Bounty for Bitcoin Animated Movie [won]

[bytemaster]

There seems to be a ton of questions that need to be explained and it is VERY hard to teach new people about bitcoin.  I would like to start a community bounty for someone to create an animated video that visually describes what is going on inside the system.  I think that we should establish some specs for the video.

1) Explain what exactly a "bitcoin" is.  More specifically, explain that the system does not track coins, but transactions.  And then show how by tracking transactions you know exactly how much any account/address has.

2) Show the process by which a transaction leaves your computer and enters the block list.  
   a) how does it propagate?  Which nodes hear about the transaction and why.  
   b) how does the block list grow.  

3) Explain proof of work and the math that makes it computationally difficult to "solve a block".   Explain how this difficulty prevents fraud.

4) Explain what is stored in your wallet and how you can transfer coins from your wallet to another wallet.  

5) Explain how the network solves common concerns such as loss split and how transactions are "recovered" upon rejoining the network.  Specifically, if the smaller chain contains 1000's of valid transactions, why would any other node bother pulling them out and trying to integrate them with the new master chain.  


I do not know the answers to all of these questions, but I would like to see a very clear presentation explaining it all.  So I propose a bounty for the best and most accurate video as voted upon by the forum.  Make your pledges below.

I pledge 200 BTC and reserve a tip of another 200 BTC if I think it is VERY well done.  

200 bytemaster
100 noagendamarket

Pledged but not in escrow:
100 FreeMoney
100 creighto
50  llama
100 The MadHatter
3600  theymos (with numerous conditions and partial credit)
100 Ground Loop
500 knightmb
50 Bitcoiner
50 kwukduck (pending first block generation)
23.05 kiba
 noagendamarket + 3 month pro package


Distribution of Funds:
Every movie approved by Satoshi will be put to a vote in a forum poll one week after the first submission is approved.  Coins sent to my escrow will be sent to the winner of the vote.  Everyone else who pledges will get to choose among approved submissions.  The major sponsor (theymos) has conditions of getting to digg front page which is sort of vote by digg.

If anyone has seen any videos worth of the bounty, let me know!

Mod edit: Funds are stored in a Mybitcoin account controlled by bytemaster, Kiba, and noagendamarket.

[FreeMoney]

In for 100.

My criteria is, Satoshi says "That's accurate".

[MoonShadow]

In for 100.

My criteria is, Satoshi says "That's accurate".

Same for me.  100 if Satoshi blesses the final product as correct.

[The Madhatter]

Same here. Put me down for 100 provided the final product is 100% accurate.

[Anonymous]

Count me in for 100.Do we get producer credits in the movie for donating ?

edit- this site might make it easier to create something http://goanimate.com/

I will donate a 3 month pro package if you make a demo and it looks ok

[martin]

Just to get this straight before I go off and do any script writing

Everyone has a balance stored in their wallet which it how much money they have, much like when you log into internet banking with any other currency. This balance can be changed by sending and receiving money in transactions. A transaction, just like normal, is money changing hands. To keep people honest and stop them spending money they don't have is the real cleverness of bitcoin. When you make a transaction you announce it to the rest of the network. They all check that this transaction is valid. In this way, the amount of money that anyone has is know by the network, and you can't spend money that you don't have (because the network would know and would deny the trasnaction). When you submit a transaction to be verified by the network not everyone can take a vote on if it is a valid transaction, that would make the system too easy to fool with a large amount of nodes all broadcasting that a fake transaction was real, instead nodes do some very difficult computational work (generating blocks), when they complete it that seals the transaction as valid. Other nodes verify this work is correct and in this way votes are limited by CPU power (which is much harder to accumulate large amounts of). Each new block buries old blocks deeper to form a chain of blocks, this makes changing older transactions even harder, so transactions become more certain as time passes. A fraud can only be carried out by generating blocks faster than the rest of the entire network and building a longer chain. When you first join the network (or after rejoining the network) you must download all the blocks generated since you left, once this is done your node can verify new blocks against the rest of the block chain.

[Anonymous]

I think martin left something on his clipboard!

[theymos]

Canceled.

If the video makes it to the Digg frontpage, I will pay 1 BTC per digg it gets (max 2000). I'll also pay 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot and 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Reddit.

Even if it doesn't make it on those sites, I will pay 100 BTC per item below that I feel is satisfactorily covered.
- How Bitcoin works technically.
- Why Bitcoin will work economically.
- Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives (PayPal, Liberty Reserve, cash, etc.)
- How to get started. Won
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.) Won
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.) Won

So you could get a total of 3,600 from me. The video must not contain any major inaccuracies to qualify. I can help answer questions about how Bitcoin works, and there is a lot of info on the wiki.

[Ground Loop]

Man that would be cool -- a simple animated video showing how the bitcoin works, and an example of use.
I really believe that most people could "get it" with a simple explanation of the core principles.

I pledge BTC 100 to the first animated explanation that is accurate and, well, explanatory.

(It sure would be nice if there was a tangible mechanism for pledging.  Even if bytemaster or anyone trusted/reputable would designate a receiving account for pledges, that would be good enough to send the coin out for holding.  This isn't exactly high stakes.)

[martin]

I think martin left something on his clipboard!

No, that was just jotting notes off the top of my head to make sure I have all the details straight. A script will be far better thought out

[FreeMoney]

I just wrote out some stuff and realized it would derail the thread. I'm going to PM you Martin, and maybe we should start a thread for hashing (not intended) out how best to explain this stuff (and how it works, heh)

[bytemaster]

If the video makes it to the Digg frontpage, I will pay 1 BTC per digg it gets (max 2000). I'll also pay 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot and 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Reddit.

Even if it doesn't make it on those sites, I will pay 100 BTC per item below that I feel is satisfactorily covered.
- How Bitcoin works technically.
- Why Bitcoin will work economically.
- Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives (PayPal, Liberty Reserve, cash, etc.)
- How to get started.
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.)
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.)

So you could get a total of 3,600 from me. The video must not contain any major inaccuracies to qualify. I can help answer questions about how Bitcoin works, and there is a lot of info on the wiki.

Most excellent!  Though, I doubt we can all agree about how it will work economically.  There are all manner of opinions on that.

[FreeMoney]

Most excellent!  Though, I doubt we can all agree about how it will work economically.  There are all manner of opinions on that.

Yeah, if the video says bitcoin could only be better if there was unlimited coin production I'm not paying.

[bytemaster]

Man that would be cool -- a simple animated video showing how the bitcoin works, and an example of use.
I really believe that most people could "get it" with a simple explanation of the core principles.

I pledge BTC 100 to the first animated explanation that is accurate and, well, explanatory.

(It sure would be nice if there was a tangible mechanism for pledging.  Even if bytemaster or anyone trusted/reputable would designate a receiving account for pledges, that would be good enough to send the coin out for holding.  This isn't exactly high stakes.)

I know I am new around here, but I am personally investing a lot of time / energy into bitcoin.  So, if you trust me you can send pledge money to this address: 1NLPqEyWo9HzPmXG2H8uGG4NBFCV31NarD

[Anonymous]

If the video makes it to the Digg frontpage, I will pay 1 BTC per digg it gets (max 2000). I'll also pay 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot and 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Reddit.

Even if it doesn't make it on those sites, I will pay 100 BTC per item below that I feel is satisfactorily covered.
- How Bitcoin works technically.
- Why Bitcoin will work economically.
- Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives (PayPal, Liberty Reserve, cash, etc.)
- How to get started.
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.)
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.)

So you could get a total of 3,600 from me. The video must not contain any major inaccuracies to qualify. I can help answer questions about how Bitcoin works, and there is a lot of info on the wiki.

Most excellent!  Though, I doubt we can all agree about how it will work economically.  There are all manner of opinions on that.

I think concentrating on the benefits of bitcoins as a trading currency rather than "getting free money" which seems to be a major misunderstanding at the moment!How many threads have there been about people not getting coins after all the "work" they put in? :)It is essential this be explained clearly and succintly for the new users.

[Anonymous]

Man that would be cool -- a simple animated video showing how the bitcoin works, and an example of use.
I really believe that most people could "get it" with a simple explanation of the core principles.

I pledge BTC 100 to the first animated explanation that is accurate and, well, explanatory.

(It sure would be nice if there was a tangible mechanism for pledging.  Even if bytemaster or anyone trusted/reputable would designate a receiving account for pledges, that would be good enough to send the coin out for holding.  This isn't exactly high stakes.)

I know I am new around here, but I am personally investing a lot of time / energy into bitcoin.  So, if you trust me you can send pledge money to this address: 1NLPqEyWo9HzPmXG2H8uGG4NBFCV31NarD

Sent 100

 

[bytemaster]

I agree, there should be very little focus placed on the "mining" aspect of the system because as it stands now mining is not practical or "encouraging" for most users, trust me I know.  I have yet to earn one block despite 3 machines running for over a week.   As more users join this will just get harder.  I have purchased 250 BTC from Mt. Gox and was very happy with his service.    

When discussing how to get coins mention:

1) transaction fees
2) purchase from Mt. Gox (including charts from Mt. Gox is a plus)
3) sell goods and services

By the way, I think it is fair to say that there is no monetary inflation, but instead the vast majority of coins are held by the system which pays them out to people who do hard work to verify the transactions.  This way of looking at it reinforces that it is not possible to counterfeit coins because all coins have been allocated to someone or to future blocks.  


 

[llama]

This is a great initiative.  I saw the video for Flattr the other day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwvExIWf_Uc

And thought it would be the perfect sort of format for explaining Bitcoin.  I'll pledge 50 BC.

[knightmb]

I'll pledge 500 BTC for a good animated movie that has a laymen explanation of how things work, maybe a sprinkle of technical stuff about why it's safe/secure/etc.

It can't be too technical, people's eyes will glaze over if it starts talking about SHA256 and p2p block chains.

[bytemaster]

I agree that any really good video should not bore people with technical details.  Lets refine the requirements, 10 minutes in length max. 

Questions people will have that need to be answered.  Perhaps people could chime in here and provide their answers.

1) Why does a bit coin have any value?
     - it is free from government control unless they shut down the internet
            - shutting down internet will prevent most credit card systems from working too
     - it enables "cash-like" transactions across the internet
     - it provides some degree of anonymity.   (note: when used properly)
     - there is a limited supply
     - it enables micro-payments
     - it can be backed up
     - other people are willing to trade goods/services for BTC
     - little or no transaction fees

2) How much value does a bitcoin have today? What is current trade volume and trends?  How many nodes?
     - sum up daily transaction totals

3) How do I keep it safe or know that a transaction is legit?  How long does it take?
     - compare risk to risk of a check bouncing or counterfeit cash.   

4) Can someone "hack" the system and steel my coins?

5) What if my computer crashes? 
    - backup your wallet.dat file.  It is hard to "backup" cash in your safe or wallet. 

6) Future Direction
    - cell phone payment at merchants
    - inflation hedge vs government printing press
    - whole new types of start up businesses become possible by removing the
      overhead associated with accepting payments. 


If the video can address all of those concerns then it will help bring new users into the fold. 

At the same time I would like to see a technical "how things work under the hood" video.  Many people will be skeptical and want more detailed information.

[Bitcoiner]

I'm in for 50 given Satoshi's OK

[kwukduck]

That would be realy nice to see! It will clear a lot of misunderstandings.

Still have to generate my first 50 so ... guess i'm unlucky, i'll drop some if i made it and the video is correct and clear.

[bytemaster]

That would be realy nice to see! It will clear a lot of misunderstandings.

Still have to generate my first 50 so ... guess i'm unlucky, i'll drop some if i made it and the video is correct and clear.

I have yet to generate ANY BTC, but I went out and purchased some for this purpose.

[MoonShadow]

Also, a powerpoint presentation might be handy in the future.

[jimbobway]

I am interested in doing this movie but there are others that might be interested too.  Will this be a competition?  If so how will the bitcoins be distributed?  Thx.

[kiba]

That's some serious money for bitcoins. I'll donate 23.05 bitcoins.

[bytemaster]

Every movie approved by Satoshi will be put to a vote in a forum poll one week after the first submission is approved.  Coins sent to my escrow will be sent to the winner of the vote.  Everyone else who pledges will get to choose among approved submissions.

[theymos]

I am interested in doing this movie but there are others that might be interested too.  Will this be a competition?  If so how will the bitcoins be distributed?  Thx.

Each of my prizes can only be won once (first video wins), but different videos can win different prizes. So all nine prizes will eventually be won. There's no time limit.

I'm only going to award my "merit prizes" if the point is covered very well. You'll have to devote at least 3-5 minutes of the video to the point.

[FreeMoney]

I'm going to give mine to the first adequate, but if a better one comes out shortly after I'll throw more for sure.

[jimbobway]

Don't know if I'll earn any bitcoins but here is a movie.  Enjoy!

http://www.bitcoinblogger.com/2010/08/how-to-make-bitcoins-tutorial.html

[Insti]

Don't know if I'll earn any bitcoins but here is a movie.  Enjoy!

http://www.bitcoinblogger.com/2010/08/how-to-make-bitcoins-tutorial.html

I enjoyed
A+ would watch again.

[kiba]

I can't hear a thing.

[jgarzik]

Cute.  5 BTC sent.

[MoonShadow]

I'm sorry, but I didn't care for it.  I makes a decent ad, which I imagine was the goal, but it will perpetuate the myth that bitcoins are comparable to gold.  This is not so, and should not be repeated.  The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

[jimbobway]

I'm sorry, but I didn't care for it.  I makes a decent ad, which I imagine was the goal, but it will perpetuate the myth that bitcoins are comparable to gold.  This is not so, and should not be repeated.  The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

From "the man with the master plan" himself:

It's the same situation as gold and gold mining.  The marginal cost of gold mining tends to stay near the price of gold.  Gold mining is a waste, but that waste is far less than the utility of having gold available as a medium of exchange.

[MoonShadow]

I'm sorry, but I didn't care for it.  I makes a decent ad, which I imagine was the goal, but it will perpetuate the myth that bitcoins are comparable to gold.  This is not so, and should not be repeated.  The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

From "the man with the master plan" himself:

It's the same situation as gold and gold mining.  The marginal cost of gold mining tends to stay near the price of gold.  Gold mining is a waste, but that waste is far less than the utility of having gold available as a medium of exchange.

That's what I said.  The video is misleading, and will perpetuate the 'good as gold' myth.  This is not something that we want to support.  It's only an analogy.

[caveden]

The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

What's the definition of "hard money" ?
It's not "physical", otherwise printed dollars would be called so.

Bitcoins are a commodity, and can be compared to gold. Actually, it's even better, since one day the monetary base will freeze. Gold natural reserves won't run out so soon.

[jimbobway]

I'm sorry, but I didn't care for it.  I makes a decent ad, which I imagine was the goal, but it will perpetuate the myth that bitcoins are comparable to gold.  This is not so, and should not be repeated.  The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

From "the man with the master plan" himself:

It's the same situation as gold and gold mining.  The marginal cost of gold mining tends to stay near the price of gold.  Gold mining is a waste, but that waste is far less than the utility of having gold available as a medium of exchange.

That's what I said.  The video is misleading, and will perpetuate the 'good as gold' myth.  This is not something that we want to support.  It's only an analogy.

I believe bitcoins will be better than gold!!!  Wahoo!!!

[bytemaster]

Nice video, but I would not post that on a website to explain to customers about bitcoin.

[MoonShadow]

The process may be an online comparable to mining for gold, but gold is hard money.  Bitcoins are not hard money.

What's the definition of "hard money" ?
It's not "physical", otherwise printed dollars would be called so.

Bitcoins are a commodity, and can be compared to gold. Actually, it's even better, since one day the monetary base will freeze. Gold natural reserves won't run out so soon.

"Hard money" is a commodity that is 1) durable 2) divisable and 3) difficult to fake and 4) difficult to produce.

Bitcoins are a currency, but neither are they backed by a commodity standard of any kind, nor do they represent an obligation (debt) of a bank or government like a fait currency.  Money can also be a currency, if they are minted into a standard denomination, but money does not have to be a currency.  But a paper currency is not money; at best, paper currencies are a symbol and substitute for the money.  Even this mush has not been the case anywhere in the world since the Swiss were pressured into dropping the gold standard.

[FreeMoney]

Bitcoins are a commodity by almost any definition.

[kiba]

Bitcoins are a commodity by almost any definition.

According to laughing libertarians, they're not.

[bytemaster]

Bitcoins are certainty a commodity.  They are rare, and are valued at about $0.06.  

This distinction between "money" "currency" and what not is all linguistic masturbation.    All things are governed by supply, demand, and free trade exchange rates.  

People want bitcoins other people have bitcoins therefore they are traded.  People want FRN others have them.  Supply/demand.  

Certainly one may question the sanity of people who decide to store their wealth in something with potential for unlimited supply or fiat debasement.

For those who expect a hyperinflationary economic collapse, war, EMP, loss of grid power or internet then Bitcoin isn't the best "store of wealth".  

If we lived in a more stable world, then perhaps bitcoins would be a very good store of wealth.

For now the bitcoin commodity servers as a good temporary store of wealth and medium of exchange.  But these are just properties of a comodity that make it useful to use as a money.

My definition of money = "most marketable commodity" where the buy/sell spread and marketing costs are practically 0.  This makes it a suitable intermediary item in "barter" transactions.

[caveden]

"Hard money" is a commodity that is 1) durable 2) divisable and 3) difficult to fake and 4) difficult to produce.

So bitcoins are even harder money than gold is. They verify all conditions, and even better than gold. It's harder to fake, will become impossible to produce after reaching the 21 million limit, and it's more divisible.

[MoonShadow]

"Hard money" is a commodity that is 1) durable 2) divisable and 3) difficult to fake and 4) difficult to produce.

So bitcoins are even harder money than gold is. They verify all conditions, and even better than gold. It's harder to fake, will become impossible to produce after reaching the 21 million limit, and it's more divisible.

Bitcoins are no more a commodity than US Federal Reserve Notes are, and nor are they backed by any fixed commodity standard.

[MoonShadow]

Bitcoins are certainty a commodity.  They are rare, and are valued at about $0.06. 

This distinction between "money" "currency" and what not is all linguistic masturbation.    All things are governed by supply, demand, and free trade exchange rates.   

You have a right to your own opinions, but not your own facts.  It is impossible, by definition, for bitcoins to be a commodity.  A commodity requires a utility outside of the context of a medium of exchange or a store of value; beyond being simply a currency.  Not for you, personally, but for someone.  Historicly, gold and silver both have (and still do) have utility as jewlery.  Presently, silver has industrial utilities, and gold would also if it wasn't valued so much more than other alternatives.

Bitcoins can *never* have any utility beyond their use as a medium of exchange or a store of value; and a FRN or a Euro wouldn't even make decent toilet paper.

[kiba]

"Hard money" is a commodity that is 1) durable 2) divisable and 3) difficult to fake and 4) difficult to produce.

