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If you would like to take part, send us an email, tell us what you're interested in (movie making, animation, game design, music, writing....whatever you create - and you're in. If you have a vlog, let us know, and we'll post it on our upcoming vlog board. See you soon!
RECRUITMENT!
With summer just around the corner, we're on our way to re-energize Freshi Now with all new features and a new determination to create a home for young filmmakers / media creators from around the world.
RAHUL MENDIRATTA, 2006 FRESHI INDIA FILM CAMPER, HEADS TO USA
In 2006, Freshi went to India to conduct our first international Film Camp. One of the teens attending the camp was Rahul Mendiratta (seen below at the camp - he's the boy with his hand raised). We're excited to announce that Rahul will be visiting America soon at part of the Global Youth Leadership Council, "a unique leadership development program that brings together outstanding young people from around the world to build critical leadership skills in a global context. "
"GYLC offers students the opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with some of the world's top business leaders, policy officials, lobbyists, journalists, diplomats and academics in the challenging and dynamic environments of Washington, D.C. and New York City; or Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai."
In addition to visiting New York and Washington D.C., Rahul will also be spending time in California. We look forward to seeing him again, and wish him well with this incredible opportunity!
Rahul Mendiratta, center, during the 2006 Freshi Program in India.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON VLOGGING
Vlogging is a form of communication - it's a chance not only to be heard, but to get to know other like-minded people around the world. With a little bit of planning, a good sense of humor, and the ability to be yourself - the vlogging experience can expand your universe. At the same time, protect your privacy and your independence with a vengeance. While most people in the vlogging world are great, some are only out for trouble. In that way, it's just like the real world.
Recently, a popular young vlogger found his home address posted on a public site by a mean-spirited viewer a continent away, who offered the information to other vloggers worldwide via Twitter. How did he track down the vlogger's personal information? The vlogger made two mistakes. First, he freely offered his full name on his YouTube channel and various websites. Second, he maintained a website with public registration. If you establish a website, you must provide a contact address to complete the registration. Most people use their actual home address, but it's possible, through your internet provider, to register your website through a service that protects your private information - including your address. This vlogger didn't take that step, and as a result, the viewer could have put him at risk for stalking by anyone who might have come across the information. Fortunately, the information was quickly taken down - but it doesn't' take much imagination to understand how it all could have gone wrong.
If you decide to vlog - have fun, protect your privacy like you're a celebrity, and - most importantly - let us know!
VLOG EVERY DAY APRIL: VLOGBROTHERS!
No salute to vlogging would be complete with the most famous Vloggers of all time, VLOGBROTHERS! Here's a recent post on Google/YouTube's new auto-captioning feature, which is supposed to take the voice in your video and convert it to text captions. It doesn't work so well:
VLOG EVERY DAY APRIL: WAFFLESAM
Today's "Vlog Every Day April" highlight comes from WaffleSam, a 15 year-old vlogger in England. Make sure to check out his YouTube channel.
VEDA - VLOG EVERY DAY APRIL
April is Vlog Every Day April (VEDA) - an annual challenge vloggers take on to do as it says - create a vlog every single day of the month. We'll celebrate VEDA this week by featuring vlog-related videos - some on how to vlog, others by some of the creative teen vloggers on YouTube.
Enjoy! And START VLOGGING!
Here's the first, by Youtuber "NickSpov," with his guide to vlogging:
GOT MOVIE REVIEWS?
Now that the IFFF is over, your humble webmaster is looking forward to getting back to firing up Freshi Now!
Freshi Now reporter Ben Spiegel attended the IFFF, and will soon be posting an exclusive interview with China's biggest child star. A large group of filmmakers from China were in attendance this year at the festival, and Ben had special access.
Ben is also working on developing a YouTube collab channel dedicated to 30 second movie reviews - which will also post here - anyone interested in committing to 30 seconds a week? Let us know! Either contact Ben directly (using the links at the left), or this webmaster.
FOLLOW THE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL!
Starting today, you'll be able to follow the International Family Film Festival online from the IFFF blog, at http://ifffblog.blogspot.com
Watch for blog updates periodically during the day!
