Comments on: Who is suing mathowie?

Who is suing mathowie?

Steve_at_Linnwood — Tue, 20 May 2003 20:13:31 -0800

Who is suing mathowie? In the trailer for the documentary Blogumentary, Matt mentions that he is being threatened with lawsuits over "things people say on MetaFilter." Do we all need to chip in for a Mathowie Legal Defense Fund?

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Tue, 20 May 2003 20:27:14 -0800

mathowie has provided me, out of his own pocket, with a safeharbour of intelligent discussion, stimulating entertainment, and, most importantly, genuine friendship. MetaFilter means a lot to me. That is why it's so sad that I must sue for entrapment and loss of earnings.

By: Stan Chin

Stan Chin — Tue, 20 May 2003 20:30:06 -0800

What I want to know is why there was no zoom-in tight shot of Matt's hand gestures as he was punctuatiing his main points, and also, why I don't feel any better about being a 'blogger' after watching that video.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Tue, 20 May 2003 20:51:25 -0800

In my head, I always heard Matt's voice as all high-pitched-squeaky-girllike. Thanks for ruining that for me.

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:01:39 -0800

I was actually hesitant to use that little clip of Matt's interview, but I couldn't resist "blogs have made life complicated." Because they can and do. For example, privacy vs. being a public figure and the repurcussions of that. In fact, if Matt wants me to use a different excerpt I will out of respect for his privacy.

Stan Chin: Point taken. Of course I'm just one guy with (usually) one camera, and the hand gestures thing is one way of adding a teensy bit of visual variety. Perhaps it is too cheesy though.

The object isn't necessarily to make anyone feel better about being a 'blogger', but wondering what prompted that reaction?

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:03:28 -0800

Busted!

By: justgary

justgary — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:04:44 -0800

Damn, that kottke sure is conceited.

By: Stan Chin

Stan Chin — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:07:08 -0800

That inner yearning to be humorous that makes me be a giant dick to make up for the small asian one I already have probably prompted it. No harm g, we fresh. Here's a shovel, you dig?

I was expecting those girls to give up the sex after they found out you were a blogger or something. Always happen to me.

"Oh, you're a blogger? I know you! You're on Metafilter! Here's the sex!"

*Cha-Chink!*

By: Stan Chin

Stan Chin — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:07:51 -0800

.....err... *cha-ching*.

That's the most brutal typo I've ever had.

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:12:14 -0800

Now *that's* funny!

Yeah, you half-expect those girls to lift up their shirts... Blog Grrlz Gone Wild. Snoop Dogg passes the cam to Tony Pierce. I think this documentary is gonna be a whole 'nother thang now.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:19:26 -0800

From time to time, I've gotten requests from people that are connected to sites or companies discussed, asking me to remove stuff or close discussions. They vary in seriousness, but one case earlier this year required me to talk to a couple lawyers and I actually buckled and removed a thread completely (you can't even see the deleted version) due to accusations of libel and slander against the company linked to people posting.

In the long run, it's a pain but not the end of the world. I need to insulate myself by forming an LLC or S-corp and things should be fine.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 20 May 2003 21:46:39 -0800

All right, I'll contribute to said Defense Fund.

This will, of course, lessen my commitment to Sparkle Motion.

On your heads be it.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:05:27 -0800

Any idea which loveable corporation it was? And anyone in the Philippines want to host a page where we can continue to libel them?

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:06:45 -0800

So you're saying we should sue you now, before you incorporate right?

Damn those GloboChem(tm) bastards!

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:15:37 -0800

Christ, the pacing on that trailer is *awful*. What's up with all the psuedo-Koyaanisqatsi shots of people hithering-and-yonning, and the subway flashing by - should we infer that blogging is a New York-centric activity?

And is the narrator *trying* to sound like Agent Smith in the intro?

By: dobbs

dobbs — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:26:05 -0800

Dok, yeah, those hand shots are cheesy. The first one I thought you were trying to show us that woman's legs.

And I agree with Adam. If anything, the trailer ensured I won't be wanting to see the movie. Reminded me of first year film school stuffs. *shiver*

Sorry, Dok.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:32:32 -0800

cut the guy some slack fer chrissakes.

but yeah, tighten up the trailer. and probably the movie. take out that boring metafilter guy. he's depressing. more close-ups on that chick's legs.

By: anildash

anildash — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:36:47 -0800

yeah, chuck, the documentary that you haven't finished yet, that you're funding out of your own pockets, that you're doing on a subject just because it's interesting to you, without regard for whether it's commercially viable? This guy who's never made a film is picking on your edits.

Classic MetaTalk.

(btw, those drum loops really do suck.)

