Subject: Free Pint No.76 - ICC, Railways, Film and TV Free Pint "Helping 33,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN 1460-7239 30th November 2000 No.76 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Clive Hawkins FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Britain's Railway Industry Web Sites" By James Hatts BOOKSHELF "Leading the Revolution" Reviewed by Drosten Fisher FEATURE ARTICLE "Web Sources for Film and Television Information" By Ray Templeton and Danny Birchall EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/301100.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT For you, your friends, colleagues and customers The beautiful Renaissance Library Calendar 2001 12 wonderful photographs of magnificent old libraries, guaranteed to bring you pleasure on every day of the year. Already sold in 26 countries. Order NOW for Christmas! Buy 2 or more and get one FREE! Click here - before it's too late! http://www.isim.org/calendar.htm (mailto:info@isim.org) > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [is761] >>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<< Free Pint is a community of business professionals who use the Web for their work. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet. Signing up at provides free access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, industry news and events, with answers to your research questions and networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". This newsletter is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EDITORIAL I remember being asked a couple of years ago about my master plan for the future of Free Pint. I answered that there truly wasn't one, but I secretly hoped that one day we would be selling information from the Free Pint site. My background since graduating in Information Science has always been in the provision of online information databases, having worked for a number of vendors (including the FT and DIALOG) before going freelance four years ago. Therefore, it is with great pleasure and pride that I announce the launch of our new UK company research database in association with ICC. Free Pinters can now search for statutory and financial information on more than 1.6 million registered UK companies. Searching is free and provides details such as registered address, company number and previous names, all of which are helpful in verifying that you've located the correct company. You can then immediately purchase and view a range of reports for your chosen company using a credit card. Please do try out the service and I would value your feedback on any aspect of the system. Why not try a search today by visiting: http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc We will be distributing a press release about this major new gateway at the Free Pint Bar (stand number 30) at next week's Online Information 2000 exhibition at Olympia, London. This is the big annual event for us and I really hope you can come along. We're running a series of workshops again, as well as having live music on the stand and giving out lots of freebies (yes, including your chance to win real free pints!). If you're thinking of popping along then I would urge you to visit . We've packed a wide variety of topics into today's issue of Free Pint and so I'm sure you'll find many new sites and tips of interest. Please do support the advertisers in this edition. These include Factiva who sponsor the Free Pint Bars and WS Atkins who have a Web Editor vacancy. Learned Information give information about next week's show, plus there are details of the Renaissance Library Calendar, HTMail and its opt-in marketing, and the popular advanced Internet searching course from the British Library. If you enjoy this issue then do pass it on to your colleagues and friends, and don't forget to check out our new UK company information gateway at . Cheers William William Hann BSc MIInfSc Founder and Managing Editor, Free Pint e: william@freepint.co.uk t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 Free Pint is a trademark of Free Pint Limited http://www.freepint.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = WHAT DO YOU NEED ON THE INTERNET? site visitors? market surveys? customers? market information on your web site? A mailing to our 100% double opt-in list will bring you guaranteed 10% click throughs (average of over 27%) and feedback! To suit any budget - from under $30 to over $10,000. Click here! http://www.htmail.com/fpintro.html > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ht762] >>> FREE PINT AUTHOR UPDATE <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm Want to know what books we have available for review? Interested in knowing what topics we're looking to cover? Sign up for the brief monthly Author Update http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Clive Hawkins * The Paper Boy - get the latest national or local news from this excellent site that includes links to more than 4,600 newspaper websites worldwide. Christmas tip not required! * Kompass - this powerful international business database contains more than 1.5 million industrial and commercial companies worldwide, including product details and brand names * Millennium Maps - presented as the modern day Domesday Book, this fascinating view of the UK from the air is searchable by postcode or street name * Search Engine Watch - the best reference site for search engine placement and research techniques, with up-to-date developments on all the top search tools available for free or on subscription * Web Marketing and E-commerce - the biggest resource on the web, offering practical advice on best web marketing practice and thousands of links to related articles and sites Clive Hawkins is founder of the web search workshop , a specialist search engine placement consultancy helping UK business websites get noticed on the net. