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In a world where fiat trembles and the mempool never sleeps, one signal cuts through the noise.

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Welcome to Pleb Chain Radio, Layer 2.

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Your premium passage to the hidden rifts of Bitcoin culture.

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Buckle up and feel the voltage.

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Welcome, gentle plebs, to episode 7 of Pleb Chain Radio Layer 2.

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I'm your host, Avi Burra.

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Huge thanks to our subscribers and supporters for riding with us and keeping this show sharp.

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Your listens, shares, and sats make a real difference.

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If you're new here, please go to the Fountain app, find our show, and hit that subscribe button.

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Your generosity goes a long way in keeping our microphones warm and the show ad-free.

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Today, we're joined by filmmaker Alana Mediavilla, the director of Dirty Coin,

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a feature documentary that goes on location where Bitcoin meets energy, infrastructure, and real people.

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She spent years filming across multiple countries to capture what mining looks like beyond just the headlines.

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We'll talk origin story, field craft, energy nuance, the business of indie film.

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Alana, welcome to Plep Chain Radio.

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Avi, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.

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great well alana why don't we start here by uh you telling us a little bit about yourself and what

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led you to filmmaking and indeed to bitcoin wow to filmmaking that's a beautiful story my father

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is actually a photographer and he used to work for kodak back in the day in marketing like back in

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the day i was a little girl and because he worked at kodak we had all this film in the house so

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I was film rich in the house and we had great cameras and my father was a Nikon guy. I became

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a Canon girl. I had to kind of change my ways a little bit, but I wasn't smart about that because

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the lenses then his lenses didn't fit me. But you know, that was, but anyway, I got a Canon

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and I got a Canon to take pictures and videos of my daughter. And I was 21 at the time. And

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And I just wanted to take good pictures of her.

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And I knew I didn't want to continue to do film because film is expensive.

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And I was paying for my film at the time.

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Fast forward to 21.

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And so I had this really great camera.

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And it was actually one of the first DSLRs that came out.

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And, you know, it was a photo camera.

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But it just had this handy little, you know, this is 17 years ago.

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I had this handy little button that you could just like move to video and you can grab video.

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And, you know, here I had expensive lenses like my whole life.

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I've been taking pictures. I love the black room.

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It's, you know, photography had always been something that I grew up with.

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But then because of my daughter, I just wanted to capture her.

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and I realized that I had these beautiful lenses that made it look so cinematic and so beautiful.

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Like all her pictures. It's funny because I took pictures of her as a baby, my 17 year old with

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that camera. And then I took pictures of my second daughter that's 10 with the iPhone and the pictures

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of my first daughter and the videos of my first daughter are like way better, way more beautiful.

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Because ultimately I was just, you know, the best camera is the camera you have on you. So I just

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transferred to you know kids doing something cool you take out your phone instead of your nice camera

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but anyway I got into filmmaking that way and I was working for a video game company and I was

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doing their graphic design and it was a small company so as you know we can fast forward to

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20 I'm 23 and I'm working for this video game company Emilia's to still have the camera and

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we needed marketing videos for our video games. And I was like, we couldn't afford an agency.

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We couldn't, um, you know, that, that was at a point where it was still very expensive to get

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videos done. But I was like, you know, I have a camera that does video. I am going to start making

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our videos, like our marketing videos for the company and, and I'll just bring it in. And so

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I had this nice wide lens that I could hold the camera myself and also hold. I was the model and

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the photographer. So I had on my left hand, I'm holding the camera and with my right hand, I'm

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like playing the game on the phone and I'm just extending my hand out outward. And the videos

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looked great because I had, you know, a fast aperture lens. And so it was, you know, nice,

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blurry background, my hands in focus, I'm playing the game. And so suddenly we had like the coolest

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marketing videos for our you know super indie video game company and the company i was in

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campbell at the time which is in silicon valley and like in santa clara and there were other other

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other startups in the same building as the building that we had our office in and they were like you

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make videos and i was like yes i guess i do because i have like 12 of them on youtube and they're like

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you know how to upload things to YouTube? That's how early it was. And I'm like, yep,

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I've been uploading our videos to YouTube. And, you know, I just started getting hired by the

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different companies there that also had other things going on. And I started investing in my

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gear. And yeah, and so I basically started my company 13 years ago. Like after that, after I

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realized I really liked it. I really liked editing. I really liked doing motion graphics.

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so I would do the whole thing

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I would take the video, I would edit the videos

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I would add the motion graphics

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I would sometimes do the voiceover

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if I needed a voiceover

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then I started getting tired of my voice

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not because I don't like my voice

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but because not everything should have my voice

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you know, not every video should

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sometimes it needs a deeper voice

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or a man's voice

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or other things

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so I started working with professionals

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and I couldn't quite be the animator

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that my mind's eye could envision.

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And so I started hiring animators to do the work.

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And I continued to do the storyboarding,

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actually, for Dirty Coin.

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I did the storyboarding for all the animations.

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But I hired a way better artist than me

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to do all the illustrations.

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And I hired a way better animator than me

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to animate everything for Dirty Coin.

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And so, yeah, so I started from, like,

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doing absolutely everything,

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from closing the client,

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coming up with the creative

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of what the video was going to be about.

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We were doing a lot of tech adoption,

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so I got really good really early

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at basically describing technology

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in a way that wasn't dumbing it down.

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I really feel like the difference from me and other people

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is that other filmmakers would see it as

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we need to dumb down the tech so people can get it.

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But for me, it was never about dumbing it down.

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It was about communicating it in a way

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that related to your audience in a way that they cared.

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and it's really not about dumbing it down.

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These people are smart.

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They're just maybe not technically savvy,

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but they are smart,

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and so you just need to meet your audience

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where they're at,

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and so I got really good at communicating

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how new tech works,

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and it was a huge part of the cloud adoption

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in Silicon Valley.

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I started getting some clients in cloud,

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and then that's when Google Cloud noticed my work,

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and I got recruited by them,

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and I worked for Google Cloud for five years,

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producing their videos, their tutorials, their commercials.

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But my favorite was always customer stories

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because that's where, you know,

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just how does one person use the tech

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was always so much more inspiring to me

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than how the world will change,

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how the billion users, it's like, wow,

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that's like so much to think about.

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I want to know how one person handles the tech.

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How does it affect one person's life?

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Because that is ultimately what we're talking about.

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then we can multiply that experience times a billion.

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But what does that experience even look like

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when we're saying that we're changing paradigms

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or disrupting?

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And what are we disrupting?

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And what does that look like?

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And so, yeah.

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And so that's why that was my passion work.

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And when I decided to leave Google in 2020,

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I finally left 2021.

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I knew that I had to,

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I had already done the coolest job I could ever have.

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So I was just going to have to fully go solo.

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and see if I could make it work.

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And four years later, I'm still paying the bills with my work.

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So, so far, so good.

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That's quite the story there, Alana,

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starting with photographs of your first child

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and then solo entrepreneur, solo filmmaker via Google.

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Love it.

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When did Bitcoin happen during this journey?

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well my daughter again actually i met her ballet class and my friend his daughter is also

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at the ballet class and this was the campbell community center and we would always hang out

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and talk and it was both of our jobs to leave our jobs early that week and take our daughters to

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ballet so we would sit together he was he was early facebook he was early to a lot of different

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companies. And he was just retired and investing at that point. And I, you know, I'm not an accredited

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investor. I did have a job. I still have to work my ass off, still do. But he and I thought very,

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very similarly. And I knew I wanted to invest as well. I already knew a lot of investors in Silicon

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Valley that had done well, obviously. They were in the right place at the right time. And they

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were visionaries. But anyway, I told him like, hey, whenever you come across something cool,

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like let me know I'm ready to invest like tell me I got some money set aside and I'm ready to invest

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and and so he was just not tell me he would invest in the weirdest stuff and one day he tells me like

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we're talking he's like Alana you have to put in as much money as you can lose into Bitcoin like

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today like right now like like just you're gonna go to this website and you are going to as much

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money as like it kind of hurts but you can lose it like it's like a weekend in Vegas you know you

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You spent it.

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You had fun.

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You felt it, but you're fine, you know?

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And I'm like, okay, all right.

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Well, at the time, Bitcoin was $200 each.

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And I was like, okay, I think that I can,

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we can buy three.

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You know, that's something that I can do.

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You know, because I was all talking about

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wanting to invest, right?

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I couldn't just invest 200 bucks.

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I was like, all right, I'm going to invest 600 bucks.

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And at the time, I was, you know,

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I've always been really good at making the money.

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and my husband has always been really good at administer,

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administrating the money at home.

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And so he's the one that, you know, I bring the money in,

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but he does all, like, he pays for everything.

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He knows what we're investing in.

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Like he the brains behind how that money gets used And so I and I love it that way He handles all the account stuff He does all that I just focus on you know putting it in the bank And so that

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good for me. And so I tell him, all right, we're going to buy three Bitcoin and we're going to use

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this website and the website. I don't recall the website at the time. I need to ask Brad again,

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and see which one it was.

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But it looks super janky, and we buy the Bitcoin,

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and Rustin gets the wallet.

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That's my husband.

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He gets the wallet.

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He does everything.

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I do the whole transaction with him.

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And then that's it.

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That's it.

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That happened.

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And this whole time, I'm thinking, well, we have three Bitcoin.

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We have it.

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We have it.

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I didn't think of buying more.

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I didn't really pay attention to the price or anything.

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I just knew that we had three Bitcoin.

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And so whenever there was news articles about Bitcoin, it always caught my attention because I thought that I had Bitcoin.

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And so one day I'm at Starbucks with my family and on the front page it says Bitcoin hits $10,000.

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And I'm like, holy crap.

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We have three of those.

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That's fantastic.

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We're rich.

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We have $30,000.

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And my husband looks at me and he says, well, actually, I sold those a long time ago.

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We don't have Bitcoin.

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And I'm like, wait, what?

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What do you mean?

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What do you mean we don't have Bitcoin?

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We have three Bitcoin.

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He's like, no, no, I sold all of it.

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I'm like, you're kidding me.

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Like, I'm literally, I just gained and lost $30,000 in like, you know, 20 seconds.

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So I was like, just my hormones, my adrenaline.

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I mean, it was, I was like, what are you talking about?

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When did you sell them?

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And he was like, well, you know, we bought them and then they went down and we were under

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for a while and that like he was following the price and so i believe that like it was i don't

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know almost a thousand or 800 bucks or something and then he sold all three of them and and that

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was my first lesson and like not your keys not your cheese you know like i and i was so mad at

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him for having done that because that for me was like really my hair brain like insistence in

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getting it and and so i'm like okay fine all right so we don't we don't how do we get it again

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um and at that point it was i well that that was that was a different rabbit hole because then it

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was really learning how to do it because it's like okay well then we started with robin hood

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to start building it up again and you know then i realized that what what what that really meant

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to buy it on robin hood and that we weren't really owning it uh i was really upset at my husband

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still for having you know sold the through bitcoin but then um because i think at that time

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we didn't even buy it like right away we took a while before we even started buying in again

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because i was like well whatever it peaked that's it that's the bubble it's just that 10 000 was it

233
00:14:36,712 --> 00:14:40,772
like we would have i would have probably cashed completely out at 10 000 i'll probably not i

234
00:14:40,772 --> 00:14:46,172
would have left one i would have probably just sold two um but then after the years and speaking

235
00:14:46,172 --> 00:14:51,192
to so many people that bought around the same time so many people lost their wallets or their

236
00:14:51,192 --> 00:14:52,972
passwords and they

237
00:14:52,972 --> 00:14:55,912
lost the computer

238
00:14:55,912 --> 00:14:57,872
or they sold the computer that had their Bitcoin.

239
00:14:58,072 --> 00:14:59,692
So in a way, I'm kind of impressed with my husband

240
00:14:59,692 --> 00:15:01,752
for still being able to sell it.

241
00:15:02,772 --> 00:15:04,092
So that's pretty good.

242
00:15:04,332 --> 00:15:06,112
And slowly we've been

243
00:15:06,112 --> 00:15:07,552
rebuilding and

244
00:15:07,552 --> 00:15:09,752
using and

245
00:15:09,752 --> 00:15:11,212
rebuilding and using.

246
00:15:11,652 --> 00:15:13,652
So it doesn't really grow

247
00:15:13,652 --> 00:15:15,232
and stay high for too long.

248
00:15:17,472 --> 00:15:19,072
That's great.

249
00:15:19,072 --> 00:15:21,392
And you mentioned your husband, Rustin.

250
00:15:21,752 --> 00:15:23,212
There's a funny story here, Alana.

251
00:15:24,092 --> 00:15:26,032
So maybe two or three weeks back,

252
00:15:26,752 --> 00:15:29,352
I was at Pub Key in New York for an event

253
00:15:29,352 --> 00:15:33,792
and a very well put together gentleman,

254
00:15:34,092 --> 00:15:35,292
and young looking, I should say,

255
00:15:35,672 --> 00:15:37,172
gentleman who happens to be my age,

256
00:15:37,272 --> 00:15:38,432
but that's a separate story,

257
00:15:38,792 --> 00:15:39,612
comes up to me and says,

258
00:15:39,692 --> 00:15:40,972
hey, you're Avi Burra, right?

259
00:15:41,032 --> 00:15:42,812
And I'm like, yeah, do we know each other?

260
00:15:43,132 --> 00:15:44,092
I'd completely forgotten.

261
00:15:44,512 --> 00:15:45,512
So that was Rustin.

262
00:15:45,892 --> 00:15:49,032
I had met him briefly at the Warsaw Film Fest.

263
00:15:49,072 --> 00:15:52,832
last year, right, when we all met.

264
00:15:53,392 --> 00:15:55,992
And he recognized me from there,

265
00:15:56,072 --> 00:15:57,652
and then I think he'd recently watched

266
00:15:57,652 --> 00:15:59,692
the pilot of my show, Finding Home.

267
00:15:59,732 --> 00:16:00,952
He said, you're the guy from the video

268
00:16:00,952 --> 00:16:02,992
who ate at the Somali restaurant, right?

269
00:16:03,232 --> 00:16:05,332
So we had a great conversation.

270
00:16:06,032 --> 00:16:07,712
We ended up leaving Papki

271
00:16:07,712 --> 00:16:10,372
and going for a cigar in Midtown.

272
00:16:10,492 --> 00:16:12,052
Had an absolutely lovely chat with him.

273
00:16:12,692 --> 00:16:13,392
Great guy.

274
00:16:13,392 --> 00:16:16,292
I did not know that he sold three Bitcoin

275
00:16:16,292 --> 00:16:17,932
at under 1,000.

276
00:16:17,932 --> 00:16:21,272
I would have given him a hard time at that cigar lounge.

277
00:16:21,832 --> 00:16:22,752
But yeah, that was fun.

278
00:16:23,432 --> 00:16:24,492
He would have laughed.

279
00:16:24,812 --> 00:16:26,552
He has heard that story for so long.

280
00:16:28,232 --> 00:16:33,732
Obviously, it's a story that comes up because it is my origin story with Bitcoin.

281
00:16:34,012 --> 00:16:35,332
That is what happened.

282
00:16:36,012 --> 00:16:38,372
But of course, he's just so tired of hearing it.

283
00:16:38,732 --> 00:16:42,732
He's like, oh my God, here's the story of me selling the Bitcoin again.

284
00:16:42,852 --> 00:16:43,752
And I'm like, well, whatever.

285
00:16:44,092 --> 00:16:45,332
We've also sold it.

286
00:16:45,332 --> 00:16:49,552
I mean, again, I feel like I would have probably lost the keys, to be honest, you know.

287
00:16:49,772 --> 00:16:51,232
So I don't know.

288
00:16:51,992 --> 00:16:53,852
Hindsight's always 20-20 as well.

289
00:16:54,212 --> 00:16:58,072
And because he was following the price, he was a little bit more in tune to that.

290
00:16:58,192 --> 00:17:03,672
But for me, I just thought like, because I remember my friend also said like, buy it and forget it.

291
00:17:03,712 --> 00:17:07,952
And it was almost like a hypnotic command because I like bought it and like forgot it.

292
00:17:08,012 --> 00:17:09,952
Like I didn't even think about the price or anything.

293
00:17:10,092 --> 00:17:13,912
I just would see articles and I would be like, yes, Bitcoin every once in a while.

294
00:17:13,912 --> 00:17:14,832
And that would be it.

295
00:17:15,332 --> 00:17:17,552
So, but yes, he's a wonderful guy.

296
00:17:18,472 --> 00:17:19,252
My husband.

297
00:17:19,412 --> 00:17:21,292
And the other guy who told me to buy Bitcoin too.

298
00:17:23,672 --> 00:17:24,152
Great.

299
00:17:24,392 --> 00:17:26,992
So you made your first Bitcoin movie.

300
00:17:27,332 --> 00:17:28,652
It was called Stranded, correct?

301
00:17:29,212 --> 00:17:30,732
What is the story behind it?

302
00:17:30,872 --> 00:17:32,292
That was before Dirty Coin.

303
00:17:33,492 --> 00:17:36,772
Yeah, so I was doing, I was working on Dirty Coin

304
00:17:36,772 --> 00:17:42,392
and I needed to release something

305
00:17:42,392 --> 00:17:43,732
that explained what I was doing

306
00:17:43,732 --> 00:17:47,132
because there were a couple of really key interviews that I wanted.

307
00:17:47,732 --> 00:17:50,532
And, you know, nobody knew me in the Bitcoin space at all.

308
00:17:51,392 --> 00:17:55,632
Like being in Bitcoin in Silicon Valley was kind of almost like a dirty word.

309
00:17:55,892 --> 00:17:57,912
It meant like you were on the Silk Road.

310
00:17:58,012 --> 00:17:59,132
You were probably buying drugs.

311
00:17:59,352 --> 00:18:04,432
You know, it was it was not really something that people would necessarily talk about too much.

312
00:18:05,292 --> 00:18:09,532
And and so I wasn't really a part of any kind of community or anything like that.

