Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. This is part 3 of my series on producing great documentary websites. Read part one and part two. The results are in! 24 filmmakers responded to our survey, “How Much Does It Cost […]

Our own Amanda Hirsch, who writes the Outside the Frame column here on the POV Blog, has been exploring great documentary film websites (read Part I and Part II of her analysis). She’s also interested in how much it costs to make a website for a documentary film, and we wanted to remind you that […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. Following up on my series exploring great documentary websites (read part one and part two), I promised to explore the cost of producing a documentary site (great or otherwise — they all cost […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. This is the second installment in a series exploring great documentary websites. Read part one. Over the past week, I invited filmmakers, academics, web producers, awards organizers and documentary film fans to nominate […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. You fundraise, you shoot, and you fundraise some more. Years pass, and still, you toil. Finally: a finished film. And then, the question: “What about a website?” You aren’t a website producer — […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. Read Part 1 of this series on how Americans are documenting their recession experiences online. This week, I set out to see how professional news websites are integrating user-generated content into their recession […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. Back in the Great Depression, newspapermen (and I do mean men) were the only ones documenting the economic crisis and its effects — unless you count the private diaries of private citizens. Today, […]

When the King of Pop passed away last week, the news spread like wildfire online, and the Web exploded with spur-of-the-moment tributes. My brother-in-law, a child of the 80s, was up until 2 a.m. on Facebook Chat, sharing memories and links to videos on YouTube. Others took their reactions to the streets, creating graffiti memorials, […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. If you meet Andy Carvin, it’s almost certain that he’d tweet about it — and for a brief moment, the 11,000+ people who follow him on Twitter would know your name. He might […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. With the economy in the toilet, many Americans will be skipping their summer vacations this year — but thanks to Twitter, the opportunities to experience other people’s travels vicariously are greater than ever. […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. Keri Smith is an author/illustrator-turned-guerilla artist. She is the author of several bestselling books about creativity, including How to be an Explorer of the World — The Portable Life/Art Museum and Wreck This […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. The beauty of nature, the gruesomeness of war…and Facebook status updates? Yes, Facebook can now count itself among the muses of history, having inspired Wisconsin artist Stacey Williams-Ng to create a series of […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. In his latest book, Fans, Friends and Followers, writer Scott Kirsner explores how a range of artists — filmmakers, comedians, writers and others — are using the Web to build an audience, and […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her weekly column, Outside the Frame. Angela Morgenstern is the senior director of PBS Interactive, where she oversees teams focused on digital content, social media and online video programming. Previously, she earned industry acclaim — and a number […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her weekly column, Outside the Frame. After reading my previous column, someone asked me why OnBeing, the washingtpost.com interactive project, meets my criteria for being more than “video plopped on a webpage.” It’s a fair question: after all, […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her weekly column, Outside the Frame. “Reality changes; in order to represent it, modes of representation must change.”           — Bertolt Brecht I’m on a mission, and I need your help. I want to […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her weekly column, Outside the Frame. Amanda is attending South by Southwest this week. In Monday’s Austin American Statesman, columnist Michael Barnes asks if SXSW’s Interactive and Film tracks ought to be combined next year. Interestingly, Barnes’ argument […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her weekly column, Outside the Frame. Amanda is attending South by Southwest this week. It’s cold here in Austin — unseasonably cold. They’ve got heat lamps at the outdoor parties and people are carrying coats and scarves with […]