So bitcoins are even harder money than gold is. They verify all conditions, and even better than gold. It's harder to fake, will become impossible to produce after reaching the 21 million limit, and it's more divisible.

Bitcoins are no more a commodity than US Federal Reserve Notes are, and nor are they backed by any fixed commodity standard.

FAIL HARD.

Please provide an actual argument beyond your assertion.

[NewLibertyStandard]

It just depends on which definition you choose. Bitcoins are useful, can be produced and sold, so they're a commodity. Bitcoins are already processed, can't be produced outside of the Bitcoin specifications and can't be manufactured into something else for resale, so they're not a commodity.

[jimbobway]

Bitcoins are certainty a commodity.  They are rare, and are valued at about $0.06.  

This distinction between "money" "currency" and what not is all linguistic masturbation.    All things are governed by supply, demand, and free trade exchange rates.  

You have a right to your own opinions, but not your own facts.  It is impossible, by definition, for bitcoins to be a commodity.  A commodity requires a utility outside of the context of a medium of exchange or a store of value; beyond being simply a currency.  Not for you, personally, but for someone.  Historicly, gold and silver both have (and still do) have utility as jewlery.  Presently, silver has industrial utilities, and gold would also if it wasn't valued so much more than other alternatives.

Bitcoins can *never* have any utility beyond their use as a medium of exchange or a store of value; and a FRN or a Euro wouldn't even make decent toilet paper.

I can take an iPhone, write a bling-bling application that will show how many bitcoins I own.  I can then tie the iPhone to a rope necklace, wear it, and show off how many bitcoins I have.  Holla!  Jewelry of the future, baby!

[NewLibertyStandard]

The only way to prove you own bitcoins is to publish the coins' private keys. Please do write the program! Hahaha!

[jimbobway]

The only way to prove you own bitcoins is to publish the coins' private keys. Please do write the program! Hahaha!

It's all about the show.  Cubic zirconia vs diamonds viewing at arm's distance?  Same analogy.

[FreeMoney]

The only way to prove you own bitcoins is to publish the coins' private keys. Please do write the program! Hahaha!

The only way! Ha!

[caveden]

Bitcoins are no more a commodity than US Federal Reserve Notes are, and nor are they backed by any fixed commodity standard.

But the dollar is a commodity.
And, by the way, what backs gold?

[caveden]

You have a right to your own opinions, but not your own facts.  It is impossible, by definition, for bitcoins to be a commodity.  A commodity requires a utility outside of the context of a medium of exchange or a store of value;

A commodity is a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. equivalent no matter who produces it.

It doesn't look that impossible to me.
This definition of yours by the way doesn't even make much sense, since the utility of something is entirely subjective.

Bitcoins can *never* have any utility beyond their use as a medium of exchange or a store of value; and a FRN or a Euro wouldn't even make decent toilet paper.

How can you make such a statement? How can you know which is the utility of bitcoins for other people? This is subjective.

And, anyway, it isn't the definition of commodity either.

[NewLibertyStandard]

Bitcoins absolutely are not a commodity according to the traditional business and financial definition. The word commodity is primarily a business and financial term, so that definition takes priority over y'all's loose definitions. Bitcoins are not a commodity. You can stretch the definition to make it fit, but it's like jamming a square peg through a round hole; only the special kid does it.

[caveden]

From your own link:

"The term also describes financial products, such as currency or stock and bond indexes."

[NewLibertyStandard]

From your own link:

"The term also describes financial products, such as currency or stock and bond indexes."

Square peg, round hole.

[mizerydearia]

I sent message to cyriak ( http://www.youtube.com/user/cyriak ) regarding producing a video.  If they were to do so, it would be most amazingly awesome I'm sure!

[MoonShadow]

Bitcoins are no more a commodity than US Federal Reserve Notes are, and nor are they backed by any fixed commodity standard.

But the dollar is a commodity.

No, it is not.  The US dollar is a fiat currency, and nothing more.

And, by the way, what backs gold?

Historicly the yellow metal was prized for it's beauty in jewelry.  In our modern world, there are many uses for it in industry for which it is ideal even though it is too expensive.  For example, lead is poisonous to humanity, but it's mass number makes it both a wonderful material for making ship ballasts and radiation shielding.  Gold has been used for both these things in the past, but only in very specific situations. 

[NewLibertyStandard]

Although gold is a commodity, gold coins are not a commodity. Electricity is a commodity and CPU cycles could be considered a commodity, but bitcoins are not. It's the same principle in both instances.

[kiba]

Historicly the yellow metal was prized for it's beauty in jewelry.  In our modern world, there are many uses for it in industry for which it is ideal even though it is too expensive.  For example, lead is poisonous to humanity, but it's mass number makes it both a wonderful material for making ship ballasts and radiation shielding.  Gold has been used for both these things in the past, but only in very specific situations.  

If people ever figure out how to mine gold on asteroids, than its industrial uses will be widespread.

[MoonShadow]

Although gold is a commodity, gold coins are not a commodity.

Hmmm, I don't think that this is a very good way to say this.  Not that I disagree, per se; but I think that it is more confusing than anything since the coins can be melted and return to a commodity by anyone at will.

[NewLibertyStandard]

Although gold is a commodity, gold coins are not a commodity.

Hmmm, I don't think that this is a very good way to say this.  Not that I disagree, per se; but I think that it is more confusing than anything since the coins can be melted and return to a commodity by anyone at will.

It gets at the point. The gold that the gold coins are made of, is still a commodity while it's a gold coin. But the features which make the gold coins, coins, are features of a manufactured product, not a raw material. Commodities are the raw materials from which manufactured products are created. Bitcoins are manufactured from commodities. Bitcoins are not a raw material used to manufacture products.

[fresno]

Could we lose the "$" sign in this thread's title and the dubious conversion into Federal Reserve Notes? The quickest way to get this project shut down is to encroach on the territory of the Federal Reserve.

The further the Bitcoin can distance itself from the Fed, "coinage", "currency", and even "money", the better.

 

[MoonShadow]

Commodities are the raw materials from which manufactured products are created. Bitcoins are manufactured from commodities. Bitcoins are not a raw material used to manufacture products.

I understand what you are trying to say here, but again, I don't think this is a good way to say it.  Unlike gold coins that can be melted down for their material value, bitcoins are irreverseble.  More so than even the printing of a US note, since if the value of a note were to drop below the value of the paper itself, at least the paper can still be burned for heat.

[FreeMoney]

Could we lose the "$" sign in this thread's title and the dubious conversion into Federal Reserve Notes? The quickest way to get this project shut down is to encroach on the territory of the Federal Reserve.

The further the Bitcoin can distance itself from the Fed, "coinage", "currency", and even "money", the better.

I don't think it's much of a risk. But it isn't aesthetically pleasing to me anyway. Not to mention that conversions like that ought be construed as offers, in which case I'd like to do some business.

[FreeMoney]

Although gold is a commodity, gold coins are not a commodity.

Hmmm, I don't think that this is a very good way to say this.  Not that I disagree, per se; but I think that it is more confusing than anything since the coins can be melted and return to a commodity by anyone at will.

It gets at the point. The gold that the gold coins are made of, is still a commodity while it's a gold coin. But the features which make the gold coins, coins, are features of a manufactured product, not a raw material. Commodities are the raw materials from which manufactured products are created. Bitcoins are manufactured from commodities. Bitcoins are not a raw material used to manufacture products.

What? You can't make a gold coin out of gold only. You need equipment and energy too, and you cannot get those things back from the coin.

AND you need equipment and energy to get gold out of the ground and you cannot get those back either.

[NewLibertyStandard]

This discussion about whether bitcoins are a commodity is way off topic and dragging on, so I moved it over to its own thread.

[kiba]

So, how is the video making going?

[mizerydearia]

I followed up with http://www.cyriak.co.uk this time using email.  Perhaps he may notice the message sooner now and maybe he will take interest in producing a most amazingly and epically awesome animation/video that our community can be proud of and excited by.

[RHorning]

Looking at this thread, I wonder if perhaps a group could collaboratively work on developing something using Scratch:

http://scratch.mit.edu/

If you are looking for something easy to work with that can permit a group effort for editing, remixing, and doing some simple animation, this is at least a good first step.  For crying out loud, their target audience for this media environment is middle-school aged kids (roughly 10-14 year olds, although there is a very healthy adult community using this software too).  My kids have used the microphone from our Rock Band set and have created some pretty impressive videos, and converting a Scratch project to an MPEG file is relatively trivial if that is a goal too.

I might just try to come up with something using Scratch myself, as that sounds like a fun project and would only take a few hours to get it accomplished.  It is certainly something that a single person could perhaps create with a relatively trivial amount of effort.

[kiba]

Progress report, mizerydearia.

[mizerydearia]

No word from Cyriak.  I am not certain if he will respond.  However, according to http://www.cyriak.co.uk/info.html

I use adobe photoshop and after effects for most of my animations, and have worked on a wide variety of commercial projects, from tv advertising to channel idents to music videos.

Also, from an interview I read, he uses fruityloops to make music.

With enough effort, someone else may be able to make something amazing too, however, I do not believe that most can match his creativity/awesomeness.

It would be amazing if he were to show attention towards this.

[kiba]

Any words, mizerydearia?

[kiba]

Nothing happening?

[kiba]

Project dead?

[Insti]

I've been working on a script.
Not got anywhere near animating anything yet..

[mizerydearia]

Perhaps those that are contributing towards the development of an animated movie should be specific of their expectations.  For example, anyone can put forth their own effort to produce an animated film of Bitcoin, but will it be worthy of all or any of the bitcoin donations offered to produce a short anim?  Clarification on expectations are necessary.

[Insti]

Perhaps those that are contributing towards the development of an animated movie should be specific of their expectations.  For example, anyone can put forth their own effort to produce an animated film of Bitcoin, but will it be worthy of all or any of the bitcoin donations offered to produce a short anim?  Clarification on expectations are necessary.

Did you read this thread!?!

You might also notice we're not suffering an overabundance of movies..

Edit: fixed link

[mizerydearia]

Perhaps those that are contributing towards the development of an animated movie should be specific of their expectations.  For example, anyone can put forth their own effort to produce an animated film of Bitcoin, but will it be worthy of all or any of the bitcoin donations offered to produce a short anim?  Clarification on expectations are necessary.

Did you read this thread!?!

You might also notice we're not suffering an overabundance of movies..

Did you mean to link a different thread?  Your link refers to teh fourth page of this thread.

[Insti]

Did you mean to link a different thread?  Your link refers to teh fourth page of this thread.

I meant to link to the first page of this thread.
If you read the thread you will find what the requirements are.

[Anonymous]

I contacted the people from http://www.thinktwicenews.com/ to see if they would be interested in this bounty.Havent heard anything back but they need to find out more about bitcoin.

I posted in another thread http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=801.msg8969;topicseen#msg8969 an idea for a video game that would  walk a user through installing a client ,some of the back story of bitcoin and what it means in regards to banking/online payments and society.There are a lot of in-jokes with the story so if you use the idea you need to get the peoples permission!

The game is set sometime in the future and the main character is a mercenary soldier.A massive multinational payment company we will call payUpal has taken over all the worlds banks and online payment providers. :)There was a world depression and  the government had to bail them out and now they are called govpal lol.It is illegal for private citizens to own a computer and access the internet without government approved ID and the only way to buy things is using govpal.

You get hired by a company called "bitcoincorp" and your job is to break into a building where a company called "Knightmb corp" is located.
 "Knightmb corp" has possession of a thumb drive that contains a wallet with %50 of the worlds bitcoins in it which you need to secure before govpal finds and uses to take over their last remaining competitor.

This is where you start fighting your way to the building where you need to get to the basement and locate the secret area where the thumb drive is located,which had been hidden by someone before the building was evacuated by Govpal.There is a tablet computer which plays a movie which explains why the thumb drive needs to be protected and how to install and use a bitcoin client so that the wallet file on the thumb drive can be used by bitcoincorp.The person explaining is a japanese man we will call "satoshi".When your character verifies that he understands satoshi says "that is correct" lol.

You then fight your way to another building where you need to find a computer and install a bitcoin client to allow you to use the wallet file on the thumb drive.Along the way govpal finds out who you are and your mission and you get a call on your mobile which gives you the news that they have blown up your house and everything in it including your family.

After this you become determined to finish your mission by fighting your way across town to the location of a computer with internet access and a usb slot for the thumb drive.When you get there after many battles with govpal agents you sit down at the computer and download the bitcoin client which you install using the wallet file on the usb.Once this is done you are contacted by bitcoincorp who tell you where to find the person responsible for blowing up your house.You need to arm yourself up and this is where you go to the secret weapons stash.You get handguns and other basic weapons to start with.As the game goes along the player can buy upgrades and other items in  game using bitcoins 

The rest of the game would be a series of encounters with govpal agents as you find clues to the location of the games big boss.


This could probably be modified to an animated movie

[kiba]

Since we are waiting for the two week period nothing to do for the EFF....I decided to ask a question.


Is this project alive?

[mizerydearia]

Of course, however, the community must* attract cg artists in order for this idea to take off and for quality Bitcoin-related animations to be common or exist.

* If you participate in art/cg/design communities, mention Bitcoin if it seems convenient to do so.  It would be amazing for artists to create or participate in a kind of community that offers compensation in Bitcoins for designed works.

Slightly unrelated: http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=909.msg10901#msg10901

[kiba]

Of course, however, the community must* attract cg artists in order for this idea to take off and for quality Bitcoin-related animations to be common or exist.

* If you participate in art/cg/design communities, mention Bitcoin if it seems convenient to do so.  It would be amazing for artists to create or participate in a kind of community that offers compensation in Bitcoins for designed works.

Slightly unrelated: http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=909.msg10901#msg10901

It is "of course" for you, but how?

[mizerydearia]

It is "of course" for you, but how?

Well, it depends on what you mean by project.  If you are referring to a project for creating the animation that is supported by the bounty contributions from this thread, then I have no idea.  I am not aware of any active projects as of yet.  If you mean project as in this thread as being a project to offer bounty, incentive for an animation to be produced/designed, then unless everyone that offered to contribute retracts their offer, I imagine that it will continue.

Patience is a virtue. ^_^   There is no need for rush.  In fact, the longer that it takes for an animation to be produced, the more potential for the value of the bounty to increase and to possibly create even more incentive.

[FreeMoney]

It is "of course" for you, but how?

Well, it depends on what you mean by project.  If you are referring to a project for creating the animation that is supported by the bounty contributions from this thread, then I have no idea.  I am not aware of any active projects as of yet.  If you mean project as in this thread as being a project to offer bounty, incentive for an animation to be produced/designed, then unless everyone that offered to contribute retracts their offer, I imagine that it will continue.

Patience is a virtue. ^_^   There is no need for rush.  In fact, the longer that it takes for an animation to be produced, the more potential for the value of the bounty to increase and to possibly create even more incentive.

Some people will die, etc. But my offer is still good.

[kiba]

Patience is a virtue. ^_^   There is no need for rush.  In fact, the longer that it takes for an animation to be produced, the more potential for the value of the bounty to increase and to possibly create even more incentive.

I thought it was important to keep projects like this one alive by periodic bumping.

[kiba]

This bounty is dead dead and dead!

[Anonymous]

This bounty is dead dead and dead!

No It's not. I am about to revive it.  
  Edit...there should be an update from bytemaster shortly.

 

[Anonymous]

 I donated a heap of coins to the address listed at the start of this thread and have heard absolutely nothing about it. The bounty should be over $1000 with the latest rise in value.

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if bytemaster is still around?

[eurekafag]

Looks like he gathered enough money and left the forum with them. You're all screwed and it should be a good lesson. Don't trust anyone who have few posts and did almost nothing to the community but starts taking money for bounty or any other project.

[kiba]

Looks like he gathered enough money and left the forum with them. You're all screwed and it should be a good lesson. Don't trust anyone who have few posts and did almost nothing to the community but starts taking money for bounty or any other project.

100 posts is not trivial...

[grondilu]

Looks like he gathered enough money and left the forum with them. You're all screwed and it should be a good lesson. Don't trust anyone who have few posts and did almost nothing to the community but starts taking money for bounty or any other project.

Gosh I can't believe this happened.  Even a hero member such as noagendamarket got screwed.  A good lesson indeed.

[FreeMoney]

I pledged, but didn't let him hold my money. Not because I had any suspicions, but what is the benefit? I know that I'm trustworthy, I'll just hold it myself. People do die, get brain damage, lose hard drives, etc. I'd actually trust two long time members each with a full copy of the wallet more than just one. Plus then we would know for sure and exactly when we were cheated, for whatever that's worth. Now we don't know if we should feel sorry for a dead guy or angry at a scammer.

[Ground Loop]

I suppose you can check to see if the same coins were 'spent' by bytemaster, and to whom.

[theymos]

I suppose you can check to see if the same coins were 'spent' by bytemaster, and to whom.

It was not spent.

[kiba]

I suppose you can check to see if the same coins were 'spent' by bytemaster, and to whom.

It looks like bytemaster is a scammer. Noagendamarket's transaction was 4f927df1213251... This was spent by bytemaster in transaction ddde42d19081ab...

Block 83788 (October 6, 2010)

Value: 0.02
To:12weUmfDsmhheC1cCM27gkLUMLjMxcqGjg

Value: 2146.22
To:1K4HzMd3hNX1Ame7rfiZG61eigPq4B4e3J

Could he simply be automatically sending bitcoins from one wallet to another?

[theymos]

Could he simply be automatically sending bitcoins from one wallet to another?

My old post (edited) was a mistake. I was looking at the wrong output index. Noagendamarket sent to those addresses, not bytemaster.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Well it seems I'm lucky that i read this thread to the end.

I was going to donate 100 BTC to this bastard.

[grondilu]

Well it seems I'm lucky that i read this thread to the end.

I was going to donate 100 BTC to this bastard.

Maybe we should ask an admin to edit the title of this thread and add a WARNING note.

[FreeMoney]

Well it seems I'm lucky that i read this thread to the end.

I was going to donate 100 BTC to this bastard.

Maybe we should ask an admin to edit the title of this thread and add a WARNING note.

Good idea, someone could not read the whole thread and throw something in first.

[kiba]

I declare that bytemaster is dead, incapacitated in one form or another, or have trouble in life.

[bytemaster]

I'm not dead yet.. but do have trouble in life.   

[bytemaster]

I am still good for the bounty and anyone who doubts it can have a refund of their pledge.  I really do not like my name being smeared when as far as I can tell no one has even made an attempt to claim the bounty.

I have yet to see any movies, but do check in every now and again to see how things are going.   

[bytemaster]

I suppose you can check to see if the same coins were 'spent' by bytemaster, and to whom.

It looks like bytemaster is a scammer. Noagendamarket's transaction was 4f927df1213251... This was spent by bytemaster in transaction ddde42d19081ab...

