Hi everyone,
Just a quick update to let you know that today I posted a screencast of my progress with building OpenIndie. If you're interested to see how far I've got and what kinda shape the site is in after four weeks of full time development check out the post on our blog.

http://blog.openindie.com/post/318287012/openindie-development-screencast

As always if you have any questions, feel free to comment on the blog, on vimeo, or on here at Kickstarter. Alternative, pick my brains by email kieran AT openindie DOT com

Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder

Hello everyone,
My wife, Katie, has just sent out a number of mass emails to all of you who donated to OpenIndie phase one. She has kindly offered to help Arin and I fulfill the rewards for phase one as we are both incredibly busy getting the site ready for launch on March 1st.

If you think you should have received an email today and you didn't, it may be that your email address slipped through the net or bounced for some unforeseen reason. If that's the case we're really sorry, please email: katie AT openindie DOT com with your name and the reward you claimed. She will then endeavour to put things right.

Thank you once again for your donations and support. Development is going extremely well and we're super excited about the designs that are in the works.

Follow all the latest development updates on Twitter at @openindie Check out what Arin's up to @arincrumley And find out what I'm having for lunch @kieranmasterton
Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder

Thanks to everyone who donated, as of Thursday 29th October 2009, OpenIndie is officially happening. I handed in my notice at work the same day, so in four weeks time, OpenIndie will be my full time occupation. We couldn't have done it without you, so sincerely, thank you!

Arin and I have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement and are over the moon that we achieved 124% of our funding goal. The extra money will not go on booze and a slap up meal however, the 10k "bootstrap" for OpenIndie is far from the actual cost of running a website of this kind so we're incredibly grateful for the extra funds.

If you are one of the 21 backers who are in line to receive a Four Eyed Monsters Music CD then we will be in touch shortly to request your postal details. Likewise, if you are a filmmaker or site member we will be in touch so that we can gather some details and get you on the correct mailing lists etc.

Next, a question that a filmmaker recently asked us via email, that I think it is incredibly important to address. So here's what she asked, and I paraphrase, "is OpenIndie only for open source films, meaning films that are not seeking, or do not already have, any other form of theatrical distribution?" Now, I want to address this question because it's not only fundamental to everyone's understanding of what we're trying to do with OpenIndie but is also pivotal to what we're doing with Phase Two.

In short, no, OpenIndie is not just about films being free, or open source, or however else you want to put it. I have my own opinions about totally free film as I'm sure Arin does, and I personally think given the digital world in which we live that giving your film away for free is a perfectly reasonable enterprise. However, this is not the sole purpose of OpenIndie and in particular this is an issue that Phase Two addresses.

Phase Two is about developing a feature of OpenIndie called OpenLicense. The feature is a means by which to describe how members of the OpenIndie community can distribute your film. This means that you, as a filmmaker, will have control over the types of screenings that occur, where they occur and how the revenue from these screenings is divided. One of our primary motivations behind this feature is to allow filmmakers who already have distribution in a given territory or are in the process of seeking distribution in say, North America, to still be able to have their film screened anywhere else in the world via OpenIndie. If you land a traditional distribution deal in say, Sweden, you can alter your OpenLicense to prevent OpenIndie screenings in Sweden. The OpenLicense is, we believe, the beginning of a reliable revenue stream for OpenIndie filmmakers.

To find out more about OpenLicense or if you're a filmmaker and would like to join our second wave of films on OpenIndie, you should visit our Kickstarter campaign for Phase Two:

http://bit.ly/3jvU0

Finally, thank you again to everyone who put their hand in their pocket and have enabled Arin and I to make OpenIndie a reality.

Kieran Masterton
OpenIndie Co-Founder

High five to those who are already backers.

We have 42 hours to get the word out to those you think should be coming along for the ride.

So we need your help spreading the word. Below are social media things you can do to get the word out very easily, just copy and paste and modify as needed.

TWITTER:

(number of hours) left but FIRST YOU'VE GOT TO GET MAD! http://bit.ly/3pVnUv Then helping fund OpenIndie will be easy http://bit.ly/752Dl

(check how many hours are actually left and change as needed.)

FACEBOOK:

42 hours left to fund OpenIndie and here is what is in it for you: 1 dollar gets early membership to the site. 15 dollars gets Four Eyed Monsters Music CD. 100 dollars gets your film as one of the first 100 pioneering films to get seen theatrically. Donate now: http://bit.ly/752Dl But first, GET MAD! http://bit.ly/3pVnUv

BLOG:

Go to http://arincrumley.com and http://kieranmasterton.com and you'll see ample quotes and videos to embed as well as tons of outgoing links you can also use for references to construct a blog that you feel sells people on why this is a good idea.

INTERVIEW: If you'd like to interview me or kieran for a blog, podcast or even off the record just one on one to ask about how OpenIndie.com works, no problem, just reach out to us, we are just our names as one word at gmail.com.

Good night and good luck!

Arin

Hi everyone,
Yesterday we added a new reward for everyone who donates $15 or more. OpenIndie.com is being created based on the distribution strategies Arin and Susan implemented with Four Eyed Monsters, so in celebration of this, you will receive a Four Eyed Monsters Music CD for donations of $15 or more.

