Stray Cinema: Open Source Film-making on the Web
While YouTube and online
video is all the rage currently, I often wonder if there's anything on these video
websites other than mentos-coke
explosions and bad singing.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy YouTube as much as the next person - but I am also a bit
artsy-fartsy, so I like to see artistic stuff being done on the Web too. One such project
is Stray Cinema, which describes itself as "an open
source film project".
Stray Cinema invites people to create short films, based on raw footage that was filmed in London on a digital camera. The idea is that participants download the footage and edit parts of it into their own 2 minute film. Links to free editing software is provided - e.g. Avid, Windows Movie Maker, Video Edit Magic and Wax. The films are then uploaded onto YouTube and embedded into the Stray Cinema website.
Stray Cinema is also contacting independent musicians and bands, via social networking sites like MySpace, to incorporate their music into the process.
Once there are 30 film submissions on the website, the community of Stray Cinema users will vote for their favourite films. The top 5 films will be screened in London alongside the directors cut. There will be VJ's at the event, mixing film footage to live music. Also there will be a live audiovisual webcast, live web-chat, vodcasting and blogging. The date for the event is yet to be determined.
Stray Cinema is aiming to be an annual event, repeating the process with raw footage filmed in a different city each year. All of this is being run by 7 people and there are 479 registered users. OK so it's not a trendy startup with millions of users, but to my mind it's excellent use of Web technologies. Check it out if you're interested in film and how web 2.0 technologies can be used to create and promote independent film-making.
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The people who have aired their "production" on YouTube and other video sharing sites will not see that StrayCinema is offering anything different from what they have done. It's just another medium.
Posted by: Adrian keys | February 15, 2007 8:27 AM
From a tech perspective, that's true Adrian. But remember Stray Cinema provides the video footage and also they would like to think a niche community of film makers will build up at the site - and at the event (either participating in London or online).
Posted by: Richard MacManus | February 15, 2007 11:44 AM
hi adrian
just wanted to reply to your comment. yes i agree that there are many video sharing initiatives online right now. i believe the point of difference with the stray cinema project is that we ask participants to remix one source of footage. also we are not just releasing our footage online - we also ask people to bring back their finished products - by submitting a 2 minute film into our competition. our online community then views and votes on their favourite films, and finally the chosen five are navigated from the online digital world, into the 'real world' with our london screening. more of a 'journey' if you like.
see ya
michelle
Posted by: Michelle (Stray Cinema) | February 15, 2007 1:49 PM
Hi,
I really like Stray Cinema's concept. I am also producing an open source video project called the Digital Tipping Point, and it is code-named DTP Buzz (after the first Debian Linux release) until we have a final name. There are two other open source video projects that I know of, in addition to the Digital Tipping Point. They are A Swarm of Angels, based in the UK, and The Open Road Trip, based in Washington State in the US. Our Digital Tipping Point crew is mostly in San Francisoco, California.
IMHO, we are going to see lots, lots more open source style production of video. Open source itself is as powerful a force as the wind, and as irresistible. I am personally very excited about this work on several levels. I think that open source production of video will give us more varied and interesting films than Hollywood is producing, and the content will be free and open formats, not DRM'd. So the open source movement is both more democractic, and produces more interesting content, generally speaking. Of course, we will have duds, just like Hollywood, but at least they will be our duds, and we will be able to take those duds and improve them. Or learn from our mistakes and do better next time.
Nice post. Thanks.
Christian Einfeldt,
Producer, the Digital Tipping Point
Posted by: Christian Einfeldt | February 16, 2007 4:09 PM