"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with something original." - Sir Ken RobinsonIf you're returning to the site after a few months absence, you'll notice things look a bit different.
When I first opened up this site to the public a year or so ago, I threw together a site design that I thought would be easily manageable and still be aesthetically pleasing.
If you've followed any of the sites I design, you'll notice that I like to 'tinker'. I like to change and alter things constantly, because I'm never quite satisfied with the way things are. Several of my sites have gone through revamps seemingly every other weekend, but I decided that I would change the site to a new design for 2010...and THIS time, STICK WITH IT.
I'm sure it could be better, and I'd venture a guess that you'll notice the colors changing every now and then, but I'm going to try and stay all the way to 2011 with this basic design. It's clean, simple, and not nearly as jumbled as the last design was.
...The point being?
It seems like (lately) I've had my attention jam packed with folks who either a) won't accept something with even the slightest flaw, or b) are so afraid of a 'different' idea that they will get up in arms at even the most subtle attempt to break away from the norm.
This passed week, I wrapped up production of a web show that I started producing back in January with EQAL Entertainment called 'LG15: Outbreak', and it was QUITE the learning experience.
I'll even settle on the fact that I probably gained more experience doing that show than any other project before it, including writing a book, national film competitions, and time-limit film festivals.
Essentially, I was hired to create a spin-off of the original web show, and to continue the franchise.
Now that the show has concluded, I get to sit back and let the feedback roll in.
I've gotten some thumbs up, and some thumbs down...but a lot of those 'thumbs down' seem to be attached to hands that just so happen to be carrying loaded firearms, ready to assassinate any amount of positive feedback that the show may get.
...Too bad for them. I don't go down very easy.
I'll be frank: I knew I was going to get negative feedback the moment we started filming. We had written the storyline to break away from the usual formula that the original show had set forth.
There was a simple reason for this: it was my show. I was going to do things my way.
Call me selfish if you want, but I was put in a position to produce my own interpretation of the show, and I wrote an original treatment that reflected the way I wanted the season to run.
I'm not allowed to talk in great detail about the production of the show, but I do believe I am allowed to state that the treatment went through several revisions before it was set to shoot.
If you didn't like the way the show aired, you DEFINITELY wouldn't have liked the original treatment. But nevertheless, I took the story that I was allowed to produce, and I created it. We had a great team on both my end, and the part of EQAL. They have a great creative team over there that is honestly trying to do something new and groundbreaking with online entertainment, and I wish them the best of luck.
But above all, I thank them because (although they made revisions) they still allowed me to put together a show that I was happy with. They gave me a lot of creative freedom (in hindsight, probably more than I deserved) to do what I wanted with the show.
I had felt for a long time that the LG15 franchise needed a jump-start, and it was time that somebody started doing things differently and broke away from the usual routine. So, now that I had the chance to make my own installment, I decided to do just that.
And, over the course of 8 weeks, we tried a lot of experimental things with the show, and I took a bit of creative licence and threw my own spin on things.
Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.
It was a learning experience. It was my first time ever doing a true interactive social show, so I decided to capitalize on the moment and do some things that were (for all intents and purposes) 'risky'.
I wanted to try new things. I wasn't going to play it safe and deliver only what the audience was expecting for eight straight weeks.
It didn't always look like the regular LG15. It wasn't always the story of the regular LG15. It wasn't always the same interaction of the regular LG15. It was different. I wanted that.
I'm tired of the same old 'regular' formula. I (personally) think it's time for social shows to grow up and evolve...to start doing different things, and to take risks and try to discover new ways of entertaining audiences.
So, for 8 weeks, I tried to do some new stuff.
Now, mind you, I didn't do anything DRASTICALLY new...the show still had several of the same characters, a lot of the same filming style, it included some key plot elements that every season of the franchise has had (although it addressed them quite differently). The only elements that I chose to leave out were in order to bring in a newer audience who may be unfamiliar with a lot of the show's storyline, and rather than force newcomers to watch 2 years worth of preexisting videos in order to know what was going on, I designed 'Outbreak' to be easy to jump in to and experience.
It started with a girl. The girl met a boy. The girl and boy get thrown into a struggle much bigger than themselves. They have to find a way to survive it.
It's a simple story that was only as complicated as you made it for yourself. Unfortunately, I underestimated that several people (who were just expecting the usual routine) would not be able to accept that, and they immediately tried to define the characters and plotline based entirely on the status quo, and in doing so, caused themselves a lot of unnecessary confusion.
