Brett Gaylor - Where I’ve Been

August 18, 2010

As some of my friends and colleagues know, I’m actually quite late announcing some changes that have been afoot in my personal and professional life. Let me rectify!

In March I began a collaboration with Mozilla on Web Made Movies, an innovation lab bringing together software developers and filmmakers to innovate video on the web. (For folks who don’t know, Mozilla is a public benefit organization that promotes freedom and innovation on the Internet by building stuff like the Firefox web browser). Like anything worth doing, the Web Made Movies project shifted from its original conception, which was to create a documentary series about the open web using an open video platform. It became clear that the need for open video tools was too strong for only one content project to drive forward, and so the decision was made to focus on the creation of a lab where filmmakers and web developers could work collaboratively, and where storytelling and form were placed on an equal footing with technology. Since that decision, we teamed up with the Center for Development of Open Technology at Seneca College, and began our first project: Popcorn.js, a javascript library for merging video with semantic data. I have found the work challenging, rewarding, and affirming of my desire to innovate what video on the web can be. We’ve had some great early results - check out our demo of semantic video.

I’m particularly excited that Web Made Movies is part of Drumbeat, Mozilla’s initiative to involve a broad spectrum of society in its mission to build and protect the open Internet. I’ve believed for some time that in order for the internet to survive as an open platform, it can’t be only the geeks holding down the fort. Storytellers, educators, artists, journalists and activists need to get involved, feel welcome and have a stake in the internet remaining a global resource that everyone has a hand in shaping. I’m happy that Mozilla is moving in this direction – over 350 million people are touched every day by their work on Firefox, and having a public service organization in the browser space is a much needed check-and-balance system in an extremely competitive (and cutthroat) environment. Observing Mozilla over the last decade, I’ve been impressed by their pro-activism. They showed that a faster and safer internet experience was possible if they put the needs of the user before those of the board room – and they showed this was possible by BUILDING it, and continuing to improve it.

This is why I’ve made the decision to join Mozilla full time. Yup! I’ve accepted a full time position and I couldn’t be more thrilled. For the next several months I’ll be focusing on Web Made Movies – bringing in external projects, charting a course with developers, and collaborating with filmmakers to bring some storytelling innovation into open video on the web. In addition to Web Made Movies, I’ll be developing a series of documentary shorts that tell the story of Mozilla: our goal is to share the passion of the Mozilla community with the broader public – to let people know that there is a vibrant non-profit behind the browser. I want people to be as intrigued as I was to discover that Mozilla’s exists to Protect the Open Nature of the Internet - a Greenpeace for the online commons. Did you know we even have a Manifesto? We want to grow to a worldwide movement, made of millions of Internet users who act as stewards of the open web. We think storytelling is a means to this end.

Come the new year, I’ll be moving into my role as a project producer for Drumbeat. Along with an amazing team that includes my esteemed European colleague Henrik Moltke, Drumbeat ringleader Matt Thompson, Web Developer extraordinaire Paul Osman, Fundraising and outreach queen Chelsea Novak and of course our fearless leader - the Mozilla Foundation’s Executive Director Mark Surman,I will be actively seeking out promising projects that Drumbeat can help foster. Projects that invite participation from both software developers and people that aren’t normally involved in the development process: teachers, cartographers, musicians, chefs, you name it (ok, maybe no spammers). My job is to get more people involved in the cause of keeping the web open, and doing it the Mozilla way – by creating things. It’s pretty humbling to be in on the ground floor of such an important project.

Over the last several years, my wife Shelley and I have dreamed of moving to the BC coast where we come from. People often ask me “can’t you do your job from anywhere?”. The truth is, remote working is pretty tough in most situations. I’ve needed (and enjoyed) constant interaction with other filmmakers, funders, broadcasters, and a thriving urban culture to be able to survive as a working filmmaker. At Mozilla, though, working from home is a reality for a large part of the team, and the systems and tools they’ve developed over the years to facilitate the world’s largest open source project make it work (although it’s a learning curve to be sure). So we’re taking the plunge, and come this fall will be moving from the island of Montreal to Galiano Island where I grew up. It’s a fantastic place for kids, and our daughter Layla loves running around outside without her parents hovering over her 24/7. Next year come by when our garden is churning out the good stuff! (and if anyone knows how to set up a microwave mesh network between islands, give me a shout).

Of course, it is going to be tough to leave our friends in Montreal, particularly my crew at EyeSteelFilm. Since graduating University, and even before, I’ve worked with my colleagues on an amazing batch of films – assistant editing on Squeegee Punks in Traffic, and then shooting and editing on Roach’s follow up, RoachTrip. I went to the Arctic as a co-creator of Inuuvunga: I am Inuk, I Am Alive, took a tour of duty in the editing suite on Chairman George, learned drupal and humility on homelessnation.org, and for six plus years was given sage advice, tough love and incredible teamwork in the creation of Rip! A Remix Manifesto. There are so many great people working at what has become the undisputed coolest documentary production company in Canada, if not the planet earth. I wish the entire crew the brightest of futures, not that they need this nerd’s wishing to get them anywhere. The new slate of projects and new crop of never-say-die indy filmmakers will continue to slay pitching competitions, film festivals and television screens the world over.

I moved to this city in 1997 – the world wide web was in its infancy. Back then, Apple was an underdog, Google was running on pentiums at Stanford, and Netscape was kicking serious ass. The web continues to surprise us, and not a day goes by that I don’t marvel to be living in such interesting times. As I start a new chapter, with a new team and and a new family, I can’t wait to see what happens next. Won’t you join me?

9:54pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZZWBQyw6pMq
(View comments)

(Notes: 43)