By: riffola

riffola — Tue, 20 May 2003 22:46:08 -0800

I only know what rcb, kottke, megnut, and mathowie look like, I had no clue who that guy in the car at Union Square was, or who the others were.

By: tss

tss — Tue, 20 May 2003 23:02:05 -0800

Unless there's a Danielle Steel book about blogging, I don't think my local library can help out...

p.s. maybe it's just me, but something about the trailer reminded me at times of the dot com days--y'know, back when so many of the wunderkinder had this kind of "don't you wish you were us" smirk on their faces. I'm sure it's fun be a young New York City hipster and all, and no ill will toward them, but I'll never be one. Will there be more bloggers from, er, more varied backgrounds in the film?

Anyway, by this time next year I'll have a cheap DVcam and iMovie, so you can feel free to lambast whatever comes of that. Fair is fair.

Oh, and that buzzmachine guy had an interesting link...

By: anildash

anildash — Tue, 20 May 2003 23:25:56 -0800

that guy silhoutted in the cab, i'm not sure who he was, but damn he was sexy.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 21 May 2003 00:39:21 -0800

I liked it!

Personally, I was hoping for more chickens, and maybe a skeleton warrior or two, but I have learned through hard experience that you can't have everything you want. Maybe a little less of them evil a-list types† and a little more harryhausen and poultry content, and you got yourself a blockbuster there, Dok!

†Don't get your knickers in a twist, now, that was a joke. We all know there is no cabal™

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 21 May 2003 00:50:35 -0800

(Also, tangentially, I note that Matt says metta-filter. Me, I say mayta-filter, and I'd rather fight than switch.

I was always annoyed in Australia when everyone pronounced 'beta' (as in 'beta testing') beeta. I wonder if our aussie MeFiMates say meeta-filter?)

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Wed, 21 May 2003 01:51:03 -0800

It's a good thing this film isn't just for bloggers, because we all know satisfying bloggers is a recipe for... whaddya call it... oh yeah, insanity-induced murder-suicide!

Okay, the hand shots are cheesy and should go. I like the leg/hand shots in the Rebecca Blood (aka 'that lady') piece though. The beats: cleared for use, not bad but clearly not good. Another thing to file under "when I get some money..."

The intro narrator, that would be me about 7am Monday morning trying to finish the damn thing.

A-listers -- yes, too many at the moment but it will balance out. If you've read anything about the project, you know I didn't set out to make a documentary about A-list bloggers. I'm not that worried about it though, because the real world doesn't give a rat's ass, and everyone I've talked to has been eloquent.

I really like the NYC transitions, so too bad if you don't. It's a documentary about blogs -- how do you make that visually interesting? Show me how you'd do it. My footage is mostly from SXSW and NYC so the trailer reflects that. I live in Minneapolis; I do want to talk to bloggers from America's heartland. Put your money where your mouth is and tell me about some, hey? See, it's collaborative so help me out!

Here's the thing. Blogging is a wide topic, you know. I get a lot of... why didn't you interview ____? Are you going to talk about * hispanic bloggers * iranian bloggers * jewish bloggers * rural bloggers * hashish-smoking nympho bloggers * etc. --- well, maybe, but if I include all of that it'll be 10 hours long and everyone would hate it, except for the 2 minutes about hashish-smoking nympho bloggers. It has to have an angle, a point of view, it has to come from me.

But here's the deal. I'm serious about making this an open-source documentary. Think you can do a better job? The footage is all yours. Right now I don't have the time or money to provide a mechanism for this, but I do want to make the footage available to everyone. From that I'd like to assemble a "blogumentary:::remixed" project.

I'll shut up now. I really do appreciate the criticism and comments. I'll incorporate them into trailer v2.0.
Blogumentary: All Anil, All the time!

By: hairyeyeball

hairyeyeball — Wed, 21 May 2003 02:59:09 -0800

Is that why all the hinkiness around here lately? Dang. There's no reason why Matt should have to martyr himself to the First Amendment. Count me in for a few bucks. $10 x 15,000 users = a few hours of an A-list lawfirm's time, at least.

By: rory

rory — Wed, 21 May 2003 03:05:14 -0800

Also, tangentially, I note that Matt says metta-filter. Me, I say mayta-filter, and I'd rather fight than switch. I was always annoyed in Australia when everyone pronounced 'beta' (as in 'beta testing') beeta. I wonder if our aussie MeFiMates say meeta-filter?

This Aussie says metta-filter. Do you pronounce metaphor 'mayta-phor'? I think not. (Though maybe you do, Stav? We Aussies never can understand what you crazy canucks are talking aboat.)

So, how do you pronounce b3ta?

By: hama7

hama7 — Wed, 21 May 2003 03:14:14 -0800

it has to come from me.

And it did, and I salute you.

