Thursday, September 14

ugh... been ill these past few days...off on Tuesday and now its Thursday and I'm still here, sat in my dressing gown on the bed using my Powerbook via wifi...

What did sick people DO before wifi and being able to browse the Internet to follow up random thoughts they had while they were tossing and turning in a paracetamol induced stupor? I guess they just wrote it on a tissue and then sneezed into it before throwing it in the bin. I've been following up a few thoughts I've been having about my film and where it fits into things that are going on.

One thing that is going on is the wholenotion of taking back control of media production, culture itself, from greedy corporations. In my recent email update to may cast and crew I expressed it like so:

"As I say we’re not going to be seeking any traditional movie funding because a) that really sucks, b) it’s exactly the opposite of what this film is all about. The old traditional ways of distribution for music, films, books etc. really suck ass. Why? Because it’s all based on a BIG corporation deciding what people are going to like and then making it and forcing down people’s throats through sheer WEIGHT of marketing spend. But this is all changing. And it’s all about who owns the distribution. If you can make your own music (YouTube, MySpace, GoogleVideo), movie (iTunes, YouTube, MySpace, GoogleVideo) or book (Lulu.com) and distribute it yourself, then all the money goes to the artists, and the distributors (who basically contribute nothing to the process of creation) get cut out of the business model. (Big smile) As a HUGE proportion of the cost of a work, CD, DVD, book etc., is distribution costs, this means consumers win and artists win. Fatcats lose. (Bigger smile)

"I’m all about being a part of this new revolution, and I mean that in it’s purest sense, and The Sacrament is a tool for proving this point. Instead of ramming some crap down people’s throats the public gets to choose from an almost infinite range of niche products, niche markets become bigger, and the good stuff floats to the top. I swear to god it’s the future of media."
I heartily reccomend the book "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig which talks about this stuff in far more detail and with greater authority and clarity than I could muster, even if I didn't feel like I have Planet Earth shoved up my nose and a rusty spike through my skull.

No videos today. Got bored with that. Or did you like them? Let me know.

Oh ok, tsk. Slave drivers...