And, looking back now, I could have approached this differently, but I was determined not to waste half of the 8 weeks fitting everything in to the space that everyone was expecting.
I didn't want to spend the first 4 weeks of the show explaining exactly what was going on. I just had it happen.
Reality doesn't give you a 'Previously On...' recap every time you wake up, so rather than constantly backtracking every time I tried to shake things up in the show, I just did it and moved along at a steady pace.
Unfortunately, it felt like a few audience members were quite upset with the fact that they hadn't granted me permission to try new things.
Regardless, the show went on, and at the end of the day, we've managed to rake in a quarter of a million hits for the series, and it was a success in my book.
To say it bluntly, I am happy with the way that 'Outbreak' turned out, and I'm not going to apologize for that. I got to spend 8-10 weeks making the show that I wanted to make, and I learned a lot.
I didn't create the perfect show. I never set out to make the perfect show. I never claimed to be able to make the perfect show. I simply had an idea that I thought was exciting, new, and *different*, and I wanted to make it.
And I did. Whether you liked it or not, it's your opinion, but I'm happy with what we put together.
The whole experience has underlined a huge issue for me, in that it further demonstrates what Ken Robinson said at the top.
I've gotten a lot of positive feedback for the show, and some negative feedback. I'm cool with both. But I've also gotten some downright MEAN feedback. That's not cool in my book.
There are a few folks who didn't like that it tried new things. My only defense is this: I wanted to do something new and exciting. Sometimes when you try new things, they don't work out.
Just because certain things probably didn't work as much as I had hoped, does that mean that the entire show was the worst thing on the interwebz? I don't think so. The show, like every show, had its highs and lows, and I took home a lot of new experience at the end of the day.
The *biggest* thing I took home was that it's OKAY to try and do new things. Sometimes you won't hit the mark, but other times you might discover a cool and interesting new way of doing things.
So, if there's any advice I can give out, it's this: don't be afraid to jump. Don't let the naysayers, pessimists, and the haters keep you from trying to do cool things. It's okay to jump in with both feet. It's okay to make mistakes in the pursuit of something awesome. It's okay to fail when you're experimenting with a new form of thought. It's okay to take credit when you're successful. And most importantly: it's okay to be happy with the work that you've done...even if there's somebody trying to convince you that you aren't allowed to.
...So what are you waiting for? Go take that chance. Go do something different, or unexpected. Write that book. Paint that picture. Make that movie. Record that song. Walk that mile...because it's better to have tried and failed, than to spend your whole life doing nothing, because you were afraid you wouldn't get it right the first time.
To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
I'm going to keep doing new and different things, creatively speaking. Sometimes they'll seem off the wall, unconventional, and maybe even dangerous...but that's not going to stop me from doing them. Telling stories makes me happy...and I don't have to say 'I'm sorry' for that.
27 comments:
Just testing to confirm that the comments are now unlocked!
Okay lets try this again :).
First of all this was a VERY good blog article. At least in my opinion. Well thought out, etc. And I didn't hate/dislike Outbreak... maybe there are a few things I wish you could have wrapped up cause I like things wrapped up in the end (i.e. Who broke into Crystal's apartment?, What was in the book?, Was Crystal Trait Positive, etc...).
I am sorry about the community being so harsh. I was discussing with Jenni the other day that I think LG15 fans may be some of the most harsh, but also some of the most intelligent which CAN make them a bit difficult at times. However they can also be highly productive when they put this energy to good and not evil.
To sum up, keep filming, keep posting things online, etc. If this is what you can accomplish now who knows what you can when you are older :)!
Good luck.
Honestly, you make a good point, but the backlash wasn't because you tried to be creative and do something different - hell, if you stuck to the old formula like glue you'd probably be criticized for that. I think a lot of the bad feelings stem from the divide between Outbreak and the community as a whole. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way, but throughout the show I often felt like my voice was being ignored and that community input, for the most part, was not visibly taken. (On the opposite note, I applaud the transition away from the excessive use of text blogs at the request of the community and the inclusion of community members in the 12in12.)
