Digital technologies that reduce production costs, supported by viral marketing, are enabling independent content producers from outside of the established media to achieve commercial success. The most notable example may be Hollywood-based Israeli writer/director Oren Peli. His horror film Paranormal Activity was shot in his home for $15,000 and earned more than $100 million at the box office. After opening in select college towns, Peli encouraged fans to "demand" on eventful.com where the film should play next. Content creators with a clear idea of what they want and who they want to reach are now better equipped to produce at lower cost and reach a broader audience through social media.

"Creatively, I knew the concept I wanted," says Mr. Lavie - stop motion animation of a woman in dream sequences such as walking, falling and riding a bicycle. "It was Yuval [co-Director Yuval Nathan] who added the idea of a flat, two dimensional display. We used an animated computer storyboard to visualize the entire story before production. Once we combined these two concepts, the rest was joy." The actual shoot required only two days. Photographer Eyal Landesman shot nearly 3,000 pictures of actress Shir Shomron in precisely the chronological order of the computer storyboard and ... say cheese!

Oren's journey to Grammy stardom was a long one. It began in Tel Aviv, followed by a decade of living in London, New York, Berlin and Los Angeles. Oren is now in LA, which is "exactly interesting enough to keep you focused on what you need to do. There are talented people here, although it is not necessarily a place to widen your emotional spectrum," he says.

Despite the different locales, "my language is Hebrew and everything moves through that filter. It is who I am and inspires the stories I tell." Those tales are expressed with "words, visuals and music. Each genre has different mechanics, but is still story-telling. I want my voice to be authentic."

Another way Oren maintains authenticity is singing his own songs. "I experimented with other vocalists with better voices but somehow it didn't feel right. Those lyrics need to come from my voice." In fact, Oren's lyrics are well-regarded. In December 2009, Mr. Lavie won the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for Most Promising Lyricist.

Oren is reluctant to compromise his artistic freedom. "My choice is to remain true to what I really care about, even if that means having to do-it-myself and finding the budget on my own." Even without a label, Oren's music has won attention within the industry. In addition to critical acclaim for the song "Dream within a Dream,"Oren was invited to write the end credit, "A Dance Round the Memory Tree" for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, joining Regina Spektor and Hanne Hukkelberg on the soundtrack.

The album containing the single "Her Morning Elegance" can be downloaded as part of Amie Street's Download to Make a Difference campaign. Proceeds will be donated to Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross.

Oren is not bothered that the Black Eyed Peas won the Grammy. "I get to do what I love with wonderful people. Is there anything better than that?"