You may or may not know Josh Whedon, but millions of fans do as the creator of such shows as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", "Firefly", "Serenity", etc, etc, etc. As a producer, he has a strong following of very loyal followers, many of whom are very active on the web.
This week, Mr. Whedon again broke some ground by releasing the much-anticipated "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". After a couple weeks of good online buzz, some viral media marketing, the first of three episodes was launched to much fanfare, so much so the servers crashed twice, leaving Whedon seeking improved server representation.
You can check out Dr. Horrible's Blog for FREE here.
What makes this groundbreaking? Just another online video? I notice a couple of things...
-Recognizable actors -No, not front name cinema movie stars, but certainly recognizable names. In fact, a couple of my favorites show up here, in fellow University of Alberta grad Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris, well beyond his Doogie Howser role these days.
-Hollywood production values -This isn't a webcam production. The cast isn't the only thing that's recognizable. Cinema value equipement, editing, scoring, and production all bring this up to a different level than 99% of online video.
-Viral being used without profit -Premeditated virals online have been used many times before, but always as a marketing tool, in the aim of profits. This seems to be more... innocent?
One other interesting thing... you can view the blog for free via the Dr. Horrible website, OR you can pay $1.99 and download each episode via iTunes. Free online, but pay via iTunes? This raises a few questions for me... who decided to charge for the iTunes feed? It's not like you can't download items for free via iTunes, so who is getting the cash for this? Whedon? The Production company? iTunes? It could be a cash grab taking advantage of those who are limited in online savvy, or just a really, really bad decision by someone removed. Certainly the receiver of the cash will be identified at some point.
Also, of note in my eyes, is the move to more professional online production. Could we be moving back to the cinema of the 1930s, when the serial series would come to the local cineplex each Saturday for another episode? The web may offer a resurrection of this type of serial program. Stephen King tried it by releasing a novel in serial format a few years ago, with mitigated success. This could be the start of that type of thing, online, again.
Anyway... take a few minutes and enjoy some online fun.
1 comment:
Dr. Horrible's site has succumbed to the iTunes absurdity, and is now pay only, as $1.99 per episode.
Serious mistake by all involved, in my opinion, though I do realize bills have to be paid...
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