M+E Daily

Eluvio partnered with base, a provider of cloud-native media solutions, to create a Web3 experience for The Real Cannonball Run, a new, feature-length documentary that tells the true story of the coast-to-coast automotive race across the U.S. that was made famous globally by the Burt Reynolds movie The Cannonball Run in 1981 and was based on the real-life race of the same name.

Also playing major roles with the technologies being used for the movie are Adobe and BeBop Technology.

The documentary is one of the first films to be produced, curated and distributed on the blockchain directly to fans, according to the companies. The project uses cutting-edge cloud and Web3 technology provided through a technical solutions partnership with base, powered by Eluvio’s Content Blockchain, the companies said.

An end-to-end online content chain with base is being created for the documentary. As part of that chain, archive film, 4K digital camera rushes and third-party contributor content gets securely uploaded to the cloud and automatically transformed to viewing proxies in an Iconik Media Library for the director to see from anywhere so tagging and clip selection can begin, base explained in its Aug. 31 announcement.

Editing is performed using Adobe Creative Cloud, hosted entirely in the cloud, leveraging the BeBop operating system, allowing editors, directors, producers and post supervisors to collaborate across locations around the world, the companies said.

When the documentary is completed and mastered, entirely conducted on base’s cloud solutions platform, the finished exports will get uploaded on the Eluvio Content Blockchain, leveraging a custom integration with BeBop OS, according to the companies.

As part of that custom integration, BeBop OS is providing the operating system used by base, allowing Adobe editing to take place on virtual workstations hosted in the cloud. BeBop OS is also “directly connected into Eluvio’s global blockchain infrastructure,” according to base.

Also planned for The Real Cannonball Run is the ability for fans to buy a subscription non-fungible token (NFT) to get exclusive access to trailers, behind-the-scenes content, specially minted assets and incrementally released exclusive content throughout the entire lifecycle of the documentary.

Certain subscriber NFT tiers will also be able to receive exclusive minted collectibles including handmade scale models of original race cars that took part in the real-life Cannonball Run races that the Burt Reynolds comedy was based on, according to Ben Foakes, base CEO.

Premium tier level NFT holders will also get their names added to the documentary’s end credits and a red carpet invite to the premiere, Foakes noted, calling it a “new type of value exchange, and an entirely new way to engage with your favorite media.”

Base is serving as technical partner for the documentary and is supervising “all of the tech stack, from when content is filmed and ingested all the way through to delivery,” Foakes said during a recent interview. “I’ve also been working as an adviser and consultant on the project with Gero for probably 10 years,” he noted, referring to Gero Hoschek, a German-American indie filmmaker driving The Real Cannonball Run as its director and producer.

Hoschek has been curating the exclusive content being offered as part of the project for several years, including the original film archive from 50 years ago, he noted, pointing out that his father competed in the last original Cannonball race, in 1979.

There are millions of fans of the real races who span generations and continents who Hoschek predicted will be looking forward to the documentary and become part of the story themselves.

The Real Cannonball Run project highlights the “transformational potential of Web3 for filmmakers,” according to Michelle Munson, Eluvio CEO and co-founder, calling the project a “first of a kind Web3 native production and distribution” process for a film.

Noting that base is a partner in the Eluvio content community, Munson said: “The Eluvio content fabric is a decentralized network for content storage and distribution that allows for projects like this, from source content to audience to be created, produced and distributed.”

Foakes brought the Real Cannonball Run project to the Eluvio platform, she noted, pointing out Eluvio and base had been working together for the past two months after first discussing the project in Las Vegas in April.

“BeBop and base are long-time partners and champions of adapting new technology for media and entertainment,” according to David Benson, BeBop president and chief product officer. “Working together with Eluvio and as stakeholders in the Eluvio Content Blockchain has allowed us to show what’s possible, in a practical and tangible way, when Web 3.0 is leveraged with remote, virtual post-production on the BeBop OS,” he said in base’s news release.

“For The Real Cannonball Run, we’ll be direct-publishing to the Eluvio network, but this only scratches the surface of our exciting product roadmap and joint plans with base in the months and years to come,” Benson added.

BeBop and base are node providers in the Blockchain Content Fabric Network and stakeholders in the utility value of the network, allowing their earnings to offset utility costs such as streaming distribution and other production expenses, base pointed out.

Web3 filmmaking details will be showcased at an Eluvio Community Event scheduled to be held at IBC Sept. 10 in Hall 8 at 1 p.m.

Hoschek and Foakes will join others from across the industry at the event to discuss the use of the Blockchain Content Fabric for multi-chain content ownership and distribution (registration info at https://live.eluv.io).

The first NFT drop for fans will be on the same day and include complimentary film artwork and pre-release trailer access. One lucky fan will also receive early access to mint a one-of-kind, 3D-rendered digital twin NFT of the Cannonball Countach LP400S Supercar.

The launch of tiered experience NFTs will follow Sept. 17, concurrent with the Great Marques Concours d’Elegance auto show, Sept. 17-18 on the great lawn of Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, New York, where hundreds of Cannonball fans and historical participants are expected to attend.

That will mark the first public announcement about plans for the project.

Screenings of the documentary are planned but specifics weren’t finalized yet. “We will enable NFTs that allow fans to visit premieres or screenings” and possibly take part in Q&As at the events with the filmmakers, Hoschek said.

Those are expected to be small events on the East and West Coasts and Europe.

“That’s not all hashed out yet but certainly this is a type of film you also enjoy seeing in a big crowd and having a good laugh,” Hoschek said.

However, he added: “We’d probably edit [the documentary] down to maybe two hours rather than the four or five hours that the whole documentary might be in running time. But there certainly will be screenings.”

More details about The Real Cannonball Run will be disclosed in the coming months, base said.