<nettime> Preliminary Program of net.congestion - International Festival ofStreaming Media

[Eric Kluitenberg <epk@xs4all.nl>]

dear nettimers,

We are happy to present the preliminary program of net.congestion, the
International Festival of Streaming Media, which will take place in
Amsterdam, October 6 - 8, 2000. ( http://net.congestion.org )

We have tried to be as accurate as possible in drawing up this program,
but it still preliminary and may be subject to change and/or minor errors.
We will publish the final program in the second half of September.

hope to see as many as possible of you in Amsterdam!

best wishes,
eric


_______________________________


p r e l i m i n a r y  p r o g r a m



	net.congestion

International Festival of Streaming Media

De Balie, Paradiso, Melkweg, De Waag, Montevideo/TBA

Amsterdam, October 6 - 8, 2000



-----------------
Introduction
-----------------

net.congestion, the first international festival of streaming media in The
Netherlands, is the result of the collective effort of a broad coalition
of Dutch and international cultural & media organisations, artists and
media tacticians. The festival is devoted to new forms of broadcasting and
live programming that have emerged around the Internet (the so-called
"streaming media"). The festival presents and explores the use of
streaming media as an artistic and tactical (social / political) medium,
i.e. the points where artistically challenging work and socially relevant
content meet. The main venues will be Paradiso, De Balie and Melkweg,
creating a unique festival infrastructure around the Leidse Plein in the
heart of Amsterdam. Montevideo and the Society for Old and New Media (De
Waag) will act as important workshop locations.

The festival will be a showcase of the most exciting and innovative
artistic and tactical streaming media projects from around the globe. The
program includes performances, concerts, club events, public presentations
and debates, the 'Media Bank' (a public do-it-yourself media space),
walk-in studio's that give the audience a chance to see the artists and
technicians at work and interact with the live programs as they are being
made, workshops and seminars. A large part of the festival will actually
happen in the media; on the Internet, in local and national radio
broadcasts, via cable television, satellite, and any other (trans-)
national medium that the festival manages to seize upon.

The festival will be a meeting point for various artistic and tactical
communities who do not regularly meet each other. It aims to give new
incentives to these communities, create new lasting structures for
co-operation, and encourage the development of fresh ideas and improved
technology in this field.

While commercial forces dominate the main-stream development of the field,
net.congestion will instead create a public platform for the multitude of
innovative artistic and tactical initiatives that have emerged around
streaming media.

The web site address  	http://net.congestion.org


------------------------------------
Content of this Document:
------------------------------------


The preliminary program contains the following sections:

- On-Line Events

- Off-Line Events

- Performances, Evening Programs & Club Nights

- Artist Presentations

- Panels & Debates

- Workshops & Seminars


__________________________________

Tickets, Prices & Contact Information:

Day-Tickets:   DFL 35,-

Passepartout:  DFL 65,-

(prices include evening programs)

__________________________________


Reservations:

e-mall: congestion@ balie.nl

Tel.:  +31.20.55 35 100


General Enquiries:

net.congestion
c/o De Balie
Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10
1017 RR Amsterdam

Contact: Lucas Evers

Tel. +31.20.553 51 51
Fax. +31.20.553 51 55

e-mail: congestion@balie.nl

http://net.congestion.org
______________________________



------------------------
ON-LINE EVENTS:
------------------------

For net.congestion the events happening in the media space are equally
important as the events taking place in the real physical space in
Amsterdam. The online aspect of the festival will be both a reflection of
the activities in real space as well as an event in itself.


* Festival Web Site

The web site accompanying the festival will be a networked 'event space',
with a large collection of streaming tools for the public to experiment
with, documentation of the content collected for the festival, the content
itself, and information about streaming media.

The most recent information about the festival and the program updates can
be found at the festival web site:

http://net.congestion.org



* Streamed Events

All the public discussions will be streamed live for free access over the
internet. In addition we intend to have online participation by invited
remote guests. These contributors will present their work or thoughts to
the panel discussion by way of live streamed video and audio, direct to
the presentation rooms.

