Moving Still Media

Fede Alvarez made short film called “Ataque de Panico!” (Panic Attack!) — embedded below — of giant robots attacking his home town in Uruguay, uploaded it to YouTube, and within a week was fielding deals from Hollywood producers — closing one at $30m to for his next film (via BBC).  Of course it wasn’t that simple, the video was remarkable and took a lot of time and skill to create, but still.

Like never before, the traditional insiders-game is being turned upside down.  In any time of turmoil and transition there are opportunities for totally off-the-radar creators to break-out.  But perhaps more than in the traditional system, the break-out work has to be truly exceptional.  Without the publicists and agents, there is nothing to hide behind except for the work itself.

The other interesting thing in this story is that the internet, the open-to-all conduit, is now mainstream media.  It shapes mainstream media the way  the other distribution channels have always influenced each other. And as this video’s 5 million and counting viewers shows, it’s a destination in itself — all this while Hollywood and the magazine world are just dipping their toes in.

Now is the time for bold creators to make a push, particularly while the media corporations are trying to figure it out while simultaneously protecting their historical models.  It can be a real advantage to have nothing to loose and no vested interest in the old system.  And to the degree the establishment does commit to a new model, they’ll be looking for talent that seems to have an instinct for the new space.

[UPDATE: More information on this short film and it's director in This Recent Post HERE]