Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, museums
Staff Researcher
Envisioning the Future of Museum Accessibility ...

With AI’s ability to automatically produce content and process complicated datasets with high accuracy, museums worldwide are exploring ways in which this innovative technology can help them better achieve their missions and advance accessibility efforts. Through case studies, learn about three applications of this technology: content digitalization, language accessibility, and visual description.

Envisioning the Future of Museum Accessibility Through Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence, Public Policy, News & Announcements
Ian Hawthorne
October News: New Policies and Possibilities ...

October was filled with new debates on AI policies, a halt to one of the most significant AI safety bills in the United States, and a host of new AI developments in video, music, and even podcasts.

October News: New Policies and Possibilities for AI
Data, Fundraising, Marketing
Ian Hawthorne
Data Cultures Part I: The Many Markets of Arts ...

Arts and cultural nonprofits often operate in multiple markets for earned and contributed revenue. With increasing attention on data-driven decision making, effective market orientation often depends on effective data use. This fundamental collection, transmission, use, and interpretation of data within an organization collectively contributes to what can be considered an organization’s data culture.

Data Cultures Part I: The Many Markets of Arts Organizations
Advocacy, Community Building, Public Policy
Ian Hawthorne
Democracy on Display: The Dynamic Role of Art ...

Museums have increasingly begun to volunteer their spaces as polling places, acting as a democratic vehicle for their communities and adding to the greater fabric of America’s election infrastructure. In doing so, they can support local democratic processes and prove to their communities that they are not unbreachable temples for the elite, but open platforms for the people.

Democracy on Display: The Dynamic Role of Art Museums in Elections
Artificial Intelligence, entertainment, Film
Staff Researcher
Part I: A New Era of AI in the Entertainment ...

As exemplified by the Hollywood strikes of 2023, we find ourselves in a new era of Artificial  Intelligence in film and television. While studios are looking to cut costs, performers seek job security, and consumers seek quality content. Through research conducted in collaboration with facial motion capture technology provider Faceware Technologies Inc., Master of Entertainment Industry Management students at Carnegie Mellon sought to gain insight on how AI-generated content will transform existing industries, including how this technology could affect employment in the entertainment industry, content development,  budgets, contracts, legislation, and privacy rights.

Part I: A New Era of AI in the Entertainment Industry

film making

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Bringing Stories to Life: How Pixar Accomplishes Realistic Animation

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Bringing Stories to Life: How Pixar Accomplishes Realistic Animation

Pixar revolutionized the animation industry through innovative technology and incredible storytelling. It was responsible for core developments in computer graphics history, blending technology and arts to make many of their films possible, leading to its massive success. 3D computer modeling technology has not only allowed for more efficient and faster animating, but it has opened the door for more people who are interested in joining the industry. It now easier than ever to download these softwares and begin learning how to animate. For artists in industry, there is not longer a limitation in the art that is waiting to be created – their visions can become a reality with the continual development of advanced animation technology.

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The Four Technologies Used in Virtual Production

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The Four Technologies Used in Virtual Production

The visual effects (VFX) industry has come a long way in the past 30 years. Studios have discovered the importance of better production pipelines that create a more collaborative environment between directors, gaffers, and artists. This article will analyze four technologies that are used in virtual production, discussing how they work, who is implementing them in their productions, and how they will disrupt the industry.

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Part 2: Surveys, Interviews and Recommendations for Documentary Distribution

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Part 2: Surveys, Interviews and Recommendations for Documentary Distribution

Emerging Trends in Documentary Program Distribution focuses on understanding the current market for documentary programs and the current best practices to sell, distribute, and market documentary content. Part two of this research analyzes data and information collected through an audience survey and one-on-one interviews. This original research will be used in connection with the broader contextual research to provide recommendations for documentary filmmakers on the best paths for taking their work to the market.

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Virtual Production in Television and Beyond

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Virtual Production in Television and Beyond

As discussed in Part I of this series, virtual production (VP) is the unique intersection of physical and digital filmmaking that blends video game technology with filmmaking techniques into the pre-production and production process. VP is not just the technology that allows the integration of digital and traditional techniques, but also the methods through which it is used. If implemented in the TV industry, VP could lead to reduced costs since it allows for increased efficiency in the production process. Many other industries could also learn from this streamlined process, including live entertainment and the arts.

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An Introduction to Virtual Production and Its Use in the Entertainment Industry

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An Introduction to Virtual Production and Its Use in the Entertainment Industry

Virtual production (VP) is “a broad term referring to a spectrum of computer-aided production and visualization filmmaking methods.” It is not just the technology itself, but also the methods through which it is used. In Parts I and II of this series, we are investigating the technology as well as the methodologies of VP in the broadest definition. The types of VP we will discuss in this post are visualization, performance capture, and LED walls. While VP has benefited the film industry specifically, as innovation with the technology continues, other fields of entertainment—such as live entertainment, fashion, and news reporting—are also leveraging virtual production’s capabilities. The arts and entertainment sector could benefit from learning more about these methods and considering how they could apply these technologies to create engaging virtual experiences.

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Social Distancing Strategies in the Arts: Film and TV, Part 3 of 3

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Social Distancing Strategies in the Arts: Film and TV, Part 3 of 3

As the entertainment and arts industries begin reopening, they face new challenges in light of COVID-19. Each industry is developing unique solutions to keep their audiences and staff safe. Part 3 of this series highlights the emerging trends and new protocols being implemented in the film and tv industries.

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Democratizing Independent Film distribution

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From Here to Awesome I know that this festival has been around for a little over a year, but I still find myself visiting their homepage.

From Here to Awesome is presenting a new method of movie distribution that relies upon online viewer votes to decide which movies will be distributed.  The festival has no submission fees, the filmmakers retain all rights to their film and filmmakers make money directly.  This film festival is bypassing a lot of the industry gatekeepers to help distribute films that audiences want to see by using a simple online social platform.

I think that it is a really amazing way for independent filmmakers to get instant feedback from their audiences as well as to talk about some of the advances in the field that are creating higher production levels on lower budgets.

Filmmaker Fritz Donnelly, creator of the movie "To the Hills 2," describes the current state of the film making industry and points out many of the problems inherent in the system on From Here to Awesome's Festival Blog.  The Q&A session focuses on the possible technological utopia of film making and distribution of the future, and the hope that it brings.

This festival seems to have been a great success, considering that by July 26th, the festival's 22 selected showcase films will be available online on Amazon, Vudu, Netflix, IndieFlix.com, Hereticfilms.com, Hulu, Joost, Cacchi, and Vuze.  Recent theatrical screenings have also taken place in San Francisco, Boston, and London, as well as over 25 guerrilla drive-in screening events.

I can see that the future of independent and documentary film distribution will have the tendancy to become more democratized as festivals like From Here to Awesome create more of an online marketplace, and the costs of quality production start to come down.  The prices of cameras and editing software are reaching a point where they are accessable to more and more people with a story to tell.