FAQ: DCTV, Independent Media Block and Route Irish / Torture is Us on TV
dublin |
arts and media |
feature
Saturday July 12, 2008 22:22
by seedot - dctv
Frequently Asked Questions as the mob film takes over the airwaves - ch. 802 UPC digital
Media that doesn't have any other distribution....................
.........................
..........other than the internet, screenings, dvds.........
........
a place where these films are broadcast and can be submitted to be put on the television.......
It had to come to this. Somewhere along the way the means of production and distribution of media would fall into the wrong hands and even indymedia would be fully co-opted for the armchair activist. Don't go out on the streets, don't gather at your screenings or media centres, don't pass samizdat video from hand to hand - now you can consume independent media through the goggle box.
Dublin Community Television is launching on 16th July and the launch night schedule gives a clue to the influences - premieres of Route irish and Torture is Us mark the Independent Media Bloc which shows activist videos from Ireland and the world. Below the fold is the guide to the launch in the handy form of a FAQ.
Related Links:
www.dctv.ie |
Route Irish |
Torture is Us |
the scheduler. |
PDF File listing some other DCTV programmes |
Cameras Filming in New Theatre as part of Launch |
Seattle Showdown - the first Indymedia TV series
1.What is being launched next week?
Dublin Community Televison. www.dctv.ie
2.Isn't that already broadcasting?
Yes, but with the tag 'pilot' beside it on the EPG. The aim is to get that conditionality removed and go properly on air and tell people.And have a party to mark it.
3.Nothing to see here?
Well – the launch night does have some good TV on. And no ads. And they promise that they'll learn the software soon and do an understandable schedule.
4.is there a reason this story is on indymedia?
DCTV has a lot of strands. Creating the schedule in blocks, it has allocated a weekly schedule block to independent media content. On the launch week the broadcast TV premieres of work by indymedia contributors form the anchor programmes of the independent media block – 2.5 hours daily allocated to independent media production.
5.which premieres?
Route Irish the film by ec the indy contributor who also produced / directed / crafted Berlusconis Mousetrap after the Genoa protests of 2001.
Torture is Us
This film covers the adventures of our intrepid Guerrilla film maker, and long time Indymedia video contributer Scooter as he turns himself into a entrepreneurial master of war. WINNER: *Made in Cork* – Cork Film Festival.
I suppose you can add the TV premiere of “Look we have a studio” though i don't know if anybody could class that as long awaited. More accidental but it does have the relevant people talking.
6.And how do I see these?
You have to have UPC digital – go to channel 802.
7.When?
When the independent media block is showing. Route Irish premieres on Wednesday at 12.30 and Torture is Us is at 9 pm on Thursday. After that they rotate for the next few weeks as the anchor programmes on the current DCTV independent media block.
8.But I don't get UPC digital?
You could follow the links and watch on the internet.
You could use a torrent client, seed a file or host a screening.
You could change your tv provider – pay a new bill or get your current provider to carry DCTV.
You could start a new tv station.
9.Whats with the weird schedule?
Blame the scheduler. Apparently theres an algorithm.
10.What else is on it?
Heres the blurb. http://www.dctv.ie/DCTV_Programmes.pdf
11.do you have any telly I can watch?
Here's a programme called “Look we have a studio!”. Its the future of television ;-).
Otherwise DCTV launches next Wednesday at 1pm. 802 NTL Digital.
Theres DVDs and other distros about.
Independent Media block starts on Wednesday night.
printable version
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Comments (20 of 20)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20The very best of luck with this to all involved.
Bit disappointed that the first feature includes four men and no women. Nothing really changes, does it?
very very interesting indeed
Thanks for the positive words. Anybody who is interested could do worse than coming down to Connolly Books on Wednesday - the gladhanding with the minister will be the usual but the studio on a stage from 3 - 6 will be interesting and there will be people around at the screenings, and videos to watch later in the evening. We'll have membership forms and assorted literature and people to talk to.
Don't want to grab all the principles from here but DCTV is a co-op which is seeking members - don't hate the media - you can be the media,
dot - saw that with the video I picked - but it fit with the story (i.e. the two particular films that were premiering). On the same bloc of media we will be broadcasting 'The Future of Feminism' made by a very talented female producer / director / editor who is involved with the station on a few other projects. But its not a premiere and not really an indymedia piece so it wasn't included here.