I'm not typing this to be mean, though I'm sure some people reading this will interpret this that way, but a lot of the bad feelings generated were due to the way you presented yourself online and responded to community messages on twitter. While I'm sure you meant it in a teasing/sarcastic manner, its important to remember that it is difficult to read tone online, and a lot of what you said offended and/or hurt people, and people became angry about it. I know you know this to some degree because of that text you received from someone (that afterwords you posted on twitter) telling you that you were making people angry. And to be perfectly honest, my view of Outbreak was influenced by this a great deal.
Also, refusing to acknowledge the work of your predecessor (LG15: The Last) and your response when asked if you would watch it did not go across well AT ALL. Its not like we're making you watch N1ckola, we're asking you to give the same respect to the first TSIY that you would expect from your viewers. (Also, if you want that dinner with SamMay1011, you may want to watch the Last first. After all, she created, wrote, and co-starred in it >_> )
I'm generally not the first one to defend Outbreak, but even I will say that it had some truly fantastic aspects. Dani Martin was simply pronominal as Crystal, the tug-of-war with eyeseeyou and then the new eyeseeyou was particularly engaging, and I truly connected with the character of will on an emotional level, despite the teasing of him being a creepy stalker. ^_^
Ultimately its a game of give and take. If you treat your fans with respect, they will be so much more likely to treat you with that same respect and be more willing to accept the new twists to make to try and make LG15 less predictable (though the Hymn of One thing - sorry if Jesus had done that people would still be really pissed off, no getting away with that ;) ).
@Angelique Thanks for the comment! I should probably clarify: I still love the community to bits, and I'll remain an LG15 fan for as long as the show continues, but one would be dishonest if they didn't point out that as a whole, that particular community has become SEVERELY fractured over time, and oftentimes I wonder how much longer it can last. When you compare it to the community of VlogBrothers, for instance, you can CLEARLY see a stark contrast of attitude in terms of (Love/Hate). I appreciate all of the community for constructive criticism, but sometimes it feels as if that's ALL the community offers to several people, and a community that is based solely on pointing out error will never last.
@FH14 - Thanks for the comment as well. I agree that the first few weeks were quite rocky to say the least. A lot of it was pre-filmed, and we were still getting our footing on how the whole process worked. By week 4 we had a good flow going, and we were much more active in the community. It was above all, trial and error. I also agree with the growing sentiment that 8 weeks is extremely difficult to work with, as it seemed like the moment we finally got a handle on what worked and what didn't, it was time to close up shop.
You're also correct in that I often carrying an annoying persona online. This isn't limited to cyberspace, believe me. I have plenty of personality issues that I deal with, and while I probably kid around a bit too much, I try and make it a point not to be personally abusive to people.
It's a show. Sometimes people take it WAY too seriously, and I think some of the hateful stuff shot towards me was a reflection of that. As long as they kept it off of my cast/crew I was fine, but such stuff only further splinters the community.
I also don't want to equate the personal attacks with show criticism. I like criticism of my work, and I'm probably my toughest critic. I generally welcome people pointing out what worked/didn't work in something I do, but when it turns to hate speech, I speak up and say enough is enough.
...I also have a thank you video (or two) that should be up in a bit on Youtube where I thank the people who helped with the show.
Thanks for the comments!
I'm just here to say I like that you used the Sir Ken Robinson quote. :-) It's one of my favorites. Also - nice new design, sir. I like it much better than the previous one.
Thanks, Andrew! The last site design never really 'felt' right, y'know? This one seems better to me.
Is this how you wanna paint this? "People are just mean and don't like new things!"? Riiight. Keep telling yourself that and ignore the countless specific examples of what we were unhappy about, including such basic things as pacing and plot.
When your female lead vanishes for a week, male lead is in panic for that entire time, and then she returns and it's never mentioned again and makes no difference, then disliking that is not a question of "not allowing you to do new things". That's a question of not liking completely pointless plots and bad writing.
When a major part of your trailer was a burning Eiffel Tower, and then your male lead reports that OMG the Eiffel Tower was attacked, your female lead points out the other male character has Eiffel Tower plans with him, and that's the only relevance this fact has to the story, and the only time it's even mentioned again, until the end, where the other male's "revelations" either turn the whole thing into a time paradox/plot hole, or make him a cheating bastard, or suggest he went from zero to proposing in three months, then disliking that is not a question of "not allowing you to do new things". It's a question of not liking completely pointless plots and bad writing.
- If Alizee was kidnapped, and, during the kidnapping, the Tower was destroyed, what did Mason have Eiffel Tower blueprints for?
