Music Biz
December 3, 2007
Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com.
Music Biz
I’m, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it, and grew with the fact that I had the luck to have older brother and sisters whose music collection was wide enough to feed my music interests. Also since a little kid I was interested in technology, and started programming at the age of four. Being nowadays a music lover and also a musician, and at the same time graduated and working as a Computer Science Engineer, I feel myself lucky to have some ground bases to analyse the state of music business.
The music business is in a chaotic state. The record industry is declining, and is throwing the guilt of it to what they like to call “piracy” – the unauthorised downloading of music. While they blame it, the truth is music market is falling, whos to blame? The fault is from the music industry itself. Doug Morris, Universal Music CEO, recently admitted he knows nothing about the music industry of nowadays. They decided to sue their customers by suing music fans that do unauthorised downloads instead of suing those who really make money out of copyrighted works, and restricting their clients’ rights with technologies like DRM.
It is surely true that it’s hard to find a completely fair way of compensating musicians while promoting the access to culture, but there are efforts to design market models that work – at least better than the actual one. The biggest problem is that the music industry – defined by the four major labels – doesn’t get it. The music market has changed, music, musicians and music lovers adapted themselves to new trends and technologies, but the music industry decided to ignore all the signs, refusing to see the big elephant in the room, and kept doing business in an obsolete way.
The proof that they simply don’t understand what’s going on is right in front of everyone wanting to see it, when we get news that Elton John wants the Internet shut’ed down, or when countries try to impose Internet Services Providers to filter illegal downloads, even if that’s technicly impossible to do and the music industry does political pressure to make the countries change their laws.
They spend tons of money implementing DRM systems, and others sell the rights that were restricted to listeners back, making money from what they first took, even if it’s known that DRM systems cause sales losses, music artists and fans are against such systems and new businesses are arising just by the fact that they don’t adopt DRM technologies, radio stations create petitions against DRM. Now, it’s too late for them – but what’s going to happen to the music market?
Well, we’re also seeing a lot of emergent business models. First of all, we have to realize that while CD sales are decreasing, music consumption is rising twice as fast. Also, if you open your eyes and start considering the music business as everything around music and not just music sales, then you’ll see that, for instance, in North America, the music business will total $26.5 billion in 2011, growing at an average annual rate of 2.8% from $23.1 billion in 2006. Recorded music revenues will still declining as declining CD sales cancel out the sharp gains in digital sales. Music publishing and live music will grow. Norway has a party that wants to free file sharing and sampling, shorten the commercial copyright and ban DRM.
The number of web services for bands is wildly growing. Artists have now the means of making money while giving music for free, for instance. Musicians are finding new ways of doing their work by themselves, even if sometimes things aren’t simple. While there’s no formula on how to create the perfect record label, there are some labels and distributors that understand nowadays music market and know how to do business in it.
The future is smiling at us – we just have to let obsolete formulas and vices die.
Of course, new issues to be solved will appear. New fights have to be fought and won, or we’ll end like citizens of a dystopian world.
But soon enough it is going to be a great time to live – as a musician, a music lover or even a technologist.
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Documentary Filmmaking
November 14, 2007
This is a special article written for us by James N. Weber. He has worked on Socially Aware Media, especially documentaries, in South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Mexico, and is currently working on a project on food security in Guatemala. His work and more info can be found at his homepage.
Documentary Filmmaking
On the video shelf where the Dewey Decimal starts with a number, there is an odd conglomeration of videos: a man gorging himself on fries, some guy living with grizzlies, and a bunch of slide shows of old wars. It’s the documentary shelf, a mix of the sensational, humorous, serious, and (supposedly) true videos.
So let’s say you want to get your work on that shelf. Maybe you know this awesome woman down the street who invents things. Or maybe you’re interested in the affects of high fructose corn syrup on your body. Here’s how you can do it, and really, you can.
Throughout my experience with documentaries, I’ve developed what I call Socially Aware Media. In other words, I try to make sure that my projects are dedicated to making life better for people, or at the very least, trying not to hurt people. A key issue for me is how people are portrayed, as many of the people I interview or film are oppressed in some way. I do my best to treat them with respect, and try to convey their own words, instead of shaping it into the message that I (or the intended audience) would like to hear.
