Market
Community members and blockchain newcomers interested in learning more about the Cardano project and the teams building upon it.
Problem Space
Many YouTube channels and media outlets covering Cardano focus on superficial aspects – most notably the unit price and other areas of speculation. While this type of media has a time and a place, educational, editorial, and human-interest content is underrepresented. We believe this type of media is necessary for helping consumers form a knowledgeable and positive impression of our community. After all, we are a group of individuals working to influence the world for the better, and the content we create should reflect that.
Per the guidelines of the “Film + Media (FAM) creatives unite!” challenge setting, we will take a multimedia approach to content creation. More specifically, we will publish:
• regular podcasts featuring engaging and easy-to-understand conversations with Cardano builders
• frequent video segments, focused on visual appeal (e.g., graphics and/or animations), aiming to dissect dense technical topics in an approachable manner
• educational articles for listeners and viewers who want more in-depth coverage
What is "The Universal Joint?"
A universal joint is a mechanical connection used for transmitting motion and power between intersecting parts. The main design concept is based on gimbals, which are widely used including in film production for balancing video cameras. More notably, gimbals and the associated mechanics were described in detail by the Italian mathematician and physicist Gerolamo Cardano. In Europe, the universal joint is often called the Cardano joint in respect of his contribution.
How does this proposal fit into this challenge?
The “Film + Media (FAM) creatives unite!” challenge setting is about communicating a clear message toward media while creating educational and inspiring content. As an integral builder on Cardano, we have our "ear to the ground" for the technical developments of the blockchain and, in fact, are contributing to those developments ourselves. The objective becomes presenting this information in an accessible manner – exactly the area in which our team is experienced.
How will this campaign add value to our ecosystem?
A thriving multimedia platform and content ecosystem will serve as a robust and novice-friendly onboarding experience for newcomers to Cardano and the blockchain space. Our content will focus on teaching core concepts while highlighting ecosystem developments. Also, our materials will be freely available for reproduction by other media companies.
How is this studio decentralized?
Cardano transcends borders, and so does "The Universal Joint." Our team consists of Cardano enthusiasts turned full-time builders. Early settlers, we hail from locations across the globe.
That said, the content we create will be freely distributed and available for use under a creative commons license. We will work with community members where possible while encouraging others to adapt our content to their own needs. We also intend to open-source our branding after establishing our platform so that others can contribute their voice to the conversations we begin.
Outlook and future challenges?
Internally, MLabs has expertise in creating and editing educational materials and documentation as well as video content (vlogging). However, we will need video editing and graphics/animation support. We intend to use the majority of any funding towards this end as we partner with a video editor and motion graphic artist.
Ideally, we'd like to rely on explainer animations and incorporate them, as a hook segment, into each episode. However, this may prove prohibitively labor-intensive – scripts will be necessary and editor blockchain training may be necessary. To avoid this, we will look for editors/animators from the community who are familiar with the Cardano project. If that proves difficult, we will have to rely more on simpler graphics that will still be explanatory, but much simpler in scope.