313
00:18:09,612 --> 00:18:12,652
I know at Google sometimes there would be like little Bitcoin meetups.

314
00:18:12,652 --> 00:18:14,232
And I'm like, what are they going to talk about?

315
00:18:15,012 --> 00:18:16,372
I never went.

316
00:18:16,772 --> 00:18:18,352
Well, I think maybe I went once.

317
00:18:18,992 --> 00:18:26,692
But, you know, it wasn't really something that I was, I had any kind of interest because I didn't think I was going to be, I didn't know you could code on Bitcoin.

318
00:18:26,832 --> 00:18:27,972
I didn't really know what it was.

319
00:18:27,992 --> 00:18:30,732
I just thought it was something that went up and down.

320
00:18:31,592 --> 00:18:39,732
It was just internet money, magic internet money that had an arbitrary price in dollars, you know, like it was, that's what I thought at the time.

321
00:18:39,732 --> 00:18:56,172
And so I decided to, I was actually going to work on a documentary called Deciphering Web 3 because I was already, you know, I knew what cloud did and I knew what the, or I was convinced at the time what the blockchain could do for technology.

322
00:18:56,172 --> 00:19:08,032
And so this is 2020 and I'm really plugged into everything that's going on with NFTs, with virtual real estate, with Ethereum.

323
00:19:09,012 --> 00:19:15,332
I see this whole thing blow up and I'm like, well, this is definitely not going to go away because this is a casino.

324
00:19:15,532 --> 00:19:19,352
This is a great way for people to rub two pennies together and get $100.

325
00:19:20,492 --> 00:19:26,092
And it's decentralized, so it's going to be really hard to put a stop to this.

326
00:19:26,172 --> 00:19:41,392
And, and so I was like, but what is it? And then everybody that the term what three was already starting to come up, like what was web three? And I'm like, well, deciphering web three, because I also was in Silicon Valley long enough to see the startup boom that occurred.

327
00:19:41,392 --> 00:19:47,152
that was this bubble of startups where basically anybody with any idea would get a crap ton of

328
00:19:47,152 --> 00:19:52,672
money. And, you know, I don't even know if people were expecting their money back. So that's,

329
00:19:53,072 --> 00:19:58,192
that's, I had seen that happen in Silicon Valley and I saw the same people just kind of move into

330
00:19:58,192 --> 00:20:07,812
crypto. And, and, and so I wanted to also kind of expose some of the areas where I also felt the

331
00:20:07,812 --> 00:20:14,732
hurt going back to that one person I felt the pain of somebody getting rugged you know I saw it

332
00:20:14,732 --> 00:20:22,092
with inside and people I saw it in my friends and you know guys don't get to get too upset right

333
00:20:22,092 --> 00:20:27,592
because they're a little bit better with risk but they're but they're still like losing this money

334
00:20:27,592 --> 00:20:31,752
and they're okay with like losing it and continuing to lose until they like figure it out and get it

335
00:20:31,752 --> 00:20:36,932
right but I feel like as a woman I was like when I would lose it I would be like what and it was a

336
00:20:36,932 --> 00:20:43,032
rug and what you're kidding me this is preposterous you can't do this it's illegal like I was like

337
00:20:43,032 --> 00:20:51,512
it's just so um but at the same time it was a it was it was a degeneracy that got me there to put

338
00:20:51,512 --> 00:20:55,592
the money in to begin with you know there wasn't this like this understanding of the technology and

339
00:20:55,592 --> 00:21:01,112
what it did or anything like that and and so that's when I started like just learning more about

340
00:21:01,112 --> 00:21:07,332
Bitcoin and kind of understanding the difference between like Bitcoin and crypto. And cause I was

341
00:21:07,332 --> 00:21:14,932
still, you know, 2020 for me, Bitcoin is crypto. It's just one kind of crypto. And in 2021, 2022,

342
00:21:14,932 --> 00:21:21,572
I start separating those. And so with Deciphering Web 3, I realized that I actually didn't want to

343
00:21:21,572 --> 00:21:25,672
give, I knew I wanted to make a short documentary because tech documentaries should be short.

344
00:21:25,672 --> 00:21:31,312
they should not be long and there's only so much air time that you have when you've decided that

345
00:21:31,312 --> 00:21:36,452
you're for sure going to make a short documentary and it's it's still long dirty coin is 69 minutes

346
00:21:36,452 --> 00:21:42,212
but it's still not like you know three hours it's just an hour and change and i knew that that was

347
00:21:42,212 --> 00:21:48,812
like the attention span of the of the person that i was making this film for and and so with this

348
00:21:48,812 --> 00:21:53,272
deciphering web 3 every time i would write kind of like what are what my minute breakdown was going

349
00:21:53,272 --> 00:21:59,112
to be. I was going to have to give so much airtime to so much crap. And one of the chapters was

350
00:21:59,112 --> 00:22:03,732
Bitcoin mining, like one of the chapters of deciphering Web3, because I knew that the whole

351
00:22:03,732 --> 00:22:11,832
Bitcoin mining FUD was BS. And so that was going to be one of my chapters. But in doing research for

352
00:22:11,832 --> 00:22:15,952
all the different chapters and interviewing different people, the people in Bitcoin mining

353
00:22:15,952 --> 00:22:22,852
and people in crypto and people in NFTs, I kind of preferred the conversations that I was having

354
00:22:22,852 --> 00:22:28,172
with the Bitcoin miners and the energy people because I spoke with everyone. I interviewed 78

355
00:22:28,172 --> 00:22:34,852
people on camera and off camera. Every day I would schedule meetings with people that were in the

356
00:22:34,852 --> 00:22:41,032
space, tangentially in the space, and just Zoom calls, Zoom calls, Zoom calls. And I appreciate

357
00:22:41,032 --> 00:22:47,932
absolutely everyone that took a meeting with me. And so kind of getting back to your question,

358
00:22:47,932 --> 00:22:51,432
So I decided to just hone in on Bitcoin mining.

359
00:22:51,652 --> 00:22:59,632
And I realized that there was this huge disconnect between the crypto community and the Bitcoin community about what was Bitcoin mining.

360
00:22:59,992 --> 00:23:03,232
And even the Bitcoiners didn't really understand what Bitcoin mining was.

361
00:23:03,312 --> 00:23:05,812
Now, I just happened to come from Google Cloud.

362
00:23:06,292 --> 00:23:08,952
So I 100% understand what a data center looks like.

363
00:23:08,992 --> 00:23:15,392
And I 100% understand the trajectory of the energy consumption of AI and data centers.

364
00:23:15,392 --> 00:23:38,204
And so I kind of got alarmed with the fact that because nobody really looking at Bitcoin and Bitcoin is this you know easy easy to attack vector then this is a great opportunity to introduce regulation that is going to basically regulate

365
00:23:38,204 --> 00:23:42,124
math. It's going to regulate computers. It's going to decide who gets an electron and who

366
00:23:42,124 --> 00:23:47,164
doesn't get an electron. And all of that is going, all of that can be introduced or could

367
00:23:47,164 --> 00:23:52,084
be introduced through handling Bitcoin. And of course we want to handle Bitcoin because Bitcoin

368
00:23:52,084 --> 00:23:57,564
is for criminals and Bitcoin is for money launderers. And if, and if Diamond was the

369
00:23:57,564 --> 00:24:02,124
president, he would shut it down because he doesn't at the time, right now he's obviously

370
00:24:02,124 --> 00:24:07,724
changed his tone. But at the time that's, that, that was the reputation of Bitcoin, that it was

371
00:24:07,724 --> 00:24:18,704
dirty, that it was something not virtuous, right? Now, 2025, that's going to sound funny to a lot

372
00:24:18,704 --> 00:24:25,544
of people because now it is what it is today. So nobody is disputing Bitcoin's value anymore,

373
00:24:25,724 --> 00:24:31,144
or at least nobody legitimate anyway that is paying attention is disputing the value anymore.

374
00:24:31,144 --> 00:24:38,764
but then the the the point of attack was you know we have a new crypto and it uses way less energy

375
00:24:38,764 --> 00:24:43,524
way greener than bitcoin because bitcoin is not green and so now you had all these other cryptos

376
00:24:43,524 --> 00:24:50,244
the cousins of bitcoin or that or the whatever their relatives for sure attacking bitcoin for

377
00:24:50,244 --> 00:24:55,604
its energy consumption and so whenever you would bring up bitcoin oh yeah i love bitcoin but it's

378
00:24:55,604 --> 00:24:59,104
so bad for the environment bitcoin is really cool but it's so bad for the environment have you heard

379
00:24:59,104 --> 00:25:06,144
of cardano or xrp and and then i was like you know what fuck any other argument that i wanted to make

380
00:25:06,144 --> 00:25:10,884
about nfts or anything there's like 30 million filmmakers creating documentaries right now about

381
00:25:10,884 --> 00:25:16,264
nfts there's 30 million filmmakers making documentaries about the blockchain all of these

382
00:25:16,264 --> 00:25:20,244
companies are making their own documentaries nobody's going to make a documentary about

383
00:25:20,244 --> 00:25:26,144
bitcoin mining and bitcoin mining is here getting attacked and a lot of other filmmakers have

384
00:25:26,144 --> 00:25:32,384
done chapters in their film or there is this machine greens which is a documentary a short

385
00:25:32,384 --> 00:25:37,924
documentary on bitcoin mining so it's not like nobody had done it but i also felt that a lot of

386
00:25:37,924 --> 00:25:46,004
these including this machine greens it kind of still pandered to this um idea sorry and i hate

387
00:25:46,004 --> 00:25:50,564
to say that it's very that sounds very critical but it is actually how why i felt compelled to

388
00:25:50,564 --> 00:25:58,144
make my own i did not want to greenwash bitcoin either because i knew and now i know and time will

389
00:25:58,144 --> 00:26:05,864
only prove us right that this whole green energy um movement was never green it was never green

390
00:26:05,864 --> 00:26:13,124
and those of us that kind of it's okay it's innovation it's science i mean it's a technology

391
00:26:13,124 --> 00:26:19,164
it's flat pack things out of china i mean who doesn't have things from ikea so i'm not i'm not

392
00:26:19,164 --> 00:26:24,264
disputing it as an industry completely because I would be a hypocrite because I still participate

393
00:26:24,264 --> 00:26:31,124
and in very non-green industries but I also don't want to hype it up as something that it isn't

394
00:26:31,124 --> 00:26:37,884
so I'm not going to vilify it but I'm also not going to you know hype it up and so I felt that

395
00:26:37,884 --> 00:26:43,304
some of the other documentaries they'd be like but bitcoin consumes so much green power green power

396
00:26:43,304 --> 00:26:48,304
look at all these solar fields look at them and it's like you know okay great that's fantastic

397
00:26:48,304 --> 00:26:51,804
You know, that's really awesome that you are consuming wasted energy.

398
00:26:51,924 --> 00:26:52,684
That's fantastic.

399
00:26:52,864 --> 00:26:57,444
And you can consume wasted energy that's also methane, and it's from a landfill,

400
00:26:57,704 --> 00:27:00,044
and you can consume it in a methane at an oil field.

401
00:27:00,464 --> 00:27:07,744
And you can consume a river that has a hydroelectric plant,

402
00:27:08,184 --> 00:27:10,044
and you can consume wasted energy there.

403
00:27:10,384 --> 00:27:13,764
You can consume all kinds of wasted energy,

404
00:27:13,764 --> 00:27:22,864
And that's really the thesis here is the fact that, you know, Bitcoin can't Bitcoin mining makes profitable, non profitable energy solutions.

405
00:27:23,184 --> 00:27:28,344
Number one, it helps stabilize and again, use it by consuming waste.

406
00:27:28,444 --> 00:27:33,464
It can stabilize the energy in the load and in an energy grid.

407
00:27:33,464 --> 00:27:41,504
And there's a lot of different use cases for how it actually changes and morphs depending on whether you're looking at Bitcoin mining in Texas on the grid.

408
00:27:41,504 --> 00:27:47,804
if you're looking at Bitcoin mining in Montana off-grid, if you're looking at Bitcoin mining in

409
00:27:47,804 --> 00:27:53,544
Kenya or in Malawi, or if you're looking at it in Paraguay with Itaipu, you know, or in Finland,

410
00:27:54,044 --> 00:27:59,444
it actually looks completely different. And it's always kind of filling and solving

411
00:27:59,444 --> 00:28:07,244
a problem. You know, either we need heat. Oh, we can create heat and we can take electricity there,

412
00:28:07,244 --> 00:28:12,124
but our heat doesn't get there oh well we can do that and so that's the and so for me i felt like

413
00:28:12,124 --> 00:28:19,804
i just wanted to drop everything and everything else from deciphering web3 only focus on dirty

414
00:28:19,804 --> 00:28:24,804
coin i knew that that was the reputation i knew that i would get oh and at the time there was this

415
00:28:24,804 --> 00:28:32,084
whole movement on cleaning up bitcoin and a clean up of bitcoin meant it you would only bitcoin's

416
00:28:32,084 --> 00:28:39,984
mind with quote unquote green energy would be like clean coins and only OFAC compliant wallets

417
00:28:39,984 --> 00:28:44,944
could transact. And that would be, that would clean up Bitcoin. But would that still be Bitcoin

418
00:28:44,944 --> 00:28:52,344
if you're deciding which energy is the righteous energy and, you know, which are the righteous

419
00:28:52,344 --> 00:28:59,884
people that can also use it? That's literally the antithesis of, of Bitcoin. And so in a way for me,

420
00:28:59,884 --> 00:29:05,444
you know when people say is it dirty or is it not i'm like well i mean there's so many definitions

421
00:29:05,444 --> 00:29:11,084
of dirty that that was one of the things that i wanted to play with but the when i looked at the

422
00:29:11,084 --> 00:29:16,564
alternatives of what it meant to clean up bitcoin i say keep bitcoin dirty you know keep it peer to

423
00:29:16,564 --> 00:29:24,344
peer keep it the the way that it was the why it was created and so and so for me obviously the name

424
00:29:24,344 --> 00:29:26,204
was very intellectual.

425
00:29:26,444 --> 00:29:27,784
I thought about it a lot.

426
00:29:28,324 --> 00:29:29,844
And also very clickbaiting.

427
00:29:29,964 --> 00:29:31,224
So I think it was, you know,

428
00:29:31,284 --> 00:29:32,644
it was an important name for me.

429
00:29:33,044 --> 00:29:35,024
But a lot of people didn't want to give me interviews

430
00:29:35,024 --> 00:29:36,904
because they thought that I was just going to,

431
00:29:37,024 --> 00:29:37,804
they didn't know me.

432
00:29:37,924 --> 00:29:41,484
They thought I was just going to bait and switch them.

433
00:29:41,744 --> 00:29:45,284
You know, I was going to use their interviews against them.

434
00:29:46,184 --> 00:29:50,224
And so I really stranded because there was all this,

435
00:29:50,344 --> 00:29:52,044
oh my God, there was even this rumor going around

436
00:29:52,044 --> 00:29:53,944
for a little while that I was a CIA agent

437
00:29:53,944 --> 00:30:01,784
And then I was just fighting out information, posing as a documentary person, because I worked on Dirty Corn for three years.

438
00:30:01,884 --> 00:30:07,764
So a lot of people, like they saw me in the space, they saw me poking around and they didn't like see much coming out.

439
00:30:08,284 --> 00:30:16,324
And so I was like, all right, I'm going to really strand it with what I have filmed so far so that I can get a couple of last interviews.

440
00:30:16,324 --> 00:30:23,824
And at that point, I already had Senator Lummis. I already had Jeff Booth. I already had like really powerful interviews.

441
00:30:23,944 --> 00:30:28,384
and so all I needed was just like a few more to round it out

442
00:30:28,384 --> 00:30:31,704
and so I decided to, I didn't want to do a teaser,

443
00:30:31,984 --> 00:30:33,624
I wanted to do a proper short film

444
00:30:33,624 --> 00:30:38,124
and kind of test the film festival circuit

445
00:30:38,124 --> 00:30:39,644
and see if they would like it

446
00:30:39,644 --> 00:30:41,724
because it was a long shot.

447
00:30:42,844 --> 00:30:44,924
I mean, I knew that, you know,

448
00:30:45,144 --> 00:30:47,964
already I hadn't received any grants for Dirty Coin.

449
00:30:49,404 --> 00:30:52,564
Nobody wanted to touch just because now 22 happens,

450
00:30:52,564 --> 00:31:00,904
2020, 23 happens, FTX happens, Luna happens. So suddenly crypto is imploding and I'm working on a

451
00:31:00,904 --> 00:31:05,964
crypto film, which is how everybody, everybody thought that I was doing. Nobody thought, no,

452
00:31:06,024 --> 00:31:09,924
she's not making a crypto film. She's making a Bitcoin mining film about the energy consumption.

453
00:31:09,924 --> 00:31:15,204
Like nobody knew that. So to this day I'll build, I'll get people like, oh yeah, you're the one with

454
00:31:15,204 --> 00:31:23,644
a crypto film and i'm like oh my god yes i guess but like no it's a it is literally about energy

455
00:31:23,644 --> 00:31:30,264
and the earth and data centers and it is so relevant that i can't even um i can't urge you

456
00:31:30,264 --> 00:31:35,644
enough to please watch it and and continue to understand that this is the way that the world

457
00:31:35,644 --> 00:31:41,404
is moving um it's yeah so then i really stranded and then the festivals loved it and it's still

458
00:31:41,404 --> 00:31:45,364
it's still winning awards it's still going to a lot of festivals i released that one

459
00:31:45,364 --> 00:31:52,984
in september of 23 dirty coin i released on the day of the having in warsaw you were there so epic

460
00:31:52,984 --> 00:32:03,404
and on 4 20 2024 and and yeah and since then we've been screening in cities all over the world

461
00:32:03,404 --> 00:32:11,204
at conferences at festivals at meetups we use a website called kinema that's phenomenal for

462
00:32:11,204 --> 00:32:17,024
independent filmmakers that want to make the film available, but also keep it secure. Um, but for

463
00:32:17,024 --> 00:32:21,964
screenings. And so people can just go up there and depending on the amount of people that are going to

464
00:32:21,964 --> 00:32:25,883
go to the screening, they can say, okay, 10 people, I'm going to invite 10 people over. It's a small

465
00:32:25,883 --> 00:32:30,764
meetup or it's a conference and we're going to have 2000 people that we want to be able to have

466
00:32:30,764 --> 00:32:37,444
see it. And so we'll, and then it's a sliding scale of price and it's all on industry standards.