Links to all live streams produced @ net.congestion can be found at:

http://net.congestion.org/live



* Hybrid Broadcast Events

The festival would like to follow the model for hybrid broadcasting as
established by DDS' Virtual Media Lab. Within a small but open environment
we wish to melt different streaming and broadcasting media, to form hybrid
outputs online, on air, and via satellite. The public is welcome to occupy
this space while this occurs, and of course there will be plenty of
opportunity for participation by the online public.

The output of these hybrid broadcasts will also be displayed throughout
the festival venues, both visually and audibly.

Check the web site for details!



* Remote Participation

The festival is organised in close co-operation with a large and very
international community of artists, media producers and activists
scattered across the planet. It is obvious that it will not be possible
for all these people and groups to visit the festival in person. The very
nature of the festival, however, turns this liability into an opportunity.
The net offers manifold possibilities for remote participation in live
events, for re-mixing, co-creation, and mediated presentations. These
remote contributions on-line will therefore add an important decentralised
dimension to the festival.

Special remote connections will a.o. be set up with the electrofringe
festival in Newcastle, Australia, the Integrated Media Programme at
CalArts in Los Angeles, and WMF Club & Tresor in Berlin.



-------------------------
OFF-LINE EVENTS:
-------------------------

A unique festival infrastructure in the heart of Amsterdam will create the
backbone of the streaming media festival. The famous concert and club
spaces Paradiso and Melkweg, and De Balie - centre for culture and
politics, all located within two minutes walking distance from each other,
will be the main venues for the festival. These venues will host a diverse
series of public events and presentations.



* Walk in Studio

A walk in studio for broadcast and streamed representation of the real
space events will be created in the small hall (kleine zaal) of Paradiso.
The public is welcome to walk through this space and observe the artists
and technicians at work. The aim of this studio is to reduce and demystify
the live content production process and offer the public the opportunity
to see and understand this process. The studio will host interviews, music
and sound sessions, and a series of micro performances, all sent out live
over the net and other cross-connected media.

Hosted by Bellissima (Amsterdam)

Location: Paradiso (Kleine Zaal) - Continuous



* The Media Bank

A major component of the festival will be 'The Media Bank', an exhibition
medium presenting and contextualising diverse streaming video and audio
projects from around the world. The Media Bank will exhibit work enabled
by the new open distribution channels created by streaming media. In its
early manifestations, streaming media catalysed a dynamic flurry of
production in arts and music communities, leading to novel media formats
as net.radio and web-tv. This early artistic activity was quickly followed
by the tremendous interest of tactical media initiatives, which work in a
more decidedly social and political context. Later, club cultural scenes
and documentary film makers began to experiment with streaming media.

Recognising that these creative and tactical projects are seldom seen by
large audiences, The Media Bank aims to provide a dynamic platform for
artists, documentary makers, activists and other media producers to show
their work to the diverse and critically engaged on-site festival
audience. The Media Bank will offer visitors of the festival a chance at a
first hand experience of streaming media. The Media Bank will comprise a
centralised collection of computers connected to a localised server,
running specially designed piece of software which will present and play
back archived streaming video and audio. Audiences will be able to select
and experience artists' works, online documentaries, activist videos,
demonstrations and instructive material, and other streaming projects.

net.congestion are now calling for proposals of projects to exhibit in The
Media Bank. Email <qualia@xs4all.nl> for more information.

Location: De Balie (Grote Zaal) - Continuous




* Performances, Evening Programs & Club Nights

The cross-over terrain between new music, dance and club culture, and
media culture is investigated through a series of club events, live
concerts and performances. Live programming via the Internet is becoming
highly popular in club and concert-spaces. The performance and club events
will bring together distinguished performers from the contemporary music
and club scene, as well as young innovative musicians, sound and
performance artists who produce challenging work in this new field. These
evening programs of net.congestion are a diversified mix of experimental
performances, concerts, live net events produced at three of Amsterdam's
most famous cultural venues: Paradiso, De Balie and Melkweg.



