Collabfeature has come at the perfect time – when artists from all over the world are sharing their work in as many ways possible, trying to stand out. This project does one better; you look better, by making everyone else look good. Creator Marty Shea came up with this philosophy from his days observing improvisation and combined it with his love for filmmaking.

“When people in a band play separately, they can’t really make what they could when they all play together,” Shea explains.

Growing up in Detroit, he would talk his sisters into being in his skits. At Michigan State University, he had a minor in film and soon after dove into independent film head first, and has been producing ever since.

Making films is one thing, but creating an interactive multi-cultural collage of film is quite another. Other sources like YouTube, hitrecord.com and the Canon Vimeo Project, have made art collaboration possible, but not on the scale of actually forming a narrative journey, where the lines of where a story ends and begins are blurred between different continents.

“The idea is not necessarily to share the same taste or vision, but to share the spirit of collaboration. To get to know each other, trust each other, to be able to make something great all together,” Shea says.

He and partner Ian Bonner’s project works like this: Twenty-five filmmakers in nineteen cities, fourteen countries, and five continents used email, instant messaging and a special web application to communicate, plan, and brainstorm ideas. The group came up with an outline for an episodic feature about a lost backpack that gets passed from person to person and country to country. Each wrote a screenplay for a four-minute segment set in his or her locale.

The almost famous backpack, although not part of the original plan, quickly became the key constant to string together all of the film segments. Shea and Bonner decided that using an object rather than a person or character would be a smoother way to thread the pieces. It’s a great way to do a character study without characters, because you are seeing items from inside the backpack and finding out about the person who lost the backpack.

The project is a huge undertaking. As anyone who has ever made a film knows, getting people to focus when they are in the same room is sometimes a challenge, let alone people who have never met in person and are living all over the world. Shea never worried about a lack of commitment from the filmmakers. This was partly because of the rigorous selection process, and because he and Bonner’s excitement seemed to radiate through their computers.

“Filmmakers are the busiest people in the world and have unpredictable schedules. The challenge at first was to make sure everyone was checking in just to make sure we were on the same page. Pretty soon, people were putting in their own ideas and the excitement grew from there and we realized that this model was exactly what would work for all of us. It was the perfect model on a creative, logistical, marketing force level.”

Shea and Bonner also have plans to expand the project so that literally all of the contributors will someday be producers as well. Once your film is accepted, you will then be able to decide and comment on other people’s films. You will have a say in what gets chosen, like an artistic investment.

Like most people who work in production can attest to, communication is difficult even when everyone is in the same space. You would think the filmmakers working on a project of Collabfeature’s size, spanning around the world, would have a hard time conversing as a unit. However, Shea says that in his experience, the strangest details are the ones that always get lost in translation, no matter what kind of production you’re working on.

“Things you assume are obvious really aren’t. You’ll receive the film and the emphasis will be on something you didn’t expect. The great part was that since we are all relying on each other, everyone is on the same page. This project was designed with artistic integrity and that’s why even though we are receiving so many different image qualities, it is never jarring to watch, the story never stops.”

This philosophy pertaining to collaboration is partly how Shea and Bonner have been able to stay in Michigan and work in the film production industry. They care about the state, and like seeing the people who are talented enough to work in New York or L.A., choose to stay in Michigan to make films. As a young filmmaker, Shea says that diving into work in the only way to dig out a spot for yourself in the industry.

“Work on anything to get your name out there. If you can’t get on big movies, work on indies or shorts. As long as you’re working with people who work regularly that you can impress. And, always make sure to answer your walkie.”

For more information about Collabfeature, along with Marty Shea and Ian Bonner’s other projects, visit

www.collabfeature.com