To give you an idea on what it takes to make a documentary yourself, I’ll use my biggest documentary, Fuerza, as an example. Fuerza is a 30 minute documentary on immigration from Apan, Hidalgo, Mexico, to Goshen, Indiana, U.S.A. I and three others started pre-production in November of 2005, and then put together a short proposal (video and written), which we submitted for a grant in spring 2006. The grant was a meager $5,000 (mostly for travel) plus access to equipment and editing space.
Through the summer of 2006, we conducted interviews and taping, making sure we got some major events such as protests and important local meetings. In late August, we spent a week in Apan, where we interviewed tons of people who had lived in Goshen or had family in Goshen, as well as city officials. Then we spent three days at the border, interviewing the border patrol and attending a press conference for Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.
After the trip, we tracked down some pivotal interviews, and interviewed local politicians, and started transcribing, translating, and writing the script. Finally, we started with the actual edit. By this time, I was spending 40 hours a week on the video, on top of my college classes, in order to have it ready by our premiere date in November 2006.
We premiered it a year after we started preproduction, on November 9, 2006, to a packed theater in downtown Goshen. Since then, we’ve sold hundreds of DVDs and been invited to show the film and speak at universities like Notre Dame, churches, schools, and homes.
One of the biggest challenges to making a documentary is finding the money. You’ll want about $1000 per minute of final product. At least. And if you’re wanting to make money, find another career (or more likely, hobby). There is very little money to be made, and very few documentaries actually become profitable. On the projects I’ve completed so far, I stand to actually make about $200 total (plus a lot of travel). So I do this because I love it.
In Fuerza, we had a lot of difficulty knowing how to apply some of the ideas of Socially Aware Media to a scene where a Mexican mother breaks down and cries over her son who had emigrated to the U.S. It’s a highly emotional scene, with footage of the son watching the video of his mother cry, followed by a heartfelt directive from mother to son to “Work hard so you can return home.”
We ended up cutting time the mother cries in half, and then probably half again, until we reached a point that did not gloss over the pain she felt, but also didn’t exploit either the mother or the audience.
So if you have an idea for a documentary, do it! Go find the money, and if you can’t, there are ways of doing it dirt cheap.
- Music Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......
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Independent Games
November 7, 2007
We interview Adrian Grigore, president of Lobstersoft, an independent casual games developer from Fulda, Germany. Their company consists of 2 people, although they have outsourced some parts of the development to freelance graphics and music artists when creating Gemsweeper. Gemsweeper is their latest title, a PC puzzle game.
Independent Games
MM: Adrian, what can you tell me about the actual situation of independent videogame developers?
AG: Life as an independent game developer has always been a lot of fun. It requires a lot of dedication, but it is hugely rewarding to watch other people happily play your game once it is finished.Being your own boss also has its advantages. I love having the freedom to work whenever I want, as long as I want and wherever I want. I’m not sure if I could take my laptop and work outside in the garden on a beautiful summer day in a “regular” company.
Business-wise things have changed a quite bit during the last 4 years. Casual games have become a huge trend and lots of larger companies have entered the market. There is a lot more competition and both budgets and production values have increased dramatically, making it much harder for small developers to keep up.
For example, a VC funded games company outsourcing development to Eastern Europe can afford to produce 10 titles even if most of them don’t recoup the production budgets. As long as just one title reaches AAA status, this can still be a profitable business strategy. Most indie game developers cannot afford to do this.
There are still great opportunities on the casual games market for indie developers if you have a good innovative idea. It is not easy to succeed though and opportunities are not quite as good as they used to be a few years ago.
Can we talk about the relationship between the big distributors and the independent developers like a “collision”?
The rise of huge game portals such as RealArcade or Bigfish Games during the last few years also caused a drop in (games-related) traffic to the traditional shareware sites. Indie game developers have therefore become dependent on the portals.Teaming up with a publisher / distributor can be a good way for indie developers to get more publicity on the portals. This is also what we have done for our latest title Gemsweeper.
How did you have the idea to found Lobstersoft?
I started creating my first game called “Five+” just to practice C++ programming while I was studying at university. The game was free at first, people only had to send me an e-mail if they wanted to have an unlock code for the full version.After just a few days I got so many e-mails that I had to think of a way to automate registration key submission. I was also surprised to see that a magazine wanted to include the game on their cover mount CD. Then I found one of the first shareware payment processors and decided to convert to Five+ a shareware game.
