Critical assessment: newseum.org

Newseum’s website is one of the finest websites around. The ticket page on the website very clearly states the specifications and the prices of tickets for different categories of visitors. The biggest incentive for visitors buying tickets online is the 10% discount that Newseum offers- ‘Purchase tickets online and receive a 10% discount.’ The annual membership schemes have also been advertised on this page. The simple and uncluttered layout of the website gives it a flow while the colours used primarily are white and blue which add to the lucidity of the site.

There is a page called ‘Shop Online’ which works on the format of e-commerce sites. One can view the items on sale and load them onto a cart and go ahead with online shopping. The items available in the Newseum have been neatly classified into categories like Clothing and accessories, books, gifts, mugs and drinkware, music and DVDs, posters and prints, toys and games etc. There are also broad themes of products like Elvis Presley, Clearance, First Amendment, Journalism, Presidents and Politics etc. Classifying the items into categories and themes ensures that a potential buyer doesn’t get confused and can go through the entire shopping process effortlessly.

Most of the products available at the online Shoppe are souvenirs that one would like to take home after visiting the Newseum. For example: DVD – A Glimpse of Life: The Pulitzer Photographs or “Trust me…I’m a reporter” coffee mug. People visiting the site to gather information or ticket details may not be interested. But it certainly is a useful tool for the ones who have visited Newseum. They might have missed out on the souvenirs then or might just go for it for the sheer convenience of buying things online.

On the other hand, selling tickets online is the most convenient way to go about it as most of the people would like to buy tickets without much hassle as and when they are surfing the site. Also, the elaborate information available on the website about the various exhibits and shows in the Newseum provides visitors ease of choice. Newseum.org is a very effective website and reaches out to its audience well. It stands out on the basis of the simplicity of layout and flow of information.

REVIEW: metmuseum.org (THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK)

The MET is one of the world’s most well-respected and recognized museums containing art work that spans across several time periods and from various global cultures. For over a century now, it has successfully managed to preserve and encourage historically crucial artwork.

Apart from being a cyber showcase of some of their striking exhibits, the user-friendly website for MET is being used as an e-commerce and merchandising medium. Through tickets, membership cards, online shopping etc, the MET website is helping publicize the museum, increase profits and the number of visitors by making the process more convenient for the customer.

The MET website allows for visitors to purchase their tickets online. Via a unique feature called the ‘ticketweb’, visitors can search for exhibits, talks, seminars and concerts. Multiple options such as tickets for adults or children, audio tours and group visits are available. A visitor can select a preferred option, pay online and simply collect their tickets from the museum counter on the visiting day, thereby completely avoiding the need to stand in long queues.

The MET online art store, another excellent marketing strategy, could well be a haven for any art lover or curator. It allows customers to purchase books, sculptures, wall art, calendars, etc – some of them being limited edition pieces, which can even be later customized by the user. From special sales, discounts, e-gift certificates, the website brings the museum into the very home of customer.

The website also allows visitors to apply for membership cards. One of its most interesting features is the provision for visitors to donate amounts online above $25. It provides options and information to corporate houses and trusts that wish to sponsor, donate or host exhibits. This is a wonderful way to gather funds and popularize the museum showcases.

From being user-friendly, convenient, attractive and interactive – the MET website is an excellent medium for marketing the museum. Its effectiveness lies in the fact that it reaches out to an audience world-wide and can make them involved in the process. Be it students, teachers, curators; the site has correctly managed to identify its target audience and provides them the necessary information and incentives. Through easy, accessible ways it can raise funds, seek donations from across the globe and allow people to purchase artifacts from straight within the museum.

By the very look of it, one can make out that the website tries to portray a theme that involves educating and creating awareness amongst the audience in a very new-age interactive manner. With use of new media tools like Facebook and Twitter, the MET is keeping up with the new digitalized world and providing its audience with options that were unfathomable before.

Rolling….Action!

A shot, scene and sequence don’t just make the grammar of cinema. They reach far beyond and depict social reality. Cinema of a time is the reflection of society’s struggles and aspirations. Consequently, cinema is also an important instrument for social change. For those who refuse to attach such significant meanings to cinema, well, cinema is a great medium of entertainment. Let’s have a quick glance at how cinema in these four countries-United States of America, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh developed.