467
00:32:37,444 --> 00:32:42,184
so where I would have probably done that with a distributor I can do that directly with people

468
00:32:42,184 --> 00:32:48,164
and I'm not having to give the distributor necessarily that percentage so there's a lot

469
00:32:48,164 --> 00:32:54,064
of really great tools out there I'm still deep in tech and not just in bitcoin mining and that's

470
00:32:54,064 --> 00:33:01,284
my background my friends my interest so I've been able to combine not just using bitcoin and raising

471
00:33:01,284 --> 00:33:06,704
bitcoin and paying you know people can pay in bitcoin they can do screenings we have people that

472
00:33:06,704 --> 00:33:11,304
do screenings in other parts of the world and they pay for their screening in bitcoin and it's much

473
00:33:11,304 --> 00:33:18,424
easier than you know wires or and having to explain what it is and honestly with a name like

474
00:33:18,424 --> 00:33:24,924
dirty coin it raises a bunch of flags we can't dirty coin can't even have a paypal account

475
00:33:24,924 --> 00:33:31,464
all the names like all the when i put in my name and the description of what the movie was

476
00:33:31,464 --> 00:33:37,064
it was like immediately it said you cannot create an account and it's like dirty coin a bitcoin

477
00:33:37,064 --> 00:33:43,383
mining documentary and we haven't been able to have paypal we had a bank that also they asked us

478
00:33:43,383 --> 00:33:49,224
a crap ton of questions before like way more than any a company i've opened up a lot of bank accounts

479
00:33:49,224 --> 00:33:54,624
for my businesses and uh or maybe not that many but enough and i've never gone through that kind

480
00:33:54,624 --> 00:33:59,383
of scrutiny and i know that it was because you know what is it it is a bitcoin mining documentary

481
00:33:59,383 --> 00:34:01,064
It's like flag, flag, flag.

482
00:34:02,383 --> 00:34:04,704
So it's been fun.

483
00:34:05,744 --> 00:34:06,064
Awesome.

484
00:34:06,524 --> 00:34:09,544
You know, I have another anecdote here, Alana,

485
00:34:09,684 --> 00:34:13,464
of how I first found out about you and about DirtyCoin.

486
00:34:13,664 --> 00:34:19,424
And we have to run the clock back to the fall of 2022.

487
00:34:20,564 --> 00:34:22,744
It is in a park in Amsterdam.

488
00:34:22,944 --> 00:34:25,284
Actually, let's rewind it a few hours earlier.

489
00:34:25,984 --> 00:34:27,104
It's earlier in the day.

490
00:34:27,104 --> 00:34:29,464
and I'm at Bitcoin Amsterdam,

491
00:34:29,664 --> 00:34:32,424
the inaugural Bitcoin Amsterdam in 2022.

492
00:34:33,504 --> 00:34:35,304
And this guy comes up to me.

493
00:34:35,684 --> 00:34:36,364
His name is Zasha.

494
00:34:36,984 --> 00:34:38,584
And we have a really nice chat.

495
00:34:39,404 --> 00:34:39,984
And he says,

496
00:34:40,264 --> 00:34:44,344
he takes this little token out of his pocket

497
00:34:44,344 --> 00:34:45,224
and he gives it to me.

498
00:34:45,264 --> 00:34:47,044
He says, you're a good guy.

499
00:34:47,044 --> 00:34:48,844
So I'm going to give you entry,

500
00:34:49,484 --> 00:34:52,424
free entry tonight to an exclusive VIP event

501
00:34:52,424 --> 00:34:56,764
I'm hosting at this exclusive again,

502
00:34:56,764 --> 00:35:04,004
nightclub called radio i think it's called radio radio in and it's in this beautiful park in in

503
00:35:04,004 --> 00:35:15,376
amsterdam he says you know i involved in bikon manning i doing these amazing things in paraguay and you know know I just inviting really cool people such as yourself to this I was like fantastic Hey someone thinks I a cool person

504
00:35:15,376 --> 00:35:17,196
and he's given me a secret handshake,

505
00:35:17,295 --> 00:35:18,755
this token that I can take with me.

506
00:35:19,595 --> 00:35:21,795
So I show up there that evening,

507
00:35:23,315 --> 00:35:28,436
dutifully handed my token and I'm ushered in.

508
00:35:28,815 --> 00:35:30,575
And then there are a few people in there already.

509
00:35:30,655 --> 00:35:32,135
Then the door slams shut.

510
00:35:32,356 --> 00:35:33,396
If I'm not mistaken,

511
00:35:33,396 --> 00:35:36,255
I might have heard even the latch close behind it.

512
00:35:36,255 --> 00:35:36,495
No.

513
00:35:37,856 --> 00:35:39,775
No, no, maybe I'm exaggerating here.

514
00:35:40,155 --> 00:35:41,815
But in any event, I'm in there,

515
00:35:41,876 --> 00:35:44,295
and then suddenly this lady gets up on stage,

516
00:35:44,635 --> 00:35:48,595
pulls down this screen and turns the projector on.

517
00:35:49,075 --> 00:35:50,135
And of course the lady is you.

518
00:35:51,495 --> 00:35:52,475
And I'm like, wait a second,

519
00:35:52,575 --> 00:35:55,175
I thought I was being invited to this really cool nightclub,

520
00:35:56,255 --> 00:35:58,055
you know, some exclusive event.

521
00:35:58,135 --> 00:35:59,235
Instead it's a film screening.

522
00:35:59,575 --> 00:36:00,575
And then you start talking,

523
00:36:00,575 --> 00:36:02,896
you start talking about the movie you're making.

524
00:36:02,896 --> 00:36:06,856
And I can't remember back then, Alana, if it was you were promoting Stranded or Dirty Coin.

525
00:36:06,916 --> 00:36:08,235
I suspect it was Dirty Coin.

526
00:36:08,916 --> 00:36:09,515
Yeah, Dirty Coin.

527
00:36:10,635 --> 00:36:11,135
Yeah, yeah.

528
00:36:11,196 --> 00:36:13,916
So it ended up being a really cool event.

529
00:36:14,456 --> 00:36:17,995
But I thought it was funny how the buildup to that happened.

530
00:36:18,055 --> 00:36:20,235
So that was the first time I heard about the movie.

531
00:36:20,775 --> 00:36:23,436
And I think we very – you probably won't remember this.

532
00:36:23,515 --> 00:36:25,916
We had maybe a three-second conversation saying, hey, cool movie.

533
00:36:26,295 --> 00:36:28,856
I want to watch – I'll keep an eye on this.

534
00:36:29,275 --> 00:36:29,715
That was that.

535
00:36:29,715 --> 00:36:33,975
I think we properly met at Warsaw last year at the Film Fest.

536
00:36:34,275 --> 00:36:37,315
Which, by the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this.

537
00:36:38,456 --> 00:36:45,575
Dirty Coin won the Best Picture Award at the Golden Rabbit, as they're called, at the Warsaw Film Fest.

538
00:36:46,055 --> 00:36:47,275
Yes, yes, yes.

539
00:36:47,396 --> 00:36:48,215
It was epic.

540
00:36:48,495 --> 00:36:49,235
It was so epic.

541
00:36:49,615 --> 00:36:53,995
I mean, the night of the screening there, it was full.

542
00:36:54,315 --> 00:36:56,115
It was like every chair was full.

543
00:36:56,235 --> 00:36:57,396
The stairs were full.

544
00:36:57,396 --> 00:37:06,155
um everybody was there watching it um it was a roaring applause after so for me it was

545
00:37:06,155 --> 00:37:13,335
like that night alone I just felt like so many years to get to that moment to

546
00:37:13,335 --> 00:37:23,456
figure like see what people will think and for it to be so like um just so roaring you know it was

547
00:37:23,456 --> 00:37:30,335
really awesome. Like that's it. That was like, okay. All right. I did. I, somebody liked it.

548
00:37:30,575 --> 00:37:36,715
Somebody liked it. And then, and then the next day, cause I didn't show it to anyone. I didn't

549
00:37:36,715 --> 00:37:42,755
even show it to any of my investors. That was super clear on my, on my contract. Like you're

550
00:37:42,755 --> 00:37:47,035
investing in this film and I'm going to make it and I'm going to try my hardest to do a really good

551
00:37:47,035 --> 00:37:55,396
job and but and i'm a bitcoiner but if i see something that isn't you know like i'll see i'll

552
00:37:55,396 --> 00:38:03,175
put what i see and if there's anything that leads me off course and actually bitcoin mining is the

553
00:38:03,175 --> 00:38:09,356
worst i will say it like i will i will put it i mean at this point i'm just investigating this

554
00:38:09,356 --> 00:38:16,235
thing and you know i'm i i see a positive which is why i'm going in but i'm not saying that it's

555
00:38:16,235 --> 00:38:22,775
gonna all be positive because i'm a realist and it isn't uh anyway so nobody had seen it and it

556
00:38:22,775 --> 00:38:28,376
was nice and then the next day to win best movie it was like ah and i knew that the the the judges

557
00:38:28,376 --> 00:38:34,356
actually if i'm not mistaken were you a judge for that one i was yes you were yeah so the judges

558
00:38:34,356 --> 00:38:42,515
were very esteemed and it was you i remember it was dj val it was also um this other producer out

559
00:38:42,515 --> 00:38:49,255
of LA Terrence Michael yeah so it was you know it was also Bitcoiners that I really respected and I

560
00:38:49,255 --> 00:38:53,475
know that you guys have seen everything in the space you know from a I knew you were you were

561
00:38:53,475 --> 00:39:01,376
very familiar with the like the the content in the space and so it was an additional kind of I

562
00:39:01,376 --> 00:39:06,396
knew that the audience liked it and then to know that the judges liked it as well was it felt good

563
00:39:06,396 --> 00:39:11,635
It felt like I did do something that, like I accomplished what I wanted.

564
00:39:12,035 --> 00:39:16,936
And that was just kind of like the beginning of honestly seeing it unfold.

565
00:39:17,095 --> 00:39:21,795
Because in the last year, we have screened in, we're already in five languages.

566
00:39:21,795 --> 00:39:23,856
We're translating into four more languages.

567
00:39:24,755 --> 00:39:28,075
We have confirmed screenings coming up.

568
00:39:28,155 --> 00:39:34,876
We have screenings that are in the process of being confirmed and tightened up with dates and stuff coming up.

569
00:39:34,876 --> 00:39:43,255
and this is basically to create something that was so needed in this space and that was why i

570
00:39:43,255 --> 00:39:49,315
did it i did it because i was like nobody else is going to do do it like this and not everybody's

571
00:39:49,315 --> 00:39:56,015
going to like it but the people that need to just talk about the energy consumption point foot point

572
00:39:56,015 --> 00:40:02,896
of bitcoin mining the the people that this is important for them they'll find it really like

573
00:40:02,896 --> 00:40:09,535
a really useful tool to be able to just kind of explain what this whole industry is in 69 minutes

574
00:40:09,535 --> 00:40:16,115
and it's something that has taken us that we've been in the industry for years and a lot of the

575
00:40:16,115 --> 00:40:20,235
people that are in bitcoin mining before they were in bitcoin mining they were in energy or they were

576
00:40:20,235 --> 00:40:26,255
in data centers so they have to suddenly explain to their friends or their family and in a

577
00:40:26,255 --> 00:40:31,976
conversation what they have seen in person what they have listened in podcasts what they have met

578
00:40:31,976 --> 00:40:38,195
other people doing you know there's it's hard it's really hard and so i'm really happy to have

579
00:40:38,195 --> 00:40:42,815
been able to create something that my mom went to see in the movie theater and i was totally

580
00:40:42,815 --> 00:40:47,635
expecting her to fall asleep and i even told her mom it's totally fine because she falls asleep

581
00:40:47,635 --> 00:40:53,615
during anything like we can go watch mission impossible and she'll fall asleep and and i knew

582
00:40:53,615 --> 00:40:58,195
that she was going to feel guilty that to fall asleep and i'm like i will not don't worry mom

583
00:40:58,195 --> 00:41:03,495
this is super technical and my mom is a very non-computer person too like you start talking

584
00:41:03,495 --> 00:41:09,835
to her about tech and she starts falling asleep like she is just not she's no not a tech person

585
00:41:09,835 --> 00:41:15,175
at all and and she was not just watching it i could tell she was actually engaged and i was like

586
00:41:15,175 --> 00:41:19,715
oh my god she's actually she's not just like trying to stay awake i can say i can see and

587
00:41:19,715 --> 00:41:25,055
then she was like when the credit started going she's like that's it it's over and i'm like oh my

588
00:41:25,055 --> 00:41:30,916
god you didn't fall asleep and you would have watched more that's crazy amazing so that was good

589
00:41:30,916 --> 00:41:39,095
how many hours of footage did you have for dirty god i mean you've shot this over three years

590
00:41:39,095 --> 00:41:44,575
almost right that's what you said yeah must have been hundreds of hours of footage hundreds of

591
00:41:44,575 --> 00:41:52,175
hours yes and 78 interviews so each interview was an average of 45 minutes some were longer

592
00:41:52,175 --> 00:41:55,615
like Alex Drew Vee that was a two hour interview actually three hour interview

593
00:41:55,615 --> 00:42:04,916
and there were a few people that were much longer and all of the b-roll and we also had additional

594
00:42:04,916 --> 00:42:11,876
animations that I had to cut out because we just didn't have the the budget to to do and I wanted

595
00:42:11,876 --> 00:42:19,936
I rather do less animations than more that are shittier and so I wanted the artists because we

596
00:42:19,936 --> 00:42:25,575
had a heart deadline of the premiere in warsaw so we had to finish the film i couldn't just keep

597
00:42:25,575 --> 00:42:32,195
working on it i knew that i had to give myself a deadline i work with deadlines and warsaw was

598
00:42:32,195 --> 00:42:38,695
the deadline and we actually finished it a couple days like before we asked ask tomek i sent him the

599
00:42:38,695 --> 00:42:46,456
file he was like i need dirty coin i'm like i need it too it's not dumb like i we're we're almost

600
00:42:46,456 --> 00:42:53,275
there and i was in poland already when i downloaded the final file and i arrived a couple days before

601
00:42:53,275 --> 00:42:59,815
so i think it was 418 and we premiered at 420 and they had terrible internet and their airbnb

602
00:42:59,815 --> 00:43:07,456
and i mean that was drama like that was drama we didn't even have it fully loaded and tested

603
00:43:07,456 --> 00:43:13,795
um for like like a few hours before we before we premiered it so that was

604
00:43:13,795 --> 00:43:19,876
Did that end up being the final, final version,

605
00:43:19,995 --> 00:43:21,175
or did you tweak it after that?

606
00:43:21,876 --> 00:43:24,396
No, I actually haven't tweaked it at all.

607
00:43:25,476 --> 00:43:28,595
The beginning, I have a new logo in the front

608
00:43:28,595 --> 00:43:32,135
because we had a production company called Four Emotions Entertainment.

609
00:43:32,515 --> 00:43:34,815
They're out of Zurich, Switzerland,

610
00:43:35,115 --> 00:43:38,416
and they're a production company, Indian-Swiss.

611
00:43:39,095 --> 00:43:40,775
And so actually now with them,

612
00:43:40,775 --> 00:43:42,396
we're going to be entering the Asian market,

613
00:43:42,396 --> 00:43:43,815
which I'm super excited about.

614
00:43:44,715 --> 00:43:46,235
I just needed to enter Asia.

615
00:43:46,396 --> 00:43:47,715
I know how big Asia is.

616
00:43:47,835 --> 00:43:48,715
It's very large.

617
00:43:48,815 --> 00:43:49,675
It's a huge market.

618
00:43:50,555 --> 00:43:51,876
And markets, many.

619
00:43:52,555 --> 00:43:54,715
And so I wanted to first do, like, this first year,

620
00:43:54,835 --> 00:43:58,215
just kind of get U.S. and Europe and America,

621
00:43:58,436 --> 00:43:59,936
like a little bit of South America, too,

622
00:44:00,275 --> 00:44:02,315
under our feet before we can get into Asia.

623
00:44:02,416 --> 00:44:03,896
But anyway, I put their logo in the front

624
00:44:03,896 --> 00:44:08,595
because they gave us a grant to market the P&A,

625
00:44:08,856 --> 00:44:10,315
the advertising of the film.

626
00:44:10,315 --> 00:44:13,015
and yeah, and that's it.

627
00:44:13,095 --> 00:44:15,015
And then I fixed some typos in the credits

628
00:44:15,015 --> 00:44:17,515
of some people's names that I wrote wrong.

629
00:44:17,956 --> 00:44:20,755
But I am currently working on a director's cut

630
00:44:20,755 --> 00:44:24,175
for Dirty Coin because currently in Dirty Coin

631
00:44:24,175 --> 00:44:25,535
in the Silk Road chapter,

632
00:44:26,275 --> 00:44:29,376
the very last sentence that Eric Dale says

633
00:44:29,376 --> 00:44:31,535
about Ross Ulbricht is,

634
00:44:31,956 --> 00:44:33,735
and he's committed to die in jail.

635
00:44:34,476 --> 00:44:36,715
And we end with his sentence.

636
00:44:37,155 --> 00:44:39,175
And as we know, Ross is free.

