Open Source Cinema
Encyclopedia
Open Source Cinema is a collaborative website created to produce the documentary film RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
, a co-production with Montreal
's EyeSteelFilm
and the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB). It was launched in 2004 as a public beta, and in 2007 launched at the South By Southwest
Interactive festival on the Drupal
platform.
The site serves as a repository for all of the footage for Basement Tapes, licensed under a Creative Commons
license, which the audience is free to remix. The site also hosts user-generated remixes that have subsequently been edited into the final film.
The website was created by Montreal filmmaker Brett Gaylor
. He was member of the panel of experts during South by Southwest venue in 2007.
Gaylor's Basement Tapes project and feedbacks blossomed into a documentary that was renamed prior to theatrical release
to become RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
, an "open source" documentary
about copyright
and remix
culture. Created over a period of six years, the film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema website, helping to create, according to Gaylor, the "world's first open source
documentary".
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright"directed by Brett Gaylor.Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema...
, a co-production with Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company founded and co-owned by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression...
and the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB). It was launched in 2004 as a public beta, and in 2007 launched at the South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Interactive festival on the Drupal
Drupal
Drupal is a free and open-source content management system and content management framework written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. It is used as a back-end system for at least 1.5% of all websites worldwide ranging from personal blogs to corporate, political, and...
platform.
The site serves as a repository for all of the footage for Basement Tapes, licensed under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license, which the audience is free to remix. The site also hosts user-generated remixes that have subsequently been edited into the final film.
The website was created by Montreal filmmaker Brett Gaylor
Brett Gaylor
Brett Gaylor is a Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Montreal, Quebec. Born in 1977, he grew up on Galiano Island, British Columbia. He is a member director of EyeSteelFilm documentary production company and its Head of New Media....
. He was member of the panel of experts during South by Southwest venue in 2007.
Gaylor's Basement Tapes project and feedbacks blossomed into a documentary that was renamed prior to theatrical release
Film release
A film release is the stage at which a completed film is legally authorized by its owner for public distribution.The process includes locating a distributor to handle the film...
to become RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright"directed by Brett Gaylor.Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema...
, an "open source" documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
culture. Created over a period of six years, the film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema website, helping to create, according to Gaylor, the "world's first open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
documentary".
Current projects
The Projects section of the site contains tasks and call to action from filmmakers. The currently open projects include:- Preempting Dissent -- Open Sourcing Secrecy: In collaboration with researchers and filmmakers at the Infoscape Research Lab at Ryerson University and the Department of Communication, Florida State University, Open Source Cinema is hosting the collaborative production of “Preempting Dissent -- Open Sourcing Secrecy”, a documentary based on the book by Greg Elmer and Andy Opel.
- Turcot: A collaborative documentary film documenting the city of Montreal’s plan to expropriate hundreds of citizens to rebuilt the crumbling Turcot exchange. The film uses the micro-example of this massive infrastructure project to examine the future of cities, and the right of citizens to determine the future of their city themselves.
- Homless Nation 2010: A documentary on the effect of the upcoming 2010 Olympic games on Vancouver’s shrinking housing market, created by those most effected: The Homeless. Created collaboratively with the citizens of www.homelessnation.org, an award winning website created by and for the homeless of Canada.
- RiP!: A Remix Manifesto 2.0: A project based around Brett Gaylor's documentary, RiP!: A Remix Manifesto. This project invites users to remix the original film and upload their contributions to be included in a new, improved version.
See also
- RiP!: A Remix ManifestoRiP!: A Remix ManifestoRiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright"directed by Brett Gaylor.Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema...
- Brett GaylorBrett GaylorBrett Gaylor is a Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Montreal, Quebec. Born in 1977, he grew up on Galiano Island, British Columbia. He is a member director of EyeSteelFilm documentary production company and its Head of New Media....
- Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
- Open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- CopyleftCopyleftCopyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
- Public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...