Category: art

High Res “Sita” Stills, wiki

01rishis.jpg
Big ol’ hi-res “Sita” PNGs now at archive.org! They’re suitable for print publication.

More coming, as I get time to deal with everything. Whenever that is.

Speaking of which, does anyone want to help make the “Frequently Asked Interview Questions” part of the Sita FAQ? This would involve going through all the interviews I’ve done about Sita Sings the Blues (a few are linked to here, the rest need to be googled), determining which questions are asked over and over again, and consolidating the answers based on what I’ve already said. If I tackle it now that’ll mean another day I don’t get to the new DVD packaging and other tasks I have to do myself. We’ve got a wiki; I’m still learning how to use it, but feel free to start a FAQ there with a brand new FAQ section. Thanks!

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I’ll be speaking Wednesday February 11 @TOC


O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference 2009

The Open-Source Coffee Table Book: Publishing Pop Culture in the Digital Age

Nina Paley (Nina Paley Productions, LLC)
5:25pm Wednesday, 02/11/2009
Keynote
Location: Broadway North (6th Floor)
New York Marriott Marquis Times Square
1535 Broadway

Official blurb:

Why should techies have all the fun? The few publishers to embrace open content focus primarily on technical books. But an increasing number of artists and pop culture creators are seeking alternatives to copy restricting their works. What works for Cory Doctorow’s science fiction can also work for graphic novels, art and coffee table books. Unfortunately, publishers that historically specialize in popular culture – many of which are subsidiaries of the same media conglomerates pushing DRM and extending copyright enforcement – are unwilling to pursue the open-source model. Will existing open-source publishers expand into pop culture to exploit this niche? Will new publishers emerge to serve both pop culture markets and artists?

 

I’m making a power point (excuse me, keynote) presentation and everything.

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Sita almost free!

Chris Carlson of Diamond Time sends this news:

“we are all approved across the boards with the exception of Memory
Lane Music, who only have a small piece of the song, Mean to Me.”

It will take many months to actually get the contracts from them, and I still need to raise about $45,000 to pay for this limited permission, but films are customarily released right after approvals; Sita Sings the Blues is more or less decriminalized at this point. So it’s time to release her! I have to update the credits and sound designer Greg Sextro is doing some final tweaking of the audio, but we’re hoping to have the film online and free under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License in about a month.

There’s a ton of work that needs to be done: web design, database set-ups, scanning documents, ideally having some ancillary products ready to go (who wants to make open-source merch? talk to us!),  an automated system to give credits to donors….much more work than I can do alone. We’re trying to build a new model for film distribution, one that respects the audience and rewards sharing and freedom. Want to help? Please come to QuestionCopyright.org’s open meeting this Monday February 2 at the Software Freedom Law Center in New York.

See also: Sita’s Distribution Plan.

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