THE WAY WE GET BY wins Movies for Grownups Award

THE WAY WE GET BY was named Best Documentary in AARP Magazine’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, which recognize outstanding productions for the 50-plus audience. AARP Magazine (“world’s largest circulation magazine”) announced the 2010 winners last week, and features them in its March/April 2010 issue.

Of THE WAY WE GET BY, the editorial staff says, “To witness the face of personal problems is to know that patriotism doesn’t always wear a uniform.”

THE WAY WE GET BY is an independent film produced in association with WGBH through the Independent Television Service LINCS (Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations) initiative, directed by Aron Gaudet and produced by Gita Pullapilly, both alums of our Filmmakers-in-Residence program.

For more info, visit thewaywegetbymovie.com/.

The Masterpiece Video Diary Open Call

Calling youth media makers: we’ve partnered up with MASTERPIECE, and have launched The MASTERPIECE Video Diary Open Call.

Anne Frank was an amazing storyteller. Through her words, she has engaged and inspired youth to document their thoughts on self-expression, tolerance, and being. Today, The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most widely read pieces of non-fiction in the world.

We’re challenging you to do the same. Tell us about your life. How have you overcome being bullied or disrespected for the way you look, the way you think, or for what you believe? How did you handle it? Send us a compelling message in a 3 min. video diary entry about how you, or someone you know has made a difference.

Portions of diaries in by March 8th may be selected for broadcast on Masterpiece Classic’s airing of The Diary of Anne Frank on April 11th, 2010. Official deadline after the broadcast is May 31st.

Visit The WGBH Lab at: http://www.thewgbhlab.org/open-call/masterpiece/masterpiece-video-diary for more information.

Filmmakers in Residence Alum head off to Sundance this week

We’d like to give a quick shout out to our Filmmakers in Residence Alum: Robin Hessman (My Perestroika),  and Chico Colvard  (Family Affair). Both will be screening films at The Sundance Film Festival. If you’re in  Utah, make sure you stop by and say “hello”!

Learn More About Filmmakers in Residence >>

Checking in with the iPod Nano Winners

We checked in with our iPod winners from the NOVA Open Call: Life Stories, to see how they are enjoying their prizes.

Joanie Tobin submitted It’s All About Apples: The story of an orchard owner that deals with much more than one apple a day. Coleman’s age and health, along with the increasing cost of production, make him think about finally slowing down – one of these days.
Watch this Life Story >>

Chelsea Spear submitted Lock and Key: asking the question – Why keep a journal? Three women — poet/bookmaker Sarah Westbrook Binns, playwright/therapist Kelly Dumar, and “Burlesque Poetess” Jojo Lazar — talk about their diurnal diary habits.
Watch this Life Story >>

Linda Flanders submitted NOVA: Becoming A True Human Being: The study of International Feldenkrais trainer Russell Delman, explaining how the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais is the fastest way to alter compulsive patterns of behavior: Actions, emotions and thinking.
Watch this Life Story >>

Let’s give a round of applause to all three winners – we are so grateful for their excellent Life Story submissions.

Reminder: This Open Call isn’t over. We’re still selecting 4 submissions for broadcast. Please continue to vote and leave comments for your favorites – you could help them secure licensing for broadcast.

You can watch them at: http://thewgbhlab.org/nova-recently-added.

The WGBH Lab Launches The Antiques Roadshow Open Call

Hey WGBH Lab Friends,

Happy New Year! As you start to put all the holiday decorations away, we want you to start taking a closer look at those old items sitting around.

We all have them, sitting in the attic or closet, passed down by a cousin’s cousin, estranged fathers, or a mothers, sister’s brother.

We hold on to them because they are a part of our family and because, we hope to someday pass them along to younger generations – even if all they become is trendy décor, or dust collectors. And we all hope that their history will someday tell a story.

We’re ready to hear it.

Does it make you laugh? Cry? Who gave you the piece, and what did they tell you about it? Whatever the details, The WGBH Lab, in partnership with PBS’s own Antiques Roadshow, wants to see your item and hear its story. Showcase your piece in an original home movie or creative short film, no longer than 2 minutes. Be unique, and fun with your antique and its story. We want your video to dazzle our audience, and us as well.