637
00:44:39,175 --> 00:44:48,095
and so that is an updated scene that i want to create and not only is he free i saw him at

638
00:44:48,095 --> 00:44:53,695
freedom fest i saw him at the bitcoin conference and i also saw him speak at freedom fest and he

639
00:44:53,695 --> 00:45:02,015
is really going for cruel sentencing and the status of the prisons in the united states

640
00:45:02,015 --> 00:45:08,235
the speech that I heard him give at Freedom Fest was heart-wrenching.

641
00:45:08,995 --> 00:45:16,535
And I feel like not just Ross, but the fact that we are the judicial system,

642
00:45:16,675 --> 00:45:22,916
the banking system, they're creating these exemplary kind of sentences

643
00:45:22,916 --> 00:45:27,835
so that other people don't want to innovate the same way that Ross did.

644
00:45:27,835 --> 00:45:29,396
And Ross is not the only one.

645
00:45:29,396 --> 00:45:37,675
There are other people that are currently being made examples of, and the conditions of our prisons are awful.

646
00:45:37,916 --> 00:45:42,155
So we are sentencing people to torture just so that we can set an example.

647
00:45:42,575 --> 00:45:45,976
And that is not the way that a high civilization operates.

648
00:45:46,655 --> 00:45:52,115
And so I do think it's time to raise the IQ, stop talking about wars, stop talking about all this BS,

649
00:45:52,115 --> 00:45:58,335
and actually act like the civilized society that we are, not funding these wars,

650
00:45:58,335 --> 00:46:04,555
making sure that our prisons, I mean, what are we doing, doing anything foreign when domestically there's, there are so many issues.

651
00:46:05,155 --> 00:46:08,376
And so I really appreciate where he's coming from.

652
00:46:08,675 --> 00:46:14,376
And, and that is something that not only do I want to say, do I want to give the update that he is out,

653
00:46:14,416 --> 00:46:23,555
I really want to kind of make a point of what's occurring right now and really shine a light at how these unjust,

654
00:46:23,555 --> 00:46:27,995
different lawsuits

655
00:46:27,995 --> 00:46:31,035
and even prison time for people

656
00:46:31,035 --> 00:46:33,275
is just not something

657
00:46:33,275 --> 00:46:34,675
that we should be able to accept

658
00:46:34,675 --> 00:46:37,175
in 2025.

659
00:46:38,175 --> 00:46:39,695
And so it's not going to be a long scene.

660
00:46:39,795 --> 00:46:40,715
It's going to be pretty short,

661
00:46:40,916 --> 00:46:42,175
but it's going to be basically

662
00:46:42,175 --> 00:46:42,876
Ross is free,

663
00:46:42,976 --> 00:46:44,255
and this is what he's up to.

664
00:46:45,295 --> 00:46:46,675
And this is what's happening.

665
00:46:47,135 --> 00:46:48,715
And Ross is not the only one

666
00:46:48,715 --> 00:46:49,916
that went through

667
00:46:49,916 --> 00:46:51,495
this kind of cruel sentencing.

668
00:46:52,447 --> 00:46:59,387
And we're going to highlight some of the other people that are, again, being made examples of and, you know, what people can do about it.

669
00:46:59,587 --> 00:47:04,727
And so I feel like that's something that Dirty Coin is worthy of a director's cut.

670
00:47:05,547 --> 00:47:11,227
And there's just a couple of interviews that I feel that are also that maybe belong.

671
00:47:11,327 --> 00:47:17,687
So there's a few technical things as well that I need to handle a couple of times where the volume is just every time it happens.

672
00:47:17,687 --> 00:47:25,207
I just want to like, like whatever I have in my hand is definitely being crushed in those different parts of the movie.

673
00:47:25,307 --> 00:47:27,807
So there's a couple of parts that really irk me that I just need to fix.

674
00:47:28,207 --> 00:47:32,467
And then this particular scene and then Dirty Coin will meet its final form.

675
00:47:32,667 --> 00:47:36,587
And then that is going to be what we're going to be selling in DVDs.

676
00:47:36,607 --> 00:47:38,107
We're going to we're going to have DVDs.

677
00:47:38,147 --> 00:47:40,607
I know a lot of Bitcoiners like to own their media.

678
00:47:41,247 --> 00:47:45,127
And so and not just Bitcoiners, but libraries and schools.

679
00:47:45,127 --> 00:47:47,987
and I have a phenomenal sales agent

680
00:47:47,987 --> 00:47:52,307
that he wants to get our DVDs across all the libraries

681
00:47:52,307 --> 00:47:53,887
that he can get us into.

682
00:47:54,667 --> 00:47:56,347
And libraries are still buying DVDs.

683
00:47:56,907 --> 00:47:59,487
And it's interesting to see that DVD sales

684
00:47:59,487 --> 00:48:00,567
are actually going up.

685
00:48:01,427 --> 00:48:03,707
So yeah, so I'm excited about that.

686
00:48:03,787 --> 00:48:05,527
I'm excited about getting the directors

687
00:48:05,527 --> 00:48:06,567
cut into the DVDs.

688
00:48:06,667 --> 00:48:08,567
And then we're also translating

689
00:48:08,567 --> 00:48:10,647
into the four additional films.

690
00:48:10,647 --> 00:48:13,307
And then we're going to go to TV markets in Asia

691
00:48:13,307 --> 00:48:15,047
and around the world.

692
00:48:15,127 --> 00:48:15,567
as well.

693
00:48:17,547 --> 00:48:18,167
Love it.

694
00:48:18,487 --> 00:48:18,787
Love it.

695
00:48:18,927 --> 00:48:20,347
Can't wait for the director's cut.

696
00:48:20,427 --> 00:48:21,527
Do you think it's going to be

697
00:48:21,527 --> 00:48:23,607
longer than 70 minutes

698
00:48:23,607 --> 00:48:24,747
or 69 minutes?

699
00:48:25,587 --> 00:48:26,507
Yeah, yeah.

700
00:48:26,907 --> 00:48:27,847
It's going to have to,

701
00:48:28,167 --> 00:48:29,327
I'm going to have to lose

702
00:48:29,327 --> 00:48:30,127
the cheeky joke

703
00:48:30,127 --> 00:48:31,727
that it's 69 minutes long.

704
00:48:33,207 --> 00:48:34,667
Yeah, but it's okay.

705
00:48:34,967 --> 00:48:35,787
It has to happen.

706
00:48:35,787 --> 00:48:37,387
It's still not going to be

707
00:48:37,387 --> 00:48:38,107
much longer.

708
00:48:38,367 --> 00:48:39,067
The new scene,

709
00:48:39,167 --> 00:48:40,147
I'd like to cap it

710
00:48:40,147 --> 00:48:40,987
at three minutes

711
00:48:40,987 --> 00:48:41,887
depending on,

712
00:48:42,567 --> 00:48:43,507
if we were to get

713
00:48:43,507 --> 00:48:44,907
an interview with Ross,

714
00:48:45,127 --> 00:48:50,927
then, you know, my heart will tell me how long it needs to be.

715
00:48:51,447 --> 00:48:54,987
But right now, I like the fact that when it ends,

716
00:48:55,107 --> 00:48:56,967
people feel like, oh, that's it.

717
00:48:57,727 --> 00:48:59,487
You know, you don't want them to get bored.

718
00:48:59,847 --> 00:49:01,387
You don't want them to be like, oh, finally.

719
00:49:02,327 --> 00:49:09,247
So I do want to keep that feeling of, wow, that's it.

720
00:49:09,947 --> 00:49:12,387
So I don't really want to extend it too much.

721
00:49:13,227 --> 00:49:14,027
Mm-hmm.

722
00:49:15,127 --> 00:49:34,307
Yeah, makes sense. And, you know, one other interesting thing about the movie itself is that you don't appear on camera at all, other than if I'm if memory serves right in a very brief, maybe two or three second shot in the Alex de Vries interview.

723
00:49:34,707 --> 00:49:38,147
Was that a conscious choice to keep yourself out of the camera?

724
00:49:38,147 --> 00:49:46,667
yes yes it's it's the way i've always made my documentaries i've never been in any of them

725
00:49:46,667 --> 00:49:53,627
i always just my my documentaries were always about the person that the documentary was about

726
00:49:53,627 --> 00:50:00,247
and sometimes you would hear my voice and especially because sometimes people would

727
00:50:00,247 --> 00:50:05,227
say something and i would say something as a response like let's say i'm interviewing you

728
00:50:05,227 --> 00:50:10,687
and the camera's on you. You're giving me an answer. And then you finish your answer. And then

729
00:50:10,687 --> 00:50:16,707
suddenly I say, wow, that's so cool. You're so amazing. And then you give me like the most

730
00:50:16,707 --> 00:50:22,527
genuine smile I've ever seen in my life. And it was those moments that I wouldn't cut my voice

731
00:50:22,527 --> 00:50:28,527
out because I wanted my audience to know what my subject was laughing at or why they were smiling

732
00:50:28,527 --> 00:50:33,887
so hard. Because usually when you compliment somebody, I mean, you just get this, when you

733
00:50:33,887 --> 00:50:39,767
genuinely compliment somebody, which I feel like I genuinely give compliments. I don't just tell,

734
00:50:39,867 --> 00:50:44,487
I don't, I don't just glaze just to glaze. It's like I, if I say something, I mean it.

735
00:50:44,807 --> 00:50:50,427
I'm a mother. So I also say like a mom, you know, I have that love that only a mom I feel can

736
00:50:50,427 --> 00:50:57,547
develop that tone of love and respect. And, and so I, I tend to give really good acknowledgements

737
00:50:57,547 --> 00:51:00,487
And I tend to get really beautiful smiles out of people after that.

738
00:51:01,507 --> 00:51:06,247
And that, and I like, again, I just like for my viewers to know,

739
00:51:06,387 --> 00:51:08,347
like why did they give me that beautiful smile?

740
00:51:08,427 --> 00:51:10,847
It's because they felt acknowledged.

741
00:51:11,027 --> 00:51:11,787
They felt seen.

742
00:51:12,187 --> 00:51:13,187
They felt heard.

743
00:51:13,867 --> 00:51:16,487
And it was the right thing to say.

744
00:51:17,047 --> 00:51:21,447
And so there's a couple times, like in the final, in the end of the film,

745
00:51:21,707 --> 00:51:26,067
I actually, in the end of Dirty Coin, the final scene currently is a moment like that

746
00:51:26,067 --> 00:51:27,007
where you can hear me.

747
00:51:27,547 --> 00:51:32,467
Um, and then you get to see art smile after, after I say what I say.

748
00:51:32,967 --> 00:51:39,487
And so I, I, that is how I kind of stand Lee myself in two things.

749
00:51:39,487 --> 00:51:42,227
You know, I, I, I, you see me in the back.

750
00:51:42,907 --> 00:51:48,247
Um, you often see my hands, especially with tech stuff, you know, you would see my hands

751
00:51:48,247 --> 00:51:49,007
doing things.

752
00:51:49,247 --> 00:51:54,547
But other than that, I just don't feel like, um, I don't feel like my space is in front

753
00:51:54,547 --> 00:51:55,047
of the camera.

754
00:51:55,047 --> 00:51:56,427
I feel like it's behind it.

755
00:51:56,847 --> 00:52:02,007
And if I'm in it, I'm too conscious of the fact that I'm in it.

756
00:52:02,547 --> 00:52:06,047
And when I'm not in it, it's not about me.

757
00:52:06,227 --> 00:52:09,127
It's not about, it's about what I see.

758
00:52:09,227 --> 00:52:11,187
Because I feel more like a quilter.

759
00:52:11,787 --> 00:52:13,987
Like a quilter doesn't make fabric.

760
00:52:14,187 --> 00:52:17,347
They don't make the patterns.

761
00:52:17,907 --> 00:52:19,187
But they choose the patterns.

762
00:52:19,187 --> 00:52:22,987
And they decide how they're going to quilt that pattern together.

763
00:52:22,987 --> 00:52:28,627
and so that's that's more how I see myself I don't feel like I am part of the fabric I feel

764
00:52:28,627 --> 00:52:35,247
like I am the quilter and I am choosing a little bit of this fabric and a little bit of that fabric

765
00:52:35,247 --> 00:52:41,547
and a little bit of this and then I'm creating a a cohesive design with all of these different

766
00:52:41,547 --> 00:52:49,967
fabrics um and that's my art piece that's me my me I am the quilt but I there's no particular

767
00:52:49,967 --> 00:52:55,747
but what's interesting is is really the fabric it starts with the fabric it starts with

768
00:52:55,747 --> 00:53:03,747
with that being being there um and and really all i'm doing is kind of assembling it in a way that

769
00:53:03,747 --> 00:53:11,307
becomes one thing that all these different uh pieces become one piece one cohesive piece

770
00:53:11,307 --> 00:53:19,647
um and so yeah and very little voiceover narration too i only have a joe nakamoto for

771
00:53:19,647 --> 00:53:27,907
like i think it's like 18 seconds i had a lot more vo but i just i i don't know i felt like

772
00:53:27,907 --> 00:53:32,787
the people i interviewed said everything so well that i mostly just wanted to weave their words

773
00:53:32,787 --> 00:53:39,807
together and and not lead people i feel like sometimes i watch documentaries and and this is

774
00:53:39,807 --> 00:53:47,207
mostly what I what I've been seeing a lot at different festivals it's it's a narrator and a

775
00:53:47,207 --> 00:53:53,007
bunch of b-roll and a couple of interviews and then just the narrator and for me it's like well

776
00:53:53,007 --> 00:53:59,267
at that point it's just kind of like it should be called this person's thoughts you know like

777
00:53:59,267 --> 00:54:05,387
this person's thoughts and that's fine like Anthony Bourdain's thoughts like they're it's okay to do

778
00:54:05,387 --> 00:54:12,507
that if that's the thing but for me the subject is what I want to highlight not what not my opinion

779
00:54:12,507 --> 00:54:19,787
about the subject not what I want to write about the subject is what is the subject and so in tech

780
00:54:19,787 --> 00:54:25,887
I always disliked the voiceover because it always sounded too like a commercial like the second that

781
00:54:25,887 --> 00:54:31,267
we didn't we would introduce a voiceover to any of our videos it would do so much worse it would

782
00:54:31,267 --> 00:54:36,547
perform way worse on YouTube. And, you know, at Google, we would drill everything. It wasn't just

783
00:54:36,547 --> 00:54:40,027
like, oh, we're done. That's it. Like we would be done. And then we would have to look at,

784
00:54:40,227 --> 00:54:45,787
we would have meetings with, uh, analytics teams, our marketing teams, and we would see

785
00:54:45,787 --> 00:54:52,147
which videos were performing the best. Uh, like we had it down and, you know, some things I wasn't

786
00:54:52,147 --> 00:54:58,087
agree. I wouldn't always agree with everything. You know, there were my favorite videos weren't

787
00:54:58,087 --> 00:55:02,247
always the ones that had the most views it was mine were kind of tended to be in the middle

788
00:55:02,247 --> 00:55:09,107
but you know that unilaterally it didn't matter how beautiful our video was like our cinematography

789
00:55:09,107 --> 00:55:16,787
and our color and our animation as soon as we would put vo we would get drop off and again it

790
00:55:16,787 --> 00:55:23,267
was google so it was different it was kind of like different but then any of our films like our short

791
00:55:23,267 --> 00:55:30,347
videos that short films that were just the subjects they always performed better and so

792
00:55:30,347 --> 00:55:36,627
and I always felt like I liked them better too and so with Dirty Coin um I it was really just

793
00:55:36,627 --> 00:55:40,787
kind of me doing what I've been doing for a long time which is I've I'm not in any of the

794
00:55:40,787 --> 00:55:45,207
of the things that I've produced again you might see my hands or you might see me in a background

795
00:55:45,207 --> 00:55:51,027
but unless you know me you wouldn't know that that's also me because I don't make it a point

796
00:55:51,027 --> 00:55:52,727
of like, this is the director.

797
00:55:53,587 --> 00:55:55,567
It's like, I'm just kind of in the background.

798
00:55:56,227 --> 00:55:57,627
But yeah, but if you know me,

799
00:55:57,727 --> 00:55:59,687
it's that Stanley moment where it's like,

800
00:55:59,747 --> 00:56:00,847
oh, hey, there she is.

801
00:56:03,347 --> 00:56:03,947
Love it.

802
00:56:05,847 --> 00:56:09,167
So Alana, you filmed 78 interviews, right?

803
00:56:09,247 --> 00:56:10,807
Presumably 78 people.

804
00:56:11,047 --> 00:56:14,187
You must have tried to get other interviews as well.

805
00:56:15,267 --> 00:56:18,947
Which of the interviews was the hardest yes

806
00:56:18,947 --> 00:56:20,487
to get a sit down?

807
00:56:20,487 --> 00:56:22,767
and which was the most surprising no?

808
00:56:26,047 --> 00:56:28,527
Hardest yes was Alex Debris.

809
00:56:29,667 --> 00:56:30,927
That was the hardest yes.

810
00:56:31,527 --> 00:56:33,287
Oh, and two of them.

811
00:56:33,467 --> 00:56:35,047
There was another one that was really hard.

812
00:56:36,427 --> 00:56:37,567
And he is Stephen.

813
00:56:39,667 --> 00:56:41,467
I can't believe I forget his last name.

814
00:56:41,727 --> 00:56:42,927
From Upstream Data.

815
00:56:44,387 --> 00:56:45,287
Steve Barber.

816
00:56:45,407 --> 00:56:45,987
Steve Barber.

817
00:56:46,067 --> 00:56:46,587
There it is.

818
00:56:46,767 --> 00:56:47,647
I knew I knew it.

819
00:56:47,647 --> 00:56:56,907
Steve Barber was very hard to nail down because he is very pro coal, you know, doing coal correctly.

820
00:56:57,787 --> 00:57:07,847
And he has basically done presentations on how coal in many ways is greener than solar.

821
00:57:08,687 --> 00:57:09,847
And so that's his whole thing.

