An invite to the English speakers in my network

Karaj geamikoj!

(Bv. pardoni min por krokodili ĉifoje.)

Up until this time, I had not bothered to do a blog post that wasn't in Esperanto - indeed, my reason for signing up for Ipernity (and even becoming a Pro member) was to develop some serious ties with the global Esperantist community (and with la internacia lingvo in use in over 100 countries, kiel ne? Why not?).

This time, however, I did want to reach out to those in my Ipernity network who are not yet ready (or wanting) to learn Esperanto but who nevertheless might be interested in my activities as a media producer. Last year, I launched my first polished short movie for the Esperanto world under the Konstelacio name and mark. In the months and years to come, I want to build on that.

I do have another short that I'd like to get made, even though it is held up at the moment for reasons beyond my control. I also have an idea for a third short, but it may have to wait until I can both upgrade my Macintosh equipment and have the means to do my own video streaming without requiring YouTube or its rivals. (This is in part because of reasons involving Copyright and Fair Use - Fortyone will understand this one - and because some of the material I want to bring online may be too bold for YouTube to handle.)

In the meantime, I am developing the closest thing I can have to a "feature"-length movie, and I can tell you this much: it's going to be a response to the cumulative impact of media advertising and mass-marketing, mass pop culture in the United States, sugar and products made with it, and supermarket politics (and how they affect those of us who are learning-disabled).

It will also be a "mash-up" (for which I am trying to find an appropriate phrase in Esperanto), which may need to push the limits of "fair use" (as you can discover in the movie works of Damon Packard and Craig Baldwin). It'll mean quite a bit of media plundering - something you end up doing when you have to respond to the media itself.

Will there be a plot? you ask. Probably a very loose one involving one learning-disabled man who works as a cashier in a supermarket in the United States. He is already under profound stress, and it's about to get worse when he realizes that he could get sacked by supermarket management as a move to placate difficult customers and eliminate the disabled from the workforce.

So he wants to leave before the worse happens, and on his own terms. And as he looks for another source of income, he reflects on everything he's noticed around him that's brought him to his fragile state: the deregulation of commercial radio and TV, a pop culture that seems incredibly bankrupt, and of course, the recent collapse of national economies, his own included.

Only black humour and mashups tend to keep him on an even emotional keel. (Fortyone is very good at this. I know you are, Steve.)

While actual production will be a while off (two years at least?), I do want to throw out this idea to my network, in the event that anyone wants to help me shape the movie, offer digitized media clips (audio and video), or contribute their own homemade "news" videos shot in their own home country.

If you feel you can help me make this video happen, please send me a message on Ipernity, and I will get back to you. Maybe if enough people respond, I will create a group on Ipernity so we can try out whatever ideas we might have between us.

I will try to get an Esperanto language version of this note posted later this week, so that everyone is informed about my future video plans.

Elkoran dankon - many thanks for reading this and for whatever help you can give.

Elkore,

Philip David
2009.09.06-07