Onboard Diary

The new audiovisual industry

It's already been two weeks since Gonzalo Martín premiered a new and impressive interface for his website.

For being closely related to our film, for his posts (of which we're huge fans), for all the things we've learned by reading them and for being cool in general, we toast to this new stage :)

Cheers!

http://www.gonzalomartin.tv/

Riot Cinema in Zinemastea (Vitoria)

Riot Cinema Collective and The Cosmonaut are leaving for Vitoria, from the 22nd till the 24th of February. We've been invited by Krea Audiovisuales.

What's KREA? Promoted by the Obra Social from Caja Vital Kutxa, KREA Expresión Contemporánea is a resource centre, a place for education and knowledge which promotes professional meetings and a wide range of courses, seminars, workshops and conferences. Also, this is a leisure space and meeting point promoting modern creation from a multiple-task and network-oriented approach.

These days, Krea will be hosting the second edition of ZINEMASTEA, a six day encounter to share and reflect on new ways of understanding audiovisual works, where there will be workshops and activities by means of which they want to support the new possibilities offered by contemporary Cinema. (Nacho Vigalondo will be there too, he'll be giving a workshop about the potential in contemporary cinema).

Riot Cinema will be there on the 22nd of February to offer a workshop about Trasnmedia. KREA has given us the opportunity of sharing our view on Transmedia and how we're going to carry this out with university students and the people who might be interested in it (you can take a sneak peak here)

All you people in Vitoria, we'll be waiting for you! In the workshop, we'll be telling you what Transmedia means and why you won't stop hearing about it in the next few years. And since you're there, we'll tell you how you can make your project (film, short film novel, internet series) a transmedia project that will grant you your friends' jealousy and the public's admiration.

How? The workshop is free and anyone willing to attend can send his/her personal projects so we can choose 4 or 5 projects among the participants. In the practice part of the workshop, we'll be analyzing the project's possibilities in transmedia. Any ideas you may have, send them! To see all the info about the workhop, click on this.

 
Also, The Cosmonaut will have its space too (and a big one, for that matter): during all week in Zinemastea, there will be an exhibition about The Cosmonaut presenting all the achievements the project has obtained until this day, in addition to artistic sketches from Art and Wardrobe (we'll be even showing the script of the short film which existed previous to the project the way it is now!). Finally, there will be a meeting where we'll be explaining the project in depth.



And we never stop: On the 18th, Gabriela and Carola will be giving a conference at the Universidad de Gandía. And on the 25th, Nico will be at Pamplona's uni...  We should clone ourselves one of these days!

The box, the box!

 

3 mysterious Christmas boxes... A present for all the contestants... could it be as easy as to answering a few questions?

After Laika...

This is the first dog-producer of our film :)

Do it for them and give your pets a treat! ;)

1001 producers

We've been on the Internet for a bit more than 4 months (we opened our site on May the 11th).

So little time has been enough to find a place and, above all, heaps of friends who have believed, just like we have, that the adventure of making films can be approached as such: with passion, efforts and... a 'different touch': believing in the community. Believing in sharing, building and enjoying between us all.

To all of you, thank you for making it happen. For making us reach 1000 without a notice (we had been updating all day, with a few friends who had been pending for a while, in order to get the yearned for first four digits position :P) As if it didn't matter. Thank you, Néstor. And thank you, Trini, for being the following person.
 

Are we going to celebrate? Mark in your diaries the 24th of October and think if you're good with Muleke (in Madrid, on the corner of Noviciado with Acuerdo, <M>: Noviciado/Pza. España).

"На здоровье!"  (Na zdarovia!)

We'll be able to say this together in a few days! Meanwhile...

Tell us why you are a Cosmonaut!



We're still getting videos on our Youtube which move us and make us laugh, and make it impossible to forget what led us to start all this.

 If you haven't send it yet... we want yours!

For those of you who have been with us for a short time or simple, for those who want to check this adventure, we have made available a chronology of the project which you can visit any time from our Home page or by clicking on this link.

