Bayne’s openness stuck with me and I made note of the fact that he was working on a film called DRIVEN. But at the time, I wasn’t aware of the details. Then a few weeks ago I wrote a post on Kickstarter and thought it might be useful to talk to a filmmaker on the frontlines of crowdfunding. Glancing through some of the most successful projects on Kickstarter, I noticed Bayne’s project, an ambitious documentary with an equally challenging funding goal of $25,000, which had been funded in a remarkable 20 days.

I was impressed and reached out to Bayne for an interview, which you can read below the trailer of DRIVEN. I hope it will provide a much-needed perspective on the crowdfunding process and also illuminate the journey of an artist with a vision, which Gregory Bayne is handily proving himself to be.

WHAT IS YOUR PROJECT ABOUT?
My film is an intimate look at the life of Jens Pulver. Jens is a legendary Mixed Martial Artists, 3 time World Champion, and the first ever Lightweight World Champion in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Challenge) who rose from a childhood laced with violence and substance abuse, to become one of the most loved and respected mixed martial arts fighters of all time. The film chronicles Jens’s journey back to the cage for what could be his final bout.

Ultimately, DRIVEN is not about a single fight: It is a film about a universal human struggle, transcending loss, and overcoming hardship through the many fights we all share in our pursuit of greatness. It is, poignantly, a film about one man’s drive, in an increasingly dire American psyche, to overcome the most trenchant of odds, and redefine his fate in a quest to provide a more solid future for self and family than his own meager inheritances would have allowed.

And now, with the fight behind us, and a fairly extensive interview with Jens ahead of me, I’m finding that the film is also about mortality, and transformation. It’s become apparent I believe, to Jens, that in order to thrive as a fighter, in his personal life, and build a future for himself, he must in some ways walk away from the legendary status that was the fighter “Little Evil”, and carve out a new path for Jens Pulver.

DESCRIBE THE CREATIVE ROAD AS A FILMMAKER THAT BROUGHT YOU TO DRIVEN?

I’ve worked as an editor on many feature documentaries, probably most notable was Trudell (Sundance Competition ’05), about legendary Native American activist John Trudell, so approaching this project was definitely in my realm.

I started my road in filmmaking in the early 90′s, and as the years have passed I’ve found myself becoming less and less excited about, or interested in, what I would call the ‘clean’ or ‘perfect’ cinema. The status quo of films that are manufactured within an inch of their life, leaving no room for the spontaneous, or the truly emotional, that are so wrapped up in ‘style’ to let us know how cutting edge they are. I like my cinema imperfect, a little dirty, and open to the journey.

So when I came across Jens, and his story, I knew instantly there was something there. Right off the bat I definitely had, and have, ideas in mind how it would come together, and what the shape would be, but I purposefully didn’t impose a style upon it, because I didn’t want to get in the way of the story.

What I’m trying to say is that my creative road has jumped track from the world of manufacturing experiences, to engaging in the experience, and finding the story within. I don’t do this because I know everything, I do it because I want to learn.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT JENS PULVER AND HIS STORY THAT COMPEL YOU?

I admire people that put themselves out there, and Jens is very much out there. In the last 10 years, in his world he has become a very public figure that has had to weather the ups and downs of wins and defeats while millions of people watch. I find that fascinating, and when that is coupled with the fact of his abusive childhood, his incredibly giving nature, his adoration among his fans, and his deep complexity as a human being that, at this time in his life, is so keenly self aware of where his real battles lie…I just find myself incredibly compelled by all of it, compelled to tell his story, compelled to try and understand him and his journey, and best I can, by viewing life through his lens.

IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE ATTEMPTED TO MICROFUND/CROWDFUND A FILM? IF SO, HOW HAVE YOU FUNDED YOUR PAST PROJECTS?

Whether it was collaborators kicking in a few hundred dollars, someone giving me an unexpected check after seeing some of my work, or making the direct plea, in one way or another everything I’ve worked on has depended on a level of crowdfunding, DRIVEN is just the first time it’s expanded way outside the realm of friends, family & acquaintance.

My other film I am currently finishing, Person of Interest, garnered most of it’s budget via crowdfunding, on a much smaller scale than DRIVEN, but still largely fan supported from day one.

HOW DID YOU FIND KICKSTARTER? WERE YOU A CONTRIBUTOR/FUNDER BEFORE YOU LISTED YOUR PROJECT?

I became acquainted with Kickstarter when I backed the launch of OpenIndie. Since then I’ve backed, and supported several other projects on the site. I basically view it is another level of social networking, as it were. I’ve met, albeit electronically, some incredible people on Kickstarter, I think their staff is amazing, and I want to be part of helping the site, and this style of launching creative endeavor, grow. So, I think it’s important to participate, and at risk of sounding cheesy…pay it forward.

