This update is for backers of our Kickstarter campaign explaining more about Open Source and letting you know more about what’s happening at OpenIndie. Backers will need to log in with their Kickstarter accounts to read the update. Alternatively, all backers should have a copy of the update in their email :)
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
Photo rights attributed to: jm3 on Flickr
First, we should apologise for our rather long radio silence. Both Arin and I have been extremely busy and have therefore not been able to give OpenIndie as much attention as we would like. While we have continued to answer support requests and help our existing filmmakers with their use of OpenIndie we have not made the progress we wanted to. It can be extremely hard balancing a passion project such as this with paying the bills and making films.
That said, we are very excited to announce the next step in the OpenIndie road map- the release of OpenIndie as an open source self-hosted platform.
What does this mean?
Philosophically it means the technology will now embody the same principals that OpenIndie promotions in the field of film distribution. We believe the safest place for our code is in the hands of the community for which it was created. Our open approach to film means you let your audience distribute your work. In turn our open approach to technology will now mean that anyone can run our software on their own hosting platform, enhance it and steer the innovation far beyond what we could ever imagine.
This choice also means that OpenIndie is no longer restricted by the limitations of its founders. Time and money are huge controlling factors in the creation of a platform of this kind. As an open source project OpenIndie will benefit from the contribution of any developer who wishes to spend time extending what we have built. In short, releasing the source code means more flexibility for all.
Some of the benefits of OpenIndie going Open source:
1. Instead of paying monthly or yearly fees, a filmmaker will be able to run OpenIndie for themselves. Anyone will be able to download the source, deploy it on their own server or shared hosting and theme OpenIndie to blend in with their website.
2. Filmmakers will have “ownership” over their data. All data will be stored locally to each instance of OpenIndie, however, filmmakers will also have the option to push their data back to a new searchable hub on OpenIndie.org. This, we hope, will allow for a distributed network of filmmakers and micro-studios all discoverable through an open central site.
Note: OpenIndie.com will continue as a hosted solution for filmmakers who are not confident hosting their own version of the platform. This service will be available for either a monthly or annual fee. For those aux fait with Wordpress think .org vs. .com
3. Movie theaters and film festivals with OpenIndie installs will be able to host profiles of films that would may not otherwise have hosted OpenIndie accounts.
4. The look and feel of the user experience can be adjusted by anyone with basic knowledge of CSS and HTML.
5. The project can be forked and new versions of the software can be created. A developer may take our code and adapt it for bands, public speakers, or any touring professional. The sky is the limit. If you can think of a way to transform OpenIndie, a programmer can take the OpenIndie code and make it possible.
So how do we get from here to open?
We don’t want to simply release the source code that’s currently running on our servers. We want to make it simple for anyone to install OpenIndie and get up and running in a few easy steps. This will take time and we hope to gain the help of a group of developers and designers to shape OpenIndie into something easy to deploy on any standard hosting package.
We are currently looking to work with:
1 x Developer
Ruby on Rails experience ideal but good knowledge of PHP, Python, Scala or any other language / frameworks and a desire to learn Ruby and Rails would do. An understanding of geolocation and frontend technologies such as HTML, CSS and jQuery would be desirable.
1 x Frontend Developer
HTML, CSS, jQuery and a passion for creating standards compliant semantic markup a must.
1 x Designer
Solid portfolio of web design work, an understanding of good user interface design and frontend skills such as HTML and CSS are a bonus.
1 x Copy writer
We need a kick ass copy writer with experience working with user interfaces and the web to give OpenIndie a unique voice.
Those who commit to helping us make the open source project a reality will join OpenIndie Developer Kieran Masterton in becoming part of the core committing team once the project is released and will help steer the direction of OpenIndie.org in the future.
If you’re interested in more details about how to work with us or would like to get involved please feel free to send your résumé or portfolio to kieran [AT] openindie [DOT] com. Developers- we’d love to see a github profile link.
We’re really excited about this development and are confident it will provide the best outcome for the community and OpenIndie.
Today we continue our series of bite-sized features highlighting a group of our founding filmmakers that we think are really storming this new world of indie film. This week our subject is filmmaker, educator, speaker, and author Jon Reiss.
