Venice with Perspective...?

So for the last two weeks I’ve kept a bit quiet on the blog front – I mostly wanted to gain a some perspective and see what others were saying in the Venice world. And wow, some of it is really harsh. I’m surprised because it’s not so much that there is criticism about the show, just the way people are communicating it. I’d assumed that because a large percentage of the fandom, if not pretty much all of it came from Otalia, that there would be a bit more… respect going on. Yes, there has been a bunch of technical problems which can be frustrating but when someone tweeted Crystal to get her shit together, I felt bad for Team Venice. These people are putting so much effort and love into this project FOR FREE and I feel that they deserve a bit of patience and understanding while they find their feet. Making a web series is serious work. Of course the aim is that this webseries will turn into a viable business model which is why there is a subscription fee. Fair enough if you expect the site not to crash on you once you pay. But there are ways to communicate that. This show was first and foremost made because of the love and gratitude from Otalia fans and not because they are gaining oodles of money from it or that there is even a guarantee of future revenue.

So when I read a blog called Venice: The Trainwreck after just one episode, excuse me if I was a bit miffed. There was, however, one point that I took away from all of the reviews/comments/blogs/podcasts which was: Not to praise it just because you’re in the grips of Venice fever or diss it because it isn’t exactly what you wanted. With that in mind I will do my best to be objective.

Let’s start by saying what I dig about Venice. I love Team Venice, their generosity, their love, their effort. They really are putting everything they have into this. They are working hard to make it look good. I’ve enjoyed each performance so far and I can see the glittering of gems within those performances. Hillary B Smith and Tina Sloan had me laughing out loud this week. I thought the set up in episode one was great and I loved the Giani interaction.

But Venice is not perfect and there are areas where the show can improve. I mentioned in my last blog that I wondered if 6 minutes would be enough and I still feel that it is too short but perhaps more to the point is the structure of the episodes. I went out to look at what is working and what isn’t in the web world – from The Guild, 3Way, We Have To Stop… Now, Seeking Simone, Gotham and a number of other ones. I came away from that feeling the serial nature of Venice is problematic. I feel each episode needs to encapsulate its own story or at least be more episodic, otherwise you get reactions like the After Ellen Venice threat post episode two where people were feeling underwhelmed. Why? Probably because in the 10 minutes of Venice screen time we’ve seen there has been no action, it has all been about establishing characters, some of whom like Owen and Guya are not identified. That would be fine if it were a one hour long episode (which is how the first season was written) but when each six minute segment is released at one week (sometimes more) intervals, each offering needs have to hook the viewer and to make sense within itself. I imagine that once we have the entire season the Gina/Michele scene will slot in nicely but within the context of the episode it lacked an anchor or a clear direction and then jumped to the enjoyable though seemingly unrelated Tarot reading scene.

To their great credit Team Venice are clearly taking fan feedback on board as seen in this article, and I think it is fantastic how open they are to our views:

Crystal “… already has some changes planned for next season. "We've had some really good feedback and some really great criticism," she says. "I value all of it. Story-wise, the first season was written as a script, so it's been interesting and challenging to find those tag and edit moments. Next season, it will be written probably a little bit longer, like 8 minutes or 10, but we'll write it with definite arcs."

Awesome. How can I not want to support this? I am not looking for perfection though I equally don’t want to sell them short because I know they have the potential for an even more fantastic show. I’m on board because I have honestly enjoyed both epiosdes so far, because of the people, the love, the fact they listen and communicate with us and, well, the lesbians on the show kiiiiinda help too ;) (Just sayin’).

I’m looking forward to the coming few months - I trust the technical glitches will shortly be sorted and with next season green lighted I expect the show will get better and better! I’m excited about being along for the ride as we see Venice develop.

Now. I’m just waiting for my call letting me know I’ve got a part in Season Two! (HINT!)

Venice the Series - Up to the Hype?

As an audience member I’m not a fan of hype as all too often I am disappointed. And that has been my one reservation with Venice the Series. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve LOVED the community aspect, the building excitement shared by thousands of fans but there has been just SO much hype and talk of The Kiss that Otalia never got that I wondered if my expectation could be satisfied. Of course I will have to watch the rest of the series to form a definite opinion (which by the way I’m more than happy to pay the small fee of $US 9.99/ £6.75 for) but the first episode was off to a good start much to my relief. A really good start. As a fellow Team UKer mentioned – perhaps it was because we had been so well trained by our time with Guiding Light NOT to expect intimacy that my kiss-o-meter was set to low but we didn’t just get a single kiss. No! We got LOTS of yummy, delicious kisses and it was awesome! (Thank-you!!!!)

*Clear throat*. Right. Moving on. I felt the first episode, the first scene especially, was wonderfully layered and rich. It effortlessly established a number of important aspects about Gina, Ani and their relationship, about Gina, her brother Owen and how he views that relationship. The acting, not surprisingly, was spot on which is a testament to Crystal and Jessica because with just six minutes including credits, they didn’t have the luxury of time to not only establish their characters but to differentiate them from Otalia. I’m sure that the morning-after smexiness and terminology like ‘smart-ass’ and ‘bullshit’ coming out of Jessica’s mouth helped, of course! (yay for artistic freedom!)

But six minutes was very short and I’m curious to see how this time constraint will affect the series. Will there be enough time to satisfactorily establish the numerous characters we know will be appearing later on? Will it be enough not only to establish them but to play out the various storylines without robbing them of depth? My hopeful answer, of course, is yes and I do feel confident that the show we will end up with by the season’s end will fulfil my expectations, especially in view of the quality of this first episode.

However, seeing as I am a fan girl my judgement might just be a little biased. The future of this series is in the hands of the fans - because we are the ones paying the subscription that will fund next season - but the aim is, of course, to grow the number of subscribers to guarantee its long-term success. Was there enough story to intrigue someone who doesn’t have a previous investment in Otalia and Venice? Will this six minute episode be enough to entice new comers to part with their money? I honestly hope the answer is a resounding yes. And I actually feel it will be a resounding yes. Something which has got this much heart, this much wonderful energy with such generous people will surely succeed.

xAnita

Check out episode one for free at www.venicetheseries.com