Block 83788 (October 6, 2010)

Value: 0.02
To:12weUmfDsmhheC1cCM27gkLUMLjMxcqGjg

Value: 2146.22
To:1K4HzMd3hNX1Ame7rfiZG61eigPq4B4e3J

Could he simply be automatically sending bitcoins from one wallet to another?

Such is the problem with not being able to select the 'source' address.   I have purchased many bit coins, but have not spent any.  I have been developing a web application using bitcoins, but life got in the way and so I have not been able to focus on it.

[grondilu]

About making a video, I'd like to mention the "synfig" software.   Basically it's kind of a inkscape but with animation feature.
It's free software and it can do some nice things.  I'm not good in this kind of artistic stuf but if someone wants to give it a try, just search synfig.  On debian like systems :  apt-cache search synfig

[alidor]

Holy carp! This is getting serious. 13k? Really? I could make something cool for that kind of money. I've been eyeing this project for a while now. Is anybody 'almost done' with their version? I'd hate to duplicate any major effort.

ps Bytemaster is totally *not* a scammer.

[Anonymous]

Holy carp! This is getting serious. 13k? Really? I could make something cool for that kind of money. I've been eyeing this project for a while now. Is anybody 'almost done' with their version? I'd hate to duplicate any major effort.

ps Bytemaster is totally *not* a scammer.

Agreed. People went a bit overboard claiming those things. The movie bounty is now a serious amount so it will create some buzz.

[friendsofkim]

Hi

It would be worth making Paul Grignon aware of this bounty. He made "Money as debt" an animated documentary about the perils of the fractional reserve banking system (http://www.moneyasdebt.net/)

Bitcoin seems like a project he would be interested in.

[Anonymous]

How many bitcoins does it take to get a movie made?  Over 9000!!!!

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

$2520 should be more than enough to create nice animated movie, like "Money ad Debt", but shorter.

Still no contestants ?

[friendsofkim]

Just emailed Paul Grignon about bitcoin and the bounty

[ribuck]

$2520 should be more than enough to create nice animated movie

As far as I can tell, this bounty does not all go to one animation. Some of the donations are conditional on features that will be met by different animations. So I'm not surprised that there are no official competition entries yet, but plenty of people have done some work towards it (including me).

Thank you grondilu for pointing me to the synfig software. I had been learning pencil (which I find very comfortable to use), but it does seem that synfig will reduce the time it takes for this kind of project.

I'm struck by the similarities between this project and the "minute memes" project being run by QuestionCopyright.org. They have a budget of $10,000 per minute, and they present some figures to show that professional animation starts at $3000 per minute.

[grondilu]

Has anyone got any accurate idea of a script for such a video ?

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

I'm struck by the similarities between this project and the "minute memes" project being run by QuestionCopyright.org. They have a budget of $10,000 per minute, and they present some figures to show that professional animation starts at $3000 per minute.

I think You're talking too professional.

Is "Money as Debt" so professional ? I guess not. And i think it is much cheaper than that.

[JohnDoe]

I am still good for the bounty and anyone who doubts it can have a refund of their pledge.  I really do not like my name being smeared when as far as I can tell no one has even made an attempt to claim the bounty.

I have yet to see any movies, but do check in every now and again to see how things are going.   

Maybe you should transfer the bounty to someone who is more active than you and is perceived to be trustworthy (like kiba or noagendamarket) because no one is going to donate anymore if you disappear for months at a time. 

[ribuck]

I'm looking at making a short animated movie, pitched at the same level as the "This is Flattr" video. Notice how the Flattr introduction doesn't use much technical language.

At this forum, most of us have technical knowledge, but the next wave of Bitcoin users will be drawn from people for whom the word "client" means a human being rather a piece of software, and for whom any mention of "hashing a block" will make their eyes glaze over.

So I'm hoping to make a short introductory animation. If it is well-received, other similar animations could address more specialized topics ("How does Bitcoin work?", "How do I back up my Bitcoin wallet?" etc etc).

Here's my first version of a two-minute script. Comments are welcome.

<<

INTRODUCING BITCOIN

Bitcoin is a currency for the internet. With Bitcoin, you can make payments
anywhere in the world conveniently and for little or no cost.

The Bitcoin system is not operated by any government. It is not controlled by
bankers. It is not the product of any corporation. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer
internet currency. Every transaction within the Bitcoin system is checked and
processed collectively by the computers that form the Bitcoin network.

Everyone can use Bitcoin. There's no charge to join, and no need to register.
Just install the Bitcoin software and start it up. You can earn
Bitcoins by selling products and services to the Bitcoin community, or you can
buy bitcoins from exchanges.

To send bitcoins to someone else, click on "Send coins". Choose the recipient
from your address book, or paste in their Bitcoin receiving address. To receive
bitcoins, tell the sender your Bitcoin receiving address so that they can send
you some coins. You don't need to have your Bitcoin software running when someone
sends you coins.

The total number of bitcoins is fixed, but they are subdividable and can support
any level of trade. Bitcoins are originally earned by those whose computers are
processing Bitcoin transactions, and it's also possible to earn small
transaction fees from certain kinds of Bitcoin transactions. This provides an
ongoing incentive for people to allow their computers to process Bitcoin
transactions.

The Bitcoin system is underpinned by mathematics and secured by public key
cryptography. Because Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer system, only valid transactions
that are acceptable to the network will be processed. Someone attempting to
defraud the system would need to control more computer power than all of the
honest network nodes combined, so there is strength in numbers.

To get started, visit bitcoin.org and download the software or join the
forum. Bitcoin is an exciting and potentially game-changing currency.

>>


This script is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. You are free to share and remix it provided you attribute it to ribuck.

[Bitquux]

<<
INTRODUCING BITCOIN
...
>>

(Just so you know what I'm talking about)

I like this. I would suggest a handful of these, with minor variations in each one, sort of like a split marketing approach. I started writing something similarly non-technical, but yours is better. I like the idea for a series of small, specialized topics. My gears are turning now.

[FreeMoney]

I think people will find it cool that having coins means actually having the keys in a file on your computer.

[Anonymous]

<<
INTRODUCING BITCOIN
...
>>

(Just so you know what I'm talking about)

I like this. I would suggest a handful of these, with minor variations in each one, sort of like a split marketing approach. I started writing something similarly non-technical, but yours is better. I like the idea for a series of small, specialized topics. My gears are turning now.

How do you eat an elephant?
A little bit at a time!

[theymos]

INTRODUCING BITCOIN
[...]

I like this a lot. This would win at least my 100 BTC "How to get started" bounty.

[MoonShadow]

INTRODUCING BITCOIN
[...]

I like this a lot. This would win at least my 100 BTC "How to get started" bounty.

I think that it's a great script, if someone is willing to create the animation to go with it.

[ribuck]

I think that it's a great script, if someone is willing to create the animation to go with it.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Believe it or not, it took about twenty hours to write and refine that small script!

I am working on the animation now, but that's a much bigger job so it will take some time.

I am releasing the script under Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY), so if anyone wants to make an alternative animation they are welcome.

My finished animation will be released under the same license, so that others can replace the soundtrack by one in another language, or do other kinds of mashups.

[ribuck]

I think people will find it cool that having coins means actually having the keys in a file on your computer.

I agree, but I want to say that elsewhere. Perhaps in a part entitled "HOW BITCOIN WORKS". Something like this:

"You don't need to have your Bitcoin software running when someone
sends you coins. The network records the transaction, but only your
computer has the keys to spend the coins."

[FreeMoney]

I think people will find it cool that having coins means actually having the keys in a file on your computer.

I agree, but I want to say that elsewhere. Perhaps in a part entitled "HOW BITCOIN WORKS". Something like this:

"You don't need to have your Bitcoin software running when someone
sends you coins. The network records the transaction, but only your
computer has the keys to spend the coins."

That's good. The assumption that if the coins are on your computer then you need to run to receive is a pretty simple one to make. Good to clear that up.

[Bitquux]

I think people will find it cool that having coins means actually having the keys in a file on your computer.

I agree, but I want to say that elsewhere. Perhaps in a part entitled "HOW BITCOIN WORKS". Something like this:

"You don't need to have your Bitcoin software running when someone
sends you coins. The network records the transaction, but only your
computer has the keys to spend the coins."

What if you said "only you have the keys," giving ownership/control to the person, rather than the computer? The animation can show USB flash drives or something at this point to illustrate the computer aspect. Or is that not clear enough?

[ribuck]

What if you said "only you have the keys," giving ownership/control to the person, rather than the computer?

I've been struggling with that person/computer dichotomy the whole way through. I would like to always say "you" instead of "your computer". It's more human, more friendly, more understandable, and yet ... sometimes it just isn't true.

The keys really are on your computer. Sure, if you manually back them up onto a USB drive and put that in your pocket, then "you" have the keys. But so does anyone who steals your computer, so I can't really say that "only you" have the keys.

[Bitquux]

What if you said "only you have the keys," giving ownership/control to the person, rather than the computer?

I've been struggling with that person/computer dichotomy the whole way through. I would like to always say "you" instead of "your computer". It's more human, more friendly, more understandable, and yet ... sometimes it just isn't true.

The keys really are on your computer. Sure, if you manually back them up onto a USB drive and put that in your pocket, then "you" have the keys. But so does anyone who steals your computer, so I can't really say that "only you" have the keys.

You're absolutely right. I think correctness is important here. And saying "computer" leaves open the idea that you still have to secure your computer just as you would the tray that holds the key to your cash box.

[FreeMoney]

What if you said "only you have the keys," giving ownership/control to the person, rather than the computer?

I've been struggling with that person/computer dichotomy the whole way through. I would like to always say "you" instead of "your computer". It's more human, more friendly, more understandable, and yet ... sometimes it just isn't true.

The keys really are on your computer. Sure, if you manually back them up onto a USB drive and put that in your pocket, then "you" have the keys. But so does anyone who steals your computer, so I can't really say that "only you" have the keys.

I don't know. Would you feel strange saying "you have the dollar" when actually anyone who gets your wallet will have it?

[ribuck]

Would you feel strange saying "you have the dollar" when actually anyone who gets your wallet will have it?

If my wallet is in my pocket, I would say that I have the dollar. But if there's an equally-spendable copy of that dollar in my computer at home, and I'm not at home, I couldn't confidently say that I have it.

[Bitquux]

Would you feel strange saying "you have the dollar" when actually anyone who gets your wallet will have it?

If my wallet is in my pocket, I would say that I have the dollar. But if there's an equally-spendable copy of that dollar in my computer at home, and I'm not at home, I couldn't confidently say that I have it.

Though I guess if the dollar is at home on your table while you're out, you would still say you 'have' it. You just might be wrong and not know it. Question is which words do you use to draw the right picture in someone's head who is new to bitcoin?

[kiba]

You have access to an inter-dimensional wallet.

[sirius]

INTRODUCING BITCOIN

Sounds good. It's easier to get some professional do it when the project definition is clear (script + some kind of a visual idea).

Maybe you should transfer the bounty to someone who is more active than you and is perceived to be trustworthy (like kiba or noagendamarket) because no one is going to donate anymore if you disappear for months at a time.  

+1

[Anonymous]

Are your keys attached to a keychain or are they scattered about the house?

[kiba]

Bytemaster is inactive again. He is last seen November 9.

[FreeMoney]

Bytemaster is inactive again. He is last seen November 9.

Provided the risk of death/amnesia/imprisonment is greater than theft by trusted members it makes sense to have two different longtime members with access, either by copying the wallet file or using a mybitcoin or mtgox. I am not volunteering.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Bytemaster is inactive again. He is last seen November 9.

This is at least suspicious.

[Anonymous]

Everyone got their knickers in a knot last time he did this but he just had personal issues he was dealing with. 
To end this hysteria if bytemaster agrees we can put this bounty in a mybitcoin account with myself and another trusted user sharing the login details. I wouldnt feel comfortable holding it personally on my home laptop.

129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP

Thats the mybitcoin address to use . I think Kiba should be the other person who holds the account details. Does this sound acceptable?

[S3052]

I agree.

Perhaps we should also discuss about the purpose of using the bounty for again.

What has the best rate of return for the bitcoin idea?
* a nice, expensive video
* or something else that has more impact?

You probably get my bias ..

[theymos]

The bounty should just be returned to the donators. They can individually distribute it when a suitable video is created.

[ribuck]

Just to show that I am working on my idea of a bitcoin animated movie, and to try out Hippch's download site, here are two fragments that I have created:

http://ubitio.us/file/download/12
01-title.mp4 - First fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Opening Title

http://ubitio.us/file/download/13
02-currency.mp4 - Second fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Bitcoins moving around the world

I know it's not much yet, but I've never made an animation before. The remaining fragments should come faster now that I've made good progress learning the synfig software.

[em3rgentOrdr]

Just to show that I am working on my idea of a bitcoin animated movie, and to try out Hippch's download site, here are two fragments that I have created:

http://ubitio.us/file/download/12
01-title.mp4 - First fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Opening Title

http://ubitio.us/file/download/13
02-currency.mp4 - Second fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Bitcoins moving around the world

I know it's not much yet, but I've never made an animation before. The remaining fragments should come faster now that I've made good progress learning the synfig software.

"Oops! This link appears to be broken."  -I guess the download expired

[ribuck]

"Oops! This link appears to be broken."  -I guess the download expired

Yes, a longer expiry (e.g. 1 month rather than 6 hours) would work better at the Ubitious site. Anyway, thanks to the three people who downloaded: it means that I made 0.01 BTC profit per file!

I hope I can post a complete movie soon.

[aisnake]

Hi, im new in this comunitty and i first read a lot about bitcoins,and i like it, so im participating in this animation creation "contest" too. Stay tuned, first part i will post on this end of week (i gathered informations and did some kind of script for the animation first)

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Hi, im new in this comunitty and i first read a lot about bitcoins,and i like it, so im participating in this animation creation "contest" too. Stay tuned, first part i will post on this end of week (i gathered informations and did some kind of script for the animation first)

There is probably nothing to participate in in this thread, because the topic starter probably took the cash and ran off...

[kiba]

There is probably nothing to participate in in this thread, because the topic starter probably took the cash and ran off...

Nobody asked for refunds AFAIK, but it is accurate that bytemaster had not been active since November 9. He should at least visit the forum 5 minutes a day to reassure us.

He didn't.

[ribuck]

Relax, guys. Bytemaster showed up once before to reassure us. And he didn't force people to let him look after the bounty; no-one else volunteered.

Not everyone visits every forum every day. And until there's a claim on the bounty, it's hypothetical anyway, so there's still time for him to show up again.

[The Madhatter]

I think the bounty should be offered to the author of "Money as Debt". Just my 2 BTC.

[grondilu]

I think the bounty should be offered to the author of "Money as Debt". Just my 2 BTC.

This guy is good at making explanatory animations, but he has some biased ideas about money imo.  I'm not sure he likes the bitcoin concept anyway.

We'd better brainstorm to come up with a good script, in a first place.

Here is an idea :

First we remind the viewer how the traditionnel banking model is organized.  We show how a priviledged node, the banker, holds *accounts* of customers, and how every transaction has to pass through the banker, who just checks signatures and amounts.

Then we show how bitcoin model is similar, except that everybody has a copy of the accunts book, and that eveybody can play the role of the banker.  Who is actually the banker is decided randomly thanks to a CPU task that takes about 10 minutes to complete.   We show how this avoids the problem of double spending.

[grondilu]

Check out a thread I've just opened about a project I've started :

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2136.0

[da2ce7]

I'll bounty +50 BTC (sent to account)

[videodude]

Hey!

So my brother just introduced me to bit coin and I am brand new to the concept- I am really excited about it though! It sounds like the way of the future and he gave me a link to this thread saying there is a 'bounty' out for a video

Well this is what I do for a living, and I think it would be very rewarding to do something like this because it is certain to help this new currency move forward and I would love to help!

Here is a project I finished recently that has animations and hopefully it can show that I am capable of completing this project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLazcMQR8Rk

I usually do live videos and the thought crossed my mind that it might be nice to have some of the professionals who helped to create bit coin mentioned in the video- I listened to the radio show here:

http://www.bitcoinme.com/index.html

and I heard the guest talking about some of the economists etc that worked on the project- I wonder if there are some names we could drop (with their permission) to help bring confidence that this isn't some scam etc. Also, my brother showed me the following script:

Bitcoin is a currency for the internet. With Bitcoin, you can make payments
anywhere in the world conveniently and for little or no cost.

The Bitcoin system is not operated by any government. It is not controlled by
bankers. It is not the product of any corporation. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer
internet currency. Every transaction within the Bitcoin system is checked and
processed collectively by the computers that form the Bitcoin network.

Everyone can use Bitcoin. There's no charge to join, and no need to register.
Just install the Bitcoin software and start it up. You can earn
Bitcoins by selling products and services to the Bitcoin community, or you can
buy bitcoins from exchanges.

To send bitcoins to someone else, click on "Send coins". Choose the recipient
from your address book, or paste in their Bitcoin receiving address. To receive
bitcoins, tell the sender your Bitcoin receiving address so that they can send
you some coins. You don't need to have your Bitcoin software running when someone
sends you coins.

The total number of bitcoins is fixed, but they are subdividable and can support
any level of trade. Bitcoins are originally earned by those whose computers are
processing Bitcoin transactions, and it's also possible to earn small
transaction fees from certain kinds of Bitcoin transactions. This provides an
ongoing incentive for people to allow their computers to process Bitcoin
transactions.

The Bitcoin system is underpinned by mathematics and secured by public key
cryptography. Because Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer system, only valid transactions
that are acceptable to the network will be processed. Someone attempting to
defraud the system would need to control more computer power than all of the
honest network nodes combined, so there is strength in numbers.

To get started, visit bitcoin.org and download the software or join the
forum. Bitcoin is an exciting and potentially game-changing currency.

And I wasn't sure if this was actually something everyone agreed on or not. I am not sure if this script really shows the POWER of what bit coin is- what I mean is that I think it gets across the main points, but I am talking more of the type of video that INSPIRES you almost like a movie preview- we need to MARKET this to people- get them SO EXCITED about the CONCEPT that they want to learn more- then we can have other videos that explain the DETAILS. That is the vision I was thinking, only because if we create a video with the most power, then the curiosity/excitement at the concept will get them interested to learn more, and we can make a series of videos that will explain the other details. A short 2-3 minute video would be the most bang for your buck- because it will have the most potential to go viral, with the most potential to get people interested. So here is a list of requirements that I am thinking needs to be focused on for the first video to get across the power of what bit coin is- even though I still feel I have much to learn:

-This new currency is no longer controlled by the rich- it is power given back to the people (democracy)
-It can not be stopped because it uses the same system as p2p (confidence)
-No fees required for transactions (free)
-cash for the digital age (simple)
-more secure encryption system than online banking (Security)
-It's as anonymous as you want it to be (privacy)
-A call for help to make the world a better place (participation)

With these things (and any changes or suggestions by the community) I think we can create a very powerful 2-3 minute introduction to pump people up about this concept.

