The last article I wrote for Talkhouse, in early 2020, The Cool of Film and Blockchain, was about the power of blockchain technology and how it could benefit the film industry in revolutionary ways.

At the time, there were only a small handful of cryptocurrency creators and/or companies that were researching blockchain, trying to solve problems, and offer new tools for filmmakers and the film industry. Many of these tools were just ideas or work in progress, but only a few had working applications on the blockchain that filmmakers could use. Most of these apps were distribution platforms that more or less followed the traditional rules of online distribution, but had some minor benefits of blockchain. More time was needed for the invention and adaptation to the blockchain before these tools could offer new ways of interacting and working for cinema. Those were the “too early” days.

When I wrote that article above, it had only been a month since I finished principal photography on my film. rabbit hole, which was influenced by my own obsession with cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, which I dove into. He was also influenced by the sci-fi-like themes and often mysterious lore that oozes the crypto space. But he was not only interested in making a film about the world of cryptocurrencies, he also wanted to use blockchain tools for distribution and use them to improve the filmmaking process through production and post-production. I even tried some blockchain distribution sites for a couple of my older movies. I was excited to see how these tools would work, but none of them gave me what I wanted. Little did he know that what he was looking for would come, just a couple of years later.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of 2020, only 27 million people in the world used cryptography. Since then, a lot has changed. The covid turned the world upside down. “NFTs” (non-fungible tokens) and the “Metaverse” have taken over the crypto space and have become popular terms used around the world. Bitcoin had a huge bull run, rising from around $6,000 to its all-time high of $68,789.63.

With the pandemic forcing people everywhere to return to their homes, cryptocurrency and its technology exploded. At first it was the “DeFi” (Decentralized Finance) boom. Only true cryptocurrency fans understood this first wave in DeFi. But NFTs then took the stage and captured the imagination of the masses as celebrities represented and composed a variety of NFT projects. The blockchain and its new baby, the NFT, sparked a new wave in gaming known as the “Play to Win” model, and “game-fi” was now a thing. Tools for creating and adding utility to NFTs appeared daily, introducing new ways to earn money. The Play to Earn model was adapted to Move to Earn, offering people cryptocurrency to walk around, if you had an NFT to unlock the earn feature. The too early days were perhaps becoming just the early days.

Now, with the world dealing with war, recession and the long-term global impact of COVID, markets are down and many impatient and hapless investors have left the cryptocurrency space. Many of the companies have dissolved; some were scams and “rug pullers,” or just honest efforts that didn’t work. Others have been forced to downscale, laying off employees or merging with competitors, changing their names in an effort to rebrand and keep the dream alive.

Although there is now recession and struggle, the latest crypto bull run woke up a lot of people. There are now over 100 million wallets on Coinbase, the largest secure online platform for buying and selling cryptocurrency. Celebrities, sports stars, politicians, and major fashion brands who got into the NFT game cast a lot of eyes on cryptocurrency, bringing it one step closer to mass adoption. More filmmakers are now aware of and seeing the benefits of the crypto space, and some have established inventive new ways to share and allow audiences to engage with their content. Some of the movie studios have even dipped their toes in the water (Fox is investing over $100 million in its blockchain division) and major talent agencies like WME and UTA are now representing NFT projects. NFTs can help grow a community, share ownership, create digital games or comics, create and sell music, and have opened up many tools that are now in play for filmmakers and the film industry.

Blockchain technology not only reached new levels of growth, but so did the blockchain movement. Many new people have become true believers and see the blockchain as a path to a better world. In 2014, Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood coined the term “Web3,” referring to a new iteration of the World Wide Web that incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and the token-based economy. In 2022, Web3 is alive and happening. Many blockchain-based communities have embraced the now fashionable term and fly the Web3 flag with pride.

Filmmaker jordan bayne is taking Web3 to a new level. Jordan founded “The Squad” in February 2021 “with the intention of creating a better future for filmmakers.” The Squad is not a project, but a brand. The Squad is a community of like-minded filmmakers who meet four times a week on Twitter Spaces to talk about technology and how the community can help each other with their projects using Web3. The Squad recently launched an NFT Membership, which sets you up as a participant in The Squad and gives you an all-access all-Squad pass.

