Thursday, December 29, 2011

Standing Committee on Finance Report and the Arts

December 19, 2011 http://www.ccarts.ca/en/advocacy/bulletins/2011/3411.htm
Standing Committee on Finance Report and the Arts
[excerpt]
The Standing Committee on Finance presented last week a report
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/411/FINA/Reports/RP5322386/411_FINA_Rpt05_PDF/411_FINA_Rpt05-e.pdf
on its pan-Canadian consultations. The Canadian Conference of the Arts was the first of five cultural organizations* to appear before the Committee. This report comprises 53 proposals targeting four areas: federal finances, businesses, communities and individuals.

In the introduction, the Committee describes arts and culture as one of the factors contributing to the strength of a community. Additionally, three pages out of this 77-page report are dedicated to arts and culture, thereby placing the sector on par with the principal players in the Canadian economy. This chapter presents a very good summary of the presentations made by witnesses but, unfortunately, the Committee's report did not take up any of the recommendations put forward by the CCA and other witnesses
[...]
In its minority report, the Official Opposition (NDP) dedicates only one paragraph to culture.

Strengthen Arts and Culture: According to the Conference Board of Canada, for every $1 of real value added GDP produced by Canada's cultural industries, roughly $1.84 is added to the overall real GDP. The Federal government should establish a tax credit program to stimulate production of the arts and maintain funding of CBC/Radio-Canada at the 2010 level ($1.1 billion) and index it annually to inflation .

The Liberal Party of Canada makes no mention of arts or culture in its supplementary opinion.

We have examined certain of the report's recommendations in order to identify possible actions.

In the section on tax reform, the report includes a paragraph stating the CCA's request for income averaging but omits any such recommendation. However, it might be possible to relaunch the debate if the following recommendation is retained:

Another proposal is  worthy of attention: "that the federal government continue to open up new markets to Canadian goods and services by working toward the completion of trading agreements with foreign governments, and also working to eliminate trade barriers involving the US-Canada border." Unfortunately, the Committee is mute on the CCA's proposal to dedicate, as soon as possible, $40 million to the development of internal and foreign markets for our artists, creators and cultural industries.

That the federal government convene an expert panel to review, modernize and simplify the federal corporate tax system

The CCA will follow the progress of this last proposal that could relate to the opening of the telecommunications or publishing markets to foreign ownership. It is certain that the government maintains its desire to undertake free-trade negotiations with several countries and regions of the world, with the European Union and Asia-Pacific region being particularly targeted.


Friday, December 23, 2011

Online photography and copyright in the US

Photo Attorney Receives a DMCA Take Down Notice! – Updated
http://www.photoattorney.com/?p=3247
[excerpt]

"...As a photographer, author, and copyright attorney, I've prepared and sent for myself and on my clients' behalf many DMCA Take Down Notices.  I also am always careful to honor the copyrights of others!

So you can imagine my surprise when I received an email from Go Daddy today stating that someone had reported that I had infringed his copyright.  So Go Daddy took down my entire wildlife photography website normally located at www.vividwildlife.com!  The most amazing thing is the infringer identified my photos as his (one of which placed in a national photo contest) and claimed that my website infringed my images!...."


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Sony World Photography Awards: Open Competition, Professional Competition, Youth Award, Moving Image Award & 3D Award

Deadline approaching: Sony World Photography Awards

Professional and amateur photographers can enter a competition.

Organized by Sony and the World Photography Organisation http://www.worldphoto.org/ , the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards is open to professionals, enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in photography.

Professional photographers could win US$25,000 and the open competition features a US$5,000 prize. The winners will receive a trip to London to receive the prize at the gala ceremony.

There are five separate competitions: open (for enthusiasts and amateurs), professional, youth award (for photographers under 20), moving image award (combining stills with video) and student focus. New categories for the 2012 edition include "Nature & Wildlife," "Enhanced," "Split Second" and "Low-light."

The 2011 winners are showcased here.
http://www.worldphoto.org/images/image-gallery/6216/

For more information, click here.
http://www.worldphoto.org/competitions/

Sony World Photography Awards 2012 - Open Competition
Are you an amateur photographer and a keen photography enthusiast, with an eye for capturing that perfect moment? Whatever your photographic passion may be, enter the Open Competition for your chance to win $5,000 and a trip to London to pick up your prize at the Sony World Photography Awards 2012 gala ceremony!
Entry Start: 1st June 2011
Entry Close: 4th January 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2012 - Professional Competition
Are you a serious photographer with a true passion for the job? Do you understand the craft of taking pictures, documenting a story, conceptualising an idea, capturing emotions and evoking a response from those who view the finished product? Submit your best work for the chance to become the next Sony World Photography Awards, Professional Photographer of the Year and win our most coveted prize, the L'Iris d'Or, along with prize money of $25,000.
Entry Start: 1st June 2011Entry Close: 4th January 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2012 - Youth Award
We are searching for the next generation of talented young photographers in this new competition, open to anyone under the age of 20 (Tate Award is up to 25 years old). Whether you are studying photography in school or college, or just have a passion for taking photographs of your daily life, enter this competition for the chance to become the first ever Sony World Photography Awards, Youth Award Winner.
Entry Start: 1st June 2011
Entry Close: 4th January 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2012 - Moving Image Award
The Moving Image Award calls for work combining still and moving images with sound, drawing on the distinctive strengths of each form. We want entrants to explore how photography can evolve into new forms of visual narratives using audio, music, video, animation and graphics.
Entry Start: 1st June 2011
Entry Close: 4th January 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2012 - 3D Award
If you are experimenting with 3D photography and video, why not enter our first global 3D photography competition! Anyone can enter this dynamic competition and be a part of this image revolution.
Entry Start: 1st July 2011
Entry Close: 4th January 2012

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

VIDEO: Off Book | Generative Art - Computers, Data, and Humanity | PBS Arts

http://youtu.be/x0OK1GiI83s

An intriguing combination of programmers, artists, and philosophers, these creators embrace a process that delegates essential decisions to computers, data sets, or even random variables. This allows important metaphors to arise in their work, calling attention to the relationship between humans and the computers that surround us, the mountains of information we generate, and the powerful impact that technology has on our relationships with each other.

Featuring:

Luke Dubois, Generative Composer
Scott Draves, Generative Artist
Will Wright, Game Designer

Music by:

Codex Machine, http://soundcloud.com/ms-codex
Luke Dubois, http://lukedubois.com
Revolution Void, http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/revolutionvoid
Tryad, http://tryad.org
Reno Project, http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Reno_Project

Follow Off Book:

Twitter: @pbsoffbook
Tumblr: http://pbsarts.tumblr.com/

Produced by Kornhaber Brown: http://www.kornhaberbrown.com