We are also premiering a piece called Women with Balls as part of the launch week which will be a premiere and will be accompanied by a piece about the Women (a group from Fatima Mansions) and their experience of making the drama and which was produced / directed / crafted by a first time (female) community tv maker. DCTV has been lucky enough to have many talented individuals with and without TV experience helping out on the launch schedule, both male and female.
Come along on Wednesday afternoon / evening and see what else should be done?
.
In case anyone is confused, UPC is the company that took over Chorus and NTL, so DCTV is on Channel 802 on the Chorus NTL digital cable network. If you have the regular 14 channels on Chorus NTL, you won't be able to get it. You'd have to upgrade to their digital service, which I believe costs no extra for a few months and after that it's a couple of euro a month extra. Not that I'd use Indymedia to plug a commercial service. (Unfortunately there are no horizontally-run or not-for-profit alternatives to NTL and Sky. Yet.)
Is it not possible to get some sort of 'frequency' for the station, so that those of us using Sky Digital can add it in manual? - similar to the way UTV and others can be got, despite not being with sky digital.
Otherwise I cant get it :(
Great stuff, well done to all involved and I hope it grows and grows.
Related links:
- "Torture is US" trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Z9huOJ9xw
full film on site: http://torture-is-us.com/ (link not working so you must cut and paste)
- Irish activist video collective, Revolt Video:
http://revoltvideo.blogspot.com/
- Excellent award winning doc from Undercurrents looking at the role played by corporate media and
Globalisation and the Media, on Youtube (26 mins):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6HRt1bH_dw
Watch the Director, Paul O'Connor discussing this film on Tv, from the UNDERCURRENTS website:
http://www.undercurrents.org/media/index.htm
- Maybe in time the online side of things might grow so those outside Dublin might be able to tune in over the net and watch quality material, as has happened with Democracy Now in the US:
http://www.democracynow.org/
Hmm. This sounds like a good venture - but it also sounds like the powers that be are giving space on a medium that might be on the start of being on its last legs. Wasnt the horizontal power of the internet meant to destroy TV? I'd also wonder of the potential audience, given the cable/pay per view access only barrier (our TV barely picks up 1, 2, 3 and 4 - and I'm quite happy to leave it that way); and if its activists involved in putting out material, there's a huge (almost inevitable I would say) likelihood of burnout after toiling to produce material with little or no financial reward. Time will tell I suppose and its great to get some bandwidth out there for programmes that arent 'men and motors' style bullshit. The revolution wont be televised, will television be revolutionised?
I can't find the membership form anywhere on it! It used to be on the old one.
goggle boxing - afraid you won't be able to stick with your 4 terrestrial analogue stations - this is being turned off over the next few years. Not sure if TV is on its last legs - but there's definitely a major paradigm shift going on which creates opportunities during the transition to whatever the new stable state is. Its a good time to try and do something disruptive with TV.
bepop - sorry, not on any satellite transmission yet (which is the frequency thing you mention). As soon as we get up there we will put the info out here - as its unlikely we'll ever be on the official sky epg.
Watch out for p2p, iptv, dtt and other new platforms which we're trying to access.
dot - good catch, we'll rectify this. thanks
Seedot, thanks for responding. That's great, sorry for judging so harshly! Best of luck
x
This is really excellent. Fair play.
Hats off to all those involved in DCTV...........
Just a quick note to say I watched two of the activist programmes on DCTV last night. The analysis of the Dublin riots and the documentary on the Pitstop Ploughshares. The two programmes were excellent and summed up the potential and the neccesity of a resource like community television.
Neither of these programmes would ever be seen on mainstream media but the quality of content was brilliant. If I had one pedantic criticism the editing of the Ploughshares documentary was a bit jarring with a black frame at every edit point but it's a minor point as I really enjoyed the documentary and found it very informative.
Great to see this intro - pity it skipped the Bellanaboy footage.
VIDLINK (4 mins) - "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08
Be afraid, be engaged, it's the new rock n roll!
images (c)
(c)
For DIY enthusiasts get a roll of sellotape, a marker.....
Barra the make up maestro doesn't convince
Sample of participatory directed/generated content
(c)
Just like that
Here's the story on the 6.01pm and 9pm news on RTE tv on July 16th:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0716/6news_av.html?2399777,...l,230
Ironically, that clip has an advert at the start. Watch it ad-free in Real Player by clicking here:
http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/230-2399777-320-180.smil