By Justin Stakes
United States -(Ammoland.com)- hitRECord; an Open Collaborative Production Company, has recently announced a new and exciting open collaborative project involving firearm regulations from around the world.
The theme was announced along with several other themes marked for the second season of the hitRECord’s latest production, Hit Record on TV. Director Joseph Gordon Levitt says he’s interested in stimulating an open-ended discussion in order to get people thinking, get people feeling, and get people engaged with the topic of firearms.
The theme has already generated a lot of opinionated comments and posts with a lot of very strong and opposing arguments. One of the main concerns that people seemed to have regarding the theme was whether or not it belongs on a Variety Show with a majority of the people stating that there’s no place for controversial themes on such a show. ( Warning; Lots of anti gun sentiment. )
Something Director Levitt seems to strongly disagree with and for great reason ( hmm maybe ratings? ). Variety Shows offer a chance to address any concerns and state something substantial on the subject at hand without creating a one-sided and subordinate form of entertainment.
“There’s a big difference between endorsing something and making art about something. You can make art about something that is completely critical, somewhat critical, that shows the shades of grey between the black and white. In fact I think that’s what art is best at,” said Levitt, Director and CEO of hitRECord.
hitRECord is a new and unique kind of Production Company that involves the invitation of a variety of artists; illustrators, musicians, photographers, writers, and video editors, from around the world to contribute their work online. It’s a little bit different from your average Hollywood production company because anyone with an internet enabled device can join in and contribute their original ideas, opinions, and artwork to the vast selection of collaborative projects.
Everything seen on the television show is created collaboratively by a community of hundreds upon thousands of artists, with each episode of Hit Record on TV revolving around an individual theme. The production company creates everything from art, books, music, short films, and their latest production is a television show called hitRECord on TV.
So How Does It Work?
There are always a ton of collaborative projects that anyone can join in and help work on, whether it be copywriting, editing, rewriting, drawing, sketching, photographing, etc. To contribute to a project, artists can upload an original piece of work or build upon what others are already working on.
Q&A’s are posted for each episode in order for artists to share anything they want from stories, testimonials, individual experiences, or anything unique to themselves. All of which could potentially inspire and turn into a short film, song, or any other production on the show.
While none have been set in stone as of yet, a total of eleven angles have been mentioned for the theme:
- Gun Ownership – Do you own a gun? Why or why not?
- Hunting – Do you have any good hunting stories?
- Gun Policies Around the World – Do you know your nation’s gun policies? What about the history behind it?
- Toy Guns – What are your experiences with toy guns?
- Jobs That Require Guns – Does your particular line of work involve the requirement of a firearm? Do you have any interesting stories to share with the community?
- A World without Guns – Could you imagine a world without guns? What do you think it would be like? Do you think this scenario is even possible?
- Guns in Entertainment and the Media – Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
- The Wild West – Interesting stories, history behind the Wild West?
- Muscles – Have you ever wondered why they’re commonly referred to as guns?
- The Business Side of Guns – Do you work in the business of firearms retail; if so, any interesting stories?
- Strangers with Guns – Have you ever had to protect yourself with a gun? Stories about robbers, etc.
Not included in the angles list above are my suggested topics:
- Its a Right – You have a right as pointed on in the Bill of Rights to own, keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment protects our right as a free state to keep and bear arms. The concept originates within the origins of English common law long before the enactment of the Bill of Rights. Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century who commented on the right as, “a public allowance under due restrictions, of the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.”
- Shooting Sports – Are you a professional in the Shooting Sports Industry? Any interesting stories?
There’s even a miscellaneous section for those that don’t think their stories or contribution would fit in one of the aforementioned categories. As for the business side of the company, hitRECord does pay all the artists who contribute work to the productions. While a bit of a controversial subject from the start, please remember to be courteous and respectful to your fellow members of society.
Article by Justin Stakes
Copyright @ J. Stakes Photography
Justin Stakes is a Freelance Photographer and Journalist dealing with a variety of different subjects that interest and inspire his love for the great outdoors and more. Justin is an avid outdoor enthusiast and geek with a photographic style that is a mixture of photojournalism and fine art. He has won three Photo Show Competitions throughout his education and has even been exhibited in the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art.