William Mapother

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Go Paperless in 2017

Posted on: December 30th, 2016 by wmapother No Comments

I’m striving for a (99%) paperless office in 2017. My favorite weapon is the Dropbox ios app, esp with receipts I get handed at stores that won’t/can’t email them. Here’s how I do it:

First, while you’re at the counter paying, open the Dropbox app (turn on Touch ID to speed this up).

2. When you’re handed the receipt, set it on the counter, click the big ‘+’ icon, then ‘scan document.’

3. Crop the photo as necessary. Hit ‘Next.’

4. Tap on the file’s name (current date and time) to rename it. Use the phone’s dictation to do this, eg, “CVS dash drinks for my thirsty friends comma twelve point thirty-one point sixteen.” Tap Done.

5. Look below to verify folder it’ll be saved to. (I created a folder called “RECEIPTS SCANNED.”) If necessary, navigate to the correct folder. Hit Save.

6. Smugly throw receipt away.

7. If you want, occasionally drag all those receipts from Dropbox to wherever you save them on your computer. Ideally, you’ll do this part smugly as well.

8. Bonus points if you feel very good about yourself.

Here’s  Dropbox’s page on Document Scanning.

Posted in Acting Tips & Info, Random, Tech

Emotion-Reading Computers

Posted on: February 4th, 2015 by wmapother No Comments

Soon, your phone will soon read your emotions better than your partner does. Computers are developing the ability to read human emotions better than humans can.  The conequences are enormous.  It’s all in a great, scary New Yorker piecenew yorker cover, 2.2.15.

Posted in NYC, Random, Tech

Video – Casting Catch-22’s

Posted on: October 22nd, 2014 by wmapother No Comments

Longtime readers know I’m a proud co-founder of Slated, an online film finance marketplace.  We connect investors and indie filmmakers, and we’ve also built the first industry-only social network, with over 17,000 users.  For more information, check out slated, and our FAQs on the Slated site.

Every month Slated hosts a Filmonomics panel at the Los Angeles SoHo House.  The most recent panel was on the Catch-22’s of casting, and the panelists were myself, Peter Facinelli (“Twilight,” “Nurse Jackie”), and Jon Gries (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “The Bridge”).

Check out the Filmonomics video that includes parts of our panel.  The Slated CEO, Stephan Paternot, hosts weekly Filmonomics videos.  You can  see and subscribe to all the Filmonomics videos.

Posted in Acting Tips & Info, Film, In Person (or, like, Live), Interviews and Q&A's, Los Angeles, News & Events, Slated, Tech

Slated’s New Scoring System

Posted on: March 21st, 2014 by wmapother No Comments

As a co-founder of Slated, the film finance marketplace, I feel both fortunate and proud to have the team that we do.logo-beta-dark-2x And today both those feelings were boosted a good bit, because Slated just debuted a new, industry-wide scoring system.  The two types of scores, Packaging and Credits, are intended to generate better practices when projects are packaged, or assembled for financing and production.  The system is a great example of Slated’s goal since its beginning:  Increase clarity, efficiency, and quanitification throughout the film industry.  And it’s both overdue and badly needed.

The industry tolerates and even cultivates subjectivity and black-box secrecy in many of its business decisions. In addition to preventing standardization (and with it, a better ability to analyze results), this approach also discourages the participation of potential outside investors—something the film industry can no longer afford.

Our scoring system is far from perfect (yet!), and it’s sure to generate some indignation and debate, but it’s a big step in the right direction.

Finally, we didn’t publish our algorithm, but we did offer an explanation and some tips on how to boost your score. Keep an eye out for more features coming soon..

Posted in Film, News & Events, Slated, Tech

Techies

Posted on: November 20th, 2013 by wmapother 2 Comments

TechWeek, a digiterati conference held in several large (so far) U.S. cities, has named me to their first LA TechWeek100.  TechWeek100Per their site, “The Techweek100 identifies Los Angeles area leaders who have a significant impact on business and technology.”  I’ve been named both for being a co-founder of the film finance marketplace Slated, and also as an investor in various tech startups.  The list is humbling; I’m in very good company.

More from their site: “The Techweek100 includes managers of fast-growing technology companies, prominent investors, key enablers of the digital ecosystem, creators of new technologies, and other innovators that make important contributions to their field. The Techweek100 is not a ranking but rather a list of 100 technology leaders and organizations chosen by the Techweek community, Techweek Advisory Boards, and Team Techweek.”

The LA conference runs Nov. 21-22 and features a number of fascinating topics and speakers I’m looking forward to hearing.

Posted in Film, In Person (or, like, Live), Los Angeles, News & Events, Press, Slated, Tech