In 2016, though a little late, I finally read carefully the Bitcoin white paper and became fascinated by the innovation and potential of the blockchain that underpins Bitcoin.
Since its birth in 2008, Bitcoin has shown no signs of stopping, with definitions such as complete P2P transactions, the concept of proof-of-work, and a maximum issuance of 21 million BTC (scarcity). I believe that it can be a “game changer” that changes the current trend in which vested interests in a centralized society run rampant.
Turning our attention to movies, several documentaries and fictional films on the subject of Bitcoin have been produced and released overseas, but most of them never saw the light of day in Japan, and projects to use security tokens and Web 3.0 to raise funds for film productions have also been tried several times but seem to have fizzled out before we know it.
This is probably due to a desire on the part of governments and the mass media (i.e. centralised vested interests) to keep the public in the dark about the potential of blockchain, and to make them think it is a dangerous fraudulent product.
On the other hand, whether knowingly or not, the very act of using Web 3.0, represented by DeFi and NFTs, and newly issued tokens to “finance” film production goes against the idea of decentralization, which may be a reason for the project being shelved.
Crowdfunding is often used for independent production, but it requires KYC/personal authentication procedures when opening an account and registering on the platform, as well as fees and settlement fees (10-25%) to be paid to the platform, and even the cost and time required for return gifts. The current situation is that much of the goodwill in the form of “donations” from supporters of the project is sucked up by the “administrator” before the project even starts.
To me, the ideas behind Bitcoin and the ideas behind independent film, music, and other creative work seem very similar – in other words, a kind of “rebellious spirit” against vested interests. I also believe that there is no better match for indie productions, where the majority of staff are freelancers without the intervention of corporate capital and agendas, than decentralised ledger and decentralised bitcoin payments.
Creating new things also requires new approaches and new ideas.
I myself have not yet sorted out some of the details, so I will be posting blogs in the future as a series under the title ‘Bitcoin and Indies’.