TUAW Interview: First film released as an iTunes vodcast

Late last week, Canadian filmmaker Kray Mitchell of emotion entertainment released CrookZ, the first short film to be released as a vodcast in iTunes. CrookZ is a parody of the television show Cops,
which follows two hapless, would-be thieves through a series of failed crime attempts. It's shot documentary-style, like the show Cops. It really is pretty funny, with very unfortunate characters. Check it out.

I had an opportunity to interview Kray Mitchell, the film's writer/producer/director. We talked about his film, his Macs, his decision to release CrookZ as a vodcast and what the future of vodcasting may be. You can read our interview after the jump.

TUAW: First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I see that you've spent much of your academic and professional career studying film and multimedia production and design. What first motivated you to move in this direction?

Kray: All my life I was a creative person, but I had never really thought about doing it as a career when I was in High School. I had done a couple videos for school projects and lots of drawing (No graphic design as the Mac SE's we had wouldn't handle it!) but I really wanted to be a Cop. I actually enrolled in a Criminal Justice program at college, but dropped out after about 3-4 months because I was spending too much time at home on my computer playing with graphics and websites, and to be honest, I really started to hate the idea of being in law, period. After about 4 months I saw an ad for a Multimedia course that taught graphics, web and video, and I thought to myself
'This would be some serious fun!' So I jumped on board and have not looked back since. I would never have thought that dropping out of college was a good idea, but if I had not, I would not be doing something I love so much right now!

TUAW: In 2000, your short film "The Final Hit" won an award at the iMovie Film Festival. What was that competition like, and what did you gain from the experience?

Kray: The iMovie Film Festival (Presented by the Learn and Earn Program) was a lot of fun. I was working at an Apple Reseller at that point and doing video on the side. I had this idea that I wanted to do as a quick short to cut my teeth and I noticed this contest, about 6 days before it was due! I whipped up the script (From an idea I was already developing in my mind), grabbed a few buddies and a camera and headed out to shoot it. One of the downsides was that I had to use iMovie to do the editing, which I felt was inhibiting what I could do as I was used to editing in Premiere back then and iMovie didn't have half as many features as it does now, it was a challenge, but I stepped up to it. I got a lot of knowledge from doing that short, framing shots etc. and I have always wanted to re-do that short as a feature length film (I have the idea in my head still, just have not started the writing process as of yet!).

TUAW: What are you using as your current production rig? Do you use any Apple hardware or software as a part of your production process?

Kray: Since switching from Windows in 1997, I have always used Apple and will NEVER go back! I am currently running a DP G5 1.8GHz with 1.5GB of RAM and 160GB HD (Recently upgraded, still need more HD space and RAM!) with Dual 19" CRT Displays and Edirol MA-20D Speakers via Optical. Although there was only two places we recorded audio, I do that via M-Audio MobilePre and a Rode NT1 Mic. All the editing was done in Final Cut Pro and LiveType (For the Intro letters).

TUAW: CrookZ is the first short film to be released as a vodcast in iTunes. Having worked in film and television, what made you decide to release your current project as a vodcast? Was it your intention to vodcast it from the beginning?

Kray: Indeed, it is the first film to be released this way (I am still in shock that I did it first!) and I am quite excited about it. There have been a few Vodcasts (IE Systm), but no films as of yet. My original intention for the film was to do the festival rounds and then try for broadcast on Zed! (Showcases short films on CBC in Canada), but with the CBC on strike I wasn't sure how long they would be on 'hiatus'
for. Canadian filmmaking is a rough industry, TV or otherwise, and you have a lot of competition out there for festival and TV spots. I had seen a Podcast that was using videos and I thought that it would be a great idea to get exposure and reach a large audience (Probably much larger than I would have at the festivals even) so I figured what the hell, I'll give it a shot and see how it does!

TUAW: What has the reaction to CrookZ been?

Kray: I have been getting some great reactions to CrookZ so far, people seem to really like it, which is great. It makes you feel good about what you do and your work. I am sure there are people out there that don't like it, but you can't please all the people all of the time and you have to roll with the punches. Only time will tell I guess hehe.

TUAW: Vodcasting (and podcasting) is such a new form of media, and in many ways, is still being defined. Today almost anyone can create content and make it widely available. Would you say that it's a "flash in the pan" fad, or do you see a solid future for vodcasting?

Kray: With all the networks wanting to switch to VOD (Take a look at what ESPN is doing) and more and more content coming out I can see Vodcasting staying around for awhile, but not necessarily in its current form. Networks and corporations are all about making money, so I am sure we will see some sort of Paid Vodcasting service sprouting up in the next year or so with options ranging from Cell phone downloads to computer and TV (Though the TV might be a bit longer than a year loL). If it goes to a paid service, I still think independent filmmakers will benefit from serving up free content, you have to get your name and product out for people to see. I am kind of hoping that the industry will take a tip from the BBC and offer all sorts of video online (Some with Creative commons so people can create with it too),
allowing the creative community to participate rather than just watch will help bring out some new ideas I think. Only time will tell though,
I am excited to see where everything will be going in the next 10 years.

TUAW: Any challenges unique to vodcasting as a medium?

Kray: I think the biggest challenge I faced was the compression of the video, how to do it so it looked good but was still a reasonable file size. Bandwidth is still a big limitation for video, so if somebody wants to release a feature like this, they better have the bandwidth and speed to make it happen, and people have to be willing to spend the time to download it.

TUAW: What is your everyday computer?

Kray: My G5 is my everyday computer for editing and everything else I do.

TUAW: Finally, thanks again for participating. One last question: Any plans for future vodcast films or projects?

Kray: It was my pleasure Dave! I do have an idea I am working on at the moment for a weekly/bi-weekly series of Podcasts that will run 2-3 mins in length. I also have a few ideas for some stuff at my full time job at a TV Production company. We will see how it all comes together!
 
Thanks again, Kray.  We look forward to your future projects.