Media Arts Section: Electronic Distribution Project

Electronic Dissemination Questionnaire

For: Canadian and international distributors of: film, video, audio, and web-based work. Re: Web streaming activities and initiatives

Please send your replies to Katarina Soukup katbird@monkat.net by January 23, 2001

PART 1 IDENTIFICATION

1. Who do you represent? What is your constituency? How do you identify/select artists? How large is your membership?
2. What is your structure? (ie artist run center, not for profit, commercial, web-based exclusively, etc)
3. What is the reach of your distribution? Can you define your audience?

PART 2 CURRENT STREAMING ACTIVITIES

1. What type of work is being digitized now and what are the technical considerations?
2. Are you currently streaming work?
3. Has using the web to present works enabled you to experiment with interactivity? If so, how?
4. Are you involved with any broadband (high speed Internet) projects?

PART 3 IMMEDIATE PLANS

1. What are your immediate plans for streaming? What type of work?
2. What are your priorities?
3. What is your timeline?

PART 4 BARRIERS/CHALLENGES/GAPS

1. What are your biggest challenges to meeting both short and long term plans for streaming work? (technical? copyright? e-commerce etc.)
2. What resources would you need?
3. Any other issues?

JANUARY 2001

CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS MEDIA ARTS SECTION: ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION PROJECT

Objective: To consolidate and support the efforts of Canadian media artists to ensure they have an informed, active presence in Web dissemination.

Background: From June 1998 to February 2000, Internet usage by people under 25 years increased from 55% to 84% (Ekos Research Associates Inc.). Peter J. Nicholson, the Chief Strategy officer at Bell Canada Enterprises, recently ventured that "it is only a matter of bandwidth before the Web fulfils its multimedia destiny" and is able to deliver movies as easily as it now does text and music. In the United States, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (Namac) estimates that within three years "audience expectations regarding ... interactive media, and the infrastructure designed to deliver it, will become resistant to alternative structures and experiences."

The potential for creation and distribution of media artwork over the Web is enormous, audiences1 appetite for receiving work over the Web is growing, but there is a narrow window of opportunity within which to carve a meaningful presence for artists.

The Media Arts Section of the Canada Council for the Arts is interested in both the distribution of work that was not originally produced for the Web (videotapes and film, audio works) and work that only exists in the Web environment (Web movies, work with hypertext links).

The Media Arts Section plans to:

1. Study: consolidate information regarding current practices, challenges and opportunities, enrich it with international research and test it with government and private sector partners. (January ?February 2001)
2. Discuss and develop: bring together members of the community and key partners in a working group to develop a work plan. (May 2001)
3. Present a proposal for funding to the Board of the Canada Council (June 2001)
4. Fund prototypes: subject to Board approval, artists and organizations will be invited to apply for funds to build and test dissemination prototypes. (September 2001)
5. Inform: set up a website to post the research, to invite commentary and feedback from the community and to follow the development of the prototypes (February 2001 ongoing).