Your next projects?
We are working on a sequel to Gemsweeper and on a subscription-based web site. The website is not gaming-related, but I never saw myself solely as a game developer, even if computer games have always been one of my favorite pastimes.
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Creative Ideas (Part Two)
November 7, 2007
This is the Part Two of the powerful article by Deremiah. (Part One)
Creative Ideas (Part Two)
RELATIONSHIPS INFLUENCE THE POWER OF YOUR IDEAS…
Brian Tracy who has done a lot of research to compile the information in his wonderful book “CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE” expresses in Chapter 7, page 115 that Relationships Are Essential toward the development of your future. The Power of Ideas are improved by the friendships we develop and nurture. Most people underestimate how their friends impact the direction they are going and will continue to go in as a result of the company they choose. Sometimes you have to realign yourself with new partnerships in business, new personal and business relationships just to place yourself in a more positively influential environment with others who have the same values that you do. When you begin to hang out, spend time talking with people who reflect the kinds of attitudes that uplift you. It’s just as important to get yourself moving in the right direction as it is to get an electric current to the right appliance or device you’re trying to power. Like electric current powerful ideas have to be directed. It’s very important that if we want to be successful business people that we need to hang out with other successful business people. If you want to be elevating the level of the power of your ideas you need to begin to elevate your level of friendships. Edward Bernays said it best in his book called “Propaganda” where he references many times that a large volume of our society is often being governed by a small handful of influential people. So who are the small influential players in your commiunity? How could you influence the relationships you desire to have in the art world, the music world, or the business world that governs a great deal of the future direction of those industries? Finally how can you gain recognition and be known as one of the Kings or Queens of your industry?
ELECTRICITY AND THE POWER OF IDEAS BOTH OPERATE IN STREAMS…
Real electric power moves in streams we call currents. Those currents flow in the direction we aim them in. Now the Power of Ideas works the same way. The more powerful the idea the more others join in to move along with the flow of our stream. So it becomes very important that others know that the ideas that we have are electric. The sooner others find out and hear or see the impact that our elecritc current has the better it is for us and the sooner they can jump into the stream and add to the flow of the current. When an idea doesn’t have a charge it will fail to add it’s electricity to the atmosphere. It’s like the creative atmosphere of our house when I was a child was conducive for bringing about more artistic gifts because the atmosphere was charged with a certain current for the arts. How can you charge the atmosphere of your home or your job to create the type of electricity that gives your ideas the power to channel themselves into a boisterous stream that grows?
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO INFLUENCE THE POWER OF YOUR IDEAS.
I have over 21 things you can do to unleash the “Power of Ideas” but I’ll give you 4 today that will free you up to live more creatively right now. If you’d like to get 3 more Free ideas shoot me an email at deremiahcpe@gmail.com . And the first 20 people to respond who use the headline “More Power of Ideas for me, Deremiah *CPE” and give me their name and mailing address I’ll give you a Free opportunity to coach you via email (which means I’ll respond to no more than 7 of your emails…working toward helping you to solve the problem). Here are the four I said I would share with you right now.
1.) Make a list of 7 people you’d like to meet and then get on the internet and get to introducing yourself.
2.) Get a journal today and start using your journal like a Fishing Net to capture all the ideas you’re loosing.
3.) Turn your TV off for the next 30 days and dedicate your TV time to making one or more goals develop.
4.) Get a pack of 25 Thank you cards and force yourself to Thank at least 5 people everyday.
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Creative Ideas (Part One)
November 1, 2007
Like the power of electricity your Ideas have greater impact when they rapidly flow in concentrated streams of thought. You’ll find this and more in the article wrote by Deremiah, exclusively for ManuelMarino.com . Deremiah *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist), is the winner of the 2004 Nightingale-Conant Acres of Diamonds Award and one of the top marketing experts on MarketingProfs.com. Deremiah (www.byderemiah.com) writes extensively on marketing and business communications. Learn more about Deremiah and his easy to read smart book, 52 Great Weeks: how to quickly develop unforgettable, inspirational service when you don’t have time. Contact him at deremiahcpe@gmail.com.