ONCE YOU SETUP DRIVEN FOR FUNDING, HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT DRIVING PEOPLE TO THE SITE?

By leaving no stone unturned.

About a week before launching the campaign I put up the first teaser trailer on YouTube. Within a week it had been viewed 10,000 times, and I began receiving several emails a day from people that were moved by it. So, seeing the writing on the wall that ‘the time was now’ I just jumped in the campaign, and never looked back.

I responded to everyone that was emailing me, began sending out to my own modest email list, set up google alerts for search terms like “Jens Pulver Documentary” so I could find out where the film was being talked about, and used YouTube’s insight tools to find out where the trailer was being watched. Then, I simply ventured out into the world wide web and engaged with whomever I could. MMA Forums, blogs, journalists writing about MMA, and so on.

After about a week there were 10 pages of relevant links on google about the film, discussions were springing up everywhere and the trailer shot up to 30,000 views. Long story short, I spent all day, every day in MMA discussion forums, responding to blogs, and emails, sending new emails, keeping in constant contact with backers via Kickstarter updates, Facebook updates, Twitter updates, I used YouTube annotations to update the two trailers I had online there to both explain and help guide people to the campaign, did a couple of MMA Radio shows with Jens…it was basically an all on the table approach.

There is additional detail on this, and the ebb and flow of funding at the Kickstarter.com blog.

WHO FUNDED YOUR FILM? FRIENDS? FANS? CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SUPPORTER BASE?

All of the above, but with an emphasis on fans, or those who became fans through connecting to the initial trailer that was released. Now it’s up to me to deliver for them, and to continue to engage with them, so they make that very important transition to ‘true fan’.

I IMAGINE MANY OF JENS PULVERS’ FANS ARE SUPPORTERS OF THE FILM. DID THE NICHE NATURE OF THE SUBJECT IMPACT THE DONATIONS IN ANY WAY?

Yes, Jens is incredibly well thought of in the MMA community. He’s a legend in the sport, and probably the most approachable person in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. I think the niche nature of the film definitely opened the campaign to a wider audience quicker, for sure, but I also think it was the transparency of my approach, and willingness to engage that helped drive the campaign contributions.

YOU ARE 100% FUNDED WITH A VERY AMBITIOUS GOAL OF $25,000 IN 20 DAYS. ARE YOU SURPRISED?

I don’t know if I would say surprised, I mean yes, on just the sheer magnitude of the goal, I’m amazed it all came together. But from day one, I just had in mind “I’m doing this”, so I’m more grateful than anything that the work paid off, that people connected with the project, and that I’m making a film that I really believe in.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN THE PROCESS ABOUT THIS KIND OF FUNDRAISING?

A lot! Most of which I outline in this blog.

YOU ARE FILMING LEADING UP TO JEN’S BIG COMEBACK IN MARCH. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE FIGHT?

Well, the fight has now ended, and I am about to sit down with Jens for an extensive 4 day interview, in an effort to really get inside the world, and mind of Jens Pulver. We will be discussing every aspect of his life, his career in and out of the ring, key fights, the sport and artistry of mixed martial arts, and his road from here. This interview will provide a road map for the film as we begin to put the picture together.

Post production starts in April.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE WILL HAPPEN WITH THE PROJECT WHEN IT IS FINISHED?

I will be releasing the film myself (at least initially), and my greatest hope is that it’s a successful film, in terms of storytelling and artistry, that people enjoy, take something away from, and feel compelled to tell others about.

By way of history, the Spanish Republican government commissioned cubist painter Pablo Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) Paris International Exposition in the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. As you can see, the painting depicts the bombing of the Spanish city of Guernica by the Germans and Italians during the Spanish Civil War.

Guernica, Pablo Picasso 1937

Imagine my surprise when I came upon this 3D rendering of Guernica by a Spanish autoCAD design company  GaliciaCAD. With my limited Spanish, I browsed their website and discovered that they’re actually not in the business of entertainment at all. It seems this piece was some sort of a demo for their design work. Interesting idea, I think. Of course, there is no better candidate for 3D than Picasso, given the dimensionality of his later work.

Now, to imagine the possibilities of 3D that is truly original!

Guernica 3D from GaliciaCAD on Vimeo.

Over tea in Brooklyn’s train-rattling DUMBO neighborhood, Monello and I spent a few lively hours discussing a broad range of ideas surrounding the practice of Transmedia and what it means to the form and art of the story when we cross into the wild, expansive possibilities of narrative without boundaries. Again and again, he cited examples of  audience engagement AS art, performance, and not simply the necessarily evil creative people have to suffer to get their work seen by audiences. I recognized that as artists, especially filmmakers, the “art” of audience engagement may be the hardest one to embrace yet in constructing the full Transmedia experience, Monello demonstrated how critical it is.

