Collaborative production model and the animation industry: The role of the Blender community in the making of the Italian short film Arturo e il gabbiano

New ways to produce creative content based on open technologies, co-productions and global networking of experts and non-experts with different skills have affected the animation industry in recent years. Many productions have been possible thanks to the involvement of open source software and online communities sharing suggestions about narratives, technologies and technical issues. This article examines and deconstructs the production phases of the short film in CGI "Arturo e il gabbiano", directed by the Italian animator Luca Di Cecca in 2019 and made entirely in Blender, an open source software that experienced a strong development in recent years and focuses on the fundamental contribution provided by the online community to its production. By going through the criticisms, suggestions, feedback and the constant and motivating participation of the Blender community, the article outlines a new production process based on an asynchronous and virtual collaboration of experts and non-experts interested in the project and graphically visualizes it as a multi-circular and inter-connected model. This collaborative approach, furthermore, can have social and educational consequences since it opens to a more democratic and mutual share of technological skills, knowledge and experience.