Film on Facebook Debuts First Movie

Facebook is now embracing independent filmmakers with their FILM ON Facebook project. According to its official page, it’s described as “a place to interact with other filmmakers and movie-goers on Facebook and to share your experiences about marketing your film on Facebook.” It was first announced at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and now will finally premiere its first movie: One Track Mind, (a surfer flick shot on 16mm film – created by Woodshed Films).

The film will debut exclusively on Facebook on October 16-17, 2008 via the Kyte video application. Check out the 2 minute trailer by clicking below:

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New Film Distribution Site – MeDeploy

MeDeploy is a new online distribution platform that gives filmmakers and digital content creators a tool to monetize their work. It provides an API that utilizes distribution integration into all types of web outlets like blogs, social networks, widgets, mobile applications, etc. MeDeploy’s Distribution Dashboard allows users to manage all their sales and distribution points in one interface. All this with pricing consideration for indie filmmakers versus the more expensive “professional” scale reserved film distributors & TV networks.

Deliver pay-media content into consumer’s eager hands – easily and economically. MeDeploy’s unique revenue share model enables content holders to build a digital video distribution business with a distribution platform that scales as business grows. All without risk, or the exorbitant costs usually associated with launching a digital media business.”  [from MeDeploy’s Overview page]

The site was just launched last week at the DEMO conference. Here’s Christian Taylor – MeDeploy’s founder & CEO explaining the site’s features at the conference (click below for the video clip):

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Openfilm Launches New User-Generated Film Site

Openfilm.com is the latest online outlet for up-and-coming filmmakers to showcase their work. This site distinguishes itself by choosing only the best quality films – weeding out the amateur, low-quality shorts that you can find on any video site on the web.

“Openfilm welcomes all submissions, but screens each video for technical and production quality,” states the site. “Openfilm’s in-house production staff, which also produces original web shows that appear on the site, processes all approved submissions to ensure high quality playback.”

They’ve also forged relationships with several film festivals and films schools: Vancouver Film School, Miami International University of Art & Design, Greater Philadelphia Student Film Festival, South Beach International Animation Festival, and Montreal-based Young Cuts Film Festival.

Along with their platform, they offer content providers the opportunity to monetize their films by adding advertisements. Openfilm splits the revenue with you 50/50. Check out their Membership Agreement for more details.

Here are some of the features that Openfilm offers: [as listed on their website]

- High definition large video player displaying resolutions from 640×360 and 700 kbps to full-blown HD at 1280×720 and 1500 kbps.

- Prescreening, selection and custom encoding all submissions to preserve the highest possible quality.

- Allows submissions as Internet uploads (up to 2 GB) or as mail-in DVDs. Users can also request a private FTP access to upload their videos on the site.

- No limitations on video duration.

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CNN Launches iReport Film Festival

CNN is launching its first user-generated short film competition covering the 2008 U.S. presidential election: iReport Film Festival. Contestants are asked to submit/upload an original short film (8 minutes or less), documenting their perspective during the presidential campaign. Deadline for submissions is October 12, 2008 and the winner will be announced on November 13 on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.

Here’s more info from iReport:

The best films will vie for Grand Jury and CNN Audience Awards, and as with all iReports, may be featured on CNN. Award winners will receive a trip to Washington D.C. for the inauguration of the next president of the United States and a top-of-the-line HD camera. [excerpt from iReport.com]

You can upload your film HERE.

The Doorpost Film Project

The Doorpost Film Project is a new filmmaking contest which will also serve as an ongoing project that aims to “change the world.” It’s another positive social filmmaking endeavor in the light of Pangea Day which I blogged about before. Along with the project’s optimistic goals, they’re giving filmmakers some serious cash!

Here’s the gist of the contest:

Submitted films (accepted from February 1 to May 1, 2008) need to be 5 minutes or less in length – themed in one of seven universal concepts: ENERGY, LOVE, PAIN, GREED, REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS, and FREEDOM.

Entries are to be uploaded to thedoorpost.com where it will be streamed and judged by “industry experts” and online viewers.

15 finalists will win $10,000 each to make another short film (8-15 minutes in length). From there, three winners will be selected – 3rd prize = $20,000, 2nd prize = $30,000 and 1st prize = $100,000. Not bad.

Here’s what they say about their organization:

This is more than a contest, this is an ongoing project. We ask you, this century’s revolutionaries, to join us in creating a new way to understand the core of our humanity and a new way to change the world.” [from thedoorpost.com 'about us']

Pangea Day Wants Filmmakers to Unite the World

Pangea Day is not a celebration of Plate Tectonics but a filmmaker’s “wish” to change the world through the power of film. The “Wish” is part of the TED prize (Technology, Entertainment, Design) obtained by the documentary filmmaker of Control Room, Jehane Noujaim [IMDB info]. Previous TED prize winners also include former U.S. president Bill Clinton and musician Bono.

