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"Nothing So Strange" Newsletter -- October 24, 2003

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+ HISTORIC E-PREMIERE: "Nothing So Strange" premieres on World Wide Web
+ NSS IN THEATRES: Seattle, Virginia, Beirut
+ LATEST PRESS: "Moves compellingly through the alternate universe it conjures into being"

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+ WORLDWIDE DEBUT:  "Nothing So Strange" premieres on World Wide Web

In the last newsletter, the "Rumor Mill" section mentioned the possibility of the release of an online version of "Nothing So Strange." Well, not only is this rumor now a reality--but also "Nothing So Strange" is literally making cinema and internet history. Today, Friday, October 24, "Nothing So Strange" will become the first feature film ever to be released worldwide on the same day on the internet. Just by pointing and clicking on an ordinary Web browser, anybody on Earth will be able to purchase and download the online version of this historic feature-length documentary.

It has been an interesting journey to this point. Brian Flemming, the film's director, and Brian Clark, the film's executive producer, have long wanted to release the film online, but they faced two hurdles: 1) The poor quality that typical compression schemes yield when a feature-length movie is reduced to a manageable file size. 2) The lack of a simple-to-use payment method to charge for downloads.

The solutions to both of these problems were found quite recently. In September, Brian Flemming started fooling around with Apple's brand-new Compressor application and discovered that the latest MPEG-4 compression as implemented by Apple for its QuickTime Player is head-and-shoulders above any of the other major competitors. He continued experimenting with Compressor and discovered that a digital-video feature such as "Nothing So Strange" is a perfect match for MPEG-4 compression. He came up with a 466 MB file with crisp CD-quality sound and a generously large 640 X 480 picture that, as Flemming puts it, "Isn't quite DVD quality, but it does the movie justice."

The second solution came via the brand-new BitPass "micropayment" system, a new way to pay for online digital content. BitPass was started in order to solve what has been a serious problem on the web--how to charge for access to online content without using an expensive subscription model? With BitPass, you buy a "debit card" (minimum $3), and then use that "card" to pay amounts as little as one cent all over the Web. It seems simple and obvious, but until now such a system wasn't available to independent film producers who wanted to put a film on the Web.

These two solutions came together at just the right time, and rather than announce early and risk someone else beating them to the punch, the makers of "Nothing So Strange" decided to stage the first-ever worldwide feature-film debut right away. The large version of the film costs $5, and a smaller, lower-quality version costs $3. Sample clips of both versions are available so that you can see the quality of each before you choose.

So how do you see the film?

1. Go to http://www.nothingsostrange.com/

That's about it. It's pretty easy from there--buying a BitPass card (via PayPal, Visa or Mastercard) is simple, and it doesn't cost anything extra. You'll have to install the free Apple QuickTime Player 6 (compatible with Windows and Mac) if you don't already have it. And once you download the movie, you own it. It is not crippled by any "digital-rights-management" technology. It will never expire, and there are no limitations on the number of times you may view it.

Thanks to all "Nothing So Strange" Newsletter readers for your valuable input as we geared up for this release, and for your patience as we figured out how to do it. For those who have been unable to see the film while it has been on its festival tour, we hope you'll take this opportunity to see it.

"NOTHING SO STRANGE" WORLDWIDE DEBUT:
http://www.nothingsostrange.com/

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+ NSS IN THEATRES: Seattle, Virginia, Beirut

Simultaneous with its historic e-premiere, "Nothing So Strange" will also play a limited run at the prestigious Consolidated Works cinema in Seattle starting October 24. Director Brian Flemming will appear in person Oct. 24, 25 and 26 at the 8 p.m. screenings. The film is a Seattle Weekly Pick of the Week. Info on the Seattle showings: (206) 381-3218 or http://www.conworks.org/

The film will also be playing at the following festivals:

Virginia Film Festival
October 25, 2003
http://www.vafilm.com/

Beirut Documentary Film Festival
November 6-13, 2003
http://www.docudays.com/

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+ LATEST PRESS: "Moves compellingly through the alternate universe it conjures into being"

Choosing "Nothing So Strange" as a Pick of the Week, the Seattle Weekly had this to say about the movie:

"Brian Flemming's sharply written mockumentary opens with a plausible event—the assassination of Bill Gates—and moves compellingly through the alternate universe it conjures into being. We follow the mixed-up leaders of Citizens for Truth, a band of conspiracy theorists that finds parallels between the Gates hit and the Zapruder film, the Warren Report, and other key elements of the JFK investigation. Strange rarely makes you laugh out loud: Flemming's misguided activists never wink at the camera; the film is often beyond deadpan. (In response to a silhouette  photo of the alleged assassin, an African American, Citizens for Truth retorts: 'Everybody is a black man in silhouette.')

"Apparently Strange's satiric bite has been deep enough to sting its subject. A Microsoft spokesperson reportedly  responded to the film thusly: "It is very disappointing that a movie maker would do something like this." On the contrary: Where authors like Douglas Coupland have merely poked and prodded the Gates mystique, Flemming uses the man, the myth, and the legend as a perfect platform for his savage critique of well-meaning  activism that spins crazily out of control, drowning in ego, eccentricity, and  corruption."
http://seattleweekly.com/features/0343/031022_film_shorts.php

In the last Newsletter, we drew your attention to the Open Source Footage Store, where you can acquire clips from "Nothing So Strange" that are free from copyright restrictions. Well, the reviews are in, and everyone loves the Open Source Footage Store. The Creative Commons project highlighted the Open Source Footage Store as the Featured Content of the Week:

"This week's featured content is the open-source film 'Nothing So Strange.' While the whole film is protected by full copyright, individual clips can be downloaded for a nominal fee (a few cents in most cases), with the film's footage available for reuse, remix, and commercial use in any other work provided attribution is given. It's an interesting experiment in both filmmaking and micropayments."
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/3790

And Wired magazine loves the idea, too:

"Open Source We Love: OPEN SOURCE FILM
"Not coming to a theater near you: 'Nothing So Strange,' the open source movie. The plot involves a Bill Gates assassination, and the footage is open to editing by all."
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/opensource.html?pg=2


VISIT THE OPEN-SOURCE FOOTAGE STORE:
nothingsostrange.com/open_source

READ OTHER MEDIA STORIES, WATCH TV CLIPS:
http://www.nothingsostrange.com/press/press_list.html

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EMAIL FEEDBACK:
doc@nothingsostrange.com

Get the latest. Visit
http://www.nothingsostrange.com/

Visit the Gates-assassination Web universe:
http://www.citizensfortruth.org/
http://www.garcettireport.org/
http://www.billgatesisdead.com/

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