We should do lots more of these kinds of workshops in the film world I think! If the 21st Century is all about the interface then getting familiar with a little bit of code feels increasingly essential. During the Transmedia Lab at Silverdocs last week, some filmmakers expressed interest in taking part in a WordPress bootcamp. What other kinds of web/tech workshops would you like to see more of?

As filmmakers you may not think that HTML5 has much to do with you but a quick perusal of Mozilla’s Web Made Movies may convince you otherwise. Web Made Movies is an open video lab, working to produce a new cinema that works like the web. To do this they have developed Popcorn, an HTML5 video framework that allows you to incorporate elements of the web (like Google Maps, Twitter, Wikipedia and Flickr for example) with your videos. Popcorn provides a simple API for synchronizing this interactive and immersive content through an open source JavaScript library that you can get here. If you’re thinking “what the hell is JavaScript?” then have no fear – you can use Butter, a graphical user interface for Popcorn that you can use without any knowledge of code whatsoever. Just be aware that this is all currently a work-in-progress and Butter is somewhat buggy and unintuitive (for now). It’s going to be game-changer soon though I think.

I attended Buttercamp a few weeks ago, a day long event that brought together developers and and filmmakers to work on Popcorn/Butter (geddit?!) stuff together. It was incredibly exciting to see what people could come up with in a single day and it reinforced my belief that filmmakers and developers (and designers) need to get in a room together more often and MAKE STUFF. It frees filmmakers up from the sometimes paralyzingly slow approach to creating and showing work and it helps developers and designers think about the story and impact of their code and design. New ideas and approaches emerge as a result.

If you’d like to read more about the projects at Buttercamp, Web Made Movies project lead Brett Gaylor has written a good recap of the event, as has Anna Sobiepanek.

Check out the full article here.

What is Net Neutrality?

Net Neutrality is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. It ensures that all data on the web is treated the same, whether it is your independent film blog or the website of James Cameron’s latest 3D spectacular. It means that Internet service providers cannot treat certain kinds of content and online applications differently. It does NOT mean that you get the Internet for free or that you can’t pay more for faster and better service. It simply means that all data is treated equally.

Why is this important for filmmakers?

The web has given all of us incredible opportunities to show our work and communicate with each other without gatekeepers. We need to keep the Internet free and open so that it doesn’t become a place where big companies pay to play and the rest of us get squeezed out.

What can I do?

Go here for more information and to take action: www.savetheinternet.com

This is a really crucial time to get involved. Verizon and Google are involved in a pact to end the Internet as we know it. As independent filmmakers we need to stand up against a corporate takeover of the Internet. I don’t mean to sound overly-dramatic but this strikes me as one of the most urgent issues right now for those of us who value the digital access and freedom of expression that the web has given us. Filmmakers must make their voices heard.

Unable to make it to London for the Power to the Pixel conference? Don’t worry! Our web video partner, Kinura, is making sure you can still see every second of it.

Starting at 10am GMT on Wednesday, 22nd October, we’ll begin webcasting live to audiences worldwide. You can watch things unfold at powertothepixel.com/webcast or at www.screendaily.com

Power to the Pixel!

If your film is engaged with campaigning for social change, you might be interested in co-pilot.net as a means of discussing and seeding your project. Please come back to Tools to report when you have had a chance to try it out. Launches 22 October:

co-pilot.net is an online resource designed to collate knowledge and experiences and enable open discussion for those working at the intersection of art, technology and social change.

Anyone is welcome to join, share and exchange views, resources, skills and experiences. co-pilot.net features case studies of convergence between the spheres of art, technology and social change as well as interviews, podcasts, videos and lists of useful resources. Users can add content, comment on topics and direct people to their own or other interesting projects.

There currently exists an extensive unmapped landscape of socially engaged work that inspires change through art, technology and participation. This includes working with older people, young people and the socially excluded through the ever-expanding field of new and emerging creative technologies. It is impossible to provide a one-size-fits-all toolkit for a terrain as complex and diverse that is still rarely discussed in a free and open fashion.

co-pilot.net provides the framework to aggregate the wealth of experience and knowledge held by talented individuals and groups to inspire discussion, exchange and action.

From 22 October to 2 December 2008 co-pilot.net will host a live online debate. Every week a guest host with extensive experience in the field of art, technology or social change will upload information and lead a discussion forum for the exploration of issues and debate.

You can contribute to the growing pool of knowledge, resources and debate at http://co-pilot.net.

A THOUSAND PHOENIX RISING
How The New Truly Free Filmmaking Community Will Rise From Indie’s Ashes

I can’t talk about the “crisis” of the indie film industry. There is no crisis. The country is in crisis. The economy is in crisis. We, the filmmakers, aren’t in crisis.

The business is changing, but for us –us who are called Indie Filmmakers — that’s good that the business is changing. Filmmaking is an incredible privilidge and we need to accept it as such – and accept the full responsibility that comes with that priviledge.

The proclamations of Indie Film’s demise are grossly exaggerated. How can there be a “Death Of Indie” when Indie — real Indie, True Indie — has yet to even live?
Yes, there’s a profound paradigm shift, and that shift is the coming of true independence. The hope of this new independence is being threatened even before it has arrived. Are we going to fight for our independence and can we even shoulder the responsibility that independence requires? That is: will we ban together and work for our communal needs? Are we ready to leave dreams of stardom and wealth behind us?

When someone says “Indie is dead”, they are talking about the state of the Indie Film Business, as opposed to what are actually the films themselves. They can say “The sky is falling” because for the last fifteen years, the existing power base in the film industry has focused on films fit for the existing business model, as opposed to ever truly concentrating on creating a business model for the films that filmmakers want to make.

This is where we are right now: on the verge of a TRULY FREE FILM CULTURE, one that is driven by both the creators and the audiences, pulled down by the audience and not pushed onto them by those that control the apparatus and the supply. We now have the power and the tool for something different, but will we fight to preserve the internet, the tool that offers us our new freedom? Can we banish the the dream of golden distribution deals, and move away from asking others to distribute and market it for us? Can we accept that being a filmmaker means taking responsibility for your films, the primary responsibility, all the way through the process? That is independence and that is freedom…

Read the full transcript on Filmmaker Magazine’s website.

Early Bird Booking for Partnerships 2.0 closes at 5pm, Wednesday 10 September 2008.

The Forum, which is being is being hosted by the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, will explore how to develop audiences for the arts, film and the wider creative industries by maximising (Web 2.0) technology and new partnerships.

Chaired by Scottish broadcaster and journalist Muriel Gray, international keynote speakers include Zurich-based Gerd Leonhard, one of the world’s leading media futurists, and Brian Newman, CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute in New York. Pat Kane, lead singer with Scottish band Hue and Cry, will lead a seminar on a musician’s quest to find a business model in this age of networks. Further participants – just confirmed – include Richard Hadley, Audiences Europe Network, Hannah McGill, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Roberta Doyle, National Theatre of Scotland.

The Forum will attract a wide audience of professionals, united by their passion for audiences and audience development.

For booking information, please visit www.scottisharts.org.uk or contact forum08@scottisharts.org.uk.