Michael Morgenstern

More on Apple and app removal

Please share this. Please make a ruckus. We should start a petition. A fundamental difference in the Apple and Android platforms is that Android, by default, allows you to install unsigned third-party APKs. Manufacturers can remove this option in the firmware, but it's a system-level change that is

Mourning Facebook

I mourn Facebook. Facebook is like Wikipedia for the world. It seeks to help you find events, people, to share ideas. It's the closest to a collective hive mind brain I have experienced. It's the closest I've seen to the semantic web. Ideas and

Facebook killed Search is Back.

Edit: If you miss it, please sign the petition: http://chng.it/C2vXG8pc This week is a loss for access to data and users of the FB platform. RIP. Since I launched it in 2015, the site has been used 26 million times, or around 20,000 times daily. It

Ideas

A dream cloud edit system

This would be my dream cloud edit system — Google Drive meets Final Cut X. How soon until this exists? A project contains your timelines and all your media, with great tagging options. Project is synced across all computers and interfaces. If media isn't available, it's still

The Russians at Sundance

Just returning from Sundance, where a small group of us managed to create a liminal zone of unreality for visitors of the festival and find a producer and financier for our film! We made a big splash and it was one of the more magical experiences of my life. We

Some thoughts on Netflix's Bandersnatch and interactive cinema

I'm curious to hear yours. I think a lot about interactivity and movies. We're creating one so I've been studying a lot of different narrative techniques I'm VERY excited about the interactive future of cinema. I just don't think Choose

Reflections on 2018

I'm sitting here in Mexico City, about to start New Year's, and reflecting on the past year. It's been a whirlwind. I want to offer some story, some regrets, some gratitudes, and some resolutions. In October 2017, I decided I was probably done with

Value codifies force

The more I think about the economic concept of "value" the more it seems endemic to the consumption that is swallowing this planet. Value presupposes that an object or experience is available for the taking, if only one applies enough force (and yes, capital is force.) It bakes

Party Fire Safety video

After the Oakland Ghost Ship fire, we created this short video on fire safety for event production. Please watch it — 4 minutes later you'll be a lot more prepared. With Joseph Pred, former Burning Man Emergency Services Operations Chief, and Andrew Ward, Co-Founder of Permission Granted, and containing

Finding the unicorns

Creating something that barely fits into existing categories is a weird thing. There's no meetups to go to where everyone else is doing the same thing. There are no email lists, no established community*. So I made the community. It was the best thing I've done

To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance

Thinking today of George Washington, who in 1790 wrote a letter to Moses Seixas of the congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, saying that "the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should

sensemaking

The microphone turning on

Some things I've been tossing around... So what if...what we are experiencing today is the equivalent of a microphone being turned on that's never been on. We hear species-wide pain. And then we hear a powerful whine of feedback which affects the signal. In addition

Film Industry

Film industry prediction

In 3-10 years, computer vision + HDR + depth cams will allow cell phones, and eventually pro cameras, to relight scenes in real time in a way that is indistinguishable to the general public from professional lighting...and stabilize in far more effective ways. Possibly even refocus in post and do makeup

Dared My Best Friend

Gearing Up

tl;dr Let's celebrate next week? It's my birthday, and I am sitting in an AirBnb in Los Angeles, copying footage off several RED cards and preparing for a long day of editing. I'm utterly exhausted and life is good. Eight months ago, last

Meditation as a spiritual path

I never thought this would be the right platform for this, but realizing how many friends I have who have meditate casually as well as on longer retreats and with a daily practice, maybe something productive can come of a discussion here. The meditation tradition I have learned from is

Goodbye Passat

I sold my car!! And now that I sit here at an Acura dealership waiting for a Lyft, I am feeling sadness. Processing this degree of attachment to a physical object. I've had this car for 12 years. When I got you I was a gangly, awkward college

The best business advice I have ever gotten

(and now I wish I know who gave it...) What's your best piece of advice? When I graduated college I was extraordinarily lucky to receive this advice. It was: Make a spreadsheet with names, phone numbers, description, and where you met someone. Reach out to everyone you know

Dared My Best Friend

Make the movie you can with the resources you can, right now

Yesterday I had a meeting that changed things. Long story short: we're making a movie and we want YOU! After 60 meetings in January I met with a producer who I really respect, and had wanted to speak with for a while. I thought he would help think

An update on the journey to make the coolest thing to happen to cinema in 2018

tl;dr: Raising $1m for something incredibly cool is hard. If you have ideas, I want to talk. In the month of January I had 60 meetings with producers, agents, financiers, people in tech, and close friends with good ideas. What began as a loose 3min pitch is razor sharp

Thoughts on cryptocurrency as a technology

As the market crashes, I'm scattering a few relatively uninformed thoughts on cryptocurrency. Not much here is new. Would love to hear your perspective. 1. The worth of crypto/blockchain as a technology is somewhat unrelated to its value as a speculative asset. When Bitcoin goes up it

Dared My Best Friend

I'm making an interactive movie!

Exciting news: This year I intend to make a full-length, feature-but-cooler film project. I will be in LA much of Jan and Feb working on it and meeting with people. One year ago, I read a story on Reddit which blew me away, about a psychopath, full of intrigue and

Crypto

Should I invest in Bitcoin?

A friend asked for advice on investing in Bitcoin, and I'm posting the response in the hopes that it'll help someone else. Note: I am NOT an expert. At all. And I own cryptocurrencies so have a vested interest. I have three perspectives: 1. Cryptocurrency will

Reflections on a Kickstarter

"I've been reflecting on the Buffalo kickstarter and our social media campaign, and wanted to share some thoughts. First, the positive: We made a kickass video for a funny project, and I'm especially proud of our six-second YouTube video, which is as professional and coherent

Why the film industry is how it is

For my friends who don't work in film, some information about the toxic power structure in the Hollywood. For my friends in the industry, what can we do about this? Some things to know about Hollywood: 1. It's hard to make it. A lot of people

Politics

Declining trust and where it's headed

At the World Affairs Council last night we had a fascinating conversation about declining trust in the news and where media is headed. Curious what you think. One conclusion I came to: social media companies have taken over the relationship between people and media, because that's where the