The inaugural NOUNS FEST 2024 took place last night, October 10th, in downtown Los Angeles, bringing together members and fans of the open source Nouns project, animators, and industry insiders for a night of creative storytelling.
Hosted by actor and comedian Donald Faison and featuring DJ Douggpound, the festival showcased 50 new animated shorts, all funded by Nouns DAO’s innovative decentralized model.
For attendees, the event offered a glimpse into the future of how NFTs and decentralized intellectual property (IP) present new models with the potential to reshape the entertainment landscape.
But what exactly do the NOUNS FEST founders hope the festival will mean for the future of NFTs and animation? We spoke with Walter Newman, an Emmy-nominated producer who has worked on big-name entertainment shows like Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, who along with the Nouns co-founder team are one of the masterminds behind the festival.
In the following Q&A session, Newman will take us behind the scenes of NOUNS FEST and share how the decentralized financing model pioneered by Nouns DAO opens up new possibilities for creators. From how open IP works to Newman’s views on traditional top-down financing, here’s what you need to know.
Note: This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
OpenSea: Thanks for joining us, Walt! Let’s start with the basics. How did you first get involved with Nouns DAO? What attracted you to this community?
Walter Newman: I learned about Nouns DAO through Joel Cares, an artist I had previously worked with at Adult Swim, and Joel was well-known in the Nouns community, and they brought me in along with Eric Towner and Chris Waters from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
I had just left Adult Swim after having my first child and was looking for something new in the comedy and animation space, but more live-action centered, and the timing was perfect, and I already knew Nouns was one of the coolest projects out there, so, I was honored to be a part of it.
OpenSea: For those who are not familiar with Nouns DAO, can you explain how it differs from traditional creative projects?
Walter Newman: Nouns DAO uses a decentralized financing model, which is very interesting because its core is to provide funds and then observe people's creative results. Unlike traditional projects, which may be sponsored by corporate sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Nouns only provides funds to creators and allows them to play freely.
The only real stipulation is that somewhere in the piece you have to include “Noun,” a radical creative freedom that adds an exciting, self-sufficient element to the fact that new nouns are auctioned off every day.
OpenSea: That daily auction system is very interesting, so how does Nouns DAO’s funding directly impact creative work, especially for events like NOUNS FEST?
Walter Newman: It’s an interesting dynamic, the Nouns DAO essentially provides financial support to creators with no strings attached other than integrating the Nouns IP, and the money comes from auctioning off a new Noun every day to fund a range of projects.
For NOUNS FEST we received over 500 entries and selected 50 animators to showcase, we give these creators the resources to make what they want without being micro-managed, it’s very freeing and at the festival people will see firsthand the fruits of this creative freedom.
OpenSea: Nouns DAO uses Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licenses for all its IPs. How does this affect the creative process compared to traditional copyright models?
Walter Newman: The CC0 license is definitely a game-changer. It means that anyone can create with the Nouns DAO IP without asking for permission. In the traditional media world, everything is strictly controlled - you can't just take a character from (The Simpsons) and make your own cartoon, otherwise you will face legal trouble.
But the idea of Nouns is to let creativity flourish. Someone can use Noun to create a brand new project, and Nouns DAO will not hold them accountable. It's all about fostering creativity in an open and collaborative environment.
OpenSea: Speaking of open environments, how do you see decentralized financing models like Nouns DAO impacting the broader entertainment industry?
Walter Newman: Honestly, it's a bit of an experiment right now, because in traditional entertainment, the model is very top-down: the studio provides the money, they own the IP, they call the shots.
Nouns DAO flips this on its head, creators are given funding and freedom to do whatever they want, this isn’t a solid business model in the traditional sense, but it’s exciting because we’re essentially learning to “manage” a creative project with no central control, and if we’re successful it could really change the way future projects are financed and made.
OpenSea: That’s an exciting prospect, and speaking of production, can you tell us more about some of the talent attending NOUNS FEST?
Walter Newman: Of course, one of the big names we worked with was Donald Faison, who most people know from (Scrubs), but he had been doing stop-motion animation independently for many years.
He’s voiced characters in (Robot Chicken) and other shows with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, he’s a huge animation fan and we’re excited to have him on board, NOUNS FEST is a great example of how established talent can merge with up-and-coming creators in this new decentralized environment.
OpenSea: It’s awesome to hear about this level of collaboration, what kind of atmosphere do you hope the festival will create?
Walter Newman: We want to celebrate animation from all over the world, we’re inviting animators to come and providing a stipend to help them attend, there will be screenings, awards, and of course a celebration party with DJ Douggpound.
There will be creators, animators, web3 enthusiasts, and industry executives in attendance - people from Netflix, HBO, and other studios have already expressed interest, and we hope this will become more than just an animation festival, but a hub for web3 creativity and community.
OpenSea: With so much attention focused on web3 right now, what do you think the future holds for NFTs and decentralized content creation?
Walter Newman: The narrative around NFTs has certainly changed, especially since the market cooled, but the underlying technology remains very powerful, NFTs, like the ones in Nouns DAO, allow for creative freedom, and the financing models they support are shaking up industries like animation and gaming.
I think we’re going to see more experiments like NOUNS FEST - decentralized IP and financing creates a whole new world of storytelling, it’s still messy, but that’s what makes it exciting.
OpenSea: Thank you very much, Walter! We can’t wait to see what NOUNS FEST brings to the NFT and animation communities.
A brief review of NOUNS FEST 2024
Last night, NOUNS FEST 2024 lit up Los Angeles and brought together the most creative minds in animation and web3 at the historic Union Theater, hosted by Donald Faison and featuring DJ Douggpound, premiering 50 new animated shorts funded by Nouns DAO’s $1 million funding pool.
The evening was a celebration of decentralized creativity, with animators from around the world presenting their work without any interference from the organizers.
Attendees were treated to exclusive screenings and a lively after-party, offering a glimpse into the future of NFT-driven storytelling.
If you missed the 2024 festival, check out the trailer and follow NOUNS FEST (@nounsfest) for more information.
#NounsDAO #NOUNSFEST #web3动态 #NFT新机遇
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