- And which side of the two thought "hey, we want that girl alive...best way to get her down from the tower alive is setting the whole thing ablaze!"?
- How the hell did that even happen? I've never been on the Eiffel Tower, but I'm pretty sure there's no armory up there. So what, did the Order bring RPGs? Did they throw C4 at Mason?
- If the destruction was later, during a rescue attempt of his, why would the tower be involved? Why would the Order kidnap Alizee on the Tower and then keep her there for x amount of time, so Mason knows where to find her?
- In either case, even if Mason did need the Eiffel Tower blueprints, why did even try to walk through two airport securities with them, and actually made it through both times? "Oh hey, the Eiffel Tower got destroyed, surely there's nothing suspicious about this bearded foreigner with Eiffel Tower blueprints!"
The fact that your writing makes no sense at all is not the fault of the viewer, and not the fault of some irrational hostility.
And when the other big part of your trailer is "Mason doesn't remember who he is", and then that's a "problem" for exactly three episodes with him, has no influence on the story, and a few pills fix it, then disliking that is not a question of "not allowing you to do new things", either. That's a question of not liking completely pointless plots and bad writing.
When you craft a summary of the story so far and not only completely ignore your predecessors, but actually actively pretend all non-US series didn't exist, disliking that is not a question of "not allowing you to do new things" - it's a question of expecting respect to the franchise you were "hired to create a spin-off" for.
When you go out and annihilate an integral part of the mythology of said franchise within two lines of voice over, for no reason at all, disliking that is not a question of "not allowing you to do new things" - quite frankly, it's a question of "what the fuck did you just do that for?".
But hey. Keep telling yourself we're just "haters" and there's no rational reason for our dislike.
Keep telling yourself you were just "experimental" and we're stuck in backwards thinking.
Keep telling yourself that we just have some delusion of you needing our permission to do certain things.
I guess it's much easier to dismiss critics as irrational haters than to actually reflect on what you did and why we disliked it.
:):):)
Renegade,
I'm not dismissing criticism at all. If you look at the last few sections of my post, you'll see that I openly welcome criticism and comments on the show.
The only people I dismissed as haters are those who threw around personal insults concerning me, and especially if any came about concerning the cast and crew.
I still don't see what's so difficult for you to understand about this: I acknowledge the series has flaws. Every show does. I refuse to accept that these flaws makes the series unwatchable.
And, clearly, the numbers seem to agree.
You're correct in saying that there are several plot points that didn't go over well. There were also some that went over quite fine. It was a learning experience. There's no way to create a story that is 100% perfect, and we sometimes hit the mark, and sometimes missed it.
As for 'annihilating an integral part of the mythology of said franchise within two lines of voice over', which seems to be your biggest talking point, my response is simple:
I accept that you didn't like it, but I'm not apologizing for it. It was something I had planned to do since the beginning. When releasing that particular video, I received permission, and in fact encouragement to put it in the series.
I was given the reigns to do what I wanted, so I did what I wanted.
It was my series, my story, and my spin on the show, and I'm going to stand by it.
You have every right not to -like- that the video in question happened, but nevertheless, it happened. All the name-calling and fussing in the world won't change that it happened.
Now, will this stop someone else from coming along and totally spinning the 'Outbreak' story in a new direction, or even backtracking and retconning something I did? Not at all. And honestly, they can if they want. The winner of the contest is allowed to create their own installment of the franchise, and in my book, that meant not doing the same routine, and trying new things. You might interpret it as 'don't take huge leaps into new grounds', but that's just a difference of opinion, I suppose.
Your response helps further prove the point I am trying to make: some people didn't like it. They're entitled to their opinion...but above all, I'm happy with it. I made the show I wanted to make, and no amount of pointless badgering or even snide behavior is going to change that.
Again, in case it still hasn't become clear: I welcome criticism. I don't welcome insults.
And the point of my blog still remains the same: don't be afraid to take risks and try something new just because a few people will try and burn you if you fail.
The problem, quite frankly, seems to be that doing your own thing was more important than actually staying faithful to, or even just respecting the franchise.
Then again, given that the very reason you started making Breeniverse-based videos was that you disliked the show, that probably shouldn't have been a surprise.
I hope the ego- and publicity boost was worth wreaking havoc in the Breeniverse.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
Well folks, I think Renegade pretty much summed up the point I was trying to show...some people take things too seriously.
