"Your Grassroots Are Showing"

User Generated Content and the Distribution Revolution

"Your Grassroots Are Showing" examines the progression of independent content distribution from festivals through online to mobile, touching - among other things -upon the concept of "user generated content" and the "Machinima" phenomenon.

User generated content (UGC) has revolutionized the world of entertainment. Programs and films that rain down from the heavens on pre-ordained schedules are being supplanted by content that springs freely from the ground up.

User generated content provides multiple points of entry for an eclectic group of creators who dwell outside of the traditional networks and studios. The output of these artists and filmmakers not only resonates with the viewing public on a grassroots level, but also breaks down (or simply ignores) Old School distinctions between content "producers" and content "consumers".

What motivates independent content creators? Fame and fortune? Perhaps. But more likely the motivation, consciously realized or not, is akin to that expressed by Bronwyn Kidd in the quote on the left: the need to create with a unique voice, and the ability to do so unconstrained by conventional media concerns. And while Kidd here speaks specifically of short film production, this guiding principle can be applied to most user generated content.

The reference to "markets" is noteworthy. There is a market for such work, and there is money to be made. Independent artists owe it to themselves to learn as much as possible about the business of entertainment, even as they proceed to reinvigorate and redefine that very business. To neglect to do so is to risk exploitation by those who do pay attention to such things.

READ MORE by Kevin Geiger

http://www.animationcoop.org/pages/features/monthly_Grassroots.htm
©2007 The Animation Co-op
2340 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90064 USA
(310)689-6062