822
00:57:09,947 --> 00:57:15,847
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but definitely it was a voice that I wanted to have because I didn't just, again, going back to,

823
00:57:15,847 --> 00:57:45,067
I didn't just want to pander to the green narrative. I wanted to really talk about what is most efficient, what is the best. And per situation, there isn't one size fits all when it comes to these solutions, which is why it's so important to have a true scientific and open mind about the energy conversation, because it might look better to have a particular solar in a particular area than something else.

824
00:57:45,067 --> 00:57:50,107
you know? And so that's why there's no good or bad. It's, you know, what, what is the most

825
00:57:50,107 --> 00:57:55,787
efficient in the particular place? And so I wanted to have Steve and Steve said no a bunch or just

826
00:57:55,787 --> 00:58:01,107
didn't get back to me. And then, and I was able to get him and then same with Alex. I would say

827
00:58:01,107 --> 00:58:10,647
the most surprising no was, um, Adam back because I, I built almost like a whole chapter around

828
00:58:10,647 --> 00:58:12,747
proof of work and

829
00:58:12,747 --> 00:58:14,327
you know how

830
00:58:14,327 --> 00:58:16,827
the history of it because I also

831
00:58:16,827 --> 00:58:18,567
wanted to make a point that proof of work

832
00:58:18,567 --> 00:58:19,887
wasn't invented

833
00:58:19,887 --> 00:58:22,627
for dirty coin for bitcoin

834
00:58:22,627 --> 00:58:24,787
it was why did it come

835
00:58:24,787 --> 00:58:26,827
up you know and I went into the history

836
00:58:26,827 --> 00:58:28,687
of it and there was this whole chapter that I was

837
00:58:28,687 --> 00:58:43,019
going to make and Adam was going to tie it all together and I knew so many people that knew him that I just kind of thought that it was in the bag I was like yeah And then I going to interview Adam and then we going to you know he going to talk about this part and then he going to talk about this part and like

838
00:58:43,019 --> 00:58:49,239
early proof of work and why did he make it? And like, who else was using it? Was it just Bitcoin

839
00:58:49,239 --> 00:58:55,619
or like, how did it catch on? Like I had this whole kind of a timeline situation there. And then,

840
00:58:55,619 --> 00:59:01,899
and then yeah he just kept saying no a couple of people asked him too on my behalf and because I was

841
00:59:01,899 --> 00:59:09,039
so I was so like positive that he was eventually gonna say yes and no he never I mean I respect him

842
00:59:09,039 --> 00:59:16,119
he just stayed with no and no meant no and so yeah I mean it kind of sucks because it's like I feel

843
00:59:16,119 --> 00:59:21,519
like I would have his chapter would have been like so dope and it would have been like really so great

844
00:59:21,519 --> 00:59:28,799
But since I also didn't have his interview, it didn't like the whole chapter fell apart and we had a little animated scene.

845
00:59:28,799 --> 00:59:32,959
And then but the scene didn't quite fit in between anything in the film.

846
00:59:32,959 --> 00:59:37,219
And so that was one of the animations that we decided that that whole chapter I decided to cut.

847
00:59:37,339 --> 00:59:42,759
I was a darling that I was like, well, you don't miss it if you don't see it.

848
00:59:43,199 --> 00:59:49,879
So I'm just not going to put it in and we're just going to focus on energy and not not really tackle proof of work.

849
00:59:49,879 --> 00:59:52,519
But it would have been cool to get into that chapter.

850
00:59:54,439 --> 00:59:57,699
But other documentaries have definitely done that one.

851
00:59:58,019 --> 01:00:01,499
So it's not like it needs, if I don't do it, it's not going to get done.

852
01:00:01,679 --> 01:00:04,399
It has been done, and I'm sure it'll get done again.

853
01:00:05,379 --> 01:00:05,979
So no biggie.

854
01:00:06,579 --> 01:00:12,539
That is odd, because he spent a lot of time with Money Electric, that HBO movie.

855
01:00:13,439 --> 01:00:15,879
The one that, I can't remember the name of the director,

856
01:00:15,879 --> 01:00:21,779
but it claimed that Peter Todd was Satoshi, that one.

857
01:00:22,299 --> 01:00:27,579
And Adaback had a lot of time on camera there.

858
01:00:27,799 --> 01:00:32,539
And I dare say in a far inferior movie, Alana, Two Dirty Coins.

859
01:00:32,799 --> 01:00:35,419
So it is odd.

860
01:00:36,659 --> 01:00:39,479
Yeah, but nobody knew what I was going to do.

861
01:00:39,799 --> 01:00:44,139
He didn't know me and he didn't know what I was doing.

862
01:00:44,139 --> 01:00:49,299
and he was, he has given interviews to a lot of people. Like I see him on a lot of videos

863
01:00:49,299 --> 01:00:54,639
of different YouTubers and stuff. And I'm like, wow. Okay. So I don't know. Maybe I said something

864
01:00:54,639 --> 01:01:00,779
once that also, maybe it was me. I don't know. I don't know. There's so many. So I'm very honest.

865
01:01:00,779 --> 01:01:07,999
I don't, I don't have a very big filter. So it is possible like that I, you know,

866
01:01:08,259 --> 01:01:12,399
overstepped at some point and said something on Twitter. I don't know. Honestly, nowadays,

867
01:01:12,399 --> 01:01:18,379
who knows it could be anything and like i said there was a cia rumor and i was like what you look

868
01:01:18,379 --> 01:01:25,479
at my work you look at my life how could i ever be an agent but okay um i it was it was funny but i

869
01:01:25,479 --> 01:01:31,919
don't know how far that went you know i don't know who was actually saying that so i understand to be

870
01:01:31,919 --> 01:01:32,939
cautious is fine

871
01:01:32,939 --> 01:01:37,839
no heart no no bad blood

872
01:01:37,839 --> 01:01:39,739
yeah well

873
01:01:39,739 --> 01:01:41,039
we never know

874
01:01:41,039 --> 01:01:43,899
what the reason could be but it is

875
01:01:43,899 --> 01:01:45,379
odd in my mind

876
01:01:45,379 --> 01:01:47,779
Alana let's talk about

877
01:01:47,779 --> 01:01:49,859
independent film but maybe

878
01:01:49,859 --> 01:01:51,739
more narrowly Bitcoin

879
01:01:51,739 --> 01:01:53,719
and independent film obviously Dirty Coin

880
01:01:53,719 --> 01:01:55,879
was perhaps the first of its

881
01:01:55,879 --> 01:01:57,479
kind which

882
01:01:57,479 --> 01:01:59,719
you know you laying out things the way you did

883
01:01:59,719 --> 01:02:01,839
certainly when you started filming it must have been

884
01:02:01,839 --> 01:02:02,839
the first of its kind, right?

885
01:02:03,519 --> 01:02:07,519
And you explain the different concepts

886
01:02:07,519 --> 01:02:09,979
about Bitcoin, about mining and so on

887
01:02:09,979 --> 01:02:13,599
as you let these people tell their stories.

888
01:02:14,919 --> 01:02:18,779
What do you think the current landscape

889
01:02:18,779 --> 01:02:20,859
of independent film in Bitcoin,

890
01:02:20,899 --> 01:02:22,519
I mean, it's all independent, right?

891
01:02:22,899 --> 01:02:25,419
But a Bitcoin film looks like,

892
01:02:25,919 --> 01:02:27,839
it seems like a lot of other films

893
01:02:27,839 --> 01:02:29,439
are taking this track where

894
01:02:29,439 --> 01:02:31,719
you go through this process

895
01:02:31,719 --> 01:02:35,959
through animations you explain you know the difficulty adjustment or you explain blocks

896
01:02:35,959 --> 01:02:40,279
and all of that and then you have people telling stories what are you seeing

897
01:02:40,279 --> 01:02:47,579
well i think that we're going to see a lot more filmmakers as we as we get more filmmakers into

898
01:02:47,579 --> 01:02:53,339
bitcoin we're going to see a lot more movies about bitcoin in different ways and because you know

899
01:02:53,339 --> 01:02:58,399
when you're a hammer everything is a nail and if you're as we get more filmmakers and we're all

900
01:02:58,399 --> 01:03:03,599
going to want to make our film you know the film that that we think is missing in bitcoin and

901
01:03:03,599 --> 01:03:12,739
frankly there's many you know there's there's i i personally i want to work more in bitcoin fiction

902
01:03:12,739 --> 01:03:18,399
but more like fiction that has bitcoin as an element i think that that's really where where

903
01:03:18,399 --> 01:03:24,199
we want to do product placement it's not necessarily about the whole like i don't know

904
01:03:24,199 --> 01:03:30,399
For me, I would do a Dirty Coin 2 in eight years or something when it's two halvings later.

905
01:03:31,219 --> 01:03:32,839
How has the industry changed?

906
01:03:33,019 --> 01:03:34,099
How is it different?

907
01:03:34,239 --> 01:03:35,219
Who are the players now?

908
01:03:36,159 --> 01:03:37,659
That's when I would do a Dirty Coin 2.

909
01:03:37,779 --> 01:03:39,739
I'm not chasing it right now.

910
01:03:40,079 --> 01:03:44,079
I'm going to let the industry do what it does and the network do what it does.

911
01:03:44,779 --> 01:03:48,219
And then we'll see what it looks like in a decade.

912
01:03:48,639 --> 01:03:52,019
And if I'm around, then I think that that would be lovely to do.

913
01:03:52,019 --> 01:04:00,279
but for the moment i think that as we see more filmmakers a um i i suppose it's a matter of also

914
01:04:00,279 --> 01:04:07,339
kind of dividing content creators from filmmakers and the reason why the like even though it's an

915
01:04:07,339 --> 01:04:13,259
mp4 at the end of the day they're both mp4s and i have seen some incredible work on youtube so it

916
01:04:13,259 --> 01:04:20,519
is no knock at all so the quality even there's some bad quality movies that that are still movies

917
01:04:20,519 --> 01:04:24,359
you know and you can have a great quality youtube video but it's still a youtube video and

918
01:04:24,359 --> 01:04:30,039
and the reason why the distinction and and again you could even make more money off your youtube ad

919
01:04:30,039 --> 01:04:35,119
on youtube so it's not even like a financial thing one's better than the other it's just two

920
01:04:35,119 --> 01:04:42,699
completely different industries youtube or social media you have to you know it is it you have to

921
01:04:42,699 --> 01:04:48,059
publish a lot you have to publish quickly you have to if you know you're you're playing a a

922
01:04:48,059 --> 01:04:49,439
a constant numbers game.

923
01:04:49,539 --> 01:04:51,519
You can't just put up one video and,

924
01:04:51,519 --> 01:04:52,939
and ride it forever.

925
01:04:53,119 --> 01:04:53,339
You know,

926
01:04:53,339 --> 01:04:55,739
you have to continue to put up more content.

927
01:04:55,839 --> 01:04:58,939
You need to continuously be active on the platform because that is the way

928
01:04:58,939 --> 01:05:00,519
that those platforms are designed.

929
01:05:01,259 --> 01:05:02,419
But a film,

930
01:05:02,799 --> 01:05:03,119
you know,

931
01:05:03,219 --> 01:05:03,699
I finished,

932
01:05:03,699 --> 01:05:05,859
I exported dirty coin for 18,

933
01:05:06,179 --> 01:05:06,579
you know,

934
01:05:06,659 --> 01:05:07,039
2024.

935
01:05:07,639 --> 01:05:11,899
And we've continued to really build a movement around one film.

936
01:05:12,479 --> 01:05:16,799
And I feel like that's a major difference between the film industry and,

937
01:05:16,799 --> 01:05:17,699
and,

938
01:05:17,699 --> 01:05:24,439
content creators because a film, a filmmaker creates, you know, one film and they're touring

939
01:05:24,439 --> 01:05:28,999
the world with it. They're doing festivals. They're going to markets, you know, then they

940
01:05:28,999 --> 01:05:32,699
make another one. Then they make another one. Then they take all three of their films to the

941
01:05:32,699 --> 01:05:36,579
festivals and the markets. And then they have their library. Now they have their five films.

942
01:05:36,759 --> 01:05:43,559
And, you know, but the, the lifespan of a film of one film, like dirty coin in 20 years can still

943
01:05:43,559 --> 01:05:49,179
make me and will still make me money. You know, it's the same movie and it'll still be in festivals

944
01:05:49,179 --> 01:05:53,999
that are like oldies, you know, like oldie tech docs, you know, in San Francisco or something,

945
01:05:54,099 --> 01:06:00,519
and it'll be DirtyCoin. And unfortunately it won't be a better YouTube video. There might be like a

946
01:06:00,519 --> 01:06:06,019
YouTube, just because it's a different industry. It'll, it's not, it's not going to pop up. And,

947
01:06:06,099 --> 01:06:09,519
you know, I say this, of course, anybody building a festival can do whatever they want and they can

948
01:06:09,519 --> 01:06:16,439
queue up whatever they want. But ultimately there is a very large division between the social media

949
01:06:16,439 --> 01:06:22,319
industry and the filmmaking industry. And I can tell you as somebody that was deep in the social

950
01:06:22,319 --> 01:06:26,919
media industry, working directly with YouTube, directly with Facebook, within both of these

951
01:06:26,919 --> 01:06:36,299
companies, um, it is a different beast, you know, it's in order to, to be a successful producer for

952
01:06:36,299 --> 01:06:43,479
a producer that produces videos for social media, it is, it looks very differently than a successful

953
01:06:43,479 --> 01:06:47,899
film producer because you're going to different conferences, you're going to different events,

954
01:06:48,039 --> 01:06:53,799
you're going to, like your life's, even though again, at the end of the day, you're raising funds,

955
01:06:53,879 --> 01:06:57,859
however you're raising funds and you're making a film and you're exporting it as an MP4,

956
01:06:58,119 --> 01:07:04,139
where you take it and how you move it is completely different than social media.

957
01:07:04,139 --> 01:07:09,939
and and so when I and I and I say about making that division because I believe that social media

958
01:07:09,939 --> 01:07:17,199
is fine these guys are amazing and ladies there's a lot of great content that's popping up daily

959
01:07:17,199 --> 01:07:25,159
they are totally doing the social media game there you have Isabel Santos you have a bit

960
01:07:25,159 --> 01:07:32,259
finance you have bit finance I always get confused with his name you have obviously Joe Nakamoto you

961
01:07:32,259 --> 01:07:41,199
have a lot of, and actually in DirtyCoin, I have a nod to the YouTubers. And I put their, you know,

962
01:07:41,199 --> 01:07:44,879
they gave me their B-roll and I put up their channel so people can continue to look them up

963
01:07:44,879 --> 01:07:50,019
because there are some really great creators out there that are, you know, they're getting out

964
01:07:50,019 --> 01:07:54,959
there, they're creating great content. They're putting up their QR codes. They're using lightning.

965
01:07:55,239 --> 01:08:01,139
They're showing how to use lightning. I mean, they can be faster to respond to things because they

966
01:08:01,139 --> 01:08:07,619
also don't have just the one film or two or three or four that they're, you know, they're working on.

967
01:08:08,279 --> 01:08:15,259
With the videos, they're much quicker. So I think that on the content side, I think that we're good

968
01:08:15,259 --> 01:08:19,919
and it's only going to get better and worse because of AI creators. Again, better and worse

969
01:08:19,919 --> 01:08:28,559
even with AI creators. But on the film side, we're going to need more producers and we're going to,

970
01:08:28,559 --> 01:08:55,599
I mean, I'm definitely going to produce more films, not just of mine, but of other people that are, you know, that see not just Bitcoin, but like values that, you know, you look at Angel Studios and Angel really nailed it because their family content was just kind of starting to become a grooming content so that you're fine with the gay shit that you're going to encounter when you're an adult because everyone is gay now.

971
01:08:55,599 --> 01:08:59,559
It's like, well, I don't really want to have that conversation with my kids yet.

972
01:08:59,659 --> 01:09:02,919
You know, like there's just certain things that I just don't want.

973
01:09:02,979 --> 01:09:05,319
I don't want to like any kind of sexual anything, honestly.

974
01:09:05,459 --> 01:09:07,519
Like I have a 10 year old and a six year old.

975
01:09:07,599 --> 01:09:10,239
So certain conversations are questions that come up.

976
01:09:10,259 --> 01:09:13,439
It's like as a parent, I get to choose when I want to have them.

977
01:09:13,439 --> 01:09:19,999
And Disney, we don't even have Disney Plus because we just kind of feel like it's like this grooming platform.

978
01:09:20,439 --> 01:09:22,319
And so Angel Studios comes in.

979
01:09:22,319 --> 01:09:25,459
They have Tuttle Twins, for example, which is such a cool show.

980
01:09:25,599 --> 01:09:26,099
like I,

981
01:09:26,219 --> 01:09:27,559
everybody in my family loves it.

982
01:09:27,639 --> 01:09:28,119
My husband,

983
01:09:28,319 --> 01:09:28,499
me,

984
01:09:28,599 --> 01:09:29,419
my 17 year old,

985
01:09:29,499 --> 01:09:30,079
my 10 year old,

986
01:09:30,139 --> 01:09:30,699
my six year old,

987
01:09:30,719 --> 01:09:31,259
we love it.

988
01:09:31,859 --> 01:09:34,199
And so angel studios has really cornered this market,

989
01:09:34,199 --> 01:09:38,519
but it's also very Christian and not the title twins.

990
01:09:38,599 --> 01:09:39,099
The title twins,

991
01:09:39,159 --> 01:09:40,339
I would say is not very Christian,

992
01:09:40,339 --> 01:09:44,859
but the rest of their content is very Christian and that's fine.

993
01:09:44,859 --> 01:09:49,139
But I feel like I kind of stand in a middle ground where I'm like in no man's

994
01:09:49,139 --> 01:09:50,199
land where I don't,

995
01:09:50,239 --> 01:09:51,439
I'm not personally Christian,

996
01:09:51,739 --> 01:09:54,419
totally respect Christianity and religion,

997
01:09:54,419 --> 01:09:55,539
but I'm not Christian.

