WHAT TIME IS IT?...Coverage of Glenn on BreeFM

Glenn, live on BreeFM @11pm EST, Wednesday

This article was written live during the show. As such it may contain significant factual errors. Over time it is hoped that these will be corrected.

We have a new mash-up. This is a companion to a mash-up Glenn played last week. Debut:

The Psychedelic Furs vs The Killers - Pretty in Pink (Glenn: Brightside Remix)

On the Pretty in Pink sound track Glenn had never really paid attention to the lyrics. Glenn is never the person to say "what is that song about" and look it up on the internet. It was a HHW (Hugh, hummm, Whoa!.) moment when he realized what it was about. It makes the song tragic in a way...... it is deeper and darker.

This weeks mix-up is shorter.

00:46:16 Glenn - 12-17-08 - Live Mix-Up in Progress on BreeFM

"The Show Is Yours":
The comments on LG15 Today were interesting. It was certainly a surprise. "HHW (Hugh, hummm, Whoa!)". Glenn is curious as to what sort of situation led to this? Twenty six months ago in the wake of cassieiswatching there was a big thing on the discussions about how you could do your own story and make money off it. We were all excited. Since then many have done their own videos and told their own stories. The idea that Bree was a real person set the tone. There was lonesome october and CIW etc. It was a big idea and it excited a lot of people. Glenn had his own story with OpAphid. A lot of other people did their own thing. A lot of people looked at what happened with OpAphid as a model. You have had Maddision Atkins, Linc, Todd, LGS, immant etc. When you have no inside information it is very hard to do a story that can fit. Some were too vague, some were able to tell a story just aside of LG15.

Later on, after LG15, Glenn looked into the idea of an extended universe where other creators could share a universe and they could find a way to have cross overs.

LGS did his video for fun. There was a certain charm to it. You could say that anyone who tried to do their own series with this type of commitment is "insane" Nothing is guaranteed. The fact that CIW did so well made it all seem possible. It took a lot of time and energy to do it seriously but there was a potential of having a huge audience. The atmosphere seemed right.

When Glenn moved to the "other side" on LG15 the extended universe was something that really interested him. Not every series was going to be made canon but Glenn was impressed. What was the obligation of LG15 to the fans? What if LG15 reached out to LGS and had the bounty hunter appear in LGS videos but also have LGS play a limited role within an lonelygirl15 arc? Itscassie was another one that captured attention. What if LG15 rewarded them with better access and fed them small pieces of information to help their story?

There are of course legal questions regarding intellectual property rights. After OpAphid it seemed clear that no fan character would become canon again. Fan videos were still encouraged and there was talk about featuring them on LG15.com. People still worked hard and hoped that something would come of their fan creations. The rules however had changed and that led us to the TOS issues discussion. This was very different to what had originally been presented.

Where are we now? The shows viewership numbers and the web site traffic is not what it once was. The passion and drive is not what it once was. It would be one thing to feature fan videos on the site but what they propose here will not be easy for LG15. It is an interesting idea. Is it unrealistic to put in all this work and not get paid when you do not have total control? Will people submit stuff that will be good enough to be considered professional quality?

Consider Maddison Atkins: that was done by a professional in the industry. You have to put your life on hold to do this stuff. Professionals normally do not do things "on spec". You hope it is going to lead to something. You need both technical quality and story. Glenn was lucky because he never had to show the characters and that made it easier. You need great actors. That is live or die. You need the "perfect storm". If you are not getting enough views you are going to give up. You need encouragement either from LG15 or from an audience.

LG15 costs some money to produce. If costs more to produce today than back in the early days. If they are going to put their name on something it will need to meet a certain standard so they are expecting a lot from the selected fan. Are they offering enough to entice people to do something that is as good as they are expecting?

Fan expectations of having something come of their series has decreased over time. Today that has changed. If you do the pitch and the pilot and then you are not being paid you will probably crack under the pressure. If you have a nest egg to burn thru then it will make it easier but it still will not be easy. This is a huge undertaking in terms of time and commitment. If you do not have money you have to replace it with time. If you start spending your own money that would be strange.

Two years ago there were opportunities for this type of thing. That ship has sailed. Most contests have a prize like money or gear. In this case the prize is an opportunity for exposure. For LG15 it is a good deal if it works.

Why are they doing this? Is someone shooting a movie and not available? What makes this the best way to go? It will be a lot of work for LG15. They should have known how people would react. Many of the series producers have simply moved on because the opportunity was not there when they wanted it.

It is one thing to approach someone who is doing something awesome and make them an offer. If someone has had success with one approach it probably will be very difficult for others to follow that path. In life we can all talk our self into doing something that is not a good idea. You need to test it out to see if it makes sense. Everyone wants to believe that this is their break........ it is the American Dream. We all think we are special and that we are going to make it. Glenn compared it to Horatio Alger. Immigrants have a very different view of the American Dream which is based on much more functional requirements of life.

Why do success stories not work out very often? Because the only time you hear about them is when they actually work out. The rest of the time they did not work out and you do not hear about them. Come up with your own ideas that people have not done before. Take different elements and study why they worked for other people. Then put them together in a unique new way. Once you have your foot in the door you need to work really, really, really, hard. You need to market it well.

You are going to have to do something really good for this to work out given that it is going to be canon in the LG15 series. It is all just puzzling. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. How many people are prepared enough? Is this opportunity enticing enough to attract them? If your show is a huge hit then you should demand money.

There are proven ways of making your name by working for free and those are very different situations. Now with a very low budget Glenn could do something very good but you need a budget.

Glenn will be back in the New Year (Wed 7th January, 2009) because BreeFM has others things scheduled in Glenn's normal time slot.

Here is the archive of of stories from LG15 TODAY concerning Glenn's radio show on BreeFM.

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