Lee, the director, is teaming up with Nokia, the cellphone maker, to direct a short film comprising YouTube-style videos created by teenagers and adults using their mobile phones. By hiring Lee for the project, Nokia is seeking to combine the populist appeal of user-generated content with the power of a famous director’s pedigree. The film will have three acts, each three to five minutes long, with the theme loosely based on the concept of humanity. The project is an experiment for Lee, but it is also a way for Nokia to promote its wares. Cellphone companies are all trying to position their products not just as devices for talking, but as multimedia devices that can play music, search the Web and capture video. Many companies are also preparing for a new wave of mobile entertainment, as social networking on sites like MySpace and Facebook migrates from the Web to cell phones. Nokia in particular is trying to turn itself into an entertainment-friendly company, much the way Steve Jobs has changed Apple’s image with the iPod and the iPhone. Nokia, based in Finland, said it surveyed 9,000 consumers last year and concluded that by 2012 one out of every four consumers will create, edit or share entertainment with friends, instead of getting it from traditional media outlets like television or movie studios. There have been several other efforts in the realm of films that were shot with or meant to be viewed on phones. Most have involved independent filmmakers or young Steven Spielbergs in training. In 2006, the Sundance Institute announced a partnership with the largest wireless association in Europe to sponsor five short films for mobile viewers.
They were created by, among others, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who directed the Academy Award winner “Little Miss Sunshine.” During the months-long project, visitors to the site will be asked to vote for their favorite videos for each of the film’s three acts. After that, Lee will pick a winner for each act and edit them into the final film, which will have its premiere next fall in Los Angeles. The film will also be available for viewing online, but Nokia has yet to work out one important detail: which carriers will distribute it to viewers on mobile phones. Nokia hasn’t found anyone yet.
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