SXSW Day 4.0

Wow, so I’m a little behind on posting this one, so my apologies.

Panels -

We like Short Shorts - The interesting thing about this panel is that I went in hoping for one thing and got something else, something better. My hope going in was to learn more about the structure and storytelling of a short. My thought is that shorts are harder storywise because generally you are tied to a specific time frame - 10-15 minutes. Whereas on the other hand a feature can be pretty much any length which allows a story to breath and grow a little more organically then a short where from the get go you pretty much have to start tossing out both plot and character.

There’s the argument that shorts are a calling card, which I agree with, but it shouldn’t be a $1,000,000 calling card. Shorts show you how you can take a story and establish it quickly and efficiently.

However that’s not what they talked about on the panel, that’s just my opinion lol.

Instead they discussed distribution for shorts, of which there are quite a few options. Wholphin DVD, From Here to Awesome, B Side are among the many options a short filmmaker has in the distribution of their shorts.

Who knows, I might just be looking for content here in the near future as well….(hint hint hint)

A Conversation with Moby - Going into this panel let me tell you that I know some people do not like Moby, much less his music. However, I respect the man, here’s why - He is true to his convictions. I can’t even claim that about my self at all times. It seems to me that the reason he gets grief is that people know that if they ask him, he’ll tell them his belief, not to preach, but more because he was asked and he seems to be just as interested in the conversation as the solution.

It was a very fluid panel, and I didn’t necessarily learn anything amazingly new about him, but I do appreciate “moby gratis.” Check out the site filmmakers, then get to work.

Overall it was a very informative day, one of learning, of reinvigoration, of hope.

If only every day was like this, especially with the closing night party which I’ll plead the 5th on, lol.