I appreciate the homemade feel of it as it relates to homespun weblogs, liked the subway shots as transition between speakers/interviewees, and thought it was very well done overall. Much appreciated.

But who was that guy with the glasses and hand motions?

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Wed, 21 May 2003 03:18:35 -0800

metughfilturrrrrr - in ecosse.

my take would be to get some person that has a blog that is tottally outwith the geek stereotype , like an old granny who gets her grandson to help her type things in about soup recipes etc ...film her for a day , film matt for a day and cut it all together, it would make a good contrast.
you should really film matt dealing with all the requests,bans and fights on here , coming home from a hard day at the coalface to deal with irate bug victims etc.
maybe even interview people who have been banned and so on and soforth.
We also need a car chase and a sexy female love interest , i vote amber or juju : )

By: twine42

twine42 — Wed, 21 May 2003 04:30:52 -0800

Hmmm... If you pronounce A as 'Ar' or 'Ah'.

Met. Ar. Filter.
Met. Ar. For.
Bee. Tar.

But then I'm odd. Northern UK uses short 'A' in transplant while the south uses a long a. I use a short then a long. Sanity is not my strong point swallow pills

By: walrus

walrus — Wed, 21 May 2003 05:50:21 -0800

We say tomato and stav says tomayto.

By: dg

dg — Wed, 21 May 2003 05:53:18 -0800

I was always annoyed in Australia when everyone pronounced 'beta' (as in 'beta testing') beeta. I wonder if our aussie MeFiMates say meeta-filter?)
Hmmm, I pronounce beta as beeta, but meta as meta. Of course, just because I live in Australia doesn't mean I learned to speak here. Growing up in a country that does a far better imitation of the English has tailored more than my pronunciation, I suspect.

As an aside, I thought the movie trailer was quite good. Not great, but quite good.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 21 May 2003 06:18:19 -0800

This guy who's never made a film is picking on your edits.

<werner erhard>
that's one possible interpretation (not a very empowering one) and it stresses an irrelevancy. a better interpretation is that the guy who has never made a film is representative of all potential viewers, in that most will not have made films, and therefore is providing valuable and relevant advance feedback to the filmaker out of his desire to contribute.
</werner erhard>

<quonsar>
or, he's a fucking know-it-all loudmouth.
</quonsar>

By: lotsofno

lotsofno — Wed, 21 May 2003 06:32:10 -0800

watch the guy in the first half, where he talks about blogs being a sort of message board, and mentions that he has his own at wakinghours.com.. right when he says "i think it's awesome and i have one ... a lot of my friends do too. and that's right, you should too!" over his right shoulder, you'll notice this goofiest looking guy pop up for no reason.

aside from 2 things, it was a pretty good/interesting watch. 1, it was all nyc. that's a shame... most of the best webloggers, IMO, are out in the mid west, or on the west coast. the nyc scene seems pretty stale. 2, that's one corny intro.

i think i'm going to donate $10,000 or something....

By: walrus

walrus — Wed, 21 May 2003 06:34:08 -0800

ps sgt, your gender recognition system appears to be seriously compromised. A few more pints of 80 shilling are almost certainly required.

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Wed, 21 May 2003 07:15:48 -0800

To which critic are you referring, anil, who "never made a film"?

I have no idea who that guy in the cab is, either, but something tells me he might look better in a white sweater.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 21 May 2003 07:29:01 -0800

walrus, which part of "usually" did you not understand? :-)

By: Mack Twain

Mack Twain — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:02:51 -0800

I saw the same sort of thing happen last fall on another forum. Someone mentioned a person and his product by name...about the worst thing anyone said was that the guy had *made a ton of money* selling an unproven product to naive people. Did I mention this man is a multimillionaire and an attorney? His threats almost shut down the website until the owner promised to stop discussion of his name and product. I just now went there and checked the archives: it's all been deleted.

By: The Jesse Helms

The Jesse Helms — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:16:55 -0800

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:27:48 -0800

The intro doesn't sound like Agent Smith. It's pure Captain Kirk.

And, totally seriously, what I would want to learn from a blog documentary is exactly how screwed up Jorn Barger really is. Bonus points for covering "why." As the inventor of the word "weblog," the guy definitely ought to be covered. I want to know what the fuck is wrong with him, and to be shown it in squirm-inducing detail. Really.

By: rusty

rusty — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:46:34 -0800

Dok M: Are you ready for more unsolicited movie advice? I knew you were. :-)

Little points:

* Less of the "people who don't know what blogs are" man-in-the-street stuff. Man-in-the-street is not interesting. People who don't know what blogs are are not the subject of your movie. It's like making a US Civil War documentary and asking the average Frenchman what he can tell you about it. Probably not much, and who cares anyway?