- Opening Event - Zadruga (.yu)

The Belgrade artist collective Zadruga has been invited to design the
opening event of the festival. On the Friday evening Zadruga will
transform the theatre spaces of De Balie into a multi-sensory total
environment that fuses high- and low-tech interfaces in the space with

Zadruga is a collective of visual artists, musicians, writers,
cartoonists, and do-it-yourself new media specialists, with a great
experience in creating both small and large scale public happenings
bordering between contemporary arts and club culture.

Date: Friday, October 6 - 20.00
Location: De Balie



- net.radio.web.tv.night

A global re-mix, sound, music & image exchange: Exactly at midnight on
Saturday night a global net.audio.web.video jam session will start, in
which artists dispersed around the globe will continuously repurpose each
others sound and image materials streamed live over the net. A fascinating
exploration of the dynamics of the networked communication space in sound
and image.

The net.radio.web.tv.night is hosted by Xchange, the net.audio network
(http://xchange.re-lab.net), who in the past conducted a series of similar
exercises, using net.audio (net.radio.nights). For net.congestion this
concept will be expanded to include images for the first time.

Date: Saturday, October 7th @ midnight
Location: Mediabank - De Balie



- Club Nights

The nightly club programs venture into the heart of the Berlin techno
scene, with live connections and DJ/VJ exchanges with famous Berlin clubs
WMF and Tresor on Saturday in Paradiso & Melkweg . The Sunday night will
dive into the Hip Hop scene's massive net-presence, including a live
free-style session between Paradiso Amsterdam and the Media Buro in
Philadelphia, as well as the world's first ever live streamed break-dance
instruction class.

Date: Saturday & Sunday October 7 & 8
Location: Paradiso & Melkweg



* Performance Night @ Melkweg  (The Max)

A selection of internationally renown performance and media-artists will
create a unique performance program involving all kinds of streaming
technologies and streaming components on the Saturday night in the main
hall (The Max) @ Melkweg.

The performance will include:

- Sarah Teitler & Jade Jossen (New York) - The Silent Show with Sound
Puppet Theatre Show streamed live over the net.
- Snowcrash (.nl) - Tokyo
A co-operative real-time performance between an Amsterdam band and a singer
in Tokyo
- Arcangel Constantini (Mexico City)
Bakteria - Live interactive visual music performance & audience installation
- F5 (Riga)
- eset - Software Performance

Date: Saturday October 7 - 21.00
Location: Melkweg



* Special Event:  O + E
   a connected concert between Amsterdam & London

De Waag, Society for Old and New Media, together with Audiorom present:
O + E: a connected concert between Amsterdam and London using KeyStroke.

KeyStroke is a multi-user crossmedia synthesizer developed at Waag Labs.

Date: 7 + 8 October
Location: NEMO Oosterdok 2. Starting time 9.30pm.

Admission by special ticket only: Dfl.20 / 16.50
Ticket reservation: tel. 020 - 531 3118 or tel. 557 9898

More info:
http://www.keyworx.org  / http://www.waag.org




---------------------------------
ARTIST PRESENTATIONS:
---------------------------------

Leading individual artists and artist collectives around the globe are
invited to present and comment their work.

