September 1, 2008Newsletter

The Center is looking forward to an exciting autumn full of great events, and we hope you'll join us! Take a look at our lineup for the 9th Annual Human Rights Film Series, which will include several award-winning documentarians—Peter Gilbert, Sam Pollard, Brendan Fitzgerald, and Marco Williams—as guest speakers.

It's been an amazing summer—our server almost crashed with the waves of activity around the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, which is being adopted by online video providers such as Blip.tv. We've also gone through a lot of change this summer, with the departure of two staff members—Ann Williams and Bree Bowman—and the addition of several more. Ann has returned to her native Louisiana and Bree is now working with a nonprofit in Honduras, where she'll get to practice her Spanish and teach young people. We're proud to welcome Alison Hanold as our assistant director, Micael Bogar as our new projects manager, and Claire Darby and Genna Duberstein as the Center's new graduate fellows. You can check out their bios on the About Us page.

You might have also noticed that our website is looking a bit different these days. We're tweaking our website look as prelude to a reorganization—give us your feedback, please! You can email us comments here.

Stay updated on the latest news in public media and fair use by subscribing to our RSS Feed—we've recently added a few new faces to our regular contributors, and we hope you'll enjoy the contributions of Jasmine Touton and John Tynan.

2008 Human Rights Film Series
Human Rights at Home:
A Look At Human Rights In The U.S.
October 15-November 14, 2008

Our 9th Annual Human Rights Film Series showcases films that show how film and video can make a difference for human rights. All screenings are FREE and open to the public.

Screenings will take place at the Washington College of Law (WCL) campus and AU's Wechsler Theatre.

Visit our website for film synopses and full event details.

Banished
With special guest filmmaker Marco Williams
October 15, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 16, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez
With special guest producer Brendan Fitzgerald
October 22, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 23, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

At the Death House Door
With special guest filmmaker Peter Gilbert
October 29, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 30, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

Special Event: Three Years After Katrina
A week of events exploring the Gulf coast recovery

Film Screening: Cut Off
November 12, 2008, 6 pm, WCL

Film Screening: When the Levees Broke
With special guest producer Sam Pollard
November 13, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

Additional events are in the planning stage. Please check the center's website for info on additional events taking place throughout the week.

Peeking Under the Hood of the NPR API
As media become ever more mobile, how will public media reach people on all the gizmos they have? NPR's toying with one solution. Future of Public Media Director Jessica Clark blogs about NPR's new application programming interface (API), and John Tynan offers a first-hand account of his efforts to develop a widget from the API that allows users to create tailored timelines of NPR pieces.

Snag Films Creates Broader Audience for Documentaries
Ever get frustrated trying to find a great social documentary somebody else told you about? How about seeing a great film you know your friends will never find? With the launch of new film website Snag Films , documentary film distribution might have just gotten a little easier. Find out more about this innovative new website that lets any viewer open a "virtual movie theater" and share their favorite documentary films!

DRP Beta Tests Environmental Public Media for Developing Countries
In developing countries like Sierra Leone and Mongolia, that old technology of radio is delivering new public media. New CSM blogger Jasmine Touton discusses "Ideas Network," a new project by Developing Radio Partners that hopes to bring citizens of developing countries "news-you-can-use" via FM radio in order to improve their quality of living and efficiency of resources.

The project will offer tailored local information and opportunities for peer learning. Ideas Network experts will study a community and then email station DJs snippets of information to add to their daily lineups. DRP will also develop an online community to allow stations to share knowledge and experience.

Innovation in Focus: ITVS' Digital Survey Report
This month, the Center focuses on a recently released report from the Independent Television Service (ITVS) on independent filmmakers' transition to digital media.

Like the Center, ITVS is part of the Ford Foundation Future of Public Media Initiative, a group of nonprofit organizations with a common goal to push forward into the future of public media. Read More>>

Center for Social Media at the University Film and Video Association Conference
Maura Ugarte blogs about the CSM's participation at the University Film and Video Association Conference in Colorado Springs, and the upcoming plans for a new fair use resource that will allow students to answer the question "is this video fair use?"

