Rendering - Please Wait (Episode 1)

Hello! My name's Billy and I run MEDIAMUPPET (MM). "Rendering - Please Wait" is my blog to help keep you better informed, updated and knowledgeable about what MM actually is! I thought it would be cool to be a little more open about who I am, what MM is all about, and where we're going in the future. I tend to babble incoherently at times, and will ramble on and on about various irrelevant topics, so you'll just have to bear with me when that happens.


ME. BRIEFLY...
I'm 23 and I live in Edinburgh - always have done. Love it here! I've worked on a large amount of film and video projects, and have been a freelance videographer and camera operator at many points over the past couple of years. I've had a couple of student films shown at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. I love filmmaking and video production, but my first loves are actually journalism and social media. I'm a published writer (The List, Writer's Magazine, DigiWeb).

I also need a haircut, which I've been putting off for about two years now. I have a cat, enjoy exercising, and South Park is my favourite TV show. And on it goes.


MEDIAMUPPET
The thinking behind MEDIAMUPPET was simple. I wanted a very specific type of website, which I simply could not find anywhere else on the internet. I wanted a website which dealt specifically with the Scottish screen industries at a grass-roots level, and which acted as a highly accessible, informative and practical centre for meeting people, promoting work, finding additional work, and acting as a general news centre and commentary on the way things are within the Scottish creative industries, and the paths down which we're going.

Obviously in Scotland we already have great sites like Scottish Screen and so on, but I still felt something was missing. MEDIAMUPPET is my attempt to solve that. We're still relatively new and have a lot of growing to do, but I've been recieiving some fantastic feedback in these early stages, and I think this time next year MM is going to be ten times greater than it is right now, and more than just a website - that is to say, far more involved in the lives of its members (screenings, events, and more productions).


RANDOM RAMBLINGS
Very excited to be getting interviewed by Young Scot tomorrow in order to get the word out about MEDIAMUPPET. It'll be an audio podcast which should be available near the beginning of February. They do a lot of good work and I genuinely believe they're only one of a few organisations who really understand the youth culture they cater to.

So glad to see MM member Ian Vaughan Jones has managed to set-up distribution for his short film 'Walkers'. It'll be available to buy near the end of this month. Expect a promotional blitz nearer the time.


THE PROBLEM WITH 'OTHERS'
There are a plethora of other film and media websites out there which act as valuable resource and networking centres to help keep the folks of the media world informed about what's going on, and keep them 'in the loop' so to speak, with regards to their chosen professions and interests. In that respect, MEDIAMUPPET is nothing out of the ordinary. However, all these other websites target a very wide audience; that is to say, they target the world, or they target a very large continent. That's great if you're looking for jobs in Hollywood, London or Asia, but a place as small as Scotland can (and evidently has) fallen through the cracks on these bigger platforms. The Scottish section on Mandy.com (a great website, on the whole) is a barren wasteland onto which the same handful of people post over and over again, with job listings for 'jobs' that don't actually pay.

Another problem is that a large amount of these 'resource and networking' websites require a subscription payment in order for you to become a member. Newsflash, without meaning to sound entirely patronising: you're being duped. It's a pyramid scheme, pure and simple. They rope you in with slogans such as "USE OUR SELECTION OF TOOLS TO PROMOTE YOUR FILM TO THE WORLD!" or "BECOME A MEMBER AND CONNECT WITH THE INDUSTRY'S LEADERS!" It's all bollocks.

Here's why. These 'tools' you pay £15 (or more) per month to use are really nothing special. A profile page? Come on. Facebook gives you a profile page for free, which has the potential to reach hundreds of millions of people. Facebook lets you create fan pages and groups, and we all know how effective they can be. These premium 'tools' found on certain websites allow you to upload your showreels and CVs, your photography and other samples of your work. Again, this is nothing special, and - very importantly - you're actually GIFTING these websites your content, whilst paying them for the privilege.

Their content contributions, meanwhile - above and beyond the actual skeleton of a Web 2.0 website which they provide - are extraordinarily lacklustre.

I think these people need to work a little more on their game plan before they have the audacity to charge people for very basic 'services' which a clever, creative and intelligent individual would be able to achieve by themselves with no additional expense, and with far more impactful results.

I didn't intend to go off on that little rant. Anyway, in future writings I'll be looking at effective methods in which you can promote your projects and your talents online, for free, and free of charge - fancy that!!

All the best and tata for now!
- Billy