Open source animation

Using free software tools, a group in the Netherlands is planning to produce a 3D animated short. The project, called "Orange: The Open Movie Project," will be based in Amsterdam but will incorporate work from animators and software developers around the world (not to mention sponsors who'll donate money and equipment.)

No word yet on what the short will be about - or who gets to make the final decisions on story and art.

But this is an experiment well worth watching. Do movies, either animated or live action, need to be produced by a crew that's together in the same place? (Or could we imagine a world where there's no "first unit" and "second unit," but a dozen different units all filming different pieces in parallel?) How will far-flung contributors be able to collaborate? Will the energy involved in coordinating a project like this be more trouble than it's worth?

More info here.