Gone are the days where Hollywood alone created entertainment, made the news, and shaped the opinions of the vast majority of Americans and the world. From the propaganda films of World War II to today’s political TV ads, Hollywood is an institution that has shaped views and created opinions like no other entity in history. High bandwidth internet, new media, and handheld devices are changing this dominance at breakneck speed. While blockbuster movies and box office hits are still produced in L.A. the advent of new media, facilitated by high speed internet connections in most homes, has made it possible to let everyone with the interest and the talent create quality film that has an impact. We now have successful ventures that range from raw amateurs with a handheld camera to the experienced film student using professional equipment. New media formats such as the web series are giving established media a run for their money – and the internet has lowered the barriers to entry into profitable film making ventures. Web based productions of short and full length features now constitute the fastest growing market segment within the industry.
One successful film maker, Washington D.C.’s Otessa Ghadar is a pioneer of the new media generation and has now embarked on an ambitious project that aims to expand the public’s knowledge of how to create professional, polished new media projects. With her new book “The Wild West of Film” Ghadar created a comprehensive guide book for this vibrant new art form that starts from the ground up. Taking the reader through the process from the script to the screen and to market, it focuses on the specifics of the “Small Screen”, including short form script-writing, short form story structure, cinematography for the web, budgets, breakdowns, self-publishing, self-distribution, best practices of social media, film festival lists & strategies, post-production for online viewing, down to the details of codec analyses. This book is an excellent, detailed how-to for the novice and the established film maker and provides an exhaustive and detailed picture of the most exciting and least understood art form.
Ghadar is the founder and president of 20/20 Productions, a new media company based in Washington, D.C., has been breaking ground in new media since 2007. She is widely praised for her pioneer work in the new web series format and completed her Graduate Film studies at Columbia University’s Film School in New York. “Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden” (OJBG) her signature series started as her Master in Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis and is now one of the oldest and longest running web series. OJBG is viewed by an audience in over 146 countries around the world.
The Wild West of Film will be widely available both in print and in step with its function as a messenger for new media, as an eBook download. Inquiries and orders for the textbook can be placed by emailing reply@twentytwentyproductions.com
