The hills of Tuscany

The role of the filmmaker is changing, from one who records images through a lens to one who curates images from an existing database of footage. Does that sound like hyperbole? Consider these recent phenomena:
Russian Car Crash Videos. One of the stranger robotic camera phenomena, videos taken with cameras on Russian car dashboards have flooded YouTube. The cameras are apparently there for potential insurance cases, which suggests the institutional forces that will propel camera pervasiveness.
A New American Picture. Many artists use Google Street Images as source material, perhaps no on more elegantly than Doug Rickard.

Drone Videos. In combination with CCTV, drones are already equipped to record images that our eyes cannot.
Placemeter. This new company wants you to point your smartphone out the window when you're not using it, so it can capture ambient visual imagery and decode the data of the street.