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!)
Showing posts with label hope royaltey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope royaltey. Show all posts
Monday, 21 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
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
*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
Sunday, 29 November 2009
I'm so totally Chappelled...
Well I have been for a while, but today I am referring to a tweet I got :)
I uploaded another Bid for Venice video in which I come out to Team Venice and had the wonderful fortune of being on-line today when Crystal was waiting for her plane. I tweeted her the link, believing that she probably wouldn't check it out and certainly no respond it even if she did... but oh how I was wrong! Perhaps I should not be so astonished? After all Crystal and Co. have been nothing short of amazing when it comes to interacting with us fans. They really seem to care. They listen, they play along with us, they watch our tribute videos and enjoy them!
This sort of involvement with the fans is something I've never experienced before. The mere fact that I can log on to twitter and know that I can contact them directly - ask a question, send a link or show my utter admiration has been a revelation to me. After all, as you will find out in my latest vid, I come from little 'ole New Zealand, those wee islands all the way down to the south, four hours from Australia, twelve from LA and a whole day away from the UK. The physical isolation has meant that the stars I grew up watching were always distant and far away. The easy way in which people could, for example, hop over to the Vegas event happening next weekend and meet their favourite stars has always been, until now, a surreal, non-relevant experience for me. It just doesn't happen in my world. (to steal a GL quote...)
But now it IS happening. Through the unbelievably generous nature of Team Venice we have been given the opportunity of going along for the Venice ride. They've asked our opinions, they've shared photos, they've encouraged music and logo submissions. They've titillated us (see how I slipped that one in, Crystal?) with V panty pics and through all this become the nucleus of a warm and loving fan community. I am bowled over.
Crystal's tweet epitomises that to me. She not only watched my video but she took the time to tweet me back with "love u, adorable". This woman who has been on my TV screen for two decades, one of those untouchable, somewhere out there actresses is now immediate and accessible. And to that I say THANK-YOU Crystal and THANK-YOU Team Venice. You are a gift.
Now I'm gonna slink over to my corner and squeeeee like the fan girl that I am... OMG she said 'love u'!!!!!!! I'm so totally CHAPELLED!!!!!
I uploaded another Bid for Venice video in which I come out to Team Venice and had the wonderful fortune of being on-line today when Crystal was waiting for her plane. I tweeted her the link, believing that she probably wouldn't check it out and certainly no respond it even if she did... but oh how I was wrong! Perhaps I should not be so astonished? After all Crystal and Co. have been nothing short of amazing when it comes to interacting with us fans. They really seem to care. They listen, they play along with us, they watch our tribute videos and enjoy them!
This sort of involvement with the fans is something I've never experienced before. The mere fact that I can log on to twitter and know that I can contact them directly - ask a question, send a link or show my utter admiration has been a revelation to me. After all, as you will find out in my latest vid, I come from little 'ole New Zealand, those wee islands all the way down to the south, four hours from Australia, twelve from LA and a whole day away from the UK. The physical isolation has meant that the stars I grew up watching were always distant and far away. The easy way in which people could, for example, hop over to the Vegas event happening next weekend and meet their favourite stars has always been, until now, a surreal, non-relevant experience for me. It just doesn't happen in my world. (to steal a GL quote...)
But now it IS happening. Through the unbelievably generous nature of Team Venice we have been given the opportunity of going along for the Venice ride. They've asked our opinions, they've shared photos, they've encouraged music and logo submissions. They've titillated us (see how I slipped that one in, Crystal?) with V panty pics and through all this become the nucleus of a warm and loving fan community. I am bowled over.
Crystal's tweet epitomises that to me. She not only watched my video but she took the time to tweet me back with "love u, adorable". This woman who has been on my TV screen for two decades, one of those untouchable, somewhere out there actresses is now immediate and accessible. And to that I say THANK-YOU Crystal and THANK-YOU Team Venice. You are a gift.
Now I'm gonna slink over to my corner and squeeeee like the fan girl that I am... OMG she said 'love u'!!!!!!! I'm so totally CHAPELLED!!!!!
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Venice brings it!
I was perusing the V Community the other day when I came across this article from the wonderful Women and Hollywood blog which talks about the invisible glass ceiling women face in the industry.
Wow. It spoke. Really spoke to me. I felt a great sense of frustration at the truths she raised and I feel it keenly because I am in the industry and as an actor see how women are marginalised. If you read my post from the 23.10.09 about the event I went to for Women in Film and Television, you will see that the statistics have women with half the number of roles as men. It certainly isn’t as bad as the statistic that men are twenty times more likely to direct a film, but it still stands out as revoltingly unbalanced. To that you also have to add a number of other factors into the equation – namely that there are vastly more female than male actors and that when there are roles for women, they are often stereotyped as the love interest, hot girl, girlfriend, mother, wife etc. and generally regaled to supporting roles, lacking in dimension or interest beyond their relationship to the male character.
The saddest thing is this seeming lack of support from other women. Men support each other, why can’t we? Are we somehow programmed to see women as rivals? Why is it that it is women who are the most critical of women as discussed in this article. Why is it that we expect men to be good but are surprised when women are. Can’t we champion each other, encourage each other to rise above the glass ceiling?
All this makes me appreciate just what Venice is doing and what it represents. I said it before but I’ll say it again, this series is groundbreaking. Really. The mere fact that it’s creative team is made up of women, that it’s women centric, that it has women over 35… It makes me want to pimp the frack out of this thing, because I want this to be a success. I want the effort put in to reap rewards, to be viable and to make a statement that women in film and TV can bring it!
Venice is not accepting donations, so I bought my V merchandise and instead will donate to Ela Their’s project. To whoever is reading this out there – I hope that you will support Venice the Series. Please join the V community for free at http://www.venicetheseries.com/ because ultimately we have the power over whether this series will continue...