So I'm not sure if this is extremely different from what everyone were thinking and would like to hear what your thoughts are.

[theymos]

and I heard the guest talking about some of the economists etc that worked on the project- I wonder if there are some names we could drop (with their permission) to help bring confidence that this isn't some scam etc.

Bruce was "exaggerating" about that. Satoshi created nearly everything by himself, and he is known for nothing other than Bitcoin. His professional qualifications are not known.

No fees required for transactions (free)

This will change in the future. Once people start actively attacking Bitcoin, free transactions will be extremely slow. Fees should always be reasonably low, though.

more secure encryption system than online banking (Security)

Bitcoin uses no encryption. All of your transactions are transmitted in plaintext. "Cryptography" would be a better word -- Bitcoin uses digital signing and cryptographic hashing.

Whether this is stronger than banks depends on your threat model. If no one will get your wallet.dat, then it's basically impossible for someone to steal your money. But if you want protection from wiretapping, Bitcoin offers you nothing, whereas banks have HTTPS.

It's as anonymous as you want it to be (privacy)

Unless you're really careful, Bitcoin has poor anonymity. See http://www.bitcoin.org/wiki/doku.php?id=anonymity

[ribuck]

... I wasn't sure if this was actually something everyone agreed on or not ...

That script is just something I submitted for comments, but anyone can use all or part of it if they want. I'm working on an animation using that script, but making slow progress.

The script has certainly not been agreed by any kind of consensus, Also be aware that the script doesn't meet the requirments of all of those who have pledged donations, since different donors impose different conditions, so an animation based on it won't collect the whole pot.

[MoonShadow]

Well this is what I do for a living, and I think it would be very rewarding to do something like this because it is certain to help this new currency move forward and I would love to help!

Give it a shot, but it's a race, not an audition.  We don't know you, so we will have to see the product before you can expect anything.  The risk is all your own.

and I heard the guest talking about some of the economists etc that worked on the project- I wonder if there are some names we could drop (with their permission) to help bring confidence that this isn't some scam etc. Also, my brother showed me the following script:

Although there are a number of forum members who are economicly educated, none who have a reputation to maintain their incomes IRL are going to stick their 'neck' out for Bitcoin just yet.  Some are watching quietly, from a safe distance.  The majority of the forum members are very privacy literate, myself included, and are not going to pierce that shield for a new forum member with one post.  For that matter, the lead programmer Satoshi, may not be using his real name; for even the old forum members cannot get confirmation of any personal info.

-This new currency is no longer controlled by the rich- it is power given back to the people (democracy)

It's not about politics, really.  It's certainly not about democracy.

-It can not be stopped because it uses the same system as p2p (confidence)

It cannot be stopped because of the proof-of-work system and because there exists no central point of control that can be attacked in cyberspace or in real life.  P2P is a means to achieve this, not the ends unto itself.  This may sound nitpicky, but the confidence that we share in Bitcoin has to do with it's robustness and lack of a single point of failure, not the network topology.

-No fees required for transactions (free)

True, no fees are required.  Fees do play a role, however.

-cash for the digital age (simple)

Subjective, but yes.

-more secure encryption system than online banking (Security)

Probably, but this is apples to oranges.  Online banking uses encryption to deal with a different threat model; someone who is trying to listen for your account secrets, such as account numbers, login info, or personal info.  The Bitcoin model works differently, and the secrets that you keep stay on your disk drive, and you must learn to protect them well.

-It's as anonymous as you want it to be (privacy)

It's as anonymous as cash in person, but for most people that isn't very anonymous.  Just as the security camera catches your face when paying in cash, your actions online can associate you to an address or more.  Once this happens, there is a "paper trail".

[Waterfox]

ribuck: Can you reupload the movie fragments to something like Ubitio.us or Pastecoin? Or, I could privately buy them.

[kiba]

ribuck: Can you reupload the movie fragments to something like Ubitio.us or Pastecoin? Or, I could privately buy them.

Ubitio.us have the problem of file expiring. Pastecoin.com or bitcoinservice.co.uk is a better choice.

[ribuck]

ribuck: Can you reupload the movie fragments to something like Ubitio.us or Pastecoin? Or, I could privately buy them.

Ubitio.us have the problem of file expiring. Pastecoin.com or bitcoinservice.co.uk is a better choice.

Ubitio.us expires the file too quickly. Bitcoinservice.co.uk requires registration. PasteCoin.com makes you wait a block for confirmation before you can download. So none of the services is really user-friendly.

Anyway, here are the files. It's nothing too exciting yet, it's just to show that I have actually done some work.

01-title.mp4 - First fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Opening Title
http://pastecoin.com/download.php?file=86
0.1 BTC, 600kB

02-currency.mp4 - Second fragment of animated bitcoin movie (no sound yet)
Bitcoins moving around the world
http://pastecoin.com/download.php?file=87
0.1 BTC, 600kB

[bytemaster]

I have transfered 8449 BTC to 129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP.

[Anonymous]

I have transfered 8449 BTC to 129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP.

Confirmed. I actually agree that it was a non issue you controlling the bounty as no one else stepped forward.

I will give the username and password to both bytemaster and kiba. I guess mybitcoin also has a copy as its on their server....

Does anyone have a problem with that ? 

[FreeMoney]

I have transfered 8449 BTC to 129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP.

Confirmed. I actually agree that it was a non issue you controlling the bounty as no one else stepped forward.

I will give the username and password to both bytemaster and kiba. I guess mybitcoin also has a copy as its on their server....

Does anyone have a problem with that ? 

Seems safe. A solution where we can see who moves them would be the best though. Kiba probably wouldn't throw away his whole reputation, but as long as the reputation hit is shared 3 or 4 ways it might be attractive.

[eurekafag]

I will give the username and password to both bytemaster and kiba.

I don't agree. Even if bytemaster has shown himself as not a scammer eventually, he shouldn't have any control over the bounty. He isn't known for anything good but very well known as the money seizer. On the other hand, kiba and noagendamarket did a lot to promote bitcoin so they definitely should dispose of the money.

[bytemaster]

I can understand everyone being cautious, but I was never a money 'seizer' as you claim.  I started the bounty, purchased BTC to back my bounty, and took only 100 BTC of escrow from others before I 'disappeared' for the first time (due to lack of progress and a busy life).  The fact that BTC jumped up in $US value and that a 8499BTC donation was made should not give me bad marks.   

The only thing I care about is that, as the individual whom started this bounty, I get a significant voice in who gets the award.

In general I think it would be wise to make personal contact with someone before sending them large amounts of BTC.  If I had been run over by a bus then there would be no 'mal-intent', yet many here would immediately attribute 'mal-intent'. 

 I want a bitcoin-like solution to succeed.   So I would appreciate the benefit of the doubt.  Clearly, I would not hand over $1500-$2000 if I were a scammer!

Thanks for your support noagendamarket. 

As an aside, if you demonize someone who has not violated any "agreements" then you have already damaged their reputation and you increase the likelihood of that individual saying "screw it" and just taking the money because people tend to live up to your expectations.  On the other hand, if you defend someone like noagendamarket has then you motivate them to 'live up to' the good expectations.  I encourage everyone to exercise caution when giving money to someone and restraint in judging someone until there is proof that they did not live up to what they agreed to do.

Until someone stepped forward to claim the bounty the most that could be said about my 'character' is that I am non-responsive. 

Noagenda, if you wish to 'remove' me from the access list then I would be OK with that.  Clearly, my reputation (wether deserved or not) is only doing harm to the cause.

[ribuck]

...He isn't known for anything good...

Well he initiated this bounty. That's good. And he hasn't seized the money. That's good. So as far as I'm concerned he's not disqualified in any way.

[kiba]

...He isn't known for anything good...

Well he initiated this bounty. That's good. And he hasn't seized the money. That's good. So as far as I'm concerned he's not disqualified in any way.

Rather, it's the lack of activity that worries me.

If he got hit by a bus, there's no way that the money can be claimed again.

[FreddyFender]

Hey bytemaster, I concur that you should retain some rights as initiator of the bounty. We could get kiba and you on committee to judge "best" or "best of" for the bounty. Grab a quorum of long time forum guys to judge and set a time limit (say 30 days), then we all vote if no one else steps forward. If it does turn out to be a competition, then voting could eliminate contenders or split the prize accordingly.
I myself do flash and would like to make small clips based on the adventures of bitcoin & 2b(2 bit). Just to add fun and profit to my resume.
I don't think an all-inclusive video (45 min or less) can capture the economic/social/technical ramifications of bitcoin just yet. We should concentrate on the pre-existing script here or break it down into smaller projects - ie. blurbs, commercials, infomercials, and documentaries.
Just a thought...

[fabianhjr]

Are there any submissions yet?

[mizerydearia]

I sent follow-up email to cyriak to see if he is interested in this video opportunity yet.  I still haven't received any word back from him since my original contact attempts.

[JohnDoe]

If all pledgers are still pledging after all this time then the bounty is now worth $4000. Maybe instead of waiting for someone to do it we could start thinking about hiring a professional.

[Anonymous]

A professional animation similar to http://commoncraft.com would cost upwards of $30 000

I spoke to one of their reps awhile ago about this project.

[mizerydearia]

Well, in a few more months, 13,000btc will be valued at $30,000....

[fabianhjr]

I heard that FreeRange Studios are a little bit more accesible. They have an annual contest were the viewers get to choose the project of their liking that is going to recieve 100K dollars value of their service as rewards. They worked on The story of Cap and Trade and The Story of Stuff. They could like this proposition.

[bitanarchy]

Maybe stef can help. He made this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2wQAQCip8

[grondilu]

Maybe stef can help. He made this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2wQAQCip8

This is actually pretty good.   I don't know this guy well, but clearly I should listen to him more.

[FreeMoney]

Maybe stef can help. He made this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2wQAQCip8

This is actually pretty good.   I don't know this guy well, but clearly I should listen to him more.

I listen to stef a lot. Hadn't seen this, it is nice.

[FreeMoney]

Maybe stef can help. He made this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2wQAQCip8

It looks like Luke is the one to contact.

http://www.youtube.com/user/lukebessey#p/a/f/0/QG4jhlPLVVs

[wobber]

Is this reward still on?

[MoonShadow]

Is this reward still on?

Mine still is.  As far as I know, no one has won.

[MoonShadow]

I heard that FreeRange Studios are a little bit more accesible. They have an annual contest were the viewers get to choose the project of their liking that is going to recieve 100K dollars value of their service as rewards. They worked on The story of Cap and Trade and The Story of Stuff. They could like this proposition.

I've never seen the Story of Cap and Trade, but their Story of Stuff was so full of economic errors that I couldn't finish it.  I found it offensive that this was being shown to schoolchildren as some kind of education into economics and trade.

[theymos]

I've never seen the Story of Cap and Trade, but their Story of Stuff was so full of economic errors that I couldn't finish it.  I found it offensive that this was being shown to schoolchildren as some kind of education into economics and trade.

Yeah; I had to watch that for one of my college classes. It's the worst anti-capitalist propaganda I've ever seen. I can't believe anyone could agree with all of the nonsense in the video (though no one else in my class had any complaints).

[mizerydearia]

(though no one else in my class had any complaints).

Perhaps a bit of unrealized lemmingism.

[fabianhjr]

Well there is truth and lies in everything. Even Al Gore plays this game. I must agree with you on the economic errors it has.

[WSDN]

i am offering here, to translating the final movie in spanish subs =)

[fabianhjr]

Maybe the American Dream film guys. They did a terrific job and would love to see more movies from them.

[wobber]

I have some questions:

1. Is the bounty still in place?

2. Is anyone currently working at this project?

3. Bitcoin is 0.4 USD today, the bounty is 13.622.05, right?

I am setting up a team to discuss the script and animation details/effects of this animated movie that describes Bitcoin and it's economy. The team is consisted of graphic artists, video editors and professional photographers. We still need a voice that speaks fluently English (if someone wants to apply, a reading test will be required)

Estimated production time: ~8 weeks

Estimated lenght time: 10 minutes

Details: animated movie with voiceover (something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc )

PLEASE COME WITH SUGGESTIONS BECAUSE WE WANT THE MOVIE TO BE AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE.

--------------------------------
EDIT: The FIRST plot draft

1) How, why and when?
- Revelation 13 “No man shall buy or sell...”
- Bitcoin was created by a Japanese programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto in C++
- It was created as a mean to transfer value ***INNACURATE.
- The project was started in 2009 and had a small amount of followers

2) How it works?
- Explanation for: blocks, addresses, generation, alorithm *** NEEDS MORE DETAILS
- Explanation for P2P anonymous decentralized system (your own mint) *** DETAILS
- Cryptography and security

3) Comparison with cash and gold
- Gold: you mine bitcoin, limited supply, no intrisic value
- Cash: irreversible transactions,  can be destroyed easily,  divided up to 8 decimals
- Show that it was an economy-in-a-jar (you could and can learn a lot about economics by looking at the inception ad growth of bitcoin)

4) Originality of Bitcoin
- Show why it's nor gold, cash, a new PayPal or credit card. Explain it's a comodity,
- digital or virtual explanation *** I NEED MORE INFO!
- explain how loosing some bitcoins makes the others worth more (deflation)
- 21 milion maximum BTC. Explain what happens if all the world uses BTC (how much a gram of gold worths 0.00004 I.e.
- show why it' can't be counterfeit

5) Why does a bitcoin have any value?
- it is free from government control unless they shut down the internet
- shutting down internet will prevent most credit card systems from working too
- it's internet first and only currency (PayPal is not currency,  it's a virtual dollar)***INNACU.
- it enables "cash-like" transactions across the internet
- it provides some degree of anonymity. (note: when used properly)
- it enables micro-payments
- it can be backed up
- the slashdot effect. Value before and after. Also show growth of services and goods
- other people are willing to trade goods/services for BTC *** SHOW TRADE PAGE.
- little or no transaction fees
-value today ( sum up daily transaction totals)

6) How do I keep it safe or know that a transaction is legit? How long does it take?
- compare risk to risk of a check bouncing or counterfeit cash

7) - compare risk to risk of a check bouncing or counterfeit cash
-if they steal your wallet.dat, if have no backup and realize too late, all bitcoins are lost. Show that with physical money is the same.
-hacker has to “spend” (even if to another address of his) coins because otherwise you can restore the backup wallet and spend them to another address of yours *** EXPLAIN WHY
- backup your wallet.dat file. It is hard to "backup" cash in your safe or wallet.
- scams (paying and not receiving goods/services)

  Future Direction
- cell phone payment at merchants
- inflation hedge vs government printing press
- whole new types of start up businesses become possible by removing the
- overhead associated with accepting payments.
- explain how you could buy groceries, pay tickets ar bills with Bitcoin.  *** SHOW ANIMATION OF FICTIOUS CHAR PAYING WITH BITCOIN.
- possible attacks on the network (govt. bans) *** WHAT OTHER ATTACKS?
- bitcoin generation possiblities (clouds, farms, cryptohardware)


CREDITS *** IF TEAM WANTS TO BE CREDITED.

[Anonymous]

I have some questions:

1. Is the bounty still in place?

2. Is anyone currently working at this project?

3. Bitcoin is 0.4 USD today, the bounty is 13.622.05, right?

I am setting up a team to discuss the script and animation details/effects of this animated movie that describes Bitcoin and it's economy. The team is consisted of graphic artists, video editors and professional photographers. We still need a voice that speaks fluently English (if someone wants to apply, a reading test will be required)

Estimated production time: ~8 weeks

Estimated lenght time: 10 minutes

Details: animated movie with voiceover (something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc )

PLEASE COME WITH SUGGESTIONS BECAUSE WE WANT THE MOVIE TO BE AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE.

--------------------------------
EDIT: The FIRST plot draft

1) How, why and when?
- Revelation 13 “No man shall buy or sell...”
- Bitcoin was created by a Japanese programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto in C++
- It was created as a mean to transfer value ***INNACURATE.
- The project was started in 2009 and had a small amount of followers

2) How it works?
- Explanation for: blocks, addresses, generation, alorithm *** NEEDS MORE DETAILS
- Explanation for P2P anonymous decentralized system (your own mint) *** DETAILS
- Cryptography and security

3) Comparison with cash and gold
- Gold: you mine bitcoin, limited supply, no intrisic value
- Cash: irreversible transactions,  can be destroyed easily,  divided up to 8 decimals
- Show that it was an economy-in-a-jar (you could and can learn a lot about economics by looking at the inception ad growth of bitcoin)

4) Originality of Bitcoin
- Show why it's nor gold, cash, a new PayPal or credit card. Explain it's a comodity,
- digital or virtual explanation *** I NEED MORE INFO!
- explain how loosing some bitcoins makes the others worth more (deflation)
- 21 milion maximum BTC. Explain what happens if all the world uses BTC (how much a gram of gold worths 0.00004 I.e.
- show why it' can't be counterfeit

5) Why does a bitcoin have any value?
- it is free from government control unless they shut down the internet
- shutting down internet will prevent most credit card systems from working too
- it's internet first and only currency (PayPal is not currency,  it's a virtual dollar)***INNACU.
- it enables "cash-like" transactions across the internet
- it provides some degree of anonymity. (note: when used properly)
- it enables micro-payments
- it can be backed up
- the slashdot effect. Value before and after. Also show growth of services and goods
- other people are willing to trade goods/services for BTC *** SHOW TRADE PAGE.
- little or no transaction fees
-value today ( sum up daily transaction totals)

6) How do I keep it safe or know that a transaction is legit? How long does it take?
- compare risk to risk of a check bouncing or counterfeit cash

7) - compare risk to risk of a check bouncing or counterfeit cash
-if they steal your wallet.dat, if have no backup and realize too late, all bitcoins are lost. Show that with physical money is the same.
-hacker has to “spend” (even if to another address of his) coins because otherwise you can restore the backup wallet and spend them to another address of yours *** EXPLAIN WHY
- backup your wallet.dat file. It is hard to "backup" cash in your safe or wallet.
- scams (paying and not receiving goods/services)

 Future Direction
- cell phone payment at merchants
- inflation hedge vs government printing press
- whole new types of start up businesses become possible by removing the
- overhead associated with accepting payments.
- explain how you could buy groceries, pay tickets ar bills with Bitcoin.  *** SHOW ANIMATION OF FICTIOUS CHAR PAYING WITH BITCOIN.
- possible attacks on the network (govt. bans) *** WHAT OTHER ATTACKS?
- bitcoin generation possiblities (clouds, farms, cryptohardware)


CREDITS *** IF TEAM WANTS TO BE CREDITED.

There is over 8500btc sitting in a mybitcoin account. The rest has different strings attached such as making it to the front page of digg.
This will be accounted for when the bounty is claimed and people are prompted to pay up. However a lot of the people who pledged at the start of the bounty have disappeared from the forum.

[wobber]

And of course they disappeared. It's not ONE man's job, it's a whole team's job.

One man, except the case he's has lots of skills and knowledge cannot create a professional video. It takes a team of at least three (script, graphics and voiceover).