Your reward? – How about a pair of tickets to a live taping of Antiques Roadshow this summer?

From now, until the end of May, we will be awarding 3 video submissions with a pair of VIP tickets to attend a live taping of an Antiques Roadshow appraisal event.

Additionally, your video could be chosen by Antiques Roadshow for national broadcast at a later date, to be featured on their website, or chosen as a stand alone video short to be aired on PBS stations nationwide!

Take a moment to visit us at: The Antiques Roadshow Open Call, review our Eligibility and Guidelines for submission deadlines, and our Official Rules to make sure your video qualifies.

Then, dig out your treasure and get working on your video!

Good luck! We look forward to learning about your antiques,

The WGBH Lab

WGBH Lab Update: NOVA’s “What Darwin Never Knew”, Deadline for submissions, and new Life Stories

Hey WGBH Lab Friends,

Did you watch NOVA’s “What Darwin Never Knew”, last night? Did it inspire you? We sure hope so, because, today is the last day for you to submit your Life Stories for our NOVA Open Call. Get your submission in today at lab.wgbh.org, and your video short may be broadcast in conjunction with future NOVA programming on Life and Evolution.

Not submitting a Life Story? That’s okay – you can still visit the site and leave comments for your favorite submissions. Review Life Stories, and let us know which ones were your favorites.

Here are some new submissions:

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I Am Evolution – If evolution, as a totality, became self-aware, and could express itself, this is what it might say.
http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/i-am-evolution

The Colors of Veil – Explore the journey of a former US solider who converted to Islam, and found a new purpose for her life.
http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/colors-veil

Impromptu Life – Containing an introduction of self and project, this animation is based off of life ideas and concepts.
http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/impromptu-life

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View more at: http://thewgbhlab.org/nova-recently-added.

Have a great day,
The WGBH Lab

The WGBH Lab Submission Updates, iPod Winners, and a Life Story that Chris loves.

Hey WGBH Lab Friends,

Still thinking about submitting a Life Story to The Lab?  We hope so, and it’s not too late! We’re accepting submissions until December 31st, 2009.  Remember, your work may be broadcast in conjunction with NOVA programming on life and evolution.

Visit The WGBH LAB for details: http://lab.wgbh.org

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The winners of our iPod Nano contest have been announced.  We’d like to invite you to watch their Life Stories, and leave your comments:

NOVA: Becoming a True Human Being, by: Linda Flanders
International Feldenkrais trainer Russell Delman explains how the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais is the fastest way to alter compulsive patterns of behavior.

http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/nova-becoming-true-human-being

It’s All About Apples, by: Joanie Tobin
Coleman’s age and health, along with the increasing cost of production, make him think about finally slowing down – one of these days.

http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/its-all-about-apples

Lock and Key, by: Chelsea Spear
Why keep a journal? Three women talk about their diurnal diary habits.

http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/lock-and-key-0

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Don’t forget to visit the site, watch Life Stories, submit your own, and leave your comments.  Chris Hastings loves this one:

Steven’s Log, by: Steven Hughes and Diane Adams
Steven shares his views on evolution as well as what he believes may be happening in the future.

http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/stevens-log

Have you left your comments, and submitted your Life Stories? If not, today is YOUR day.

Hey WGBH Lab friends,

Have you commented on a Life Stories video submission yet?  If not, today’s the day to do so.  The 1st round of comments to be eligible to win an iPod Nano, are due by the end of the day.

So take a few minutes, watch some videos, and leave some comments for your favorites!

Today is also the FINAL day for the 2nd round of video submissions to be in for the next iPod Nano contest.  Comments for the 2nd round of submissions must be in by EOD on Monday, the 30th.

Get your video up today, and spread the word to get the comments rolling.

