Zoom-in Online

We wanted to let fans of our flagship shows (Rehearsal Space, On the Circuit, Designing Minds and Viewfinders) know that Zoom In Online is concluding our first 2009 season, and is hard at work lining up guests and drumming up sponsorship for our second season, coming Summer 2009.

Editor's note: This review initially ran upon the film's premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Beginning August 22nd, the film will see national release in ten cities with gradual rollout to other cities in the proceeding weeks. For more information on public events and screenings near you, visit the film's official website. 

A poignant, terrifying and engrossing look at a topic normally relegated to powerpoint presentations by polyester suit clad professors, I.O.U.S.A. is a powerful documentary that makes no qualms about espousing its point of view. Centered around the "Fiscal Wake Up Tour" of current U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and The Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert Bixby, the film provides historical context for the ever increasing national debt and commentary on its economic, political and social ramifications.

It's a little hard to believe we're wrapping the first season of Rehearsal Space. It's been a wild ride over the past eight months; I've had to stop a disgruntled entourage from busting up one of our shoots (if you're wondering, skinny hipsters do not intimidate OGs from Compton. At all.), been served beer from a celebrities personal stock of imports and found tactful ways of indicating being stoned/ripped/smashed may not be the wisest choice prior to an interview.

Every second was awesome.

Zoom In Online’s original music series Rehearsal Space is combining forces with the Internet-based BreakThruRadio(BTR). Unlike other online radio stations which simply stream music, the BTR website features an award-winning player. It allows you to control what you listen to and how you listen to it. With new shows published every day, there is a lot to choose from.

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post by Adam Shaening Pokrasso, a new media mentor participating in this year's Producer's Institute. For more information please visit the Bay Area Video Coalition.

So I just got back from a whirlwind trip to San Francisco to check out the Bay Area Video Coalition's Producers Institute. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of this job is the chance to discover little gems like this one.

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post by Andy Beach, a new media mentor participating in this year's Producer's Institute. For more information please visit the Bay Area Video Coalition.

Air

Don't miss the Coldplay freebies. As of today, the UK alt-rockers are offering their newest single "Violet Hill" for free and will be playing a no-charge gig at Madison Square Garden here in NYC on June 23rd.

Check out their site for details.

In troubling times, solace is often found in strange places. Enter Quiet Chaos. This serene, simple film from Italy made waves at this year's Berlin Film Festival, and for good reason. Rare is the movie that receives both critical and commercial success, and rarer still for a foreign film with a fully Italian dialogue.

Che Guevara was not a hippie. Che Guevara was not a protester. Che Guevara was not into kitschy t-shirts. Chevolution is the story about the real Ernesto “Che” Guevara, photographer Alberto “Korda” Diaz and the most reproduced image of a person in the 20th century.

Secret government cover-ups, gruesome torture, scapegoated underlings, scorned lovers, war and murder. If this were a feature, it would be riveting. But Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris’ newest documentary, shows it is all too real; still riveting, but a great deal more depressing.

Editor's Note: This review was originally published during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden is currently playing at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Perhaps the most anticipated documentary of this year's festival, Morgan Spurlock returns to Sundance with Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden, a follow up his 2004 debut, the piquant Super Size Me. Spurlock has certainly kept himself busy over the past four years, earning Producer credits on various projects and most notably starring in the FX reality series 30 Days, but Osama is generating a lot of buzz and is on the receiving end of a healthy promotional push from his production company, Warrior Poets.

I've been a little hard on Sony lately, so it's time for a little love. Yesterday saw a fresh look at one of Sony's aces yet to be played, LittleBigPlanet. This soul-crushingly cute game is a new title releasing exclusively on the PS3, but I'll be floored if it isn't a huge hardware mover and a new franchise for them.

Our friend Matt Jeppsen over at FreshDV was kind enough to clue us in on some killer coverage of new cameras, work flows and other hot happenings at NAB 2008. Check out their videos from the floor:

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Last generation was a decisive victory for Sony. One would expect them to come out guns blazing this time around, but to be honest I haven't seen much innovation or a particularly compelling reason to choose the PS3. Fanboy petulance aside, really; I'm looking for someone to tell me what Sony has over the 360 or the Wii.