* The hand thing would be good once or twice, but not every time. If someone happens to gesture with their hands expressively, use it for them. If someone else has some other personal talking habit or noteworthy personal attribute, focus on that. Try to make sure every image adds something to the movie, and that you could, if pressed, explain what it adds. In the case of the interviews, just "This cut gives more of a sense of what it's like sitting and talking to this person" is plenty of reason. You did this well in the Meg-Kottke bit, with the shots of Meg's sexxxy legs. ;-)

* The dialogue between Meg and Kottke is fucking hilarious. That's the best part of the whole trailer so far. It works because she seems to forget that she's on camera, and starts having this almost too-personal conversation, but Jason seems to not forget the camera's rolling at all, and gets increasingly uncomfortable being talked about. It's brilliant.

* How pathetic is it that I recognized Anil by the profile of his nose? Still, most people won't. You might consider investigating the wide range of lights and lighting accessories available to you as a budding filmmaker. Like, oh, a good flashlight or something.

Bigger issues:

You keep saying you're having some trouble dramatizing the concept of blogging. I can see how this would be tricky. I think what you need is a story. Because, like, blogging is about people sharing their thoughts and/or opinions, putting themselves out there and saying to whoever cares "Hey, this is me!" So maybe the question you should be trying to ask with this movie is "How does blogging affect people's lives?"

Interview lots of bloggers. Find some with good blog-related stories to tell. Then tell their stories. Save the Rebecca Blood "what is blogging anyway" type clips to intercut as needed, but spend most of your time interweaving stories about how blogging affected people. Why did they start? When did they start? What do they write about? What happened as a result? With judicious choices of subjects you can really get to what it's all about through individuals, I think.

Also, vary the settings. Talk on the couch a little, but get up and take a walk through the park too. Go to a beach. Find some visually interesting or personally meaningful local setting. Get your subjects up and moving around.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:52:23 -0800

Wow. UCLA film school in single webpage here. So many experts giving unsolicited advice.

shut the fuck up already, and let the guy make his movie.

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Wed, 21 May 2003 08:59:06 -0800

Hey, if the guy's gonna post it, he's gonna hear about it. This sort of crit is gold to an aspiring creative (of any stripe) who knows how to make use of it.

And remember, too, that this audience will tend to be a lot more indulgent and charitable than those in the wild.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Wed, 21 May 2003 09:03:42 -0800

I 'm very impressed that the wonderchicken was too modest to post a link to his own wonderful weblog movie, so I'll gladly do it myself.

By: sudama

sudama — Wed, 21 May 2003 09:07:32 -0800

I want to know what the fuck is wrong with him, and to be shown it in squirm-inducing detail.

As uncomfortable as I am with the ethicality of this tangent, fuck it. A lot like Crumb, right? That was a great film.

Also, I really dig the Blogumentary trailer. Nice work. Having just acquired a DV camera, I might be inspired to send along some footage of my own.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 21 May 2003 09:15:53 -0800

sgt: mwahhh! (juju is prettier tho, i bet)
and walrus: shut up, willya? ; >

BTW, I love the idea of putting the film source out there to be remixed...maybe we can get Matt to start a video.metafilter.com?
(i'm already picturing this blogger thing, old porn, and any old 70's Gene Hackman movie mixed together)

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 21 May 2003 09:53:48 -0800

bloggers blogs blogging blogging, blogs and bloggers.
scuse me, there's a large crusty blogger i simply must dig out of my nostril. then i have to go blog it.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Wed, 21 May 2003 10:08:02 -0800

You're pitching it just right here: " Who is suing mathowie?" ha! Perhaps that should be your link throughout the film - the trouble little blogs can cause - you get to use the line "it's only a website". unsolicited advice : the hand thing should be done if that is the most predominent feature of the person you are speaking to. It can easily get out of, uh, hand.

wonderchicken, I like that film!

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 21 May 2003 10:11:51 -0800

See, it's collaborative so help me out!

All I can say that's helpful is the sound needs to be better compressed - that drum track is hittin' the red, then as soon as I turn it down to a manageable level, someone comes on talking and is completely inaudible. Maybe I'd appreciate the koyaanisqatsi stuff more (or, say, at all) if I wasn't constantly dealing with the percussion track. And, yeah, one or two of the people who have no idea what blogging is would be plenty.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 21 May 2003 10:17:40 -0800

You keep saying you're having some trouble dramatizing the concept of blogging. I can see how this would be tricky. I think what you need is a story

really good point by rusty. "blogging" isn't a very cinematic subject, so do think about how you can develop a narrative thread.

i'd recommend watching some errol morris documentaries ("Gates of Heaven" being the best) for some great examples of making amazing films out of left-field subjects. *hint--it's all about the personalities. . .

