Why Am I Blogging Here?

So, let's get this part clear.  I am an average gal.  I don't work in film, or its financing industry.  I'm an architectural illustrator by trade, a frustrated artist by nature, and I dream of one day building my own home.  Why do I say this?  Well, I hope it gives scope as to why this project excites me.

You see I like films - I like seeing them in the theatre, and I LOVE curling up at home with a bowl of popcorn and an open stretch of weekend to lose myself in another world.  The making of movies has always fascinated me.  From the old days of the big soundstages recreating vast scenes, to the amazing capacity of CG.  Movies are cool.  They are escapism.  They take me away on voyages, guided by the director and writers. And here is where I feel disappointment in many big feature films these days. I do not want to see branded products held centre-screen for a regulated number of seconds by the celebrity lead actor, I do not wish to see where the budget has been cut back and the quality of the CG suffers, I don't wish the story to be edited to suit the tastes of the major financing bodies backing the film.  And these apparently are only some of the restrictions that film makers face these days.  Of course I haven't yet mentioned the effect that piracy is having on film financing... if all the money to be made on a film is likely to vanish in illegal copies after the first week at the Box Office, who in their right mind will be putting up the big bucks?

Enter the Biracy Project...  a system which builds an audience and a movie at the same time.  Interesting. 

• So I buy a membership, which gives me the inside scoop on how a movie is made.  Cool.

• It also gives me the chance to have a say on aspects of the movie - wow!

• Each time I engage by commenting, or voting, I get awarded points.  These points can be transferred to other projects.  The member with the most points at the completion of the film wins a massive cash prize - Hell yeah!
  

• If I refer people to also support this project and they sign up, I get money.  I could make back the cost of my membership, or more!
  

• When the film is finished, I get a copy of the DVD - nice.

• Most philanthropically I am taking part in a project that benefits me (the audience), and the creative bodies making it - perfect.
  

So as an everyday film-loving person, I see this as a pretty neat way of getting involved.  And with a membership starting at $25, well that's pretty much the cost of a new DVD today anyway...  and it's way more fun.  Even the if the resulting movie that is made isn't a masterpiece, well I was there for the making of it and it'll be great to me :)  Kinda like the clay ashtray I made at summer camp years back.  I didn't know anyone that smoked, and it was pretty damn ugly, but I was proud of it!