272 replies to this topic

[cryofan]

If this Imminst documentary is non commercial, you could use some footage from archive.org, for example this footage, which is under teh Creative Commons license:


http://www.archive.o...m=mainSpotlight


PANORAMA EPHEMERA (2004, 89:35 min., color and black and white) is a collage of sequences drawn from a wide variety of ephemeral (industrial, advertising, educational and amateur) films, touring the conflicted landscapes of twentieth-century America. The films' often-skewed visions construct an American history filled with horror and hope, unreeling in familiar and unexpected ways.

PANORAMA EPHEMERA focuses on familiar and mythical activities and images in America (1626-1978). Many creatures and substances that we hardly notice because we feel so used to them take center stage, including pigs, corn, water, telephones, fire, and rice. At first resembling a compilation, it soon reveals itself as a journey through the American landscape over time, and the story begins to emerge between the sequences.

The film consists of 64 self-contained film sequences ranging from 5 seconds to 4 minutes in length arranged into a narrative. Unlike many films made using archival footage, it's primarily a combination of sequences rather than a collage of individual shots.

PANORAMA EPHEMERA is populated by American children, animals, farmers, industrial workers, superheroes, pioneers heading West, crash test dummies, and many others.

PANORAMA EPHEMERA is released under a Creative Commons
"Attribution-NonCommercial" license, and may be freely shown, copied, or distributed according to the terms of this license (http://creativecommo...nses/by-nc/1.0/).

BitTorrent download (thanks, Simon!): http://www.legaltorr...dex.php?fuse=42

Director: Rick Prelinger
Producer: Rick Prelinger
Audio/Visual: sound, B&W/color

Contact information:
Rick Prelinger (footage@panix.com)

http://creativecommo...nses/by-nc/2.0/
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0

You are free:

* to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work
* to make derivative works

Under the following conditions:

Attribution. You must give the original author credit.

Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

* For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
* Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.

Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above.

This is a human-readable summary of the Legal Code (the full license).
Disclaimer

[Bruce Klein]

Randy (Cryofan)

Great ideas... thank you very much for your help.

I'm learning Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, but will look into Vegas Video 5.

Using the crop and pan feature in the video program is helpful in that I'm not able to do so very well in real time while conducting interviews one-on-one. Having 'introductory footage' and other 'b footage' to include and spice up the remaining interviews is a priority.

Including more cultural, age and gender diversity is another priority as I agree that we need to humanize the concept of life extension and blend the intellectual with more love of life imagery.

Sound is improving. I'll remix existing, yes... and going forward will use lavlar mic on all interviews and focus on eliminating intrusive noises.

Here are some fundamental blocks/units that might be considered as a sequence for the documentary:

A. Death and our relationship to it
--historical, cultural, rationalization, taboos, religion, etc. New ideas. Science Fiction. Pop culture examples (use of pop culture, Hollywood examples would entail dealing with copyright issues).

B. Medicine
--historical, scientific advances, cultural acceptance of new breakthroughs (organ transplant acceptance). What steps have we taken in the past to beat death? Why have we tried to beat death at all?

C. Transhumans
--what are their motivations. What are they like? How are they different, alike from the rest of society?

D. How do they justify their exotic ideas?
--interviews, scientific concepts, etc. Again, public domain images from archive.org could be useful here.

E. The Near Future, what does it hold for immortalism/transhumanism, Cryonics? This could be where you have Alcor/CI footage, etc. What are the principal entities/actors in this new movement?

I plan to use much of this, thanks.

An important focus is to respect all copyright.

I am happy with music thus far which was purchased copyright from http://www.shockwave-sound.com/ (~$150 for ~10 good tracks)

I've found a number of good royalty free image sites for stills.. but the Internet Archive site you've found looks good... as this ImmInst Film is an educational doc we may be able to utilize the resource.

Archive.org is way cool... your above find is something I think we can use.

Thanks again,
Bruce

[Lazarus Long]

Bruce I commend you for a very good effort and result so far first.

Then I drop the other shoe. )

Rather than criticize the obvious or just repeat the many good things said so far, let me point out a few things and make one important suggestion.

