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The perfect opportunity for small investors


Have you seen all the buzz that has been going around Twitter?

Several twitterers have manifested their interest in creating groups of 10 people to invest in The Cosmonaut, investing each a 100 euros to reach the minimum quantity (1.000 euros) and having a participation on the profits of the film. After an avalanche of retweets, we found out partners in a blink of the eye.

Via Facebook, Germán A. Panarisi and Pablo Pérez have also made public their intentions of looking out for partners. They are looking for 8 persons interested.

When a system starts to make progress at this spontaneous rhythm, it makes us learn new things. And that is why we have decided to change the inner workings for a few days:

We have decided from now on, and only until the 15th of september, that you can become an investor for only 100 euros.. Each of this investments will have its corresponding 0,01% of the benefits from the film. People who are interested in this will only need to write us at hola@elcosmonauta.es with your personal details(name, ID and residence). As soon as we receive this information, we will send you a contract, which you'll need to print, sign, scan and send it back to us. You'll then receive your personal investor contract.

In addition, to those people groups of 10 people (like we said a few days earlier) we have a prize. We are going to prize them with some amazing limited tshirts, made by Leyre Valiente for our redesign contest. There is no need to know each investor personally or live in the same city, as each of you will receive its own personal contract: You can use our blog, Facebook or Twitter as meeting encounters.

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And, of course, if you want to uninterestedly support the project, you can always became a producer for 2€..

Thanks to everyone for making this possible. :)
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Good news with a bitter aftertaste...


This is one those long post that is worth reading to the very end.

Why? Because we have received a grant of 99.595€, that has filled us with happiness, but it hasn't made us burst with pride. And we would like to tell you the reason why.


1
. The correct way of telling how we feel about this particular grant is to explain, in general terms, our position regarding film grants. The long version has been published in this article, written for Subbabel. The short summary:

  • Subsidy for conventional products should cease to exist. The market is based on supply and demand. If there is not a demand for certain type of movies, then we should not supply the market with those kind of movies. At least, not using money from public funds.
  • These grants should only be given to those products that are difficult to commercialize, those that can not be generated on a industrial level or be profitable on easy terms. Experimental cinema, up and coming directors and niche cinema.
  • In any case, these grants should be considered a loan instead of a gift. This would lead to a much better comercialized marketplace for the distribution of films that needs to obtain the necessary money to pay off the movie.

And that's the position we are in now. We are trying to make a commercially viable product, that could fund itself because of the potential support of the audience (we always wind up telling the same anecdote, but 50% of the movies produced in Spain that premiered on local Spanish theaters do not reach a thousand spectators... while we, on the other hand, have support from more than 2200 producers who will watch and re-watch the film).



We are trying to create a economically viable model in which, if a product does have a demand, it could be supplied.

This, evidently, implies trying to finance the movie through the uses of: crowdfunding (microinvestors), investors, TV presale, cinema and DVD and also with brands. But never by means of grants.


2. Why have we applied for it?

Because it was not a grant for a film, movie project, or an amortization. This was a subsidy for those projects that had technology as their main platform.

This year is the first time it has been offered by ICAA, who prohibited those projects that ended up in the big screen or on T.V. Nevertheless, usual movie grant restrictions concerning copyright issues and distribution had been eliminated so The Cosmonaut was eligible.

That is why we are presenting one of the biggest parts of The Cosmonaut: The transmedia project united to the film.

Photographs made by the characters of the movie...a series for the cell phone...an ARG...micropieces for the Internet...alternative audio...books that enrich the story of the film...and definitely, a universe of The Cosmonaut, as rich and deep as the spectator chooses it to be.

And that is what we called: Fly me to the Moon (The Cosmonaut files)

There are few transmedia projects in Spain, even though they are playing an ever growing role throughout the world. This is the first time the government has given a grant for this type of project.


3. So now, where does this leaves us?

Here comes the bitter taste. That bitter aftertaste is to accept the grant. It is bitter because, even though we are still fighting for the rest of the funding, we would've rather preferred getting it without the means of the grant.

