Looking Back At The “Future” of 2009
First and foremost I’d like to thank every reader of Future iNCITE! from around the world- this has been a banner year in terms of visitor/readership and has generated a lot of interest for this fledgling webzine. I salute you all and hope that I can maintain your attention for yet another year or two with the stories I have planned for 2010.
2009 was a year of testing the range of topics, designs, and layouts for the webzine. When I first began this website almost eight years ago, it’s sole purpose was to generate interest in high concept independent video film makers. Time and necessity has changed that quite a bit.
Finding the content
This year I went where the story took me- from Audio Visual Automobile installations to high-speed video cameras. From web streaming cell phones to 3D autostereoscopics and from gaming conventions to horror filmmakers.
There were a lot of good stories and a lot that never made it print. Some possible interview subjects actually turned down the opportunity to be interviewed much to my surprise and some never returned my calls no matter how much I attempted to get their ear. It certainly was a wake up call; why anyone would turn down free publicity in this struggling economy escapes me but it made me realize that many companies have their own agenda.
Techno Bias
The audio recordings of interviews seemed to have done very well and I will continue to make use of that wherever possible. In many circumstances however, written text remains the most adaptable for article presentation, since now more interviews are beyond the state lines.
The move to video interviews was in large part due to a suggestion from the team over at TresMediaWare/Mission Critical Studios and I totally thank them for it. By the time I had released the second video, visitor/readership had skyrocketed to 60 times what it had been last year. Okay, I think I got the message that you like videos…
Adapting to the circumstances
The webzine coffers went dry in June and had to survive on some very helpful donations (I am deeply indebted to my Father who has and continues to invest heavily in my dream). Many of you noticed that my article output was slowing down and rightly expressed concern- the layout of the webzine and my economic situation dictated that I switch over from a magazine type format to a blog. Yes, I had been fighting that concept for a long time- ever since I began the webzine back in 2002 I wanted the site to look more like a magazine layout but with the increasing difficulty in securing interviews and money to continue I had to switch and the results I think are all for the best.
Access To The Fun Stuff
If you’ve ever had press access to an event you know what I’m talking about- there’s nothing like walking past everyone else on line and getting access to tech, people and events that most people aren’t even aware of. As the webzine continues to gain readers, the website gains influence. One of the most incredible insights into how well the webzine is received is when I emailed and received permission the same day of an event (D1 Grand Prix) when another member of the press had taken over a month and a half to gain access. That’s a serious high.
Wordpress Worries
The blog meltdown I experienced mid-year was a bitter disappointment after 92 interesting postings that many of you readers had linked to. I was later to learn that I was not alone in losing my posts- whether directly related or not I read in the UK magazine Web Designer that the wordpress servers had come under attack from some organized hacker group and many subscribers lost more than a year of work. It brings to mind how ephemeral all this web based content is- if you don’t print it out as an archive you have no record of your work.
Problems and disappointments
My attempt at RSS was an embarrassing fiasco. I was so exciting when I hand coded RSS into the html of the webzine layout, received a valid rss syndication and then told the world on my blog only to discover later that it would not work with the layout I hand in GoLive. Shame on me.
I was surprised that no one took part in the short contest I ran for a free 4GB compact flash card or answered the question for the free Vision Research baseball cap (One person did attempt to email me but it wasn’t from a valid domain). Companies provide me with these products and I’d like to pass it on to you- hey it’s free. What’s there not to like about it?
When my obsolete Pentium 4 video work horse crashed unexpectedly right before a major project, I was forced to halt all work on the webzine and build another machine and software to take over the jobs I had lined up. Unfortunately this delayed several video interviews I had shot earlier in the year and once again slowed down the speed at which I could post articles. As you’ve all read on my blog, the Pentium is up and running perfectly again but the i7 Core 2 that was meant to replace it is still giving me problems. Hopefully I’ll be able to resolve these technical issues in time…
I always knew I packed too much equipment for my video shoots but the latest story (124 Elevating Vision) really brought it home. Sometimes too much is a bad thing. I really need to consolidate my gear into smaller and fewer boxes so that they can fit on one hand truck. That JVC camera needs a LOT of accessories to make things look presentable.
Future Plans
While I can’t tell you everything I have planned for 2010 (and it would be arrogant of me to do so) you can rest assured that I will continue to strive for original and interesting stories. In the almost eight years I have authored this website thankfully I have not had a reason to repeat myself. There are millions of stories out there, thousands of new ideas and tools that we rarely hear about outside of small circles. Dreams that need voices and faces behind the magic that are rarely seen.
Let Future iNCITE! continue to be your window into that world.
Expect to be surprised.
Expect to be challenged.
Expect to be incited.
Yours truly,
Sundiata Cowels, CTS