This wonderful protozoos' evolution towards Space has been made by Angel Trancon.

The gospel of an investor :-)

Nico ('from Nikita and yes, I'm Russian') wrote to us from Malaga at the end of June, 2009, and he asked about details on the investment. Some time after that he became one of our investors, a few beers in Malasaña being the only thing left.  It is always difficult to shake hands with someone who lives on the other end of the country! We didn't want to leave out posting the lines which he wrote, telling us what made him 'go ahead with it': 'I have a feeling' -he says- 'that this bird is a winner' :D

A thousand thanks, Nico!


Let's face it, we like complaining: I want to make copies of this book and I'm not allowed to. Going to the cinema is so expensive. I'm not allowed to download films from the Internet. What a Secretary of Culture we've been given. And here they come these gentlemen from SGAE again. And your downstairs neighbour's son is a bitch. And your dog has had a shit again...

And it's true. But behind each objection there must be a contribution, an alternative. And it seems that this is what we're lacking most of the time. And in this ocean of trials, private prosecutions and other legal battles we can find something good too. You just have to know where to look for it.

The right to access culture, free licences and the economic viability of these models isn't a topic for intellectual 'farties' any more.

With music, it seemed easy to prove viability: an increase in spreading for the artist, remuneration at concerts and so on. Websites like Jamendo make it clear that this isn't only a model which works, but that every day more artists are on its side.

But... What about Cinema? Neither at university schools, nor on the Internet... nothing.
Nothing, up till one unexpected day in which I found a very 'rioter' bird which gave me what I was looking for: Cinema under Creative Commons. And not only that, but they also opened up new funding sources, much more democratic and participative and -to make things even better- they were as cheeky as to premiere the film for FREE on the Internet! And what happened afterwards... Well, I guess you would have guessed it with these lines.

They say that if you don't risk you can't win. And I have a feeling this bird is a winner. And you, Are you still considering it?

Nikita Bachmakov.

 

Space photography: what are you waiting for to take the leap?

Quietly through summer heat, our first call for entries for materials
(made by Lomographic Embassy in Spain- LomoSpain) has been a success: in 'The Cosmonaut's dream', over 180 peek into The Cosmonaut's universe from as many angles as authors there are: poetry, tompe l'oeils, irony and humour... We have loved some of them because of their visual inventiveness and the way in which they transform everyday things and space. We have loved some other because of the feeling they recreate... Remember that we'll give the prizes to the most cosmonautic pictures. The atmosphere doesn't matter, but the topic does! :)

Double exposures and  reverse mirrors: Cosmonautics peeks into an old theme park from eugenia+ 's point of view.   

 Do we still need to remind your why this call for lomographies is so special?

You still have until the 25th of Octuber to send us your lomographies, in order to receive prices and become our official lomographer!

 

A last minute tip-off: There's an intrepid female lomographer who has written to us asking for the costumes 'for a couple of pictures you are gonna love'. She has promised to 'send the costume back just as it is or I'll go to Russia and find another one', We thought... well, why not? So if you have that photograph in your mind and you need one of the costumes, we're waiting for your audacity at hola@elcosmonauta.es... and the promise of a corn-fed ham if you cause the costumes any damage. 

This is the CNN

Ten days ago, our friend from "Fuera de Órbita" (a great Sci-fi podcast in Spanish) broadcast in their number 63 podcast a 40 seconds commercials of Cosmonaut (made in 5 minutes at Campus Party, with CC music of the great Century of Aeroplanes *)

 

Two days ago our phone rang: Víctor Esteban, from CNN+, he had listened one of the commercials, he was fascinated by the idea... and he wanted to know more. 'Where could I interview you?'

They came to our studio today :)

The interviews were for the technology programme "La Red", in Cuatro, and for the programme "Globoeconomía", in CNN (which is broadcast in Spain, South America and the USA). If we're lucky, short videos will be on CNN+ too.

 

Stay tuned!

