The Making of Linux Revolution video

…for ‘We are Linux‘ video contest held by the Linux Foundation

My entry is here

I came to know about this contest mid-february and wished to participate in it. I have been a Linux user for almost 10 years now and know very well about its strengths. After thinking for a couple of days, I got the idea of using Cats to convey the following features of Linux – Stability and Speed, Security, Control and Freedom.

After the idea was conceived a simultaneous search began for the right tool and source material.  For the software, I was confused what would be appropriate, whether I should do a 2D or 3D animation or use sideshows with music etc.,  I tried to use the latest version of Kdenlive, but it crashed a couple of times, then came LiVES, which had no or limited documentation. Pitivi would not even start on my openSUSE 11. Days were running by and I had to hurry up. I even tried to use OpenOffice Impress. But if I am using impress, I would have to compromise on my original idea of using images and videos together.  At last I found Blender!

I had know about Blender before – when they released their first movie and the recent Big Buck Bunny. I had installed and tried to use it before and never understood how to use it. By chance, I came across the use of Blender for video editing, compositing etc., After a couple of tutorials online, I got started. I had difficulties rendering video with sound in the beginning. I got rid of it by downloading the binary from blender.org.At the end of this work, I realized the power of Blender.

For images, Flickr was useful (http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons). I made sure all the images are under the Creative Commons license or permitted derivative works. Finding video footage was the most difficult part. Short of time, I had to use what I found.

For the audio, I was lucky to find the composition by Butterfly Tea at jamendo. What a wonderful music it is! I liked it when I heard it for the first time and so did my wife.

In the end,  I was very happy and satisfied with the outcome.

As the video is less than a minute and the messages flash quickly, I thought I would post them here..

Our Stability and Speed – is hard to match!

• Architecture – robust, tested and trusted
• No random crashes or reboots
• No slowdowns with age
• High productivity, Less downtime

Our Territory – is secure!

• Designed with security in mind
• Immunity to viruses, trojans and other malware.
• Control what runs and what does not

We are Incharge – of what happens around us!

• Extreme configurability
• Efficient process control
• Cleaner package management

We Enjoy Freedom – in its true sense!

• Open Source, free to use and modify
• Standards compliant
• Supportive commnity
• No licensing/maintanance/upgrade costs

If you liked it, please vote for the video at http://video.linuxfoundation.org/video/1268. You would need to register.