EDIT: by the way, the other members of my team never heard of bitcoin so I'm very curious what impact will this have.

[FreeMoney]

And of course they disappeared. 

What is this supposed to imply? You think people left to avoid paying money that they offered?

I pledged 100 and it's still good. I think I said it needed Satoshi's blessing, but since he might be gone I'll waive that. I can tell myself now if it is accurate.

Are you really going to start with a Bible verse?

If you say "no intrinsic value" a bunch of people are going to jump on you saying "nothing has intrinsic value", better to say the bitcoin has no "use value" if you need to get that idea across for some reason, I don't think it's that important though.

[Anonymous]

And of course they disappeared. It's not ONE man's job, it's a whole team's job.

One man, except the case he's has lots of skills and knowledge cannot create a professional video. It takes a team of at least three (script, graphics and voiceover).

EDIT: by the way, the other members of my team never heard of bitcoin so I'm very curious what impact will this have.

I didnt say they are refusing to pay I said they havent been around the forum for awhile. What do you mean by "impact this will have"?

Its a community bounty not a business contract. Id be happy if the thread title was changed to reflect the actual amount of coins that is in the bounty account right now however I dont control that. Considering the amount of coins there is worth over $3500 its still a considerable bounty.

[ribuck]

2. Is anyone currently working at this project?

I'm working on it, though very slowly. I'm doing a 2-minute animation based on the script that I posted earlier in this thread. I'm 30% of the way through the visuals, then there's the narration, music and sound effects to be done.

In any case, my project doesn't meet the criteria for some of the promised bounties. The more people or groups producing videos, the better.

[FreddyFender]

Hey bytemaster, I concur that you should retain some rights as initiator of the bounty. We could get kiba and you on committee to judge "best" or "best of" for the bounty. Grab a quorum of long time forum guys to judge and set a time limit (say 30 days), then we all vote if no one else steps forward. If it does turn out to be a competition, then voting could eliminate contenders or split the prize accordingly.
I myself do flash and would like to make small clips based on the adventures of bitcoin & 2b(2 bit). Just to add fun and profit to my resume.
I don't think an all-inclusive video (45 min or less) can capture the economic/social/technical ramifications of bitcoin just yet. We should concentrate on the pre-existing script here or break it down into smaller projects - ie. blurbs, commercials, infomercials, and documentaries.
Just a thought...

I have managed a multimedia development house of 5-10 devs, and was a Flash AS2 coder. I know that a working script is based on time elements and that each bulletpoint needs 30-45 sec to get the point across. If we look at current scripts that have been posted, they seem to be approx. 30 min. in length.
We have three distinct target audiences (coders/geeks, economists, and layman/newbies) that may be indicating 3 animations to better separate the ideas.
I am willing to help with smaller entries that could be circulated faster and target everyone. I am setting up a background and actors for an animated cartoon based on the adventures of Bitcoin and 2b(2bit). I don't expect the full bounty, but donations would be nice. I'll be posting these in Feburary, so stay tuned.
Have fun with the big project and any help you need, give a shout out.

[wobber]

I won't start it with the Bible verse, nor anything like this. It seems it makes people to think of religious fanatics, lol.

The infomercials are a very good idea, I'll discuss this too.

A 45minute video is too much and would be more like a documentary.

[JohnDoe]

1) How, why and when?
- Revelation 13 “No man shall buy or sell...”
- Bitcoin was created by a Japanese programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto in C++
- It was created as a mean to transfer value ***INNACURATE.
- The project was started in 2009 and had a small amount of followers

I would scrap this part completely. Nobody will care about details like who the author is or in what language the client is written in. Instead of answering "how, why and when" answer "what" first. How and why are answered in the other sections of your script.

And as a suggestion, you could ask a knowledgeable person like theymos or gavin to help you make a really solid script and in return offer a percentage of the bounty. Or you could just make a thread in the general forum with your script and let everyone improve it from there.

[wobber]

What license is to be used for this movie? 

I prefer Creative Commons-Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.

I never think about the license but I'm sure it will be Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported because it's free on distribution and remixing.

Also should be the materials used such as 3D bitcoin animation, script, FinalCut effects (if new are created). Pretty much everything.

Meanwhile, i have a question: How could I submit a draft of the script and everyone could modify it with somekind of tracking feature and also prevent vandalim? I don't have time to set up a website to do that and the forum will be messy, with lots of quotes and "It would be better without this" or "I'd skip that". 

[mizerydearia]

Meanwhile, i have a question: How could I submit a draft of the script and everyone could modify it with somekind of tracking feature and also prevent vandalim? I don't have time to set up a website to do that and the forum will be messy, with lots of quotes and "It would be better without this" or "I'd skip that".  

Perhaps you could track derivatives by using a 1x1 pixel hotlinked image and suggest to others that produce copies or derivatives to leave the image intact (for tracking purposes) and also to publish or post the derivatives in publicly accessible web-based resources (for easy web-based access)?  In regards to 'vandalism,' that depends on the attributed license.  Regarding allowing everyone to edit, use the Bitcoin wiki?

[fabianhjr]

...$3500 its still a considerable bounty.

Actually with the 40 cent exchange it is more like $5500 USD. If you ask me we should update this thread because it is over 50% of what the thread indicates. xD

[JohnDoe]

Meanwhile, i have a question: How could I submit a draft of the script and everyone could modify it with somekind of tracking feature and also prevent vandalim? I don't have time to set up a website to do that and the forum will be messy, with lots of quotes and "It would be better without this" or "I'd skip that". 

I would ask MagicalTux if it's alright to put it on the bitcoin wiki temporarily, and if it gets vandalized it can get semi-protected.

[Babylon]

I am fluent in English, have a decent quality microphone and a good speaking voice.  I'd love to work as part of a team as I have about no visual skills.

[Garrett Burgwardt]

Wobber: PM sent

[kiba]

The bounty's value had grown to 9,535.44 USD assuming that everyone follow through with their obligation.

[grondilu]

The bounty's value had grown to 9,535.44 USD assuming that everyone follow through with their obligation.

And still no progress whatsoever??  Damn

[lumos]

This is the next project I am going to work on, if anyone wants to join me, pm. Otherwise I will work with a friend/on my own.

[mizerydearia]

This is the next project I am going to work on, if anyone wants to join me, pm. Otherwise I will work with a friend/on my own.

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg35691#msg35691
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg38602#msg38602
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg38621#msg38621
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg26798#msg26798
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg29090#msg29090
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=697.msg20094#msg20094

[lumos]

thanks misery!

[arnoldb0620]

Steve goes into great detail on how Bitcoin operates. It is lacking visual aids.
http://twit.tv/sn287

[fabianhjr]

Now it is about 15K USD. It keeps growing by itself. xD

[Veltas]

Steve goes into great detail on how Bitcoin operates. It is lacking visual aids.
http://twit.tv/sn287

He has a habit of turning what could be said in a sentence into a 15 minute explanation.  But then again, who doesn't on podcasts?

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Name:    bytemaster
Posts:    132 (0.667 per day)
Respect:    0
Position:    Full Member
Date Registered:    July 27, 2010, 04:02 pm
Last Active:    January 21, 2011, 06:41 am

How do we know that the bounty is safe and the person who started this didn't run away ?
Bytemaster has a nasty habit of disappearing every few weeks... Doesn't exactly look trustworthy to me.

This thread stinks of fraud.

[kiba]

Let me check if the money is still there. After all I been entrusted with the funds.

[kiba]

Yep, 8449.00 BTC is still there.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Yep, 8449.00 BTC is still there.

Good, i certainly trust you more than bytemaster.

But why does it say 13622.05 BTC ?

[kiba]

But why does it say 13622.05 BTC ?

All the pledged amount.

[Anonymous]

http://blockexplorer.com/address/129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP

8449 is still there. Check for yourself.

[seef]

Hi,
I could offer german translation.

[myrkul]

I'm taking a stab at this. Bounty's just too big not to. Youtube link once completed and uploaded.

[Anonymous]

I'm taking a stab at this. Bounty's just too big not to. Youtube link once completed and uploaded.

Good luck!  Hope you donate to john and adam if you get the prize 

[myrkul]

Beginning to see why the bounty has gotten so high... PITA factor on this thing is surprisingly high.

[myrkul]

I'll definitely donate (possibly even get a one-shot Knighthood) to John and Adam, should I get the bounty... One major tripping point:

How "animated" does it have to be?

1) Slide-show style text/visual aids

2) Flashy 3d-style text/visual aids

3) Flash-style animation

4) full-3d character animation

I get we're looking for an intro for newbs, and I've actually got the audio done, But unless you just want 1) or 2), the visuals may be out of my league.

Also, I think we shouldn't overlook the video stream as a way to get more info into the video... that way, it's not just some guy standing there talking about bitcoin, or buying stuff with a bitcoin-branded credit card.

[theymos]

How "animated" does it have to be?

To earn my bounties, the video must have mostly original art and animation. Winning videos will almost certainly not be created using a tool that contains pre-made art and animation such as xtranormal or PowerPoint.

The point is to go beyond a good script and offer a useful and unique visual aid to understanding. Most of all, I want to see animated explanations of how blocks and transactions function and fit together.

[myrkul]

Ok, 1, You didn't specify one of the options.

2, I thought Satoshi's diagrams were plenty clear, do you really need some goofy animation? I could do it in ascii art, ffs:

Code:

+==========+\             +==========+\             +==========+
|   Block  | \            |   Block  | \            |   Block  |
|  +----+  |  \           |  +----+  |  \           |  +----+  |
--->hash|  |   \    --------->hash|  |   \    --------->hash|  |
|  +----+  |    >--/      |  +----+  |    >--/      |  +----+  |
|+--------+|   /          |+--------+|   /          |+--------+|
||transxns||  /           ||transxns||  /           ||transxns||
|+--------+| /            |+--------+| /            |+--------+| 
+==========+/             +==========+/             +==========+

Don't get me wrong, for that much money, you deserve to get what you want... I just want to know what the value add of animation over a static diagram is.

[FreeMoney]

Don't get me wrong, for that much money, you deserve to get what you want... I just want to know what the value add of animation over a static diagram is.

It's the difference between all of us looking at it and saying "Ah ha, nice and correct and a little dull" and it going viral and getting people to understand and remember and be interested.

I'm not sure why thousands of coins isn't getting this done faster. I guess it'll need to be a team or a rather remarkable person who has understanding of bitcoin, graphic skill, and teaching skill.

[myrkul]

Alright... I'll see what I can do. No promises that it will be pretty though.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

I'll definitely donate (possibly even get a one-shot Knighthood) to John and Adam, should I get the bounty... One major tripping point:

How "animated" does it have to be?

I think that "Money as debt" style should satisfy everybody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8

However as it was said already by theymos, the video should be very explanatory about how exactly the protocol works in such a way that not-geeky people can actually understand the basic concept.

[myrkul]

I'll definitely donate (possibly even get a one-shot Knighthood) to John and Adam, should I get the bounty... One major tripping point:

How "animated" does it have to be?

I think that "Money as debt" style should satisfy everybody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8

However as it was said already by theymos, the video should be very explanatory about how exactly the protocol works in such a way that not-geeky people can actually understand the basic concept.

me != animator (even of that quality)

As I said, I've got the audio, and it's very easy to understand. I'm going to see if I can find some animation tools, but in the mean time, I would gladly go halvsies if an animator showed up to offer his services (>$5,500 USD a piece, if we get everyone's bounties!)

No way on earth I'm going to be able to draw 15,000 frames by hand!

Edit: I've found an animation tool that should do the trick. I'll be able get 2d animation, and it should look pretty good. Not sure what flashy effects I'll be able to add, but I'll at least be able to do the audio justice (bye-bye, boring slide-show!)

[TiagoTiago]

Perhaps this should become a comunity project, with lots of people contributing to the scripts, providing pieces of art under acceptable licenses etc?

Or the very least the script(s) itself would be on the wiki for people to contribute, correct etc.


Hm, perhaps someone out there already got the whole thing done but is betting on no one else doing it and waiting till BTC value goes up enough.... ¬.¬

[theymos]

2, I thought Satoshi's diagrams were plenty clear, do you really need some goofy animation? I could do it in ascii art, ffs:

Don't get me wrong, for that much money, you deserve to get what you want... I just want to know what the value add of animation over a static diagram is.

I suppose a slideshow with many original images and clear explanatory audio could win some of my bounties.

Something an animation could do is build up to a final diagram of an example block chain like this:



- The genesis block (at the bottom) is created.
- Another block is created, attached to the genesis block.
- Two blocks are created at the same time. One of them wins.
- Etc.

It can explain other diagrams in pieces, as well. Build up to a complete diagram of a transaction or a block, explaining each piece in turn.

Here is an example of a script that would be likely to win many of my bounties:
- Problems with current systems, etc. Advantages of Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin overview. How to get started, etc.
- Character presses "send coins" in Bitcoin, which starts technical explanation of transactions.
- Bitcoin chooses inputs, writes outputs, and signs the transaction.
- The transaction is broadcast to the network. Its validity is checked.
- Recipient gets 0/unconfirmed transaction. Explain double-spending.
- A miner creates a block containing the transaction. Discuss block creation and generation.
- More blocks are created. At some point, two are created at once so you can explain chain forks.
- Transaction gets 6 confirmations. Recipient sends those coins to show that transactions happen in a chain.
- Explain long-term economics, deflationary spiral, etc.

With this much material, the video would have to be over 30 minutes long to be of good quality. Shorter videos with less material can win some of my bounties, and they might win the the 8449 BTC bounty.

[myrkul]

I suppose a slideshow with many original images and clear explanatory audio could win some of my bounties.

Something an animation could do is build up to a final diagram of an example block chain like this:

Thanks for the input. Now that I have an animation tool that will allow me to get this done before I'm old and gray, I'll be sure to hit as many of your points as possible. Probably go into pretty close detail of how a block is built, etc. I may need to re-cut the audio to make the explanations fit the visuals, but it will be worth it to make a good-looking video.

[myrkul]

Now that I've got the feel of the animation program, please enjoy this quickly tossed together demo:

Animation demo

It's on my dropbox, rather than youtube, being as it's only a tech demo. Essentially, it's the animated version of the ascii art I posted above (works best on repeat).

The final version will have a more polished look, obviously, but this is approximately the quality of animation. Is good?

edit: if you have any difficulty viewing it, VLC worked fine for me.

[theymos]

Now that I've got the feel of the animation program, please enjoy this quickly tossed together demo:

Animation demo

It's on my dropbox, rather than youtube, being as it's only a tech demo. Essentially, it's the animated version of the ascii art I posted above (works best on repeat).

The final version will have a more polished look, obviously, but this is approximately the quality of animation. Is good?

edit: if you have any difficulty viewing it, VLC worked fine for me.

That quality is fine for my "How Bitcoin works technically" bounty, and maybe "Why Bitcoin will work economically" and "Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives".  It needs a very high-quality voice-over. That speed is way too fast, since everything needs to be explained in great detail.

It could also win my popularity bounties if the video does become popular.

I'm not guaranteeing anything, though. I'll need to see the final product. I'm certainly not going to award any of my goal bounties if I don't think the video covers the topic well, even if it follows the script I posted exactly (since I am not an expert at writing scripts). And I'm not awarding any bounties if it is inaccurate.

[myrkul]

That quality is fine for my "How Bitcoin works technically" bounty, and maybe "Why Bitcoin will work economically" and "Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives".  It needs a very high-quality voice-over. That speed is way too fast, since everything needs to be explained in great detail.

It could also win my popularity bounties if the video does become popular.

I'm not guaranteeing anything, though. I'll need to see the final product. I'm certainly not going to award any of my goal bounties if I don't think the video covers the topic well, even if it follows the script I posted exactly (since I am not an expert at writing scripts). And I'm not awarding any bounties if it is inaccurate.

Works for me. I'll slow things down some, too. Thanks.

[myrkul]

How "animated" does it have to be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvmOfTsXuAc

I would tip that it should be animated like this
rendered figures, spaces, animated interaction
ofc does not have to be rhymed or sung like the example above

Uh.. Yeah, I know my limitations, and cel-shaded line-dancing pop-star clones are a bit out of my league.

But this: http://www.jonathangullible.com/PoL/philosophy_of_liberty.swf

That I can do.

[lumos]

i think it should be something like this> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnXU7z2_6Jg

[freeman]

I think the following style could be quite effective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

[freeman]

Here is my attempt at a non-technical introduction of bitcoin.  My goal
is to explain to someone not interested in the cryptography or software
aspects of the system why they might find it useful as a currency.  IOW,
assume the cryptography works, the P2P system works, the mining system
is not vulnerable to attack, etc: what properties does the system have?

This is a short, relatively non-technical introduction of bitcoin, a
digital currency.  I'm not going to explain the inner workings of the
system other than to say that it based on a form of applied mathematics
known as cryptography.  The system does not depend on a central
authority.

Let's explore the properties of the bitcoin system, assuming it's
mathematical foundations are sound.  First, the number of coins in the
system is fixed.  Over the next twenty-odd years coins will be slowly
created on a pre-determined schedule.  After that time, no new coins can
be created.  Currently about 6 million coins exist.  There will never be
any more than about 21 million coins created.

This fixed schedule of coin creation is one of the properies that makes
bitcoin useful as a currency. People would not like to accept coins as
payment if it was easy for others to create new ones.

Another useful property of bitcoins is that they are easily divisible
into smaller units.  This is a useful property of a currency since it
allows transactions of any value to be completed.

Finally there is property of bitcoins that make it quite unique as a
currency.  The system allows transactions to be made between people at
practically no cost.  To make a transaction, the seller provides the
buyer a special number identifying a digital wallet.  The buyer uses
this number to transfer coins from their wallet to the sellers wallet.
It takes about 10 minutes for this transaction to be cleared by the
system.  After the transaction has cleared it cannot be reversed.

[Stefan Thomas]

Hey everybody! It's time for our little team to come out of the woodwork! We're about done with our script and it'll go off to a professional voice actor for recording tomorrow. The graphics are being done by a motion graphics designer who specializes in explanation videos just like this. Getting him on board was the lucky break that made this whole thing possible.

The reason for this post is only to announce that we're working on this and perhaps to find out if another professional team may be working on it quietly as well.  

When it's done, the video will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license. I plan to release as much of the graphics etc. as possible under the same license. I want this project to be a continuing resource for remixes and Bitcoin-related videos by other artists.

We won't release the script ahead of time to avoid it being laden with a history of public debate and personal investment by the time the video even comes out. And since the video is aimed at a general audience, we mostly sought feedback from design, marketing and film people as well as anybody who never heard of Bitcoin. That said, we did make sure we got the technical stuff right. Special thanks to the #bitcoin-otc channel who (mostly unknowingly) helped a great deal in making the script technically accurate. We've also got help from some specific members of the community who I'll thank publicly once the video is out.

What I will post however are a few early draft images to give you a sense of the visual style.

