but it has been slow going. The lockdown and paranoia here in Los Angeles due to the corona virus means that the crowdfunding video remains incomplete, which means the short filmis stalled yet again.
The writing I've been doing over these last few weeks of quarantine has helped me see an option for 
I think that effort could be driven by open writing. I also think it could work based on what I've see with a similar kind of project, the SCP Foundation.
I've been watching a lot of The Exploring Series on YouTube. This channel goes through the deep lore of fantasy and sci-fi worlds. I really like his Lovecraft series, but the one I've been watching a lot of lately is the SCP FOUNDATION.
From WikiPedia:
The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization documented by the web-based collaborative-fiction project of the same name. Within the website's fictional setting, the SCP Foundation is responsible for locating and containing individuals, entities, locations, and objects that violate natural law (referred to as SCPs). The real-world website is community-based and includes elements of many genres such as horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy.
The whole project is in the Creative Commons and treated like a WikiPedia of a parallel universe. Anyone can join the wiki and write an entry / story to expand the world. Each story's syntax follows a general WikiPedia tone.
The format is simple. A paranormal anomaly within the fictional universe is discovered and named "SCP-XXXX (0001)". A rational, objective description of the object - be it biological, synthetic or inanimate - is written, often accompanied by anecdotes of said object and links to connections to other parts of the universe are listed. Many of these entries are considered canon.
It's a gorgeous use of decentralization. It produces an extremely wide variety of ideas and stories. It's a fun world to explore and has given me a lot of food for thought when it comes to furthering The Tear as a universe.
After the short film is finished, I am going to go out and pitch this to various production and distribution companies as a feature or a series. What can I say? I want to continue to build the world and also have someone else pay for it. :)
That said, i think The Tear could work as an open writing project and be built in parallel with the short film. I don't have anything to share yet, but I have been experimenting with a wiki. I've been building out so much of the Tear's universe for this Pitch Deck, that I want to compile it all and (eventually) allow others to contribute to the universe.
I consider this a planning for success moment. The Tear will succeed in living on one way or the other.
Unlike SCP, I'd like to somehow integrate crypto into the ecosystem. My first choice is Hive, but there isn't a Wiki system built here yet and I might be limiting my market too much. Everpedia was an option I considered but I don't think it's ready. I've tried using it a couple of times and found getting to the point of editing a project pretty tedious. I would want a wiki would just be for The Tear.
If anyone is building a Hive wiki system, lemme know. I can be your guinea pig.
As things stand, I might have to use a system that is more mature and centralized and add a plugin for cryptocurrency tips. I don't know. I'm just spitballing here, but I want people to get paid for their work.
I think as a matter of principle, I'd have to allow for people to monetize their creations and reuse them to make money, but I think I would also be allowed to do the same. I think there'd have to be a firewall between anything created for the "network" and anything created on the Wiki.
I think the point of this experiment would be much in the same spirit as Hive. Decentralize some of the world building and allow others to share in something bigger, social and valuable.
Opening the project up to the world has its advantages and disadvantages. I'd have to find a way of keeping some material under copyright and have some of it not be. I have to find a way of making the big fish happy so I can build a platform, rather than just one story.
The short of the long is that I don't know if any "monied interests" are going to be into this kind of idea. Personally, I think it would serve as a useful tool to market a series. Maybe it's too much buck for the bang. I don't know.
What I do know, is that due to the Creative Commons license SCP Foundation is released under, anyone can make a movie from the ever expanding...
One big, no... HUGE advantage to this system is the amount and variety of material that can be generated this way is substantial. This could serve as fuel for The Tear's YouTube channel. There's a virtuous cycle in here somewhere for those that contribute to the world of The Tear and profit. I know there is.
So far as I know, nobody needed to ask permission of the SCP Foundation Wiki to make this film. It's one of the reasons Lovecraft's work has survived and expanded long after his death. Anyone can contribute to the world of Lovecraft, and like the SCP Foundation, I think The Tear has the potential to do the same.
For now, I'll just continue to build the roads while on my way to finishing this short film. I've been meaning to get back to documenting my progress, but it's been so boring here that my mind feels mushy.
I'm open to your thoughts on this. Is there a way to do this on Hive? Is there a way to build cryptocurrency into this project more seamlessly?
Is this the kind of thing that interests you?
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The Tear is my cosmic horror short film and cinematic universe.
http://bit.ly/tearlinks
If you want to know who I am and what Distant Signal is, check this out. It's sort of a manifesto. The TL;DR is that I've won an award for producing, make a lot of reality TV, live in LA and think that artist and media incentives are misaligned and serve large corporations and not independent artists.
WEBSITE: https://www.thesignalisstrong.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/adistantsignal
LBRY: Direct LBRY App Link!
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/distant_signal/
MINDS: https://www.minds.com/DistantSignal
In 2019 the goal is to produce the short horror film, Changelings, the world of that story and to build a community of filmmakers that are enthusiastic about filmmaking and crypto currency.
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PHIL ABATECOLA'S PERSONAL SITES:
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/abatecolasan/
WEBSITE: http://www.philabatecola.com