 

We tell you all about it in our Facebook profile... and we include a few stolen fragments :)

 

 

 

Cosmonaut on Fotogramas

"After changing distribution systems forever, the Internet puts the classic production system upside down with Crowdfunding". The article by John Tones (Mondo Pixel) for this month's Fotogramas rewievs the troops of four Crowdfunding props: the inspirational platform IndieGoGo, the documentary Age of Stupidity , the Swarm of Angels phenomenon and... us :)

And old dream is made true: we are on the pages of our beloved Fotogramas. This month's guest "signature" dedicates one of those three well-sorted paragraphs (to which only one "but" could be said: that even though Age of Stupidity was financed through Crowdfunding, the fundraising wasn't done online) to us, and the  title is 'Benefiting from the Net' :)

It's funny to see how the data (Nico did the interview only a month and a while ago) are now outdated: 640 producers then, now, by means of Campus Party -true-, we have 900 (stay tuned, surprises will come with number 1,000).

'Crowdfunding is the way in which new creators benefit from the Internet, thanks to the instant obtention of data, information, advertisement and money'

 

The question ending the article is one of the good ones (and one of the uncomfortable ones), and it brings to the surface something which has been disquieting for all of us sharing this new front: the standstill of A Swarm Of Angels , the ambitious collaborative film project ( in their twitter we find a short announcement of 'total relaunching in 2010', whatever this might mean).

Here it goes:

'(The question is) if, outside of an strictly economic scenario, the audience means an obstacle or an impulse'

After this question, the article ends with a new mention to Cosmonaut , which is precisely ending this summer with the preparations of its collaborative aspect launching.

'Cosmonaut, for instance, dares to take off with a Creative Commons licence. It's been proved that, well directed, the fans can participate in the production process. Yet the never-ending question of social networks is still throbbing: Are they prepared to meddle in the creative process?'

 

Chapeau.

 

And let's hope that we'll be closer to the answer soon.

 

Platypus Lab

After signing a wiked pact with Mamen and Rosana. Their name is PlatypusLab, they have been online as long as we have (and they have already had to redesign their website to face success), and they make badges, magnets, toyz and other cool stuff. They take over from our friends from MiradaDVaca... We're already preparing together some things for surprising you on the next revision of our shop :)

Stay online!

Поехали!

BOOK SEEKS (USED TO) SPONSOR

            (or how to sponsor magnetised paradises in the pure entrails of Space)

If you have pried through the Cosmonaut's website you'll know many things about this Riot Cinema Collective project. For instance, that among the articles that you can acquire (and becoming a producer in this way), there's a book: Poetics for Cosmonauts, by Henry Pierrot. And you know that the film's script owes a lot to this book, almost as much as to the strange chance which led us to find it.

Since the first edition of this little gem is completely sold out, we thought it was time to reprint it. We decided to do it this time in an English-Spanish bilingual edition, with a prologue by Alberto Olmos and an epilogue written by an important person in the cinema world.
And you know how the film project works: anybody can become a producer.

Now there's a new way of doing it, and it's by funding the reprint of Poetics for Cosmonauts. A 500 copies print run will be made, and for that we need a sponsor.

This edition has an approximate price of €1,200.

With your contribution you will receive a percentage of the film but you will also be mentioned as the person who made the reprint possible and your name will be in the book. Besides, you can choose to change your corresponding percentage of the film for a percentage of the possible benefits the selling of books may create. You choose... 

 

EDITED: We have just broken a Crowdfunding record, for sure :P

Two hours after posting this entry, Poetics for Cosmonauts has found a sponsor: Javier Pinto

 

We've started to work like crazy to have the reprint for October.

Sergio Moreno (our third investor) speaks :-)

It's hard to explain in a few words why I invested in Cosmonaut.

The reason is simple: I feel really good by collaborating with this project. I could do it without giving away a cent, but I would get a different feeling. It is true that I can loose part of this investment, because you never know what may happen, but seeing the film made and shown is more than enough for me. And being realistic, in terms of the benefits, that's something that of course is there an which I don't ignore; but it's mainly secondary.   

