Beaune’s Blog

We’re seeing much discussion today about how to improve news. Bad international actors now flood our information spaces with falsehoods. Interviewers ask naïve questions of their subjects rather than risk losing access. News organisations have reduced staff to the point that ‘journalism’ increasingly refers to pundits who comment on news rather reporters who seek it out.  What can we do to improve things? What follows is one suggestion. Let’s do some curation—and, in the process, shift the reward system. Why not have an international, independent accreditation network for news sources? It would work much as accrediting organisations now do for universities. Information sources would be periodically evaluated by research and journalism professionals using objective standards.  These services would then be assigned tiered ratings. AP, for example might earn a designation of Gold Medal News Source at the end of the day; Discovery Channel might be a Bronze Medal source. Sensatio...

Five Vignettes from 1001 Nights and Other Short Stories by A T Beaune    ©   2014   All rights reserved. We do not remember days. We remember moments. – Cesare Pavese 1 Cocoa Beach, 1969 The launch of a Saturn V sends a bead of sun into the sky. You squint. The sky darkens around that bead of fire pushing its pale dart. Neighbours stand on their lawns around you, gazing skyward. Only after the glowing bead clears the rooftops does the sound arrive. You feel the rumble as much as hear it. It rolls toward you, takes over your ribs. Windows rattle, birds flee. Over the rumble now sprouts a burning crackle. The crackle and the rumble merge into a single growl of power. On my portable radio a tenor  voice speaks through static. ‘We’ve got us a roll program.’ The climbing fireball sprouts a trailing cloud. It lengthens into a snaking white spiral. ‘Roll complete and pitch is programming.’ Crackle. ‘Copy that,’ says another voice. ‘Stand by for Mode ...

Actors in photo (left to right): Jia Lin Chen, Hank Yu, Anna Tian, Dora Lo, Manav Mehta, Aaron Don Don Shot on location at Star Steak, Taipei City   Mediterraneo Festival Corto XIV Edizione 2024 Piazza Spinelli • Scalea, Calabria 87029 Italia Luglio • July 3–7 Artistic Director: Francesco Presta Technical Director: Ferdinando Romito https://www.mediterraneofestivalcorto.it Official Selection: ‘Melodia: a short film in rondo form’ 梅樂蒂 : 本短片採迴旋曲式結構 A T Beaune Creations with f/Lash Productions linktr.ee/melodia.shortfilm 陳羿安 Yi-An Chen as Mel 翁重華 Chung Hua Weng, piano with 艾倫咚 Aaron Don Don 哆啦囉 Dora Lo 田雨璇 Anna Tian 阿曼 Manav Mehta 余宗翰 Hank Yu 陳佳琳 Jia Lin Chen 故事和方向 story and direction 唐博訥 A T Beaune 攝影師 director of photography 范樂怡 Laticia Fan 本片攝於台灣 filmed in Taiwan © A T Beaune Creations MMXXII #shortfilm #artfilm #melodia #music #piano #festivals #meditarraneofestivalcorto #scalea #calabria #italia #yianchen #chunghuaweng #aarondondon #doralo #annatian #manavmehta ...

  This pre-production photo for the set team of Melodia  shows two framed prints. The photographer has dropped keys on the floor to indicate scale. The details are from Beethoven Frieze  by Gustav Klimt, designed in 1902 for the Secession Building in Vienna. One print shows an angelic chorus singing ‘Ode to Joy.’ Another shows the composer embracing a female figure; a representation the world, she returns the embrace. In the short film the prints appear mounted on the wall of the title character’s apartment. It is characteristic that Mel surrounds herself with creature comforts but that nothing—except perhaps the piano itself—is extravagant in price. She has plants and books and framed prints. We see her enjoy a good bath, a cup of oolong, candlelight, and a goblet of wine. Her window looks out on Metro rail line; though above the ground floor, she hardly lives in a penthouse. Her taste in music is eclectic. Mel, a Taiwanese pianist, is played by Ms Yi-An Chen; the music ...

Actor in photo: Jia Lin Chen We’re delighted to announce that our short film ‘Melodia’ is a nominee in the 2024 Cannes Film Awards. The categories are Independent Short Film and Super Short Film (under ten minutes).  Cannes Film Awards juries feature collaborations with experts in the field of European film art. Projects in the festival have received distribution on Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime. The festival, not affiliated with the Festival de Cannes, aims to present independent films in a world-class locale for cinema. Congratulations to our cast and crew. Greetings from Taiwan to our friends in Nice! Official Selections & Award Nominees https://cannesfilmawards.com/official-selection/2024 Melodia 梅樂蒂  https://linktr.ee/melodia.shortfilm

Jai Lin Chen and Hank Yu in Melodia Good news arrived this week from the Calabrian coast. ‘Melodia’ is an official selection of the 14th annual Mediterraneo Festival Corto! This UNESCO-recognised gathering celebrates its 2024 edition July 3–7 in Scalea. Grazie molto from fair Formosa to director Francesco Presta and friends of cinema in Italy! Mediterraneo Festival Corto Web https://www.mediterraneofestivalcorto.it IG https://www.instagram.com/mediterraneofestivalcorto   FB https://www.facebook.com/mediterraneofestivalcorto   Melodia 梅樂蒂: https://linktr.ee/melodia.shortfilm   A T Beaune Creations with f/Lash Productions ‘Melodia: a short film in rondo form’ 梅樂蒂 : 本短片採迴旋曲式結構 陳羿安 Yi-An Chen as Mel 翁重華 Chung Hua Weng, piano with 艾倫咚 Aaron Don Don 哆啦囉 Dora Lo 田雨璇 Anna Tian 阿曼 Manav Mehta 余宗翰 Hank Yu 陳佳琳 Jia Lin Chen 故事和方向 story and direction 唐博訥 A T Beaune 攝影師 director of photography 范樂怡 Laticia Fan 本片攝於台灣 filmed in Taiwan © A T Beaune Creations MMXXII #mediterraneo #medite...

Congratulations to Chung Hua Weng (翁重華), musical voice of ‘Melodia: a short film in rondo form.’ ‘Melodia’ is an official selection of the 13th Buenos Aires International Film Festival starting next week. Professor Weng’s performance in the soundtrack has been awarded top honours by the festival jury. Over 120 countries are represented in BUEIFF events. Festival planners describe cinema as ‘a magic tool that speaks a universal language, which allows the ability to unite people from all over the world in an instant. Art, in all its forms, crosses any border, culture, society, ethnicity, or religion. Art is what most identifies us as human beings and what gives us humanity.’ Professor Weng recorded the music for ‘Melodia’ at Platinum Studio Taipei (白金錄音室). Recording, editing, and remix were by audio engineers Timmy Ju (朱品豪) and Min-Hsiang Chang (張閔翔) working with music advisor Alton Thompson (唐博敦) and studio supervisor Micky Yang (楊敏奇). Sound designer Tzu-Xiang Chen (陳子翔) and recordist C...