Instead of pointing out that the film clip I saw represents too limited a segment of society, white males (with some notable exceptions); let me say instead that I think it could use more *diversity.*

The technical details on the early audio caught my attention too and a few segways should be smoothed out IMO. Also do not lose *too* much time on the voice over topics but the idea is very useful but could fade to a few key phrases sometimes perhaps or just be expedited a bit.

I enjoy the general format but I think it might wise to break it up with other vignettes that prevent monotony and keep the interviews fresh. Try stealing some of Ken Burns technique and occasionally introduce still photos to the narrative voice overs instead of just captions perhaps.

Lastly here is a link to a call for film, including documentaries. I would hope you are amassing a list of possible competitions to enter from this one to the Sundance or even Cannes Film Festival (why think small?).

The point is to gather the necessary info on how to make an entry in a timely and strategic manner with an eye toward professional PR considerations of how this format promotes the meme. A contest like the following might be a low risk format for exposure ( I know very little about them in particular and ran across this link by accident BTW) but I am confident that there are probably plenty of options to choose from and we do want to spread our entry fees too thin either.

http://www.haydenfilms.com/enter.html

Great work Bruce!

[Bruce Klein]

Including more cultural, age and gender diversity is a priority. I agree that we need to humanize the concepts of life extension and blend the intellectual monologue with more 'love of life' imagery.

I do plan to make the festivals... with an eye toward winning.

Thanks!
Bruce

[Bruce Klein]

List of "you choose" film interview questions I've sent to most interviewees:

standard questions:

- what is your name?
- what do you do?

- when and how did you come to focus on life extension
- how long do you want to live and why
- what are you doing to promote longer life
- does death equal oblivion
- are you signed up for cryonics, and why
- have you had any problems in talking with friends/family about immortalism

more in-depth questions - please pick areas you feel most comfortable in answering:

"If people lived to be 140, as some scientists suggest we will through technological intervention, a child could have 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents whose names he or she could never remember. In our natural lifespan, there is a harmony of proportion between the cycles of birth, ascendancy, and decline–phases of generation, nurture, and dependency that give a sense of meaningful connection within the journey of our lives." - William Hurlburt - 2004

will life extension disrupt the 'natural' cycle of life?

"Our very strength is in creative flexibility, freedom, and open indeterminacy. These are what give us our extraordinary capabilities, our comprehending consciousness, and controlling powers. Our species may already be the optimal design for fullest overall functioning and flourishing of life. Indeed, it is our very strength that is now threatening us. Liberated from the immediacies of mere survival, we are open to imagination, to the ambition of technological self-transformation that could shatter the fragile balance of our physical and psychological functioning.


will genetic engineering lead to peril for civilization?

"Say that we find out that a particular enzyme, like superoxide dismutase, [a scavenger of destructive free radicals] needs to be very active in order for you to live longer. Well, once we work out all of the details of dosage, then it might be that once every month you go to your physician and he injects you with the enzyme, which circulates around in your body to help slow your aging process or reverse it. And so on with all of the other possible substances that one might use." - Mike Rose - 2000

will there be developed a pill to stop aging?

"Without the 'safety net' of any mystic or magic you are left with the pure fact that there is nothing after death. So you had better either do something to preserve yourself and you had better do something to help preserve what we have, because everyone else is looking forward to their gold bricked roads in heaven." - Lionel Vogt - 2002

what happens after death?

"We have no more reason to believe that human consciousness continues to exist after death than we have to believe that water buffalo or other animals continue to have experiences after they have died. Furthermore, we have very strong evidence that consciousness depends on brain functioning and thus mental life ends when the brain dies." - Keith Augustine

"A dead atheist is someone who is all dressed up with no place to go." - James Duffecy

“Since there is no God, there is no divine plan. Since there is no universal intelligence that created us, there is no manifest destiny for us to fulfill. This is not to say that our lives are without purpose. It is, instead, to say that it is up to us to determine our own purpose.” - Herb Bowie

"We should remember that the fundamental aspect of life itself is immortality. DNA is a molecule that's been on this earth for about 3.9 billion years. It is immortal in that sense -- as immortal as our planet, at any rate. And therefore, our task is to couple individual immortality to the essential immortality of life itself..." - Dr. William Haseltine

what inspired you to explore life extension?