I still don't get how I was 'disrespecting' the franchise when everything I did during the show was encouraged and agreed to by the franchise -creators-, but he's certainly entitled to his opinion.
And I don't do anything for an 'ego boost', at all. If you think that, then you clearly have a total misunderstanding of how I do things...I do it because I love making videos and telling cool and interesting stories. I got to do that with 'Outbreak', and I'm going to keep doing it in the future.
Thanks for the comments, though! It helps spark discussion, and I like sharing different points of view with the people who view my work.
:)
Austin, Yes there were people that loved it and people that hated it, then you have people like me that are riding the fence. I think that is only because I myself didn't come into the LG15 thing till 3 weeks before LG15:The Last started. I think because it was "different" made people either like it or hate it. Granted, what happened in your series isn't exactly the end of it all. There are ways for anyone (if they have a TSIY 3) to change things around (believe me, Jordan and I already have it worked out). In all, I liked the series and have written a blog entry about it myself on my personal blog. Artists are going to do different things and people can't expect 100% of the fans to enjoy it. Its not a perfect world and all we can do is take the constructive criticism and work with it to make something better next time.
I'm sure when the franchise stared there were people out there that completely hated the whole story, in fact I KNOW there were. It didn't make EQAL stop what they were doing.
Either way, I can't wait to see what you have in store next. And I wish you and your cast luck in the future!
OH and thank you very much for the chance to be in your 12in12.
I agree with Jessica,
I thought that LG15: Outbreak was a series that was pretty interesting. I definitely feel like it looked and sounded professional, you used members of the community and past canon characters in a way that I hope your successors will implement and take note of, and the series is unlike anything in the franchise. So, on that end good job.
I didn't like the story as well, but I know how time limits, restrictions and revisions can change something completely and I like that you've admitted that it's not perfect.
While nothing's perfect I feel that there'a already far too much negativity in this community. I refuse to be a part of it, so while I'll say that there were areas that could have been handled differently: you never know until you try and I think you really did give it your all so I have to say congratulations.
(and I liked the haze effect)
Here's some criticism: Austin's post is split up into too many paragraphs.
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Now, Renegade is an island unto himself when it comes to treating the lg15 canon as some kind of divinely inspired work which can never be varied from. Yet, time and again during Lonelygirl15 the Creators showed us that universe was a work in progress which grew, morphed, and changed over time. Bree did not have a twin sister when Miles and Mesh gave birth to her. Watchers and Shadows did not exist. Superpowers did not exist, then they did, and then they didn't. Cassie may be the most exploited and celebrated plothole of all time. A dude jumped through hyperspace as a setup for a movie (but then he didn't). And don't get me started on Sarah being evil, it taking weeks to drive from Chicago to Boston to visit a public toilet, and Daniel vlogging while a tied-up Jules banged on a sliding glass door (which was an intentional joke from the Cs!)
So, while fervent folks like Ren are important to preserving the legacy and mystique of Lonelygirl15 (the 4-part 80s prom was more analyzed than the Zapruder film -- yet most webseries languish for lack of anyone caring to care), the original Lonelygirl15 was an experiment from day one through Jonas being strung from the ceiling, so i submit that Austin was completely consistent with the spirit of lg15 by trying to do some new things, by doing his own thing, and by succeeding and failing in varying measures. That Mason was born as a critic encouraged by the interactivity of lonelygirl15, and ends up adding to the canon and "bearing the ring" himself for even a short time is fitting indeed.
lonelygirl15 is dead. long live lonelygirl15.
Austin: Oh, cute...dismiss and isolate the critics. Don't dare being factual, quick! Add "taking things too serious" to "hater" and "troll". *rolls eyes*
Whatever, man. If you honestly don't get how taking Bree's religion out of LG15 was just wrong, well...that only shows you were unfit for your role from the start.
Then again, given how "Anyone who even remotely skimmed through the masonishappy vids knows that I've got the Lonelygirl history/knowledge written into the back of my brain." turned into "....I'll confess, I've never seen 'The Last', and tuned out of The Resistance until a week before TSIY.", maybe that shouldn't surprise me.
And you can point to the creators "enouraging" you all you want - for one, these are the same people who didn't even care enough for TSIY to update Inside after September last year until last week, or to do more than copy-pasting the same post over and over on lg15.com unless triggered, and for two, as George Lucas never fails to demonstrate, just because you own a franchise doesn't mean you're treating it wisely.
In all probability, they just hand-waved everything you did.
Feel free to prove otherwise (maybe with a verifiable quote?), but I'm having a hard time believing the Creators were suddenly deeply engaged in LG15 story development. Especially considering how Miles kept reminding us again and again that they didn't even have the time to do a 5-minute-fix of the site.
But hey...if you say so.
It's not like everything else you said regarding TSIY didn't turn out to be a load of bull. *shrugs*
Oh well...it's quite obvious you couldn't care less what kind of effect your happy fun time in videoland had on the franchise and mythology as a whole, so I can only hope you'll stay far away from it in the future, and someone will come along and retcon what you did.
@milo: Gina was properly introduced. Watchers and Shadows were properly introduced. Superpowers were properly introduced, and taken out of the story in a gentle way.
Compare that to "oh, btw, the Hymn of One is gone. kthxbai", for no reason at all.
There's a difference between "growing and morphing" and "hacking to bits with a butcher knife".
And if you recall, that's the same reason Sarah being evil didn't exactly get the best reception - because it was a completely unnecessary move, dramatically changing the structure of the show's universe in a cloud of plotholes. (On the other hand, maybe it's a sign that, of all possible finale elements, Austin copied the worst one there was.)
No story should be stale. No one is against evolution, growing, morphing. But I fail to see how removing an integral part of the mythology in a sidenote, in a show in which the HoO didn't even have to appear if Austin didn't want to, falls into any of those categories.
Think about it: What would have changed about Outbreak had Austin not randomly destroyed the HoO?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
He could just not have said those two lines, and the show would have "worked" in the exact same way, without needlessly twisting the mythology around, and requiring future contestants to go back and find a logical explanation why the Hymn of One is back in the USA.
It was a pointless move at best, and a mean-spirited one at worst.
Ren, seriously, man. Enough. Get over it. Youve already spammed to death the LG15Today site with your pointless whining.
You stated that you didn't like it. fine. MOVE ON. other people liked it just fine. Youre like a republican claiming that heathcare reform means Armageddon. Outbreak did not cause the death of LG15.
I swear it's your one mission to completely scare off any new or returning community members the franchise may get.
Thanks femaleprodigy! Are you back to that username, or are you still 'no longer' no longer? :P
I appreciated your words about the series, and I again appreciate you and Jordan for being willing to share your creative talent for the 12in12...it's attitudes like THAT which keep the LG15 community positive! :)
PJ - Thanks as well. I hope future installments try and increase community involvement as well. A lot of the things that we tried to do as new ideas in 'Outbreak' are still well into their infancy, and it'll take some further trial and error before things get to a proper level.
Hahaha...I *STILL* don't get that hole 'haze effect' thing that people keep talking about...it isn't an effect. It's just the look of a 35mm film lens with occasional focus changes. I think it might be the shutter speed that we filmed at that make people think it's 'hazy', but it's really just basic filmrate 24 frames per second with some color correction.
Milo - Sorry about the paragraphs...still figuring out this new site design's formatting, and I have a habit of doing too many line breaks :P
...Renegade is certainly entitled to his opinion, and he is allowed to voice it. We may have our disagreements, but everyone has the right to express what they think.
I don't think LG15 is *dead* ...but I do believe it is in a terrible need of an overall reboot.
Renegade - I really don't get the negative attitude, dude. It's possible to be civil towards one another and act like adults. I've tried to extend to you my every courtesy, and I give you respect for stating your own feelings on the series, but if you continue to be disrespectful towards me or the other fellow commenters on this blog, my kindness and generosity towards you will cease.
I can't explain this any clearer to you or make it plainer: I understand your point of view, and I respect your opinion and critiques of the show, specifically the 'Hymn of One' element...but I simply see it differently. You're allowed to have your own feelings about 'Outbreak', but those feelings are not law. They do not have to be universally obeyed and agreed to. I understand your feelings, but I disagree with them, and I do not need to apologize for that.
Before accusing me of 'mean-spiritedness' and 'arrogance', do yourself a favour and check yourself at the door. I have not attacked anyone for disliking the show. You, however, seem to be snapping at anyone who even remotely expresses that they enjoyed it.
Calm down.