Like all our founding filmmakers Jon not only gave to our Kickstarter campaign but has also been hugely supportive of what we’re trying to achieve. Jon’s latest film BOMB IT is a feature documentary covering the explosion of graffiti culture throughout the world. As a result of his experience distributing BOMB IT Jon has now written his book Think Outside The Box Office. In TOTBO Jon imparts his considerable wisdom on the subject of marketing and distribution in the world of indie film.
Now, he’s running a series of workshops both in Europe and stateside to impart his knowledge to filmmakers face-to-face. After the success of his day long courses in London and Amsterdam he now has two two-day sessions scheduled for New York City this weekend and Vancouver on the 12th of June. So, if you’re an indie filmmaker and you’re keen to learn more about what Jon has to say about marketing and distribution and you’re free this weekend you can still enroll for his NYC session. And, if you’re in Vancouver on the 12th you can enroll here.
OpenIndie would like to thank Jon for his support and if you’re about to face the daunting task of distributing your film we would encourage you to check out Jon’s book, think about attending one of his workshops and follow him on Twitter.
OpenIndie is currently in the midsts of a redesign, so watch this space for a new homepage and more in the coming weeks.
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
Afternoon folks, just over a week ago we changed the heat map functionality to make it far more shiny for you. The heat map now gives you detailed information about the quantity of requests in each area and zones are colour coded based on demand.
This version of the map is now available as a widget. So head along to any film’s promote page, here’s an example, take the embed code and add it to your blog. We know the iFrame version isn’t ideal for everyone so we’re working on a Facebook version amongst others.
We also have a sign up form embed option coming very soon so that people will be able to request your film directly from your site just by filling in a couple of their details. Watch this space!
Any questions, feel free to shoot me an email (kieran AT openindie DOT com) or ask on our help site.
A couple of weeks ago, we started our weekly bite-sized feature highlighting a number of our founding filmmakers that we think are really storming this new world of indie film. Yes, that was a few weeks ago, wow, 2010 is racing away from us. Anyway, the purpose of these blogs are A) to bring attention to people we think you should be taking notice of but also to introduce (or re-introduce) you to their work.
The subject of this weeks filmmaker focus is critically acclaimed filmmaker and all round nice guy Zak Forsman. Zak’s short film I FUCKING HATE YOU received several international audience, jury and festival awards on the circuit. Likewise, his feature HEART OF NOW has been called “Beautiful” and “Absolutely Gorgeous” by, amongst others, Ain’t It Cool News.
Zak is currently working on his next feature ELOQUENT GRAFFITI (2011) and has released a 6 minute prelude to this film entitled MODEL/PHOTOGRAPHER which is available to watch on the Sabi Pictures site. Sabi Pictures was co-founded by Zak and Kevin K. Shah and between them they have made at least six beautiful and engaging films, more information about which can, again, be found on the Sabi Pictures site.
Of those films, Zak and Kevin have chosen to put HEART OF NOW and Kevin’s feature WHITE KNUCKLES on OpenIndie. Zak was not only the first filmmaker to make it to 100 requests on the site but Sabi are also the first production company to have more than one film on the site.
Here at OpenIndie we hope that Sabi will be the first of many micro-studios to start distributing their work via the site and it’s a pleasure working with Zak and Kevin to build a site that works for them, and others like them.
You should check out the trailer for HEART OF NOW and WHITE KNUCKLES on OpenIndie and request both!!! You should also follow Zak and Kevin on Twitter.
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
This Saturday the 8th of May 2010, on opposite sides of the Atlantic, you have the opportunity to see both founders of OpenIndie in the flesh. Arin and I will be speaking to filmmakers this Saturday about how OpenIndie can help them distribute their film. Arin is speaking at the Connecticut Film Festival and presenting his vision of “A Model That Can Work” including crowdfunding, profit sharing, community driven distribution and building an audience that you can take from one film to the next.
Meanwhile on the other side of the pond at the world famous Ealing Studios I will be talking to the attendees of Film Distribution In 2010 a two-day event designed to empower filmmakers with the knowledge and tools they need to distribute their work. I’ll be talking about the origins of OpenIndie, how we enable community driven distribution, how the platform brings filmmakers, fans and exhibitors together in one space and I’ll also be touching on our plans for the future.
