Evil Genius

 

If you haven't already, watch Buffy creator Joss Whedon's new 'direct to web' supervillain musical. And the good news, for those of you who don't live in the US, is that you can get it for free at Hulu. For now, at least.

Over the last year or so, there has been a growing number of Studios, professional writers and producers exploring creating content specifically for the web. They have had varying degrees of success. Some shows, like Quarterlife, despite attracting interest online, tanked when they were put on conventional TV. Dr Horrible, by contrast, moves closer to the mainstream. Even more interesting are some of the numbers behind its creation.

The show was funded by Whedon, cost less than six figures and was shot in a week. His idea was to release it free for the first week, without fees or advertising. As reported by the LA Times, Whedon expects that with merchandising, iTunes sales, the soundtrack and DVDs, the show will pay back its costs within a year. But in a way, that's not the point. By building such a massive online fan base with almost no paid promotion, Dr Horrible has become a content platform in its own right. It is the art of the Hollywood sequel reimagined. Just without most of Hollywood.

When Wired asked Whedon about whether he was worried about illegal downloading and piracy, he was relatively sanguine. "A note to all you would-be pirates" he said "Scurvy is a serious issue. Eat some limes."

Comments

[Gordon Whitehead]

Nice post...see you in Sydney next week at Digital Bootcamp.

[Diane Challenor]

Your blog contains some interesting and entertaining information. I looked for it after enjoying your presentation at the Sydney B&T Bootcamp yesterday.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.