TRACK LIST OF THE CD YOU'LL GET:

1. Paper Jones – (David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six
2. Gene Serene – All Over You
3. Spinto Band – Oh Mandy
4. Brian Jonestown Massacre – (David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six
5. Ben and Bruno – New Friend
6. Paper Jones – Collars Up
7. Heather Renee – Drifting
8. Apes & Androids – Hot Kathy
9. The Golden Pastime – In The Beginning
10. Paper Jones – Moriarti
11. National Eye – Bird and Sword
12. Parenthetical Girls – Love Connection, pt. II
13. Stone Jack Jones – Smile
14. Uncredited at request of Artist
15. Mansfields – Heard It Through Mom
16. Magdyn Osh – All of You

Already donated?
Don't worry you can still get your hands on a CD. If you donated over $15 already simply click the big blue "MANAGE YOUR PLEDGE" button in the sidebar and choose the CD reward before clicking the "ADJUST YOUR PLEDGE" button at the bottom of the screen. Likewise, if you have donated under $15 but would like to take the opportunity to grab a Four Eyed Monsters Music CD then you can also click the "MANAGE YOUR PLEDGE" button, adjust the amount of your pledge to $15 or more, select the reward, then confirm by clicking "ADJUST YOUR PLEDGE"

Please note: this reward is only available to those who live in the US, Canada or UK due to shipping costs

Kieran
OpenIndie Co-Founder

We've past the half way mark towards our funding and I've been reading the amazing discussion taking place on our campaign comments and saw that already we are getting great input for how the site should function from our backers.

In addition to Kieran and I's direct responses I wanted to make a post to say that the point is this, the possibilities are endless. Kieran is a computer programmer with over 10 years of experience building similar infrastructures. So we can all bring our ideas to the table and make this thing do anything we want it too. Also I've been planning how this could all function for over 4 years by constantly envisioning this future system every time I made a new distribution move with Four Eyed Monsters. There are pages and pages of notes and ideas and sketches and drawings and concepts for how I see a new film industry functioning and OpenIndie.com is designed to be a huge part of the missing link.

But even with all of these ideas we have, it's the backers who will aid more then anybody the actual shape of this new service. First of all you guys bring money to the project which is huge. And secondly you are our base of filmmakers and users that will inform us how the system should be developed. The plan is to regularly update the backers with what the sites components are looking like as the get built. Comments about each update will play into the development and inform the direction we take phase 1. And then of course there will be phase 2 where we all get to try out the new system and learn what can improve.

So we are building the future together. What your donation means is that we are all going to make this happen together.

Of course this only happens if we fund. So please, spread the word. Reach out to a few fans of your work, see if they'll back even just 1 dollar. And if you know feature or short filmmakers, reach out to them as well. Share with them your reasons for backing this project and invite them to do the same.

Also, I've noticed many filmmakers pledging 20 dollars, I'd strongly encourage you to increase your pledge to 100 so that your film can actually be one of the 100 films that gets the free 1 hour of consulting and gets to use the service of the site. Kickstarter makes it very easy to increase your donation. Just hit the button and you can type in any number during the time frame that the campaign is live.

Thanks for supporting OpenIndie.com and have a wonderful day...

Arin Crumley
co-founder

Hi all,
I thought I'd take this opportunity to answer a few frequently asked questions we've received either via email, twitter or on our Kickstarter comments page.

Q: Why do you need $10,000 to start the website?
A: While Internet users are used to getting a lot of for free, developing a site as big as openindie.com and paying for the hosting is expensive. The money is needed to pay for Kieran to dedicate his time to OpenIndie full time. Likewise, in order to sustain a site this size server costs will increase exponentially as the quantity of films and users on the site grow.

Q: What type of films can become one of the first 100?
A: Any. Whether you have made a feature, a short or a documentary of any kind you're welcome to donate $100 and be a founding filmmaker.

Q: Are you only looking for American filmmakers?
A: Absolutely not! We're looking for anyone who wants to self distribute their film. Wherever you are in the world. Whatever language your film is in. We want you to be part of OpenIndie.

Q: What if my film already has a distribution deal in a specific territory?
A: Many of the filmmakers signing up to OpenIndie will still have their full theatrical rights. However, we understand that some may have been able to secure distribution deals in one or two territories where their film was successful. With this in mind we have devised an "OpenIndie License" where filmmakers retain their full theatrical rights but it allows filmmakers to specify where in the world user-generated screenings can take place.

Q: Do I have to allow users to download and screen my film?
A: No, filmmakers will have full control over whether their film is available to screen. If you'd like to use the site to just gather demand for a film, then that's fine. However, we believe to get the full benefit of the site filmmakers should embrace the opportunity to have anyone screen their films.

Q: So what happens at the end of the 10 months?
A: The ten months is purely a time frame we have put in place which will be a point where we will re-assess how OpenIndie is working out for the 100 filmmakers and make decisions about where to take it in the future. The 10 month period starts on the 1st of March 2010. And, as some people have asked, it is most certainly not a time where we will be kicking the original 100 filmmakers off the site. If anything this will be the point where we decide what is working and what isn't, evolve some features and release new features to the community.

If you're a filmmaker or film fan and have a question for Arin and I about OpenIndie please do not hesitate to post a comment under the comments tab on this page.

Thank you so much to all who have already donated and remember, if we don't reach our goal of $10,000 by the 29th of October we won't get a cent. So please continue to retweet, blog and pass this website address to your friends.

Kieran Masterton
Co-Founder OpenIndie.com

Hello everyone,

This is a post just for our 25 backers. Thanks! You guys rule.

Many of you have blogs I assume and are possibly seeking content to blog.

If you want to share our kickstarter video with your people, you can do that with this embedable YouTube Video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

You can also add this badge to your blog or films website:

And feel free to tweet or link to these URLs as many of you already have:

INDIEWIRE Article: http://bit.ly/z6HKC
NEW BREED Interview: http://bit.ly/3R2YJ

And of course promote the campaign itself:

http://bit.ly/752Dl

Really excited about getting the project to meet it's goal. For those not familiar with kickstarter, we only get the money from you all if we meet our full goal. SO if not, no perks, no OpenIndie.com, no nothin! So lets all work together to get the word out to filmmakers who can participate in this.

Arin Crumley
Co-Founder
OpenIndie.com