Sanctuary Discussion (Spoilers for the most recent episode)

[rderoch]

Okay troops, who's signed up to participate? Sound off!

Me!

[Strix varia]

the music reminds me of 'xena', which was done by joseph loduca. i hope it's him doing it, because he's a great composer!




sally

I thought the same thing, Sally. It reminds me much of the stuff we heard on Xena. Which I liked very much...

[Agent_Dark]

Music is done by Ian Browne

[tagger]

Here's the email we got -

Hello, Damian Kindler here...

I just wanted to get back to you and thank you for your interest in Sanctuary. What you are seeing and hearing about on the web is the fruit of a lot of people's labor. Yes I wrote the damn thing, but as you all know something this special doesn't come to life without the help of a lot of very talented, very passionate people. And more importantly, Sanctuary won't be a success without support from you, the viewers and fans.

It's important to note that Sanctuary isn't being made by a huge Hollywood studio or network. This is a grassroots project that has attracted people who simply love sci-fi - watching it, reading it, and most of all, creating it.

Wonder how we can help with the grass-rootishness of it?

How will it be advertised - if at all? Just word of mouth? Word of net? This is different than a "viral video", i.e. 2 people sending it to 4 who send it to 8, then 16, 32, 64... 35 million.

I want this to succeed - how will news of the webisodes get out?

[tagger]

Surfed into this site don't know how reliable the site is, nor do I know how I actually ended up there...

http://www.tv.com/show/22115/summary.html

First air date April 1st, first Episode " Harbor Master", IF the site is not completely off.

Hmmm. April Fools' Day as premier, I like it already!

[Platschu]

The story seems to be an intresting mix of Harry Potter, X-men and Supernatural (school, mutants with special skills). The page is very similar to Diablo II. I hope it will be succesfull.

[minigeek]

Actually the 40min figure came from a interview Gateworld had with Martin Wood. I think it was more speculation that it would be like a standard television series..

I'm speculating entirely, however I'd imagine that most of this has to do with money. As some have already mentioned. True streaming video is not the same as a downloaded video. It's not difficult to stream a full hour of video - one hour of video from a streaming server comes over no differently than a 2 minute stream of video, it's coming at a preset data rate and there are several mainstream options today for producing high quality broadcast(s) of that type. Downloading individual videos off the internet is another matter and would be constrained by bandwidth. From what I've seen so far, I'm wondering if they didn't ended up receiving the kind (amount) of funding they were hoping for. That would affect their experimental format and of course the amount of post production they could afford, the length of the episodes/webisodes, etc.

Having said that, there is research to support that internet (user) attention spans are significantly shorter than television viewer attention spans (given the interactivity and access to interface online especially), so the length of the content may also be dictated by that.

EDIT-> Meaning the same user viewing an internet page exhibits a shorter attention span for lengthy media than he or she would while watching a television program. I think it might even be classified as a conditioned response.

[BruTak]

...there is research to support that internet (user) attention spans are significantly shorter than television viewer attention spans (given the interactivity and access to interface online especially), so the length of the content may also be dictated by that.

Have I just been insulted?

[minigeek]

Have I just been insulted?

LOL - how about I rephrase? The same viewer, when online, has a shorter attention span for media than when s/he is watching television. The expectation that something should happen, or that they should be able to "do something" on the computer overrides the ability to sit and watch for extended periods as s/he normally would be conditioned to in front of a television in his/her living room.

[Lauriel]

LOL - how about I rephrase? The same viewer, when online, has a shorter attention span for media than when s/he is watching television. The expectation that something should happen, or that they should be able to "do something" on the computer overrides the ability to sit and watch for extended periods as s/he normally would be conditioned to in front of a television in his/her living room.

Not to mention that the lounge/couch/sofa is so much more condusive to kicking back and switching off.

[tagger]

I just hope the webisodes are not stretched out over 2 months i.e. 12 - 20 minutes per week for 8 weeks.

My anticipation span is not up to that.

[minigeek]

I'd be interested to know what the original ideology was/is behind Sanctuary, beyond "interactive" (which is a huge word that I think is thrown around a lot in the internet age, implying any number of possible interpretations). I'm interested to discover what they're hoping to achieve through their self-titled "convergence" - a pioneering step in the new media genre, or is there more to it than that?

One of the great ongoing debates of the internet (and internet marketing) today is: what precisely the consumer (the user/viewer) wants out of their entertainment experience online. Where do they expect to be taken? How much do they expect to be able (or expected) to do in order to affect their own experience. How much is "too much" for the average consumer?

The gaming world has been exploring these "grey" areas of online consumerism for many years now, but the media/entertainment world has yet to really get a good foothold for any sort of mainstream marketing potential. Everyone agrees there's definitely a huge market out there to exploit, but not everyone agrees on how it should be done or what manner of consumer-driven experience is best suited for the "average" user.

It's a vast conundrum, even today with multiple avenues for high-speed streaming content over a broadband network. Where should one begin to leverage the possibilities?

[Strix varia]

LOL - how about I rephrase? The same viewer, when online, has a shorter attention span for media than when s/he is watching television. The expectation that something should happen, or that they should be able to "do something" on the computer overrides the ability to sit and watch for extended periods as s/he normally would be conditioned to in front of a television in his/her living room.

That's really interesting. But I think it may be true. I rarely make it through an entire DVD on my computer, but I do it all the time watching DVDs on the TV.

[immhotep]

Hey i got my email from Damian Kindler, im very excited, got quite a few ideas on concepts and creatures they could meet etc, i love the idea of this being green screen and interactive. Ive signed up for beta testing and i cant wait to explore whatever they want us to test. I wonder how long it will take to get replies again. I have asked some questions to them so i hope the next email will be an individual one, i guess they had to send a generic welcome email to everyone. So far i think this series could be really amazing, cant wait to help out in any way that i can

[tagger]

Here's the email we got -




We also want your feedback on how we can involve you more. Even though the characters and the premise is set, the future and direction of the series is not. Let us know how we can support your online life. Do you want us to start discussion groups, post surveys, or initiate forums? Let us know. Remember, Sanctuary was designed to appeal to you - the sci-fi viewer who works, lives, plays, and seeks entertainment online. Let us know how we can make the show work best in your world.

One of the great ongoing debates of the internet (and internet marketing) today is: what precisely the consumer (the user/viewer) wants out of their entertainment experience online. Where do they expect to be taken? How much do they expect to be able (or expected) to do in order to affect their own experience. How much is "too much" for the average consumer?

It's a vast conundrum, even today with multiple avenues for high-speed streaming content over a broadband network. Where should one begin to leverage the possibilities?

Great info Minigeek,

As I thought of Kindlers' letter, he is asking us those same questions, and I don't know what I want. I will know better once the webisodes start.

Alternate, interactive endings? Cool, but practically, how would that play out - essentially like talking about Alternate Universes, once you diverge on a major character decision, is the entire show changed forever for you and how is that managed from a filming/ production standpoint?

Interact with CG "sets"? Wandering around the sanctuary world was mentioned, but wandering alone will get old, gotta do something. Whatever something is.

Starting forums/ discussion groups - those will start and have started, I don't know how much I would go to multiple internet sites.

Surveys - of course - you have to find out what is working and not working with your customers.

I am not in media and am not a computer guru, so I consider myself an average customer (translate: below average in scifi fandom) - user friendly is what I need, plug in and play, easy to figure out, etc.

Aside from that, I don't know what "I want". Good, new story premises, well done CG, great acting (check). Interactivity is interesting, but mystifying at this point.

I am really looking forward to it and imagining the experience will be one that evolves with time. Perhaps another reason for the initial short offerings.