Open Source doesn’t always have the greatest reputation in the filmmaking community, often because many believe it means unsupported and infrequently updated — and sometimes they’re right. We’re going to be getting the first open source camera, but open source software has existed for filmmaking for quite some time and there are plenty of options out there that can produce spectacular results, like the 3D animation program Blender. The Blender Foundation has been working with talented people to make films using the software, and Tears of Steel is their 4th completely Open Source film. How open? They are releasing all of the materials for the short film completely under a Creative Commons license (free to reuse and distribute with attribution). The film is streaming, and also available as an HD download (which is the way I’d recommend watching).

Here’s a little more info about the project:

    Tears of Steel (Project Mango) is Blender Foundations 4th Open Movie, again produced and realized in the studio of the Blender Institute in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. About 8 artists and 2 developers have been invited to come over to Amsterdam for 6-7 months to create a short vfx-based sci-fi movie with Blender…Just like project Orange, and Peach and Durian, the end result itself and all of the production files are being published under the Creative Commons, free to be reused and for everyone to learn from. More importantly, the team will challenge Blender itself to the max, inspiring the developer community to prove Blender is ready for feature quality VFX production. Special attention will be spent on motion tracking, color pipelines, Global Illumination render, grading and masking, and just ensure the Blender 2.6x series keeps being well tested and improved.