what if....

[krossfyter]

there was a Movie that expressed the culture/lives of mac addicts? Sort of like the Godfather..which expressed mob life (to speak generaly).
It could present to the world how devoute or against the grain apple avid users are? It should obviously be a positive spin but add a very creative touch to it.

I have been thinking about this for some time now. Please tell me if there is already one...so I dont wast my time thinking about this. This is an idea that needs to get off the ground. If any of you agree...how can this be done...if possible? Will it work? Am i silly?

[teabgs]

I don't know if youve heard of Trekkies but its the same thing but about trekkies. Its a doc and I havent actually seen it, but I want to. I think it sounds like a good idea if it werent as general. It sounds like an interesting idea that I'd like to pursue. Maybe we could all work on it and then produce it as a Macrumors Production or something. Anyway, I'd be interested and have access to various film equipment through friends and school if anything comes of it.

[krossfyter]

Well yeah...kinda like trekkies....but different of course.


This does not have to go that documentary route that trekkies went. It could be a documentary but more like a narrative documentary. However it could be from any other methods. By watching trekkies you might have got the feeling that these people are crazy and chessy ( not to step on any treks in here or anything, i resepect)...this is what needs to be avoided if possible.
But yeah im glad you are down with the idea. Thanks for offering to help.

[stoid]

I'd be interested in helping if a project like this ever took off. I'm only a Junior in high school, but I've already done numerous projects, and I have recently purchased FCP3. It worked like a dream for doing a project on the Transcontinental Railroad. It took my quite a while to convince the teacher that I did it and not stole it. I even had some 3D work tossed in that turned out pretty good. Let me know if this idea every takes shape.

[IndyGopher]

The difficult part, of course, would be to get enough different people in enough different situations that it doesn't start looking Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. As to whether it is do-able, I think it certainly is. As to whether I think you're silly.. well, yes, but that's another story. I think it's a great idea.. and the fact that it would of course be made ON a mac is just icing. Hope you find the time and the means to make a go of it. Maybe if it's short enough you could submit it to Apple and get it played at a Keynote... or at least excerpts from it if it is longer.

[eyelikeart]

hell....if there were to be such a project...just post it up here....guaranteed to have a few hundred interested people knocking down arn's door to get in...

we could call it "MacRumors.....behind the scenes"....he he he :p

[krossfyter]

Well saweet...im glad too see you all agree to such a thing.
Let me get this clear though...Im in no way able to do this on my own of course...hell Im not even a director or a film editor...i have fooled around with both though. Im merely thorwing such an idea out to test the waters/ get some responses and or have someone else take the helm at it.
So how would one officially go about the initial creation of such a project..by the way?

[teabgs]

As for you (krossfyter) not being an editor or director. I have absolutely no problems with editing. That's what I'm in school for and I wish I had more projects to work on, the more you do the better you get. As for directing, it doesnt need to be just one person. If we did this moslty with people from Macrumors there would need to be lots of mailing (electronic and snail). So it could be a collaborative project with many "directors".

What needs to happen first before anything else, is to decide what kind of piece iit is, Doc, narrative, a little of both. Do we follow one character, a group of people, A G4....Basically what's the story that we want to tell? AND how do we want to tell it?

Once we figure that out, along with a group of who wants to work on it we can work on specifics.

HEY KROSSFYTER: Does the title of this thread "What if..." have anything to do with my signature? I was just wondering....

[AmbitiousLemon]

hahaha... you guys are great.

heres my thought. follwo the message board. as threads come in and out. watch various posters respond and use the board to move between each persons life.

joe here sitting at work gets the someone responded message stops working reads responds and then through the board to whoever comes next. so sally gets her someone responded message and you see her at school on her ibook doing work, gets her email stops working and reads and responds and off to floid a college student between classes who gets his email... but dont get my wrong the whole thing wouldnt be the board. the board would just be the narrative tool to transition between mac users going about their day in a wintel world. most of the time would be spent on each persons daily routine maybe interviews whatever but just use the board to transition. just a thought, im a scientist not a artist.

[stoid]

Hey, teabags, I private messaged you, I don't know how often you check it, or even if you're online right now, but whenever you read this, check your private messages.

[krossfyter]

Originally posted by teabgs


HEY KROSSFYTER: Does the title of this thread "What if..." have anything to do with my signature? I was just wondering....


hah. cool. never ment that ...sorry. i liked what you said.

[evildead]

just have to make one then :)

[Ensign Paris]

Well, we have the processing power and we have iMovie and Final Cut Pro!

Anyone fancy flying around the world shooting videos of mac users?

Ensign

[mischief]

Now what's the pay? The Screen Techie's Guild'll want it all Kosher.........