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. see the guidelines at or email > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FACTIVA LAUNCHES INFOPRO ALLIANCE PORTAL Take a look at our new portal to support information professionals around the world. The Infopro Alliance Portal provides tools and resources especially for the professional researcher, with links to industry web sites, publications, white papers, case studies and discussion through our link to the Free Pint Bar. Bookmark http://www.factiva.com/infopro > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [fa753] >>> FREE PINT ADVERTISER UPDATE <<< Thought about advertising in the Free Pint newsletter or Web site? Sign up for the Advertiser Update, a brief monthly email with details of special offers, discounts and forthcoming article topics. or email > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/301100.htm#bar Free Pint Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] Security is a vital concern for everyone using the Web, not just those who have something to lose or protect from breaches. High security means more restrictions, higher costs, less sharing and generally detracts from the usefulness of the Web. So if you know how to solve the problem of crooks using your domain name to send spam we'd be very interested to hear from you (6107). And there are other technical and software questions in need of an answer at the moment. Digital imaging projects (5985), computerised clinical data systems (5986), auditing information systems (6027), search engine interfaces (5979), evaluating Web sites (6105), invoicing software (6037) and email databases (6098) have all been the subjects of enquiry recently. Still technical, one Free Pinter needs some development work in return for equity (6094), another is looking for Web development courses in London, UK (5972) and a third is interested in search engine inclusion (6049). And ASPForums discussion software has been giving one of our subscribers grief (6023). Quite a few librarians have been in the Bar lately asking about access to business sources in school libraries (6013), library qualifications (6104), notification of monographs in print (6080), online librarian initiatives (6084), librarian associations (6030), software for controlling resource access (5957) and printing history resources for children (5984). If you want to find an old news story, predating the Web, I think the best place to go to would be a library. Even if the information can be found on the Web, it is the sort of thing a librarian would be best placed to advise on (6062). Is there a librarian in the house? As an indication of what the Web is good for, we have had a lot of mentions and reviews of great resources. There's the wireless Web (6008), full text papers from the UNESCO Infoethics conference (6099), chemical industry historical spot prices (6001), eco-tourism journals (6038), UK white paper information (6093), SME information for Mediterranean countries (6018) and angel and venture capital finance (6035). Not content with all that we also served up sites holding free journal articles (6039), basic international demographic data (6052), travel information in French (6058), details of conference facilities (6045), European Community SME information (5948) and information strategies in charitable institutions (6014). And it appears that case studies of many business and management practices are in plentiful supply (6115). Search tools are always under scrutiny on the Free Pint Bar. Approving noises have been expressed about Copernic (5908), recommendations have been made about searching individual sites (5953), and opinions are divided on Guidebeam (5962). VirtualLRC (6117) and C4 (6085) have also been test driven. How much would 1500 dollars in 1830 be worth today (6016)? Other quantitative queries have arisen on causes of blindness in the UK (5950), UK schools with Web sites (5966), usage statistics for health sites (6066), home ownership statistics in the UK (6095) and geocoding (5961). I imagine the person looking for stress at work statistics is now suffering from stress brought on by information overload (6079). Miscellaneous questions have been asked about how much grass a cow must eat to produce a pint of milk (6009), copyright on ad listings (5973), forming associations (6019), ad hits converted to sales (6028), the cost of portals (6091), opt-in email lists (6114), company director information, (6064) and panels of academic experts (6137). Anyone suffering from Knowledge Management withdrawal symptoms may like to have a look at a long posting from someone who finds KM a hard job (6076). Go on. You know you want to! Free Pint Student Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/student [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] On the Student Bar we have heard from people