TeleVISIONS (Autumn 1977)

STEVEN SCHOENBAUM EE eSSSFSeSeSSsSsFsMmsmsmsms Self-distribution of your film, from A to Z, is the subject of an excellently organized and written 76-page handbook called Doing it Yourself. Written by Julia Reichert, independent filmmaker (Growing Up Female, Union Maids, etc.) and cofounder of the New Day Film Cooperative, the handbook has been publfshed by the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (99 Prince St, NYC 10012). Even though most of the details apply specifically to film, the book is extremely useful for videomakers who want to gain wider exposure. Argentine: The Buenos Aires Art and Communication Center (CAYC) began in 1968 with an exhibition called “Art and Cybernetics”, and has performed a variety of functions in the art world, bringing artists and work from throughout the world to Argentina, helping establish a network of exhibits in Latin America, and promoting Argentine artists elsewhere. A booklet describing their work, as well as an interesting paper called “Rhetoric of Art and Technology in Latin America” by Jorge Glusberg (delivered at the International Institute of Communications meeting in Sept.) are available from CAYC, Elpidio Gonzalez 4070, 1407 Buenos Aires, Argentina. CAYC has been very active in video-art, both regionally and internationally. The US Civil Rights Commission says TV’s portrayal of women, and the TV industry’s EEO record stinks. A 181-page report, “Window Dressing on the Set: Women and Minorities in Television,” blames the networks for continuing the stereotypes. Also in for attack is the FCC, for allowing both the programs, and the practices, that foster discrimination. The study includes statistics on how often white males appear on the screen —65.3% of major and minor characters, 85% of all newscasters—and what kind of employment records the stations have. The report also makes recommendations for correcting the gross discrimination it now sees so visible. For the report, write the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in Washington, D.C. State of the Arts is a newsletter available free that deals with arts related funding and legislation in California. It’s available from: Cultural News Service, 452 | Street, Sacramento, Ca. 95814. International info: The International Institute of Communications, formerly the International Broadcast Institute, is a private international organization that sponsors meetings and publications for the new class of media academics and professionals. Its international conference was held for the first time in the U.S. in early September with co-sponsorship by PBS, CPB and NPR. Proceedings will eventually be published in book form. In the meantime, excerpts and summaries will be presented in the IIC’s excellent bimonthly /ntermedia (which is useful to keep track of research reports and trends, conferences and multi-national meetings). For the cost of xeroxing, IIC will also send you copies of the papers delivered in Washington, and a list of what’s available. (Write IIC, Tavisock House East, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LG, Great Britain). Afterimage is publication of the Visual Studies Workshop that attempts to deal with all aspects of picture-making. Published ten times a year, Sept. through June. Includes film, photography, video and related media. $12 per year in the U.S., $14 elsewhere. 4 Elton Street. Rochester, New York 14607. New media law journal: COMM/ENT is the name of a new law journal exclusively devoted to communications and entertainment law. Under the direction of Roscoe L. Barrow and Neil Boorstyn, faculty of the Hastings College of Law at the University of California, COMM/ENT has a student editorial staff. The journal will feature articles and a digest summarizing recent cases and other law journal articles in the field. Write: 198 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. Art Communication Edition. #7 Behavior is published by the Centre for Experimental Art and Communication of Toronto. #7 has articles pertinent to the realization of its Behavior School as a series of performances and workshops on/of behaviour as a central issue with the following operators: Arnulf Rainer, Peter Dunn, Loraine Leeson, Lukasz Pyrq, Ron Gillespie and others. $7 a year for 8 issues. Single copies 50* Art Communication Edition, Supervision Publications, 15 Duncan St. Toronto, Canada M5H 3H1. India’s Satellite: “The Social Use of India’s Television Satellite: A Technology Assessment of the INSAT Proposal” is detailed, scientific and very hard—hitting appraisal of the Indian satellite system, which would argue against the continuation of such programs (nonetheless, India has just decided to go ahead with its own domestic satellite). This report is unique because it combines investigative reporting with the methodology and tools of a trained economist. From: Center for Economic Research, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Scheuchzerstrasse 68, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland. $10 U.S. NABET: The principal broadcast union offers “Penalties on Documentary Productions”, a summary of work rules by Local 15 in NY (165 W. 46th, NYC 10036, Suite 900. 