Any Producers in the house? :D

[stoid]

I'll contact MacAddict to see if they're interested in lending support with the project!! They make awesome staff videos with killer special effects (for a low budget film anyway)

[teabgs]

Also, if we are able to get any money we should have a TiBook w/ FCP3 on it to do rough cuts as we shoot...What if Apple helped Produce and we could fly in one of their jets....mmmmm....

Seriously though, There's gotta be someone out there who would at least help out with the project. That is IF it's actually going down. Is everyone really interested? I think it would be a lot of fun and could help get some converts..


STOID: I emailed you, not sure if you got it since you havent replied..I'm emailing you as soon as this post is up so get back to ASAP.

[jefhatfield]

it could be a cult movie...pardon the pun...but if it was low budget, it would really attract the critics kind of like blair witch project did (done on macs)

mac people are like trekkies and are in computing for the fun, not the recognition or for for the money...it's a great hobby of a relative few, but oh what a few can do when they get together

[krossfyter]

cult movie sounds good. i would suggest for it to be beatnick , artsy...etc. as oppose to comercialized, popy or cheesy...if you catch my drift. it would be essential that it be a very different kind of documentary as oppose to average or standard...being that it deals with against the grain type of people..... just a suggestion thrown out there.


by the way...has anyone seen that cult movie that came out a while back called "slackers"? the director inspired kevin smith....clerks, mall rats... etc.

[blackpeter]

The biggest mistake would be to NOT make it a comedy.

We (the Apple devotees) already take ourselves and the Apple a little too seriously. It's the one common weakness of all zealots.

I think there's a lot of humor to be explored in this subculture. It'd be nice to take the piss out of ourselves for once. After disarming the audience with laughter, we can move in on the more endearing parts of Apple Love...

Just a thought (as an actor, filmmaker, and Mac guy)

[krossfyter]

okay... can you give me an example of a movie that has the kind of comedy you are talking about?

[teabgs]

Originally posted by krossfyter

by the way...has anyone seen that cult movie that came out a while back called "slackers"? the director inspired kevin smith....clerks, mall rats... etc.

Havent seen it but have been meaning too for a while. After hearing about Kevin Smith I will definately see it soon. I love him...in a brotherly sort of way.

I agree with the idea of it being cultist but it shoudlnt be too artsy. If it is noone will want to watch it except for a select few. Yes we dont want to be overly commercial and mainstream, but its almost impossible to get an audience or even anyone who is not a die hard mac user to watch it if it's just an artsy flick.

Comedy is VERY good. We can laugh at ourselves and let others into our world and bring them over. I don't want it to seem that im against it being artsy, just that can only be part of it. We can still do it an entirely new way and have it be acceptable to mainstream....this would give more publicity and generate intrest too.

Just some thoughts.

[krossfyter]

Im down with that without a doubt. Like I said It was just a suggestion nothing concrete. I agree while it should be different it also should have enough in there to be widely acceptable.

dig it.

[teabgs]

it took place during the week before an Expo, say MWNY02? It'd be funny because everyone would be checking the internet every waking minute that theyre not being forced to do otherwise, and we'd all be in a frenzy with all kinds of rumors.

I mean, I have dreams about this stuff. Is that weird? I had a dream the other night that I got a dual 1ghz and an iPod and everywhere I went people were in awe of my iPod.

One day it will be mine.


side note: this is 100 posts :cool:

[mac15]

steve jobs as spock

[jefhatfield]

i think we have lightened up knowing that bill gates won the war on all fronts and we realized that it wasn't our war to fight in the first place

we are a small microcosm that barely exists and all we ask for is a few more percent of the market share while keeping the quality high like usual

if all computers could be macs and they can all be good that would be great, but with any company growing to that level, the quality would go down drastically

so right now, we are looking for modest gains for apple and taking oneself too seriously these days is a waste of energy...let's accept that bill gates has the known market and just enjoy ourselves and make a happy comedy celebrating us for who we are...a fringe group and quite happy to at least be the ones with a quality operating system

bill has the ****ty os and the high tech field is in last place among all industries anyway these days, so no one in the IT field, even the pc users, could sit there and brag about anything

...so in that case, let's just all be happy techies for the sake of being techies and not cry over the fact that the money was in all of our hands (briefly) and slipped out like a bar of soap (we are not the first industry to hit rock bottom in the history of commerce)

a comedy would be perfect!

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by teabgs
it took place during the week before an Expo, say MWNY02? It'd be funny because everyone would be checking the internet every waking minute that theyre not being forced to do otherwise, and we'd all be in a frenzy with all kinds of rumors.

