in America segment, “John McWhorter on Hip-Hop Politics” posted June 12, 2008 (can I link to podcasts?) to be particularly interesting. McWhorter believes that hip-hop doesn’t make anyone do anything. From acting on a violent theme that it endorses to going to the polls to vote, hip-hop has proven to not be an effective medium. He goes on to praise Barack Obama’s campaign strategies of reaching out to the young vote in ways that have never been done. Other things come into play when it comes to getting people to vote, mainly, effort (such as the Get Out the Vote campaign).