And now… the article:
The Power of Ideas (Part One)
Although I’ve been drawing most of my life I can only really remember having the ability to control this talent somewhere around 4 years old. By the time I turned five I got a hold of an oil Paint by Number set. It was one of those cheap simulated board canvases with numbers that matched the numbers on the small plastic oil paint containers and they came with a few red enamel paint brushes. My mom who was very creative used these paint by number kits to paint pictures for the walls in the duplex we lived in. She often did these kinds of things along with sewing clothes. In between all this she’d drive out to the military base to create these ceramic roosters and salt & pepper shakers she used to make. Every now and then she’d take me along. There were very large multiple rooms like a cafeteria style set up and most of the attendees were military housewives. In one area they’d create the ceramic figures, in another they’d paint the figurines and in the last room is where they’d fire the objects that were painted in these ovens they called kilns. We were living in Fairbanks Alaska at the time because my dad was stationed there in the U.S. Army. During this time my father had an amazing collection of music and he used to love to sing in his spare time. But occasionally I would find him at the kitchen table doing a few figure drawings of people. My dad was very good at drawing full figure images of people and it was during this time that I began to recognize that I too had the gift to draw and the power to control my ideas. In this kind of environment burgeoning with creativity is where I uncovered multiple gifts. This is also where I experienced the beginning of my discovery of how diverse gifts influence one another and spring forth through the power of ideas.
THE OUTER WORLD CREATES ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE INNER WORLD…
It is easy for most people to see how we are shaped by the environments of our communities. Having lived in 13 cities here in the US and two cities in Germany and being a teacher of history I see very clearly how environments affect everything. We are all shaped by the geographical land masses, oceans and climates of the environments we live in. Those things alone dictate everything from what kind of clothes we were, which trickles down to how we look, what kinds of crops we grow, the things we manufacture, what we eat and even how we speak. But it doesn’t end there we are influenced by cultures, religions and the races of people and these things likewise affect everything I named above. However beyond those basic influences of culture, religion and races and our environment there are other things that also affect how we think and eventually how we behave. And with all these outer influences shaping and affecting who we become it is so easy to forget that there is an inner world of influence…a world of thoughts and ideas that eventually have more impact upon who we become than all the changes in weather put together could ever have upon us. It is here in the environment of our inner-hemispheres that we have the greatest control upon our present condition when we use the power of ideas to fuel our successes.
IF YOUR IDEAS ARE POWERFUL THEY’RE INFLUENCING THE WORLD…
Are your ideas influencing the world? Shoot me an email at deremiahcpe@gmail.com and share with me how your ideas are influencing the world. Think about it! It was the power of ideas that brought your parents together. And the power of their ideas that influenced the future of the world’s collective ideas when you were consumated and birthed into this planet. Every member of the world is a part of the collective governing body of our world, our countries, our cities and our communities through the power of ideas. From Steve Jobs release of the iphone to CNN’s release of the news everyone is influencing the power of ideas. Every person within this creation we call earth has the complete authority to change the future direction of this world through the ideas they release. Whether their ideas are productive or unproductive they still have influence. Like the butterflies in China can impact the weather in Italy we have the ability to affect the future climate of ideas. But the kind of effects that we desire to have must be considered before we take action. Often times our ideas are creating environments for us that are not strong enough to resonate the kind of powerful influence we want them to have. If you desire to really use the power of ideas to work in your benefit remember that powerful ideas have a life force that is very influential. So don’t you want to start thinking about choosing the kind of ideas that could really influence the world? (Part Two)
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Many Minds in a Single Soul In a sense I am of two minds. It is even the focus of our MySpace comment. There are many minds in a single soul, but in truth reconciling I am of one mind. They say love is a law, the highest law. Inside of me there is a...... -
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Ethanol As Fuel - The Future Of Travel Or A Very Bad Idea? I was talking with my wife the other day and the subject of using corn as fuel for transportation came up. She brought up an interesting point that I guess I really had not thought of...why in the world would we grow food only to use it to get around?...... -
Life Driven Power Sometimes the power of science can cut through myth? Sometimes the power of science creates its own myths. Scientific egotism really needs a reality check. A big piece of our medical knowledge is actually recycled shamanism, but not the profit motive. But the point is, any observation regardless of ascription,...... -
10 Ideas for DIY Home Improvement There are a lot of different DIY home improvement projects that you can take advantage of in order to change up the look and feel of your home quickly, easily and effectively. Why pay an arm and a leg for contractors and professionals when you can make grand changes to......