interested in information provision in law firms (1082), disabled access to libraries (1084), Web site evaluation (1085), dissertations and research papers (1088), information security management (1091), library work experience in the UK (1092) and high school students' use of the Internet (1093). Simon Collery, Content Developer To read a message: - Enter the id number in place of XXXX in the address , for example - For Student Bar postings please use the address - Alternatively, view this summary online with activated hyperlinks at If you have a tricky research question or can help other Free Pinters then do post a message at the Bar or the Student Bar . Visit daily for "Today's Tipple" - a different Web site reviewed every working day at the Bar. Every Tuesday there is the "Pub Crawl", a look at full text articles from a range of information and Internet publications. Access the archive of Tipples and Pub Crawls at . To have the latest Free Pint Bar postings sent to you every other day, send a blank email to . For the Student Bar Digest send an email to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = VACANCY FOR WEB EDITOR, Epsom, Surrey We are looking for a mature information professional with a confident approach to problem solving to join the team at WS Atkins plc You will need a good command of written English, some knowledge of HTML, high levels of accuracy and an ability to work under pressure We can offer you varied work in a stimulating environment, with appropriate training in Mediasurface, our content management system Email pasteel@wsatkins.com with your CV, or for more details > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ws764] >>> Purchase UK Company Data from Free Pint <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc/ It is free to search over 1.6m UK companies. Purchase statutory and financial information by credit card without setup or subscription fees. View reports within minutes on our secure server. Why not take a test run today at http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/301100.htm#tips "Britain's Railway Industry Web Sites" By James Hatts Britain's railway industry Web sites have been busy in recent weeks. As safety checks, floods and storms (not to mention the annual autumnal problem of "leaves on the line") have caused serious disruption to services, travellers have been hungry for information, many of them turning to online sources for the first time. The quality of rail industry sites varies immensely - what follows is a brief survey of the information available online, both in terms of passenger information and for those researching the rail industry. National Information -------------------- Many readers will be familiar with the Railtrack Web site and its online timetable service, which can now be accessed directly at . However, during the recent disruption callers to the overstretched National Rail Enquiries telephone service were directed to a new National Rail Web site set up by the Association of Train Operating Companies to provide a central online information source for Britain's fragmented network. An alternative to the Railtrack site is provided by Germany's Deutsche Bahn, whose pan-European journey planner is popular with many passengers. The Railway Forum is the only trade association with members drawn from all parts of the industry. Tickets and Fares ----------------- At present there is only one national online source for rail tickets. TheTrainline , originally a joint venture between Virgin and Cap Gemini, has steadily been refined and now provides a very easy-to-use service. The 1 pound discount on many tickets is an added attraction. However the service is constrained by the limitations of the ageing national rail reservations computer system and is unable to sell tickets overnight. FirstGroup, holders of three franchises in the UK, are developing their own service called TrainDirect . At present this is a rather limited and inflexible service. Midland Mainline's booking site at seems to be a little more useful. c2c, which operates out of London Fenchurch Street, offers a free callback service for advance ticket sales on its Web site . Given its connection with theTrainline, the much-maligned Virgin Trains currently has the best ticket sales site. Online ticketing is clearly an area to watch, with other operators also developing their own services. Train Operators --------------- The National Rail Web site provides links to each train company website. The best sites now incorporate real-time train running information linked to company control rooms. Successful examples of this can be found on the South West Trains and c2c sites. Thames Trains takes a different approach and allows passengers to view the departures and arrivals screen of any station on the network. Some companies seem to be struggling with the concept of real-time information. The Midland Mainline site was recently displaying the following message: "Due to the current speed restrictions, Midland Mainline has had to introduce a revised timetable to help ensure more accurate arrival and departure times than has been possible over the last few days. The Real-Time Train Running Information is only able to operate from the normal timetable and so this service has had to be withdrawn for the time being, as the information being shown was inaccurate." The use of Adobe