I mean, I have dreams about this stuff. Is that weird? I had a dream the other night that I got a dual 1ghz and an iPod and everywhere I went people were in awe of my iPod.

One day it will be mine.

side note: this is 100 posts :cool:

dude I had dreams about getting my TiBook the entire 7 weeks I waited it's delivery....he he he...

and congrats on 100! :p

[blackpeter]

OK - So here's the type of comedy I want to see...

"Mac Geek:" A Mockumentry about a week in the life of the world's most devoted Mac-Head - leading up to MacWorld NYC.

This would require:

1. A lead actor (sorry, I just don't see a woman in this role) that has a strong understanding of what it is to be devoted to Apple

2. Some supporting characters (parents - friends - neighbors) for mock interviews

3. A PC Nemesis (the protagonist)

OK - just some thoughts about direction and character. I'll put in more of my ideas if this flys with anyone else...

[mcrain]

The only problem with a mac movie is only 5% of the potential moviegoing population would go see it, therefore, it would be difficult to obtain financing for it.

A bunch of pasty white mac users giggling in their basements about their computers while their parents yell from upstairs for them to clean their rooms. Definately oscar material.

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by mcrain
The only problem with a mac movie is only 5% of the potential moviegoing population would go see it, therefore, it would be difficult to obtain financing for it.

A bunch of pasty white mac users giggling in their basements about their computers while their parents yell from upstairs for them to clean their rooms. Definately oscar material.

I'd be willing to bet lots of PeeCee users would go see it just for curiosity...

[blackpeter]

...and the only problem with "Natural Born Killers" is that not much of the population are serial killers... etc - etc - etc

If you tell a good story, people will listen. It's really pretty simple.

[teabgs]

Originally posted by mcrain
The only problem with a mac movie is only 5% of the potential moviegoing population would go see it, therefore, it would be difficult to obtain financing for it.

A bunch of pasty white mac users giggling in their basements about their computers while their parents yell from upstairs for them to clean their rooms. Definately oscar material.

we're not talking about a high budget hollywood movie. It's obviously going to be a very low budget and independent film.

This means that We are not going to have millions to market it and it could only be shown in theaters that have indy movies. This ALREADY restricts the audience potential.

The other thing we can do is festivals. This is the logical way, since it would do well at festivals if its good. IF it is it will get praise. Apple will hear of this praise at which time we get more publicity and a party wuth Steve.

[krossfyter]

way to defend the film idea guys. good.

is it possible to have all the mac heads pitch in for money to get this film started (if agreed to)? im not sure how this works.

also im cool with that basic story line that tfaz one spit out.

[eyelikeart]

well a lot of us already paid a $30 hommage to www.macrumors.com!!!

I'm sure u could find a few buyers....he he he...:p

[Taft]

All you need is a camera and a (T)iBook. A little iMovie action and you have the next "Best in Show".

I'd rent that.

Matthew

[teabgs]

I can't contribute. I'm saving for a tower that I'm gonna get this summer and desperately need. I'm a poor college student just tryin to get by...

However, I will contribute with my blood sweat and tears until its completion. I can pull string to get equipment from my job/school and get friends to help out. I have 3 friends w/ very good DVCAM's and know a guy who has his own lighting kit. I also have connections to get to actor's all over NYC.

And I work for free. As long as other costs can be fulfilled by others who cannot do the filming. Also, we can try and get grants and/or companies to sponsor us. If we were to do it through Macrumors (I'm assuming it's non-profit, arn?) then there are some grants that we can get our hands on. This is really the producer's job so, we need a concrete story and a producer/s to start getting the ball rolling for financial costs. At the same time others need to be working on the script.

[teabgs]

I was in bed all set to goto sleep and the idea for this movie (if it ever comes about) came in my head.

The protagonist, we will call Steve for now. He works at some big company that is mostly PC users. he uses his tibook to do his work and uses the PC on his desk for decoration. There are a few other macheads there, and they all hang out together and are much "cooler, more fun, whatever way you want to say it" then the others.

While at work Steve goes to Macrumors. the postings can lead us to other users and we get a glimpse at their lives all over the world. We follow this through a week before a big Expo. it will get really intense right before it happens and we'll have Steve actually go to the Expo.

In order to go he, and others from Macrumors fake sickness and meet up at the expo. MAybe we'll have some antics or something. Not sure of the end. Well I'm tired and that's all I feel like writing about this now.

ONE MORE ISSUE: I think this thread has become pretty much pointless. I think that everyone wanting to actually go through with this should just get a mailing list going so that we don't have to post like this and waste people's time that don't care to read about it any more.

I really would like to do this and I think it could become a pretty good movie if we just put some work in it. So whoever wants to be a part of this should send me a private message with your email and then in like a week or so I'll send out an email with the list as it stands then if thats cool with everyone?

