Video creators, scholars, activists, policy makers, technologists, and entrepreneurs will gather this February at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for 24/7: A DIY Video Summit, the first-of-its-kind international event focused on the fate and future of visual media in the 21st century.

The summit, which takes place from February 8 - 10, at the USC University Park Campus in Los Angeles, will explore the incredible dynamic at play as millions of people flock to online video sharing sites like YouTube, Revver, imeem, Stage6 and Eyespot where they watch and contribute video content around the clock, 24/7. Webcast [Quicktime]; SLURL. More >>

Highlights Include:

• Panels and talks with speakers such as Yochai Benkler, John Seely Brown, Joi Ito, Henry Jenkins, Lawrence Lessig and Howard Rheingold.
• Free public screenings showcasing machinima, documentary, video blogging, vidding, political remix, youth media, anime music videos and art videos.
• Lecture and hands-on workshops on video blogging, video standards, copyright, editing, machinima, animation, distribution, platforms and remix techniques.
• Networking and social opportunities at lunches, dinner, reception and birds-of-a-feather meetings.

The summit is the first event held at an academic institution to unite the creative minds involved in the spectrum of DIY video communities emerging in this new media ecology. The goal of the event is to catalyze relationships and dialog to further the public interest in independent video spaces as well as provide a showcase for new forms of work emerging from various amateur and grassroots video creation communities.

24/7: A DIY Video Summit is presented by the Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML) at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Screenings, plenary session and reception are free and open to the public. Academic talks and workshops require registration. See event details and registration information here.