Acrobat technology to allow passengers to download an electronic version of their local pocket timetable, pioneered by South West Trains, has now been adopted by neighbouring operator Connex . The prize for most over-the-top design goes to Silverlink , with its Flash animation and cheap, tacky sound effects. Freight Services ---------------- Most freight services in Britain are provided by EWS and Freightliner . Regulatory Bodies ----------------- The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is the government department responsible for railway policy. The Shadow Strategic Rail Authority is the new umbrella body for franchising and other industry-wide issues, although the Office of the Rail Regulator remains separate. The British Railways Board continues to operate in order to carry out residuary functions. Industry News ------------- The former British Rail in-house newspaper Railnews has been relaunched on a commercial basis after a short absence. A new free publication for rail staff has emerged in the form of Railstaff . Railway Gazette International is a well-respected industry journal. The excellent Moreover.com news aggregation service has a Transportation category at . Safety Issues ------------- Rail safety issues are coordinated by HM Railway Inspectorate . Railtrack's controversial Safety & Standards Directorate now has a standalone site at . The Southhall Rail Crash Inquiry has its own site at . The Safety on Trains Action Group, set up in the wake of the Southall crash, has a Web site at . Europe ------ The functions of the former British Rail International have been taken on by Rail Europe , part of the French national railway SNCF. Regular travellers to Paris and Brussels will be familiar with Eurostar.com . Beyond the Web -------------- Regular rail passengers who like a good bargain will find Rob Cope's Railbargain (formerly Railwatch) newsletter a very useful source of information. Usenet newsgroups are also useful for finding answers to specific questions not answered elsewhere. uk.railway is the main newsgroup covering the British network. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - James Hatts is Website Manager at Politico's , the high-profile Westminster political bookstore and publishing company. He is also Website Producer for London-SE1.co.uk < http://www.London-SE1.co.uk>, the local information site for London's South Bank area. In addition, James has acted as an Internet consultant to several voluntary sector organisations. He can be contacted at . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Travel" links, articles and news in the Free Pint Portal * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Post a message to the author now at the Free Pint Bar * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >> FREE tickets for Online Information 2000 << 5 - 7 December 2000 * National Hall & Olympia 2, London, UK Is finding the information you need turning out to be a bit of a bind? GET UNTANGLED at Online Information 2000 and find a wealth of information sources. REGISTER TODAY for free, fast track entry into this essential event http://www.online-information.co.uk/ol00/register.asp > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li765] >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< It's a fact that Free Pint will be exhibiting at the Online Information show next week for the third time. This is the major annual event for the information industry and our presence there just keeps on getting bigger and brighter. We always give away thousands of beermats, but last year we also gave away 100 real bottled free pints. This year this has been multiplied many times when there will be hundreds of real free pints available to win on our Free Pint one armed bandit. This is also the first time we'll have live music, with the Free Pint Players providing two sessions a day of Irish folk music, involving our very own Simon on Mandola. We'll be easily spotted in our Free Pint aprons and are running a series of "Question Time Workshops" throughout the exhibition. We hope you'll join us in the Free Pint Bar on stand 30. William Hann, Managing Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BOOKSHELF http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf "Leading the Revolution" Reviewed by Drosten Fisher This is an engaging, inspirational book, written in an energetic and informal style. The central thesis is that true business value is created by radical business concepts, not by incremental improvements to existing business models. Or, as Hamel succinctly puts it: "those who live by the sword will be shot by those who don't." It expresses complex arguments very simply, using down-to-earth language and plenty of real world examples. In fact, the single most persuasive argument Hamel uses to support his views is the practical examples of success resulting from innovative business concepts. The key to generating superior business returns, Hamel argues, is learning to think about business strategically as opposed to operationally. Operational thinking is characterised by a focus on the present, on certainties, and what is "real", while strategic thinking is focused on the future, on possibilities and on "play". To quote Blake, "what is now proved was once only imagined", and Hamel's key argument is that the information age we are now entering gives unprecedented