It is true that we had argued untill we were exhausted. Some members of the team leaped out of their seats when they heard the news. Some of them, were stuck at a crossroad. Others have even put on the table the idea of rejecting the grant.

Finally, for a lot of reasons, being one of the main one, you guys: our audience and, second, a team composed of thirty people working in this project for more than two years, we have decided to accept the grant and keep moving forward.

Be aware that this will be a important push to get the rest of the funds. Beware of what it means, for good or bad. Bear in mind what we are rejecting, and, if we turn out to be victorious, something we are completely sure, victory won't be as sweet as it could have been, but it will be a victory, and that is what really matters. 


So, having said of all the above, the only thing left to do is to thank all of you for being there, with us, with your movie. We would like to remind you that now is the time where we most need your help to finance the rest of the money that is needed for the movie (as it is easier now), which we needed to make this adventure come true.

Nicolás Alcalá,

director of The Cosmonaut.

P.S.: Check out more about the role of the transmedia project in The Cosmonaut here.
 
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ARG's are dead

ARGs are dead. But Transmedia is lightning in a jar. ARGs have failed to break into mass media, because the interaction is in the wrong place. Right now, the interaction is finding the story. When someone doesn't know what to do next, it's easy to stop, and every time we ask someone to change platforms, we lose audience. But the experience of transmedia is powerful, immersive and emotional. We have to find new ways to tell stories across multiple platforms using interactivity.
Maureen McHugh (No Mime's Media)
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Fly me to Moon (The Cosmonaut files)


Transmedia is a narrative tool that allows to expand the ways of telling a cinematographic storyline. New technologies allow the development of a story on several platforms to be boosted and expanded therefore given the spectator a new experience.

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- Photographs taken by Andrei as the film progresses. We can see the transformation of the character through his pictures.

- Technical reports of all the missions and incidents that happen throughout the story.

- "The Cosmonaut letters": Pieces ranging from 1 to 3 minutes, based on a dream like world with a voice over of different characters (one by each piece), that tell the relationship and feelings between them, from when they first met until the end of the movie..

- [Spoiler] "The Moon Files": the film recordings and images that tell what really happen when Stan lost communication with Earth up until his arrival back to Earth. 

- Shortfilms y Sequences: Sequences that will be shot by the crew or by guest artists with certain limitations such as location and characters. They will be unlocked as you keep progressing through levels on the video game developed for the iPhone and iPad.

- [Spoiler] "The dreams of the Cosmonaut": We will see dream like and hallucination sequences that deal with Stan at the end of the film, once he got back to Earth.

Some of these proposals, will be chosen by the fans in word and image contests, some of them will be shot by the film crew or by guest directors.

- Phone Calls: Telephone calls between characters, only audio, that will explain some details of the story. They will be broadcast throughout the internet and radio at specific time slots. These broadcasts will be interlaced with the story on some creative unique ways, for example, on some ads at determined hours and announced beforehand..

- ARG: Alternate Reality Game. A game that will be based on the universe of the movie, but it will also take some ambiance from the real world, and its theme will be about the lost cosmonauts and the documents that acknowledge or not this series of "urban myths".  All along the movie, clues and hints will help the participants to unravel the mysteries that surround the space race.

- "What do you want to be when you grow up?": 5 pieces for the cellphone platform, with a duration of 2 to 5 minutes, that will narrate Stan and Andrei's life before entering Star City. We will see them when they were once pilots dreaming with the idea of becoming cosmonauts. The last episode will be downloaded on the same cinema that premiers the Cosmonaut and the ending will follow the first scene of the movie.

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The Cosmonaut in the Director's Guild of America

Peter Broderick, a visionary in the American independent film industry, called us a few days earlier to tell us that he was going to give a talk at the Director's Guild of America and that The Cosmonaut was going to be one of his keynotes at his presentation.

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We had just finished talking with him through Skype for an audience of 700 people in Los Angeles, where most of them belong to the entertainment business and America's film industry.

Hopefully, good things will come out of this encounter. Maybe, it could be our initial adventure into American lands. We surely hope that it will get us closer to our goal: making this movie.

