We're RTRACTION, and we love the arts.That's why we're giving away $25,000 worth of design, strategy, and/or communication services to one deserving arts organization.

WHO CAN APPLY? YOU... if you are an individual or part of an organization working in any aspects of arts or culture, and you're in Canada.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Your application, along with the others we receive, will be judged by our team along with a panel of notables from the visual, performing and literary arts world.

WHAT ARE THE TIMELINES? Apply by September 30, 2014. Judging will be completed by October 31. Applicants, including the winner, will be notified by November 7. And then we'll start the project, whatever that turns out to be.

Website

New York Times, by Jeremy Rifkin, March 15, 2014
   WE are beginning to witness a paradox at the heart of capitalism, one that has propelled it to greatness but is now threatening its future: The inherent dynamism of competitive markets is bringing costs so far down that many goods and services are becoming nearly free, abundant, and no longer subject to market forces. While economists have always welcomed a reduction in marginal cost, they never anticipated the possibility of a technological revolution that might bring those costs to near zero.
   The first inkling of the paradox came in 1999 when Napster, the music service, developed a network enabling millions of people to share music without paying the producers and artists, wreaking havoc on the music industry. Similar phenomena went on to severely disrupt the newspaper and book publishing industries. Consumers began sharing their own information and entertainment, via videos, audio and text, nearly free, bypassing the traditional markets altogether.
   The huge reduction in marginal cost shook those industries and is now beginning to reshape energy, manufacturing and education. Although the fixed costs of solar and wind technology are somewhat pricey, the cost of capturing each unit of energy beyond that is low. This phenomenon has even penetrated the manufacturing sector. Thousands of hobbyists are already making their own products using 3-D printers, open-source software and recycled plastic as feedstock, at near zero marginal cost. Meanwhile, more than six million students are enrolled in free massive open online courses, the content of which is distributed at near zero marginal cost.
   Industry watchers acknowledge the creeping reality of a zero-marginal-cost economy, but argue that free products and services will entice a sufficient number of consumers to purchase higher-end goods and specialized services, ensuring large enough profit margins to allow the capitalist market to continue to grow. But the number of people willing to pay for additional premium goods and services is limited.
   Now the phenomenon is about to affect the whole economy. A formidable new technology infrastructure — the Internet of Things — is emerging with the potential to push much of economic life to near zero marginal cost over the course of the next two decades. This new technology platform is beginning to connect everything and everyone. Today more than 11 billion sensors are attached to natural resources, production lines, the electricity grid, logistics networks and recycling flows, and implanted in homes, offices, stores and vehicles, feeding big data into the Internet of Things. By 2020, it is projected that at least 50 billion sensors will connect to it.
   [...] THE unresolved question is, how will this economy of the future function when millions of people can make and share goods and services nearly free? The answer lies in the civil society, which consists of nonprofit organizations that attend to the things in life we make and share as a community. In dollar terms, the world of nonprofits is a powerful force.
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The Guardian, by Rachael Castell
posted January 31, 2014 
The stage is a precious space, both magic and real, but plays are written to be performed again and again – why not digitally?  When I was an MA student exploring the history of film and visual media, my investigative mind inevitably ambled over the connection between cinema and death, most notably the death of celluloid. But when I talk about filmmaking these days, I find myself discussing things being "live" – in the here and now.
This is because the majority of my film work, and my personal fascination, is in filmed theatre – you might call it "alternative content" or "event cinema". It's an as yet undefined media integrating the live and the recorded: an amalgamation of filmic language (close-ups, fades, panning shots, HD technology) and the real, retaining and often even enhancing the live theatre experience. Being able to offer viewers the best seat in the house wherever they live is a concept currently the darling of arts and cultural researchers and funders.
   But what is this new genre? Just as the founders of cinema grappled with the flicker of light through celluloid over a century ago, we – as audiences, critics and producers – are suddenly grappling with how to describe watching theatre on screen. I make my living in this market, but even I can't be persuaded of a term. "Event cinema" seems reasonable. Cinecasting? Sure. Alternative content? I guess so, but alternative to what?
   If that's not enough debate for you, there are plenty of other contested questions: should a production be broadcast live, or as live? Is seeing a play in a movie theatre, or on your laptop, or even your iPhone a good or bad thing?
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By Kevin Griffin, Vancouver Sun, February 3, 2014
   In a career spanning more than 30 years in the entertainment business, James Pollard is facing his biggest and most daunting production ever.
   He’s pushing forward with developing a new application he believes will revolutionize the way live shows are produced while battling terminal prostate cancer.
   Pollard said he’s not trying to generate sympathy because of his health.
   “While I still have a bit of time and feel good, I have the energy to do this,” he said.
   “This is all real. This isn’t about sympathy. This is about opportunity. What I’m really trying to say is that we have this opportunity because I can get this done before I die. This could be a game changer.”
   The cloud-based app is called PreShow. If he can raise $59,000 on Kickstarter, then the Canada Media Fund will contribute $177,000 to take PreShow beyond the testing stage. His goal is to launch PreShow this year. Kickstarter is an online fundraising website for creative projects.
   Pollard is well known in the Vancouver performing arts community. He’s been involved in organizations that include the Vancouver Playhouse Production Centre, the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, the PAL Theatre, the relaunch of Theatre Under the Stars and the restoration of Malkin Bowl.
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KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

Codecademy: Hour of Code app for the iPhone lets you learn basic programming anytime, anywhere 
By Nick Summers, Monday, 9 Dec '13 


Mobile apps thrive when they allow the user to check, explore or experiment with content in short bursts. Codecademy, meanwhile, is renowned as one of the best ways to learn programming languages such as Python, Ruby and JavaScript. A full suite of interactive lessons are available on the Web, but until now it was an experience that required an extensive amount of time and dedication.Well, that’s no longer a problem with Codecademy: Hour of Code, the startup’s first iPhone app. Whether you’re waiting for the train or queuing in your local greengrocer, now you can learn to code absolutely anywhere.

