PlanetFandom http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/ Podcasts, Fanfilms & Animations. en Copyright 2005 Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:34:48 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss SWD# 53 - Interview with Rob Watkins During this episode we will have the chance to talk live on the phone with Rob Watkins, the man behind the Star Wars Miniatures game from Wizards of the Coast.


You have questions for Rob and/or about the Universe Huge set or the Miniatures in general, send them (or phone number for us to call) to studio@swendirect.com. You can also be in our chatroom during the interview and leave questions to the hosts.


The live broadcast begins this Tuesday at 7PM Eastern

]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/swd_53_interview_with_rob_watk.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/swd_53_interview_with_rob_watk.html Online Radio Shows Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:34:48 -0800 Libraries 'Go Digital' in an effort to stay relevant An article on CNN published Friday discussed some public library's efforts to try and keep up with Information Age technology. It's no secret that the Internet has changed the way we look at information (I never once had to use a library to do a research paper in college, for example), and libraries must find new ways to adapt if they don't want to become relics of the past. The article talks about "A new way to borrow audiobooks" that in some ways resembles podcasting, hence it seems somewhat apropriate to mention it here.

... public libraries from New York City to Alameda, California, are letting patrons download Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, Arabic tutorials and other titles to which they can listen on their computers or portable music players -- all without leaving home. Read the Full Story


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]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/libraries_go_digital_in_an_eff.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/libraries_go_digital_in_an_eff.html General News Mon, 29 Aug 2005 08:49:42 -0800 Star Wars Fanfilm: Return of Pink Five For those of you who have been following the Star Wars fanfilm scene for awhile, you're probably aware of the runaway hit that took the Grand Prize in the 2003 Atomfilms Fan Film Contest, Pink Five. Since the premiere of the original hilarious piece by The Truly Dangerous Company, it was followed up by Pink Five Strikes Back which won the Atomfilms Audience Choice Award in 2004. Now they're looking to bring in installment #3, Return of Pink Five, which if the previous two installments are any indication--will be absolutely hilarious and very well produced.

But, as fanfilms sometimes tend to do, the Pink Five production has run into a few financial snafus, and so they need your help. Check out Pink Five's Blog for more information.

From TheForce.net: TF.N and Rebelscum are working together to get donations for the fan film Return of Pink Five. In case you don't know, Pink Five won the George Lucas Selects award in Lucasfilm's 2003 Official Star Wars Fan Film awards - its sequel, Pink Five Strikes Back won the Audience Choice Award the following year. We love their work.

While in stock, your $20 donation, 100% of which will be sent to them, will get you a TheForce.net blue polo shipped to your U.S. address via Priority Mail.

There are only 58 shirts in mixed sizes and once they are gone, well, they are gone. After that, or in addition to it, you can buy Pink Five stuff over at HERE, or if you can donate even a dollar, you can do so HERE.


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]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/star_wars_fanfilm_return_of_pi_1.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/star_wars_fanfilm_return_of_pi_1.html FanFilms Sun, 28 Aug 2005 16:14:18 -0800 The Star Wars Fan Works Fan productions everywhere got a cumulative boost with the popularization of Star Wars Fanfilms, and George Lucas' generous policy toward people who make spin-off features about his pet universe. But one area of great creativity and talent that is often overlooked is the fan audio community. From dramatic "radio" shows to introspective podcasts (like Star Wars en Direct), sci fi fans (and not just of Star Wars) have been creating compelling and entertaining audio content for quite sometime.

That's what makes sites like Nathan P. Butler's Star Wars Fanworks so useful. Stealing a bit of TheForce.net's thunder (which tends to more heavily focus on fanfilms), this website is the authoritative source for news Star Wars themed fan audio. Like all fan projects, some of the material catalogued on Nathan's site is quite good, like Second Strike, and fan audio doesn't have to be watched on your computer or television. You can upload it to your iPod, for example, and listen on the road or on a jog.

Whatever your preference, if you're into SciFi fandom productions, Star Wars Fanworks is definitely worth a bookmark.

]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/the_star_wars_fan_works.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/the_star_wars_fan_works.html General News Sun, 28 Aug 2005 01:05:31 -0800 Grape Scented: A Star Wars Fan Animation Sean Bartlett offers an extremely well-done Star Wars fan animation titled "Grape Scented." I don't exaggerate in the slightest when I say this is the best fanfilm animation I have ever seen. The production is extremely high quality, the animation is clean and professional, and the storyline is amusing. Not to mention that the "hero" reminds me of one of my high-school buddies. It clocks in at a slender 3 minutes 11 seconds and 26 megabytes and is well worth the download.


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]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/grape_scented_a_star_wars_fan_1.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/grape_scented_a_star_wars_fan_1.html Animations Sun, 28 Aug 2005 00:18:52 -0800 Hail to the Fanboys - Grass Roots & SciFi Loren Javier, a fellow Sci Fi enthusiast over at Confessions of a (thirtysomething) drama queen, recently posted an article discussing grassroots organizing and how it relates to . As something of a "fanboy advocate," I find Fandom and the hidden power of a fanbase to be a seductive and compelling side of Sci Fi. Unfortunately, it's still the exception rather than the rule where a television series maker will take notice of their core fanbase and purposefully try to toss them a few bones every once in awhile . . .

One need only look at the debacle that was Star Trek: Enterprise to realize that it's much more common that a producer will try to press their own vision onto the audience rather than listen to the fans in any reasonable capacity. As they go about their arbitrary march toward their great "vision" that will doubtlessly "revitalize the franchise," they often quote misnomers to the naysayer like "it's what the mainstream wants" and that the hard-core fans are simply "a vocal minority" to be at best ignored and at worst ridiculed. I won't dispute that a producer, writer or director has the absolute right to screw up their series as much as they please, but fans also have the right to point it out when they do so. It's our job to criticize the we love, and writers and producers ignore us at their own peril.

]]> http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/hail_to_the_fanboys_grass_root.html http://www.planetfandom.com/blog/2005/08/hail_to_the_fanboys_grass_root.html General News Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:07:04 -0800