9.23.2006
Are we unoriginal?
Katie M. pointed out in a comment recently that there is already a "open, collaborative film project" on the market right now. Well, sort of.
You can check out this website to see what it's all about. I think it smacks more of a marketing ploy. The last update to the website (as far as I could see after registering and digging around) was February. It seems the project must have be having trouble finding distribution (a problem that we have already solved).
Also, the project was purely democratic, but only on minor issues: members were asked questions like, "What breed of dog should "Buddy" be?" and "Who should be cut from the story: Billy, Johnny, or Timmy?" and whatever members voted, the filmmakers followed. Our project is the other way around: instead of the filmmakers deciding what decisions the "people" should be able to make and giving them a few options, this project lets you make direct input and comments every step of the way, and then the filmmakers (or Village Editors) make the final decisions. I think our way is a whole lot more interesting.
There are two other "collaborative film" projects that i'm watching closely. One is called "NOW!" film, and relies on people to send in footage that they shoot themselves to create a worldwide filmic "snapshot". Interesting concept, if you ask me. But not the same as ours by a long shot.
The other is the "XIFilm", which purports to be the first ever film project created entirely online. It looks as though people will be able to participate as Audio/Visual Technicians, or they may donate their computer's "Idle" time to rendering the project, or they may donate man-hours to promote the film. In any case, I don't think this project is even fully thought out yet (I found it through a "back door", not the official site), and its definitely a different kind of project than ours. Also, it's being directed by the guy who made a feature-length documentary-ish film based on "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. So that's...interesting.
Oh, one more: this Dogberry & Bob project that lets you see the production process and pay some money to become a "producer" of the film. They rely on a centralized website, and there' really no easy way to make comments on anything. But they do let you see a lot of what's going on with the shoot (I couldn't find any videos, which I think will be a plus to our project).
Anyhow, after some more research, I think its fair to say that ours is still the first project of its kind in several ways:
1 - Participants can actually make suggestions and critiques at any point, not just vote on minor issues. Since all the critiques are public, one may make suggestions building off of other suggestions, and so forth.
2 - We're not trying to make any money doing it, not even for the participants. The other projects purport that they will pay their participants in some way for their involvement. Since we plan a free, online release anyway, the reward for working with the project is, well, the project.
3 - We're the only ones using online collaborative software for each step. And, while we're at it, we're the only ones using Google apps.
I hope this clears up any questions or concerns anyone may have had about the originality of the project. Keep your ears and eyes open for any other projects that may start up in the coming months.
You can check out this website to see what it's all about. I think it smacks more of a marketing ploy. The last update to the website (as far as I could see after registering and digging around) was February. It seems the project must have be having trouble finding distribution (a problem that we have already solved).
Also, the project was purely democratic, but only on minor issues: members were asked questions like, "What breed of dog should "Buddy" be?" and "Who should be cut from the story: Billy, Johnny, or Timmy?" and whatever members voted, the filmmakers followed. Our project is the other way around: instead of the filmmakers deciding what decisions the "people" should be able to make and giving them a few options, this project lets you make direct input and comments every step of the way, and then the filmmakers (or Village Editors) make the final decisions. I think our way is a whole lot more interesting.
There are two other "collaborative film" projects that i'm watching closely. One is called "NOW!" film, and relies on people to send in footage that they shoot themselves to create a worldwide filmic "snapshot". Interesting concept, if you ask me. But not the same as ours by a long shot.
The other is the "XIFilm", which purports to be the first ever film project created entirely online. It looks as though people will be able to participate as Audio/Visual Technicians, or they may donate their computer's "Idle" time to rendering the project, or they may donate man-hours to promote the film. In any case, I don't think this project is even fully thought out yet (I found it through a "back door", not the official site), and its definitely a different kind of project than ours. Also, it's being directed by the guy who made a feature-length documentary-ish film based on "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. So that's...interesting.
Oh, one more: this Dogberry & Bob project that lets you see the production process and pay some money to become a "producer" of the film. They rely on a centralized website, and there' really no easy way to make comments on anything. But they do let you see a lot of what's going on with the shoot (I couldn't find any videos, which I think will be a plus to our project).
Anyhow, after some more research, I think its fair to say that ours is still the first project of its kind in several ways:
1 - Participants can actually make suggestions and critiques at any point, not just vote on minor issues. Since all the critiques are public, one may make suggestions building off of other suggestions, and so forth.
2 - We're not trying to make any money doing it, not even for the participants. The other projects purport that they will pay their participants in some way for their involvement. Since we plan a free, online release anyway, the reward for working with the project is, well, the project.
3 - We're the only ones using online collaborative software for each step. And, while we're at it, we're the only ones using Google apps.
I hope this clears up any questions or concerns anyone may have had about the originality of the project. Keep your ears and eyes open for any other projects that may start up in the coming months.