How it WorksCodecademy is launching the app today to coincide with the ‘Hour of Code‘ campaign set up by Code.org. As part of Computer Science Education Week (December 9–15, 2013) the non-profit organization wants 10 million students in the US to spend at least 60 minutes learning how to code. As such, the How to Code app by Codecademy targets total newcomers to computer programming. Its relatively short repertoire covers the absolute basics, such as how programs are written and a few examples of what can be achieved with just a few lines of code.

The lessons cover strings, operators, and many other building blocks associated with computer science. You won’t be publishing an app once the 60 minutes are up, but it’s a brilliant taster that should get students and teachers alike interested in the subject.
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Custom Donate
With our new branding flexibility, donors see your organization’s branding from start to finish. Donations are now simpler and faster than ever, with only a single step from the donation form to the confirmation page.

Statistics show that about 10% of your supporters are visiting donation pages on a mobile browser. CanadaHelps Custom Donate Now Pages are fully optimized for mobile use, which will allow donors to complete a secure donation through their smartphone or tablet browser.

Set up your custom donate page here.

August 12, 2013, The Getty Trust

LOS ANGELES—The Getty announced today that it was lifting restrictions on the use of images to which the Getty holds all the rights or are in the public domain. Getty President and CEO Jim Cuno made the announcement in a post on The Iris, the Getty’s blog.

"As of today, the Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds all the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose," wrote Cuno, citing the new program. 

As a result, there are roughly 4,600 images from the J. Paul Getty Museum available in high resolution on the Getty's website for use without restriction—representing 4,689 objects (some images show more than one object), including paintings, drawings, manuscripts, photographs, antiquities and sculpture and decorative arts. The Getty plans to add other images, until eventually all applicable Getty-owned or public domain images are available, without restrictions, online. 

The Getty Research Institute is currently determining which images from its special collections can be made available under this program, and the Getty Conservation Institute is working to make available images from its projects worldwide.

"The Museum is delighted to make these images available as the first step in a Getty-wide move toward open content," said J. Paul Getty Museum Director Timothy Potts. "The Getty’s collections are greatly in demand for publications, research and a variety of personal uses, and I am pleased that with this initiative they will be readily available on a global basis to anyone with Internet access."

Previously, the Getty Museum made images available upon request, for a fee, and granted specific use permissions with terms and conditions. Now, while the Getty requests information about the intended use, it will not restrict use of available images, and no fees apply for any use of images made available for direct download on the website.

"The Getty was founded to promote 'the diffusion of artistic and general knowledge' of the visual arts, and this new program arises directly from that mission," said Cuno. "In a world where, increasingly, the trend is toward freer access to more and more information and resources, it only makes sense to reduce barriers to the public to fully experience our collections."

"This is part of an ongoing effort to make the work of the Getty freely and universally available," said Cuno.

# # #

The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs serve a varied audience from two locations:  the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu.

The J. Paul Getty Museum collects in seven distinct areas, including Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts, and photographs gathered internationally. The Museum's mission is to make the collection meaningful and attractive to a broad audience by presenting and interpreting the works of art through educational programs, special exhibitions, publications, conservation, and research.

Additional information is available at www.getty.edu.
Sign up for e-Getty at www.getty.edu/subscribe to receive free monthly highlights of events at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa via e-mail, or visit www.getty.edu for a complete calendar of public programs.

ArtInfo by Graham Fuller, July 1, 2013 - Viewers unwilling to hike to their nearest cinema to see “A Field in England” when it opens in the UK on July 5 will be able to watch it the same day on broadcast television, via VOD, or buy it on DVD. The unique multi-platforming of Ben Wheatley’s movie, a cryptic drama set during the English Civil War, is likely to change the way movies are consumed — and not only in Britain.

Developed by Wheatley and his partner Amy Jump’s Rook Films with Film 4’s experimental Film4.0 production wing, “A Field in England” was shot in the open air in 12 days. It was financed by the distributor-exhibitor Picturehouse, the Film 4 Channel, and 4DVD with support from the British Film Institute’s New Models distribution fund.

  According to The Independent, Wheatley struck a deal with Film 4 to screen the digitally shot monochrome movie on the free-view television service “after making it on a budget of just £300,000 — a fraction of the normal cost of a television period drama.” Read more

Los Angeles Times, By David Ng June 10, 2013

Plays are routinely adapted for the movies and television. But a YouTube adaptation of a stage drama is something new.

In a small theater on the campus of East Los Angeles College, actor Christopher Gorham was performing a scene from the David Henry Hwang play "Yellow Face" over and over again as a camera crew went through several set-ups of the dialogue-heavy sequence.

It was near the end of a three-week shoot that took place in late December. Gorham, who was on hiatus from the USA Network series "Covert Affairs," was playing the part of Marcus, a white actor who is mistakenly cast as an Asian character in the play-within-the-play. Sitting next to him in the scene was actor Ryun Yu, playing the role of a playwright suggestively named "DHH."

The action was being shot on the theater's mostly bare stage, with scenery to be added digitally in post-production. With each take, Gorham went through a series of perplexed expressions as his character tried to go along with the playwright's insistence that Marcus -- all appearances to the contrary -- is of Asian descent.
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