Other highlights of the two-day distribution event include Jon Reiss, filmmaker and author of Think Outside the Box Office, leading film marketer Sheri Candler, and Sarah Mosses of Good Screenings the platform recently used by Franny Armstrong to distribute her climate change film Age of Stupid. It looks like it’s going to be a great couple of days and I’m sad I can’t stick around for the Sunday. Anyone about to be faced with the challenge of distributing their film or currently in the process of doing so should definitely come along and learn how distribution is working in this new world of indie film.
Passes are still available for both events so if you’re up for a weekend of distribution antics check out the Distribution in 2010 site or if you’re already attending the Connecticut Film Festival or live within striking distance of Danbury, CT check out their site for more details about how and when to attend Arin’s presentation.
In the words of @FilmStew come join the “transatlantic twosome” for a weekend of open distribution goodness :)
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
Photo credit: Stephanie Wu
Last week we started our weekly bite-sized feature highlighting a number of our founding filmmakers that we think are really storming this new world of indie film. The purpose of these blogs are A) to bring attention to people we think you should be taking notice of but also to introduce (or re-introduce) you to their work.
This week indie film Producer Mynette Louie is the subject of OpenIndie Filmmaker Focus. Mynette was one of the first filmmakers to add her film, CHILDREN OF INVENTION, directed by Tze Chun and which premiered at Sundance ‘09, to OpenIndie. Like all our founding filmmakers, she was also one of the first folks to put her hand in her pocket and donate $100 to our Kickstarter campaign back in November. So, for that, thank you Mynette!
Mynette is a New York based producer who co-produced Andrew Bujalski’s MUTUAL APPRECIATION, a film named one of the top-ten films of 2006 by Entertainment Weekly and the Village Voice, amongst others. She is currently in post-production on, winner of the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Lab, P. Benoit’s UNTITLED HAITI PROJECT and she is in development on another project with CHILDREN OF INVENTION director Tze Chun entitled YOU’RE A BIG GIRL NOW for which the log line reads:
“A Singaporean orphan is bought by a brothel, escapes to Hong Kong with an older prostitute, then returns to Singapore to uncover the mysteries of her childhood. Based on a true story.”
Mynette is also on the Selection Advisory Committee of the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. In short Mynette’s work is exactly the kind of filmmaking that excites us at OpenIndie. She’s producing beautiful, surprising and truly independent films and we’re proud she’s one of our founding filmmakers.
For more about Mynette Louie and her films check out this recent IndieWire article and the CHILDREN OF INVENTION site. Oh, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter.
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
Photo credit: grking.com
Back in November ‘09 we were lucky enough to receive financial backing and tremendous support from some seriously talented indie filmmakers. In this new series of bite-sized blogs we plan to introduce (or re-introduce) you to a number of our founding filmmakers that we feel are seriously storming this new world of indie filmmaking.
This week the subject of OpenIndie Filmmaker Focus is American DIY filmmaker Gary King. We chose Gary to feature this week because he has just successfully completed the colossal task of crowdfunding his next feature to the tune of a staggering $31,101!!! Like OpenIndie, Gary used Kickstarter.com to fund his film HOW DO YOU WRITE A JOE SCHERMANN SONG which he plans to shoot in the summer of 2010.
Gary only started his feature filmmaking career in 2009 with drama NEW YORK LATELY for which he garnered some serious critical acclaim. Since, he has directed horror film DISMAL (2009) and has also been hired to direct action/comedy zombie flick DEATH OF THE DEAD (2010). As if that wasn’t enough he has also just wrapped post-production on his latest feature film WHAT’S UP LOVELY (2010) which is the film Gary has chosen to build an audience for using OpenIndie.
So, if you’re unfamiliar with Gary’s work check out his website to keep up-to-date with his prolific output and from the guys at OpenIndie: Gary - congratulations on such an amazing crowdfunding achievement and we look forward to working with you to get as many eyeballs on your work as possible!
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder
