Shooting People is an international social network

Social network

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

 for independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

makers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search. With over 35,000 subscribers in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and NY

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen.
Dedicated to the support and promotion of independent filmmaking, the company acts as an umbrella and partner for a variety of film organizations, publishing seven daily bulletins across all sectors of the industry.
Additional activities include hosting the Independent Film Calendar, regular panel discussions, screenings, a Mobile Cinema

Mobile cinema

A mobile cinema is a cinema on wheels.An example is the Screen machine Mobile Cinema of Scotland, which provides conventional up-to-date 35mm screenings of recent movies, with full digital surround sound, air conditioning, comfortable raked seating, and full disabled access...

 and publication of "The Shooting People Shorts Directory". In 2009 Shooting People launched "Film of the Month" where active patrons in the organisation watch and review films made by members. Patrons include Mike Figgis

Mike Figgis

Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...

, Nick Cave

Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...

, Michael Winterbottom

Michael Winterbottom

Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...

, Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....

, Sally Potter

Sally Potter

Charlotte Sally Potter is an English film director and screenwriter.-Career:Having left school at sixteen to become a filmmaker, Potter joined the London Film-Makers' Co-op and started making experimental short films, including Jerk and Play...

, Asif Kapadia

Asif Kapadia

Asif Kapadia is a British filmmaker of Indian descent. He directed several award-winning films, including The Sheep Thief , winner of the 2nd Prize Cinéfondation for Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival, The Warrior , which won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film and Senna , winner of the...

, John Waters

John Waters

-Entertainment:*John Waters , American film director, active 1926–29 and 1947*John Waters , American film director, writer, visual artist, actor and cult figure...

, Christine Vachon

Christine Vachon

Christine Vachon is an American film producer active in the American independent film sector and daughter of noted photographer John Vachon....

, Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...

, and Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle

Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...

.

In 2010, the full list of films available on the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

 came to the attention of Shooting People. Concerned that the only off-world film library was consumed by mainstream

Mainstream

Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....

 American films, they conducted a poll and wrote to NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 with some more varied suggestions from members. NASA responded that individual films were selected by its crew members and that the list would be forwarded to the crew office.

History

Shooting People launched on November 5, 1998, billing itself as a ‘daily email network for independent filmmakers’. Initially launching as a space for 60 filmmaker friends to trade information and help each other out, the free network grew rapidly by word of mouth.

Fee-Based Service

In January 2001, a low subscription fee was introduced. The funding model worked and Shooting People has remained a subscription service, independently funded and supported by its members ever since. In 2003 they launched in NYC, where there are over 10,000 members.

Reception

Shooting People emerged at a time when significant changes in Digital Cinematography

Digital cinematography

Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...

made it easier to get films made. In 2002, The Times wrote: "Shooting People is helping to fuel a major grassroots revival in low-budget independent cinema."