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A Beginner's Guide to Wrapping/Wrangling Cables the Professional Way

07.28.12 @ 8:11PM Tags : cable, evanluzi, filmmaking, on-set, set, tutorial, tutorials

Being able to properly wrap or wrangle a cable is one of the most essential skills you can learn if you haven’t been on a set before (assuming you do want to work in one of the positions in film that might actually involve being on set). While most people end up learning the hard way (by doing it wrong), you can get a head-start by watching the video embedded below and practicing on some cable you have sitting around your house. More »

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A Brief History of Television

01.17.11 @ 12:36PM Tags : cable, history, tv

How we watch TV is changing every day, with cable TV subscribers cutting the cord in droves. But do you ever wonder how we got to this point, where commercial TV broadcasters (in the US) are afforded free access to the airwaves — despite the fact that few of us would ever argue that they’re focused on providing a community service? Ars Technica has a good series of feature articles that explore the history — and future — of television. Looking to the former, does FCC commisioner Newton Minow’s famous 1961 speech still ring true? More »

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Is Google TV What Independent Filmmakers Have Been Waiting For?

11.3.10 @ 12:45PM Tags : cable, distribution, googletv, telcos

The day Google announced Google TV, I wrote “Google TV is what independent filmmakers have been waiting for.” I was bullish about the possibilities the device offered for getting independent content onto living room screens, and I also wrote a piece extolling the device’s (potential) virtues in the last issue of Filmmaker Magazine. Now that the device has launched to decidedly mixed reviews, however, do I feel Google TV is a failure? Not at all. Here’s why: More »

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The future of Netflix is in the hands of the studios (UPDATED)

06.2.10 @ 3:27PM Tags : cable, distribution, netflix, streaming

100 million U.S. households have pay TV (inclusive of cable, satellite, and FiOS). 14 million households have Netflix subscriptions. If consumers move away from the current method of buy-in-bulk (i.e., pay for 500 channels even if you only watch six of them) and transition to an a la carte model (and an on-demand one), Netflix is one of many companies poised to take over market share from the cable companies (which, it’s worth noting, are also ISPs). However, in order to rent movies digitally Netflix needs one thing they haven’t needed in order to rent DVDs: permission from the studios. More »