212-869-0800). Arts study: “A Bulletin on Federal Economic Programs and the Arts” by Carl Stover is available free from: Deidre Frontczak, National Endowment for the Arts, Mail stop 650, Washington, D.C. 20506. The study was done as part of the cultural resources development project. The Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press has published its first book titled: Women in Media: A Documentary Sourcebook. The book is a series of documents from 1790 to the present, each with a short introduction giving its historical context. Included are: Mary Catherine Goddard—“Petition to Senate”, Ruth Crane—“Early Days in Broadcasting” and Anne Royall—‘“Political Journalism.” There have been a couple of rather slick, expensive books about women in television (Barbara Walters, etc.) which have pretty much ignored the history of women in media and women in media of the future. This book is an important resource for schools and libraries and women. It is also very cheap. Send $5.95 to Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press, 3306 Ross Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. (Special rates when more than one copy is ordered) Request information on the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press, from the same address. They are involved in a number of projects including coverage of International Women’s Year national conference in Houston, media distribution by women, and a study currently of foundation grants to women’s media. Young Viewers: A new publication aimed at professionals in the field of children’s media is soliciting manuscripts that offer critical evaluation of films, tapes and television programs designed for children under 14. In addition to childmade media, Young Viewers will review books or papers on media education and production. For style sheet or sub information write Maureen Gaffney, 43 W. 61 St, NY, NY 10023. Young Viewers is a project of the Media Center for Children. Sightlines: The winter 77-78 issue of Sightlines will focus on video use in schools and libraries. Educational Film Library Association, 43 W 41st NYC, 10023. Co-evolution Quarterly, the successor to Whole Earth Catalog, will be publishing a special issue on communication this winter. Image Quality: For doubters, the technical minds at RCA have published comprehensive comparison between image quality of video signals and 35mm film images. The video holds up by all standards. Write for Image Quality: A Comparison of Photographic and Television Systems, by Otto H. Schade, Sr., RCA Labs, Princeton, N.J. 08540. SY CALENDAR oS ee eS eee Sept. 2-Oct. 2: Selections from the Southland Video Anthology. An exhibition organized by David Ross for the Long Beach Museum of Art. At Everson Museum, Syracuse, N.Y. Sept. 16-Oct. 16: Jamie Davidovich video, using the entire museum as a field and relating its scale to the television screen. Everson Museum. Syracuse, N.Y. Sept. 21-Oct. 30: Exhibit of videotapes by Max Almy, including ‘‘Form and Concept”, a multiple monitor piece. San Francisco Museum of Art. Oct. 5-8: International Film Producers of America annual meeting and “Cindy” awards. Oct. 7-9: Artists TV Lab Invitational Video Exposition ‘77, Rinebeck, N.Y. Including Bruce Kurtz, WGBH's Betsy Connors, Alan & Susan Raymond, works by John Orentlicher, Gary Hill, Ernest Gusella, and West Coast Artists. Oct. 10: Ed Emshwiller's “Family” (1975) at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Oct. 9-14: NAVA Audio-Visual Institute for Effective Communications. Indiana University. Bloomington, Indiana. Oct. 11-13: Video Expo, Madison Square Garden, NYC. Workshops, Seminars, Trade Show. Sponsor: Knowledge Industry Publications. Oct. 19: First regional meeting by WNET Television Lab to explain the new Ford/NEA Independent Documentary Fund, co-sponsored by Foundation for Ind. Video and Filmmakers and NY Film Council. Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 pm., NYC. Oct. 20-21: Second meeting of Carnegie Commission on the Future of Public Broadcasting, in Washington, D.C. Oct. 20-21: Copyright and Educational Telecommunications conference, Reno. Sponsored by Information Futures, 2217 College Station, Pullman, Washington, 99163. Oct. 28-29: NAVA Materials Council Software Sales Conference. Villa Hotel, San Mateo, California. Oct. 26-27: Home Video Systems Seminar, NYC. Marketing of new video-tape and disc products by International Tape Association, 10 W. 66 St., 212-787-0910. Oct. 28-Nov. 6: Bart Robbett's first New York exhibition. Installation pieces “Double Narrative”, performances “Word Burn” and other works which utilize the mediums of film, video and light. Whitney Museum. Nov. 1: Deadline for submitting papers to Conference on Visual Anthropology, to be held March 1978. Contact: Jay Ruby, COVA, Dept. of Anthropology, Temple University, Phila., Pa. 19122. Nov. 1: Deadline for new production grants (up to $50,000), National Endowment for the Arts, Media Arts Division. Nov. 2: World Future Society conference on Communications and Society: Policies for the Plannable Future. At the Ford Foundation, NYC. WFS, 4916 St. Elmo Ave., DC 20014 Nov. 15-20: Ant Farm, “Media Burn; “About Media”, Anthony Ramos; “The Nixon Tapes", Elon Soltes. Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC. Nov. 17: Chicago Film Festival, including industrial commercial film/video awards. Nov. 16-19: International Videodisc/Home Video Programming Conference, Loeb Conference Facility, NY University. (Write: P.O. Box 102, Cooper Station, NY, NY 10003. 212-982-5244.) Nov. 18-20: West Coast Women’s Video Festival. Sponsored by the Women's Communications Coalition. This festival will show video by West Coast women in specially designed environments at the San Francisco State University, Studio One, Creative Arts Building. Nov. 29-Dec. 1: Conference on CTS satellite. Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Dept. of Communications, NASA. National Library, Ottawa. 613-992-3468. Dec. 7-9: National Conference on Public Policy and the Arts. Walters Art Gallery, 1600 N. Charles, Baltimore, MD. 21201. For pre-registration, contact Edward P. McCracken at the museum. Dec. 15: “100th Anniversary of Recorded Sound" on NBC-TV. Dec. 20-24: Martha Rosler. “Vital Statistics of a Citizen, Simply Obtained”, (1977); “Semiotics of the Kitchen” (1975). “The East is Red, The West is Bending", (1977), “From the PTA, The High School, and the City of Del Mar", (1977); “Losing: A Conversation with the Parents” (1977), 94 minutes. Whitney Museum. NYC. Jan. 1: Deadline for proposals in NEA’s Media ArtsGeneral Program category, which includes documentary and narrative artist individual grants.