Onboard Diary

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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.

 

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.

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.

- 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.

The Cosmonaut in the Director's Guild of America

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.

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! :)

Transmedia becomes officially recognized

This 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. 

Moonbase Alpha, the video game from NASA

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... 

Moscow onboard diaries #3

The conclusions....

Moscow onboard diaries #2

Moscow onboard diaries

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. 

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. 

Brief praise to The Cosmonaut (by Gonzalo Martín)

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.

D-Day

Summary:

| 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. 

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. :)

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

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

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!

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.