These presentations include:

- Rachel Baker, Irational / TM Selector, London
- Nora Barry, The Bit Screen (festival), Narberth (Wales)
- Ad de Bont, Radio Interference, Amsterdam
- Bruno Beusch & Tina Cassani, TNC Network, Paris
- Tim Boykett, Times Up, Linz
- Heath Bunting, World Service, non-located
- Arcangel Constantini, Mexico-City
- Nick Crowe, UK
- Walter van der Cruisen, streaming ascii, Berlin
- Dimos Dimitriou, Athens
- Heidi Grundman, Kunstradio, Vienna
- Alexander Gubas, Zadruga, Belgrade
- Zina Kaye & Mr. Snow, Laudanum.net, Sidney
- Thomax Kaulmann, OMA - Open Meta Archive
- Lev Manovich, microcinema
- Peter Notari, Pararadio, Budapest
- Gordon Paunovic, net.aid / FreeB92, Belgrade
- Radio Active, Zagreb
- Kate Rich, Fall Out Radio, London
- Mike Riemel, Border2000, Berlin
- Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits, Xchange / Ozone, Riga
- Borut Savski, Radio Student Ljubljana
- Martin Thompson, Nervous Objects, Sidney
- Krassimir Terziev, Interspace, Sofia
- Vencislav Zankov, Zetm@g, Sofia

Location: Media Bank - De Balie



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
OVERVIEW OF PANELS & DEBATES, WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

(Time tables will be announced shortly)



--------------------------------
PANELS AND DEBATES:
--------------------------------


I - "The changing shape of things that flow"


- Narrative Streams  (The Network is the Narrative)
Online media streams are multiplying access points to the already explosive
proliferation of narratives. In the face of a general consensus that we are
living a provisional and in-deterministic reality, supported by new media
whose databases allow for multiple trajectories, there is something almost
joyously perverse in the unflagging popularity the classical narrative,
with its fixed geometry of beginnings, middles and endings of heroes and
villains. Despite modernist experiments and the technology of the database
the narrative (along with the image) remains one of our societies dominant
way of knowing in which propositions unfold through progression, through
temporal sequence. The panel's presentations and discussion will seek to
clarify the way in which these and other longstanding questions about the
relationship between the net and the narrative are both heightened and
popularised by the emergence of streaming.

Participants:
Lev Manovich (remote presentation), San Diego
Nick Crowe, Manchester
Norra Barry, The Bit Screen, Narberth (USA)
Fabian Wagminster, Argentina / Los Angeles

Chair:
David Garcia


- Bandwidth Aesthetics
An artist lead discussion about whether quality is important in audio and
video streaming, or whether we can consider 'low quality' streams an
aesthetic and a choice. How does the emergence of broadband internet affect
the accessibility of the net for artists and audience. Is the narrow  band
net.cast a more favourable option?

Participants:
Alexander Gubas (Low Fi Video), Belgrade
Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits, Ozone - train project, Riga
Walter van der Cruijsen (streaming ascii), Berlin
Menno Grootveld, Lost & Found, Amsterdam
Repr. Integrated Media Programme, CalArts, USA

Chair:
Honor Harger



- The Hybrid Media Show
A dazzling show of successful and innovative hybrid media formats from
around the globe, interfacing the networked media with traditional
broadcasting formats, and fusing the digital with the analogue.
The show is followed by a debate on the ratio of hybridisation of digital
and analogue media. What are the tactical advantages of creating hybrid
fusions of digital and non-digital media? Does it lead to new models of
media production and distribution? How can hybridisation help to reach new
and larger audiences?

Presentations:
Frequency Clock
TwenFM
Radio B92 / ANEM
live.dds.nl/TV
Interface Pirate Radio - Howard Jones
Kotmale Community Radio, Sri Lanka
Radio 90, Susan Kennard
TV 3000, Hans Kerkhof    [tbc]

Host:
Micz Flor



- target.audience=0
A panel discussion by leading streaming artists about whether they create
for a particular audience or if the process of streaming is an end in
itself. Are artists really interested in "communication" with an audience
or is there something at stake which escapes the traditional broadcasting
formats? How do artists treat the Internet, as an extension of the old
media or as a media space with a new quality of its own?

Participants:
Rasa Smite (xchange)
Heidi Grundman (Kunstradio)
Representative of Atomfilms.com   [tbc]
Eric kluitenberg
Raul Maorroquin

Chair:
David Garcia



- Web Documentaries
Documentary film is discovering the web. How do documentary filmmakers use
the new channels? Is the web an alternative for mainstream distributors,
commercial interest and censored mass media channels? How is the content of
documentaries affected by the new outlets?

