| Map Mashups and Location Scouting: What's Happening? |
The marriage of maps and data is HUGE! And getting HUGER! Recent story on the front page of today's NYT here (need to be signed in) Here's a blog on the subject we enjoy.(The 'once and future' WheresSpot Subscriber Map Mash-up was and will be a great way to find fellow Subscribers on your block! Or halfway around the world! (We're working on it now or we'd link to it!) What's happening in the location scouting world with this? Marrying pictures and maps of kitchens in Katonah, pools in Petaluma, whatever... seems like a no-brainer. For sure location scouts and services have the files / pictures. Anyone actually marrying them to maps? Seems like an obvious application.Inquiring minds want to know!
Thank you for proposing what I think is the first industry-specific "mashup" idea I've come across. We floated this idea around internally recently - one of the stumbling blocks for us was the simple act of getting the address attached to each photo. Sure, there are some cameras that will attach GPS coordinates to the photos themselves, but not everyone has those. You could group photos together and hit that grouping with a Google-readable address, but if the images are separated out then they lose their "power." The act of bulk tagging images is going to be possible shortly with our release of Wiredrive 2, so creating a Google Maps visual index is definitely doable. If there is an outpouring of interest in this idea, we may be able to move it up on the roadmap.
Anyways, I'd love to see more conversations about other mashups for commercial production. I only know a handful of developers who could act on such ideas - and it would be great to find more. We are actively working on an API (application programming interface) that will allow mashups with Wiredrive. We are excited about this possibility and will post more when we come across other mashup capabilities.
I have been using map mashups for a while they are very useful.
One of the easiest and most useful is google maps, if you have a google account and are signed in and go to http://maps.google.com you can create custom maps with routes and waypoints.
I have used Frappr www.frappr.com here is my page with some public maps I've made for some shoots I have worked on: http://www.frappr.com/rrhobbs or http://www.frappr.com/filmlocationfiles.
Flickr www.flickr.com is good too, it allows you to geocode your photos, i.e. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrhobbs/217027626/
The information superhiway... It just keeps on gettin better all the time...
R. Richard HobbsNew York City area Location/Production Servicesweb: http://www.rrhobbs.us/917-747-0856 cel973-472-7646 office
ok see something here, Richard...but what about a full 'catalogue' for producer/director who needs a kitchen, for example...what about that? in our "minds eye" we see, or want to see, a map that allows us to go to Westchester, or Montclair, and see what's available and where the prospective locations are...
also, for example, for road locations for running footage. would be so great to see road pics embedded right into a map...
location scouts have the files and pics, no? how come not more action marrying this w/maps???
inquiring minds want to know!
> location scouts have the files and pics, no? how come not more
> action marrying this w/maps???
>
> inquiring minds want to know!
it's easy to do this I do it for clients all the time- go here Parkinson's Greatest Entertainers Locations - NYC
Its pretty easy to create a custom Google Map now if you have a Google Maps account
R. Richard Hobbs
New York City area Location/Production Services
web: www.rrhobbs.com
Sounds like a good idea to use perhaps in pitches or for a project based website. Not all clients & crew have internet access on their phones.
How can you get this in a Shootbook? Google maps are indeed becoming more of a norm and I'd gladly do those then cartography via Visio or other.