998
01:09:55,599 --> 01:09:58,799
and I love a lot of their Christian films by the way.

999
01:09:58,799 --> 01:10:00,679
I'm just not always in the mood for a Christian film

1000
01:10:00,679 --> 01:10:05,499
and or any kind of religious film for that matter

1001
01:10:05,499 --> 01:10:08,139
because I also like religious films

1002
01:10:08,139 --> 01:10:09,479
of other religions as well

1003
01:10:09,479 --> 01:10:11,179
just to kind of see what's going on there.

1004
01:10:11,779 --> 01:10:27,671
But mostly I just like good stories you know and sometimes a good story that person Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Scientologists or whatever they are and that just kind of part of the story but it not it not really the purpose it not really why i there just like again like with bitcoin i

1005
01:10:27,671 --> 01:10:31,711
don't want to make a movie that's a big and then about bitcoin just bitcoin is a tool it's something

1006
01:10:31,711 --> 01:10:35,871
that gets used it's something that's in the background ultimately people come for the story

1007
01:10:35,871 --> 01:10:43,131
what's the story that's the thing that we all need to be really focused on and and so i think

1008
01:10:43,131 --> 01:10:47,491
that the future for Bitcoin films is there's, there's going to be a couple of different things

1009
01:10:47,491 --> 01:10:53,591
when it comes to Bitcoin films. Um, as a company, I'm not going to stop accepting Bitcoin. You know,

1010
01:10:53,611 --> 01:10:58,471
even if my content has nothing to do with Bitcoin, we will continue to accept Bitcoin.

1011
01:10:58,471 --> 01:11:04,531
We will continue to hold Bitcoin. We will continue to, um, do licensing around the world

1012
01:11:04,531 --> 01:11:11,891
and continue to license the film as Bitcoin being a way that a payment, a form of payment.

1013
01:11:11,891 --> 01:11:18,731
so you can be a production company that integrates bitcoin without having to have

1014
01:11:18,731 --> 01:11:24,731
any kind of bitcoin content and i think that every single production company in the world

1015
01:11:24,731 --> 01:11:30,191
should start keeping looking at what other companies are doing and do the same have a

1016
01:11:30,191 --> 01:11:36,271
bitcoin treasury have a you know do whatever you can to to incorporate bitcoin as a medium of

1017
01:11:36,271 --> 01:11:42,991
exchange in your company. So that's, I see that happening probably faster than a bunch of Bitcoin

1018
01:11:42,991 --> 01:11:48,831
movies. But I think that as Bitcoiners come in and they even, or people that just start using

1019
01:11:48,831 --> 01:11:54,551
Bitcoin and become unofficially Bitcoiners, not necessarily in the culture or the conferences

1020
01:11:54,551 --> 01:11:59,271
and stuff, but just Bitcoin users, ultimately the Bitcoin constant is going to follow.

1021
01:12:00,191 --> 01:12:05,091
And so I see it as an inevitable. And it's really right now, just a matter of like who figured it

1022
01:12:05,091 --> 01:12:11,791
out first and, and, and that's it. I mean, it's, it's, it's just not a lot of people in tech and

1023
01:12:11,791 --> 01:12:16,911
film, um, except, you know, people like me that are from Silicon Valley, there's definitely enough.

1024
01:12:17,051 --> 01:12:22,111
There's a lot of us, but we're, we're the nerds. Like we're the ones that happen to come from

1025
01:12:22,111 --> 01:12:27,411
Silicon Valley. We're the ones that happened to, you know, or, or, or, or similar, similar place.

1026
01:12:28,131 --> 01:12:33,151
So yeah, it's just going to take a little while for, for non-nerds to catch up, but they will,

1027
01:12:33,151 --> 01:12:36,791
and they're going to have, they're going to be really good on other, about other things, like

1028
01:12:36,791 --> 01:12:41,631
probably better business minded even than us. And they're going to kill it. So I think it's going to

1029
01:12:41,631 --> 01:12:49,611
be, I think it's fun. It's, it's super fun. Bitcoin doesn't sponsor events like con. So I do also,

1030
01:12:49,611 --> 01:12:54,731
I have met a lot of filmmakers that are completely, were completely burnt by some film three bullshit.

1031
01:12:55,331 --> 01:12:59,271
And so when they tell me like, do you have an NFT project? Well, I'm like, I don't.

1032
01:12:59,271 --> 01:13:07,451
um but i did bill in bitcoin so i just stuck sats and i i you know crowdfunded in bitcoin

1033
01:13:07,451 --> 01:13:15,551
from eighteen thousand dollars up and this last time this last 18 and you know paid for my cruise

1034
01:13:15,551 --> 01:13:23,491
in bitcoin it paid for travel in bitcoin i mean i was able to uh really have a leg up over fiat

1035
01:13:23,491 --> 01:13:39,511
And definitely over having to convert a bunch of people to some unknown coin so that they can buy the coin, so that they can buy my token, so that they can then buy my thing, so that they can put it in a wallet, so that one day they can sell the thing for the coin.

1036
01:13:39,751 --> 01:13:41,211
No, just give me the Bitcoin.

1037
01:13:41,411 --> 01:13:49,331
Let's just avoid five steps here and just, you know, I'll take the sats.

1038
01:13:49,971 --> 01:13:52,491
And I would say that that was a good call on my end.

1039
01:13:53,491 --> 01:13:54,151
at that point.

1040
01:13:54,151 --> 01:13:57,271
And I didn't know if it was for me,

1041
01:13:57,291 --> 01:13:58,631
I was just simplifying my life.

1042
01:13:58,951 --> 01:14:03,351
I thought that I had missed the NFT bubble and the NFT train,

1043
01:14:03,351 --> 01:14:04,571
like when it was happening.

1044
01:14:04,911 --> 01:14:09,091
And then now I am noodling an inscriptions collection.

1045
01:14:09,091 --> 01:14:09,771
I'll be honest.

1046
01:14:10,811 --> 01:14:12,051
Because I do,

1047
01:14:12,391 --> 01:14:14,251
I do think that,

1048
01:14:14,271 --> 01:14:14,571
you know,

1049
01:14:14,751 --> 01:14:15,051
this,

1050
01:14:15,251 --> 01:14:17,871
that particular like collectors,

1051
01:14:18,031 --> 01:14:20,251
digital collectors didn't go away.

1052
01:14:20,551 --> 01:14:21,671
That there's a,

1053
01:14:21,951 --> 01:14:22,591
for the most part,

1054
01:14:22,671 --> 01:14:22,791
they,

1055
01:14:22,791 --> 01:14:26,171
they're not as degening as much and the different blockchains and the delay.

1056
01:14:26,291 --> 01:14:26,531
There's,

1057
01:14:26,671 --> 01:14:26,871
you know,

1058
01:14:26,951 --> 01:14:28,491
the NFT scene isn't what it,

1059
01:14:28,571 --> 01:14:29,511
what it used to be,

1060
01:14:29,511 --> 01:14:34,651
but in a way the bear market kind of defined the ones that were kind of

1061
01:14:34,651 --> 01:14:38,211
creating something that was meaningful to them.

1062
01:14:38,531 --> 01:14:40,511
And you still have collectors all the way.

1063
01:14:40,691 --> 01:14:41,551
So I don't know.

1064
01:14:41,651 --> 01:14:42,031
I don't know.

1065
01:14:42,091 --> 01:14:43,591
I'm still thinking about it for the moment.

1066
01:14:43,711 --> 01:14:44,591
We just keep it simple.

1067
01:14:44,731 --> 01:14:45,311
We just,

1068
01:14:45,431 --> 01:14:45,771
you know,

1069
01:14:45,811 --> 01:14:46,611
accept Bitcoin.

1070
01:14:47,611 --> 01:14:48,011
Um,

1071
01:14:48,071 --> 01:14:49,111
and for the most part,

1072
01:14:49,151 --> 01:14:50,931
that's just where I tell everybody to begin.

1073
01:14:51,031 --> 01:14:52,491
Just start accepting Bitcoin.

1074
01:14:52,491 --> 01:15:05,051
This is how you set up your wallets and, and boom, you know, sell stickers in Bitcoin, accept Bitcoin donations, use products like Indie Hub or Indie Studio.

1075
01:15:06,251 --> 01:15:13,691
You know, there's going to be a lot of different tools also that are going to make it really appealing for people to come into Bitcoin.

1076
01:15:13,691 --> 01:15:21,771
If, if just billing in Bitcoin is not appealing enough to people, there's going to be different platforms that are going to make it even easier.

1077
01:15:21,771 --> 01:15:24,331
so I think the future is bright for

1078
01:15:24,331 --> 01:15:26,031
Bitcoin and filmmaking and

1079
01:15:26,031 --> 01:15:28,091
ultimately I hope that what that leads to

1080
01:15:28,091 --> 01:15:30,491
is a renaissance

1081
01:15:30,491 --> 01:15:32,071
in film

1082
01:15:32,071 --> 01:15:34,351
like just oh my god

1083
01:15:34,351 --> 01:15:36,031
like to have filmmakers that

1084
01:15:36,031 --> 01:15:37,951
can just create and they

1085
01:15:37,951 --> 01:15:39,971
have the means to do so

1086
01:15:39,971 --> 01:15:42,211
and an international community willing to

1087
01:15:42,211 --> 01:15:43,391
exchange for that

1088
01:15:43,391 --> 01:15:45,511
oh my god I mean I just

1089
01:15:45,511 --> 01:15:47,651
hope that what that means is

1090
01:15:47,651 --> 01:15:49,151
that we

1091
01:15:49,151 --> 01:15:52,891
the best movies are ahead of us and not behind us,

1092
01:15:52,991 --> 01:15:54,771
which for a long time,

1093
01:15:54,891 --> 01:15:57,831
I really thought that the best movies were behind us.

1094
01:15:58,011 --> 01:15:58,671
I really did.

1095
01:15:59,351 --> 01:16:03,671
And I think that Bitcoin can help change that.

1096
01:16:04,851 --> 01:16:07,851
You know, it's interesting you say that, Alana.

1097
01:16:08,211 --> 01:16:11,131
So last week on our regular Pleb Chain Radio show,

1098
01:16:11,791 --> 01:16:14,151
we had Zach Mahoney, the creator of IndieHub,

1099
01:16:14,411 --> 01:16:16,071
IndieHub Studio on,

1100
01:16:16,071 --> 01:16:17,951
and he was making a similar point

1101
01:16:17,951 --> 01:16:20,871
along the lines of

1102
01:16:20,871 --> 01:16:22,931
he doesn't see the era

1103
01:16:22,931 --> 01:16:25,491
of like these massive budget

1104
01:16:25,491 --> 01:16:27,391
Hollywood movies

1105
01:16:27,391 --> 01:16:29,151
lasting for too much longer

1106
01:16:29,151 --> 01:16:30,791
just given how fiat

1107
01:16:30,791 --> 01:16:32,851
that whole setup is.

1108
01:16:33,951 --> 01:16:35,671
And I asked him,

1109
01:16:35,751 --> 01:16:36,971
I said, does that mean that

1110
01:16:36,971 --> 01:16:38,971
you can't have grand stories anymore

1111
01:16:38,971 --> 01:16:40,411
because these big budgets are gone?

1112
01:16:40,931 --> 01:16:41,631
His view was

1113
01:16:41,631 --> 01:16:44,491
it's because it will likely shift

1114
01:16:44,491 --> 01:16:45,971
to something like a Bitcoin standard

1115
01:16:45,971 --> 01:16:48,471
or maybe just a Bitcoin standard itself,

1116
01:16:48,911 --> 01:16:50,791
you'll see a lot more efficient filmmaking,

1117
01:16:50,971 --> 01:16:53,091
meaning you'll still see the grand stories.

1118
01:16:53,631 --> 01:16:55,331
It'll just be on a much smaller budget.

1119
01:16:56,251 --> 01:16:56,731
I don't know if you,

1120
01:16:57,271 --> 01:16:58,871
what do you think about that perspective?

1121
01:16:59,811 --> 01:17:01,431
Yeah, I mean, first of all,

1122
01:17:01,471 --> 01:17:03,371
I think Zach is, he's one of my favorite humans.

1123
01:17:03,951 --> 01:17:07,791
So yes, Zach and I talk a lot about this stuff

1124
01:17:07,791 --> 01:17:10,731
and we both see it.

1125
01:17:10,731 --> 01:17:14,371
We see that bright Bitcoin future for Hollywood.

1126
01:17:14,371 --> 01:17:17,131
and when I mean Hollywood,

1127
01:17:17,291 --> 01:17:23,191
I mean more established communities of filmmaking

1128
01:17:23,191 --> 01:17:25,091
and not just Hollywood,

1129
01:17:25,331 --> 01:17:29,471
but definitely the Atlantas and the Londons of the world.

1130
01:17:29,791 --> 01:17:31,811
And the thing is that there's such big dominoes

1131
01:17:31,811 --> 01:17:32,871
that when they move,

1132
01:17:33,311 --> 01:17:36,131
I mean, it's just inevitable that everybody else will,

1133
01:17:36,771 --> 01:17:39,291
you know, just one executive in LA needs to make a decision

1134
01:17:39,291 --> 01:17:41,351
and suddenly all movie theaters accept Bitcoin

1135
01:17:41,351 --> 01:17:43,491
all over America, for example.

1136
01:17:43,491 --> 01:17:49,471
So these are important places to orange pill, so to speak.

1137
01:17:50,251 --> 01:17:55,891
But I think that, I mean, we see it, the fact that you can make things much cheaper now.

1138
01:17:56,231 --> 01:18:00,431
So now it really does come down to story more than ever before.

1139
01:18:00,571 --> 01:18:04,091
It was story and budget back in the day.

1140
01:18:04,271 --> 01:18:06,191
But now it's just story.

1141
01:18:06,191 --> 01:18:13,411
Like Flow, for example, is an independent film that was made with open source animation software.

1142
01:18:13,491 --> 01:18:17,511
And it is one of the best films that would have never been able to be made before.

1143
01:18:17,691 --> 01:18:21,391
But the story is what is so incredible about flow.

1144
01:18:21,891 --> 01:18:24,411
And it is a story about a flood.

1145
01:18:24,791 --> 01:18:32,511
And again, one cat's experience through this flood is so freaking beautiful and incredible.

1146
01:18:32,911 --> 01:18:36,471
And ultimately, the barrier to entry is much lower.

1147
01:18:36,611 --> 01:18:41,131
Now, you can create a 3D animation mostly by yourself, a feature film mostly by yourself.

1148
01:18:41,131 --> 01:18:43,971
and you can use free software to do it.

1149
01:18:44,311 --> 01:18:47,771
And now you can also use AI to help you with certain scenes.

1150
01:18:48,871 --> 01:18:52,311
One of the AIs that I use is called Runway.

1151
01:18:52,611 --> 01:18:55,711
And with Runway, you can bring pictures to life.

1152
01:18:55,871 --> 01:18:58,051
You can take an old picture and you can bring it to life.

1153
01:18:58,131 --> 01:18:59,611
It's not just AI generation.

1154
01:19:00,391 --> 01:19:02,751
There's budget, but like from a documentary perspective,

1155
01:19:03,071 --> 01:19:04,631
you know, there's a lot of archival footage

1156
01:19:04,631 --> 01:19:06,151
that either is low res

1157
01:19:06,151 --> 01:19:08,951
and you try to like up res it as much as you can

1158
01:19:08,951 --> 01:19:10,191
and you pay for that.

1159
01:19:10,191 --> 01:19:12,011
or, you know, it's an old picture

1160
01:19:12,011 --> 01:19:13,151
and then you give it movement,

1161
01:19:13,431 --> 01:19:15,251
you know, you give it that Ken Burns effect.

1162
01:19:15,831 --> 01:19:17,851
And, you know, that's an animator

1163
01:19:17,851 --> 01:19:18,751
that you have to pay for.

1164
01:19:18,851 --> 01:19:22,331
And that's, now that animator can easily use AI

1165
01:19:22,331 --> 01:19:23,351
and in one day,

1166
01:19:23,431 --> 01:19:24,911
because I would still give it to the animator, right?

1167
01:19:24,971 --> 01:19:25,711
That's still like,

1168
01:19:26,411 --> 01:19:28,771
I feel like this is where a lot of people kind of,

1169
01:19:29,391 --> 01:19:30,691
they get like, oh no,

1170
01:19:30,811 --> 01:19:31,971
what will happen to the animators?

1171
01:19:32,091 --> 01:19:33,331
Like, well, now the animators,

1172
01:19:33,551 --> 01:19:35,571
I guess instead of one animation per day,

1173
01:19:35,571 --> 01:19:37,151
now they can knock out like 50.

1174
01:19:38,351 --> 01:19:39,691
You know, they can actually be

1175
01:19:39,691 --> 01:19:42,931
a lot more efficient. How is that going to look? I don't know. We're all moving forward together,

1176
01:19:43,011 --> 01:19:47,771
but it's not all bad. You know, like the fact that with a few prompts and an old picture,

1177
01:19:47,771 --> 01:19:53,371
you can bring it to life and you can colorize it and you can say only bring the green, the trees

1178
01:19:53,371 --> 01:19:59,511
green and you can iterate and you can move quickly and that can be cheap. Ultimately now from a,

1179
01:19:59,511 --> 01:20:04,031
from a technical perspective, it's very, very cheap to create something. Now it's really

1180
01:20:04,031 --> 01:20:09,191
survival of the best storyteller and the best producer. That's one thing. I mean,

1181
01:20:09,191 --> 01:20:14,131
at the end of the day, you can have an incredible film, but you have to move it. You have to market

1182
01:20:14,131 --> 01:20:20,331
it. If people don't find out about it, it is nothing. Well, for the world, definitely something

1183
01:20:20,331 --> 01:20:25,551
and it's something for the creator and it's good to have created it. But if the intention of that

1184
01:20:25,551 --> 01:20:30,351
thing to be created is to be seen, then that's where the producer comes in because a producer

1185
01:20:30,351 --> 01:20:36,211
doesn't give up on their film. And when I, I was recently at Cannes this year and I was

1186
01:20:36,211 --> 01:20:42,771
blessed to be able to join the producers network that is for producers that have had a box office

1187
01:20:42,771 --> 01:20:48,571
release in the last two years so it has to be super fresh and you know i had dirty coin in the

1188
01:20:48,571 --> 01:20:53,591
box office here in puerto rico for a week and i we were also in 200 cities so i have a box office

1189
01:20:53,591 --> 01:20:59,571
record for dirty coin so i was able to to to go this year to con and one thing that kept coming

1190
01:20:59,571 --> 01:21:05,951
up over and over and over and over and over again and all of these producer panels and

1191
01:21:05,951 --> 01:21:09,851
and Fireside Chats and all these different things

1192
01:21:09,851 --> 01:21:14,111
and very successful producers that are producing today's best top films

1193
01:21:14,111 --> 01:21:14,991
from all over the world.

