2010 August | T2 + Back Alley Blog - Part 2

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August 9th, 2010
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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Globally Distributed Web Series? Hype Around Samsung Galaxy S Web Series

Fact Checkers Unit

A new web series, FCU: Fact Checkers Unit is generating buzz.  Samsung’s new Android phone the Galaxy S will be promoted via the new web series, hyped by NBC Universal as “the world’s first globally distributed web series.”

Hype aside, FCU is breaking new ground. FCU: Fact Checkers Unit is being distributed on multiple platforms in many countries.  Here in the US,  it will appear on NBC.com, Hulu, and Syfy.com along with the video-on-demand service. Mobile phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will deliver the show to smart phones and FCU will be available for download on your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, and iTunes.

FCU: Fact Checkers Unit will appear in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Japan via Syfy Channel and Sci-Fi Channel in Australia.

Based on the short film of the same name that appeared at Sundance in 2008, FCU: Fact Checkers Unit will be available in an unprecedented number of platforms and regions.  According to social media blog Mashable, the series follows two celebrity fact checkers:

The series will follow two zealous fact checkers for the magazine Dictum; in each episode they will attempt to verify a fact about some celebrity the magazine is covering. For example, they must determine in the first episode whether or not 90210’s Luke Perry really believes his house is haunted by ghosts.

Each of the eight episodes in the series’ current order will feature some celebrity. The celebs named so far include the aforementioned Luke Perry, Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek, legendary rock guitarist Dave Navarro, model Karolina Kurkova , Scrubs‘ Donald Faison, NCIS‘ Pauley Perrette, Friday Night Lights‘ Zach Gilford, and Napoleon Dynamite himself, Jon Heder.

The show features the Samsung Galaxy S featured prominently in every episode. For example, it’s used to record a bedroom overnight in the first episode to document potential paranormal activity.  If this venture is a success, look for more “globally distributed web shows” coming soon. Here’s a trailer for the series:

Teri Rogers
August 8th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Is The 3D Animation Trend Floundering?

Movie Goers Wearing 3d Glasses

Is the 3D animation trend floundering? The stampede to make more 3D entertainment began after James Cameron’s Avatar brought in $2.7 billion. After Avatar, 3D animation was seen as a breakthrough in technology and a road to higher profits for the big screen.

Gizmodo had an interesting article recently, asking the question is 3D already dying?.

Since the high-water mark of Avatar, where 71% of the revenue came from 3D screenings, numbers for big-budget 3D movies have plummeted to less than 50%.

My take on 3D? If the technology of 3D animation adds to the story and adds to the experience of the movie, I’m all for it. But technology for the sake of technology will never work.

We are storytellers and the tools we use to spin our tales are important but never more important than the story.

Before using 3D animation, producers need to ask themselves if it adds to the movie-going experience. Otherwise, it’s a distraction.

Garrett Fuselier
August 2nd, 2010
by Garrett Fuselier
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Interactivity and Emergence at SIGGRAPH 2010

A concept for experiential design was buzzing around SIGGRAPH 2010 – the concept of emergence. Emergence is the by-product of the audience’s interactivity, something that isn’t directly incorporated into the piece itself. It can be a variety of manifested qualities when people are put into the right collaborative conditions.

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