Videography can now be open sourced and it changes the medium. Videos have become software projects. You do everything on a computer. Every step of the way uses shareable digital files. So… open it up.
Software developers have been collaborating on their projects in this way for decades. Yes, they have the advantage of small, text-based files that are very easy to work with. They are also building more “objective” solutions to problems. You can scale with more cooks in the kitchen when the definition of success is very clear.
In comparison, videography has limitations. Even the people behind the most basic infomercial are making opinionated, taste-driven decisions. It’s hard to imagine finding quality contribution when everyone has a different idea of what good is. And technically? Production is often dependent on in-person capture, and postproduction software uses complicated proprietary files or databases, so changes are inherently hard to share.
But it’s still possible to open source your project, and it will be better for it.
How?
You Are a Software Engineer
Well, how would you work with a single collaborator? You’d take your main project folder and upload it to the cloud. He can download it, make changes, re-upload it, and send it back to you (probably with unique names for some of the project files)
It’s the same concept as you scale, but you streamline it by borrowing distributed version control from software engineers.
Your folder includes all files. Each step is a new version. Contributors start from the latest version, make their changes, and “bid” to be the next version.
The “versions” of your files are tracked with git, but project files will probably need explicit, named versions saved at every step. Project files are not like regular code, so conflict resolution is process-driven, not merge-driven (versions, subversions).
You use GitHub for all the files except big ones - share those with Internet Archive. Large media is referenced externally and not fully stored in git history.
The obvious application is postproduction, but there’s no reason it can’t happen throughout the whole shebang. The limitation on scaled collaboration is the necessity of centralization.
But technology has liberated us, despite popular opinion, and you don’t need to actually manage large groups of people anymore to make things. Even production (the most centralized part) is going to be a lot easier to share very soon (generated clips).
That is how you collaborate.
Open Sesame
Then you open source it. People submit contributions freely, anywhere in the world, at any time. Stories take a life of their own, unconstrained by copyright and exclusivity.
Difficult or expensive videos are not limited to large studios with money and connections. Talent comes from anywhere it needs to, from the storytellers who care about storytelling. Open source contribution means large groups of people can make videos without knowing each other. Now this is really how you collaborate.
But don’t worry, it’s not a democracy. That would be terrible. It’s a dictatorship, at least at the project level. It’s open to suggested contributions, but you have the final say - at least when it comes to your version.
But what if your version sucks and I want to fork it, cut out a few parts, and make my own version?
Yeah. That’s going to happen (not me of course, but some meanie will). And it might get more attention, too. Sorry. But what is the result of that? Options. And the best video floats to the top. There is no demand for average. That is how the medium gets better. And actually, knowledge creation and capitalism are positive sum games, so it’s not like you really lose (and you’re usually playing both with videography).
I believe this to be the best way to make videos, a framework that unlocks every bit of the process. Now let’s test it out, shall we?
Wat da heck?
This is hard, I’m not a software developer.
Shut up. It’s not that hard, and yes you are. Real storytellers use whatever tools best serve the story. You can learn anything.
Fine for videography, not for “Filmmaking”
Shut up. That’s a misnomer. You are doing videography, just a different sort.
This only works for “nonprofit” videos
Correct. That’s the nature of free and open source, but you can make money off a proprietary version of an open source project. See Chromium. There are many different avenues, but none have really been tested, so you’re early.
I can’t just share all my project files. Some assets and audio are not licensed for free distribution.
Correct. But the open source project probably should have watermarked/placeholder assets. Upload/share assets you are licensed to distribute. Only the final video gets exported and shared using the actual assets. Problem would really be solved if copyright disappeared, though.
whatever. this is dumb.
Maybe, but it’s worth a shot. I’m trying to come up with a way to raise the medium to new heights. Think of science and technology. If it can’t work for whatever reason, it should at least be proved wrong.
Is there an example of this?
Yes, a narrative video I’m making now - RATTLE!