A series of presentations of on-line documentary projects produced by a new
generation of documentary film makers, followed by a panel discussion by
some of the 'early experts' of this new field.

Participants:
Manu Luksch, Ambient TV, London
Femke Wolting, Submarine, Amsterdam
Sandra Damato, Montreal
Peter Wintonnick, Necessary Illusions, Montreal
Alain Fountain, London
Phillip Peacock  [tbc]



II - "Streaming Media for Social Change"


- Tactical Streams
How can streaming media contribute to address issues of vital social,
political and human concern with a wider audience? Is the net the
appropriate channel to give voice to the voiceless, or is the threat of
ghettoisation paramount? Many people feared that with the emergence of
streaming technology, broadband internet, and the fusion of internet and
broadcasting the celebrated democratic, open and decentralised character of
the Internet is sacrificed to create the ultimate entertainment machine.
Recently, however, it turned out that many of the aspirations of the
entertainment industry were not met with the ring of the cash box.
Meanwhile a host of alternative outlets and fringe media players emerged
who exploit the tactical potential of streaming media. The panel presents
and explores exemplary initiatives and challenging models of tactical uses
of streaming media.

Participants:
Gordon Paunovic, FreeB92, Belgrade
Kantor Berita Radio 68H, Jakarta, Mr. Santoso
Bruce Girard, Comunica.org
Arun Metha, New Delhi
Radio 21, Pristhina
Howard Jones, International Humanitarian Aid Concern, London
Translocal communites: Gay & lesbian activism

Chair:
David Garcia


- Campaigning
Streaming media has become an ever more important tool for social and
political campaigns. This has become clear during recent anti-WTO / G8
actions such as the recent protests in Seattle, Washington, and this
September in Prague, but also in immanent crisis situations such as the
Kosovo conflict (helpB92 & FreeB92), or most recently in the
counter-campaign to the US Presidential elections media machine (MicroRadio
Network). A careful look at how these campaigns are constructed. How
successful are they? What are the limitations of this new type of global
(micro-) media campaigns?

IndyMedia Network,
FreeSpeech TV, Boulder (USA)
Albana Shala, Open Channels for Kosovo / Press Now
Adbusters    [tbc]
Gilberto Cutrupi, Greenpeace International, Amsterdam
Manse Jacobi, Boulder (Colorado)
Supersphere, Chicago
Electrofringe, Newcastle Australia (remote presentation)

Chair:
Eric Kluitenberg



- Intellectual Property Stands Trial: The Court Case
Paradiso - Grote Zaal

>From our public prosecution office:

"We accuse Intellectual Property, on the over a 100 years old grounds that
property is theft. We maintain that the hostaging of knowledge and
information, which should be free, under the guise of Intellectual Property
is an unacceptable detriment to the development of our cultures and
societies."

On the Saturday afternoon the main hall of Paradiso will be transformed
into a temporary court room. While the legal battles against Napster,
MP3.com, Scour.net and others rage on, the net.congestion festival wishes
to reverse the charges. Who is operating in the public interest here?

As a reply to the legal theatre in court rooms world-wide, net.congestion
holds its own trial and puts Intellectual Property on the stand. In front
of our honourable upper judge, and a strictly impartial jury, we will call
a series of expert witnesses to testify for and against the current
practices of copyright and the legal protection of intellectual property.

The positions represented in the court case will include:

Prosecutors expert witnesses on:

- Copyleft and the freedom of information
- Open Source
- Public Licensing

Expert witnesses for The Defence on:

- the rights of authors / artists
- the interests of publishers
- the music industry

The proceedings of this court case will be carried out on the Saturday
afternoon and streamed live over the internet in its entirety.

The verdict of the jury and the sentence by the judge will be pronounced
the next day, on Sunday afternoon in the same location.



