What Has Happened to Television?

Today, I sat down and watched Lauren Zalaznick on TED titled: The conscience of television. I started watching, not knowing anything about Zalaznick. I watched with an open mind and walked away well informed. In the TED video, she believes that television influences the way the world thinks and operates today. I believe the same. She then goes on to mention that the reason our culture here in the states enjoys watching television so much is simply because we like to be entertained. Zalaznick states that Americans watch more television a day than any other country. Other countries should be wary of this. A majority of our television shows are distributed to other countries and those countries can end up engulfed in television just as we are.

I then research Lauren Zalaznick to learn what her role in the industry played. There is some information about Lauren Zalaznick that should be known. Lauren is a well rounded film and television producer in the entertainment industry. She has completely revamped Bravo, oversees Oxygen and other networks. According to CNN Money, Zalaznick has secured U.S. Spanish-language rights to the FIFA World Cup from 2015 to 2022. Based on her history in the industry, she has a very strong idea of how television evolved and what it would take for television to succeed today.

I really enjoyed this speech. It was a short, but informative speech about the evolution of the audience's preference in television genres. She offered graphs that showed how the audience for each decade changed their interest as television developed. Since 2000, reality television has peaked because that is what viewers want and the humor genre has declined. I personally am only a fan of at most two reality shows; one is a dance competition show and the other is a competition show to have a role on a television show. I do not necessarily fall under the statistics she presented for this decade but understand why and how reality has peaked in interest.

The Excitement Behind SXSW Film Festival

South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the largest and diverse festivals to be held in the United States with 2012’s attendance equaling out to be around 60,000 attendants. SXSW first opened its doors in 1987 in Austin, TX. It first began as a festival to bring an audience to Austin diverse music scene.  It continues to grow year after year. SXSW now holds an Interactive Festival, Music Festival, Film Festival and Trade Shows. It is a place where new businesses can showcase network and showcase their product. The Music Festival used to be the more populated festival until the Film Festival exceeded the attendance numbers in 2012.

I have been a fan of The South by Southwest Film Festival. It is very important for independent filmmakers to see the importance of this festival. It offers a lot of opportunities for upcoming filmmakers who want a chance to gain recognition in the industry. It is an affordable way to meet industry leaders and well-known actors. For filmmakers who want to focus on the technical side of film, there are opportunities to Some benefits of of attending SXSW are the movie premieres for anticipated movies. Bridesmaids (2011) and Cabin in the Woods(2010) premiered its movie at the film festival. Both movies have gone on to be a success. One of the more promising benefits of participating in the festival is having the opportunity to win a distribution deal, like The Tall Man and Girls Against Boys have.

Submitting a film to South by Southwest and having it accepted into the festival can open many doors. As previously mentioned before, it can open up the opportunity of sealing a credible distribution deal. Whether the filmmaker wins an award or not, think of it this way. The film was shown in front of other filmmakers and well-known industry attendees. The filmmaker gains recognition which can lead to networking with idols and potentially gaining work or partnerships.