"That's what immortality means. Not: 'Dying after a very long time.' Just not dying, ever." - Greg Egan

how would you define “physical immortality”?

"To a scientist, there is nothing impossible about it. Something is impossible if it violates a physical law. If it doesn't, it's possible. This is a basic tenet of science. Living 300 years doesn't violate a physical law, so it has always been possible. It is a human failing to think that something we haven't done is impossible. Instead of following facts to their logical conclusion, we follow intuition, which tells us that the earth is flat and a heavy thing, such as an airplane, can't possibly fly” - George Webster Ph.D.

is physical immortality only for the rich?

"Not believing in superior mystical entities makes one realize that apparently we have nothing but each other. We can talk to each other, we can listen to each other - and we can help each other instead of destroying each other. Life, especially sentient life, becomes more important when you see that - apparently - people have no souls that leave their bodies after death. Or when you see that it's people who make the quality of life better for many other people on this planet." - Sabine Katja Atkins

will there be an overpopulation problem?

"Since the Industrial Revolution, alarmists have screamed doom and gloom about overcrowding and limited resources (backed by misinterpreted "statistics"). However, the opposite has happened. The population increased by 750% since then, and standards of living soared. It's not so much a question of resources as education, individual productivity and distribution - social engineering problems, not life extension problems. As long as people produce more than they consume, it's impossible to run out of resources." - MaxLife.org

will there be boredom?

"People with extended lifespans will have more incentive to improve the world and the environment -- the consequences of short-sightedness will not affect them. Unaging brains will have the opportunity to accumulate wisdom, a precious resource that is currently lost to senility and "natural" lifespan. It is often argued that death is necessary to remove rigid old minds from positions of power so that humanity can progress. But if technology eliminates aging, minds can continue to grow without becoming rigid or inflexible. Hundreds of years of accumulated wisdom by youthful, vital minds could prove to be the most valuable resource available to humankind." - Ben Best

"Immortals can not be noble" – Leon Kass

are immortalist being selfish in wanting longer lifespans?

"One of the most important tasks of Transhumanism is the pursuit of Life Extension and eventual immortality, since aging and death represents two of the most immediate hinders for total self-transformation and personal freedom. Overcoming death is also a social and psychological problem, since most of human culture is based on the assumption of the eventual death of every person. A final argument for the pursuit of Life Extension and Cryonics is that many of the visions of Transhumanism will probably not be possible within our (unaugumented) lifetimes." - Anders Sandberg - 2000

what Causes aging?

"There are several different theories on what causes aging. It is known that free radicals cause damage to many different systems in your body, so this might be one major cause. There is a cellular aging clock, the telomere that seems to shut down some cell types as we age. Your immune system stops functioning correctly, leading to increased chances of external and internal damage. You stop producing some vital hormones as you age, also causing some systems to not function correctly. The good news for biological researchers is that these different causes all overlap in their effects. The bad news is we have yet to sort out which is the root cause." - Maxlife.org

"Mankind will postpone human aging substantially in the future, doubling the human lifespan at least, when we have accomplished this we will be ashamed that we did not work on it much sooner." - Michael Rose

"No intervention will slow, stop, or reverse the aging process in humans." - Leon Hayflick

can aging be cured?

"To me, discussing the value of life extension with people uninterested in extending their own lives is a great deal like suicide counseling. I see no easy way of translating my positive attitudes about life into other people having a positive attitude about life. I have come to believe that if a person does not value life, or believes that the value of life has an expiry date, the matter is beyond discussion. And I mean this not in the sense of difficulty of communication, but in the sense that what is of value to me may not be of value for someone else. I like strawberry and she likes vanilla. I want to live to be a thousand years old, and he doesn't care whether he is alive in five years. Personal choices." - Ben Best

can people be talked into wanting life extension?

what books & organizations do you suggest?