American cinema

From the first motion picture exhibition in New York in 1894 using Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope to the modern day technology, American cinema has come a long way. D W Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) was a landmark in the development of the grammar of cinema while Orson Welles’ Citizen Cane (1941) is considered one of the greatest films of all time. The Americans also developed the studio system in that studios were the factories producing films in large quantities as products. The director had very little say in this kind of a system that was centered around the producer and subscribed to the Star system. Early American films were silent. Sound came into cinema with The Jazz Singer in 1927. The studio system started declining by the end of the 1940s due to the advent of television. The present day Hollywood is ruled by the film school trained directors who follow different techniques of storytelling and have made tremendous use of technology. Some of them are Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, William Friedkin and Steven Spielberg. And…Hollywood as it is commonly known, is not synonymous to American cinema. Hollywood is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California - situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles which in the 1920s became famous worldwide as the center for American cinema.

Sri Lankan Cinema

Sri Lankan cinema when started in 1947 was a mere mirror image of Indian cinema and had to put in a lot of struggle to make its own mark in the cinema industry. Rekava, made in 1956 by Lester James Peries, was the first Sinhala film to be shot completely out of studio and contain a truly Sinhalese storyline, but it failed to work at the box office. 1965-70 was the era when cinema in Srilanka freed itself from borrowed Indian storylines and moved towards realism. But unfortunately, in the late 1980s cinema started declining owing to television and a civil war. A few independent film makers like , Prasanna Vithanage and Vimukthi Jayasundara have kept good cinema alive in Sri Lanka.

Bangladeshi Cinema

The Bangladeshi film industry has been around since 1956 and it produces approximately 100 films per year. Bangladeshi cinema hasn’t seen good times lately though, it is often criticized for its overly melodramatic and sex and violence laden films. It has also faced severe competition from television and foreign films. Zahir Raihan, Khan Ataur Rahman, Salahuddin, Alamgir Kabir, Amjad Hussain, Moshiuddin Shaker, Sheikh Niyamat Ali, Humayun Ahmed, Morshedul Islam, Tanvir Mokammel, Tareque Masud are some of the critically acclaimed directors of Bangladesh.

Indian cinema

India is the largest producer of films in the world and Indian cinema as commonly understood is not confined to Bollywood. India produces cinema is as many languages as Indians speak. The film industries which make films in Tamil, Bengali and Marathi are particularly booming these days. Raja Harishchandra was the first full length feature film to be made by Dadasaheb Phalke. It ushered in days of epics and mythologicals which were particularly liked by the Indian masses. The first Indian talkie Alam Ara came about in 1931. 1940-1960 is considered the Golden Era of Indian cinema. Some of the best known Indian directors are Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal. The ‘masala’ films full of songs, dance and romance which began to characterize Indian cinema came about post World War 2. Fortunately, Indian cinema is geared more towards realism today.

'Reel-life'

We eat different, we speak different, we look different. Our traditions, our lifestyles, even our time zones are different! But put us in a room as Han Solo maneuvers his way through fires from Darth Vader’s ship, or as Raj and Simran sing songs in memory of each other amidst the scenic landscapes of Switzerland; we forget it all and become one and the same - a part of an enchanted audience! That is the magic of cinema!

Cinema transcends all boundaries. It is the place where art, culture, fantasy and reality meet. Since time immemorial it has been an art which entertains, informs and is even, in several instances, used as a tool of propaganda and mass mobilization. It has become an inextricable part of our lives, both reflecting and drawing inspiration from society.

Coming from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, if cricket be the first obsession that unites us, then love of cinema comes a very close second! With our connected histories and cultures, cinema is a passion for people. Our actors are exalted to the status of ‘superstars’, a zillion songs from a zillion movies hold permanent position at the tip of our tongues and characters dissolve out of the screens and into our lives. And of course, irrespective of our nationalities, Hollywood movies are something we are all fond of.

However, it was a three hour bus ride, 20 happy students, and like said before, a love for cinema –where we happened to chance upon the inspiration behind this blog! Playing an inter-country session of singing songs from our respective countries, the Indians began singing a classic Bollywood song - “Mere sapno ki rani”. And to our pleasant surprise, so did our friends from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh! Only this time they were adaptations of the same song in their own languages!! The result – 5 minutes of pure entertainment and joy as three nations sang along together – different in words, but hand in hand in melody!

With our several differences, cinema has continued to be one medium that caters to a ‘global audience’. Language becomes unimportant, while qualities like style, visualization, entertainment and connection with the audience gain precedence. As part of this program that brings together people from the four nations of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and USA, this blog too will focus on the wide and diverse cinema industries of these four countries. So with that, here’s to timeless characters, enchanting music and powerful movies that together make the magical world of cinema!