What struck me as we spoke was how accessible and practical Monello was but then I remembered that it was he and his group of collaborators after all, that were responsible for the savvy, practical and explosive phenomenon known as The Blair Witch Project. (He calls that an early, unidentified Transmedia project – which spawned lesser known books and games that expanded the story and appealed to varying audiences) Yet as the same time, I found myself his unbridled love for story and his zeal for the challenge of creating compelling, immersive experiences rather infectious.

Because it was my obsession with rapidly shifting world of narrative form and content that led me to start writing this blog in the first place, I bombarded Monello with questions about how he and his partners at Campfire manage to do what they do, convince brands to let them create cross-platform stories and experiences; badgered him for the requisite end-of-year 2010 predictions; and pestered him for speculations on when Transmedia might go wide. He was gracious and patient with his extensive answers – a limited selection of which I am posting here.

WHAT IS A STORYTELLER WITHIN TRANSMEDIA?
Rejecting the limitations of titles such as “filmmaker”, Monello says stories can be anywhere and on any platform so he privileges the term “storyteller” above all others. When a storyteller is effective, s/he is “conducting” and “orchestrating” a creative narrative experience for an audience, no matter where that might be. He is adamant that audiences should be able to engage as lightly or as deeply as they want, and that all engagement experiences should be built with that in mind – value at very level. Emphasizing that a Transmedia narrative might have a component as low-tech as a paper invitation (which Campfire used in the True Blood campaign), the goal is always to allow the audience to engage, and dig deeper if they so desire.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ARTIST/AUTEUR’S VISION IN TRANSMEDIA NARRATIVES?
In designing the narrative experience, Monello says, “the dirty little secret of transmedia narratives: creators have far more control over the story than anyone really lets on.” In more cases than not, when an audience engages with the intention of building/contributing to a narrative, they are playing a role that has been designed by the author of that story. So to all those auteurs nervous about crossing into the abyss of a creative world run by crazed mob fans, there’s nothing to fear. On the contrary, encouraging fans to engage can only increase the value of one’s brand.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR TRANSMEDIA NARRATIVES TO BECOME MAINSTREAM?
Right now, he says he still struggles with mainstream marketing teams resistance “to constructing a convergent multiplatform narrative” because of the splintered way agencies handle all their platforms–hardly ever basing a campaign vision on a unified cross-platform story. Despite challenges on the brand side with which he works,  Monello thinks the Transmedia road is still a lot tougher on the Film and TV studio side where one might expect there to be more story innovation. The ideal scenario, he says, is that a powerful showrunner will initiate a Transmedia project across the board and turn it into audience gold but doubts that will really happen. He believes a more likely scenario is that the “game-changer will come from an indie creator,” not unlike a Blair Witch scenario of the next decade who “with the force of the fans will reformulate the system”.

When I found this nicely done video of Henry Jenkins (of whom I am a great fan) talking about his theory of Convergence in the middle of Times Square, I thought it would be a nice kickoff. Nice conceptual and VFX work by HCD Media Group.

Sam Blackman, CEO of Elemental Technologies: Unlike other forms of media the Internet will not destroy the pay-TV model. Consumers want a high-quality video experience across platforms (mobile device, laptop, monitor). Consumers will demand quality and ease of use.

Doug Knopper, co-founder and co-CEO of FreeWheel: Consumers are getting closer to the type of content experience they want when it comes to video. Winners will be twofold in this world: those that create compelling content and those who can figure out how to build a business model around that content. Allowing the media companies the control and flexibility to manage and monetize their content will help content creators survive this transition.

Avner Ronen CEO and co-founder of Boxee: It may be the year of TV Everywhere, but the future is Internet Everywhere.   Storytelling will change. There are no limits on the length of a story, and viewers will be able to direct their viewing experience. One can also run parallel stories within a show. By 2015, there will be an Internet show that will be bigger than a TV show today. You will have more Apple subscribers than Comcast subscribe. People will watch more video and they will pay more for it.

Jeremy Reed, SVP Content and Editorial, Demand Media: Next big thing is trying to understand there is an imbalance between supply, need and cost. You need to understand the ROI before you greenlight content. Is it quality and relevant to a community? And increasing the competitiveness — in a search world is a social world.

And perhaps the MOST controversial was James Spare’s demo of “my TV is watching me” (watch demo close to the end of the video). Everyone screamed Big Brother!

James Spare, president and CEO of Canesta: We’ve invented technology that can track objects in 3-D space. The market for 3-D is huge. A new market is 3-D input, which can, for example, have a screen detect your motion and then be able to interact in a 3-D environment. (Shows video of TV watcher moving channels with hand wave gestures). This will give rise to a whole set of new capabilities.