Film Focus

Part I - Regenerative Medicine

- Biotech, Stem Cell
- NanoMedicine
--What are nanotechnology and nanomedicine?
--When will nanotech arive?
- Methuselah Mouse Prize

Part II - Improving the Mind & Body

"Biology is not destiny. It was never more than tendency. It was just nature's first quick and dirty way to compute with meat. Chips are destiny." - Bart Kosko

- Bioethics
- Transhuman/Posthuman

"Transhumanists view human nature as a work-in-progress, a half-baked beginning that we can learn to remold in desirable ways. Current humanity need not be the endpoint of evolution. Transhumanists hope that by responsible use of science, technology, and other rational means we shall eventually manage to become posthumans, beings with vastly greater capacities than present humans." - Nick Bostrom - 2002

- Body/Mind-machine integration
- Uploading

- Caloric Restriction
- Supplements & Exercise

Part III - Risk Management & Cryonics

"By the close of the next century, nonbiological intelligence will be ubiquitous. There will be few humans without some form of artificial intelligence, which is growing at a double exponential rate, whereas biological intelligence is basically at a standstill. Nonbiological thinking will be trillions of trillions of times more powerful than that of its biological progenitors, although it will be still of human origin." - Ray Kurzweil

- War (Nuclear, Terrorism)

- Cosmic Risk (Asteroid, Heat Death)

can we survive heat death of the universe?

will we create smarter-than-human Intelligence?

Will there be a technological Singularity?


----Cryonics
- What is cryonics?
- Has anyone ever been revived?
- Aren't cryonics patients dead?
- When will patients be revived?
- How much does cryonics cost?

- Won't memories be lost if brain electrical activity stops?
- What is vitrification?
- What is neuropreservation?
- Has an animal ever been cryopreserved and revived?

- Doesn't ice burst cells like water freezing in a bottle?
- Don't ice crystals spear cells?
- What if the electric power fails?

- What would the future want with people from today?

Final Question: - describe the world in which you want to live

[alex83]

Great work Bruce, It has exceeded all my expectations!

Maybe it is not the general layman's interest (and so shouldn't make a too big part of the film), but I would like to see some scientific approaches and advances so far, as well as interviews with some scientists.

This should take this debate from the philosophical area to the practical one. If I were watching this movie without any acquaintance with the topic, this is the part that would interest me (Is life extension really possible? If not, then the whole discussion is useless).

P.S: I liked the demonstration with the squares at the beginning, it illustrates the topic very well. well done!

Keep the good work.
Alex.

[Bruce Klein]

Thanks, Alex.

I've just interviewed Brian Wowk today. At 21CM he works on low temperature tissue preservation which is important for cryonics advancement. More such practical scientific interviews are planned.

Also recently interviewed Robert Bradbury who is putting together ideas on Bio+Nanotech.

[Da55id]

Hi BJ - I looked for you Sunday morning...sorry we didn't connect.

Did you record the presentation I gave on Saturday?

dg

[Bruce Klein]

Hi David,

I did record your presentation Saturday.. and look to include part in the film.. thanks.

Will you be in D.C on Feb 2 ? If so, please reply with your address as we may film there bjk@imminst.org

[jans]

A documentary project seems like a great advancement to the work. I have not viewed the first draft yet, but I don't think there is going to be lack of interest. My experience is that the standard of getting interest for a major network like, Discovery, or government org like PBS etc. is to involve then from the start, during development, this way they would also contribute financing and distribution. I hope these distributors have at least seen the proposal for further series and mostly a summarizing 1-3min trailer to create interest. That is just how it works. Festivals are good, but the majors like to mostly deal separate from it, very few films are picked up when pitched as finished product, they like to be involved not in charge, to help make it better. Great start, and initiative thou. If you need any help in the future, let me know. I could develop some interest in major motion picture arena, as I have the experience and several contacts there.

[Bruce Klein]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I'm in contact with you now, Jans.

[Bruce Klein]

Gina Miller (nanogirl) has generously allowed ImmInst to use her graphic work for front cover of the ImmInst Film:



Larger:
http://www.imminst.o...mminst_film.gif

[Infernity]

Seem to me that nanogirl did a fine fitting work!

