This type of free, specialized tool is appearing in a million niches and are enabling people of all walks of life to make interesting and sometimes beautiful things. Granted, stick figure fist fights aren’t quite high art:

Rivalry (Pivot Stick Figure Animation)

… but there isn’t anything stopping someone with a tragic and emotionally complex story to tell from picking up Stykez or Pivot Stickfigure Animator and using it. In fact, I’m sure it’s been done, and I’ll keep my eye out for just that. I’ve downloaded both of these tools and they look pretty simple to use. I’ll experiment with them and upload my rudimentary results in the future. If you’re curious, here is a basic demo for Pivot Stickfigure Animator. Try it out and maybe post a link to the video you make in the comments.

How To Create Cool Looking Stick Figure Animations On GIF

(via Smashingapps)

What really struck me was Marc, during an interview with the BBC, said that his hope out of this movie is to inspire people. People might say “the HD camcorder on my phone is a better quality than the one he used for this movie… maybe I can make one…” The video and non-linear editing making tools that are in the hands of the average consumer are far beyond those that were used by professionals not that long ago. I once heard that everyone has at least one good story in them for a novel. I think the same is true for film, and increasingly individuals are taking the initiatives and writing, creating, and marketing their own movies for the world. This renaissance of creativity hopefully push the technologists to make even more powerful and innovative tools.

As it appears in the schedule:

“Exploring the Dynamics of Music Piracy, by Trond Nilsen, Brian Houle, Douglas Kuzenski, Arpan Sheth Abstract Paper Supporting“

In our project, we proposed that music labels simple math impact analysis of pirated music (i.e., that every downloaded album amounted to that album’s value in lost revenue) might work out to the highest legal settlements, but don’t reflect reality.  We attempted to model the impacts of free distribution of music from several perspectives to show the ramifications can be a positive for fans, musicians, and labels alike, when properly leveraged.

This has been a popular theory in some circles for some time, and I would like to believe that, as we discussed in our project, the people who stand to gain the most are the small up-and-coming artists.  It has now become possible for a new “garage” band to distribute free copies of some of their music online and, given that their music is of a good enough quality, find their audience.  Though they probably won’t become mega-stars, it’s increasingly possible for an artist to make a living selling to their established fans and touring in smaller venues.  This isn’t a new strategy by any means, but with the tools and technology available today, its become much more likely to suceed, largely due to piracy.

Independently created videogame, Spelunky

Today’s inspiration in individual empowerment through technology comes from the video game world.  I was surprised when I started looking into how much this industry is changing.  Not too long ago, to create a video game, you would need to be a part of a large development team, working under permission of console manufacturers.  In the case of PC games, designers wanting to make a game with wide appeal, and sophisticated gameplay, would need significant capital and man-power behind them.

That’s not the case today.  Check out a game called Spelunky.  This PC game was developed, as far as I can tell, by only one person named Derek Yu.  This 2d side-scrolling platform jumping game has an amazing scope and its depth and sophistication is not something I would expect to come from a single person in such a short time.  His work was enabled by a tool called Game Maker which offers quite a few tools for free, or a pro version for only $25.  Tools like this (and there are many more out there) enable people with good ideas and dedication to create interesting and innovative games, true to their vision, without the roadblocks corporations or licensing  would cause.

Picture by Anthony Wesley

Today’s inspirational story is amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley who was the first person to detect and report a new spot appearing on the surface of Jupiter this week.  Why is this inspirational?  Forty years ago this week, it took millions of dollars and many man-hours to put a man on the moon.  In our new era, though, an amateur astronomer has the tools and the knowledge to detect changes on the surface of a planet over 360 million miles away.

Whats more, he is able to capture images of it and transmit them to millions of people, alerting them all to the changes.  I see these changes occurring in every profession, hobby, and industry around the world: the “average” person is being empowered to embrace a huge amount of knowledge and tools available to them and use them to do something amazing, like Wesley did this week.

(via BoingBoing)