We'll also be constantly updated the the photo feed at Flikr, also available at the IFFF Blog (to the right of the latest blog entry) or directly at:
Check here for vlog updates later in the evening, or first thing in the morning (we won't have the chance to upload during the day) - alternatively, if you have a YouTube account, you can subscribe to the webmaster's channel at
to be notified whenever new videos are posted.
We'll also post some surprises on Twitter, so follow us at intfamfilmfest.
See you there!
The International Family Festival Vlog
Rich Samuels, webmaster of Freshi Now, spoke recently on his vlog, "The World According to Rich" about his special vlog/blog coverage of the International Family Film Festival:
RECOMMENDED LINK: STUDIODAILY.COM MINI-SITES
Interested in finding out more about production software (like Final Cut, Adobe Premiere and After Effects), or hardware (such as the Panasonic P2 series cameras and the Canon XL H1)? StudioDaily.com has put together information rich mini-sites with just about all you need to know, with tech specs, tutorials, reviews and more.
The complete schedule and ticket ordering system for the 2010 International Family Film Festival is now LIVE at www.iffilmfest.org!
Check out the website - there's a great line-up and some great special guests!
SITE FOR FILMMAKERS: THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE
AFI.COM is the home page of the American Film Institute, the Los Angeles-based center of film education. It was founded in 1967 as a national arts organization to "train filmmakers and preserve America's film heritage."
The website features information on the many educational programs offered by the AFI, it's yearly film festival, and a guide to accessing the Louis B. Mayer Library, one of the major libraries in the world of film making and film history.
The AFI is a public organization, and offers extensive membership benefits.
SITE FOR FILMMAKERS: THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
OSCARS.ORG is the home site of the most prestigious organization in the film industry, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - they hand out the Oscars every year, but also provide a wealth of resources for anyone interested in the history and technology of the motion picture industry.
The Academy's website not only offers in-depth information on the Academy Awards, but information on the many public events offered throughout the year, and a guide to accessing the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library, an extensive library of films, books, photographs and other important historical memorabilia detailing the evolution of the motion picture industry. If you're serious about your love for the history of the motion picture industry, this site will start you off on a fantastic life-long journey.
Make sure you check out the "Events and Exhibitions" section for regular events exploring all aspects of the production process as it has applied to some of the greatest films of all time.
SITE FOR FILMMAKERS: ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES
Emmys.org is the home page of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the organization that - you guessed it - gives out the Emmy Awards each year.
In addition to current and past information on Emmy recipients, Emmys.org includes information on events - many open to the pubic - that explore both the business and entertainment side of the television industry. This site also access to articles from Emmy Magazine, and some website-only extras.
SITE FOR FILMMAKERS: THE INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY ASSOCIATION
Documentary.org, the home page of the International Documentary Association, is a critical site for filmmakers interested in documentary filmmaking. it features clips from numerous documentaries, featured articles from Documentary Magazine, an online community of documentary filmmakers eager and willing to help other like-minding filmmakers, funding news, and much more. Documentary.org is truly the home of the documentary community.
SITE FOR FILMMAKERS: THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATORGRAPHERS
This week, we'll be highlighting important websites that aspiring filmmakers will find inspiring.
Today's link is the home site for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) which is the most prestigious professional organization of cinematographers. The site offers full articles from American Cinematographer Magazine (which features detailed behind-the-scenes stories on the making of the most important current films), links to public events exploring cinematography in current and historical productions, and a series of educational resources, such as a glossary of terms for high definition photography, and a section on how to use reflectors.
If you're serious about cinematography, http://www.theasc.com/index.php is a must-go site.
YOU ARE NEEDED!
We need writers and vloggers to report on filmmaking and gaming - Our whole purpose to help talented young "media creators" do what they do - so as you report on people like yourself, we'll also feature your work, and link back to your own website or YouTube channel. We have visitors from all over the entertainment industry, and around the world - it's a great way to get your work out there!
Contact Rich Samuels, Freshi's Director of Production (and your FRESHI NOW webmaster!), at rich.samuels@freshiflix.com
SALOME SALIA EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH YOUTUBER ERIC STRIFFLER
Eric Striffler, 18, is a successful YouTuber with over 33,000 subscribers - whatever you're interested in on YouTube, he probably has something for you!