 The truth is I really enjoy it each time they post an entry about anything dealing with Cosmonaut or any other topic outside the project. You discover other things with which you can enjoy yourself all the same. It doesn't matter whether they are musicians, tv shows or whatever they may suggest. From here, I would like to encourage each one of you to collaborate as much as you can and, above all, to feel good doing it.

 

Greetings.

 

Sergio

A thousand thanks for trusting in us!

 

 

The incredible letter from Eduard Artemyev.

have you noticed the logo?

Subbabel

We are still surprised everyday by the supports we are receiving. We look for some of them, others work their way to us... like last one.

 

Subbabel, a company set in Las Palmas that provides all the services required for audiovisual products translation, apart from providing solutions to films orientated to impaired vision or hearing audiences, have offered us their support and will subtitle the film to Spanish and English for free, giving us the opportunity to sign an investment agreement through services provided up to 1.000€.

 

Another step to make the film become a reality. Welcome to the team Subbabel!

 

TRANSLATION OF THE "LETTER OF INTENT"

LETTER OF INTENT

Subbabel S.L.N.E., with Tax I.D. number B35963180, and with registered office in C/Fernando Guanarteme, nº 12, 35310, Santa Brígida, (Spain), undertakes to offer, free of charge, the subtitle services from Spanish language to English for the film production "The Cosmonaut", form Riot Cinema Collective, as well as to provide translation services and media accessibility equivalent to the amount of 1.000 € according to the price list sent to Riot Cinema Collective, in exchange of becoming investors and obtain the corresponding percentage of the benefits the film "The Cosmonaut" generates.

 

The provision of both types of services will take place once the Agreement of Collaboration is signed. Subject to the agreement of both parties, this Agreement of Collaboration may modify, enhance or cancel the conditions established in this document.

 

June 10^th, 2009. Santa Brígida.

Signature and stamp.

ORIGINAL:

Nacho V.

Today, Nacho Vigalondo payed us a visit at the studio to record part of the tremendous final chapter of Pendiente de Título (Title Pending :)

soon on your screen...

LaComida audiovisuals

The support given to our project continues at an orbital level, and higher still. Today we finally announce the collaboration we'll carry out with LaComida audiovisuales , a collective set up in 2002 that works audiovisuals and live video/audio performances.

They have shown their works at gigs like Daft Punk, Lou Reed, Subsónica, Franco Battiato, Anthony & The Jonsons, or LCD Sound System, and now they've fallen in love with our space madness... so they'll be in charge of liven up the different events we'll be organizing for the film with their video-creations. We'll keep you posted!

We'll be letting you know where you'll be able to see them screening some cosmonauts' images and old documentaries on the space race.

We promise you there will be surprises and piggies drinking wine from the bottle!!

Playtime

Playtime, according to them, is "an agency born to serve as a platform for new audiovisual artists".

Although we like to consider them as a group of people in love with the cinema, or as a flowering little plant, sticking out in a field full of wild vegetation, in any of the cosmonauts' paradises.

Under the premise: "Everything that is worth to be seen should find its place", they organize the Playtime Cinema Traveling Show.

And, why do we tell you all this? Because being people of refined taste as they are, as soon as they heard about The Cosmonaut they fell in love with the project and offered us their help. We fell in love with such kindness and tenderness.

Thank you guys!!

 

TRANSLATION OF THE AGREEMENT:

 

I, Natalia Piñuel, legal representative of Playtime audiovisuals, with Tax I.D. number: 07991584G, and with registered office in Madrid, show my total support to the film project El Cosmonauta, carried out by Riot Cinema Collective. Once the film is finished, and according to the agreement we may get to, on the one side Riot Cinema, and on the other, Playtime audiovisuals, I undertake to show it in every festival, national and international, that it can be shown in, in accordance with format and length, and to collaborate on the search of theatres and various platforms (TV, etc.) for its complete distribution and exhibition.

 Also, during the pre-production and shooting of the film, and within our possibilities, we will work in whatever is necessary for the project to succeed.

