5 Rad Things – Filmmaker Edition: Smartphone gadgets, world’s largest use-generated feature film and moooooar

figure from one of my altars

Happy Dia de los Muertos weekend! While many celebrate Halloween, I’m going to participate in another tradition and document examples of altars, sugar skulls and other spiritual artifacts. I’ll share the photos and some video next week.

In the spirit of filmmaking and film love in general, here are 5 Rad Things happening at the intersection of DIY, crowd-sourcing and low-budget awesome movie making.

Capta: Best $25 you’ll ever spend

Have you ever been at an event and kicked yourself for not bringing a second camera? Or, have you ever wanted to record yourself with your smartphone from a different angle but couldn’t pull it off without having Inspector go-go Gadget arms? Capta is a new device that I have invested in and am looking forward to experimenting with. From the team: “We set out to create a hybrid accessory for smart phones that would be elegant, functional and universal. Capta was primarily designed to be a tripod mount and has developed into an amazing hybrid accessory that allows you to do much more with your smart phones.”

Watch for yourself and dream of the possibilities, particularly with the impressive video quality on the iPhone 4S (captures full HD 1920×1080 footage, now with image stabilisation):

If you go to their Kickstarter campaign and pledge at least $25 (the $20 pledge level sold out — hurry!), you’ll get one of these bad boys. For a $60 pledge, you will receive ONE exclusive Kickstarter black anodized Capta with green print and green pad, one multi purpose suction cup mount and one black PU multi-purpose sticky pad. AMAZING! Big thanks to Corvida for turning me on to this quite handy, low-cost product!

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On My Radar: Modcloth’s social prowess, Pinterest, Google+, and sharing is caring

I usually learn best through two approaches: 1) helping others and 2) just doing it. This week I had the opportunity to gain cool knowledge through both methods, so I’m sharing some of the results here.

Modcloth.com/M&C ad placement #fail

I came across this oopsie while looking for a new dress. M&C’s ad server tech (I don’t know what it is) pulled in Modcloth’s ads on a story about an exploited young girl. The juxtaposition of a smiling white girl rolling in the grass, smack dab in the middle of a story about a Mexican teen roped into murderous gang activity, didn’t sit well with me. I’m not a passive consumer so I took screenshots, contacted Modcloth, and let them know. To their credit, they responded very quickly and now the ad has been changed:

For obvious reasons, I am going to continue shopping on Modcloth.com and appreciate how sensitive/timely they were to my concerns. I don’t like even the suggestion of a Mexican girl’s exploitation being trivialized, even by accident. Modcloth did the right thing by addressing this ad faux pas right away.

Takeaways
1. Always monitor your social channels. You never know how your audience might help you out.

2. Make sure communication between your social team and ad sales team is buttoned up. In Modcloth’s case, they addressed the situation within hours. Bravo!
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My Homie, The Interwebz

This is my story, told through search.

If you’re curious about more details, I wrote my “origins” post back in 2007. I did a 5 year benchmark post last fall, where I dissected some of the events that helped me “get here.”

One thing is for sure: I would not be where I am today without internet access. Well, I take that back. I would still be in NYC, doing what I love, it just would have been a lot more painful and complicated to get here 🙂

I relate to the internet in two ways: as a media professional and as a woman who is still figuring out her place in the world. As long as I don’t forget about that woman, the web continues to be a place that delights and inspires me, even when it sometimes feels like a giant brothel for big business. Remember when it was more about experimentation, f*cking sh*t up and spending hours working on projects that would bring you zero dollars – more like “Hackers“?

OK, I was never as cool as the kids from “Hackers” but that movie did blow my mind. The day that I figured out I could alter my offline life with steps taken through my online life – that both were indeed informing each other – is the day that I decided most of society’s rules didn’t apply to me. I didn’t need to wait for permission to experience adventure or to be who I wanted to be. I wasn’t afraid (as much) to connect with different people and to be inspired by their choices. I saw myself as someone with power, with choice – all because “search” through a browser provided a blank canvas for possibility.

I’ll also never forget the first thing I searched for online: chat. I was twelve years old, in a library in Southern Cali. My mom wasn’t nearby and I discovered the computers had internet access, via an icon on the desktop. No one had ever told me what the internet was or how to use it. I only knew about “chat” because earlier that year I had seen a friend doing that at her home. I cultivated a friendship with a pen pal from NYC – we would exchange verse battles through chat and snail mail. I somehow had him convinced that I was an MC, and through that experience the seeds of change were planted. The friendship didn’t last, like many bonds formed via chat, but it was still a significant experience in my life. He believed in me, without ever seeing me.

While teaching at a middle school in Harlem earlier this year, I was not surprised when my 7th and 8th grade students told me that one of their favorite things to do online was chat. Tween dialogue, as peppered with profanity and seemingly useless exchanges as it may be, is a sounding board for self expression. Type in your thought, see it manifest. See people react to it. This is where your power lies – in discovering the magic behind your thoughts. Does it still surprise you how much they chat and text? Communication = power. They own their thoughts and the repetition helps them to feel that they are cultivating their own world. They are: the danger is when we think that our words don’t matter.

I wish more teachers would incorporate texting, chat and mixed media into their lesson plan. It’s part of the fabric of how we all communicate. To ignore that about your students, and to not be willing to meet them there and share through those mediums, is to be sorely misguided.