Jathia’s Wager

Jathia’s Wager is a science fiction film about a young man living in an isolated community of humans who must make a life changing decision about his future species. Just as open-source software is a collaboration of programmers creating free code, this film was created by a collaboration of movie enthusiasts, and it is being distributed for free online. The audience is encouraged to participate in future derivative works, and the original source materials are made available for that purpose.
Release Name:
Jathia's Wager
Release Date:
Sun, 2009-03-01
language:
English
Sponsors:

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The film was shot in Ventura, CA with 50% of the footage using green screen, with the backgrounds inserted afterwards. Different versions of the film have been released using various Creative Commons licenses: which even allow future commercial usage of the content. Historically, there have been very few films released under such a license; and none that were created using this online style of collaboration. One example of collaboration in the filmmaking process for Jathia’s Wager is found in the “Universal Life-form” character in the movie. The actor was shot in a green screen studio in Ventura, CA; the voice came from a voice actor in the UK; and the special effects were redone 3 times after a flurry of exchanged e-mails. The result: people working together from different parts of the world to create a better original movie. This film was written and directed by, and is starring Solomon Rothman, an independent filmmaker who started the project after his first open source film (’Boy Who Never Slept’) had been seen millions of times. Jathia’s Wager originated as a 7 page concept script that was released online with the call to action: “anyone wanting to help make a no budget, sci-fi movie is invited to join the team” Before production had started, Jathia’s Wager had already attracted international attention . Jathia’s Wager was created without almost no money, by people of all different backgrounds, many of which had never worked on a movie before; they just wanted to contribute for the joy of it. Rothman said this about the project: “The collaborative approach used to make this film is why this movie turned out to be a wonderful creative adventure, in spite of our filmmaking limitations and our lack of funds. I hope we can expand this story and continue the Jathia’s Wager universe; there’s a lot more to come!” The movie is Jathia’s Wager and you can watch it online for free at http://moviepals.org. It is being distributed on video streaming sites, and via file-sharing networks.
Filming Locations::
Ventura, CA
United States
Budget:
Free - $999
Cast:

Jathia SOLOMON D ROTHMAN Ezra KARLY SHEA Universal Lifeform DARREN DIFRANCISCO Universal Lifeform (voice) AMI GOLLAND Elder JOHN ANDERSON ORTIZ Elder’s Wife CONNY ORTIZ First Son JOHN EMANUEL ORTIZ Second Son NILS ORTIZ Townswoman STAR FAIRCHILD Prison Guard MANNUEL BARAJAS Ashira (prequel) JESSICA MAYORGA
Crew:

Browse > Home / Original Films and Series - Collaborative, Open Source, Experimental / Jathias Wager - An Open Source Sci-Fi Movie / Cast and Crew Cast and Crew Written & Directed by SOLOMON D ROTHMAN Assistant Director DARREN DIFRANCISCO Music Directors AMBER AUDIO Production Manager STAR FAIRCHILD All music and post-audio AMBERAUDIO Composer JONAS GOLLAND Sound Design & Mix AMI GOLLAND & DANNY HAHN Costume Badge Design RICHARD SCHWAB Production Assistant HILARY LAW Production Assistant (Prequel) SUSAN DAVIS Still Photography (Prequel) SUSAN DAVIS
Special Thanks:
Tim Baumann, filmmaker of Valkaama (Germany) Jimmy Skinner of Green Screen Cinema Richard Schwab of Monomyth.org
External Links and Reviews:
Jathia’s Wager: Open Source Social Movie Making
The World’s First Open Source Sci-Fi Movie?
open…: Jathia’s Wager: Open Source Cinema
Two free open-source movies
Jathia’s Wager: primo open source sci fi movie
Jathia’s Wager: Açık kaynak bilim-kurgu filmi
Una película al gusto del consumidor
Películas archive | Tangamandapio
IL CINEMA 2.0 – Saggi – Cinema invisibile – Ticho
Is this project still active?:
no
participation:
If you really liked this film, you’re encouraged to contribute or support it by sharing it with your friends. PLEASE stumble and digg it :)!!! Use it in your own work!
Movie Poster and other Promo Materials:
Movie Poster for Jathia's Wager