In surveying the various projects out there, I found myself drawn to Twistori, which is an interesting take on this  trend. By limiting their tracking to only real time uses of the words LOVE, HATE, THINK, BELIEVE, FEEL and WISH, the project draws your attention to the verbs that create human emotion. Below, I have simply screen-grabbed whatever came through the feed in the 2-3 minutes span I was watching it scroll through.

The makers of this project acknowledge that their inspiration comes from another project called We Feel Fine which actually tracked emotions mined from all over the web in the form of text and image, and then organized them into a fascinating compilation and creative analysis of human feelings. It took me a while to wrap my head around what they were actually doing. I should say that the the authors of the project Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, are together a combination of computational, creative and sociological whizkiddery. But don’t let that deter you from looking through this project, and apparently their soon-to-be-published book on the project. In their explanation of the project and its methodology they say:

Since August 2005, We Feel Fine has been harvesting human feelings from a large number of weblogs. Every few minutes, the system searches the world’s newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases “I feel” and “I am feeling”. When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the “feeling” expressed in that sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.). Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written. All of this information is saved.

I surmised after reading through their material, that they are in fact going about storytelling in a quasi-scientific way – and I say “quasi” only because while data is real, what they are seeking to document is really the range of human emotion.  So while they do uncover patterns in people’s feelings/behavior, it never quite seems that the purpose of the project is purely statistical despite their use of all this computational skill and technology.

There are fascinating ideas in the individual words and images here and it begs the question, “where does science/technology meet art and storytelling”?

The conversation continues.

The idea of a phone as a device of person to person communication as it was initially conceived way back when landlines were invented is certainly no more. What’s more, I think what this TED presentation demonstrated was that the mobile phone is now completely transforming our lives – socially, politically, physically and creatively. Of course, the question of whether these changes mark “progress” or not will continue to a subject of lively debate for some time to come.

I am personally fascinated by the idea of mobile Augmented Reality because it has the potential to completely alter the way we filter the world around us as we go about our daily business. In my last post, the overview of various experiments in AR focused almost entirely on gaming, or uses that required a less nimble and seamless interaction with the augmented world. With the iPhone platform (and to some extent Android) unlocking all kinds of possibilities in mobile AR, I think we are in for a complete shift that will impact our entire notion of reality.

The recently released Layar app for iPhone puts the location + information based product to work in a practical sense as the Techcrunch article explains “it’s the placement of a digital layer of information on top of a real-life view of the world around you, as seen through e.g. a mobile phone’s camera lens. …use your smartphone to glance around the main square of a city you’re visiting and get up-to-date information about nearby restaurants, ATMs, real estate offers, and more on-screen, bolted on top of what you’d be seeing if you weren’t looking through the lens.”

Then there’s Wikitude, which claims to be able to identify “more than 370,000 world-wide points of interests (cafes, museums, schools, caves, castles, archaeological sites, battle fields) and can be searched by address by overlaying information on the real-time camera view of a the iPhone, as you hold up the device. See a list of museums nearby sorted by distance and links Detail, Map, Drive.”

None of these advancements should shock anyone who has used a GPS device in their car because it is essentially using the same technology – mapping, and satellite tracking, enhanced with additional data applied to certain uses, like travel. I think it’s fantastic in the same way that having a cellphone completely transformed picking someone up from the airport – a convenience that you wonder how you lived without in the pre-mobile days.

But here’s where mobile AR leaves the realm of purely informational and begins to have real implications for the idea of SEEING, EXPERIENCING and STORYTELLING: Imagine if your mobile phone’s AR potential meant that you could simply “encounter” a story, rather than say, sit down in front of your television and watch a story, or go to Broadway and watch a musical, or even the very interactive experience of playing your Wii at home.

I think that when the mobile device leaves the realm of exclusively being a communication/information tool, it enters into the realm of being connected to a digital persona, in even the crudest of ways. Say, for instance, if I were to enable a virtual persona on my device (maybe I took it from The Sims, or Second Life, or heck, even Facebook, if I had some online identity that wasn’t me), within some sort of application that connected me to other people who were doing the same thing. What would happen to my experience of the world around me, or the people I am interacting with when I walk down the street? Is it possible that rather than “me” Aina, walking to the subway, my AR personality could be anyone I fictionally created, and I could interact with people IN REAL LIFE as someone else within a mobile story/game?

While this all may sound completely bizarre and unnecessary in the world of storytelling, it’s obvious that this development will invariably happen sooner than we all imagined. Even if you choose not to participate in that AR world, it still begs the question of how that AR capability alters our way of seeing “fictional” or “real” stories? In the same way that having a mobile phone changed our social behavior, I think we are bound to see a shift in the way we both view, consume and create fiction.