Sunday, 5 February 2012

Decent Offerings in Small Parcels


On the subject of less traditional offerings and collective collaboration, I’ve also had the opportunity to read Volume One of The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, the brainchild of Hit Record and Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently.  (Yes, that one – Ten Things I Hate About You and 100 Days of Summer amongst others.)

Essentially, the premise of the book is that “the universe is not made of atoms; it’s made of tiny stories”.  Tiny, indeed, they are.  The 83 pages of the first volume comprise of micro-fiction, supported by illustrations, some merely one line in length.  They are the collaborative result of approximately 8,569 contributions, edited together to produce the 32 illustrated stories which form the substance of the title and range from whimsy to the profound in nature.

Gordon-Levitt’s aim is to produce a variety of collaborations (of which The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is merely one element) via his website and open collaborative production company.  Input is invited from writers, musicians, filmmakers, video editors, animators, illustrators, photographers and photo-shoppers, with the profits of successful ventures split 50/50 between the company and contributing artists.  The site currently has over 45,000 active members worldwide.

On the basis of the content of Volume One, it will be interesting to see what Volume Two may bring.

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