opportunities for the exercise of the imagination to create new sources of business value. Or rather, to create new ways of working; the key is that a business concept is better than before, and this will naturally lead to profitability. As Hamel says, "you can't use an old map to find new land." At this point, you may be thinking, "this is all very well, but how does it apply to my day job?" Hamel gives detailed examples, from companies such as IBM, Shell and Sony, of how visionary thinking on the part of one or two dedicated individuals has radically changed the nature of a company. And it is this that makes the book very good rather than merely very interesting. Because Hamel gives concrete examples of his philosophy in practice, and also gives a detailed checklist for implementing his ideas, it becomes possible for the reader to see how they could apply these ideas to their own organisation. The only problem is that if you do, you might well get sacked. But Hamel would argue, does that matter in today's business environment? In summary, this book is a fantastically interesting, stimulating read with real practical applications. You may not, in the end, decide to start a "revolution" in your own organisation. But you will certainly think differently about business and the real sources of competitive advantage as we move into the information age. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Drosten Fisher works as a Research Associate for Impact Plus plc. Founded in 1990, Impact Plus is one of the fastest growing management consultancies in the UK and Ireland. It is Impact Plus' mission to make a positive impact on the business of our clients. We have an enviable reputation for delivering independent, practical, value-for- money advice. Impact Plus has offices in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Dublin and has delivered in virtually every market sector. Impact Plus is also a principal member of E-I Consulting Group, with access to 1,800 consultants in 75 offices worldwide. www.impactplus.co.uk > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read about other Internet strategy books on the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com * Details: ISBN 1578511895 published by Harvard Business School Press written by Gary Hamel * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Bookshelf To propose a business-Web-related book for review, send details to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVANCED SEARCHING ON THE WEB - 30 January 2001 at the British Library In just one morning, this course will show you the most appropriate place to start - a directory, a search engine, or both combined? Discover how to quickly narrow or broaden your searches. For instance, do you keep getting an unwanted site dominating your results? Are you looking for terms within a URL only? Contact Tony Catarinicchia 020 7412 7915 or visit our website at http://www.bl.uk/services/stb/courses.html for further details. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [bl766] >>> SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO THE TOP SEARCH ENGINES <<< It's quick, easy and free to promote your site using Free Pint Submit: http://www.freepint.co.uk/submit/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/301100.htm#feature "Web Sources for Film and Television Information" By Ray Templeton and Danny Birchall From the very beginning, one of the web's strong suits has been the involvement of enthusiasts and detail-obsessives; for much longer, the worlds of film and television have attracted a similar cast of characters. Put the two together and the result is that the web is an enormously, and ever-increasingly, rich source of information and images about film and TV, whether your interest is commercial, educational, recreational, or just curious; whether you are a producer seeking cast, or a fan wanting to find out what happened in a missed episode of Ally McBeal. This brief overview can only indicate some of the key sites, as well as starting points from which you can navigate easily to more detailed levels. General Reference ----------------- By far the most comprehensive source of film information, and always a good place to start, is the well-established Internet Movie Database. IMDb provides detailed cast and credits for about 200,000 films, as well as plot summaries, user comments, awards info, trivia, images etc., as well as links to relevant external sites. It's an interactive service: it relies on submissions and corrections from its users to maintain accurate information. You can submit your own updates to the IMDb either through the website itself or through specially-formatted emails. IMDb also includes information about television, but a much more detailed TV reference site is epguides.com, which offers detailed episode guides for thousands of TV shows. It's clearly strongest on currently running US series, but there's plenty of detail of UK programming as well, and it is improving all the time. Using the strengths offered by the web as an information medium, epguides solves the problem of providing personality information by the simple expedient of linking to IMDb. Commercial and Industry Reference --------------------------------- The key printed reference work for people working in the film and television industries in the UK, The Knowledge is now a comprehensive