Pangea Day organizers are asking filmmakers to submit their short films (5 minutes or less) for the event that will be broadcast throughout the world on May 10, 2008.

“We’re looking for films that will make us laugh, cry, and gasp. They can be fiction, non-fiction, real-life, animation, or your own unique mixture. But they should hold our attention for every second. And above all, they should tell a story that someone else on the other side of the world will be able to relate to.” [from PangeaDay.org]

All submissions will be reviewed by Jehane Noujaim and a panel of jurors. 30 films will be selected to be screened on Pangea Day. Plus, selected filmmakers will also be invited to submit a treatment for a feature film or documentary – eligible to win a grant ($20,000) and awards program established through a partnership with Participant Productions (An Inconvenient Truth, Syriana, Good Night, And Good Luck).

To submit your film, go to PangeaDay.org and go to the ‘Submit a Film’ page for all the instructions.

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Online Initiative Invites Aspiring Filmmakers To Create Their Own Version Of New Film

Canadian filmmaker Bruce McDonald [IMDB info] made his latest film The Tracey Fragments available for download and launched an open-source re-editing experiment called Tracey: Re-Fragmented. All the footage from the film is available for users to download, re-edit and make their own related creations – music videos, trailers, or their own version of the entire film. This is also a Creative Commons licensed initiative which makes available the score of the movie by Indie Collective Broken Social Scene.

This re-editing initiative is also a contest (for Canadians only). McDonald and his editors will select their favorite edition and include it in the DVD release of The Tracey Fragments, plus an Apple Final Cut Pro prize pack.

Director Bruce McDonald explains the inspiration behind the project:

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JAMAN Gives Independent Films a New Outlet for Digital Distribution

Independent filmmakers from around the world are embracing a new website called JAMAN – as a new means for showcasing their work. At this time, Jaman houses over 2,000 independent films and they expect to double that in the up coming months. The company is embracing the social aspects of the Web 2.0 world by creating an interactive community and delivering “better-than-DVD quality” films from indie filmmakers. Filmmakers can upload their films directly to the website and Jaman members can then rent, download and/or buy it.

Jaman upgraded their site this month by improving their search capabilities into a new Movie Finder. This search tool allows you to find the kind of movies you want to watch by adjusting the 4 category “sliders” that match your search criteria. You can adjust from – (1) Serious to Funny, (2) Mellow to Charged, (3) Deep to Shallow, (4) Tears to Bullets [see picture below].

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Indie Director Tom DiCillo’s ‘Delirious’ Blog

Writer/Director, Tom DiCillo’s [IMDB info] new blog chronicles his journey through the creation and distribution of his latest film, Delirious. The film is a contemporary fable about a small time celebrity paparazzo, Les Gallantine (Steve Buscemi) who befriends a young homeless man, Toby Grace (Michael Pitt). Toby meets and falls in love with pop star K’Harma Leeds (Alison Lohman), causing jealousy and friction with Les. (check your local listings – it’s really worth seeing it in the big screen).

This is DiCillo’s first foray into the blogosphere but I feel if he continues with it beyond Delirious, it could be one of the essential reads for all aspirating filmmakers. In fact, I commented on his blog about that sentiment and Mr. DiCillo responded to my comment – “I will try to keep the blog going. It is helpful to me to put my thoughts and frustrations into something creative…”

I cannot summarize the passion and creativity of DiCillo’s blog posts (you need to check it out for yourselves), but I will highlight some of his shared insight into the filmmaking process of Delirious – and break it down into production categories:

Pre-Production

Screenplay – DiCillo’s idea for the script was motivated by the public’s addiction to celebrity and fame. He got the idea for the main character of the film after an encounter with a paparazzo in New York during the filming of The Real Blonde. The guy went into to the shot, trying to take a pic of Daryl Hannah – DiCillo almost strangled him. Years later, DiCillo ran into to this guy at a party; They hung out in NY and LA for 2 months and then he wrote the script.

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Open Source Filmmaking

The culture of “open source” has evolved beyond software; it’s now a serious trend in filmmaking. The original open source encyclopedia, Wikipedia defines this culture as “where collective decisions or fixations are shared during development and made generally available in the public domain.”

Here are several examples of open source filmmaking projects:

+ Elephants Dream is an animated short film built/produced entirely by open source graphics software like Blender. It’s billed as the “world’s first open movie… with all production files freely available to use however you please, under a Creative Commons license.”

+ The Echo Chamber Project is an open source documentary that critiques the mainstream media’s coverage of the war in Iraq through collaborative techniques. They describe themselves as “an independent filmmaker’s ‘YouTube’ combined with ‘Wikipedia’ for serious journalism.”

+ OpenSourceCinema.org is another collaborative documentary project. This one covers copyright in the digital age.

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