Wow. It spoke. Really spoke to me. I felt a great sense of frustration at the truths she raised and I feel it keenly because I am in the industry and as an actor see how women are marginalised. If you read my post from the 23.10.09 about the event I went to for Women in Film and Television, you will see that the statistics have women with half the number of roles as men. It certainly isn’t as bad as the statistic that men are twenty times more likely to direct a film, but it still stands out as revoltingly unbalanced. To that you also have to add a number of other factors into the equation – namely that there are vastly more female than male actors and that when there are roles for women, they are often stereotyped as the love interest, hot girl, girlfriend, mother, wife etc. and generally regaled to supporting roles, lacking in dimension or interest beyond their relationship to the male character.
The saddest thing is this seeming lack of support from other women. Men support each other, why can’t we? Are we somehow programmed to see women as rivals? Why is it that it is women who are the most critical of women as discussed in this article. Why is it that we expect men to be good but are surprised when women are. Can’t we champion each other, encourage each other to rise above the glass ceiling?
All this makes me appreciate just what Venice is doing and what it represents. I said it before but I’ll say it again, this series is groundbreaking. Really. The mere fact that it’s creative team is made up of women, that it’s women centric, that it has women over 35… It makes me want to pimp the frack out of this thing, because I want this to be a success. I want the effort put in to reap rewards, to be viable and to make a statement that women in film and TV can bring it!
Venice is not accepting donations, so I bought my V merchandise and instead will donate to Ela Their’s project. To whoever is reading this out there – I hope that you will support Venice the Series. Please join the V community for free at http://www.venicetheseries.com/ because ultimately we have the power over whether this series will continue...
Monday, 16 November 2009
I've been Turrisied...
So it doesn't work quite as well as "Chappelled", but the blood that suddenly lept to my face is just receeding, leaving me feeling like I've just had a hot flush. What on earth has Kim Turrisi done to caused me to react in such a way? I recieved a tweet. Yes indeedy, I got a tweet from the writer of the Venice the Series and I had a sudden shot adrenaline jump through my system, ensuring that I won't be going to sleep any time soon. It's not my first tweet from her, I did send her love one day and was utterly surprised when I recieved a reply. But that is beside the point. About 40 minutes ago I send the following tweet.
@KimmyT22 yay, you're on. Have you seen this? http://bit.ly/3gqrkI
To which I got the reply:
@bidforvenice we loved it!!!
Did my heart just skip a beat, did my breath just catch, did the blood rush to my face, did my very cells start to viabrate at a higher frequency? Oh yes. So step one complete my friends, I have officially got them to look at my vid. And they "loved it !!!" (On a side note I love the use of three exclamation marks. There seems to be something auspicious about the number 3...)
But I hardly think that is the end of that. No. I have a number of videos lined up for the next few weeks, including a trip to Paris. I hope my efforts will convince them to invite me over to Venice Beach, CA for the filming of season two!
Meanwhile talking of pimping, I will certainly be at First Out Cafe on Saturday to meet the other UK street team members and if they are happy to, I'll be making a vid about that experience. We'll be looking at how to pimp the series over here.
You'll have to excuse my rather fragmented blog, I'm clearly been mentally affected by that tweet...
Ok, so focus. I actually wanted to explain why I haven't blogged in about 3 weeks. The reason being that I got my previous blog entry up on WFTV site and they linked the whole blog, not the individual post. Not wanting to sabotage the chance of getting some potential viewers to hear about Venice, I decided best to leave the blog alone but then I got Turrisied and well... that all just fell to the way side. I'm so easy. But that doesn't mean that I have not been doing anything... I have been posting vids on my YouTube channel and contacting different magazines and websites to tell them about Venice (links found on my website)
Last but certainly not least in about 2 hours the trailer for Venice will be up here!!!! Can I squeeeeeee any more with excitement?! I made a point of letting DIVA mag (the leading lesbian mag in the UK) know about it. Looking forward to hearing that they'll do a cover on Venice.
xAnita
@KimmyT22 yay, you're on. Have you seen this? http://bit.ly/3gqrkI
To which I got the reply:
@bidforvenice we loved it!!!
Did my heart just skip a beat, did my breath just catch, did the blood rush to my face, did my very cells start to viabrate at a higher frequency? Oh yes. So step one complete my friends, I have officially got them to look at my vid. And they "loved it !!!" (On a side note I love the use of three exclamation marks. There seems to be something auspicious about the number 3...)
But I hardly think that is the end of that. No. I have a number of videos lined up for the next few weeks, including a trip to Paris. I hope my efforts will convince them to invite me over to Venice Beach, CA for the filming of season two!
Meanwhile talking of pimping, I will certainly be at First Out Cafe on Saturday to meet the other UK street team members and if they are happy to, I'll be making a vid about that experience. We'll be looking at how to pimp the series over here.
You'll have to excuse my rather fragmented blog, I'm clearly been mentally affected by that tweet...
Ok, so focus. I actually wanted to explain why I haven't blogged in about 3 weeks. The reason being that I got my previous blog entry up on WFTV site and they linked the whole blog, not the individual post. Not wanting to sabotage the chance of getting some potential viewers to hear about Venice, I decided best to leave the blog alone but then I got Turrisied and well... that all just fell to the way side. I'm so easy. But that doesn't mean that I have not been doing anything... I have been posting vids on my YouTube channel and contacting different magazines and websites to tell them about Venice (links found on my website)
Last but certainly not least in about 2 hours the trailer for Venice will be up here!!!! Can I squeeeeeee any more with excitement?! I made a point of letting DIVA mag (the leading lesbian mag in the UK) know about it. Looking forward to hearing that they'll do a cover on Venice.
xAnita
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