Exposure - The Future of Film
By John Evans
Exposure is a Sci-Fi Channel series showcasing short films from new
directors, married to a website providing information about the films
as well as streaming video versions and discussion groups.
"The Future of Film" is a rather ambitious title, and Exposure
seems a fairly ambitious project. On the one hand, the idea is simple;
a weekly program on the Sci-Fi Channel featuring a number of short
science fiction films by new directors, along with occasional interviews
and famous guest hosts. A viewer could watch with great enjoyment
without ever bothering to visit the website (although the show does
make sure to let you know that there is such a thing). The Exposure
website, however, does a good job of expanding and building upon what
the television show starts.
The heart of Exposure is, of course, the films. Most of the films
are available to watch through streaming video, with RealPlayer and
also On2 connections for broadband users. The RealPlayer quality is
so-so (although the audio is excellent), and difficult to watch over
a modem, unfortunately. (Not having a broadband connection, I can't
comment on the On2 technology.) Many of the films also feature interviews
that can be watched in the same way. Each movie also has its own small
web page with a description, director's bio, discussion board and
review poll. All the movies can be found in a Film Guide database
for easy browsing.
The other main area of Exposure is the "Director's Guild",
a group of discussion boards for members of the SciFi.com website
(I assume membership is free). The Director's Guild page presents
itself as "the place to come to unite with other people interested
in filmmaking, whether you are a director, an editor, a writer or
a critic". In truth, the two Exposure discussion boards are only
two of many SciFi.com boards, so there's a whole lot of people looking
at them all the time. With any luck, though, a community of interesting
discussion will form (or has already).
I would be remiss in not mentioning the last two sections of the
website; "Maximum Exposure" features video interviews with
famous directors, and there's a "Submissions" section through
which aspiring directors can submit their work for a chance to be
featured on an episode of Exposure.
In my opinion, Exposure's real value lies in being an information
source that viewers can peruse at their leisure. Nearly all the featured
films can be seen on your computer; although you can't see the ones
that haven't aired yet, you can decide if you want to catch a rerun
that's coming on (and use the provided listings to see what films
will be aired when). Exposure provides a lot more, well, exposure
for aspiring directors than just the television show alone would.
Instant reviews and viewer feedback can help directors perfect their
craft, and the Sci-Fi Channel itself learn what will get them ratings.
While Exposure may not quite yet be the Future of Film, it seems to
be a step in the right direction