--
Thanks to everyone for their comments!
ren - re your response to me, i think you are romaticizing the past a bit here, which is odd of me to consider you capable of :-)
superpowers were not taken out of the story in a gentle way. in fact, a video was released that confirmed that superpowers existed, and was abruptly pulled and reposted to remove that portion of the video. and that's ok, but it silly to say its removal was "gentle"
as for the hymn of one, the birth of the hymn of one was a big break from the past story. yes, we knew bree had a religion, but the division between the Order and the Hymn of One was notdreamed up until months after the original Ceremony, and its pretty obvious when you compare fall 06 videos to "losing my religion" and the story arcs that followed. not to mention that when glenn and eqal parted ways, tachyon and opaphid were given a "kthxbai" in a very similar fashion. It would be very easy for the HoO to come back - you simply say "mason was wrong"--shadow cells survived or something like that. i for one was glad to be done with chanting videos.
Hmm...it looks like there is a weird delay between the comments on the actual post page, and in the pop-out box...
Just giving this a quick bump to see if it's a timed issue or a comment amount issue.
DownUnder, seriously, man. Enough. Get over it. Youve already spammed to death the LG15Today site with your pointless whining about me.
You stated that you don't like my comments. fine. MOVE ON. other people liked them just fine. Youre like a republican constantly arguing against the man, trying to silence the opposition and misrepresenting their argument, rather than talk about the actual topic.
@Austin: If you consider yourself so "kind" and "generous", how about you stop trying to paint my comments as personal attacks?
It's not my fault Outbreak was promoted on basis of your previous success with your previous series, on your production company, on your books.
This doesn't involve you as a person because I'm trying to make it that way. This involves you as a person because, from the start, this was marketed as "Austin does LG15".
If you didn't want it to be that personal, at any point, you could just have quit making it that way. You could have stopped pointing at MasonIsHappy, you could have stopped pointing at your book series, you could have started as talking as a representative of Tempest Pictures, gotten Lance to say something, etc.
It was your choice to turn Outbreak into "Austin's series", rather than "Tempest Pictures' TSIY project".
Don't complain now that the criticism is associated with Austin personally as well.
And I resent the implication that I consider my opinion law and am "snapping at anyone who even remotely expresses that they enjoyed it".
In fact, I'll go as far as saying it's no coincidence that you, like anyone else who has alleged that so far, have provided no quote or other pointer as to where that might have happened.
The fact that I reply to people doesn't automatically mean I'm trying to kill them.
So save yourself the attempts to misdiagnose my state of calm.
The hilariousness of this, of course, is that that exact attitude is what made me comment in the first place.
If you didn't try dismiss anyone who doesn't even like Outbreak a tiny bit as a naysayers, pessimists, haters, and all the other things you elaborately alleged about us, there wouldn't have been a need to respond in the first place.
Stop trying to dismiss our specific criticism of Outbreak's elements and marketing as personal attacks out of zealotry.
@milo: I'm pretty sure I have a copy of that video. So I know very well it existed. But that doesn't change the fact that it doesn't, in terms of the story. As far as the canon is concerned, super powers were never confirmed and never existed. It was all just a dumb trick by the Order that even dumber Jonas fell for.
Cheap, yes. Silly, yes.
But far better than just going "we hereby declare super powers don't exist anymore, kthx".
...which is how Outbreak handled the HoO.
And I did find it equally (EQAL-y?) silly how OpAphid and Tachyon were handled - but at least there was a reason.
Op and Tachyon were killed that way because of some mysterious fallout which few people witnessed live, everyone had a different story about, and legal details which are unknown to us.
Basically, we knew why Op and Tachy were killed that way, and the why was far more interesting at the time.
Compare that to Outbreak. Why was the HoO killed? What was the underlying reason for not even giving the kill at least some footage? Why just off the entire institution with two lines?
Austin has said it: "It was something I had planned to do since the beginning."
There was no underlying reason. No need. No story requirement. Austin just wanted to kill the HoO, and did so in the quickest, cheapest way possible.
That's a whole world of difference compared to the Touch of Death and Op and Tachy, whose removal from the storyline was anything but planned.
Well, clearly Renegade could carry on an argument with the wind 'til Judgment, so there's not much else I can say. I've stated that I openly welcome critiques and discussion concerning the show, and also that I am open and frank with pointing out that the series has its flaws. The show had ups and downs, and is not perfect by any means, but as a whole, I still stand by it, and I refuse to accept that everything about it is terrible. I can't repeat this anymore than possible.