- Open Streaming Alliances
A panel on open source for streaming, new models, approaches, networks and
ideas. Can an open streaming architecture be conceived of that will allow
for the creation of a public domain channel for not-for-profit and non
wealthy organisations and individuals; a necessary channel for effective
and global streaming, without interruptions and "net congestion" errors?

Participants
Jesse Reynolds, Adelaide
Dimos Dimitriou, Balkan Streaming Alliance, Athens
Thomax Kaulmann, Open Meta Archive - OMA / OVA / Orang, Berlin
Heath Bunting, World Service / Irational.org, non-located
Alan Steed, HugeCaster,

Chair:
Drazen Pantic



- Protocols & Alternatives
A discussion about alternative streaming technologies other than quicktime,
microsoft, real & mp3. What open source tools exist for streaming?

Participants:
Lynn Winbarger, free-expression.org, USA
René Liethof, xs4all, Amsterdam
Pit Schultz, Mikro ev, Berlin
ogg Vobris [tbc]
Daniel Ockeloen, Submarine, Amsterdam
Andreas Broeckmann, V2_organisation, RotterdamBerlin



- Shifting the Frame: Alternative Audio-Visual Networks
This panel reviews different modes of distributing media, which are not
technically streaming, but replicate the functions of streaming media. Do
viral networks such as bulletin boards and newsgroups that create
alternative distribution channels provide a viable alternative to
streaming?
Is streaming technology really the killer-app?

Participants:
Rene Leithof, xs4all, Amsterdam
Igor Djordjovic, Corrosion, Belgrade
M Bone (remote presentation)		[tbc]
Erik Huizer (Gigaport)			[tbc]



-  net.congestion - The Doom Scenario
The future of the Internet with streaming technology is its ultimate
break-down. With only 6% of the web sites containing streaming content, but
being responsible for no less than 56% of the total net.traffic, a certain
prediction for the future can be made: If streaming truly becomes the
fashion for the future, and no self-respecting web site can do without it,
the net is certain to breakdown in complete congestion. In this panel the
title of the festival will be addressed, and it will give 10 good reasons
why streaming is NOT going to happen!

Participants:
Michaël van Eeden (De Waag)
James Wallbank (Redundant Technology Initiative)  [tbc]
Gerry McGovern, New Thinking, Dublin [tbc]

Chair:
Andreas Broeckmann



III - Industry Standards


- Commodifying Culture
An overview of the movements within the commercial and corporate streaming
media sector. This includes an evaluation and critique of the present and
future strategies of Internet Service Providers, Portal Sites, Search
Sites, Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Hardware, Operating System, and
Music industries.
Main question: Where do 'we' get content?

Participants:
David Sinden / Lux, London
Atom Films / Representative    [tbc]
Andrew Bullen, Amsterdam
William Rowe (Protein)
Upe van Leeuwen  (NOB-interactive), Hilversum

Chair:
Alan Fountain



- Tune in or Download
A panel discussion on user behaviour in the age of convergence: How the
audience consumes media, what a media consumption space is and how we
interact with media appliances. Questions asked and discused include: 'do
we want to watch a computer or interact with our television'? What format
is going to prevail? What kind of user behaviour is expected?

Participants:
Stuart Nolan  [tbc]
Zina Kaye, Laudanum, Sidney, Australia
Andy Stamp, Bastard TV, Sheffield
Susan Kennard, Radio 90 / Banff Centre, Canada

Chair:
John Wyver (Illuminations, London)



- The art of making money

With the new reign of globalized neoliberalism, countries with a tradition
of government support for the arts are forced to cut budgets. some online
artists are making money selling their content to advertisers online, while
others give away their product to the "public domain." can artists create
authentic and unbiased work in a hyper-competitive marketplace?  can a
balance be struck between the financial needs of the creator and the market
demands of the consumer that respects the creative process?  are there
viable non-government non-commercial altenatives to general electric or the
national endownment for the arts?

