VEB FILM Leipzig is a netlabel, primarily known for producing straight to internet movies.
The first movie "Route 66 - an American (bad) Dream", a 104 minutes experimental, gonzo-style road movie, was released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA in 2004 and quickly became popular as Germanys First Open Source Movie. Footage and other sources of the movie are being used by Universities, VJs and other artists.
The second major VEB FILM Leipzig production is announced to be released under Creative Commons BY in 2008 and is expected to be the first free High Definition feature film.
The founder and driving force behind the labels Free Culture ideology Stefan Kluge frequently represents the label on events related to Open Source, Net Culture and Digital Culture in Germany.
We provide the source and project files of our films and songs to enable everyone to remix our stuff. You can order all files on a hard disk, if you are interested. In upcoming projects they will be available online.
A few guys already took advantage of this: two german universities used "Route 66" as educational material and the "Route 66" soundtrack was remixed by some musicians.
To prove that remixing a film does make sense, three teams of sound designers are working on the post production of our new movie "The Last Drug" right now. We are going to prove that there can be remixes of a movie, very different in style, attracting different audiences. Especially if the source material was produced keeping the remix idea in mind.
And we will provide other people in cyberspace the possibility to create their own movies and clips based on our material without going through the elaborate process of preproduction and shooting. Creativity always builds on the past!
Film Netlabel?
When the shooting began, there was nothing but blurry 16mm footage, which was shot for demonstration purposes only for potentially interested studios. Most of the actors were local laymen to make the movie look more authentic. The script was written as the shooting proceeded by an author who actually did not get along with the director being paranoid under the constant influence of drugs. The completion was delayed by more than a year because of experiments with versions of several hours - still testified by flickering editing and almost poetic shots of landscape.
I'm talking about one of the most successful independent movies which jolted the established Hollywood. And which gave filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola a chance: "Easy Rider".
About 40 years later we again witness changes in the movie business: this time it is the internet, giving independent filmmakers the chance to reach an audience which until now only major studios could reach and the tools for producing on a budget as low as never before. And again wonderful things happen: The most influential brand started a online video portal, where everybody can upload and sell his movies; the first independent filmmaker turned down a $125,000 offer from a distributor to embrace the online distribution model ("'WATERBORNE' MAKES GOOGLE HISTORY") and the first film netlabel was founded: VEB FILM Leipzig.
By the way: it might be no accident that the first film netlabel was founded in the city of Leipzig. The first free trade market, the first trade fair and the first daily newspaper arose here. And it might be no accident that VEB FILM Leipzig is an open source film label, believing in a free culture: the pacifically revolution, freeing East Germany from the communistic regime in 1989, started out in Leipzig. There is a strong sense of liberty in that city!
No money in that?
Visions usually have a high price. That's fine, we won't bother you with stories about unheated shacks, leaking studio ceilings or broken cars. We publish our income and expenses in the "Transparent Account".
A strong will alone doesn't pay the rent. That's why we want to thank all sponsors and donators. We pay back with good movies, books and songs, source material for other net people and a contribution to make the internet a place of free culture.
