Introduction Robert Greenwald is a documentary filmmaker who has tackled some of the biggest subjects of the day; war (in Iraq) and media (on Rupert Murdoch/Fox News). His film, Outfoxed, was described by Wired as 'a unique sleeper hit'. We spoke with him about his work, but more specifically the influence on new technology and filmmaking methods and the role they play in documentary filmmaking.
The InterviewPC:We feel that what has been done with Outfoxed is a form of 'Open Source Filmmaking' - related to open source software, but where the 'source' - for a film maker is raw footage rather than programming code. How do you feel about this characterisation of your work?
 RG :I love it, I appreciate it and I want in the future to do even more. I am forming a new media company and open sourcing will be a bigger and bigger part of what we figure out how to do.
PC: What made you decide to release the footage you had shot under the creative commons licence?
RG: Larry Lessig, who made Outfoxed possible and who has introduced me to wonderful ideas and thought and importance behind creative commons, as soon as I heard about it, I wanted to be part of it. PC:What was the response to the release of the footage?
RG:Tremendous. We had a tremendous number of downloads in a short time and I really look forward to folks sending us their versions….
PC:Do you now worry about loosing creative control of the work you have put into getting the footage by releasing it in such a manner?
RG:No, opposite. I made the movie I wanted, now I love the idea that others will take the footage and make different movies, have different points of view, different ideas about how to use the material. Use it or loose it so to speak, and here the footage will continue to be used in way I haven’t even dreamed about.
PC:How do you feel this shapes the filmmaking, especially documentary, landscape?
RG:I think it is too early to tell, but I hope it will open up a conversation between the film, the filmmaker and a wider community that will take the raw material and engage in their own creativity.
PC:How has the Internet changed the filmmakers art? Especially those wishing to cover political subject matter?
RG:The Internet has changed all of us, including filmmakers by making content as well as distribution more readily available. I can find out, read about, talk with many different people via the Internet, fellow filmmakers or subjects I am interested in and the use of the Internet to distribute Uncovered and Outfoxed has been critical. Without it I would still be sitting in my study trying to figure out how to make the film and who would see it. The political focus relates to immediacy of the Internet, the speed, the debates, the interactions, which have affected all of our film work in terms of making it more available, quicker, wider and more relevant. Hooray!
A big thanks to Robert for his time in answering our questions.
Further information
Outfoxed
http://www.outfoxed.org/
Wired on Outfoxed
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64312,00.html?tw=wn_story_related
Outfoxed's Creative Commons Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/ |
