[sudo-discuss] Open source documentary

[Max Klein]

On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 7:19 AM, Noemie Serfaty <noemieserfaty at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello sudo-ers
>
>
>
> Let me introduce myself, although some of you know me already. My name is
> Noémie, I'm French - among other things.
>
>
>
> I discovered sudo-room last September. It was the first time I set foot in
> a hackerspace, and it kind of blew my mind. At sudo room, I discovered the
> concept of open source, a concept I didn't really know till then. That,
> together with a lot of really great encounters and conversations, kind of
> changed things for me, and made me realize that even in what I do in life
> (films), I can do things completely differently. Up to now the film
> industry has been very hierarchical, in many different ways, and it always
> made me uncomfortable. Only recently did I understand that if I sense that
> something’s not fair, I can actually do something about it. That was an
> empowering realization.
>

This is so heart-warming to read.

>
> So I've been playing with the idea of making an open source documentary
> film at/about sudo room. Before I go any further, I would just like to say
> that I saw you're trying to agree on a sort of chart about the conditions
> under which you'd be willing to have people film at sudo room, and it all
> seems very reasonable to me.
>
>
>
> I'd like to expose you my idea, for you to tell me what you think, and
> also, if anyone among you would like to participate. I’m hoping that (at
> least some of) the ones who will be in the film will also participate in
> the making of the film. The project would probably be scattered over a few
> months, so that it doesn't feel heavy, but also so that there is time to
> develop a genuine narrative, and to follow one or a few projects that could
> constitute the backbone of a story.
>
>
>
> The question I've been fiddling with is the following: how to make it open
> source? And beyond just putting the footage under CC license and leaving it
> available somewhere on the internet, how to make it an exciting experiment,
> an opportunity to create new processes in film making that are non
> hierarchical and more participative? To me the question is also a pragmatic
> one: how can this participative process allow to create compelling films
> with a vision, films that people actually want to watch, beyond the open
> source community?
>

A thousand times yes. Reminds me of the quote.

“*When the structure of a work is one of its themes, another of its themes
is art*.” - Gertrude Stein

>
> The idea is to develop a sort of github for editing movies in a
> collaborative way, so that as the film is being shot and made, there is a
> tool online that allows to do things together:
> - rate, annotate, underline the footage or parts of it, organize it
>
> - upload videos, music, etc.
>
> - edit sequences.
>
> - fork the project to create a different timeline and a different movie.
>
> This tool would be free of access and available not only to the people
> involved in the project but to anyone, and hopefully will generate a cool
> community of users who want to be empowered film viewers *and* makers. To
> me it's the continuation of genius director Chris Marker's work with the
> Medvedkin Groups in the 60's. * (see below if you want to know more about
> it!).
>
>
> I've been talking about the possibility of building this tool with a
> really great and talented hacker that some of you know, Robert M Ochshorn.
>  He's already made some great advancement on the future of video (two
> works of his:  http://interlace.videovortex9.net also check
> http://montageinterdit.net) and he'd be excited to continue with this
> project. I’m excited too actually! I think it could change the whole idea
> of how to make films, and what it is to be a spectator, and what is a truly
> participative movie... So I’m offering to do an experiment, and I think
> sudo room would definitely be the best place to do it, not only because of
> all places, it is the one where I would want to experiment in a fun way.
> Also because I envision a really good, touching, fun and awakening movie...
>  hopefully more than one movie!! I hope that after the 1.0 movie is
> released, it is only the beginning of an adventure consisting in hacking
> the movie. Making a different version of it, maybe more than one.
>
 I'll be in Oakland starting from February and I'm thinking of spending
> some time at sudo - probably for other projects as well. I'd like to take
> this time to think of how to do it, what story (ies) to tell, talk about
> the project to whomever among you is interested in participating in it, and
> see more concretely how it could be done in a participative way, but also
> with a vision, and a unity, so that it actually has a reach.
>
>
>
> I wrote this email today because I’d like everyone to know about it, and
> open a discussion that I hope will mostly take place in real life when I’ll
> be here in February rather than on this email list, although I would be
> happy to already get some feedback, questions, advice or ideas that you
> think are relevant at this stage…
>

I love this idea. As well as sudoers being involved, I think it'd be cool
to work on it with some other groups who'd be excited. For instance the
film-studies groups at Bay Area Public School (radicals in our same
building) and others. In that way, sudoers could learn film-making theory,
and film-makers could learn open-source theory. I'd love to dedicate some
time to the project.

--notconfusing

>
>
>
> Thank you!
>
>
>
> A bientôt :)
>
> Noémie
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> * Chris Marker went to film the factory strikes in Besancon; and when he
> showed his film to the workers, they said that he’s completely incompetent,
> that it does not represent their point of view at all, that this director
> from Paris is just like the bosses that exploit them. Chris Marker agreed
> that the film was filmed from his point of view, and created with the
> workers the Medevkin groups. He shared with them the material, the means
> and the knowhow to create their own movies, and helped them to re-edit his
> own footage. Some of the films of the Medvedkin groups are amazing.
>
>
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> --
> Noémie Serfaty
> 108 rue du Faubourg du Temple
> 75011 Paris
> Tel: 06 27 76 88 84
> Tel: 01 71 50 51 82
> noemieserfaty at gmail.com
>
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