Site Archive

Memory and the end of reality
Written by David Tames on August 11, 2010
Filed Under Art, Critical Theory, Front Page, New Media, Writing
6 Comments  

The transformation from media as a form of cultural production to media as entertainment has lead us into a crisis as we enter the fifth phase of history. Marshall McLuhan (1962, 2005) divided history in four phases: 1. culture of oral communication, 2. manuscript culture, 3. the Gutenberg...  Continue Reading...

Fragments from The Conversation 2010 (March 27, New York)
Written by David Tames on March 28, 2010
Filed Under Business, Copyright, Distribution, Events & Screenings, Front Page, New Media, Web
2 Comments  

On Saturday I attended the “The Conversation” at Columbia University, a conference focused on “Social Media, Distribution, and the Future of Film.” Related material can be found by searching on the #convonyc hash tag. Here are my notes, not everything here is a faithful...  Continue Reading...

A one-case lighting kit ready for travel
Written by David Tames on January 8, 2010
Filed Under Documentary, Filmmaking, Front Page, General, Lighting, Tools
11 Comments  

I’m often asked by students, “what’s a good light kit for starting out” and I find it a very hard question to answer, because it really depends on what you want to do. There really is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all lighting kit. I find that most of the commercially...  Continue Reading...

Notables of the Noughties: 35 documentary films, 2000-2009
Written by David Tames on January 4, 2010
Filed Under Documentary, Films, Front Page
19 Comments  

It’s a special time that comes around every ten years in which we take a moment to reflect back on the past decade and make our “favorite” and “best-of” lists. It was a good decade for documentary films, here’s my own idiosyncratic list of thirty five notable...  Continue Reading...

Sixty-seven excellent documentaries available through Netflix
Written by David Tames on August 28, 2009
Filed Under Documentary, Films, Front Page
7 Comments  

Students and friends often ask me for suggestions on what documentaries I recommend watching, and they are often frustrated that many of my suggestions are not easily obtainable. Many classic documentaries are hard to find: they are only available for purchase at high prices or through libraries,...  Continue Reading...