Jordan, along with his team, coined the term “Film3” in a hashtag on March 20, 2022. Six weeks later, he was at the Cannes Film Festival when someone approached him and asked him to talk about a “Film3.” . panel, not realizing that Jordan was the one who came up with the concept.

When I interviewed Jordan recently about Film3, it was very apparent that she works hard to help filmmakers in the Web3/Film3 space, get filmmakers into the space, and educate people about the space. Jordan believes that Film3 is about owning her own IP, keeping her dignity, and not letting the gatekeepers stop him from making her movie. She told me: “Film3 is a wish to achieve”, and that there is a lot of growth to come before Film3’s potential is fully realized.

I also spoke with another Web3 believer, an educator and entertainer in the space who goes by the name fununcle. When I asked FunUncle what stage he thought Film3 and Web3 were at, he replied, “Web3 film is here and now, and it’s a missed opportunity for those who aren’t applying it right now.”

As a creative director in his professional life, FunUncle loves film and believes that many upcoming projects can fully utilize NFT and Web3. He presented an interesting concept for how major studios could use Web3 and NFTs: Instead of spending $100 million on a movie that ends up floping, they could create NFT collections based on concept art from the movie. If the community showed interest and the NFT concept art collection was depleted, the studio could go ahead with the idea and film the movie. Studios of any size and even independent filmmakers can use NFT in this way. FunUncle also mentioned streaming sites that do NFT passes that would give the holder access to the “bonus” content surrounding a movie, such as behind-the-scenes footage, cast interviews, director’s commentary, etc.

Warner Bros. is doing something similar with its newly created and launched WB Movieverse. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as a Limited Edition Web3 Cinematic Experience NFT Pack. Not only do you get the extended version of the movie, but you also get over eight hours of special features. AMC Theaters has also made its way into NFTs, offering membership NFTs that come with tickets and movie collectibles like The Matrix Resurrections, Spider-Man: No Way Home Y Top Gun: Maverick. Also comic book giants DC and Marvel Comics are selling digital comics, indie movie hero Kevin Smith is working on a horror-comedy movie to be released as NFT, Quentin Tarantino is selling pulp fiction NFT and even Paris Hilton has an NFT collection.

There are many ways to interact in the Film3 space. I have entered my short films and music videos into Web3 film festivals, most of which are held in the Metaverse, a virtual reality space where people gather as avatars, often linked to an NFT. A community-based project called Story Dao is creating a place where communities can come together to create, contribute, and ultimately become co-owners of the next generation of story franchises. Community-based content is a great utility that many NFT communities offer or plan to offer in the near future.

With all this creativity going on, with the many projects in everything from comics to games to music and of course movies, I thought it would be a great idea to start a daily stream on YouTube and Twitch, so I can learn a lot. as possible together with as many people as possible. Since I had been planning to release my film anyway rabbit hole Using Film3 tools, I decided to create a new tool, a new way to watch and earn while watching the movie. My company, LeftHouse, is very excited to share rabbit hole with Movie City Cinema, an NFT/FT ecosystem for filmmakers and musicians to grow their communities and fan base. Movie City Cinema allows creators to share their feature and short films, animations, music videos or music by having their own virtual cinema where they can offer exclusive passes for club members, set up their store and run giveaways, creating the Watch & Earn system for their own project

rabbit hole it will be the first film to use a Movie City Cinema Film Club Theatre. community members and rabbit hole fans will be able to buy rabbit hole Cine Club subscriptions that will allow them to access the rabbit hole Theater, where they can watch the movie while earning the $ACTION token for watching it. Spend your $ACTION tokens on movie collectibles or use them to play the Movie City Cinema game. There are many ways you can earn and interact with movies and music. rabbit hole and Movie City Cinema opens on November 17, 2022 on the WAX ​​blockchain.

After being in the Web3 space for the past few years, and now expanding into Film3, I share Jordan and FunUncle’s belief that now is the time for people to get involved and that the Film3 movement has much more potential for growth. How could it not be? This technology is not going away. It will only continue to evolve as more people enter space. Leaping and growing with technology can only benefit both the filmmaker and the viewer. Maybe you and your voice will make a difference that helps shape what Film3 is and can be.

Watch Jordan Bayne’s interview here.
Watch the FunUncle interview here.

The featured image shows Brian McGuire interviewing Jordan Bayne. All photos are courtesy of Brian McGuire.