Creative Commons filmmaking experiment A Swarm Of Angels aims to create and distribute the first collaborative internet film. The aim is to use community participation and funding to make a film that would traditionally cost $3-4 million for just $1.75 million.

“A Swarm of Angels reinvents the Hollywood model of filmmaking to create cult cinema for the Internet era. It’s all about making an artistic statement, making something you haven’t seen before. Why are we doing this? Because we are tired of films that are made simply to please film executives, sell popcorn, or tie-in with fastfood licensing deals. We want to invent the future of film. Call it Cinema 2.0.”

Because the finished product will be released under the creative commons license, users will be able to freely download, view, share, burn, rip, and remix the content as they see fit. The entire filmmaking process will be collaborative, from a Wiki-based script creation to community voting on certain creative & marketing decisions. They have set clearly defined stages and targets, with an eventual goal of 50,000 participants involved in the making of this feature film.

Torrentfreak has more details on the project, as well as a short interview with founder Matt Hanson.

“The genre will be thriller based with some soft sci-fi elements. The community is currently developing two scripts, The Unfold and Glitch. Based on member input these scripts will be put into initial drafts written by Matt Hanson.”

“The success of this project would undoubtedly create a landmark example of how media can be created and made available for free. It would encourage an alternative entertainment model to Hollywood, which doesn’t crack down on filesharers, but encourages and accommodates them, and their enthusiasm. I think the future of film is about bringing audiences and filmmakers closer together in entertainment communities where both can interact and get more out of the experience.”

Those interested in participating should check out the Join page and discussion boards to get involved. Join The Swarm.