Review of the rules and eligibility guidelines: http://thewgbhlab.org/ipod-giveaway

Best of luck!
The WGBH Lab

Look Back Black-Carbon Update

This is Aravind.M (Coordinator/Co-Director) from the Indian HEATING UP team, finishing up the project: LOOK BACK, BLACK-CARBON. The Indian Peninsula, home to the great Himalayas, is an area highly threatened by global warming. Our team learned that the Chullas, or the traditional stoves, were hazardous to our health, yet there were no effective measures being taken to tackle the issue, nor was research being conducted on the issue of Black Carbon pollution in India. We took time to understand the big-picture, and spot the right support.

In early meetings, we understood the script had to focus on the present condition, and high-time need, which are the avoidable respiratory ailments with cooking due to acute lower respiratory infections (or ALRI). During our quest, we had the opportunity to meet environmentalists like Dr.Vandhana Siva: Director of The Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy, during a conference at Loyola College, Chennai, and were given advice on the Black Carbon and global warming issue. After our meeting, we developed our script.

We spent a lot of time recording the voice-over (which involved a lot of revisions), experimented directly in camera mic, a friend’s studio, and finally in a professional studio. Our many try-outs were in vain due to a lengthy script (around 7 minutes), nearly double the expected time.

Once the voice over was finalized, we had no trouble shooting the scenes. We were in Delhi for the shooting of the flooded Yamuna River, and also captured some excellent shots of the slum sequences, which are areas still using the traditional stoves. We wanted to show the recent calamities of the climate change, especially that of the Yamuna River flood, which put Bihar and other North Eastern States into trouble, and contributed to the vanishing/submerging beautiful Sunderband Bio Diversity. Our idea was to get the visuals from television, but later learned that it wasn’t easy. In wondering how to show these disasters, visually, Vivek suggested we capture the videos directly from the site to the computer. I (Aravind) captured the pictures of the fishermen at Nagapatinam, TamilNadu. For the glacier shots, our dear friend Ryan (from Delhi), came forward to go to Leh and bring us some wonderful images.

We started posting the visuals in sync with the voice overs. Our designer brought us three interesting 2-D Graphics: the graphical chart of different green house gases, the Earth and Black-Carbon effects, and the beautiful wipe Green at the Dark Earth, which may be noted in the last frame of the video. We were very happy that our collage worked out. We believe our video highlights sustainable solutions, and support from the Government and NGOs working on clean fuels.

Additionally, as per Article 6 of UNFCCC, which calls for Education and Outreach, we organized an event called CLIMATE COLLAGE, at Chennai. Scholars from various fields such as: Bio Diversity, Coastal and Marine Eco-system conservation, Solar and LED lights, E-waste management, Air Pollution, and Rain Water Harvesting, spoke freely about the issues at hand.

We look forward to comments from other HEATING UP teams on our video and also would like to work together for this high-time noble cause.

Love to The WGBH Lab and Cheers to all.

Aravind M

The WGBH Lab is “Sweetening The Pot”

So, you’ve submitted a Life Story. Or, maybe you’re going to submit, but aren’t sure when. What now?

Now is the time to submit, and get people to comment on it, because The WGBH Lab is “Sweetening The Pot” for you. We will be giving away 1 iPod Nano to each of 3 people who have submitted the videos that have the most comments.

That’s right, people talk about your work – you win.

Here’s the quick rundown:

1) You submit to The WGBH Lab Open Call: Life Stories.

2) Your submission follows our Eligibility and Guidelines.

3) Your video gets comments. Lots. And remember, all comments must come from REAL people, and not from spam robots.

(Just tell ALL of your friends that you need a favor!)

In addition to receiving an iPod Nano, your submission will also be featured on The WGBH Lab site, and potentially broadcast with NOVA programming on life and evolution.

Remember, We are looking for videos that capture “life”. Happy, sad, any emotive… just as long as it’s organic, it’s nature, and it’s life.

You can’t win, if you don’t submit. You can’t comment if you don’t register. Submit! Comment! Vote!

Please visit the site for complete details, and submission deadline dates: http://thewgbhlab.org/ipod-giveaway.

Good luck, and thanks for following!
The WGBH Lab