Tuesday night I had to finish up some exhibits for a trial we're in this week. I had to output & mount them on posterboard, so in the meantime I did a little cruising. I ended up watching a Doctor Who episode that was made specifically for the web.
I am quite the science fiction fan, and have special place in my heart for early Doctor Who, especially the Tom Baker years. I'm not enough of a fanatic about the series to say as to whether it's consistent with the later series, but I enjoyed it well enough.
I was more struck by the fact it was made exclusively for the web, and made in flash. It presupposes a fast connection [I can only imagine how long it would take to load the various parts using dial-up] and a certain amount of knowledge of the series. I think the story stands up pretty well on its own using fairly common elements -- nefarious aliens, the british military, end of the world scenario, and plot twists and turns.
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As always I'm interested in the web as a method of distribution, especially in the case of the BBC who plan to make their entire archives available for download.
I'm also interested in animation as a way of telling a storyline that is traditionally a live action series or movie. Specifically, I'm thinking about how Lucasfilm decided to allow Cartoon Network to produce Star Wars: Clone Wars. Another example is The Animatrix, which told alternate stories in the matrix universe. Some of the stories were released on the internet as teasers to generate interest in the DVD.
As a fan of animation and of these franchises [or at least the first Matrix film] I think it's a good thing. I like the difference in texture that animation provides, and the difference in the media. Granted, both the Matrix and Star Wars series are special effects extravaganzas that blur the lines of live action with CGI, but I think there are still different kinds of magic at work here. Different appeals.
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