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 21 May 2003 10:21:33 -0800

his own wonderful weblog movie
We laugh but ER took 20 years to hit the Tv screens...so who wants the role of a body at a computer, no faces shown? Wait, that was the intro to Dougie Hauser, MD.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 21 May 2003 10:41:01 -0800

it's all about the personalities. . .

And therein lies the real problem. People that write weblogs have none. :)

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 21 May 2003 11:25:09 -0800

Matt, were not faceless just no personality, great the next thing he will say: I'm short...
Can't say all bloggers have a unique personality but to post a blog on the web they seem to have a start.

Dok Millennium, nice show.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Wed, 21 May 2003 11:43:39 -0800

I like the lady who said a blog was what got stuck in your shower, and then her friend pointed out that she was thinking of a clog. He he.

Interesting trailer, Dok.. since everybody else is giving their $.02 I will give mine: I like the idea of using the screenshot to identify the blog, but the text you're using for the titles is kind of boring.

By: shortfuse

shortfuse — Wed, 21 May 2003 11:47:34 -0800

dok m -

"blogging" isn't a very cinematic subject (by _sirmissalot_)

i agree. blogs are too text-oriented as both medium and activity. (photoblogs contain visual media, but are mostly echoes of photo albums, bound as they were to the book-like interface.) making an cinematic piece about blogs seems like a real challenge. you might as well do a dance about architecture. so it makes sense to focus on blogging and bloggers. as others have said, focusing on very striking stories or personalities seems like the way to go.

looking at your weblog, you obviously have many more ideas than presented in the trailer. one more that i'd like to add to the pile is the consistency / contrast of one's voice or personality as formed thru blogs (pure text) vs in life outside blogs. for me, there was a fascination with seeing what these bloggers looked and sounded like, and how they expressed themselves in their speaking voice and gestures. the kottkes were a good example. obviously meg and jason frequently refer to and link to each other in their respective blogs. so it was interesting to see their actual interaction.

along that line, i hope you'll consider putting together a nice website for the finished film. you're probably making a movie because you want to make a movie and not a multimedia project. but since weblogs are best seen on the web, your film's site could be an excellent place to learn about bloggers / blogging. each interviewee could get a link to their blog, next to a video clip of them from the film. plus maybe a few best-of posts you might have selected, as director of film. this way, i would be able to read their posts and then watch their clips, and to compare the two different voices and get a fuller sense of them.

also, perhaps a stretch, but you could rent peter greenaway's the pillow book to see one visual treatment of the written word. greenaway in general is obsessed with image + text. perhaps there's something there for you.

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:06:51 -0800

I do have Davezilla saying some funny things about MeFi'ers...

Thanks for all the great commentage. Rusty, you *nailed* it on every point. Really. Yes, it is about real people's lives and how they intersect with blogging. Of course, A-listers are people too (what? I thought they were robots?). Some of my favorite footage right now is Derek P. and Heather Champ walking around and arguing about gender inequality among blog conference speakers. Anyway, weirdly it's turned out to be easier to get A-listers on camera than some unknown bloggers I know with really compelling stories. They're shy.

The problem when you get out and walk around is -- bad or noisy audio. My doc. teacher said you should get subjects at least twice: once in a controlled quiet environment with solid audio, once doing something. The guy with glasses who gestures a lot is Jeff Jarvis. I wanted to get him out to ground zero, but he was too busy. Most people are too busy. But I do want to mix it up more. That's why I used so much voxpop (man-on-the-street) footage - it's entertaining and loose, and outside.

Lighting is debated in the doc community. Albert Maysles (Monterey Pop, Gimme Shelter, When We Were Kings, etc) sez: "I work 99% of the time with available light. For me, whatever the light is on a person, that light is determined by the reality of that situation. To me, that's the appropriate light.” I have a camera light and some other stuff, but didn't have it with me in the cab with Anil and wouldn't have used it if I did, probably. We were on the go, I captured the moment and that's the important thing.

Matt said I should go "Waiting for Guffman" with this thing. I'm trying not to make fun of anyone, but it is tempting...

Errol Morris is frigging genius. "Gates of Heaven" is brilliant. My hero. *sigh*

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:12:34 -0800

shortfuse: thanks for the greenaway suggestion, that's a great idea.

about blogumentary on the web. i actually have huge ideas that i can't implement right now. i want to put *all* the footage in a video database, so you could watch interviews of everyone in the film (and everyone not in the film). the raw footage, indexed with wicked meta-data. this would be a great resource if you're (a) just curious, (b) researching some aspect of blogging, (c) want to cut together you're own blogumentary.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:14:05 -0800

Dok, three words for a sure-fire hit.

