Short movies and presence...idea #52/100...

I recently signed up to the website Trigger Street, which is a community website for amateur (budding) movie makers and script writers. This was to explore further the possibilities for the emerging industry of short movies for mobiles, which is really in its very early phase.

I found some very interesting short ("micro") movies on the site, which only encouraged me further that short movies can be engaging.

However, I think that a lot more can be done to make the mobile movie experience more compelling, which is needed if this in any way going to drive users to 3G as a uniquely engaging experience (versus the predictable interest in pop videos etc). This is an area for research and innovation.

I am intrigued by what forms might emerge from the potential to alter movie content using mobile presence information. Taking location as an example, watching the movie in location X produces a different cut from watching it in location Y. In this regard, I am especially interested in the prospect of co-location shooting. In other words, a movie maker shoots some scenes in the actual location that I watch it from. Watching a movie in the location it was shot has a surreal quality, but I expect that there is scope for some very creative concepts.

If I move from location X to location Y, then the action moves to the same location.

It would also be possible to link the movie with virtual elements, such as content that is accessible via co-location, which could be anything from sounds to web pages. For example, moving to a certain location in the movie, it might be possible to "pick up" an additional conversation from the characters in the scene, not otherwise available in the main movie.

Presence isn't just about location. Mood is also possible. Is it possible to shoot the movie with several narratives, different in emotional tone. If I'm "happy", then I get (presumably) a happy cut, or otherwise a "sad" cut, or whatever possibilities make sense both within the presence environment and within the creative scope of the film.

I might be stretching the imagination somewhat as to what a film-maker can produce. However, one assumption I am making is that in the digital-video age, this is a field wide open to anyone who has the creative bent and resources to offer, which are not all that much. Of course, at the extreme end of technical possibility is that films might actually be produced via mobile phones themselves.

The other encouraging aspect is that we are talking about short films where the possibilities to create non-linear narratives that adapt to presence are presumably greater. Shooting and editing a short film with various cuts is easier and cheaper than for a long one.

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