web resource, with continually updated listings of production needs "from props and vehicles to catering and crew", as well as "events, exhibitions, conferences, screenings or training days on the diary dates page". Essentially a links site, TV Link pulls together not just industry- specific links, ranging from footage sales - a global network of sites serving the footage trade, with facilities to search across a range of stock, archival and news databases - to casting - a database of actors and actresses, searchable by attributes as diverse as ethnicity and eye colour - but also includes a facility entitled The Producer's Briefcase, with links to everything from car rentals to exchange rates. In the absence of reliable bibliographic control of audiovisual media, it's worth bearing in mind a site like Blackstar, which is a retail service for video and DVD, but also provides a quasi-bibliographical facility, in that it offers a fairly reliable (at least in respect of feature films, TV series and popular non-fiction) indication of what titles are in print at any given time, and can be searched in various useful ways. The movie business ------------------ To be in the know about the latest events in the film business (or at least to give that impression), you rarely have to move far from your monitor: a wide variety of sites trade in everything from breaking box office figures to scurrilous rumours about the stars. With its home- made look and feel, Ain't It Cool shares the reputation of Matt Drudge's political news website for garnering the scoops and leaks that the industry would rather you didn't hear: inside news from outsiders, if you like. The site's correspondents mail in accounts of previews seen, hints directors have dropped in interviews, and any other tidbits of industry news and rumour, and the editor, Harry, posts them for all to read. Print magazine Variety has been the house journal of Hollywood ever since there was a Hollywood, reporting on the deals done, the stars signed and dropped, and most importantly of all, the money made. Online Variety provides much the same, day-by-day. For studio executives, or the seriously addicted, VarietyExtra, a subscription service, will email you breaking news, and allow you to juggle box office returns on the site. The daily online news service allied to EMAP's Screen International magazine, Screen Daily provides news headlines covering a similar territory to Variety, from a UK and European angle: companies bought and sold, festival previews and other industry news. Organisations and funding ------------------------- In Europe and the UK, the role of public bodies in funding film production and defending national film cultures against the tsunami of Hollywood product has frequently been unclear, if not contentious. Nevertheless, such bodies provide useful information and advice, if not cold hard cash, to those interested in making, showing and teaching people about film. Since May this year, the Film Council has assumed responsibility for publicly-funded film production in the UK. Its site, though sparse, provides details of the council's remit and the various production funds available to apply to. More usefully, it also carries Lowdown: the low budget funding guide, which provides an introduction to how to get your low-budget film funded, and an extensive directory of contact details for funding agencies and organisations at every level from regional to European. Tasked with preserving the UK's film heritage since 1933, the BFI provides a wide range of educational and exhibition services as well as preserving and releasing prints of classic films. The site provides comprehensive information on all the BFI's activities, as well as access to searchable catalogues from the collections, what's on at London's National Film Theatre and regional arthouse cinemas, downloadable educational materials, full catalogues of the books and videos the BFI publishes, and in-depth features based around BFI releases and retrospectives. The European Audiovisual Observatory provides business information on the 'audiovisual sector' in Europe, including film and home entertainment. The focus is on statistical information, foresight and market analysis. It's quite dry, and definitely not for the casual browser, but for an overall view of the media markets in Europe, indispensable. Careers and Training -------------------- For those interested in working in the industry, or in studying and knowing more about it, there is a range of options. For UK-specific training information the first port of call should be Skillset, the National Training Organisation for Broadcast, Film, Video and Multimedia. The BFI's site (see below) has a regularly-updated database of short courses in Media and Multimedia, with details of short (i.e. less than 6 months) courses in film, television, video and radio across the UK (co-published with Skillset). Magazines --------- The Internet has long threatened to revolutionise the world of magazine publishing, replacing monthly glossies full of ads with fast- changing news and reviews. Online film magazines, however, are no exception to the trend of offline 'brands' extending their reach into the online world and taking their existing readership with them: independent web ventures find it hard to establish the vital 'mindshare'. One of the few independents, the recently