Bloggers. Naked. Honeyed.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:27:57 -0800

Honeyed, that's like a shower scene viewed through filtered glass...back to silhouette figures, faceless.

By: whatnot

whatnot — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:28:02 -0800

Interview lots of bloggers. Find some with good blog-related stories to tell. Then tell their stories.

I would take it a step further and record some bloggers reading their entries aloud. Go for all types of entries, from compelling to mundane. Use that audio as your narrative rather than having an actual narrator.

The uninitiated aren't going to be compelled by the subject of blogging unless they know what kind of content is out there.

... and yes, I have worked on actual documentaries! my mentor won me over to the "no narrator" camp. let the subjects tell their own stories.

By: shortfuse

shortfuse — Wed, 21 May 2003 12:37:43 -0800

about blogumentary on the web. i actually have huge ideas that i can't implement right now. i want to put *all* the footage in a video database, so you could watch interviews of everyone in the film (and everyone not in the film). the raw footage, indexed with wicked meta-data.

you might take a look at Jerome B. Wiesner, 1915-1994: A Random Walk through the 20th Century. it's an old mit media lab project. it presents an indexed database of video and other media through a dynamic interface that evolves through your playback and selections. more info here. it might suggest ideas for organizing your media, especially if you want to start linking video clips, and bringing the blog flavor to your non-blog media, as it were.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Wed, 21 May 2003 13:24:18 -0800

I like the idea of having bloggers read their entries; if they're worth filming, presumably they've written some compelling posts, and you might even work in some cross-blog dialog. I'm also impressed with the level of commentary in the thread (well, by and large...).

I was always annoyed in Australia when everyone pronounced 'beta' (as in 'beta testing') beeta. I wonder if our aussie MeFiMates say meeta-filter?)

I hope you're not implying there is or should be any connection between the two. "Beta" is from a Greek word with a long e, which is traditionally pronounced "ee" in English (both e's in "lethe," for example); hence people with any distant echos of a traditional classical education say "beeta," "theeta," etc. for the Greek letters Americans (who use the "restored" classical pronunciation) call "bayta," "thayta," etc. Meta- (as in -phor, -Filter, etc.) has a short e in Greek and has thus always been "metta-."

By: Lynsey

Lynsey — Wed, 21 May 2003 13:27:20 -0800

Well, I liked it! I thought the same thing Meg said about Kottke's blog, that he came off as rude and arrogant, and this is while he still lived in Minnesota or wherever. His blog seems to be more accesible since he and Meg hooked up or maybe it was the reaction to what he was posting on 9/11. Idea for next blogumentary? Romance among bloggers: dooce and her guy, Meg and Jason, Rebecca and Jesse, Lily and her guy, etc. There must be 8 million untold stories in the naked blogosphere!

By: rusty

rusty — Wed, 21 May 2003 13:43:49 -0800

Dok: I think you've got a much better grasp on the thing than I do, so have fun. :-)

About the lighting thing -- I always feel like even if you don't want to use artificial lighting, there are a lot of situations where using artificial lighting is necessary just to kind of get to the point where the image on screen looks like the image you see with natural lighting. That is, the camera sees less than your eyes do. The Anil shot in particular looked like it would probably have looked fine with human eyes, but was way too dark with the camera. Just MHO, anyway. That was the only shot I thought the lighting was distracting in.

By: me3dia

me3dia — Wed, 21 May 2003 13:52:29 -0800

I live in Minneapolis; I do want to talk to bloggers from America's heartland. Put your money where your mouth is and tell me about some, hey? See, it's collaborative so help me out!

Chicagobloggers, repreZENT!

Come on down and visit. We'll talk.

By: anildash

anildash — Wed, 21 May 2003 14:02:45 -0800

I would take it a step further and record some bloggers reading their entries aloud.

Ugh. I had to do a lot of this for the Media Matters thing, and I'd say to avoid it just to spare people the pain of reading aloud things that were intended to be read on screen.

As long as we're making requests, I want about 2.5 hours of awkward interaction between Meg and Jason, Ben and Mena, and Dave Winer and the world. Those three pairings alone would be better than any Best in Show could ever be.

By: djc

djc — Wed, 21 May 2003 14:11:30 -0800

I really like the NYC transitions, so too bad if you don't. It's a documentary about blogs -- how do you make that visually interesting?

Or interesting at all?
Halfway joking there, but hopefully the subject is naturally compelling to people and doesn't need to rely on transitions to make it 'interesting'., visually or not.

By: matteo

matteo — Wed, 21 May 2003 14:54:48 -0800

It was nice to finally hear mathowie's voice

a "Garbo talks!" moment

thanks for the link, Steve

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Wed, 21 May 2003 15:34:03 -0800

Unfortunately I think I will need to get some people reading their posts, maybe showing the text onscreen. It might be terrible but I have to try it, how else to present what people are writing other than...well, making people read their tv screen.

