A while ago I heard of an interesting project to change the way movies are made: A Swarm of Angels. In their own words, "A Swarm of Angels is a new way to create cult media. The project is a giant new media experiment to gather 50,000 people paying £25 each to create a new type of movie." Still confused? So was I.

The premise is this. Copyright is strangling art and entertainment, particularly in America, where the needs of the community (and public) always take a back seat to corporate interests. Additionally, creating modern films takes more money than individuals can generally raise, so the end product belongs to corporations who tightly control the use and distribution. But if the big money industries are cut out of the loop, and a film is made from individual contributions, the whole structure changes. The contributors ("angels") each own the whole thing. The music, the script, the film, everything, to do with as they please. Want to offer it up for a free download on your site? Go for it. Like the music? Sample and remix to your heart's content. You bought it, you get to decide its fate.

For me — yes, I signed up, making it perhaps the first and only time I could be accurately described as an angel — being a part of the creative process was the hook. All aspects of the film — script, casting, music, art, marketing — will be discussed, debated, and formed by the Swarm. Matt Hanson, the project's originator, will create the original drafts, and will direct the final film, but will do so with the input of the contributors. It should be an interesting process to watch.

Of course, it could also turn into a trainwreck of mythic proportions. It appears to be off to a slow start, with relatively few angels in the swarm, and little activity on the members-only message board. The first two podcasts have been released, though, featuring music from artists under consideration for the soundtrack chores, and they are quite good. So far I am cautiously optimistic about the project.