THE INTERNET IS WATCHING

THE SWARM

Contributions of 1 ETH or more

• “Special Thanks” on-screen credit in the film
• THE SWARM NFT airdrop
• 1000 $WATCH tokens per ETH
• Access to $WATCHATHON hackathon via Discord channel

Contributions of .5 ETH or more

• “Mirror.xyz Crowdfund Backer” on-screen credit in the film
• 1000 $WATCH tokens per ETH

ALL CONTRIBUTORS

• Access to private Discord channel for film updates and discussion via $WATCH token. We want to build a community, and building a community means involving our supporters every step of the way from pre-production, to production, to post. We want you to get an inside look into the full process of bringing a movie to life. In addition, $WATCH holders will get to vote on select story details and get a sneak preview of the film before it is released to the public.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Hi, my name is Julian Marshall. I’m a DGA film director and I won this year’s Webby for best documentary for my film, WE ARE GEORGE FLOYD, which follows the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.

I’ve been an enthusiast in the crypto space for eight years and deeply involved for five. One thing has become abruptly clear: The crypto space desperately needs storytellers. People don’t care about ‘what’ you do, they care about ‘why’ you do it—and it’s this ‘why’ that needs to be championed in order for this movement to make its way up the adoption curve.

My most impactful projects have always been born from necessity. There is a big difference between stories that you ‘want’ to tell and stories that you ‘need’ to tell. And the following has been my labor of love for the last few years:

Since 2016, I’ve wanted to make the first narrative cypherpunk film that will stand the test of time. However, you can’t just make a film about ‘crypto’—the technology is advancing so quickly that most attempts will be outdated in a year.

It has to be grounded in a universal theme: I.E. The Social Network isn’t about Facebook, it’s about BETRAYAL. And that's what makes it timeless.

I put this project aside for a few years until finally it hit me: You cannot tell a cypherpunk story without investigating the nature of TRUST. What happens when the stakes are high and a person with severe trust issues has no choice but to trust another person? An investigation of trust is the emotional vehicle to transport the 97% of the world, that doesn’t own crypto, into the movement. Thus, in fall 2019, my story, THE INTERNET IS WATCHING, was born.

It has been my dream to make this film outside of the traditional system—Free of the machine that would ruin it. It is such a powerful story and it has to be told by people who live and breathe crypto and the fourth industrial revolution.

How cool would it be if we could tell our own story?—A cypherpunk thriller financed and produced by cypherpunks.

Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!

THE FILM

THE INTERNET IS WATCHING is an intellectual thriller set in the crypto space that tells the story of the pitfalls and dangers of a world where a common reality cannot be trusted. In that regard we are resurrecting themes that fueled iconic films of the late seventies like Three Days Of The Condor and giving them a contemporary hijacking.

Part neo noir, part sci-fi espionage film, it is also a classic tale of the meek inheriting the earth—the chains of the autocracy being broken by the subversive cells who, as opposed to the authorities, have no big institution, book, or credo to hide behind. This is out of sheer protection, but also as a message that power, true power, economic, political, cultural, or spiritual can only thrive when it is open source—a figurehead of invention will always undoubtedly corrupt paradise.

The film is set in Austin, Texas as America begins to reckon with the growing pains brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. Automation has caused unemployment to skyrocket. The markets are chaos and Bitcoin is mooning as governments devalue their currencies in a race to the bottom. Rioting and localized crime are on the rise as people wake up to the realization that their governments, serving big business, aren't coming to save them.

The goal of our film is to tell a story that’s entertaining and enlightening, that rivets, educates, and draws the audience into a realm that is rapidly changing the world as they know it. To achieve that we invite and challenge the viewer to step into a world that all too closely resembles their own, with the same dangers and risks--Another world just on the horizon where all hangs in the balance of trust.

SYNOPSIS

In the not too distant future we meet AVA ATKINS, a cryptography student in Austin, Texas who is attending the computer science course of a brilliant professor named JIM HAWKES. While most of his students are DeGens looking for an edge, Hawkes fights to teach the purist side of the decentralized movement. Ava is the exception to the majority of the student body in that, while she is seeking success, she is more interested in a deeper truth. This is all manifested in an algorithm she’s testing that will compare the writings of individuals of crypto lore in an effort to solve the internet's greatest mystery...the identity of SATOSHI NAKAMOTO.

Jim warns Ava about the ramifications of her obsession and this only further ignites Ava’s mission to prove her algorithm as she begins working with ARKALIUS, an anonymous hacker, to debug her code. Meanwhile, BRUCE HODGES, an Australian software engineer, reveals on live TV that he is, in fact, Satoshi. The price of bitcoin begins to plummet and both Jim and Ava are skeptical about the legitimacy of Bruce’s reveal.

Ava, furious at the news, reworks her algorithm in an attempt to disprove that Bruce is Satoshi and accidentally doxxes the real Satoshi...leading Ava and Jim down a dark rabbit hole where they become live bait and the apex predators of the digital world descend.

STORYBOARDS

ABOUT THE NFTs

The exclusive NFTs for this campaign were created by Rhode Island School of Design alum, Julian Marshall, director of the film. Drawing inspiration from scenes from the film, Julian focused on a rendition of computer vision to abstractly portray the film’s cyber-voyeuristic tone.

Each of the pieces, except for THE SWARM, were created through the use of Lidar to capture real-life architecture. The scenes were then ported into 3D software and particle systems were created using the Lidar meshes. From there, Julian, with a fascination for the characteristics of real-life optics and depth-of-field, created his own bokeh which comes to life in the foreground and background of the images. His final step, to solidify the haunting theme of computer vision, was to render thermal maps which account for the bold color palettes of each piece.

These NFTs mark a groundbreaking new model for community-driven content creation and we also just think they look pretty rare :).

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Julian Marshall found his love for filmmaking growing up skateboarding in Washington DC. His work stems from an affinity for art/design, athletics, emerging technology, and political activism.

While studying Film at Rhode Island School of Design, Julian honed his craft working for Shepard Fairey at Obey Giant, and Wes Anderson on Moonrise Kingdom.

His time at RISD culminated in directing OBEY THE GIANT, an award winning narrative film about the early life of Shepard Fairey and the origin of his Obey Giant street art campaign.

Since then, he has built a career directing compelling and provoking narrative films, documentaries, and commercials.

In 2021, Julian won the Webby for best documentary for his film, WE ARE GEORGE FLOYD, about the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

DISCLAIMER

Your contribution does not provide you with ownership or control of the film.

$WATCH tokens should only be used to access the Discord. Resale or speculation of this token is discouraged.

Additional funding will help increase the scope of the film.

Production has the right to return contributions for any reason including if we believe a patron’s values are misaligned with the project.

Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action. Copyright Pinecrest Pictures 2021.

Contact: info@theinternetiswatching.com