The creators, Jonathan Adams and Steve Fanale, cut together the trailer and released it early, even though it would be almost another year before the series would go live. This allowed them to start getting traction through social networks.
The pilot episode will first be shown to a live audience with a Q&A with the filmmakers [next Tuesday, for anyone in Sydney]. This creates an experience that is 'more' than simply watching a five minute webisode and begins word of mouth buzz.
Like myself, these guys are Aussies who love the opportunities that the internet presents as an alternative to traditional television and cinema channels. And not just an alternative 'broadcast' mechanism, but a new way of working. Here's what Jonathan had to say.
"I don't just want to use the web as a platform to get the "real stuff" [repurposed TV and film]. I'm trying to make the case that the internet can and will be the real deal, and could represent a potential revolution in how the independent film maker can self-distribute and make a profit.
Relativity is made up of 10-minute episodes, but it won't be long before 20-minute and 40-minute series, and even feature films, can be produced with the express purpose of web distribution."
"The key factor is the digital revolution. The same technology is available to independent film makers as many hollywood directors are using. The RED ONE for example, or Sony's CineAlta Range of cameras, not to mention Final Cut studio, all provide incredibly powerful tools that are truly no less advanced than the tools used on a Michael Bay movie or a Coen Brothers movie, but at costs that were inconceivable two decades ago.
Everyone who works on Relativity is paid in accordance with MEA guidelines, but with the freedom of digital technology we can limit our crew to under 10 people and still achieve high-end results. This is how we can produce our 10 minutes episodes for around $10, 000 each.
So there's simply no excuse now for film makers to sit around complaining about the state of Hollywood (or the Australian film industry) and about how no-one will give them their big break. All one needs is some talent in using those tools for a worthwhile purpose and one can craft a film with pretty competitive production values for the cost of a Toyota Camry. Now all we need is a mechanism to distribute these masterpieces. We shall be dubbed the "Web new wave" once this decade it out!"
How you are making sure it gets in front of the right audience?
"Initially, the plan is to effectively harness the power of all social media applications to form a core audience. One earliest decisions was to make Relativity highly accessible to a wide audience, but not to alienate hardcore science-fiction fans.
The issue at this point is that mainstream audiences need to become comfortable with watching original content on the internet. While web series do exist, they tend to aim for a small, "cult" demographic.
I understand the desire to aim for that, because absolutely that will become the main advantage of internet content in the future - it can be tailored to a very specific audience. But our thinking is that the audience needs to understand and become comfortable with watching something on their computer as they would on the TV.
And from my seat, as a writer and director, the best way to do that is to simply tell a good story with relatable characters and amazing sights and sounds. So we'll be hoping for a lot of good word of mouth!
One of my goals here, and this continues from what I said before, is to educate the audience on that potential by leading them in through an exciting and engaging piece of mainstream entertainment.
That is what I look for to the most, really. I want to show the audience a good time, give them something to watch during their lunch break at work or while they're putting off their homework or whatever. I want to make intelligent science fiction with a comic bent, and an old-school action-adventure serial all in one package. And I'd like to show the world you can do all of that without $200 million."
How are you monetising it?
"The initial plan is to gain corporate sponsorship through adbuys - a 15-second commercial will play in front of every episode, generating revenue at what I assume will a similar rate to that of network television spots (ie the bigger the audience, the bigger the revenue).
Episodes will be available in this format indefinitely, which is one advantage of this model over network television - our audience can continue to build once the series has been completed. The idea is that by the time episode 12 is "airing", episode 1 is still gaining viewership. So even if it doesn't break even after its 12-week run, it inevitably will at some point.
At the same time, episodes will be downloadable from iTunes in high definition for $1 each. Once the series has had its initial online run, it will become available on DVD and Blu-Ray for rental and purchase, and other potential ancillary merchandise may follow to help foster a genuine fan community. Of course this is assuming it is commercially successful and demand exists for such merchandise."
What I like about this:
- have created a strategy prior to production and release
- are integrating social media, as well as creating a live event experience for the launch
- have planned a way to monetise based on success
- they are running the series like a business, not a hobby, so all involved are being paid
- they're spot on that 'web' content can be made inexpensively and still look great - I'm really impressed by what I've seen of Relativity thus far (and I got a preview viewing of the pilot episode!)
Areas for improvement:
Keep in mind that this series is still about five months away from being released online, so some of the things I point out will most likely be readdressed in the near future:
Currently there is no website - just the Facebook fan page. Even a basic webpage would be useful, especially if there was a counter on it counting down the days till release. This gives people something more tangible to anticipate.
I'd like to see a more firm social media and marketing strategy in place... 'word of mouth' needs to be backed up with a plan to help it happen. I'll be posting some tools and tips next week that will help.
The concept behind this sci-fi webseries cries out for transmedia extentions. I know it's hard for indies to stump up the resources to plan not just a series but also come up with additional content, however a key benefit of the internet over TV is that fans will seek out extra content if it's available, become more enamored the more sticky the content is, and become your promoters if they love you enough. And that 'extra content' needn't be expensive - in development we often come up with backstory that is interesting but has no place in the film itself, this can be repurposed across the web in a number of ways. Some ideas:
- Facebook pages for the main characters
- Main character blog
- A low budget ARG or hint stream to run across twitter as the series is released for the first time.
Create a space where fans can discuss the series as it unfolds. Urgent Evoke has an interesting method for engagement with their comic book series, where an additional chapter is released each week, and they then say "discuss this" - people start looking at the media not just for entertainment, but trying to read the hidden meanings, and sharing their ideas with one another.
I for one look forward to seeing more of this series - and I hope you'll check it out too :)
More case studies available here.
Looks interesting! I'll have to keep an eye on it.
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