As many of you may know, I am a Board Member of Deep Dish TV, one of the oldest, grassroots independent media collectives in the U.S. that has been distributing and producing alternative, social movement videos for 25 years. The organization has been undergoing some major challenges in recent years, and as a result, many important transformations. This is the basis of an important conference taking place in NYC on Saturday, February 20th...to look back at the groundbreaking history of DDTV, its role in the many social movements in the U.S., and how it can remain relevant in today's media environment.
Here are the details about the events, first a morning/early afternoon conference and brainstorming session which will bring together dozens of activists, media producers, educators to discuss the future of the network, which will take place in a downtown art gallery and community center; and the second part, to take place at the Museum of Modern Art, MoMa at 5:15pm, which will be a retrospective of DDTV's work, and will also feature highlights of its current ongoing project, Waves of Change. Hope to see some of you there.
MAMA
The Deep Dish TV Conference:
Re-Igniting the Network
Video & New Technology
in the Service of Progressive Social Movements
Saturday, February 20th 9:30 am
Alwan For the Arts
16 Beaver Street - 4th Fl
TRAINS: 4/5 to Bowling Green; J/M/Z to Broad St.; R/W to Whitehall St.; 1 to Rector St. or South Ferry; 2/3A/C to Broadway-Nassau
BUSES: M1, M6, M9, M16, M20.
Google Map To Alwan for the Arts <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=16+Beaver+Street,+New+York,+NY+10004&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.77566,87.626953&ie=UTF8&z=14&iwloc=addr&ll=40.714737,-74.008284&source=embed>
Schedule
9:30 - 10:00 am Breakfast (Coffee, Tea, Bagels, Juice)
Morning Session What's Working: State of the Art of Video Activism
10:00 -10:45 am Brief Presentations
10:45 - 11:30 am Breakout discussion
11:30 - 12: 15 pm General discussion
12:15 - 1:00 pm Lunch (sandwiches - Carnivore and Vegan + drink
Afternoon Session Connecting - Technology tools and strategies in the service of social movements.
1:00 - 1:30 pm Brief Presentations
1:30 - 2:15 pm Breakout Discussions
2:15 - 3:00 pm General Discussion
3:00 - 3:30 pm Informal and clean up
5:15 - 7:30 pm Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. Theater T-1
Deep Dish Presentation: Waves of Change
Part of MoMa's Documentary Fortnight 2010
We see this meeting as a beginning discussion to help chart the path through an increasingly difficult terrain for people involved in social justice media work. There are two areas we want to discuss and get as much input as possible:
1. What's Working: The State of the Art of Video Activism.
Obstacles and opportunities for progressive video and film to inspire robust, invigorated progressive social movements.
In the wide variety of issues and areas that filmmakers and distributors work, what are the videos that have had the most impact on the social movements? We are asking a number of people to give brief descriptions of their work and what they've seen as effective.
Mark Read from Deep Dish TV will give a brief introduction to the discussion and short presentations by:
• Steve Pierce, from The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY (Steve was also the first Executive Director at Deep Dish TV.
• Phyllis Neri, from The Hub project at Witness (http://hub.witness.org/),
• Judith Helfand co-founder of Working Films (http://www.workingfilms.org/
• Elizabeth Press from Streetfilms (http://www.streetfilms.org/
In the discussion that follows we want to look at ways to shape format and content: length, series or stand alone, animation, experts vs people in the street, emotional impact and information communication, production values, the audience's frame of reference, etc. This discussion will try to evaluate the past impact of groups like DDTV and look at current work in the context of the corporate media scene AND the political reality we confront.
• What makes a program "work"?
• How do we measure the impact of video, films, etc.?
• What role does new technology play in making projects effective?
2. Connecting:
Technology tools and strategies in the service of social movements.
Deep Dish TV opened new, uncharted terrain for the distribution of progressive video with the use of satellite technology and public access TV, linking film makers and activists with large audiences. New technology has changed that terrain: YouTube, Blip TV, Vimeo, Livestation, Facebook, etc. How do groups whose mission is to help social movements for social and economic justice utilize the new technology? Could it be that in addition to trying to figure out how to put all of these programs on cell phone screens etc. we should also be engaged in good old-fashioned screenings to live audiences where you can have in-person discussions and make real world connections.
To begin the discussion, DeeDee Halleck, a founder of Deep Dish TV and Paper Tiger TV, will make a short presentation on the DDTV's innovative production and distribution methods over the past 25 years. Andi Mignolo will present a brief overview of the current media / technology terrain. Andi is the former co-director of the Website at Freespeech TV.
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Deep Dish TV: Waves of Change
For twenty-five years, the national satellite network Deep Dish TV has functioned as a nerve center for media makers reporting on—and from—the front lines of social struggle. It has developed innovative strategies that enable it to act as a clearing house for hundreds of hours of movement-generated, grassroots film and television, creating a network of producers and distribution nodes comprised of public access stations, community centers, union halls, satellite TV channels, and online venues. This program presents excerpts from two new series: Waves of Change explores global community media as a form of resistance to commercial culture; Behind the Bars, the fifth installment of the new series DIY Media: Movement Perspectives on Critical Moments, examines the "culture of incarceration" in the U.S. and features The Last Graduation, about the tragic end of college education in New York prisons, and Lockdown U.S.A, which asks why the U.S. has the largest prison population in the world. Presentations by Brian Drolet, Director, Deep Dish TV, DeeDee Halleck and Victoria Moldonado (Waves of Change), Mark Read (Behind the Bars) and Deep Dish media makers.
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 5:15 p.m. , Theater 1, T1 <http://www.moma.org/visit/
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