Freyburg

Yes, I’ll bet you never thought you’d see a tribute to the Wu-Tang Clan involving a detailed breakdown of the synaptic cleft…but here we are.

The LA Times is reporting that a lot of studio funded companies dedicated to creating web video are shutting down. Why this comes as a surprise to anyone is beyond me. It reminds me of the abortive attempts in the 90’s to merge Hollywood and video games, with predictably disastrous results.

Studios don’t like the short-form format prevalent on the web, and they’re used to pouring money at a problem, with webisodes costing anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 per episode. That sort of thinking is patent madness, of course, and is currently being shown up by any number of people making shows in their basement for no money…and succeeding at it. Since I’ve got some skin in this game, I’m hoping Hollywood continues to stumble forward. THey should stick to what they do best, which is huge, effects-laden spectacles that no indie web creator could ever hope to mach.

Which basically boils down to “everyone, anywhere, is now a publisher.” That sounds simple, but it’s actually a radical reconfiguration of our culture, as well as a widening of the funnel that allows ideas, memes and progress to propagate. Of course, you’ve got to choke down some idiocy while you’re at it, but that’s small potatoes considering the printing press split the Catholic Church down the middle and probably caused its fair share of wars.

I was contacted out of the blue a little while ago about a show called The Stagers on HGTV. The powers-that-be had read Freyburg.com (yes, I was as surprised as you are), and asked me if I’d be interested in posting something about the show. Being the gearhead that I am, I wanted to know what kind of cameras and editing equipment were used on a reality show, what the workflow is for cutting this sort of program, and how one goes about writing a reality series. You might say “but Freyburg? This isn’t your usual Watchmen/Apple/Obama rant!” and you’d be right. But I figure it doesn’t hurt to find out how a show I normally wouldn’t know anything about gets made, if for no other reason than the fact that it shows how any show can get made, and certain aspects of production can be adapted to more DV Rebel pursuits.

(more…)

Here’s the second video from out trip to Egypt. Camels in trucks, ancient monuments, and a felluca ride. Go here (and head to the lower right for the link) to get the HD version.

Egypt 2008, Part 2 – Aswan/Luxor from Warren Frey on Vimeo.

So Mel and I went to Egypt this Christmas, and I finally found the time to put together some highlights from the first part of our trip. In this video you’ll see downtown Cairo, the Coptic area (home to some of the oldest Christian churches in the city and the oldest synagogue in Egypt) and, of course, the Pyramids. I shot the video on my Canon HV20 and graded it with Magic Bullet Looks, which was well worth my hard earned cash. Head to the Vimeo page and go to the lower right hand side to download the HD version of this video.

Egypt 2008: Part 1 Cairo from Warren Frey on Vimeo.

Twitter, for those not in the know, is a “micro-blogging” platform that lets you jot off quick notes in 140 characters or less. At first I was in the same boat as most, not “getting it,” but soon I found that if I dashed off quick notes about whatever struck my fancy, I soon developed followers based on those topics. Besides the digerati I already know here in Vancouver, I’ve also built up a small community of fellow videographers, and we spend a lot of our time firing advice back and forth. It’s also a great way to interact with the small and highly-connected audience of my podcast.

At any rate, New York Magazine has a feature on the guys behind Twitter, who are neither in New York nor making any money with their service. But it’s still an interesting peek into the world of a hot start-up.

Pia Guerra is widely known as the artist behind the award winning “Y: The Last Man” comic series. But she’s also the artist on “Doctor Who – The Forgotten“, a new series starring everyone’s favorite Time Lord (in multiple incarnations). Oh yes, and a devoted Whovian. Radio Free Skaro‘s Warren Frey visited Pia in her Vancouver studio and got a peek at the creative process behind the comic (and her truly daunting collection of Who figures.)

Radio Free Skaro Presents: An interview with Pia Guerra from Warren Frey on Vimeo.

In addition to running around filming the day’s events at Microsoft Tech Days, I also had a chance to film a swearing in ceremony for Joey Devilla, who just finished his probationary period at Microsoft, and is now in his words a “Sith Lord.”

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve been working on of late. Most recently I shot and cut together a video for Techvibes about Microsoft Tech Days…

and another for Techvibes about “Office Hours”, where VCs and entrepreneurs meet up…

Techvibes TV presents First Round Capital / W Media’s “Office Hours” at the Agro Cafe from Rob Lewis on Vimeo.

and finally a promotional video for Khare Communications.