I don't know how that is 'dismissing' any criticism, Ren. You have ignored me the (5) times that I have mentioned the only people I label as 'haters' are those who sling around the personal attacks. Since you're clearly not interested in listening to my responses to your criticism, it's abundantly clear that you're just here to cause a fuss. Sad.
I do appreciate, however, that you've toned yourself down on the rudeness to fellow commenters. Thank you.
(As a side note, I think I've fixed the delay in the comment box for the site. I appreciate everyone jumping in and starting discussions on the new site's layout. It gives me a lot of encouragement to continue.)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand again.
Random, unsubstantiated claims that I'm "just here to cause a fuss", unproven allegations that I was rude to other commenters in the first place...
Whatever man. It's quite clear you're incapable of a discussion on a factual level.
Ren, if you honestly cannot see why many of your comments both on this blog, or on LG15Today are 'rude' or otherwise mean-spirited, then you clearly need to go back to grade school and learn proper manners, and tact.
You've been warned for the last time to keep your manners in check.
If you have nothing else to say about the show, and the rest of your comments are only going to consist of why no one is 'capable of discussion' with you, then perhaps you should continue this discussion with a nearby mirror, since has become evident that you are unwilling to engage in a discussion that does not end with 'I'm right, and you're wrong no matter what'.
Meep. First off, congratulations Austin on getting through with the show, God knows putting together an 8 week show, especially one of this nature isn't easy. Over all you did a good job, especially considering you hadn't done anything like this before.
Lets see, things i enjoyed: Great casting for the part of crystal, dani did a superb job and her performance in the video were she stabs you gets her a nomination on The Lonelycracker Awards (for which I hope i can count on you guys for presenters).
It's was interesting that you tried to focus the story on the guys, and that we see how being in the resistance destroyed mason personal life.
Including community members and cast from previous shows was also a great move
I'll get to the things i didn't like in another post, since i'm probably running out of characters
Things I didn't like:
Like several people pointed out your plot seemed to be a bit over the place, it made it hard to follow and that made people care less and less and plotholes piled on.
There were lots of things that were ill explained or the kthks way renegade was referring.
The whole Eiffel Tower blowing up is also a problem. It wouldn't be one, if this was a show that just tells a story like many are, but lg15 is in nature an interactive show, if I'm meant to interact with the characters I need to be in the same universe they are in, an if you tell the Eifel Tower just blew up and yet I can look out the window and it's still there then I'm suddenly talking to a person who is in a parallel reality.
Speaking of interactivity, it was lacking, I neither have facebook or twitter so i never interacted with the characters, I realize you had all the filming to worry about, but you knew you where making an interactive show, you needed to have someone in charge of the interaction department.
The driving on the right in France was a crude mistake that could have been easily avoided with consulting wikipedia to make sure you were right about it, as it is the only logical explanation again is that Outbrake takes place in a parallel universe were england rules over france.
While we understand that you were trying to tell Mason's story, it's not cool to turn him in the offspring of Edward Cullen and Chuck Norris. The 12in12 read more like Egoboy15, were Wolverine Mason has to same the world with a hand tied behind his back, find the cure for cancer and save kittens while fending off all character in previous lg15 shows and french superstars that want to mate with him.
Now I understand that most of these mistakes (except the last one) come from having to fit the story you had envisioned into 8 weeks and all the rush in filming that goes with it, but I seriously recommend that next time you spend more time before filming working out the plot, money and other factors involved, and come up with something that fits the conditions you have to work with
BronzeGolem: Thanks for your comments!
Dani was a pleasure to work with. I knew she would do the part well, and I was still pleasantly surprised.
On that note, she's quite the busy lady and there were some weeks where we had to schedule around her regular life...she does a lot of modeling, and during those weeks we tried to focus more on the Will/Mason dynamic.
The story went through a retooling after the 4th week, and we shifted a lot of things around in order to increase the story's pacing. I think it's still extremely difficult to have an 8 week show with proper pacing from beginning to end. Both TSIYs have had a tough time getting it to work, and it will be interesting to see if the hypothetical TSIY3 is able to make a show without running over.
So wait...your argumentation is "no, you're rude! No matter if I don't provide any evidence, you're rude! Insanely rude! Ya hear me?! You're rude, and I'm kicking you out for it!"
...and yet I'm the one supposedly employing "I'm right, and you're wrong no matter what"-logic?
Whatever you're saying.
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