The Artist, Oscar winner in categories best picture, best director, best actor, best costume AND finally best score.

Yes, a silent black and white French movie was this year's Hollywood favourite. Worth a Peter Bradshaw's thought !

Christy Dena is Director of Universe Creation 101, where she is currently developing a web-driven comedy-drama and web entertainment service. She works as an experience designer and writer on transmedia projects, and has consulted on multiple films, TV shows, alternate reality games and performance projects around the world. Christy co-write the Writer's Guide to Making a Digital Living and curated Transmedia Victoria. http://www.UniverseCreation101.com 

---------------------------------------

Filmmaker Arin Crumley has kindly written an exclusive guest blog for Support your local Cinema this month.

The Wall Street Journal lists Arin Crumley among the top 20 new media moguls.  His  first film, Four Eyed Monsters, won the Sundance Channel Audience Award, was nominated for two Spirit Awards and was the first feature-length film to air on YouTube. Millions of viewers have engaged across multiple mediums with the project, which began building audience through the release of a popular online video series and then booked film screenings across the world using the first location-based request system for independent film. The project evolved into an interactive experience when it began re-mixing footage created by the audience into the series itself. Continuing his exploration into new media Arin also co-founded a research and development project called From Here to Awesome, which invited filmmakers to create the future models of collaboration, funding, production and distribution. Recently Arin also co-founded OpenIndie.com, which is designing a new community distribution model for booking screenings of independent films and exploring ways to put revenue directly into filmmakers pockets.

Our many thanks to Arin for this one-off post.

For more information visit: arincrumley.com

---------------------------------------

Amber Jane Butchart is a former Research Fellow at the Centre for Fashion, the Body and Material Culture, based at the University of the Arts, London, and has lectured in Cultural Studies at both London College of Fashion and the ICA. She is a freelance trend and design consultant and a regular contributor to leading tren ng company WGSN. Her research is featured on PYMCA, an archive of youth culture that spans back over the past seven decades, and she has also written for sites including Fashion156, which was recently selected for the Blog Portal of the British Fashion Council. Having spent seven years as Buyer and Trend Analyst for London’s largest vintage clothing store, Beyond Retro, she recently left to focus on being one half of the Broken Hearts – DJs, designers and cultural commentators (www.thebrokenhearts.co.uk).

---------------------------------------

Nicola Sinclair is a freelance writer and editor based in Edinburgh. Nicola writes for magazines, newspapers and websites, manages social networks such as 38minutes and provides PR and creative consultancy services to a range of clients.  Her particular interests lie in screenwriting, novels and design, particularly interiors and textiles. 

This month, Nicola investigates how cinemas can turn followers into fans online.