This one is from the opening:


This one is from a later part where we explain how to make a transaction:


Bitcoin is worldwide!!


Don't mind the sizes, the final video will be standard HD. Also they're just draft elements right now, they may look different once they're animated and part of a scene.

When will the video be released? We don't have an exact date, but I will post a status update on Tuesday. Feel free to ask questions if you have any!

[grondilu]

When will the video be released? We don't have an exact date, but I will post a status update on Tuesday. Feel free to ask questions if you have any!

What is your script?  I mean: do you try to explain how bitcoin works (double spending, hashes, blocks...), or do you just describe what bitcoin is (bitcoin address, currency/vs paiement method, P2P)?

[Stefan Thomas]

What is your script?  I mean: do you try to explain how bitcoin works (double spending, hashes, blocks...), or do you just describe what bitcoin is (bitcoin address, currency/vs paiement method, P2P)?

Our only goal with this video is to spread Bitcoin and make people interested. Technical information is only included insofar as it helps that goal. As bytemaster says, we need one video to bring new users into the fold and a different one to explain the technology in depth. This one will be the former. I don't want to exclude the possibility that we will work on the latter afterwards.

[myrkul]

What is your script?  I mean: do you try to explain how bitcoin works (double spending, hashes, blocks...), or do you just describe what bitcoin is (bitcoin address, currency/vs paiement method, P2P)?

Our only goal with this video is to spread Bitcoin and make people interested. Technical information is only included insofar as it helps that goal. As bytemaster says, we need one video to bring new users into the fold and a different one to explain the technology in depth. This one will be the former. I don't want to exclude the possibility that we will work on the latter afterwards.

Looks Like I'm shifting focus, then...

[grondilu]

Our only goal with this video is to spread Bitcoin and make people interested. Technical information is only included insofar as it helps that goal. As bytemaster says, we need one video to bring new users into the fold and a different one to explain the technology in depth. This one will be the former. I don't want to exclude the possibility that we will work on the latter afterwards.

Sure, but I kind of hope that there is a way to describe how bitcoin works without being too technical.  Maybe not technical at all.


I was thinking of describing bitcoin by replacing computers by a book.

As I see it, we woudl say that all the accounts are numbers written in a public large accounting book.  Everyone can read it at any time.  The only thing is that it is not easy to write in it.  And it's a good thing: if we could all write in the book in the same time, it would be a mess.  So we need a way to make it difficult.  So there is some kind of a magic pen (a cryptographic pen).  To obtain the pen, you must solve a difficult mathematic problem.  And you can only write something that makes sense, otherwise people will immediately see the fraud and ignore what you wrote.


I say this because if we just say what bitcoin is without trying to explain how it works, people will just don't believe it.  I mean: sure, people would be glad to have a decentralised, taxation free money and stuffs.   But  without any explanation about how it is possible, they'll obviously be suspicious.  I would if I hadn't read Satoshi's paper.

[sanjay]

http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Bitcoin

The above is a Qwiki which could be improved if others here were to suggest other images and videos.  I am new to the site and still learning what the options are for improving Qwiki's.

[FreeMoney]

http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Bitcoin

[Jim Hyslop]

Wow, a lot of messages in this thread.

How attached are people (specifically the bounty providers) to it being an animation? I'm better with live people than with animations. As long as it gets the concepts across (accurately), would voters be satisfied?

Oh, and please avoid the artificial voices. XtraNormal and such are fine for a very short, humourous video, but absolutely excruciating to listen to if you are trying to absorb and understand what it's saying. If your punctuation is not absolutely perfect the text-to-speech synthesizer will throw in pauses at strange points. And I know people who will absolutely refuse to watch anything that has synthesized voices - which defeats the whole purpose of creating the video.

--
Jim

[FreeMoney]

I'll play the hundred I pledged to a good live person explanation.

[Stefan Thomas]

I will post a status update on Tuesday.

Progress!  

On the audio front

The script was handed in on schedule on Friday and the finished voice recordings came in yesterday! The studio sent three takes in total. The first one wasn't what we were looking for, however the other two were both damn near perfect. So we spent an hour listening to both and eventually settled on number two, because it sounded a tiny bit more enthusiastic in the very important first section.

Music. Until this morning this was a bit of an open question. But about half an hour we've struck a deal with a film music composer/producer who's both excellent at what he does and (thanks to a preexisting work relationship with our designer) within our budget. He agreed to do both an original score as well as the sound design for the video. I'm really happy this worked out, because a custom score is much, much better than an off-the-rack one and it was not at all clear that we'd be able to afford one. Just like with everyone else on the team, we were a bit lucky.


On the graphics front

Our designer did tons more graphics over the last few days, we're almost ready to start putting it all together during animation! We lost some work on Saturday due to an Illustrator crash, but other than that, everything is going rather well. I don't want to spoil anything major (the final video isn't too far away now anyway), but I think it would be nice to release a little something with every status update. So, for example, yesterday our designer was testing a possible new font:



The script lists some examples of what you can already buy with Bitcoins today, for example:



And of course no such list would be complete without a mention of Alpaca socks, would it?



Remaining todos are the music, some graphics and most of the actual animation work. The next status report is scheduled for Monday, March 14th. If all goes according to plan, that'll be the last update before the release of the video.

[theymos]

That looks fantastic!

[N12]

That looks fantastic!

I second that. Really looking forward to that video – and spreading it of course.

[theGECK]

This looks great!

[grondilu]

I'm sorry I don't share your enthusiasm guys, but I'll wait until I see the video...

[slush]

I'm sorry I don't share your enthusiasm guys, but I'll wait until I see the video...

I have seen two older animations done by justmoon's designer and have to say it looks really professionally.

[Stefan Thomas]

Guys, thanks, but let me emphasize that I'm posting these status updates for fun mostly and because publicly announced deadlines help me keep people motivated. Please reserve your judgement positive or negative until you see the final product. 

Next status update on Monday.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Guys, thanks, but let me emphasize that I'm posting these status updates for fun mostly and because publicly announced deadlines help me keep people motivated. Please reserve your judgement positive or negative until you see the final product. 

Next status update on Monday.

I hope you understand the technical side perfectly, because without that it would be difficult to create anything that explains bitcoin in an intuitive, easy way.

[slush]

I hope you understand the technical side perfectly, because without that it would be difficult to create anything that explains bitcoin in an intuitive, easy way.

afaik the transcript was discussed at least with Gavin.

[Stefan Thomas]

I hope you understand the technical side perfectly, because without that it would be difficult to create anything that explains bitcoin in an intuitive, easy way.

afaik the transcript was discussed at least with Gavin.

Yes, Gavin and [mike] reviewed the script and provided feedback on the technical parts.

I'm also currently in #bitcoin-dev, asking questions as we go along.

[sanjay]

Is there a script available for anyone to use?  Or even an outline?  I could make another video, but I would need help on the script...

[Stefan Thomas]

Ok, here we are for the final status report! Since Friday we're officially moving - or rather our pictures are. I've received the first draft of the animation on Saturday and the second draft yesterday morning.

This is the last static graphic that was created - it's a bulletin board, representing the Bitcoin Trade page. (We have a tiny little section appealing to merchants and freelancers and why Bitcoin is a particularly great proposition for them.)



The rest of the new stuff is all animated and firstly a screenshot doesn't capture it and secondly I don't want to spoil it, since it's getting pretty close to final now.

But I will post one shot from the video, mostly because I wouldn't mind some input:



We're not all too happy with the title "rate"? But "Money supply" seems long and we are worried not everyone will understand it. "Limit" is already in the script and it somehow tends to draw forth deflation phobia. "21 million" is a possibility I quite like, though some people said it sounds arbitrary and in a way it is. So maybe it shouldn't be in the video. I'm interested to hear your views, we can incorporate any suggestion for the title or the italic text until around this time tomorrow. If you don't have a suggestion of your own, feel free to vote for one of the options that I've just listed.

Now to go through the remaining todos. Music. We had a long discussion with our composer and ultimately decided to go with a minimal beat with no melody. This may sound like we're wasting our chance to get an orchestral piece written for our puny little video, but form has to follow function: The video is very fast and rich with information. A minimal rhythmic piece, no melody adds the least amount of distraction. That does however mean that we get more revisions and time to spend on sound design (basically a fancy term for sound effects). All in all I'm very glad we went with a professional composer, having that specialized experience on board turned out to be invaluable.

Animation. I'd say we're about two thirds done, depending how many little details we'll find in the end that we need to fix. But we're only a few days away from wrapping animation.

Website. Yes, website. We looked around and while there are many fantastic links you can give to a newcomer (bitcoin.org, the wiki, bitcoinme, mybitcoin, bitcoinbulletin, bitcoinwatch, bitcoincharts, etc.), we wanted a page specifically designed to pick up where the video leaves off. Happily, one of the people who reviewed our script and in doing so got excited about Bitcoin was a webdesigner. He's agreed to help build a companion website for the video free of charge. The website will be fairly simple, probably much like bitcoinme.com - ideas, texts, audio, links and anything else that should go on the website are very welcome.

Aaaand finally... I am happy to announce our release dates!

The video will premiere at the Bitcoin Geneva meetup on Saturday, March 19th 2011.

If you are anywhere in Switzerland or Southern France, or damn it, anywhere in Europe - make the trip! This meetup will be awesome, we've got many cool people coming (many of whom haven't RSVPed publicly in the thread), so don't miss this chance to meet some real Bitcoiners in real life and have a beer with us! Newbies and veterans are of course equally welcome!

After that, we reserve the right to spend another day or two on it until our compulsive disorders are all satisfied and are planning for public release via YouTube on Monday, March 21st 2011.

[hazek]

The slide with the graph should make it way clearer what the rules of issuing and supply of BitCoins are.

So I'd change the title to "Issuing rate" instead of just "rate" and the text bellow I'd change to: "the total amount of BitCoins is fixed and limited"

There should absolutely be no doubt to anyone viewing the graph that you just wont ever have more then 21mio of BitCoins. IMO at least.

p.s.: awesome job so far, can't wait to see the final thing

[eMansipater]

Very much looking forward to this, and you can be sure if I like the result there will be a gift in it for the hard work!

[FreeMoney]

The slide with the graph should make it way clearer what the rules of issuing and supply of BitCoins are.

So I'd change the title to "Issuing rate" instead of just "rate" and the text bellow I'd change to: "the total amount of BitCoins is fixed and limited"

There should absolutely be no doubt to anyone viewing the graph that you just wont ever have more then 21mio of BitCoins. IMO at least.

p.s.: awesome job so far, can't wait to see the final thing

'Issuing' evokes an issuer. I think "total" or "supply" might work.

Looking forward to the completed product!

[theymos]

Now that it looks like my bounties will be won soon, I had better clarify some of my rules:

Make sure you contact me ASAP when your submission hits the Reddit frontpage. I'll need to verify it at that time, since I don't think there's any way to verify it later. "Reddit frontpage" is the first four pages of the default frontpage or "all" view.

The digg count will be "locked" when you contact me. I won't continue paying for more diggs, though you might wait to contact me until a certain number of diggs is reached (and risk someone else contacting me first).

(This only applies to my 3,600 BTC bounty.)

[slush]

Who has access to the escrow with those 8400 BTC (1NLPqEyWo9HzPmXG2H8uGG4NBFCV31NarD)? I see that wallet from head post is almost empty...

[JohnDoe]

Who has access to the escrow with those 8400 BTC (1NLPqEyWo9HzPmXG2H8uGG4NBFCV31NarD)? I see that wallet from head post is almost empty...

I think it was kiba, noagendamarket and the original guy.

[jav]

Make sure you contact me ASAP when your submission hits the Reddit frontpage. I'll need to verify it at that time, since I don't think there's any way to verify it later. "Reddit frontpage" is the first four pages of the default frontpage or "all" view.

This website has snapshots of old Reddit frontpages: http://redditsnapshot.sweyla.com/ .

[theymos]

This website has snapshots of old Reddit frontpages: http://redditsnapshot.sweyla.com/ .

Thanks. I'll just use that, then. But someone needs to notify me when a video makes it to the front page, as I don't check Reddit every day.

[Anonymous]

Who has access to the escrow with those 8400 BTC (1NLPqEyWo9HzPmXG2H8uGG4NBFCV31NarD)? I see that wallet from head post is almost empty...

The bitcoins are in a mybitcoin account.

Myself,Kiba and the op have access to it. The first post probably should be updated but I dont have control of that.

[theymos]

Myself,Kiba and the op have access to it. The first post probably should be updated but I dont have control of that.

I added it.

[Teslah]

I'm skilled in flash, design, audio, voice and animation.

Is this bounty too far underway for anyone to join in?

[Anonymous]

I'm skilled in flash, design, audio, voice and animation.

Is this bounty too far underway for anyone to join in?

So far no one has submitted anything so untill that point its fair game. You might get donations even if something elese comes along by using youtipit or witcoin.com

[Stefan Thomas]

Sorry for not coming on the forums right after the meetup - I came back to a pile of work waiting for me. The reception of the movie at the meetup was very positive. We had one last minute change to the credits, but the video should go up today.

[eMansipater]

Sorry for not coming on the forums right after the meetup - I came back to a pile of work waiting for me. The reception of the movie at the meetup was very positive. We had one last minute change to the credits, but the video should go up today.

Looking forward to it!

[hazek]

Sorry for not coming on the forums right after the meetup - I came back to a pile of work waiting for me. The reception of the movie at the meetup was very positive. We had one last minute change to the credits, but the video should go up today.

Can't wait.

[Stefan Thomas]

Ok, well, the website is only half done, but I'm tired of keeping everybody waiting.

I'll strive to quickly improve the site - feedback is welcome. And if you have a cool Bitcoin service that could help a newbie that isn't on there yet, please let me know.

Now onto the subject of bounties: If we win the main bounty I will recoup the costs for this video (exactly 2000 BTC b/c our motion graphics designer gets 2000 BTC minus audio costs) and the rest (6400 BTC) plus any other bounties or donations we receive will become a fund for promoting Bitcoin. I'm thinking of things like:

- Additional, more in-depth videos
- Updates/improvements/features for weusecoins.com
- A donation to the faucet
- Sponsorships (e.g. paying a popular podcast to mention Bitcoin in their opening)
- Posting bounties for usability features etc.
- Other ideas are most welcome!

The reason I want to reinvest the bounty in this way is that I think with Bitcoin being an open source project the marginal utility of having even a small marketing budget is rather large. I own a lot of Bitcoins and I'm good at doing a lot with a small budget, so with the bounty as a permanent Bitcoin marketing fund, I'm hoping to be able to do some good over the next year or so.

The address for the Bitcoin marketing fund is 17eSZivDJpuJp9TxezTXVxkgLbsr3XZM1i - we will make a page where everything we spend from this address will be listed and of course the block chain will allow you to confirm the amounts are accurate and how much is still there.

First step for winning the main bounty is getting Satoshi's approval for the video, so I've emailed him and will let you know how it goes. If we can't reach him, I propose asking Gavin for approval instead.

As for Reddit and Digg bounties - I have no interest in those sites and no idea how to promote something there so I won't bother. Feel free to post links to the video on those (and other) pages if you like, any bounty we win from theymos will be added to the marketing fund and will go towards further videos etc as stated above.

Finally, the video:
http://www.weusecoins.com/ or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

The video is released under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license. If you would like to provide an HTTP mirror or seed the video on Bittorrent please contact me for the original H.264 1080p file.

[mndrix]

I'll strive to quickly improve the site - feedback is welcome. And if you have a cool Bitcoin service that could help a newbie that isn't on there yet, please let me know.

Thanks for the CoinPal mention.  I'll keep a close eye on my inventory to try and meet the buying rush as this excellent video goes viral.  Thank you to all involved.

I love your idea for continued Bitcoin marketing efforts.  My vote is for more videos.  When I first heard of Bitcoin, I spent a couple hours trying to find decent ones to help me clarify my understanding of the PDF.

[kiba]

This is excellent work! I hope you have good luck getting Gavin or Satoshi approve of it.

Also, how come it said no fees at the end? Maybe it should said "very cheap".

[theymos]

Awesome video! It wins three of my goal bounties:
- How to get started.
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.)
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.)

I have sent 300 BTC.

[JohnDoe]

Awesome video indeed, and thank you for reinvesting the bounty! Your efforts are much appreciated.

Btw, maybe it'd be a good idea to repost in the main forum because probably not many people check out this subforum.

[grondilu]

This is actually a pretty good video

Well done!


PS.  Am I the only one who thinks that this video could replace Gavin's speech video on bitcoin.org?

[Luke-Jr]

Overall, it looks video good. A bit too fast, IMO, though-- I had to skip backward to keep up a few times!

Only other suggestion I have is to mention tradebitcoin.com on the webpage.

[kiba]

129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP

This is for the mybitcoin account. Feel free to donate even more bitcoin into it.

Also, do not donate to the address listed at the beginning of the thread as a precaution. The address I listed in this post definitely belong to the mybitcoin escrow account.

[kiba]

I send my pledged 23.05 BTC to the escrow account.

[slush]

Justmoon, well done! I will be happy for next, mode in-depth video, so I hope that you'll give at least part of the bounty to cover video costs and save a bit for next one . I also like the marketing budget idea. I sent 50 BTC right now directly to your account.

[kiba]

Justmoon, well done! I will be happy for next, mode in-depth video, so I hope that you'll give at least part of the bounty to cover video costs and save a bit for next one . I also like the marketing budget idea. I sent 50 BTC right now.

To the address I listed right?

[slush]

To the address I listed right?

No, directly to justmoon. I prefer to select recipient directly .

[kiba]

To the address I listed right?

No, directly to justmoon. I prefer to select recipient directly .

That's good anyway.

[hazek]

Awesome promo. I've already shared in on Facebook, and on 4 other forums that I know have people who will be very interested.

[hazek]

129GMPhks7k5bQnNJM4byLb4bE9nHCBSqP

This is for the mybitcoin account. Feel free to donate even more bitcoin into it.

Also, do not donate to the address listed at the beginning of the thread as a precaution. The address I listed in this post definitely belong to the mybitcoin escrow account.

Wouldn't it be smart to make a new thread about this specific video and website?

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Finally, the video:
http://www.weusecoins.com/ or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

The video is released under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license. If you would like to provide an HTTP mirror or seed the video on Bittorrent please contact me for the original H.264 1080p file.

This is excellent video, however much too fast.
Especially for people who don't speak fluent english. Actually i think that it will even be difficult to make subtitles that can keep up to the speed.

If you can slow the speed of events a little, it would be absolutely awesome.

What about a 30% slowdown ?


I'm sending X BTC now.
If you can slow it down, i will send more.

[hazek]

I disagree. I think the speed is perfect for such a basic promo which should only serve as an inspiration for people to read more about it and research more on their own.

[JohnDoe]

PS.  Am I the only one who thinks that this video could replace Gavin's speech video on bitcoin.org?