 

On May the 12th, 2009. Madrid.

Signed: Natalia Piñuel.

to the original

It is confirmed: we have the Sputnik Foundation´s support

Nauchno Isledovatelski Institut Sputnik logo (Sputnik Foundation)

Born from Glasnost, the Sputnik Foundation was born in 1987; in the heart of the Cosmic Investigations Institute (Institut Kosmicheskij Isledovani) with the aim to spread the truth of unknown or deliberately censored episodes from Soviet space history.

In Spain, the Sputnik Foundation is remembered because of the 1997 Telefonica Art and Technology Foundation exhibition. Restoring the figure of cosmonaut Ivan Stochnikov, missing in all registers and a main character of the Soyuz-2, an obscure episode on 1968, brought a lot of controversy.

Sputnik Foundation has agreed to collaborate with Riot Cinema Collective as history consultant and has come to an agreement with us for the distribution of very special material which we´ll reveal in future posts.

Day 9. Star City. Cosmonaut Costumes. Space Tourists. MIR.

Our second last day in Moscow has been one of those historical ones that has brought and will bring many good things for the film.

We went back the Star City. This time was to learn about it in depth.

First we visited the museum. We have discovered fascinating things. The best: a confession. But I promised not to say where it comes from. What I can say is that it was told by an American technician to the person who told us:

-"What do you do about sex on outer space?, he asked.

-"We use blow-up dolls", the technician answered.

And I still find myself smiling when I imagine this.

The Star City is like a small town where everybody knows each another, lots of meetings, one after the other. First we met Sergei Volkov who gave us the costume he had promised. It is an authentic training jumpsuit he used while preparing Mission 17th to the International Station. He gave us permission to sell it at an auction to get funds for the film. It will travel to Spain together with other cosmonaut costumes.

Later, outside the museum, we met him again. He was being interviewed for the Russian television with his father, Alexander Volkov, another mythical cosmonaut from the Soviet period, we were able to say hello to him. He was delighted with the project and offered to appear in a picture with us and his son, then he signed it.

We also took the chance to sign in the visitors' book.

The second part of our visit has been, if possible, more exciting. We visited the special complex and training areas. We were standing under the largest training spinning machine in the world.

We were totally amazed by the MIR. The authentic MIR, majestic, resting quietly in front of us.

We managed to get information about several facts for the film. Finally we visited the underwater training area and bought a few things at the souvenir shop. As special gift, they let us buy some authentic cosmonauts food. An apple compote tube, bread and energetic food blocks.

From left to right, top to bottom: images from the training area where the old MIR is exhibited after taking it back from the ocean...and cosmonaut's food.

Best news came after a conversation with our guide. She confirmed to us, after a speaking to the Gagarin Centre´s Director, that we´ll receive a collaboration letter and the permission to shoot some of the special sequences inside the complex. Shooting in Star City...!

This is becoming a dream come true. Now we only need the money to make it real. (We added an extra item in the budget after this news, we're planning to move a small team to Moscow during 9 days to shoot these sequences and some others at the capital and surroundings).

Once again this project seems to have been touched by fairies, so among all possible things to happen, only the best and the weirdest become real, always.

In the middle of a lost and prohibited city, hidden till not so long ago, hardly accessible, in the middle of a snowy place...who did we meet at the Star City? We met Richard Garriot, the sixth space tourist and Space Adventures representative. A man who paid 30 million dollars to fly to outer space on Mission 17th with Sergei Volkov.

We told him about the project and he excitedly asked us to send the information to him to be able to read it in depth. He gave us his personal card and a couple of patches from his space mission. And, of course, a signed photograph.

Is it possible to be luckier than this? Someday a meteor will land on our heads to get this all balanced.

NOTE: To end the day the best way possible, Carola called me to say that the project has been presented at the ICAA on time and without any problem. It may be denied because of political problems which we´ll explain further on, but we have hope for this project to be a tool to change a few things in this country. The ball is in your field. Mr. Lara, make your bet.