Independent Filmmaking
October 29, 2007
We’re back with a new interview, to Actress and Producer Glorinda Marie. We talk about independent filmmaking, filmmakers, actors and movies industry.
Here are some interesting links to check, after reading the interview:
- Actress Website
- imdb
- SF Indieclub
- Get Bizzzy Acting Coach
Manuel Marino: “Glorinda, what do you think is an artist?”
Glorinda Marie: “An artist creates something through utilizing his or her imagination or minds eye as the primary tool of invention.”
MM: “You teach and coach other artists, why do some artists fail and other succeed?”
GM: “I teach my ‘Get Bizzzy’ students to practice the 5 P’s:
- Professionalism
- Punctuality
- Practice your Craft
- Persistence
- Patience
If any one of these key elements is missing, one can fail. Always be a professional treating everyone respectfully. You see the same people on the way up as on the way down. Show up early or on time for auditions and work. I know some CD’s that take points off for actors that are late for auditions and producers who will fire people from jobs if they are late. Also, it is especially vital that an actor hone their skills continuously – so practicing one’s craft, keeping one’s instrument sharp and tuned. And – truly persistence is the key that opens the door to opportunity! I think many talented people give up way too soon. So, practicing persistence and patience while doing the other things listed above, will eventually pay off! I loved Allison Janney’s speech at the Emmy’s a few years ago. Some one had referred to her as an ‘overnight sensation’. She laughed and retorted that it was the longest 30 years of overnight ever!”
MM: “You manage SF Indieclub, what can you tell us about it?”
GM: “I founded SF Indieclub to help enhance local filmmaking and filmmakers. Our collective mission is to create more work for all of us and also to enhance the quality of films being made locally. We hope to be inspirational, informative and helpful to our filmmakers. In the 8 years I have led the group, we have made some progress and sincerely intend to continue to do so. At this time, we network together over 2,000 filmmakers, directors, producers, writers, crew and talent. It is extremely rewarding to see many of our filmmakers go to festivals, win awards and even obtain distribution! My mantra for them is… keep creating!”
MM: “What are your next steps in career and life?”
GM: “Although SF Indieclub has proved to be somewhat instrumental in improving and expanding local filmmaking in the SF Bay Area, there is no comparison to the bountiful union work that is available in Los Angeles. As a SAG actress, I must expand my career and take it to the next level. Therefore, I have been living nomadically between Northern and Southern California. Although I am relatively established in the SF Bay Area, I nearly have to start all over again in LA. I’ve been going down there during pilot season and taking classes, meeting new teachers, meeting new casting directors and networking with actors. I am submitting myself in the hopes of finding a quality mid size agent to help me reach the next level in my career. I want to find someone who believes in me and my talent. In the meantime, I am submitting myself for every breakdown that would be considered my appropriate ‘type’ possible in film and TV. I believe that even if one does have an agent, the agent does 10% of the work and takes 10% of the cut because they do 10% of the work. An actor must always be actively involved in his or her own career. My goal is to get my feet in the doors of some TV shows and do some Guest Star and Co Star roles. Of course, I wish to play many more interesting roles in film as well.
As for life – I am traveling to Thailand next month. I love to expand my horizons and explore new cultures and people, customs, beliefs and ways of life. When I return home refreshed, I will enjoy the holidays with my friends and family before going back to LA again.”
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Country Music Star Is Unleashed! Robert Benson (if you remember he wrote An Explosion of Blues Music) this time gave me a review about the next big star in Country Music, Laura Roppe (pronounced ro-pay). She has a Shania Twain-like quality and already is receiving major air play in Europe. Robert said me also that...... - Digital Painting Jeremy White wrote this article exclusively for us. Jeremy is currently in the throngs of several projects and sub projects in digital art (2d here, 3d there), computer programming, and some hobby-level music production. Actually, all of it is hobby level, but... who cares? I consider Jeremy a real artist......