Of course not. Probably even Gavin himself thought of that video as a placeholder until a newbie friendly animated video was made.

[Hal]

Nice job! Sent 25 btc as thanks to 17eSZivDJpuJp9TxezTXVxkgLbsr3XZM1i.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

I disagree. I think the speed is perfect for such a basic promo which should only serve as an inspiration for people to read more about it and research more on their own.

I am a fluent english speaker, and i had to watch it like 3 times to catch everything, even though i am a programmer and I understand the concept of bitcoin.

So believe me, when I am saying that it is much too fast.

And if it is too fast for me, imagine how fast will it be for "slower" people.

[lumos]

I disagree. I think the speed is perfect for such a basic promo which should only serve as an inspiration for people to read more about it and research more on their own.

I am a fluent english speaker, and i had to watch it like 3 times to catch everything, even though i am a programmer and I understand the concept of bitcoin.

So believe me, when I am saying that it is much too fast.

And if it is too fast for me, imagine how fast will it be for "slower" people.

second this, also why don't you link the main bitcoin site at the end instead of promoting your own thing which is relatively unknown?

[hazek]

I disagree. I think the speed is perfect for such a basic promo which should only serve as an inspiration for people to read more about it and research more on their own.

I am a fluent english speaker, and i had to watch it like 3 times to catch everything, even though i am a programmer and I understand the concept of bitcoin.

So believe me, when I am saying that it is much too fast.

And if it is too fast for me, imagine how fast will it be for "slower" people.

ShadowOfHarbringer you are missing the point of my post entirely. The promo is not suppose to answer all the question and have the viewer grasp all the concepts. It's suppose to present BitCoins in a concise manner and lure them in to research more on their own. And for that purpose it's perfect.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

ShadowOfHarbringer you are missing the point of my post entirely. The promo is not suppose to answer all the question and have the viewer grasp all the concepts. It's suppose to present BitCoins in a concise manner and lure them in to research more on their own. And for that purpose it's perfect.

The first thing a viewer notices when watching this video is "damn, this is fast". And that is the point. It's taking the focus away from Bitcoin itself and moving it to the velocity of the video.
When i first watched it, that was my first impression. So do you want the watchers to think about how fast the video is, or about Bitcoin ?

First impression is everything in such situations. And this is a bad first impression, because it's too fast to catch what is said in it. Especially for non-geeks.

Also, another MAJOR disadvantage: Impossible to make a readable subtitles for it.
Almost nobody reads that damn fast (while simultaneously being able to actually watch the video).

[kiba]

Also, another MAJOR disadvantage: Impossible to make a readable subtitles for it.
Almost nobody reads that damn fast (while simultaneously being able to actually watch the video).

I can understand everything just fine.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Also, another MAJOR disadvantage: Impossible to make a readable subtitles for it.
Almost nobody reads that damn fast (while simultaneously being able to actually watch the video).

I can understand everything just fine.

I meant people in other countries (not speaking english).
If you make subs in another language, they will be unreadable.

[grondilu]

It is indeed a bit fast but imo it's ok for a quick introduction video.  It also gives energy and rythm to the thing.  If it were slower, it could be boring.

People who want to have a deeper understanding of bitcoin will just have to visit the given link.

[kiba]

It is indeed a bit fast but imo it's ok for a quick introduction video.  It also gives energy and rythm to the thing.  If it were slower, it could be boring.

People who want to have a deeper understanding of bitcoin will just have to visit the given link.

You can modify these video to fit what you need it to do! It's legal!

[eMansipater]

Awesome video!  I sent 11.11 coins in support.

[Gavin Andresen]

Wow!  Great job, excellent video (I like fast), fully deserving of the bounty in my opinion.

And yeah, if it is OK with justmoon I think replacing my Ignite talk on the bitcoin.org homepage with the new video is a great idea.

[kiba]

here we go... another slashdotting reditting and digging coming up... I now know the reason for recent exchange rate jump.

It's just a coincidence. I do not think it is that fast to figure out how to deposit money into mtgox and start buying bitcoin within a day.(correct me if I am wrong)

[theymos]

It's just a coincidence. I do not think it is that fast to figure out how to deposit money into mtgox and start buying bitcoin within a day.(correct me if I am wrong)

Already-established traders are buying in anticipation of higher demand. If I had any USD to spare, I would be buying.

[kiba]

It's just a coincidence. I do not think it is that fast to figure out how to deposit money into mtgox and start buying bitcoin within a day.(correct me if I am wrong)

Already-established traders are buying in anticipation of higher demand. If I had any USD to spare, I would be buying.

That may be so. That may be not.

Anyway, it's the standard: "I think reason x cause y change in Bitcoin price!"

It's all ad hoc. It's correlation. That does not prove causation.

[kiba]

The market has a tendency to anticipate future value of traded instruments. It also has a tendency to react on new information. This video was just viewed by many established bitcoin players and it was viewed on some bitcoin meeting a few days ago I suppose. People privy to this information could pretty well make a rational decision to capitalise on it and buy some BTC while the going is good. I would not be surprised if some market participant crashed the market in advance to buy up more BTC's on the cheap with knowledge that this kind of quality video is coming up and it is inevitable that it will hit large traffic generating websites soon.

I certainly  had a few new largish contracts purchased very recently after two rather quiet weeks, for example. ... Time to order some more 5970's...

It's also true that you're just making a guess.

[Anonymous]

I am glad we finally get to empty the longest running bounty wallet in bitcoin history .

Unless anyone has any objections this will happen in the next few days.

[kiba]

I am glad we finally get to empty the longest running bounty wallet in bitcoin history .

Unless anyone has any objections this will happen in the next few days.

And we can spin it as big news too! More traffic, more people, and bigger the economy. I am also glad that the money will be used to fund further effort to advertise and promote bitcoin.

[chaord]

This is actually a pretty good video

Well done!


PS.  Am I the only one who thinks that this video could replace Gavin's speech video on bitcoin.org?

+1

Ideally if we were to add it to the bitcoin.org home page, it would be nice to keep it neutral and edit the last part of the video to mention bitcoin.org instead of the author's site.

Great video though! Well done!

[kiba]

Ideally if we were to add it to the bitcoin.org home page, it would be nice to keep it neutral and edit the last part of the video to mention bitcoin.org instead of the author's site.

Great video though! Well done!

The author's site promote bitcoin though.

[grondilu]

Ideally if we were to add it to the bitcoin.org home page, it would be nice to keep it neutral and edit the last part of the video to mention bitcoin.org instead of the author's site.

This video is the product of their work.  I won't blame them for taking credit for it and putting their own website link at the end.

So I don't think it is necessary to edit the video.  However, a small textual note could be added above the video, saying that this video was not done by members of the bitcoin.org community.

[kiba]

Ideally if we were to add it to the bitcoin.org home page, it would be nice to keep it neutral and edit the last part of the video to mention bitcoin.org instead of the author's site.

This video is the product of their work.  I won't blame them for taking credit for it and putting their own website link at the end.

So I don't think it is necessary to edit the video.  However, a small textual note could be added above the video, saying that this video was not done by members of the bitcoin.org community.

It is done by members of the bitcoin community.

[grondilu]

It is done by members of the bitcoin community.

Members of the bitcoin community? sure.  Members of the bitcoin.org community?  Not so sure.

Otherwise they would have mentionned bitcoin.org at the end of their video.

But again:  it's ok if they mention their own website.  It is their work after all.  But if we want to use this video, it worths warning the viewer.

[kiba]

Members of the bitcoin community? sure.  Members of the bitcoin.org community?  Not so sure.

Otherwise they would have mentionned bitcoin.org at the end of their video.

But again:  it's ok if they mention their own website.  It is their work after all.  But if we want to use this video, it worths warning the viewer.

What's the difference between bitcoin.org community and bitcoin community?

[grondilu]

What's the difference between bitcoin.org community and bitcoin community?

They just are not the same people.

I just think that if, on bitcoin.org, we use a video that redirects to weusebitcoin.com, then the visitor can be confused, and thus we should give some eplanation.

PS.  We could place the video with an introduction such as:

<<
Here is a short indroduction video made by our fellows on weusebitcoin.com:
>>

[kiba]

There is no clear call to action on the front page of weusecoins.com.

"Ok, I like this bitcoin idea. How do I get started?"

I think there should be BIG CLEAR TEXT that said "Great! How do I get started?" that replace the Features below.

[Stefan Thomas]

Addressing a few points people have raised:

Tempo. What hazek said is exactly what the professionals were saying as well. No way you can "explain" Bitcoin to a lay person without a lot of time and repetition. The video could be much slower and no more clearer. But that's fine, people can rewatch it, go to the site, go to the wiki, watch other videos, etc. All this video needs to do is pique interest and convincingly state that Bitcoin really is different and worth looking into. Future videos would put much more emphasis on actually explaining, so they'd likely be much longer, much slower and less visually dense.

(I actually started out envisioning this as a ~4 minute video, but every single one of the marketing and film people I talked to, including the designers recommended this tempo. There is a reason advertising is always a bit faster, louder, etc. than is necessarily comfortable - it's because that's what works.)

Link. The video links to weusecoins.com because we wanted a site that specifically picks people up where the video left off. It'll also be a place for us to post future videos. As for the bitcoin.org front page - if we win the bounty and the interest is large enough we can get the last sentence re-recorded and do a version saying bitcoin.org. Also note: Due to the license anybody can go to Chris Rice and have him record that sentence and create a version of the video with whatever link they like. (I'd ask that the weusecoins.com should still be in the small print to give us a little credit.)

Website. Some people have already made suggestions for weusecoins.com. I'm reading those intently and will implement them as soon as possible. Thanks, guys!

Everyone who has sent PMs: I'm working through those right now, stay tuned and thanks for the interest.

[caveden]

Just watched the video. Really cool!

I don't know if it has already been slow down, but I've managed to understand everything. The subtitles might have helped. I'm not a native English speaker either.
Maybe it's a good idea to make it fast since people think twice before starting to watch long videos.

Good job.

[caveden]

By the way, provide us the synchronized subtitles so we can translate it to other languages.

[Stefan Thomas]

By the way, provide us the synchronized subtitles so we can translate it to other languages.

Here you go: http://rapidshare.com/files/453964245/What_is_Bitcoin.srt 

[grondilu]

Here is my french version:

http://s0.barwen.ch/~grondilu/what_is_bitcoin-fr.srt

[molecular]

By the way, provide us the synchronized subtitles so we can translate it to other languages.

Here you go: http://rapidshare.com/files/453964245/What_is_Bitcoin.srt 

nice! I saw at least 2 of the creators have german-sounding names.

Do you have a german translation yet? I'm working on one, it's harder than I thougt...

Also: I might know someone (female) who might be willing to speak german audio for a low price... do we desire that?

[kiba]

Will Satoshi be taking a look at this video?

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Will Satoshi be taking a look at this video?

I think yeah, that is if tsunami didn't kill him... (I mean it would be really nice if he signed in just to show that he is alive)

[hendi]

Here you can download the HD version: http://hendi.name/bitcoin/What_is_Bitcoin.mp4

And here are German subtitles: http://hendi.name/bitcoin/What_is_Bitcoin.srt

Is it possible to upload all these subtitles to the video on Youtube?

[jav]

As I have said elsewhere ( http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4793.msg70391#msg70391 ): Great work! :-) I just fear that it might not be able to inspire the kind of fascination that Bitcoin deserves. But that is hard to do, for sure, and I saw in this thread that it is meant to be more of a kickstarter and a more technical video might follow at some point. So that sounds good!

I have been kicking an idea around for a little while on how to explain the technical side of Bitcoin and just wanted to document it here in case someone finds some inspiration in it. I would approach it from the question "What would it take to build a decentralized payment system?" and from there explore the difficulties and Bitcoin's answers to it. I think this way there is a chance for a newcomer to quickly appreciated what all the alien concepts ("block chain") are needed for.

So here is a rough outline following 'Professor Bitcoin' in inventing a payment system:

-- Start of script --

Professor Bitcoin: "Let's invent a payment system today! Moving cash or wealth in general around is part of our everyday live and something we increasingly do online as well. Before we build our own system to do that, let's look at one of our competitors: Paypal. When using Paypal, you give them some of your money and the record it in their books [show some image of a big Paypal book in the center]. Moving your money to someone else who has Paypal is easy now. You can just change the owner in the big Paypal book [animation of a new transaction recorded in the big Paypal book]. So, what's wrong?"

"In a central solution everyone depends on the entity that manages the big transaction book. If they don't like you, they can just freeze your account [animation of entry in the big PayPal book being frozen]. Can we somehow get ride of the need for a big central book?"

"How about this: we just give a copy of the book to every single participant [show animation of the big Paypal book being copied and distributed to a number of participants and the big book itself vanishing] Nice, now everyone has a copy. But how do we make sure they all say the same thing? [let one of the smaller books show the transaction "Mallory to Alice" and another book "Mallory to Bob"]. We no longer have a central authority, so we need a system to keep these records in sync."

"How about some form of voting? Everybody votes on what is the correct version. The one with the most votes wins out, in the hope that honest people hold the most votes. How are votes granted though? It's the Internet, everybody is anonymous and we don't want to ask for IDs. Maybe one vote per IP address? easy to fake. Let's try this: The more CPU power you have, the more votes you get! Maybe not the fairest voting system, but at least everyone can stay anonymous and a supercomputer isn't found at every corner"

"How can we make sure that someone has the computing power they claim? Cryptography to the rescue! Fortunately there are some very hard mathematical problems with just take some time to find the solutions to, even with some of the fastest computers. To vote for a version of the transaction book, you need to spend the time solving these problems [show animation of one version of the transaction book being covered in more and more mathematical formulas until it forms a huge pile; show another version of the transaction book next to it covered in a smaller pile of mathematical formulas]."

"Very good! We have found a way for a number of decentralized and anonymous participants to reach consensus on what is recorded in the transaction book. One last problem remains: how to get money in and out of the system?"

"We can't just let everyone write something in the book - even with the voting in place, nobody could be sure the money is actually there. So we design it as a closed system instead: Those who invest CPU power to keep the voting going and keep everybody honest will occasionally be rewarded with some fresh 'Bitcoins' which they are allowed to record in the book of transactions. To use the Bitcoin system, you either have to invest a lot of CPU power yourself to get some Bitcoins or buy them from other people who are doing so. In effect you pay them for keeping the system going, which is only fair."

-- End of script --

This has some holes, especially the part of what it means to "write in the book" and how you can not just write anything (but only move your own coins around). I'm not sure there is a nice way of explaining that without having to go to deep into public/private key stuff. But still, maybe this approach to explaining it can turn out to be useful.

[Stefan Thomas]

I've uploaded the French and German subtitles. Since they're even longer than the English subtitles, they're too fast in some parts. Any changes to shorten them would be appreciated. Don't worry if you change the grammar a little as long as you get the meaning across imho.

Will Satoshi be taking a look at this video?

I've emailed him yesterday, we'll give him a few days to respond. I don't suppose anybody has a phone number?

[bytemaster]

I just saw the weusecoins video on a link on the front page of slashdot!!   It answers what and why, but not how.  I suspect that the video is perfect to explain to "customers" what bitcoin is, but is not sufficient to explain to businesses why they should use it or developers why they should advance it.

I can say that I am very happy with the video from an educating the users perspective and it is certainty of a quality worthy of the bounty, perhaps half of the bounty leaving the other half for someone who finishes the technical explaination that addresses:

0) Security
1) Fraud
2) Legality
3) Backups / Hazards

etc.

[FreeMoney]

I need to say in this thread that my pledged 100 has been payed. With Justmoon's approval it was used to buy an ad on the Agora I/O unconference page.

I'd like to see the main bounty go to Justmoon's fund, but it probably is appropriate to hold back some for the complete technical explanation. I hope that one is produced by the same people, I love the style.

[Anonymous]

I just saw the weusecoins video on a link on the front page of slashdot!!   It answers what and why, but not how.  I suspect that the video is perfect to explain to "customers" what bitcoin is, but is not sufficient to explain to businesses why they should use it or developers why they should advance it.

I can say that I am very happy with the video from an educating the users perspective and it is certainty of a quality worthy of the bounty, perhaps half of the bounty leaving the other half for someone who finishes the technical explaination that addresses:

0) Security
1) Fraud
2) Legality
3) Backups / Hazards

etc.

The  5000 coins I paid into the bounty can go to this video. The rest can be left as motivation for a technical video imo.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

I've uploaded the French and German subtitles. Since they're even longer than the English subtitles, they're too fast in some parts. Any changes to shorten them would be appreciated.

Told ya.
That is because the video is too damn fast. It will be impossible to create good subtitles, or voice record in some languages because of that.

It should be slowed down at least 15% to make various translations possible.

EDIT:
Or perhaps you could release the background music and voice separately, so people can make modifications necessary for other languages

[grondilu]

I've uploaded the French and German subtitles. Since they're even longer than the English subtitles, they're too fast in some parts. Any changes to shorten them would be appreciated.

Told ya.
That is because the video is too damn fast. It will be impossible to create good subtitles, or voice record in some languages because of that.

It should be slowed down at least 15% to make various translations possible.

EDIT:
Or perhaps you could release the background music and voice separately, so people can make modifications necessary for other languages

I've watched the video with my french subtitles, and it is ok, really.

Keep in mind that french people are used to read french, and german people are used to read german.   It's not because those languages are a bit longer than english once written, that german and french people read more slowly than english people!! (well, I hope not anyway).

[M4v3R]

EDIT:
Or perhaps you could release the background music and voice separately, so people can make modifications necessary for other languages

I double that. I'll happily use my voice to record polish version of the movie. Nevertheless, I'll upload translated polish SRT in a while.

Edit: Polish subtitles available here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127246/What_is_Bitcoin.srt

[Stefan Thomas]

Or perhaps you could release the background music and voice separately, so people can make modifications necessary for other languages

This is on the way (someone on YouTube already requested it). There were some details to clear up, because the final mix is a lot more complex than just some tracks on top of one another. Volume levels of individual elements adapt to the speakers voice. Change the speaker and the sound effects and music sound like somebody is playing with the volume knobs. We've decided to create a flat mix out of the sound effects and music alone. That's the best raw material for another sound engineer to go and mix a new voice into. If somebody does a translation without professional mixing, well, it won't sound perfect, but there is nothing we can do about that anyway.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Or perhaps you could release the background music and voice separately, so people can make modifications necessary for other languages

This is on the way (someone on YouTube already requested it). There were some details to clear up, because the final mix is a lot more complex than just some tracks on top of one another. Volume levels of individual elements adapt to the speakers voice. Change the speaker and the sound effects and music sound like somebody is playing with the volume knobs. We've decided to create a flat mix out of the sound effects and music alone. That's the best raw material for another sound engineer to go and mix a new voice into. If somebody does a translation without professional mixing, well, it won't sound perfect, but there is nothing we can do about that anyway.

Thx a lot.