1194
01:21:15,631 --> 01:21:18,651
And these people all say you have to be relentless

1195
01:21:18,651 --> 01:21:20,131
and not give up on your film.

1196
01:21:21,071 --> 01:21:26,251
You know, it is, you are competing against every other producer

1197
01:21:26,251 --> 01:21:28,911
and now social media.

1198
01:21:28,911 --> 01:21:32,071
And social media, everybody gives it away for free with ads,

1199
01:21:32,271 --> 01:21:33,171
except for you.

1200
01:21:33,171 --> 01:21:42,351
but you know you have it's it's it's it's hard but you have to as a as a producer it's your job

1201
01:21:42,351 --> 01:21:48,691
the the the success of that film is your job and there are producers that are so good at what they

1202
01:21:48,691 --> 01:21:55,211
do that they will make bad films successful they'll make them cult classics because they're so

1203
01:21:55,211 --> 01:22:10,903
good at what they do and that is where i whenever i feel like you know we we we struggling or we or we not hitting the the targets that I set myself I know who to blame it me and I know the movie

1204
01:22:10,903 --> 01:22:16,383
good I know that it has been well received uh since Warsaw we have screened in hundreds of

1205
01:22:16,383 --> 01:22:23,423
cities almost 500 cities around the world and the every single time most people love it I can't say

1206
01:22:23,423 --> 01:22:27,703
everybody because I'm sure there's at least 20% like statistically impossible for every single

1207
01:22:27,703 --> 01:22:33,983
person to love it. But for the most part, everybody, most people in the room have a very,

1208
01:22:34,083 --> 01:22:38,823
very positive reaction. And people have sent me videos of standing ovations. I mean, it's been

1209
01:22:38,823 --> 01:22:46,763
amazing. And I'm not even in the room. So yes, it's good. But as a producer, I need to move it.

1210
01:22:46,863 --> 01:22:51,203
I need to get it in front of people. I need to create the teasers for it. I need to create the

1211
01:22:51,203 --> 01:22:56,783
deck that explains what it is the website that says what it is i need to you know it that's the

1212
01:22:56,783 --> 01:23:03,263
producer's job the director alana the director she hung her hat last year and hopefully the producer

1213
01:23:03,263 --> 01:23:08,503
alana can give her some money so she can work on the director's cut but director alana right now is

1214
01:23:08,503 --> 01:23:14,783
out of work but producer alana is the one that's moving the film and that's something that i really

1215
01:23:14,783 --> 01:23:22,303
want to impart to filmmakers is that it's not just about making it good if you if you want to get it

1216
01:23:22,303 --> 01:23:26,123
out there if you want to see return on your investment or if you want to see how many people

1217
01:23:26,123 --> 01:23:33,483
like it you want to see how far it'll go even if it's free how far you can get it um you that's the

1218
01:23:33,483 --> 01:23:39,023
producer's part and you have to get up every day and it was so it was such good confirmation to hear

1219
01:23:39,023 --> 01:23:47,423
the top people in my industry and film saying the same thing saying like you know and they're

1220
01:23:47,423 --> 01:23:51,403
competing they're like i'm competing with leonardo dicaprio on the other line you know

1221
01:23:51,403 --> 01:23:57,563
with obama that wants to get into film i mean there's there is competition for for people's

1222
01:23:57,563 --> 01:24:02,003
attention everywhere so if you want to get anything done you just you just have to be

1223
01:24:02,003 --> 01:24:09,003
relentless about it like you just gotta continue to do it and so i'm excited for for what's to come

1224
01:24:09,003 --> 01:24:12,563
and my next films and, you know, I'm going to these markets.

1225
01:24:12,703 --> 01:24:14,043
I want to bring other films with me.

1226
01:24:14,183 --> 01:24:18,743
There's a lot of great filmmakers that, you know, they can't.

1227
01:24:18,743 --> 01:24:20,103
They can't go to the markets.

1228
01:24:20,263 --> 01:24:22,063
They can't move the way that I've moved.

1229
01:24:22,683 --> 01:24:28,543
Their families can't take the restraint that I've had to put my family through

1230
01:24:28,543 --> 01:24:33,303
in the last few years because I know that the time that I put in now

1231
01:24:33,303 --> 01:24:36,903
to make these connections, to meet people, to see where the industry is heading,

1232
01:24:36,903 --> 01:24:38,603
to see how I can be ahead of that,

1233
01:24:38,683 --> 01:24:40,583
to see how we can create incredible films

1234
01:24:40,583 --> 01:24:43,043
that are right at the right place at the right time,

1235
01:24:43,083 --> 01:24:43,943
just like Dirty Coin.

1236
01:24:44,523 --> 01:24:46,703
It's going to require, you know,

1237
01:24:47,083 --> 01:24:49,303
it's going to require, you know,

1238
01:24:49,323 --> 01:24:51,563
not having all the same luxuries that we had

1239
01:24:51,563 --> 01:24:52,743
when mom worked at Google

1240
01:24:52,743 --> 01:24:54,703
and she also had all these big clients

1241
01:24:54,703 --> 01:24:56,223
and we had all this money coming in.

1242
01:24:56,343 --> 01:24:59,303
But, you know, it's just, I don't know,

1243
01:24:59,383 --> 01:25:00,803
for me, it wasn't the money, right?

1244
01:25:00,923 --> 01:25:02,643
It was, it's not about the money.

1245
01:25:02,723 --> 01:25:03,563
It's about the life.

1246
01:25:03,963 --> 01:25:06,823
And so for me, I'm casting a vote

1247
01:25:06,823 --> 01:25:07,983
for everything I've done.

1248
01:25:08,043 --> 01:25:10,063
I've done completely 100%.

1249
01:25:10,063 --> 01:25:12,183
And for me, it's like,

1250
01:25:12,263 --> 01:25:13,303
I'm going to go to these markets.

1251
01:25:13,403 --> 01:25:14,103
I'm going to sell Dirty Core.

1252
01:25:14,163 --> 01:25:14,983
I'm going to sell my next films.

1253
01:25:15,063 --> 01:25:16,163
I'm going to sell other people's films.

1254
01:25:16,743 --> 01:25:18,523
And I'm excited to meet more filmmakers

1255
01:25:18,523 --> 01:25:20,263
that need a producer like me

1256
01:25:20,263 --> 01:25:26,083
that will not stop until success is met.

1257
01:25:26,243 --> 01:25:27,343
I mean, that's when we stop.

1258
01:25:27,483 --> 01:25:29,603
And even then, when we meet success,

1259
01:25:29,723 --> 01:25:30,743
we have to define it

1260
01:25:30,743 --> 01:25:32,103
so we know exactly when we're there

1261
01:25:32,103 --> 01:25:34,103
so that we can define a new goal.

1262
01:25:35,183 --> 01:25:36,743
We're not going to just stop playing.

1263
01:25:36,823 --> 01:25:42,943
then it's you know what's what's the next wave of this what is the next thing that we want to do

1264
01:25:42,943 --> 01:25:49,303
with this and so super stoked to to apply everything i've learned to to other properties

1265
01:25:49,303 --> 01:25:54,903
because i feel like that's when i'm really going to see exponential growth um for myself and for

1266
01:25:54,903 --> 01:26:01,723
the people around me which is like really the most exciting part so alana if you were to give

1267
01:26:01,723 --> 01:26:03,663
advice to an aspiring

1268
01:26:03,663 --> 01:26:06,343
bitcoiner who wants to become a filmmaker

1269
01:26:06,343 --> 01:26:08,363
maybe it's a film

1270
01:26:08,363 --> 01:26:10,383
about bitcoin, maybe it's

1271
01:26:10,383 --> 01:26:11,663
a bitcoiner who wants to make

1272
01:26:11,663 --> 01:26:14,303
just a film about a topic they're interested in

1273
01:26:14,303 --> 01:26:16,443
and they want it to be really high quality

1274
01:26:16,443 --> 01:26:18,183
their first calculation

1275
01:26:18,183 --> 01:26:20,383
is going to be, well there are costs involved

1276
01:26:20,383 --> 01:26:22,323
I likely need a couple

1277
01:26:22,323 --> 01:26:22,843
of people

1278
01:26:22,843 --> 01:26:26,383
one camera person, good equipment

1279
01:26:26,383 --> 01:26:27,383
I need lighting

1280
01:26:27,383 --> 01:26:29,703
I need to pay for travel costs

1281
01:26:29,703 --> 01:26:31,683
if they're trying to do something

1282
01:26:31,683 --> 01:26:33,103
like Dirty Coin, for instance,

1283
01:26:33,643 --> 01:26:36,103
to be able to travel the world and tell people's stories.

1284
01:26:36,923 --> 01:26:39,163
Post-production, that is, you know,

1285
01:26:39,243 --> 01:26:42,123
maybe I've captured hundreds of hours of footage

1286
01:26:42,123 --> 01:26:44,583
by traveling through all these places.

1287
01:26:44,703 --> 01:26:46,803
Now that's thousands of hours of work

1288
01:26:46,803 --> 01:26:49,823
of whittling all of that down to find the signal

1289
01:26:49,823 --> 01:26:51,343
and then stitch it together nicely.

1290
01:26:52,263 --> 01:26:53,643
None of these things are free.

1291
01:26:54,363 --> 01:26:57,963
And they have this grand plan and they, you know,

1292
01:26:58,003 --> 01:27:00,763
we touched upon how the big budgets era might be over.

1293
01:27:00,763 --> 01:27:04,103
But, I mean, a budget is still needed, right, to pay for these things.

1294
01:27:04,323 --> 01:27:07,003
So how does a filmmaker go about something like this?

1295
01:27:09,123 --> 01:27:11,163
Well, I mean, you just touched on everything.

1296
01:27:11,523 --> 01:27:16,143
So number one, I mean, do you, why are you making it?

1297
01:27:16,183 --> 01:27:16,923
It's so important.

1298
01:27:17,083 --> 01:27:18,583
Just always start with why.

1299
01:27:18,723 --> 01:27:20,563
Like, why, why, why are you making it?

1300
01:27:20,583 --> 01:27:21,283
Why is it needed?

1301
01:27:21,463 --> 01:27:22,723
Why does the world need this?

1302
01:27:22,783 --> 01:27:23,923
Why are you making it?

1303
01:27:24,403 --> 01:27:25,623
Why do you need this?

1304
01:27:26,143 --> 01:27:28,603
And, you know, after you answer that question,

1305
01:27:28,603 --> 01:27:34,603
you can then kind of work backwards. For me, I want to be a very successful producer and

1306
01:27:34,603 --> 01:27:40,563
being a successful producer also means a producer that gets paid like a crap ton of money because

1307
01:27:40,563 --> 01:27:46,863
I'm making percentages off the successes of my films. So if I'm very successful, I,

1308
01:27:46,863 --> 01:27:54,323
I then have to, you know, make money. Otherwise there's no doing that job, you know,

1309
01:27:54,323 --> 01:27:58,143
You're not a very successful real estate agent and not sell any houses.

1310
01:28:01,363 --> 01:28:06,303
There's a reason why you're a successful real estate agent is because you sell a lot of houses.

1311
01:28:06,443 --> 01:28:12,383
So a successful producer is a producer that has successful films, financially successful films.

1312
01:28:12,703 --> 01:28:20,563
And what that means is that in the future, investors can invest in my films because they know that they're going to get their money back.

1313
01:28:21,123 --> 01:28:24,263
It means that actors want to act in my films.

1314
01:28:24,323 --> 01:28:29,503
because they know that those films are going to have box office opportunity all over the world,

1315
01:28:29,503 --> 01:28:35,943
which is going to be good for them. So for me, I make films because I want to be at the top of

1316
01:28:35,943 --> 01:28:41,583
this industry with excellent, excellent films, working with the best people, the best directors,

1317
01:28:41,743 --> 01:28:47,143
the best directors of photography, the best actors. And that's my goal, right? I do this

1318
01:28:47,143 --> 01:28:53,003
because I feel like that level, I can create content that is independent, yet mainstream enough

1319
01:28:53,003 --> 01:28:55,943
that we can reach a very, very wide global audience.

1320
01:28:56,583 --> 01:28:59,023
And I'm not just complaining about

1321
01:28:59,023 --> 01:29:01,703
the same crappy movies that are being made.

1322
01:29:01,823 --> 01:29:03,963
I am a part of the difference.

1323
01:29:04,203 --> 01:29:05,643
I am a part of creating something

1324
01:29:05,643 --> 01:29:07,883
that isn't the same gay shit.

1325
01:29:08,003 --> 01:29:09,623
And again, I'm not against gays.

1326
01:29:09,623 --> 01:29:12,083
In fact, I'm so not that it's like,

1327
01:29:12,383 --> 01:29:15,183
I can't wait to incorporate a gay character

1328
01:29:15,183 --> 01:29:18,943
in one of my films because it really is beyond my point.

1329
01:29:19,043 --> 01:29:21,223
It's the grooming part that I have a huge issue with.

1330
01:29:21,223 --> 01:29:28,523
And being a mother of a 17 year old and the 10 year old and the six year old, I get to see it so much that it's like it's just too much.

1331
01:29:29,463 --> 01:29:32,483
So anyway, but again, I have really no issue with the gay stuff.

1332
01:29:32,543 --> 01:29:39,223
It's just, you know, you go to some of these festivals and it's like every single movie has to do with some kind of LGBTQ situation.

1333
01:29:39,763 --> 01:29:41,343
And it's like, are there no more stories?

1334
01:29:41,943 --> 01:29:44,103
Like, seriously, there's literally no more stories.

1335
01:29:44,503 --> 01:29:46,043
These are the only stories that matter.

1336
01:29:46,443 --> 01:29:48,363
And so, you know, that to me.

1337
01:29:48,363 --> 01:29:51,123
And then, of course, I'm like, and you didn't want dirty coins.

1338
01:29:51,223 --> 01:29:52,383
So you just wanted this.

1339
01:29:52,443 --> 01:29:55,203
So there's there's a little bit of pettiness there probably as well.

1340
01:29:55,203 --> 01:29:59,563
But ultimately, I want to be a part of the difference.

1341
01:29:59,803 --> 01:30:03,823
I want to be a part of not making the same movie that's been made a million times and

1342
01:30:03,823 --> 01:30:07,303
being a part of that and to do that successfully for the rest of my life.

1343
01:30:07,403 --> 01:30:08,003
That's my why.

1344
01:30:08,983 --> 01:30:12,543
But if somebody's why is like, well, I just want to, like, tell the world about Bitcoin,

1345
01:30:13,143 --> 01:30:15,143
then that's a very different why.

1346
01:30:15,203 --> 01:30:15,383
Right.

1347
01:30:15,403 --> 01:30:16,583
It's a completely different industry.

1348
01:30:16,583 --> 01:30:22,763
so you're not going to be going to con necessarily for that you want to go to maybe ces or maybe you

1349
01:30:22,763 --> 01:30:28,243
want to go like there there's other places that you want to go so you like really defining why

1350
01:30:28,243 --> 01:30:33,743
are you doing what you're doing why should this be done and why do you want to do it then you move

1351
01:30:33,743 --> 01:30:39,623
backwards and then because you don't want to do what i'm doing if if what you want to do is you

1352
01:30:39,623 --> 01:30:47,003
know spread uh like i don't know information about how to be healthy because you just want the world

1353
01:30:47,003 --> 01:30:51,823
to be a healthier place and you just want to create things that are seen and you know that

1354
01:30:51,823 --> 01:30:57,503
all you care about is health okay well then that's not you don't follow alana you know because that

1355
01:30:57,503 --> 01:31:03,103
i mean obviously i want people to be healthy too but that's not my why and so defining that

1356
01:31:03,103 --> 01:31:07,743
individually is super duper important so that you're not copying people that are not on your

1357
01:31:07,743 --> 01:31:14,623
same path. You want to, you, like I, I met a lot of producers that their why was just because they

1358
01:31:14,623 --> 01:31:19,323
really wanted to create. And you know, they're a single man. They don't have kids. They just want

1359
01:31:19,323 --> 01:31:23,563
to travel the world and create beautiful content. And that's amazing. But I have three kids at home

1360
01:31:23,563 --> 01:31:30,263
and a husband, so I need money. So for me, like I could never be that guy. I've been a mother since

1361
01:31:30,263 --> 01:31:35,543
I'm 20. I was pregnant when I was 20. So for me, I needed to get put diaper, get, get diapers and

1362
01:31:35,543 --> 01:31:43,163
put food for a long time. So for me, that isn't my why. I can't follow the steps of a person that

1363
01:31:43,163 --> 01:31:49,903
all they want to do is be a nomad, a single nomad. I'm not a single nomad. So it's so, but it doesn't

1364
01:31:49,903 --> 01:31:54,203
mean I have nothing to learn from this person, right? This person might have killer things to

1365
01:31:54,203 --> 01:31:59,123
say about thumbnails that are extremely important, right? And that's, and so there's something to

1366
01:31:59,123 --> 01:32:04,203
learn from everyone. Don't close anybody off that's not on your path, but don't blindly follow

1367
01:32:04,203 --> 01:32:08,303
everyone because everybody's on their own path and ultimately that's going to lead us to different

1368
01:32:08,303 --> 01:32:12,863
places. So that's number one. And that really kind of comes to how are you going to raise funds?