Yes, I want to hang out with Ben and Mena a lot. I just love them to death and I don't even know them. "Love in the Blogosphere" is probably the most interesting theme to me.

There is a MN couple who share a blog together, and the woman is a stripper. It's the Pussy Ranch.

[ shorfuse: thanks for the Media Lab link, i'll check that out. i like the sounds of video.metafilter.com.
Anil, I still need to get a copy of Welcome to the Blogosphere from you. ]

By: dg

dg — Wed, 21 May 2003 15:34:20 -0800

As the inventor of the word "weblog," the guy definitely ought to be ~~covered~~ tarred and feathered, if not keelhauled then drawn and quartered.

I thought the number of people who had no idea what a blog is was about right - if you are immersed in the blogosphere you may not realise it, but most people in the real world have no idea and it brought the message out (for me anyway) that this whole thing is still a bit subversive. If you and all your friends have one, your circle of friends may be a bit narrow.

People that write weblogs have none. :)
Ouch. The truth hurts.

By: whatnot

whatnot — Wed, 21 May 2003 15:39:50 -0800

... I'd say to avoid it just to spare people the pain of reading aloud things that were intended to be read on screen.

Hm. I'm thinking of plenty of of documentaries where letters and diaries were read aloud, and those were intended to be read on paper, correct? Maybe it was just handled poorly for Media Matters, I haven't seen it. And just because it was done poorly once doesn't mean it can't be done well. anil. you meanie. ";-)"

By: timeistight

timeistight — Wed, 21 May 2003 16:01:13 -0800

If you're looking for "Bloggers In Love," I don't think you'll do better than Dean Allen and Gail Armstrong's story. Also, Carrie Bickner and Jeffrey Zeldman are to marry on 28 June 2003 in New York City.

Mark Pilgrim just got married too, though I don't believe Dora is a blogger.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 21 May 2003 16:24:09 -0800

I hope you're not implying there is or should be any connection between the two.

Just a tip (as small compensation for your past advice to me), languagehat, amigo. Sometimes it's good for your soul to drop the Scholastic Superhero mask and just do a funny dance. Trust me. Still, thanks for the info.

(and thanks yhbc for the link to Weblog : The Movie! To be honest, I wasn't being modest, I'd just forgotten about the darn thing. Heh. Must be a year old by now...)

By: billsaysthis

billsaysthis — Wed, 21 May 2003 19:53:38 -0800

Hopefully a forgivable self-link: I got married 11 days ago to Vivian, who is a blogger and not a MeFite but wonderful just the same.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 21 May 2003 20:16:40 -0800

Well, congratulations are in order, then, bill!

By: timeistight

timeistight — Wed, 21 May 2003 20:31:34 -0800

Yes, congratulations billsaysthis!

By: languagehat

languagehat — Wed, 21 May 2003 20:34:03 -0800

Congrats from me too!

*spritzes seltzer on self, does a funny dance*

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 21 May 2003 20:36:28 -0800

*dons fright wig, throws cream pies*

By: billsaysthis

billsaysthis — Wed, 21 May 2003 21:09:21 -0800

Entertainment appreciated. You guys!!!

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Thu, 22 May 2003 07:22:54 -0800

Ratbastard is getting married...
...congrats to him and his other half, both MeFi'ers!
posted by tomcosgrave at 9:11 AM PST [trackback] (22 comments total)

By: anitar

anitar — Thu, 22 May 2003 08:44:13 -0800

Have you looked at Home Page, the movie? a documentary about the online journal phenomenon. Justin Hall who was featured then convinced the director to start his own journal.

By: Dok Millennium

Dok Millennium — Thu, 22 May 2003 11:55:05 -0800

I've been aware of Home Page for a long time and am on Doug Block's d-word forum, but haven't managed to see it yet. Which I need to since this is dang near "Home Page 2: Revenge of the Blog."

*delivers 140 gallon drum of champagne to bill*

By: ariana

ariana — Thu, 22 May 2003 12:50:48 -0800

I love the Best of Show idea, applied to Blogumentary. Anil should be cast as the Fred Willard character. Now *that's* entertainment.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Thu, 22 May 2003 15:14:57 -0800

"Waiting for Kottke"?

By: feelinglistless

feelinglistless — Thu, 22 May 2003 16:41:34 -0800

Dok Millennium -- is the film going to be covering Kaycee-Nicole? Is there going to be a Shanghai Knights type sequel about the UK scene?

By: dg

dg — Thu, 22 May 2003 17:53:27 -0800

"Throw Kottke from the Train"?