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The Elegance of the Art Doug Stahnke is a sculptor. And this is a wonderful exclusive article he wrote for us. The Elegance of the Art Let me begin by first defining some terms as I apply them: talent – I think there is a simple truth here. You were either born with it or you...... -
Social Networking and the Left Coast Eisteddfod 2009 Ceri Shaw is a Web Designer and freelance writer. If you remember, he wrote What is Anglo-Welsh Literature and why Should Anyone Care?. Ceri is a former college lecturer from Cardiff, South Wales. He wrote this article for us. Social Networking and the Left Coast Eisteddfod 2009 There is an...... - About Dreaming Peter Buckley just sent me this article he wrote for us, and I feel it to be really powerful... read: About Dreaming I wish to talk to you about dreams. I will try to resist sentimentality. Dreams are both beautiful and dangerous, and I want to demonstrate how they can......
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fireworks I am finally taking a much needed vacation. I have not worked a full 40 hour week in 19 of the 29 weeks this year, so saying it is much needed is a stretch. I do not feel overworked at all, but a vacation is still a vacation and work...... - Taking the two-year test In Cashing In on the American Dream, Paul Terhorst suggests that we take the two-year test. He writes, ...consider that the rest of your life is two years. Would you change anything? If you had only two years to live, would you continue to work where you work? Live where......
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Finovate Startup 2009 Live Twitter I am attending Finovate Startup 2009. It is an action packed 1 day format which I belive will lend itself perfectly to a live twitter. Stay tuned it should be an amazing day. http://twitter.com/BlogTrafficExch In the break I have scheduled some talks with SimplFi, Mint, and Calendar Budget. I am...... -
No Job Is Below You When I was a teen I worked at a supermarket (I actually worked there a loong time). One day I ran into a friend's dad woo had his own butcher business. We chatted and he asked me if I worked. I sheepishly told him I worked at a supermarket...... -
You are not Jack Nicholson Thereâs an excellent dialogue going on over at Million Dollar Journey that includes a few comments from yours truly. The gist of the comments Iâve been following (and there are two different comment âstreamsâ going on, so you have to read through them) is that thereâs a disconnect between competence......
Freelance journalism
October 27, 2007
Christian Toto is a Denver-based freelance reporter specializing in arts reporting.
He can be heard on three US radio stations, as well as occasionally on “The Dennis Miller Show,” which airs across the country.
He got his first byline as a young boy with his hometown newspaper. He reviewed “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the paper misspelled his name.
Howard Stern, the radio bad boy, once read one of his columns on the air.
This is his story.
Freelance journalism
This isn’t exactly the best time to reinvent oneself in journalism. If newspapers aren’t dying, they’re very sick and doctors aren’t sure what to prescribe.
That didn’t stop me from quitting my job at a metropolitan newspaper and traveling across the country for the chance to start a family and buy an affordable home.
Priorities are priorities, but I feared giving up doing what I love for a living – writing movie reviews and entertainment features.
Thanks to the Web and some creative thinking, that hasn’t happened – yet.
Since moving to Colorado I’ve been able to continue my movie reviews but in a freelance capacity. The adjustment to being my own boss has been enlightening. My commute entails shuffling from the bedroom to my office, with no reason to check shadow traffic reports for fender benders or overturned trailers. Nice.
But the amount of rejection I face each day makes me long for the security of a regular gig. That’s where the Internet came in. I decided to create my own Web site, attempt to brand myself and see where that might take me. I know less than zero about HTML – heck, I didn’t know it was now referred to as XHTML, and I had never heard about CSS either.
For starters, I decided to leverage my last name, Toto, as something that sets me apart from the competition. Thus www.whatwouldtotowatch.com was born. Silly? Perhaps. But after decades of “Wizard of Oz” ribbing, that name had to start paying dividends.
I began the site on a blogger platform, but I soon changed it to have my own domain name.
But boy, was the site genetic. It took me weeks of poring over a comprehensive XHTML starter book to learn how to tweak the site and add some usable content.
That learning curve remains steep, and my site still needs a considerable amount of work. But web design wasn’t the only area where I needed to stretch my brain. Marketing my Web site required another skill set I lacked. The Web actually helped me out here, and with a few google searches I found a number of ways to spread the news about my new site.
Today, www.whatwouldtotowatch.com receives a modest amount of visitors, and every time I pitch a story I direct the editor to my home on the Web for further details. Blogging on a daily basis also makes me a sharper writer, or at least one who can pound out paragraphs at a steady clip. That efficiency will serve me well someday, I bet.
In a year, I might be writing press releases for some faceless think tank, or correcting grammatical errors for a local company’s human resource division. I’ll probably double my salary in the process, but if I juggle my web efforts just right I can avoid that fate.