1369
01:32:13,083 --> 01:32:16,363
If you're going to make a movie that you feel like you can make money with this movie,

1370
01:32:16,463 --> 01:32:19,903
you can put it in movie theaters and people are going to talk about it and they're going to go,

1371
01:32:20,043 --> 01:32:23,243
or they're going to, they're going to watch it. They're going to rent it. You think you have a

1372
01:32:23,243 --> 01:32:28,743
solid business case for a, for a film or for a TV show, get investors, talk to producers,

1373
01:32:28,743 --> 01:32:31,743
Talk to people that know how to make movies make money.

1374
01:32:32,483 --> 01:32:33,103
Do that.

1375
01:32:33,943 --> 01:32:36,683
If what you want is to reach a very wide audience,

1376
01:32:37,143 --> 01:32:40,603
then what you want is you want to hang out with the people

1377
01:32:40,603 --> 01:32:43,503
that are creating that content.

1378
01:32:43,723 --> 01:32:46,263
I don't know if you noticed, a lot of these YouTube creators,

1379
01:32:46,983 --> 01:32:49,163
Instagram creators, they go to the same parties,

1380
01:32:49,263 --> 01:32:50,143
they go to the same places,

1381
01:32:50,143 --> 01:32:52,343
and then they can benefit off each other's followers.

1382
01:32:53,163 --> 01:32:55,723
And so, you see, that's a different strategy

1383
01:32:55,723 --> 01:33:01,063
because these followers are not going to give you a hundred thousand dollar check in this in the case

1384
01:33:01,063 --> 01:33:07,983
of a movie a movie you know you see so where you spend your time is very important and it's

1385
01:33:07,983 --> 01:33:16,263
extremely tied to what you want it's like for me once i realized that social media was a i was just

1386
01:33:16,263 --> 01:33:20,423
done i was just completely burned out on social media after being in the industry for so long

1387
01:33:20,423 --> 01:33:27,263
and realizing that a couple of likes and pats on the back did not pay for my trips or my

1388
01:33:27,263 --> 01:33:29,383
cinematographers or my animators or anything.

1389
01:33:29,963 --> 01:33:34,163
I spent a lot less time on social media and a lot more time on the phone calling people,

1390
01:33:34,303 --> 01:33:34,963
talking to people.

1391
01:33:35,083 --> 01:33:36,103
I want to make this movie.

1392
01:33:36,683 --> 01:33:38,483
This movie, Dirty Coin, is important for me.

1393
01:33:38,483 --> 01:33:44,843
I think it's important for us to not regulate the use of electrons in this way because who

1394
01:33:44,895 --> 01:33:47,515
Who gets to decide who is worthy of the electron?

1395
01:33:47,655 --> 01:33:48,155
That's the part.

1396
01:33:48,515 --> 01:33:53,315
Would I prefer to not have electrons go towards bad things?

1397
01:33:53,455 --> 01:33:53,855
Absolutely.

1398
01:33:54,095 --> 01:33:55,675
But who defines what is bad?

1399
01:33:56,195 --> 01:33:59,715
In 2020, I didn't want to get jabbed and I was considered bad because of that.

1400
01:34:00,115 --> 01:34:09,255
So because I don't trust the arbiters of good and bad, I don't think that we should introduce more regulation into energy.

1401
01:34:09,695 --> 01:34:12,215
So you see, this for me is extremely important.

1402
01:34:12,575 --> 01:34:13,955
This is important for my children.

1403
01:34:13,955 --> 01:34:22,175
and so instead of writing all that on twitter and getting three likes i picked up the phone and i

1404
01:34:22,175 --> 01:34:27,055
called people and i told them i want this is why i'm doing this and i need money and would you like

1405
01:34:27,055 --> 01:34:33,495
to invest in a movie and so you know that's what i would so if it worked for me it can work for

1406
01:34:33,495 --> 01:34:38,595
anyone so i would say that would be my advice for anybody that like that wants to make a movie

1407
01:34:38,595 --> 01:34:45,375
and if you want to make content, then the path there is you just want to get eyeballs. You want

1408
01:34:45,375 --> 01:34:52,535
to be constantly active on these channels and you want to, you know, you can crowdfund from these

1409
01:34:52,535 --> 01:34:58,155
channels. There's tons of phenomenal crowdfunding tools and one benefit that, you know, being big

1410
01:34:58,155 --> 01:35:03,775
on social media has, one of the benefits is that you have a huge following. So whenever you want to

1411
01:35:03,775 --> 01:35:09,935
sell something or have a crowdfunding campaign, you now have a lot of people. You have a huge

1412
01:35:09,935 --> 01:35:14,195
email list. Like my email list is 4,000 people. That's how much DirtyCoin has.

1413
01:35:14,715 --> 01:35:20,775
But there's influencers that have 40,000 followers. That's 40,000 people. Now, I

1414
01:35:20,775 --> 01:35:29,395
personally rather have a 4,000 person email that is my 4,000 person email than 400,000 people that

1415
01:35:29,395 --> 01:35:34,975
I don't know that are just like, you know, this number on the screen, which has been in some of

1416
01:35:34,975 --> 01:35:43,575
my jobs. Like I, we used to manage huge YouTube pages, but you know, they were just kind of

1417
01:35:43,575 --> 01:35:47,615
numbers for us. Like we had certain people that commented frequently, so we kind of knew them,

1418
01:35:47,775 --> 01:35:53,635
but for the most part, it was just numbers. And so, you know, taking DirtyCoin to places,

1419
01:35:53,895 --> 01:35:57,935
meeting the people, getting a hundred emails here, getting a hundred emails there, getting a hundred

1420
01:35:57,935 --> 01:36:04,755
emails there. I mean, I felt every single one of those, uh, of those, of those email acquisitions.

1421
01:36:05,315 --> 01:36:12,115
And, and so I decided to go this particular route. Um, and so, and that I would recommend

1422
01:36:12,115 --> 01:36:18,115
going that route, but again, that's if you want to kind of carve out more signal that's more

1423
01:36:18,115 --> 01:36:33,627
interested in like maybe long maybe you know investing in my next film or their interests obviously like my work So they want to they want to follow me and they want to see the work when it done Maybe they experts in a particular field and there a documentary idea

1424
01:36:33,627 --> 01:36:34,707
that they want to run by me

1425
01:36:34,707 --> 01:36:36,607
that maybe that's something that I would want to produce.

1426
01:36:37,167 --> 01:36:39,907
So for me, there's only so many people

1427
01:36:39,907 --> 01:36:40,947
I can actually work with.

1428
01:36:41,127 --> 01:36:43,647
So I don't need 400,000 followers

1429
01:36:43,647 --> 01:36:45,327
that I'm working with.

1430
01:36:45,327 --> 01:36:49,427
I need 40 key people or 400 key people.

1431
01:36:49,427 --> 01:36:55,427
and so how do you find those key people and then and just make really great work together

1432
01:36:55,427 --> 01:37:00,347
that's that's where i'm at and that's what i would do but again that's my recommendation for

1433
01:37:00,347 --> 01:37:08,747
i was super honest about what my future goals are um which is you know go up the carpet con

1434
01:37:08,747 --> 01:37:16,367
get the palm d'or for one of our films uh you know continue to just really dominate the film

1435
01:37:16,367 --> 01:37:24,807
festival circuit and be that voice that I feel is missing. That's my path. And then, but yeah,

1436
01:37:24,867 --> 01:37:32,287
there's other paths and other people will give you other advice. Sounds very simple, Alana.

1437
01:37:32,787 --> 01:37:38,367
Have a vision, really believe in it, find your 40 key people and pick up the phone and call them.

1438
01:37:38,367 --> 01:37:42,667
And then you manifest the reality you want to live in. Amazing.

1439
01:37:43,307 --> 01:37:43,687
Yes.

1440
01:37:45,187 --> 01:37:45,747
Great.

1441
01:37:47,147 --> 01:37:49,727
Alana, you've been very generous with your time,

1442
01:37:49,847 --> 01:37:51,467
and this has been a fantastic conversation.

1443
01:37:52,107 --> 01:37:54,187
Before we close out,

1444
01:37:54,447 --> 01:37:59,547
any last comments on what to expect next from you,

1445
01:37:59,927 --> 01:38:02,487
from your work, where folks can find you?

1446
01:38:04,467 --> 01:38:08,127
Yeah, they can find me on LinkedIn and X.

1447
01:38:08,287 --> 01:38:10,207
Those are my two major platforms.

1448
01:38:10,207 --> 01:38:12,987
I am also on Instagram

1449
01:38:12,987 --> 01:38:15,287
but I'm not there often

1450
01:38:15,287 --> 01:38:17,307
but you can feel free to follow me there as well

1451
01:38:17,307 --> 01:38:18,387
I'm also on Nostra

1452
01:38:18,387 --> 01:38:19,967
you can follow me on Nostra

1453
01:38:19,967 --> 01:38:24,027
LinkedIn and Nostra are my dailies

1454
01:38:24,027 --> 01:38:27,427
Instagram I'll only open a couple times a week

1455
01:38:27,427 --> 01:38:30,527
and Facebook even less

1456
01:38:30,527 --> 01:38:33,467
but at least once a week on Facebook

1457
01:38:33,467 --> 01:38:36,287
but I really don't friend any new person

1458
01:38:36,287 --> 01:38:38,447
I just kind of keep the same friends that I always had

1459
01:38:38,447 --> 01:38:42,727
but from a professional perspective

1460
01:38:42,727 --> 01:38:45,107
right now I'm developing a slate

1461
01:38:45,107 --> 01:38:46,447
of original films

1462
01:38:46,447 --> 01:38:50,147
and original documentaries

1463
01:38:50,147 --> 01:38:51,447
there's two documentaries

1464
01:38:51,447 --> 01:38:53,547
that I'm doing ongoing research for

1465
01:38:53,547 --> 01:38:54,427
and that's it

1466
01:38:54,427 --> 01:38:58,287
I have discussed them on other podcasts

1467
01:38:58,287 --> 01:38:59,887
but I'm going to start not

1468
01:38:59,887 --> 01:39:01,827
talking about them as much

1469
01:39:01,827 --> 01:39:16,099
because they are in flux I can tell you that one is about energy and the other one is about AI So that really all I can say that relevant But it not what you think with either of them hopefully

1470
01:39:16,899 --> 01:39:18,699
And hopefully I can add something of value.

1471
01:39:18,879 --> 01:39:20,819
But I want to really take my time.

1472
01:39:20,939 --> 01:39:23,019
I really enjoy taking my time with DirtyCoin.

1473
01:39:23,199 --> 01:39:28,139
I feel like had I just decided, like, okay, I'm going to travel around the world in a month.

1474
01:39:28,179 --> 01:39:29,199
And I'm going to film all this.

1475
01:39:29,219 --> 01:39:30,419
And I'm going to put it together.

1476
01:39:30,419 --> 01:39:38,179
it wouldn't have had the depth of meaning that it has because it really did take three years of

1477
01:39:38,179 --> 01:39:43,359
I and I did this full time I did not take on any client work I did not do anything else I really

1478
01:39:43,359 --> 01:39:48,679
just focused on I raised the money that I needed to raise to really just focus on dirty coin

1479
01:39:48,679 --> 01:39:54,059
and what that meant was you know my whole day was dirty coin you know who am I going to talk to

1480
01:39:54,059 --> 01:39:59,819
where am I going to film what am I going to do like it was it was really just being reading every

1481
01:39:59,819 --> 01:40:06,639
article seeing everything every every new study that was made when the satoshi papers came out

1482
01:40:06,639 --> 01:40:11,859
i was like fuck now i need to read these and we were in the middle of a post-production but i was

1483
01:40:11,859 --> 01:40:18,479
like i can't miss something good and and so which i didn't i got a few quotes from there for the film

1484
01:40:18,479 --> 01:40:25,279
and i of course attribute them to him and and so with these two films these two documentaries i'm

1485
01:40:25,279 --> 01:40:32,059
just going to continue to to to meet people and explore and take my time with those but but going

1486
01:40:32,059 --> 01:40:39,099
more aggressively towards my fiction content um just because the the fiction content is a lot more

1487
01:40:39,099 --> 01:40:45,799
marketable and it's really where we can we can we can decide what that story is from the beginning

1488
01:40:45,799 --> 01:40:50,719
we can decide which actors we want to work with from the beginning and um dirty coin like you said

1489
01:40:50,719 --> 01:40:59,499
I mean, weaving through hundreds, thousands of hours of content was like just amazing.

1490
01:41:00,519 --> 01:41:02,139
But it was so much work.

1491
01:41:02,279 --> 01:41:04,779
I mean, there were there were three editors in me.

1492
01:41:06,399 --> 01:41:09,159
It was it was it was a lot of work.

1493
01:41:09,499 --> 01:41:12,779
And I don't know, I feel like it was also my first.

1494
01:41:12,779 --> 01:41:16,499
So there was only so much that I knew how to do.

1495
01:41:16,679 --> 01:41:20,679
Next time I wouldn't interview that many people.

1496
01:41:20,719 --> 01:41:27,439
um but anyway i would say what's next is i have those documentaries and then focusing on my fiction

1497
01:41:27,439 --> 01:41:37,199
work i there's the the editor of dirty coin is also a director and so he has written and directed

1498
01:41:37,199 --> 01:41:43,359
a really awesome series called caribbean terror which is kind of like a black mirror series but

1499
01:41:43,359 --> 01:42:00,251
every like every episode is like a short film like a 45 minute film and each episode is a different film about a different Caribbean legend and so we going to go to different islands and we going to basically explore our folklore and our

1500
01:42:00,251 --> 01:42:07,131
our old myths and he already has six films already written we're going to be working with local

1501
01:42:07,131 --> 01:42:12,051
directors local actors I also really want to capture our accents I feel like being Caribbean

1502
01:42:12,051 --> 01:42:19,751
we have a different accent than you know mexican central americans south americans and it's not

1503
01:42:19,751 --> 01:42:24,971
really an accent that you hear much of course unless you listen to bad bunny but if you don't

1504
01:42:24,971 --> 01:42:32,511
you don't listen to puerto rican music then it's an accent that is very very unique and so

1505
01:42:32,511 --> 01:42:38,611
it's important for me that we really get to capture that that accent and that the film is

1506
01:42:38,611 --> 01:42:42,231
that each film really sounds like the island that it's from.

1507
01:42:42,431 --> 01:42:43,971
And so we're going to do the same with Jamaica.

1508
01:42:44,131 --> 01:42:45,731
We're going to do the same thing with the Virgin Islands.

1509
01:42:46,151 --> 01:42:49,271
And we're going to work with local...

1510
01:42:49,271 --> 01:42:51,531
He's going to co-produce it with me when he's not the director.

1511
01:42:51,791 --> 01:42:54,051
He's going to direct the Puerto Rican and the Dominican episode.

1512
01:42:55,411 --> 01:42:57,871
So, yeah, I'm super stoked about that one.

1513
01:42:57,931 --> 01:42:59,911
I feel like that one is really coming together.

1514
01:43:00,031 --> 01:43:01,591
And the fact that it's a bunch of short films,

1515
01:43:01,591 --> 01:43:04,451
it's really one project, but it's a lot.

1516
01:43:05,371 --> 01:43:07,811
You know, all these different people that we're still working with.

1517
01:43:07,811 --> 01:43:13,711
but I'm really excited about that one so that's that's one that is really taking up a lot of my

1518
01:43:13,711 --> 01:43:20,651
my mental bandwidth these days and of course the the director's cut for dirty coin if people have

1519
01:43:20,651 --> 01:43:26,031
already seen it I recommend that they watch the director's cut they catch that you know try to

1520
01:43:26,031 --> 01:43:31,451
decipher what I did differently and and I do hear that people like it better even better a second

1521
01:43:31,451 --> 01:43:37,391
time so imagine that I've that's pretty crazy that enough people have seen it two and three

1522
01:43:37,391 --> 01:43:44,311
times to even tell me that but i have heard it quite a bit i can certainly vouch for that uh

1523
01:43:44,311 --> 01:43:50,371
alana i being part of the bitcoin film fest jury i got to see the movie once before the festival

1524
01:43:50,371 --> 01:43:54,671
and then once during the screening it does get better the second time so i would urge folks

1525
01:43:54,671 --> 01:44:02,271
if you haven't seen dirty coin already find a screening go watch it and wait with bated breath

1526
01:44:02,271 --> 01:44:04,071
for the director's cut.

1527
01:44:04,711 --> 01:44:05,951
Yes, yes.

1528
01:44:06,911 --> 01:44:09,791
Alana, appreciate you once again

1529
01:44:09,791 --> 01:44:11,631
for taking this time,

1530
01:44:11,751 --> 01:44:14,191
educating us the way you have on filmmaking,

1531
01:44:14,591 --> 01:44:15,531
on your journey,

1532
01:44:15,991 --> 01:44:19,031
and looking forward to catching up soon

1533
01:44:19,031 --> 01:44:20,271
and seeing more of your work.

1534
01:44:20,491 --> 01:44:21,031
Thank you.

1535
01:44:21,131 --> 01:44:21,791
Thank you, same.

1536
01:44:21,891 --> 01:44:23,631
Maybe I'll join you guys next time for that cigar.

1537
01:44:25,811 --> 01:44:26,371
Excellent.

1538
01:44:26,791 --> 01:44:27,111
Yes.

1539
01:44:27,411 --> 01:44:28,411
Okay, thank you, Avi.

1540
01:44:28,471 --> 01:44:29,431
I appreciate it.

1541
01:44:30,811 --> 01:44:31,331
Of course.

1542
01:44:32,271 --> 01:45:02,251
Thank you.