Participants:
David Guez, Paris
Joe Pezzilo	[tbc]
Arun Mehta, New Delhi

Chair: Manse Jacobi



- Toy Show

The Toyshow will be a presentation of the latest, most interesting, and
sometimes useless gadgets produced for streaming media. These  are largely
commercial products produced at this very early era of  'internet
appliances'. These machines articulate some of the strange  and wonderful
visions of the future for how the internet and broadcast  media will
integrate with everyday life.

Products included are: portable streaming media players, internet  radio
appliances, remote controlled streaming encoders, and
wireless-controlled-net.radio-software-tuners (!)...

Chair:
Adam hyde



-----------------------------------------
WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS:
-----------------------------------------


The workshops and seminars are primarily intended for practitioners and
hence will require a base level of understanding of streaming media. As one
of the important aims of the festival is to provide an opportunity for
streaming media organisations and individuals to develop their practice, we
wish to offer moderate and advanced courses. The workshops will be
moderated by invited international experts.



* Introductory Workshops:

- What is Streaming Media?
Presented by: Cees Voss [tbc] & Martin Thompson
2 hours
Why does streaming media exist? This workshop examines what streaming media
is from a technical perspective. Topics include unicasting, multicasting,
RTSP, Quicktime, Real, WindowsMedia, MPEG, bandwidth, and a short look at
some broadband initiatives.


- net.radio beginners guide
Presented by: Rasa Simte, Raitis Smits & Rachel Baker
3 hours
This workshop is aimed at introducing those that have no experience with
streaming media to the basic concepts and practices of streaming live
audio. Participants will learn how to set up a small mixing desk with
simple audio sources, how to take the audio source into a computer, and how
to configure the encoding software to stream live on the internet.


- How to stream video - a beginners guide
Presented by: Gerbrand Oudenaarden (Engage!), Anton Bensdorp (rel.nl)
3 hours
This workshop is aimed at introducing those that have no experience with
streaming media to the basic concepts and practices of streaming live
video. Participants will learn how to set up a video camera, how to take
the video source into a computer, and how to configure the encoding
software to stream live on the internet.

- Producing on-demand streaming material
Presented by: David Guez, Jesse Reynolds & Marcel Brouns (D:on)
The workshop deals with ways in which existing audio and video materials
can be presented on-line. Issues considered are a.o. how to convert
existing audio and video materials into streaming files, how to create
on-line video and audio archives, and how to create audio and video
on-demand services for non-commercial purposes.


Software Workshops:


- Software Development I:
 Interfaces & Customised Players  - Visual Basic
Presented by: Ray Selby & Nic Limper
3 hours
Basic principles of Visual Basic and how to make customised Real and
WindowsMedia players. The workshop will also explore how to embed streaming
media content with web pages, and how to create media tools with standard
web browsers.


- Software Development II:
Interfaces & Customised Players - Java
3 hours
How to use the JMF Java packages to develop your own streaming applications.


- Audio and Video Compression
Presented by: Paul Stellingwerff (Transtec)
2 hours
What is compression and why is it necessary? The focus of this workshop is
to give participants a basic understanding of video and audio compression
theory and techniques.


- Scripting
Presented by: Heath Bunting, Micz Flor & Jaanis Garancs
3 hours
What is scripting (vs programming)? An introductory look at how PERL can be
used in your streaming media applications including a look at the World
Service by Heath Bunting as a case study.


- The Power of the database
Presented by: Tomax Kaulmann & Walter van der Cruyssen
A workshop about interesting and dynamic uses of database driven sites that
offer streaming content.



---------------
SEMINARS:
---------------


- Legal Constraints
A seminar about the legal requirements and constraints surrounding
streaming media, the relationship between traditional broadcasting
legislation and the new streaming media, and general concerns of freedom of
expression, patenting, copyright and the freedom of information.
What kind of challenges does streaming media present to copyright, freedom
of information, and broadcasting legislation world-wide? The battle over
Napster has outlined the stakes for the game: Is the future media landscape
going to be dominated by the copyright protected interests of the
main-stream media players, or by the representatives of free speech on the
word-wide networks? How about the position of the artist?

