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The Center for Social Media undertakes
research, programs events, hosts artists and shares resources on
media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. Here are
our current projects in-progress:
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
Future of Public Media
With a grant from the Ford Foundation, the Center for Social Media at American
University has created the Future of Public Media project (formerly Public Media ThinkTank) with the
aim of exploring the future of public media in a digital era. The project conducts and publishes research on new directions in
public media, convenes leaders throughout the field, and showcases
innovative and productive work in public media. Read
AU's press release.
Untold Stories: Fair Use & Free Speech
Building on the Untold Stories research which found an increasingly stringent copyright clearance culture in documentary filmmaking, the Center and the Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest in November 2005 released a new tool for documentary filmmakers. The Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use brought together filmmakers through their professional organizations, IDA, AIVF, IFP NY, WIFV (DC Chapter) and NAMAC, to articulate common situations where using copyrighted material is deemed fair usage. Future work in this area includes mobilizing makers to use the Statement and creating curriculum materials for film and legal students. Jointly funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
PRODUCTION
Several production projects have been made available with more on the way. Check out the Fair Use & Free Speech pages for examples of the fair uses in the Statement of Best Practices. You can also listen to the podcast of the press release or view clips, click here.
Untold Stories, the report that preceded the Statement, produced a trigger video to help explain some of the reports' findings. 2000 copies of the video were freely distributed to filmmakers, educators and other media professionals with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and additional assistance of Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media. You can still view Stories Untold by SOC faculty member Brigid Maher online here.
At the Making Your Documentary Matter workshop on January 30, participants will receive a DVD of last year's workshop, adding to the wealth of information on outreach and audience engagement collected over the 2 year project. Check back for more information on availability of that DVD.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Look out for the announcement
of the Environmental Film Series, Visiting Filmmakers & the new Public Media Roundtable Speaker Series! Go to
Events>>
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