The sun shone brightly on the digital glitterati at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel poolside gatherings each evening May 4 -7.
Alexia Tsotsis with Jeffrey Henderson
Micki Krimmel with Sarah Szalavitz
Tameka Kee with Kurt Heim
Held both Spring and Fall (coming Oct 19 – 22) each year in Los Angeles, Digital Hollywood provides a forum to discuss what’s happening in the digital/new media space with industry colleagues. As Jeff Nolan from Silicon Valley noted, and I have previously written, Los Angeles is becoming more and more of nexus for the intersection of entertainment and tech, and we are well represented in this international gathering.
Some of the most interesting convention discussions happen in the “hallways,” and at the Loew’s there are many pretty spots for encounters. It was in one of those corners that I had the opportunity to meet the dynamic Hillery Nye in from Seattle for DH.
Hillery Nye with Marjorie Daleo
Joyce Schwarz, Panel Moderator, with Tom Bunzel
Hulu Buzz
Recent news of Disney bringing their content to LA based Hulu created some DH buzz. Joel Ordesky and Tameka Kee reported.
What Struck You in the Conversation?
I had a chance to follow up with Joel Ordesky at his June 16 Exectec meeting about Digital Hollywood. He brought up the excellent point that companies that create digital content for the web were going to great lengths to distinguish themselves from “user generated content” when in reality the line between the two is quite gray.
Music and On-Line Video Rights
Alexia Tsotsis, David Miller and Tameka Kee contributed to the discussion surrounding this continuing area of concern for DH attendees. Marty Lafferty included a panel video with his article on P2P.
Film Making and the Art of the Cause
Micki Krimmel was featured in this video panel moderated by Brian Sirgutz, with Marc Morgenstern, Melissa Fitzgerald, Juan Devis, and Charles Annenberg Weingarten. Video thanks to Thomas Rigler
HBOLab and other Cross Platform Stories
Tameka Kee talks with HBOLab Danila Koverman who is featured along with David Gale, Alexis Rapo and John Gilles in the following panel moderated by Suzanne Stefanac.
Marketing and Distribution
“How to Grow your own Audience: Alternative Methods of Distribution and Marketing for Documentary Films” featured panelists Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Rick Allen, Peter Yared, Slava Rubin discuss “How to Grow your own Audience: Alternative Methods of Distribution and Marketing for Documentary Films” with moderator, Adam Chapnick
Jennifer Netherby wrote about marketing on-line video.
Celebrity and Mobile
Reported on by Debra Kaufman.
My only complaint about this conference is that Loews doesn’t provide free wifi and one of the speakers told me the paid wifi didn’t work for her. I think at least reliable access to paid wifi in common areas and consciousness for providing outlets to recharge have become standard necessities for conferences. I’d hate to trade out the beauty of the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel so I hope that the venue can make this adjustment.
What struck You in the conversation at Digital Hollywood?
About Linda Sherman
What strikes me is how friendly, relaxed and approachable everyone looks. It’s like you were hanging out with old friends instead of celebrities. It must have been a great night for you!
[rq=45349,0,blog][/rq]Foot Talk Friday
I also love the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, it’s so beautiful there. What strikes me is that it wouldn’t take that much to adjust their service to conferences, so that you can have an even more wonderful experience there.
It’s amazing how social media has pretty much taken over the whole tech scene, merging entertainment and computers. Congrats on capturing the flavor as you get around the show and around town.
Digital Hollywood was like Groundhog’s day all over again. A decade later and the digital/entertainment divide still exists — with few signs of meaningful convergence. Yet there is much the Mathletes of Seattle can learn from the Beautiful People of Southern Cali — and vice versa. The unspoken truth, which remained unspoken at Digital Hollywood, is this: Techies from the North and Talkers from the South are in the same business, with the same objectives and the same fears. Both – ultimately – sell a creative work. Both just want to make a modest profit, maybe a coupla million dollars or so (or more). Both want to protect that modest margin from the dastardly shenanigans of college pirates and tweener hackers — without looking greedy. And both share an unwillingness to find common ground, to see their business as something other than unique, revolutionary or “bleeding edge.” The result is a re-run of a tired tragedy — a tragic loss of learning, from both sides of the digital divide.