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Once again, we are published on Cahiers

This morning, we had breakfast with a pleasant bit of news: We appeared, once again, in the spanish edition of Cahiers du Cinéma. This time, we are named because of the deal of distribution with Cameo and Filmin, that we announced a month ago. It seems we are still in the business buzz! :)

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Transmedia becomes officially recognized

PGA_logo.jpgThis is an old news story, dating back to a few months, but we could not stop commenting it given the relevance that The Cosmonaut has given to the category of transmedia.

The Producers Guild of America has officially acknowledge the position of transmedia producer. The PGA, for those of you who don't know about them, is an American trade association that represents producers from the television, film and new media industry.

This announcement has a great historical significance because, it's the first time that they have ratified a new role in the industry. From now on, anyone that produces the transmedia part of any project will have the same rights and will receive the same credit as, for example, the scriptwriter or the director of artwork. 

The definition of transmedia producer provided by the PGA does not fulfill everyone's expectations, given that it contains several aspects that limit the application of such title, like the minimum number of mediums to be used in order to obtain the credit. Christy Dena reflects on this matter in her blog, taken from the definition of the title that appeared in the original source of the news article.

In any case, we believe that it is big news that the role of transmedia producer has been officially recognized, independent of the over or under qualifications to became a transmedia producer. The decision contributes to a wider acknowledgement of the new and rising role that transmedia plays in the audiovisual industry. 

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Moonbase Alpha, the video game from NASA


We have been playing Moonbase Alpha, a videogame set on the moon in the year 2020, developed by NASA and recently published on Steam. And it's a free download.

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At first glance, it is a pretty fun game. Its a strategy game in which you need to restore the oxygen production on a lunar base that has been hit by a meteoriote. An online game where the sucess of the mission relies on the collaborative work put on by the members that join the same online room.The best thing of the game: to roam the lunar surface, simulated using real moon physics, on a rover.

It's best to download and give it a whirl. Follow this two small steps to download the game:


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We are having a sale at the store and a new contest.


We have the studio full of Kolibries, Tereshkovas, Vostoks and matrioshkas all itching to go out and breathe the air outside, go to the beach and travel... 

We have decided to reduce the prices of many of our products so can you can take them with you on your holidays. 


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The merchandise that we want to liberate:
All the T-Shirts: we dropped off the price and on September we will have new models.
Badges, stickers and patch : We have decided to dropped the price because the design will change in September. 

*If you are already a producer, remember that you can always buy any product and instead of the welcome pack, you will receive the soviet solution.

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Apart from all this great news, we are announcing a new contest: The redesign of the Matryoshka model of Isidro Ferrer. We want to take a spin, so we decided to start a new contest to change the colors of: 
-T-shirt (it could be white, red, yellow...)
-Image (instead of white and red, it could be any two combination of other colors, but there's a maximum limit of three colors) 
 
You can download a two color file in a .tiff format here. Please make your own design and upload directly to Flickr and tag them, or send them to mario.orellana@riotcinema.com.

¡You have until the 31st of August!
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Moscow onboard diaries #3


The conclusions....

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Moscow onboard diaries #2

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Moscow onboard diaries

Ya está aquí, ya llegó...



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Elmur.net

We met a lot of interesting people in Campus Party Europe. We shared a most of the time with Gemma and Marie, the eyes and brains behind elmur.net.

Their initiative shares some common things with our movie. The first one being, the spirit of sharing, of taking an image to any part of the world, of being international (or what is the same as on the internet, being form every part of the world but none in particular), to create besides others in order to make it into something bigger than itself. 



In this blog we usually talk about the future. For being such an inspiration for the future, they deserve a spot here. :)
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Internet and the active consumers

Today, following from a bad experience that we had, we are going to talk a little bit about the new power that the Internet has given to the consumers.

As you may now, a week before, we presented our business plan in the HUB Madrid. Part of that presentation consisted in the giving out cds that contained The Plan, attachments, teasers and a couple of files. 

We gave this all important task to a company call Fdw, in theory, experts of cd and dvd duplication. What happens next? 

fwd.jpgThey made 500 copies that would only work on... PC. Half of the files gave out an error if inserted into a Mac computer.