By: billsaysthis

billsaysthis — Thu, 22 May 2003 19:09:08 -0800

"A Mighty Kottke Wind"? In Smellovision?

By: thebigpoop

thebigpoop — Thu, 22 May 2003 19:40:49 -0800

Kottke, Kottke, Ted & Alice

By: tss

tss — Thu, 22 May 2003 19:44:31 -0800

Teenage Mutant Ninja Kottke 2: The Secret of the Ooze

By: yhbc

yhbc — Thu, 22 May 2003 19:51:44 -0800

Citizen Kottke

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Thu, 22 May 2003 20:12:45 -0800

Bukottke Guzzlers 4

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Thu, 22 May 2003 21:34:12 -0800

What is this, Kottkebombing?

By: y2karl

y2karl — Thu, 22 May 2003 21:51:03 -0800

Koyaaniqottke.

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Thu, 22 May 2003 22:44:32 -0800

the trailer was a bit of a bore. if it's just about famous bloggers then I don't think it will be very interesting.

By: eddydamascene

eddydamascene — Fri, 23 May 2003 00:02:05 -0800

Kottkespotting

By: inpHilltr8r

inpHilltr8r — Fri, 23 May 2003 00:40:02 -0800

A boy and his blog

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Fri, 23 May 2003 02:09:20 -0800

Bukottke

Something I did not need to imagine, thanks ever so much...

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Fri, 23 May 2003 09:54:02 -0800

"Jason Kottke Is Sick & Twisted" - heh. Actually, Jason's was the first blog that I ever saw/read. I disagree almost 100% with his politics, aesthetics, and so on, but his site is the one that lured me into this whole blogging thing.

Re: the whole Blog:The Movie thing -- can't access the blogspot site -- anyone got a mirror or some other link?

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Fri, 23 May 2003 12:08:40 -0800

cot-key....
seriously, the argonauts are not to be underestimated.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Fri, 23 May 2003 12:54:52 -0800

Dok Millennium, it hit me last night that if you have the authors of the blog read their entries it may solve for me; how folks want their blogs to be read a loud, like in an oral discussion. When reading some use proper grammar or some don't which I take they want it read that way.

A comment example: hi how are you today i m fine blah blah, read out loud monotone, boringly. Kind of like in the Peanuts cartoons, the parent's talk is all garbled to make a point, kids don't listen or hear what they want(for me).

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Fri, 23 May 2003 15:51:41 -0800

Cape Kottke...

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Fri, 23 May 2003 18:02:35 -0800

. Kind of like in the Peanuts cartoons, the parent's talk is all garbled to make a point, kids don't listen or hear what they want(for me).

i have to disagree tom. many a times Peppermint patty would respond to the "whont-a whont-whontwhnot" usually this involves patty being unprepared for questions or stymied responses to queries concerning her missing homework.
I believe the adults voices where "wubed out' because it is supposed to be viewed from the childs perspective of self reliance.
also, Charles' spelling bee confirms this....

By: magnetbox

magnetbox — Fri, 23 May 2003 18:23:49 -0800

GM Chrysler, how strange is that? One day you do web design with a guy, the next day you find out he's the guy at the Pussy Ranch. Small world.

And crap, sorry Chuck, I totally meant to introduce myself at the iMA conference a couple weeks ago, but forgot and then couldn't find you.

And not to get back on topic, but can you (Matt) legally say who any of these people/companies are? And what are the laws that could make you liable for being a conduit for the libellous material? Is it like driving the getaway car?

And to get back off topic: Kottke Largo.

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 24 May 2003 09:54:37 -0800

. Kind of like in the Peanuts cartoons, the parent's talk is all garbled to make a point

speaking of which, I've always wondered: if MeFi users were Peanuts character, who would be who?

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Sat, 24 May 2003 11:16:36 -0800

Linus AND Marcy for moi.

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Sat, 24 May 2003 12:48:39 -0800

the third woodstock

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 24 May 2003 16:02:14 -0800

mathowie being, of course, charles schulz

By: timeistight

timeistight — Sat, 24 May 2003 16:54:31 -0800

Hmm… I was picturing him as Charlie Brown.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sat, 24 May 2003 19:37:39 -0800

I would be PigPen. Although instead of a cloud of dust, I would be encircled in a fog of booze vapor. and a cloud of dust. or something.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Sun, 25 May 2003 08:55:18 -0800

Miguel = Snoopy = Miguel.

There can be no other.

By: dg

dg — Sun, 25 May 2003 18:28:59 -0800

Aww, I wanted to be ~~Linux~~Linus. No fair taking two characters.

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Sun, 25 May 2003 21:51:57 -0800

there are 1429.25 slots for all 12 Peanuts characters on MeTa.