Participants:
Pit Schultz
Ted Byfield, nettime, New York
Repr. Bytesize (MTV)      [tbc]


- Hybridising Media
A seminar that looks at the practical questions of how to connect analogiue
and digital electronic media. The seminar will explore a series of case
studies presented by experienced practitioners in this field, including
James Stevens, Mauzz (DDS) Heath Bunting (radio 90), Toek (DFMrtv), and
Adam Hyde (frequency clock).

Chair: Susan Kennard


- Wireless Streaming
A discussion about methods and techniques of wireless webcasting. The
mobile net.cast reporter has been around as an idea for quite some time.
various prototypes have already been developed. But also the idea of
non-located mobile media-art projects has been a continuous fantasy. An
appraisal at the dawn of mobile internet.

Participants:
Steven Wray, EDT, USA
Supersphere (Chicago)
Hans Kerkhof, TV 3000, Amsterdam
Gerbrand Oudenaarden, Engage!, Utrecht
James Stevens, Consume.Net, London


- Streaming & Privacy
What privacy issues are at stake with streaming media. What are the
implications of a landscape littered with web cams for our personal
privacy? How can the personal sphere in the age of streaming technologies
be protected?

Participants:
Maurice Wessling, Bits of Freedom, Amsterdam
Sjoera Nas, Xs4all, Amsterdam
Channel 4 repr. (Big Brother UK)  -  [tbc]




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post-festival workshops hosted by Montevideo & De Waag:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Due to the limited number of places available, these workshops are
essentially closed to the general audience. Should you have a strong
particular interest in participating in any of these workshops, we advise
you to contact the organisers of the festival as soon as possible at:
congestion@balie.nl


- Open Source Streaming Alliance
Hosted by Drazen Pantic @ Montevideo
A workshop to develop the idea and install a local Amsterdam node for an
open network of connected mirror streaming servers for cultural and
tactical streaming media projects world-wide.


- Will streaming media be a new dimension in creative interactive European
community building rather than just a ubiquitous extension of passive
consumer entertainment ?

A two day seminar hosted by De Waag which will investigate the solutions
available and suited to help develop streaming, fused media into the
creative medium it can be. For the first day, October 9th, festival
participants are invited to discuss not only platform- and
distribution-network related issues raised at the festival, but also some
of the main topics which will be elaborated during the second day(October
10th).

These issues are:

* the interface : its flexibility for streaming media, the browser vs the
player
* the tools : which available solutions enable media-creation
* the content : which types of interesting European content are there or
need to be invented ?

The second day (by invitation-only) will take into account the results of
the discussions during day 1 and explore them in more depth.



(Further information will be made available in the final program and on the
net.congestion web site.)


-----------------
COLOPHON:
-----------------


* Participating Organisations

De Balie
Bellissima
D:on
DDS
DFM rtv Int.
HKU - Faculty for Media & Technology, MFA/PHD Program
Kunst En Televisie Stichting (K.E.T.S.)
Melkweg
NOB-interactive
Paradiso
r a d i o q u a l i a
Radio 100
De Waag
XS4ALL


* Organisers / Editorial Team

Initial Concept:

Adam Hyde


Editorial Team:

Adam Hyde
Eric Kluitenberg
Honor Harger
David Garcia
Geert Lovink (reader)
Galit Eilat (media bank)


Production:

Lucas Evers (co-ordination)
Patrizia Baldin (publicity & assistant producer)
Gerbrand Oudenaarden (technical co-ordination)
Justin Kniest (Paradiso)
Kees Brienen (Paradiso)
Boris van Vorstenbosch (Melkweg)
Aske Hopman (De Waag)
Robert de Geus (Montevideo TBA)



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