To BEA or Not to BEA

Blog by S. English

BEA is around the corner and yet I am still undecided as to whether or not I’ll attend this year. I’ve paid for my assistant and a colleague to go, but may not attend personally as I have in years past.


Part of the issue is money. New York City is expensive. Luckily I have a friend in the city who I can stay with, but then transportation is expensive, so there are budgetary issues.


Part of it is the cost of creating the materials to pass out at BEA. We create DVDs every year and have them distributed at the registration desks. Historically we’ve paid $500 for that distribution and the cost of making the DVDs are $500 so that’s been a really great deal. But, as of today I was told that the cost of distribution of our DVDs has not doubled, or even tripled, but it is five times more than what we’ve ever paid before. Five times. Not $500, but now it is $2500 and I’m told this only a month before BEA, long after I sent an email asking to secure the DVD distribution as I have done over the past 4 years.


I may go as I do each year to report for Reader’s Entertainment, but knowing that BEA is charging five time what it normally charges to a small business such as mine makes it a tough pill to swallow just to be there.  I guess time will tell whether I go or not.

Circle of Seven Productions Takes to the Big Apple for the Vimeo Festival

This weekend Vimeo, a top video community, opens up their first annual festival and awards show and COS is there to learn, share and have fun!

COS Productions CEO Sheila Clover English attended the festival which opened with a comedy skit about the state of the internet. The community of filmmakers and social media experts laughed, bonded and made new friends right away.

The first session was called Digi Boot Camp put on by a company called "Shooting People". They discussed everything from transmedia to social marketing with video, new platforms and venues.

Next up was a Tip & Tricks for Vimeo session where Sheila found some great tips on how to get more views and more quality views to the COS profile on Vimeo. She spoke with Vimeo execs about a potential contract with Vimeo and further discussions are slated for next week.

The final two sessions were informative, cutting edge and facinating. Digital Rights was discussed by the Vimeo attorney, the creator of "Creative Commons" and a cutting edge remix artist. The long and short of the discussion was that courts continue to try to control the re-utilization of material, but that the laws are so strict they have become un-enforceable.

The final session was on TransMedia which is, in the opinion of Ms. English, is the wave of the future for all entertainment industries, including books. Delivering an entertainment experience across platforms encourages participation and a more involved experince with audiences.

For those following on Twitter you can find out more by searching for #vimeofest.