Intro
Take a house full of people—creative, design-driven nerds—in a new city looking for a new life. They are in tight quarters and on tight deadlines, pushing themselves to the limit to learn new skills, to impress clients, and to ultimately move on to a grand adventure as App Makers in the capital at the dawn of the New Golden Age.
Description
The App Makers is a realty series debuting online in early 2012. It follows the lives of 8 people from around the world who come to Appsterdam to pursue the dream of becoming App Makers and thus changing their lives. The intense experience of personal transformation, to say nothing of the intense experience of App Making in general, should lead to some real human drama that will not only familiarize people with our industry, and introduce them to a new side of Amsterdam, but will inspire viewers to transform their own lives.
Along the way they will receive visits from recurring characters, such as the Career Concierge, or the App Doctor. They will go on field trips to hackathons, startup weekends, and tech shows, as well as segments that show off the city. For example, the search for the perfect hamburger, which not only shows that you can get a good burger in Amsterdam, but makes some lesson about making great products.
House mates can also go out for externships or work on projects for bigger companies to gain experience and build their CV. Instead of getting kicked out of the house, they will graduate, moving on to start companies or take jobs or apprenticeships. We can follow them with “where are they now” segments, as they go from getting their own apartments to buying houses, having kids, or returning home and starting something great there.
“The App Makers,” a marriage of education, creativity, and commerce. Brought to you by the Rietveld Academy, the City of Amsterdam, “Venue Sponsor”, “Production Sponsor”, and the Appsterdam Foundation. Partners in a New Golden Age.
Benefits
There are several direct benefits, and an almost innumerable number of ancillary benefits.
The Rietveld class benefits for having a project to build toward, and we all benefit from the work they are doing essentially for free. If there is a resource here to be exploited, it is the creative talents of the Vacant Appsterdam project class.
There is a similar symbiosis between the nascent App Makers and Appsterdam, as we develop and test our curriculum, learning as we teach. Still, it’s worth reflecting, lest we forget, that we changing people’s lives here.
It is also worth remembering that App Makers are a small and rare breed. Producing 8 new, skilled App Makers is of genuine benefit to the local businesses who end up hiring them, to the ecosystem and local economy, and to the App Makers they will eventually pass their skills on to.
Of course the App Makers are not the only stars, as the city of Amsterdam is their constant costar. This is our chance to show off the city as a technical capital that also happens to be a great place to live and work.
The series will serve as a laboratory for the IND to apply, examine, and reform national immigration policy to “let the right ones in.”
The audience will contain many people with their own aspirations who will be inspired. Perhaps they will move to Appsterdam to become app makers, or perhaps they will pursue their own dreams. The one thing we know for sure is that we will be changing lives for years to come.
For the producers, this offers them a chance to create something that follows a familiar format, but is of lasting value and makes the world a better place.Costs
At the core of this effort is the Vacant Appsterdam project of the Master program class from the Sandberg Institute of the Rietveld Academy. Vacant buildings will be provided by Ymere as an anti-squatter measure for the maintenance cost of around €300 per month. The Sandberg class will build the interior for material costs. That estimate is pending.
We have not yet secured a production crew, but the obvious first choice is Bas den Boer, who directed the Space Pirate movie. We will need a quote from him. We also have in-house resources, and might also explore having a film crew from such as I amsterdam.
Although much is being donated and provided at reduced cost, we will need some money. We hope our beneficiaries at the city of Amsterdam, and our residential partners, can help us defray those costs.
