#mcn2014

[kineticmuseums]

Is progress actually the goal of museums?

Still in the "Change Agents" session, and I'm wondering if our (here by "our" I mean, "change-focused, probably technically/digitally-minded museum people") perspective on museums is fundamentally in conflict with that of (many) museum directors and boards. I always work from the assumption that while I might disagree on the tactics around change, I am usually in agreement with my colleagues that change is actually valuable. I just wonder whether directors/museum boards define "progress" the same way that we do. To me, progress in a museum implies a museum working towards greater agility, adaptability, etc., but I feel like a lot of museum directors would not define progress that way.

[5easypieces]

If I disagree, that's a conversation; if you disagree, that's a decision

I'm sitting in the "Change Agent" session at #MCN2014 and something that Douglas Hegley said registered with me. He said that to be true agents of change, we need to be able to remove our egos from the situation. So when your director suddenly has a brilliant idea to do something that you yourself had already proposed six years ago, you should just grit your teeth and go along.

I agree, to a point. But if we want to really be responsive organizations, organizations that can adapt and change as needed in a timely way, we have to make sure that our decision-making processes (particularly around so-called digital efforts) actually take into account the expertise that's in the room. Not to throw class trash, but a decision-making process that over-privileges certain voices over others, no matter what the subject matter, is not one that is fundamentally sustainable. If the situation becomes one of "when I disagree, that's the start of the conversation, but when you disagree, that's a decision," it has the cumulative effect of discouraging innovation.

[videowerque]

Have you ever gotten tangled in a web of disorganized video and image files? What are the best practices for organizing and storing images, audio and video? What is the difference between interpretive content and collections content? What constitutes a work of art and a backup work of art when discussing file types? Anna Chiaretta-Lavatelli and Emily Lytle-Painter, co-chairs of MCN's Media Production SIG, will explore issues around digital file storage and organization in cultural organizations with the follow speakers: Heidi Quicksilver, The Jewish Museum Crystal Sanchez, Smithsonian Institution Patrick Heilman, DIA Art Foundation This is an informal “radio show” style chat with short “presentations” and Q&A.

[videowerque]

Video Workshop Proposal

So in conversation at MW I have been charged with doing another one of my classic how do you get started in video production workshops... Things requested to be addressed thus far are: 

What is a typical workflow regardless of scale?

What are issues of licensing and copyright to keep in mind?

What are the core things I need to know about shooting to get started?

How do you budget? What resources will you need to start making videos today? (address scale here?)

What does post-production look like and how do you work around that to make it less challenging?

How do you get started? What's a good way to practice to learn from mistakes?

Where do you put video and how could that affect your production approach, for better or worse?

I figure then we will do a couple of practice rounds: one using the DSLR set up to get a cinema look and one smartphone/table shoot for the informal on the fly stuff.

Please share with me other items you would want to see addressed at an Introduction to Video Production Workshop!