Why Open Source for Film Production?

Why Open Source for Film Production?

Or perhaps why our Company has decided to take this Open Source journey, what it was that garnered our interest and how we decided that by taking the Open Source approach we feel it will have a positive effect on our business model, even though the perhaps the commonly perceived wisdom is that Open Source should represent the free/libre model (which it should for a lot of areas certainly)

One of the main reasons for looking at Open Source for Film Production was the realisation that so much of what is becoming Open Source today fits into the new digital pipeline. Open Networks, Open Data, Big data all these new enviroments are applicable here also.

Another reason was the huge collaborative scope that a modern movie encompasses could be easily streamlined with a more Open approach.

In some respects I am not only advocating libre/free open source solutions but also a much more open approach to the way we use software and hardware and how that is applied to how movies are actually made. Other elements then become part of the same thinking such as ethical solutions and renewable energy sources.

Huge strides are being made to standardise the digital workflow, one area being the camera sensors and how the colour space is interpreted and what is a future proof approach to 'wrappng' the media (digital negative) into a standard file format.

For me there is huge scope here for a collaborative approach to the storing and delivery of media content, whether shot for TV or Theatrical release. Sensors, capture devices, dedicated Open Source workflow options, open operating systems for speed of transfers are all elements that can be encompassed through Open Source ethos and approach.