[Stefan Thomas]

Audio tracks:

Master (Everything): http://www.weusecoins.com/materials/wib_video/What_is_Bitcoin_Master.wav
Voice: http://www.weusecoins.com/materials/wib_video/What_is_Bitcoin_Voice.wav
Music: http://www.weusecoins.com/materials/wib_video/What_is_Bitcoin_Music.wav
Sound Effects: http://www.weusecoins.com/materials/wib_video/What_is_Bitcoin_Sounddesign.wav

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The "Music" and "Sound Effects" tracks are for use with the video "What is Bitcoin?" or parts of it ONLY.
These individual tracks are NOT under a Creative Commons license, because we ourselves do not have the rights to release them as such. However you are allowed them to combine them with parts of our video and release the result under Creative Commons. If you need free sound effects for your own videos, check out the Free Sound Project or just invest some money into hiring a professional sound designer.

The "Voice" track is released under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license.

How to create a new voice over
The basic process is:
1. Record voice in sync with the video.
2. Mix your voice with the "Music" and "Sound Effects" tracks.
(Having step 2 done by a sound engineer is 100% worth it in our opinion, it will sound a million times better.)

We are also planning to create a "Materials/Press Kit" section on weusecoins.com where we collect the vector graphics source files from the video, the video in various formats, the above audio tracks, the subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Catalan, Hebrew, Polish and (hopefully soon) Chinese, the Bitcoin logo and acceptance logos and anything else that we can find.

------------------------

Now, as for the bounty: Satoshi still has not responded after one week so at this point I would request we go with Gavin's approval instead, which he has already given:

Wow!  Great job, excellent video (I like fast), fully deserving of the bounty in my opinion.

As per the rules, we suggest waiting one week from today for more submissions and holding a vote if there are any. Kiba, noagendamarket, bytemaster, can one of you please confirm whether you agree with this procedure?

As for the amount, we were hoping for the full amount, but 5000 BTC plus the 434.88 BTC we received from other donors are enough to pay the costs for this video (2000 BTC) and have a budget for the next one. The technical explanation video will be a very different beast - it'll be much, much longer (15-20 minutes or even more), less visually dense and the script will be developed in public with community involvement. Also I'd love to include some real-life footage with developer interviews from one of the next meetups. I might also use the chance to record some user interviews/testimonials for weusecoins.com.

In order not to raise false expectations: The technical explanation will take a while to do. "What is Bitcoin?" was about two and a half months of work 10 hours a week for me and about three weeks 25 hours a week for our designer. I earned nothing and he earned far less than with a normal project. Taking all that into consideration, I would realistically aim for a late summer release. Having a budget up front is what makes it possible to do it as a professional video at all. To give us a chance at the rest of the bounty would require the bounty organizers working with us to define exactly the content the video should have and setting the bar fairly high, so somebody else can't come in and snatch the bounty with a slapdash video while we are in production. Another way of doing this would be to set a due date for the bounty, upon which users will vote on the best candidate.

[eMansipater]

Excellent work Justmoon, this is incredible!  I'm very much looking forward to the next video as well.  Although I haven't contributed to the bounty myself, my donation was part of the amount sent afterward; and you can be sure I will also be donating in support of the next one if it turns out at all on the same level--bounty or no bounty.  If you need any input on addressing common misconceptions in plain language, just let me know--I have quite a bit of experience with that both on these boards and in many other arenas of life.  I would love to contribute in any way I can.

[em3rgentOrdr]

excellent video!  Great explanation/introduction for your average Joe.

[yesman]

Lithuanian subtitles available. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11505623/Kar_yra_Bitcoin.srt

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

So is the bounty paid already ?

[kiba]

So is the bounty paid already ?

No.

[Stefan Thomas]

I put up a simple page with materials to do with the video - Nothing that hasn't been posted, just collecting everything in one spot.

Still waiting to hear from kiba, noagendamarket or bytemaster regarding this proposal:

Now, as for the bounty: Satoshi still has not responded after one week so at this point I would request we go with Gavin's approval instead, which he has already given:

Wow!  Great job, excellent video (I like fast), fully deserving of the bounty in my opinion.

As per the rules, we suggest waiting one week from today for more submissions and holding a vote if there are any. Kiba, noagendamarket, bytemaster, can one of you please confirm whether you agree with this procedure?

Edit: Poll has been set up (see link below). Thanks!! 

[kiba]

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5137.msg74898#new

I posted a poll.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5137.msg74898#new

I posted a poll.

Too bad that the poll is worhless (no offense) because of lack of security.
Anybody can register 100 accounts and vote as many times as he want.

Perhaps the voting should be done in topic, and only votes from people having at least 10 posts, and registered for at least month ago should have a vote.

[kiba]

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5140.0

I did a retake.

[genjix]

Pay him all the cash already you stingy cunts! Do you know how much effort has gone into that quality video?

He's gone beyond what was expected IMO. Too many people offering bounties on these forums and then not paying up after/changing their terms.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Pay him all the cash already you stingy cunts! Do you know how much effort has gone into that quality video?

He's gone beyond what was expected IMO. Too many people offering bounties on these forums and then not paying up after/changing their terms.

I actually believe he deserves the money. I just pointed out that the poll was bad.

I think we should give him all the money even if little less than 50% of people says so.

[Stefan Thomas]

I think we should give him all the money even if little less than 50% of people says so.

We won't accept the money unless we win the vote fair and square.

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

Justmoon,

I'm sorry if this has already been posted or something elsewhere.
Could you (if willing) post or PM me a script from it.
I'd like to subtitle it (Spanish) and I'm guessing some others might too.


Honestly I could listen to it and write it all down in English then translate it but I'm guessing you have it already written and a copy & paste could save me a lot of work / maybe errors.

Awesome video though, made a pretty gimp donation but I'm broke 

[eMansipater]

One comment, Justmoon--I know it's too late now for the original video, but saying that computers generate bitcoins is very confusing and the most common source of the concept that bitcoins are worthless.  Please be careful to explain in the technical video that the community has defined a set amount of bitcoins which are valued on open exchanges, and that bitcoins are rewarded to miners in return for processing transactions and increasing the cryptographic security of the network--in a highly competitive market.  This is the primary thing we need to change in explaining bitcoin to the public, imho.

Justmoon,

I'm sorry if this has already been posted or something elsewhere.
Could you (if willing) post or PM me a script from it.
I'd like to subtitle it (Spanish) and I'm guessing some others might too.


Honestly I could listen to it and write it all down in English then translate it but I'm guessing you have it already written and a copy & paste could save me a lot of work / maybe errors.

Awesome video though, made a pretty gimp donation but I'm broke 

They've already been posted.

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

One comment, Justmoon--I know it's too late now for the original video, but saying that computers generate bitcoins is very confusing and the most common source of the concept that bitcoins are worthless.  Please be careful to explain in the technical video that the community has defined a set amount of bitcoins which are valued on open exchanges, and that bitcoins are rewarded to miners in return for processing transactions and increasing the cryptographic security of the network--in a highly competitive market.  This is the primary thing we need to change in explaining bitcoin to the public, imho.

Justmoon,

I'm sorry if this has already been posted or something elsewhere.
Could you (if willing) post or PM me a script from it.
I'd like to subtitle it (Spanish) and I'm guessing some others might too.


Honestly I could listen to it and write it all down in English then translate it but I'm guessing you have it already written and a copy & paste could save me a lot of work / maybe errors.

Awesome video though, made a pretty gimp donation but I'm broke 

They've already been posted.

Thanks, I only had to go back one page. Doh!
Gonna see how quick I can get this Spanish taken care of.
Please if it's already done tell me.

[Stefan Thomas]

Please if it's already done tell me.

Yes, a Spanish version is already available!!!

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

Please if it's already done tell me.

Yes, a Spanish version is already available!!!

Was just about to get to work. Thanks!

[caveden]

I've translated the subtitles to Brazilian Portuguese. Hope it helps!

http://rapidshare.com/files/455023837/What_is_Bitcoin-ptBR.srt

[Stefan Thomas]

One comment, Justmoon--I know it's too late now for the original video, but saying that computers generate bitcoins is very confusing and the most common source of the concept that bitcoins are worthless.  Please be careful to explain in the technical video that the community has defined a set amount of bitcoins which are valued on open exchanges, and that bitcoins are rewarded to miners in return for processing transactions and increasing the cryptographic security of the network--in a highly competitive market.  This is the primary thing we need to change in explaining bitcoin to the public, imho.

I totally agree, illustrating that Bitcoins are real money was actually a top priority for this video. Explaining why they are valuable is more complex, but it is definitely high on our todo list. I don't want to promise putting it into the technical video (it's an economic more than a technical issue), but I agree about this issue's importance and we will definitely find some solution for communicating it better. "But Bitcoins have no backing!!" is a top five frequently asked question, no doubt about that.

[grondilu]

An idea concerning the next, more technical video:

it should really take some time to explain both public key cryptography and the concept of cryptographic hash-based proof-of-work.

[Stefan Thomas]

I've translated the subtitles to Brazilian Portuguese. Hope it helps!

http://rapidshare.com/files/455023837/What_is_Bitcoin-ptBR.srt

Thanks, I've added it!

[eMansipater]

One comment, Justmoon--I know it's too late now for the original video, but saying that computers generate bitcoins is very confusing and the most common source of the concept that bitcoins are worthless.  Please be careful to explain in the technical video that the community has defined a set amount of bitcoins which are valued on open exchanges, and that bitcoins are rewarded to miners in return for processing transactions and increasing the cryptographic security of the network--in a highly competitive market.  This is the primary thing we need to change in explaining bitcoin to the public, imho.

I totally agree, illustrating that Bitcoins are real money was actually a top priority for this video. Explaining why they are valuable is more complex, but it is definitely high on our todo list. I don't want to promise putting it into the technical video (it's an economic more than a technical issue), but I agree about this issue's importance and we will definitely find some solution for communicating it better. "But Bitcoins have no backing!!" is a top five frequently asked question, no doubt about that.

Especially since the existing video, unfortunately, says "bitcoins are generated all over the network, by anybody!"  This is something we need to fix psychologically in the community here.  Although that's the order in which bitcoins get to the network, bitcoins are not generated by a bitcoin miner.  They were all created mathematically right at the beginning when the bitcoin protocol was specified and the blockchain launched.  They are awarded to miners by all of us, in return for processing transactions and providing security to the network, in a highly competitive market.  Everybody repeat it five times.  If I could change one thing about how bitcoins get described to newcomers it would be this.  This slight change makes a universe of difference.

[slush]

Especially since the existing video, unfortunately, says "bitcoins are generated all over the network, by anybody!"  This is something we need to fix psychologically in the community here.  Although that's the order in which bitcoins get to the network, bitcoins are not generated by a bitcoin miner.  They were all created mathematically right at the beginning when the bitcoin protocol was specified and the blockchain launched.  They are awarded to miners by all of us, in return for processing transactions and providing security to the network, in a highly competitive market.  Everybody repeat it five times.  If I could change one thing about how bitcoins get described to newcomers it would be this.  This slight change makes a universe of difference.

I absolutely agree! There is huge psychology difference between saying 'bitcoins are created by miner' and 'miner accept bitcoins from the network as reward for processing transactions'. Originally I explained bitcoins to my friends with first sentence, but then found that they don't catch it correctly and it is source of misunderstanding. I tried second way later and I hit almost 100% success rate .

[Stefan Thomas]

Wow! This is really amazing and I know what I'm talking about as I edit videos. What software did you use for this? Adobe Aftereffects?

Yes, Adobe After Effects CS4 I believe.

In other news we've just submitted the video to http://www.webcuts.org/2011/ . It was free to submit so why not.

If any of you come across any contests, awards or film festivals with an animation/motion graphics category, let us know and we'll try and get it in. I don't know how high the chances are since the video is kind of a commercial, but hey Bitcoin is open-source and this is all indie stuff plus we've got nothing to lose in submitting it.

[kiba]

Topic is locked so that people can't resurrect the thread plus the bounty was awarded.

[theymos]

Unlocked because my separate bounty is still alive.

If the video makes it to the Digg frontpage, I will pay 1 BTC per digg it gets (max 2000). I'll also pay 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot and 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Reddit.

Even if it doesn't make it on those sites, I will pay 100 BTC per item below that I feel is satisfactorily covered.
- How Bitcoin works technically.
- Why Bitcoin will work economically.
- Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives (PayPal, Liberty Reserve, cash, etc.)
- How to get started. Won
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.) Won
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.) Won

So you could get a total of 3,600 from me. The video must not contain any major inaccuracies to qualify. I can help answer questions about how Bitcoin works, and there is a lot of info on the wiki.

[da2ce7]

Unlocked because my separate bounty is still alive.

If the video makes it to the Digg frontpage, I will pay 1 BTC per digg it gets (max 2000). I'll also pay 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot and 500 if it makes it to the frontpage of Reddit.

Even if it doesn't make it on those sites, I will pay 100 BTC per item below that I feel is satisfactorily covered.
- How Bitcoin works technically.
- Why Bitcoin will work economically.
- Why Bitcoin is better than the alternatives (PayPal, Liberty Reserve, cash, etc.)
- How to get started. Won
- (Professional-looking animation and audio.) Won
- (Long-term value for the Bitcoin community.) Won

So you could get a total of 3,600 from me. The video must not contain any major inaccuracies to qualify. I can help answer questions about how Bitcoin works, and there is a lot of info on the wiki.

This thread is 19 pages long!! It needs to be locked... Make a new thread theymos, linking to your pledge in this thread. 

[LightRider]

Really good job with the Weusecoins video guys, really excellent work.

[Bitcoiner]

Did Satoshi ever give his OK? It seems that the community has more or less accepted this?

[kiba]

Did Satoshi ever give his OK? It seems that the community has more or less accepted this?

Satoshi did not communicate, so we substitute him with Gavin.

[Bitcoiner]

Did Satoshi ever give his OK? It seems that the community has more or less accepted this?

Satoshi did not communicate, so we substitute him with Gavin.

So what was the final outcome? Cause the thread title still says 13622 and growing... I'm confused.

[kiba]

So what was the final outcome? Cause the thread title still says 13622 and growing... I'm confused.

The bounty was awarded.

[Bitcoiner]

So what was the final outcome? Cause the thread title still says 13622 and growing... I'm confused.

The bounty was awarded.

Sweet! I'm only asking cause apparently I pledged on page 2, but I didn't visit the forums in a long time and I was never PMed about it.

[Bitcoiner]

It doesn't look like I already sent the 50, so, where do I send it?

[kiba]

It doesn't look like I already sent the 50, so, where do I send it?

17eSZivDJpuJp9TxezTXVxkgLbsr3XZM1i

[Bitcoiner]

It doesn't look like I already sent the 50, so, where do I send it?

17eSZivDJpuJp9TxezTXVxkgLbsr3XZM1i

Sent away! I didn't think 50 BTCs would be worth as much as they are now ... I should have loaded up back then 

[grondilu]

Justmoon, your moon-like avatar is pretty cool.  What does it mean?

[Stefan Thomas]

Justmoon, your moon-like avatar is pretty cool.  What does it mean?

Thanks! The logo is just based on the name and the name was a nickname I randomly picked when I was 11 years old or so. Hope you're not disappointed at the total lack of a deeper meaning.

[ChupacabraHunter]

Wow! This is really amazing and I know what I'm talking about as I edit videos. What software did you use for this? Adobe Aftereffects?

Yes, Adobe After Effects CS4 I believe.

In other news we've just submitted the video to http://www.webcuts.org/2011/ . It was free to submit so why not.

If any of you come across any contests, awards or film festivals with an animation/motion graphics category, let us know and we'll try and get it in. I don't know how high the chances are since the video is kind of a commercial, but hey Bitcoin is open-source and this is all indie stuff plus we've got nothing to lose in submitting it.

I have to agree here also!   I am new to this forum but not new to teaching the world around me about geeky developments that may interest the 'masses'... I have been having HUGE difficulty convincing/introducing people to Bitcoin.  Non-technical, and non-conspriatorial minded ones.  The few that are curious, got lost or hung up on the issue of it being created by "anybody"

I like the other description (which is much more correct) about all bitcoins having been created when the first block chain was generated by the protocol... but the word "protocol" also looses 99% of "normal" people.  So please, let's try and find a really snazzy and easy-to-understand way of communicating this.

I think we need to link it to some aspects of the computer world that the general public understands.  Things like Google, and Facebook... but alas, I have not got a good idea (yet) for how to do it.

Please help me (us)

growling back at the world
Chupacabra Hunter

[Stephen Gornick]

Crossed 50,000 views.

Do the video's statistics point out a couple of problems though:?

1.) This video is most popular in: (Country)

[Where's the Spanish version, the Japanese version, etc.?]

2.) This video is most popular with: (Gender - Age)
  - #1 Male  35-44
  - #2 Male  45-54
  - #3 Male  25-34

[film2240]

Count me in as I'm doing a film making degree @ uni atm.If the bounty hasn't already been claimed then sign me up.Can some1 PM me the brief and format I should make it in (HD,web friendly e.t.c) plz?

[theymos]

The remaining part of my bounty is canceled. The value is way too high now.

[MoonShadow]

I'm canceling mine as well, in part because one of my conditions was approval of accuracy from Sataoshi, which now seems unobtainable.

[film2240]

So this project is pretty much now cancelled then? It was a promising project as well.

[darbsllim]

Once again, amazing work with the weusecoins.com video guys.

[Stephen Gornick]

In just a year after being posted on YouTube -- one million views!
 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

[Stefan Thomas]

In just a year after being posted on YouTube -- one million views!
 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

Happy birthday us! 

Thanks everyone for making this possible! A lot of people have asked about a followup - right now I'm very busy and I can't promise anything, but WUC was certainly an awesome experience and I'd love to build on it in some form in the future.

One thing I can promise is that there is a (much needed) website relaunch incoming! If you have any comments or suggestions for that, please email them to info@weusecoins.com.

[R-]

What is the total bounty for this awesome project? Also, will it be a feature film? What is the exact length specified.

[LightRider]

http://developer.mintchipchallenge.com/

You just got some competition.

[R-]

http://developer.mintchipchallenge.com/

You just got some competition.

Bandwagon. Arrgggh!

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

http://developer.mintchipchallenge.com/

You just got some competition.

Bandwagon. Arrgggh!

Apparently, they are not even open source.

It doesn't look like serious Bitcoin competition to me. Rather an incompetent try to steal some people from Bitcoin environment.

[molecular]

http://developer.mintchipchallenge.com/

You just got some competition.

Bandwagon. Arrgggh!

free advertising

[420]

I'm paying $200 for 4 1/2 minutes of bitcoin animation to go with my script

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=186970.new#new

[USBitcoinServices.Com]

Any new bounties? where to check for new updates about this?

[FLUX-project]

Well, i guess you should make more content.
Cryptocurrencies topic is starting to be pretty popular all over the world after BTC cost passed through 1k$ point

[khamisi9]

Please provide information about the email to which the bitcoin was sent