- Music Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......
- Game Engine Dr. Roberto Dillon has written this article about his Music-Emotion Driven Game Engine. I think this idea to really have potential. Game Engine In the fast developing world of videogames, sound has traditionally played a less important role than other features, such as graphics. Nonetheless, recently, due to the latest......
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What is Anglo-Welsh Literature and why Should Anyone Care? Ceri Shaw is a former college lecturer from Cardiff, South Wales. Currently he attempts to make a living as a Web Designer and as a freelance writer on a range of topics including Literature. He is a regular contributor to Americymru.com. Ceri wrote this article about Anglo-Welsh literature and its...... - Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
- Independent Games We interview Adrian Grigore, president of Lobstersoft, an independent casual games developer from Fulda, Germany. Their company consists of 2 people, although they have outsourced some parts of the development to freelance graphics and music artists when creating Gemsweeper. Gemsweeper is their latest title, a PC puzzle game. Independent Games......
- Why Web Sites Need IPv6 Performance Monitoring A number of Internet powerhouses, such as Google and Alta Vista, have now deployed IPv6 accessible websites. Operating systems, such as the latest versions of Microsoft Windows, include IPv6 support.IPv6 will become the essential backbone protocol for next-generation networking. IPv6 boasts improved network reliability, lower costs and improved security......
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Useful Web Apps for Weight Loss Everyone seems to be getting into weight loss, healthy eating and exercise habits these days, and with that, there has been a surge in the availability of web applications designed to aid in diet and exercise, weight loss, goal setting and other life improvements. Some of these web applications and...... - Increase Search Engine Ranking With The Keyword Optimization If you are able to increase search engine ranking by keyword optimization, you will save the time, which the backlink building would take and this method will bring you a lot of backlinks.We can divide keyword optimization into two parts: 1.The technical part. 2.The qualitative part1.The technical part. When......
- So Why Do You Need a Web Site? If your business has flourished in spite of not having a Web site, you’re probably wondering why you need one — or why you should take the time to develop one. Those of you who already have a Web site might not have seen any noticeable increase in your business.......
- What Kind of Web-Site Suits Your Business? It's now widely accepted that web-site is essential for any kind of business over Internet. However, before embarking on website design - spend some time on planning. Why do you need a web-site? What are your expectations from it? What is the target audience? How do you blend your......
Game Dev
October 23, 2007
Famous Game Dev Vince Desi writes for our Weblog! He will write a series of articles, and this is the Part One of an article about being successful in Independent VideoGame Developer Art! Become a famous Game Dev now!
Game Dev (Part One)
Part 1. The 3 Essential Elements:
I started Running With Scissors in 1996. Desire, Focus, Commitment. I like things to be simple, so I will concentrate on what I believe are the most important Elements to be successful. While you may think these 3 Elements are general factors and would apply to any endeavor, your right. How you apply them is what determines how successful you will be.
Desire is the soul of life. It makes you who you are. It’s what drives you to get up in the morning, to work late into the night, and to do it all over again and again, as long as necessary. Desire is blind to failure. Desire is based in the question “What do you want?” Do you want to be a Video Game Developer? Do you have the skills it takes to make games? Are you creative? Inventive? Can you write, draw, program, build and lead a team, manage the ups and downs? How bad do you want it? Desire will deliver you to success if its true to who you are.
Focus is the roadmap for success. What type of game are you making? Is it a puzzle game, or a shooter, or a sportsgame, etc. What platform are you designing it for? Console or Computer? Handheld or Mobile? Is it a single player or multiplayer, is it time based or mission based? Who is the audience, male and female? How old? What languages? What cultural impact is there? Will there be a sequel or mods? The more you Focus in advance the more reliable your roadmap will be, and the faster you will become successful.
Commitment is what determines your priorities. Are you single? Or Married? Do you have kids? How much time are you willing to devote? Do you want a nice car now or later? Do you want to go on vacation this year or later? Do you want to go with your friends this weekend or work late? I didn’t say it would be easy or all fun, but if this is what you really want, then it will be fun, and easy and most important it will be natural to be committed to your project, and the project will come to you, just like success will follow.
