In-World War

A different perspective on NYC

On our New York shoot back in early October, my college pal (and fellow screenwriter) Kevin Brodie came in from Conneticut to work as script supervisor and PA -- basically to see what its like on an indie film set. Despite the frantic pace and often touch-and-go moments, Kev maintained a calmness and professionalism through-out (it probably helps that he's a high school teacher and used to working with maturity-challenged groups).

Kevin wrote up an article about his experiences working on the IWW crew on his blog and described what it was like as a non-Muslim white guy guarding the door of a mostly-immigrant mosque in Manhattan. Read it here.

Latest tricks in DIY indie film distribution

I just got back from a cheapo trip to Sundance with a ton of notes and ideas for indie distribution.

There's a lot brewing and if you have an indie film, you should be paying attention.

Check it out: I wrote up a lengthy, content-rich article about the tips and tricks that I picked up at Sundance this year on my filmmaking blog DIY Filmmaking Sucks.

Have an idea for a movie?

So you've got an idea for a movie.

Or even just a small concept for a short online video (for YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).

But you've got no idea how to make it happen. Not even sure where to start or what camera to use.

Check out today's post,  How to start making movies, on my blog for other filmmakers and students: DIY Filmmaking Sucks.

Lots of other articles there too for aspiring filmmakers. Learn from my scars and don't make the same mistakes.

Prejudice against Muslims in America

ABC Primetime staged a scene at a shop in Texas to see how random people would react to blatant racism against a Muslim.

The good news is that more people stood up for the Muslim woman than agreed with the racist worker (both were actors). The bad news is that nonetheless plenty of people felt completely comfortable voicing their support for the racism. And worse still is that most people just stood by and did nothing.

Sad.

View it on YouTube: abc Primetime - How Muslims Are Treated In USA

In-world music gigs happening already

Musicians are already playing "live" gigs in Second Life and -- at least one -- is bringing in a nice stream of cash on the side:

CNN: Artists visit virtual Second Life for real-world cash

It seems strange today (one of the ever-popular "can you believe what people do online?!?" stories) -- but this will become increasingly common. Personally, I'm not sure we've seen the tipping point for virtual worlds yet, the numbers of visitors is so small.

The skeptics need to realize that fundamentally the Internet is a medium for connecting to other people -- and that applications like Second Life are just the next generation of online chatting and web broadcasting. With a healthy dose of open-ended play too.

The real question is whether these networked technologies are really anything new or just an extension of the mechanized social interactions of modern life? Guess what I think.

VR helmet brings us closer to a real In-World War

Check this out: The Virtual Cocoon Headset Promises to Feel as Real as Real Life (from Gizmodo)

Today a helmet, tomorrow implants. You thought this was a fiction film?

The future of video games

I just read a great article about the future of video games that I had to share. It's really focused on the development of high-fidelity virtual worlds over the next 25 years.

In-World War is set 50 years in the future -- so if these guys are right, I've got a decent margin of error on the timing, to make sure the necessary technology is in place.

Of course, the source is top notch: Cracked (the Mad Magazine wannabe).

Somehow, that makes it even more perfect.