We have spent two days arguing with them so they could do the duplication of the CDs out of their own pocket. There hasn't been any way. They have given us a thousand and one excuses and they will not acknowledge that it was their own fault. We have now 500 CDs inside a box that are useless to some of you.  

What is the good thing about this? We can tell you all about it. We can create a big and fast word of mouth thanks to the internet. 

Maybe it is a lost cause, but in may occasions the noise generated on the internet has made many brands retract their policies or change the way the way they are doing things. 

The cases of Tulipán, Domino's Pizza or the most famous one Nestlé , give a great account of the active consumer on the internet. Brands are slowly taking notice that the consumer isn't passive, he is an active viewer, or as they say in the business: "The customer is always right".


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Brief praise to The Cosmonaut (by Gonzalo Martín)

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Gonzalo Martín, one of the greatest minds of this industry of ours, who is worth following for how he writes each comma, has dedicated us a post which falls right into our absolute top ten most exciting things that we ever read about us.

There is only one thing left to do: thank him eternally.

Brief praise to The Cosmonaut (by Gonzalo Martín)

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D-Day

Today is, after the day we launch the project, the most important in the whole enterprise of The Cosmonaut. 

There are so many things that we have to tell you that we decided to make it public in the second newsletter, so all of all you, producers or not, can see it.

The Cosmonaut closes its the first stage and heads right to the second one, filled with new  features and a lot of energy. Below is the second newsletter:



Summary:

| We launched The Plan, a new business model that has been worked for seven months, were we propose a new financing, production and distribution revolutionary model.
| We followed this with the Attachments, a series of studies made about our means of distribution.
| We make public our first draft script of The Cosmonaut script.
| We make public our budget for the movie and its corresponding financial plan.
| We launch our new website, so you could see all of the content in a much clearer and simpler way.

| We announced the deal between Cameo and Filmin on the the DVD/Bluray distribution for The Cosmonaut. Jaume Ripoll, editorial director, will tell you on this video the reason for this decision.




All of this will be available at 19:00 hours, moment in which we will present the new changes in the HUB Madrid, in front of newspaper reporters and colleagues of the industry. 

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Audi Mag

Charlie Burton, who has already reviewed us in Wired UK, is now doing a whole report for Audi Magazine UK , and they sent us a photographer from London for the photo session.

He is Sam Barker , and this is how Fuencarral looked this morning. :)

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We are going back to Moscow! ... one of the 18 selected participants for the Moscow Co-Production Forum


Organized by, among others, the MEDIA program and the Russian Culture Ministry, the MIFF Business Square 2010, is an organized encounter that runs at the same time as the Moscow International Film Festival, it is THE place for those projects looking to co produce with Russia. 

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Its main event, the Moscow Co-Production Forum, has chosen 18 projects from Europe, Brazil, Russia, India and China to introduce them to its vicissitudes, their inner circle, the names and pockets of the BRIC zone. Ultimately, to meet a crowd of co-producers that could make into reality the making of the movie in those places.


Here are some of the requisites for participating:

                 - Films that are currently in development.
                 - With a high potential to be distributed in Europe and, or globally.
                 - Have at least 20% of the finance covered for the project. 

"The Cosmonaut" has been selected to be one of those 18 projects. 

We go back to Moscow months later to participate on round tables discussions, master classes about co-production, meeting people with the same dream as us, snooping on other current projects in the Russian film industry, being the only representation of Spain in the event and to eat blinis and borsch.

To receive a
e-mail that ended with "Your presence at the MIFF Business Square» would be of critical importance for the success of the program", has been the first sign of confirmation for the upcoming next stage of the project. 
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Cannes Diaries: The chronicles of the film festival (5)


C'est fini. We leave you here the last filmed material of Cannes, and our conclusions... hope you enjoy it!



The song playing is Si Gagarin levantara el casco by Los Gandules,
license under Creative Commons (and where we already talked about it )
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Cannes Diaries: The chronicles of the film festival (4)


As all good things come to an end, Nico and Carla chase those last unwary people still walking through Cannes.


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