I’m not here to waste your time, or mine, so unless you can honestly ask yourself and answer Do you have the Desire? Can you focus? Are you willing to make and keep the commitment? If you truly believe your answer to all these is YES, then congratulations you are have taken the 1st step in becoming an independent video game developer.
Part 2. Game Concept to Design
Part 3. Build your Development Team
Part 4. Create a Business Plan: Marketing, Publishing, and Distribution
Part 5. How to live after your game is a Hit!
Bio:
I have been a creative person my entire life, from painting clam shells from Coney Island beach in Brooklyn to everyday parenting of my kids. When I was ten years old I met someone who could draw a lot better than me, so I started writing songs. When I was sixteen I met someone who could write better songs than me, so I started painting, then I wrote poetry, then short stories, and philosophy, all along I was living life, not looking for who I am, but living who I am.
At 28 I started in the video game industry as a Producer for the original ATARI. In 1982 my first big title was SPY vs. SPY for the C64. From then to 1996, I worked on over 50 titltes, including Alter Ego (1st game made in male and female versions), Ghostbusters (1st game to use software speech) and Tom & Jerry, for companies including Activision, EA, Disney, Hanna Barbera, Jim Henson and Sesame Street.
In 1996 I created Running With Scissors for the sole purpose of developing POSTAL. Now, in 2007, we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary with a feature film POSTAL-The Movie, a POSTAL mobile game by Russian publisher Ministry of Fun, a POSTAL BABES mobile game by Russian publisher HeroCraft and we are co-developing and publishing POSTAL III with Russia’s premier game publisher Akella.
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Artwork Displayed in Unusual Places Joyce Boncal wrote this exclusive article for us. Artwork Displayed in Unusual Places If you’re young, budding artist, hoping to be discovered, where can you display your artwork? There is always your own web page but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can afford to advertise that web page. This...... - Creative Ideas (Part Two) This is the Part Two of the powerful article by Deremiah. (Part One) Creative Ideas (Part Two) RELATIONSHIPS INFLUENCE THE POWER OF YOUR IDEAS... Brian Tracy who has done a lot of research to compile the information in his wonderful book "CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE" expresses in Chapter 7, page......
- Digital Painting Jeremy White wrote this article exclusively for us. Jeremy is currently in the throngs of several projects and sub projects in digital art (2d here, 3d there), computer programming, and some hobby-level music production. Actually, all of it is hobby level, but... who cares? I consider Jeremy a real artist......
- About Dreaming Peter Buckley just sent me this article he wrote for us, and I feel it to be really powerful... read: About Dreaming I wish to talk to you about dreams. I will try to resist sentimentality. Dreams are both beautiful and dangerous, and I want to demonstrate how they can......
- Game Engine Dr. Roberto Dillon has written this article about his Music-Emotion Driven Game Engine. I think this idea to really have potential. Game Engine In the fast developing world of videogames, sound has traditionally played a less important role than other features, such as graphics. Nonetheless, recently, due to the latest......
- 2009 ACC Coastal Division Predictions 1. Virginia Tech Hokies:The Hokies have an experienced QB, O-Line, good running game and of course a strong defense. All the ingredients to win the ACC. 16 starters and top 6 receivers return and toughest road game @ GT. 2. North Carolina: I think NC, Miami and GT will end......
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Interesting Facts: Volume 1 [/caption] WORLD FACTS Who Made The Marree Man? facts 60 km out of the town of Marree in South Australia, there is the figure of a man etched into the ground that is more than 4 km long. This geoglyph, popularly known as the Marree Man, is not only Australia's...... -
ROULETTE WINNING SYSTEM MAKE MONEY BETTING STRATEGY HELP HOW The following is presented on G Network as one of a sampling of typical gaming systems available on the internet. Presented for review, entertainment, and informational purposes only. G Network does NOT endorse the following system, but if you do have any experience with it, would appreciate a comment...... - Go a little easier on yourself Many times when people first create a budget (especially if the goal is to get out of debt) there is a tendency to be too restrictive. If someone makes $2000 per month, and has $1500 per month in bills, they might allot the remaining $500 to debt reduction. While I......
- Goals for 2009 - Not Resolutions Ever since I was younger (let's call it 16 and up for arguments sake) I always thought New Years Resolutions were ridiculous because people just didn't keep them. I usually got that weird look like when you were a kid and didn't want to play a game or something. There......
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