Salome Salia brings FRESHI NOW this exclusive interview!
First, take a look at this video introducing his channel, at http://www.youtube.com/user/EricStriffler
Describe in a few words what you do and what inspired you?
To put it VERY basically, I make videos and put them on YouTube. I have two Channels; one for my short films and one for my entertainment news and reviews. What I really love to do is make films so I prefer my Channel EricStrifflerVids over ErickWithNoK, but both are a LOT of fun. I've been into making movies since I was VERY young, and it's happened to stick with me over the years!
What would you say is the key to YouTube fame?
If I knew, I would have a LOT more subscribers haha! I have never done anything specific to get subscribers so I really have no idea. I think it's just that people like to see consistency and to see people legitimately enjoying what they're doing. I have stuck with my Channels fully for years and I really do love doing all of it. I really think it shows.
What do you have to say to young filmmakers?
"Hello, I'm Eric and I'm just like you!" Haha I'm currently a Freshman at film school so I don't really have any leg up over anyone else if you look at it that way. I'm learning as well so I wouldn't really have any advice exactly because I could use advice sometimes too! Although I do think young filmmakers should really consider what they want out of their craft; do they want to make Hollywood movies or indie movies or TV shows? I do think it's important to figure out what you want and set your goal early. But like I said, I'm taking my own advice right now and I don't have any knowledge past that really!
When you started, did you expect to be so successful?
Never in a hundred million years did I expect to actually make money from making videos. Like I said, I've been making videos since I was really young, so it's crazy to me. I started uploading videos to YouTube for fun, as I still do now to be honest. I did it for over a year before I started to make money from it, and I'd continue to do it if the money stopped coming. It's what I love to do and I'd like to keep it going for a long time, so it's definitely nice to see that I can make money on doing what I've wanted to do all my life.
How much of your time does your Youtube account take up?
Well it depends really. On EricStrifflerVids, the videos can take an hour to shoot and two hours to edit, or a few days to shoot and 6 hours to edit. On ErickWithNoK, the videos usually take less than 15 minutes to film, edit, and post. The fun thing about ErickWithNoK is that news comes at random, so I could be watching TV and see that there's a new clip released from a movie I'm covering, so I literally run up to my room, look into it, film my video, and post it to YouTube immediately to get ahead of everyone else. In the reporting world, whoever has the first story is likely to get the steam from everyone passing their post around. It's very exciting and I find it to be a lot of fun!
"HOW DO I MAKE IT IN THE FILM INDUSTRY?"
One of the most common questions from anyone interesting in filmmaking is something along the lines of "How do I make it in the film industry?"
It's a complicated question of course - but there are some basic approaches to keep in mind if you want to be successful.
Alvin Toffler, a prolific author best known for "Future Shock," a 1970 book about society in an age of technology, once said that: "If you don't have a strategy, you' re part of someone else's strategy."
In other words - if you don't know where you're going, and at least have an idea of how to get there, then you're likely to be just a an instrument to be used by in someone else's goals and ambitions.
Ujj Naath, a successful Los Angeles businessman, added to Toffler's quote with additional observation, "all decisions seem reasonable when you lack a strategy."
If you don't know what you want to do, or put some effort into understanding how to get there, you'll find that you might be flailing around for something that might work - trying all kinds of things, taking all kinds of jobs, without any real understanding of what you're trying to gain from the experience. Most people in the film industry start from the absolute bottom. Those who succeed are people who understand not only how to work hard and make an impression, but what to gain from the experiences and relationships to achieve their goals.
Conclusion: Lesson #1 is FOCUS
YES, WE STILL NEED YOU!
We need writers and vloggers to report on filmmaking and gaming - Our whole purpose to help talented young "media creators" do what they do - so as you report on people like yourself, we'll also feature your work, and link back to your own website or YouTube channel. We have visitors from all over the entertainment industry, and around the world - it's a great way to get your work out there!
Contact Rich Samuels, Freshi's Director of Production (and your FRESHI NOW webmaster!), at rich.samuels@freshiflix.com