"Let's Go Crazy" Lawsuit Results in Fair Use Victory
CSM Assistant Director Alison Hanold discusses a recent fair use victory: In the Center's Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, the incidental use of copyrighted material was considered to be an eligible form of fair use by a team of legal experts and media scholars. Now, it seems the courts agree! Click here to read more. >>>

Fair Use Muscle Flexing
Center Director Pat Aufderheide highlights the latest victory for fair use; graduate student Chris Boulton aggressively and persistently asserted his fair use rights to quote children's fashion advertisements in his MA thesis and finally won approval. Chris is also a fan of academics withholding some rights from publishers in order to publish work online--something made easy by a new license, SPARC, created in conjunction with Creative Commons.

Latest Great Example of Fair Use in Online Video
The election is sparking creative remixes of all kinds, justifiable under the fair use doctrine. Seen this one? Seen others you love? Please share what you find with us! We're highlighting creative uses of copyrighted material that conforms to the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video.

Fair Use Question of the Month
Every month, the Center for Social Media answers a new question concerning fair use in documentary filmmaking. This month's question deals with using footage from video games to illustrate points in a film.

Have questions about Fair Use? Our Fair Use FAQ can help!
Do you have questions on Fair Use? Someone else may have already asked. Check out the new Fair Use FAQ, where our most frequently asked questions find answers. Past questions include using media clips in public radio, using news footage, and incidental use.

Free Film Screening: Frontrunner
October 7, 2008, 7 pm, E Street Cinema
(555 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C.)

Come attend the Washington, D.C. premiere of Frontrunner , a film about a woman's heroic run for president of Afghanistan. The screening is free, but suggested donation proceeds will go to Women's Learning Partnership and WomenRULE.

For more information, visit the film's website, and to RSVP visit the film's Facebook page.

Spanish Embassy Film Screenings
As part of the Ricardo Calero. Goya. Disparates....Continuity of an Unfinished Project exhibit running from September 2 through October 26th at American University's Katzen Museum, the Spanish Embassy will present a number of film screenings. The screenings will include:

Faith in Chaos
With special guest photographer Pep Bonet
September 10, 2008, 6 pm, Abramson Family Recital Hall
(in the Katzen Arts Center)
Faith in Chaos is a short documentary about the aftermath and desperation of war in Sierra Leone.

Mekong Butterflies
October 7th, 2008, 6 pm, Abramson Family Recital Hall
(in the Katzen Arts Center)
Mekong Butterflies is a film about an escaped sex slave who goes back to find the three friends she left behind in the brothel—and to help set them free.

Check the Katzen Arts Center website for more information about the exhibit, or see the full list of screenings and other events here.

Total Recut Announces Finalists of Remix Video Contest
The votes have been tallied and the results are in! Total Recut, the online resource hub for video remixing, has announced the finalists of their 2008 Video Remix Challenge! This year, contestants were asked to make short transformative remix videos that in some way answered the question "what is remix culture?" The videos dramatically show the range of what remix culture includes and the importance of fair use guidelines for protecting creative expression. The contest will be judged by a number of leading thinkers in the remix/fair use world, including the Center's Director, Pat Aufderheide, and winners will be announced soon.

Listen Up! Launches the VIP 2008 Online Film Competition!
Want to see the best in youth-made films from around the world? Listen Up!'s Online Film Competition is the place to be. It starts now, so get ready to upload your best stuff, watch films from around the world and decide "The Best Achievement in Youth Media." The top three audience picks win US$500 each.

In all there are 15 official categories including the new category "Community in Focus," targeting new media with a focus on the black community in the 21st century. The winning producers in the "Community in Focus" category will receive an all expense paid trip to Washington, DC to present at the NBPC New Media Institute 2008 (NMI) in November 2008 and be featured on Black Public Media's "The Masculinity Project" website!