Internet Slowdown Day

There recently was an online protest called "Internet Slowdown Day", a movement which brought attention to a proposal the FCC is currently going over which would split the internet into two lanes, a "fast lane" and a "slow lane". If websites pay content provides (AKA Comcast, TWC, and the like) a premium, they gain access to the "fast lane".

The protest gained recognition from several major websites including Kickstarter, Mozilla, reddit and Netflix. On September 10th they all featured a loading sign on their sight in reference to what the internet could become if the proposal were to be passed. 

In this post I aim to tackle two main questions:

1. What exactly is this proposal?

and

2. How does it affect filmmakers?

First off, what is this proposal in its simplest terms? Well, quite simply it turns cable companies into the mafia. And that isn't a harsh exaggeration. If you want your website to have protection from the slow lane, you've got to pay your Internet Service Provider (ISP) a premium. No premium, no protection. 

Hmm... sounds like a business model I've heard of. 

This has been a continuous battle (and probably wont stop any time soon) for what people are calling "net neutrality". Which, as John Oliver points out below, is a rather boring phrase and should be accurately renamed to "Preventing Cable Company F*ckery".

Clearly this proposal wouldn't benefit anyone (besides ISP's), but how would it doom filmmakers especially? For that I turn to an article written by nofilmschool.com, "The Doomsday Scenario: Net Neutrality Dies & Independent Film Along With It". 

Okay, so the armageddon-esk picture at the head of this article is a little dramatic, but there are a lot of important points in this article that deserve attention. For one, the internet has become one of the largest markets for independent filmmakers. Vimeo and YouTube are of course the more popular platforms, but there's several other sites that filmmakers use to share their films too. (Shoutout shortoftheweek.com) But with this new proposal it's unknown which platforms would be able to reach your intended audience. It's also unlikely you would be able to do it for free if the platform now had to pay extra for your video to stream at a bearable speed. Kickstarter, providing a new and innovative way for filmmakers to fund their films, made their stance on the matter very clear:

We're speaking out against the FCC's draft Internet regulations that would allow cable companies to create a two-tiered Internet, divided into fast and slow lanes. These proposed rules would stifle innovation, discourage creativity, and destroy the Internet that we know and love.

What makes the internet so beautiful is that all data is created equal. Right now, I can upload a my film to the internet and know that it will load at the same speed as every other film uploaded. It doesn't matter how popular it is or how deep the creator's pockets are. History has already taught us that picking favorites does a lot of damage to society.

 Let's not repeat ourselves, shall we?

Filmmakers Get A New Social Network

Movidiam

Pronounced: Mo-vid-ium 

Over the past few years there have been several apps and websites popping up to streamline the filmmaking process. Some organize scripts and storyboards, while others help distribute the film once it's completed. There are even sites like Filmkin, which markets itself as "The Social Network for Filmmakers". Although the functionality of Filmkin is all there, the overall design is clunky and there is a serious lack of users.

Movidiam (pronounced mo-vid-ium) takes on a fresh new approach to film networking, and aims to tackle every aspect of the filmmaking process from inception to creation to completion. Take a look at the video below to see what it's all about.

Before you get too excited to hop on and join, I should tell you that the network is not live yet. You can enter your email to get the latest updates on when it does go live, but for now all we can do is gawk at the fancy graphics and videos on their website. We can't know what kind of impact this will have until it does actually go live, but the professional feel of the website may attract professional filmmakers and brands. Aside from the networking side of it, there also seem to be additional helpful features like call-sheet creation and budget management.

Movidiam will be free to use when you first sign up, although to access all of the features there is a hefty $25/month price tag. I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford that, but we'll see how instrumental this new social network can be. 

It Might Be Rational to Be Irrational: "Un Chien Andalou"

When Professor Sinclair wrote the name "Luis Bunuel" on the board the very first day of class, I assumed this fellow could be someone worth knowing about. So, tapping into that "beginning of the school year ambition," I dutifully researched the filmmaker. This is what I found:

"Un Chien Andalou", Bunuel's first film, proved unable to be ignored by the world. It's shocking. It's disturbing. And it makes absolutely no sense. But then again, that was the point. Working closely with famous surrealist Salvador Dali, the filmmakers vowed that the script could contain: "No idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind..." Even more, Bunuel explicated that, "Nothing, in the film, symbolizes anything. The only method of investigation of the symbols would be, perhaps, psychoanalysis."

Now, one must note, I was not yet aware of the lack of rational concepts when I initially hit the play button on the sixteen minute film. You can image then, how hard my brain was working to find symbolism in the madness. If you haven't yet had the pleasure of watching this particular piece of artistry, I urge you to click the video and watch it now. If you haven't watched "Un Chien Andalou" and don't intend to, allow me to give you a quick rundown.

A woman's eyeball is cut open. A man wearing nun's habit falls off his bicycle on the side of the road. Insects come out of a man's hand. A woman gets run over. Rape almost happens. The rapist drags two pianos covered in rotting donkey corpses across the room. A woman's armpit hair grows on a man's face where his mouth used to be. AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

Even if weird isn't necessarily your thing, one has to give credit to Bunuel for his boldness. Once I understood that the film couldn't be, well, understood, I actually found myself really enjoying the piece. There's no doubt that "Un Chien Andalou" is shocking. But imagine the reactions the short must have evoked when it first came out in 1929. In conclusion, there's a reason we should research the people Professor Sinclair asks us to. If I hadn't, I would have missed out on this particular gem.