~Infernity

[jans]

Fitting, if eternity is so dark. Could there be a few more versions made by Gina Miller, which would express more fun and joy of life? Why live, if there isn't what to live for?

[Infernity]

jans,
I just had a conversation about dark and bright yesterday.
As for now and matching the present physical laws- we all are being under a terrifying darkness.
The bright are able to see it, the simpletons see nothing, not even the darkness...
We all are being under the control of darkness, bright see nothing because they know it is dark, simpletons see nothing because they doesn't even know that trues, they see what they only want to see.
They bright is seeking after the 'sun-of-suns', everlasting light, simpletons are burning in it- walking with their eyes closed, know nothing, nothing too big to lose, excepting death due so...
Gina Miller did a great art work!

Yours truthfully
~Infernity

[Bruce Klein]

Thank you Jans and Infernity for the valued feedback.

If there is considerable concern for the 'dark' cover, we may find alternatives. However, the cover is in keeping with ImmInst's media theme for the book:


http://www.imminst.org/book1/

[Bruce Klein]

First Film Trailer Posted:
http://www.imminst.org/film.php

[Mind]

I have to agree....the graphic for the film is dark, morbid, and downright scary. I mean, artiscally it is a nice piece of work (a very tech and transhumanist feel) but I cannot support it for the film "cover". In my opinion, we definitely need something else, something that is not going to scare the pants off the average viewer. If the viewing audience was only transhumanists or singularitarians, then maybe, but not for wide distribution.

Sorry

See if she can come up with something more uplifting, lighter, and positive.

[alex83]

The trailer looks great! Bruce (I don't know who else did the editing, but it refers to them as well), I think that you did a wonderful job. The first part is just perfect. A couple of comments about the second part (after the picture of Franklin):

1. The Graphics that Gina did is very nice, and I do like it as an art.

Nevertheless, I think that Mind right, it doesn't fit for the film. The cover should 'catch the eye',
make you want to see the film, as is the corresponding animation in the film itself. The current
graphics (the head that appear after Franklin) is too dark and the animation is too
unclear.

The picture of the head is unstable and noise (bright spots for example) appears (this
make it look amateurish).

I also don't see the point of the activity that is going on inside the head. If the idea
is to show cog wheels turning as a metaphor for thinking, this is the thing that should be shown.
Currently it is one wheel turning, one appear and disappear and something explodes (what is
the symbolism of that?).

2. The fowl and especially the wheel (in the sunrise) appear interrupted because of the quick
movements (Maybe it is worth raising the frame rate).

Note that the trailer can't be downloaded, but only watched online.

Edited by alex83, 12 March 2005 - 05:19 PM.

[Bruce Klein]

Thanks Mind, Alex.

Appreciate very much the constructive feedback... I'll bring a few other alternatives to the table soon.

[ddhewitt]

I like it. The black does not bother me.

Duane

[Matt]

I think it looks cool :D

[Bruce Klein]

Thoughs on this version in comparison appreciated: (royalty free - gettyimages.com)

Attached Files

•  ele1.png   189.11KB   94 downloads

[Matt]

ahhhh, Now that is much better :D

Nice and bright... Its much better than just a black and greys

[123456]

Yes, this picture is more appealing than the former. The white clothing of the lady, to me in this case, symbolizes life (All light energy reflecting back towards the viewer), rather than black usually associated with death. Certainly a nice picture.

[sfty] [pirate]

[Bruce Klein]

ah, good to have the feedback, whoa182 & 123456. thanks!

[Infernity]

Also nice, but I actually liked the first one more...

Yours truthfully
~Infernity

[Cyto]

agree, the picture screams workout video or something like that. [tung]

[123456]

To Infernity;

I understand it is personal preference for liking the first Picture. For such a film it seems logical and pleasing that living matter is shown, the lady, pleasant in the way that, as some individuals before me said, a brighter picture. I will also add that the open space of the picture suggests freedom, talking about freedom from aging.

[kevin]

I think this one is excellent.. very peaceful and holistic..