I dont want to seem like Im trying to take this thing over, I just want to get it more organized and try and get this baby somewhere.

Hopefully theres still some interest, no matter how you would like to be affiliated all help is greatly appreciated.

[eyelikeart]

ok...those who think this discussion could formulate into something...

maybe krossfyter should take names and start a mailing list...for starters? ;)

[krossfyter]

ummm yeah...lets do it!! okay so how do we do this??:D

[teabgs]

Krossfyter: I'm gonna private message you my email address. Others should do that too. Then when you think just about everyoine interested has contacted you setup a mailing list and then email us all just to make sure that everyone on the list wants in.

We can work out all those other pesky things like detail out later. ;)

[MacKenzie999]

"So it could be a collaborative project with many "directors". "

Hey folks...

I'm a professional in the film/video industry, and I can think of no better way to kill a project than to have multiple directors. If you have one strong personality with a vision, he'll fight to get it done. If you have a bunch of directors, you get a bunch of fighting, or even worse, a watered-down directed-by-committee approach. Use as few people in decision-making roles as possible.

$.02
-Mike

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by MacKenzie999
"So it could be a collaborative project with many "directors". "

Hey folks...

I'm a professional in the film/video industry, and I can think of no better way to kill a project than to have multiple directors. If you have one strong personality with a vision, he'll fight to get it done. If you have a bunch of directors, you get a bunch of fighting, or even worse, a watered-down directed-by-committee approach. Use as few people in decision-making roles as possible.

$.02
-Mike

he is absolutely right....I work in a print production environment where we often have multiple clients involved in the approval process...basically what it means for everyone (more so with me!!) is a huge headache....

to be blut....too many cooks in the kitchen simply is bad news...

if anyone's serious about this...it should be 1 person's idea while the rest either agree & help out that idea by means of financial support....

we'll end up having a war if we're all trying to "direct" at the same time....

thanks MacKenzie999 for that insight...

:p

[teabgs]

Originally posted by eyelikeart


he is absolutely right....I work in a print production environment where we often have multiple clients involved in the approval process...basically what it means for everyone (more so with me!!) is a huge headache....

to be blut....too many cooks in the kitchen simply is bad news...

if anyone's serious about this...it should be 1 person's idea while the rest either agree & help out that idea by means of financial support....

we'll end up having a war if we're all trying to "direct" at the same time....

thanks MacKenzie999 for that insight...

:p

Yes, MacKenzie999 is right. Although having one director, and a few producers would work. I think there shoudl definately be 2 or more producers. I dont know if the director should be one and then one other person, or how we should work it out, but it is a good idea.

I posted my idea, as it stands now and actually I've had it change a bit this morning. I don't know if youre interested in hearing what I have now or not so unless you guys tell me to post it I'll hold off and give others more room to voice opinions.

[eyelikeart]

I think at this point we're all open to any ideas & suggestions...

[teabgs]

So, What if Steve is trying to goto to the Expo. doesnt matter which one yet. So are some of the people from this page. the problem is that its on a work day and so they have to get off work to go. Or for other reasons its not easy, or possible to get there. Theres lots of stuff going back and forth between online users about anything to get us from one character and his/her struggle to get to the Expo to the next.

We can have more then one story and then they all come together at the end when they meet up at the Expo.


We can have evil bosses, bad airlines/hotels/anything to try and stop them from being at the Expo. We can end itthere somehow.


Fade out.

[arn]

thought this would be of interest

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=4432

arn

[teabgs]

Originally posted by arn
thought this would be of interest

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=4432

arn

Well look at that....we're not the only ones. Thanks for the link Arn!

It seems like this topic has just about died until Arn came and got me to look again. I'm still down for this if others are? Maybe we can get this guy in on it too.

There's also that guy who wrote those songs about Apple...It was in a thread a while agpo, I'll see if I can dig it up and post it later. Maybe we can get him to write the music!

Anyway, I say we do this...anyone else agree?

[me hate windows]

Originally posted by teabgs


we're not talking about a high budget hollywood movie. It's obviously going to be a very low budget and independent film.

This means that We are not going to have millions to market it and it could only be shown in theaters that have indy movies. This ALREADY restricts the audience potential.

The other thing we can do is festivals. This is the logical way, since it would do well at festivals if its good. IF it is it will get praise. Apple will hear of this praise at which time we get more publicity and a party wuth Steve.

Anyone here of the Sundance Film Festival. That is one of the main ones in the U.S. and that is where one of the Oscar Movies this year debuted. And I live 30 minutes away from where they hold it.:D hehehehehehe