revamped 6 degrees, concentrates on cinema beyond the multiplex, with a monthly roundup of reviews of all films currently on release, including mini- runs and limited releases. The reviews are written by volunteers rather than professional journalists, but nevertheless of a high quality. They also provide links to and information on film festivals world-wide, and perhaps most usefully a free-to-submit small ads service where low-budget filmmakers and cast/crew can seek each other out. Empire Online, the web version of the news-stand magazine, provides a more mainstream view of the movies, with up-to-the-minute production and celebrity news alongside reviews of films on UK release. In collaboration with partner websites they also provide links to trailers for forthcoming releases, and a search facility allowing you to find out what's on at cinemas in your local area. Part of the ever-growing Guardian 'unlimited' empire, Filmunlimited takes film reviews and features from both the Guardian and Observer newspapers and adds daily news items. Rooted strongly in the broadsheets' film coverage, the emphasis is on 'cultural' and world cinema, with lengthy features. And finally ----------- No article on film and TV websites, however brief, would be complete without something for the true obsessive. A perfect example of such a site would be The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia, an on-line version of the Kevin Bacon game, in which movie buffs compete to see how quickly they can link personalities using their appearances in films. For example: Stan Laurel has a Bacon number of 3 - he was in Jitterbugs [1943] with Vivian Blaine; Vivian Blaine was in The Dark [1979] with William Devane; William Devane was in Hollow Man [2000] with Kevin Bacon. The search engine on this site enables you to link any personality to any other in this way. Hours of fun! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ray Templeton is Head of the BFI National Library, and has worked in public, educational and specialist libraries. He has been involved in the development of public information systems since the Prestel experiments of the late 1970s. While at the Library Association in the mid-1990s, he was project manager of the bid to the Millennium Commission to fund a national network linking public libraries across the UK. Danny Birchall is the editor of the British Film Institute's website . Before coming to the BFI, he was editor of the University of Sussex Information Service. He is also a freelance writer on digital media and the Internet, having most recently written for Sight and Sound magazine on digital movie piracy. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Broadcasting" links and news in the Free Pint Portal * Respond to this article and chat to the author now at the Bar * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT STUDENT BAR <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/student/ Created for students on information courses, the Student Bar helps with projects and dissertations, finding recruitment and placements, and meeting other information students around the world. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FORTHCOMING EVENTS http://www.freepint.co.uk/events Scottsdale, Arizona will be host to both the Annual eCommerce Strategies Conference and Exhibition West and the Emerging Technology Scene events in early December. The XML 2000 event will be in Washington DC at around the same time and the Building Dynamic Web Sites will take place in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Europe, the M2000 will be held in Stockholm, Sweden and the Business Intelligence in Telecommunications will be in Geneva, Switzerland. Free Pint will be out in strength for the Online Information event in London, UK. We are looking forward to meeting many of our subscribers and welcoming you to our Bar next week on stand 30. Full details of these and many other forthcoming conferences and exhibitions in the online-information and Internet industries can be found on the Free Pint Events page . Simon Collery, Content Developer > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> EMAIL NEWSLETTER HOSTING FROM FREE PINT <<< Do you publish a newsletter by email? Would you like it to be sent out by a reliable hosting company? Would you like all subscription requests to be handled automatically? 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The feature article was on search techniques that help you get the most from the Web. * Free Pint No.3, 4th December 1997 "Getting the Most Out of Online 97" and "Getting Even Better Results from Search Engines" . Simon Collery, Content Developer > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES [Provisional] * Radio Industry * Transport * Economics Sources * On Line Auctions * * Voluntary Sector Resources * Innovation * History * Horseracing * * Careers Information Sources * Free Software * Online Media * If you have a suggestion for an article topic or would like to write for Free Pint then please contact me or sign up for the monthly Author Update on the Web site at . Rex Cooke, Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = I hope you've enjoyed this issue of Free Pint. Do send us a note with your feedback and comments, or send this issue on to someone else who might enjoy it. 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