Collaborating on films (For attendees of "The Conversation")


NOTES for "The Conversation"
http://www.theconversationspot.com/home.html

I'm a writer and director - also a graphic designer and illustrator working in the North Bay.

In a word, I'm looking collaborators. I'm looking for a better way to create my films.

I spent thousands of hours Photoshopping still images for my 13 minute film "La vie d'un chien." The response was tremendous: the film did great on the festival circuit, won some awards etc - but it took a year to make.

As a DIY filmmaker I'm often in a chicken/egg dilemma: I have ideas I don't pursue and write scripts I can't produce because they are too ambitious or labor-intensive.

Many hands make light work and those hands can be in different towns.

For instance, animation. I have a great idea for a 2D short that could totally be farmed out as piecework. If I had a dozen animators each working on one scene we could bang it out in pretty short order.

What I'm talking about is a virtual studio. I'm aware I'm not the first person who has thought of such a thing. (Are there examples out there that are actually working? Why, why not? Send me URLs.)

Animation is particularly suited to the virtual studio approach because every step from concept development to final film can happen online. But real-world productions could benefit: you could assemble crew, collaborate on pre-production, art direction & pre-viz, to SFX design and compositing, scoring, etc.

Could we use something like Basecamp (see: www.37signals.com) that allow project management to happen online and collaboratively? The upside is that it's designed and ready to use. Downside is that it's private; you need a password to log in and participate - which prevents you from attracting people who want to be involved and prevents potential fans from discovering what you're working on and peeking behind the curtain. Secrecy is for the major studios, for indies it's never too soon to start building a fan base.

Maybe the answer is start with a public blog or a website with a bulletin board function, so people can see it, discover it, and if they choose, participate in it. Then have a vetting process: if you want to actually work on the film, I review your reel/resume/etc and then send the password to Basecamp so you can become part of the team.

What goes on Basecamp is the project nuts & bolts that wouldn't be of interest to the casual browser anyway, "hey did you upload that file," that kind of thing.

We all know there are a lot of talented people out there hungry to be involved in a really good project. One that actually gets finished, that is a creative success, and might even be a commercial success.

And that leads to the other part of this discussion, what's in it for the collaborators beyond copy and credit? How does that work?

Also, -- devil's advocate time -- am I overthinking all of this? What are the advantages of the above approach that outweigh the immediacy and simplicity of just posting an "I need animators" ad to craigslist?

JH 10/16/08

PS: Those of you who might be interested in collaborating, or would like to know more about my proposed projects, email me at giantspecks(a t) yahoo.com and I'll start a mailing list.




SATURDAY UPDATE:


I WILL BE UNABLE TO ATTEND DAY TWO AND PRESENT AND DISCUSS THIS TOPIC. However, please see my notes to Scott Kirsner, below. And I encourage anyone to email me to continue discussing this.
JH


Thanks Scott,

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it back for Day 2, something's come up here at home. However, a portion of my question may have been answered yesterday during the lunch break, when I talked with Slava Rubin from IndieGoGo. (So for me The Conversation was very worthwhile. Thank you for putting it together.) I have to go check out the IndieGoGo site more thoroughly, but it sounds like it could do a lot of what I envisioned: blog progress reports on the project, post drafts of the script and other documents, assemble crew, promote the film... plus raise funds as well! The way I see it working is in tandem with postings to craigslist, Shooting People, etc. to recruit crew, and Basecamp to manage day-by-day operations.

I'm fired up and plan to give it a go. If it works out, maybe I can present at your next event, and share what I learn.

Cheers--

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John Harden
WriterSlashDirector
johnfilms.com
www.myspace.com/johnfilms
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