http://torrentfreak.com/p2p-site-coalition-to-help-indie-filmmakers-091013/

 
http://vodo.net/



Us Now, the first release from the VODO projectlooks at how 'user' participation could transform the way that countries are governed. It tells the stories of the online networks whose self-organising structures promise to change the fabric of government forever. Us Now follows the fate of Ebbsfleet United, a football clu owned and run by its fans; Zopa, a bank in which everyone is the manager; and Couch Surfing, a vast online network whose members share their homes with strangers.

'Distribution of information has changed completely,' says filmmaker Ivo Gormley. 'To fight that change seems completely futile. VODO is a new way of making this type of distribution work for everyone. I like the idea that P2P is actually a bit more like what happened in the old days; telling stories around fires rather than some sort of cyber-terrorism.'

US Now is released via VODO under a Creative Commons Sharealike Attribution Non-Commerical License.

ABOUT VODO

VODO is founded by Jamie King, one of the figures behind STEAL THIS FILM (www.stealthisfilm.com). VODO brings filmmakers together with the distribution power of the filesharing community. It aims to offer fresh, quality films on a free-to-share basis, promoted and distributed through a 'coalition' of filesharing partners that includes big names like The Pirate Bay, Mininova, Miro, TorrentFreak, Isohunt, Plube, OneDDL Vuze and and Frostwire, amongst many others.

'Together, the filesharing community has a distribution capacity that rivals and even exceeds that of the mainstream media,' says Jamie King. 'VODO aims to leverage that power for the benefit of filmmakers and other creators. By sharing films freely through the most popular and fastest growing filesharing sites, we're building audiences in the hundreds of thousands for artists. That has material value for these filmmakers, through raised profile, donations and marketing. It's a win-win situation and it's the future of distributing media after copyright.'

Followers of release groups like aXXo will be familiar with the model. But VODO is a release group with a twist. Not only are artists voluntarily sharing: downloaders can choose to make voluntary donations to creators. VODO lets creators manage their own donation links, with all donations going directly to the filmmaker. Regular supporters of the VODO project will receive access to all the films being considered for release.

VODO aims to release at least one film per month during the rest of 2009 and 2010. Forthcoming titles include the premiere of 'In Guantanamo', a documentary by first-time director David Miller that provides unprecedented access to the Guantanmo prison camps - but King says that fiction titles, animation and shorts will also be on the distribution list. 'During 2010 VODO will build out a series of revenue opportunities for its creators, with the free-to-share model at their core,' he explains.

ABOUT THE TEAM

VODO collaborators include Nils Hellberg of Piratbyran (Sweden, Design) and Rama Cosentino of BurnStation (Argentina, programming), with programming support by Dan O' Huiginn (UK). Members of the advisory board include Ashwin Navin, ex-CEO of Bittorrent Inc., and Peter Sunde of The Pirate Bay. VODO, which has been in development since 2008, has been produced with the support of the Arts Council UK, Emerald Fund and the Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation. VODO's not hiring right now, but it is looking for voluntary collaborators to help out as it grows and takes shape. Just send an email toto find out more.







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