I only got through four episodes of WB’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series before I ditched it for good- I’m only going to waste so many articles worth of your time to call something garbage over and over. Much of my frustration stemmed not only from the objectively terrible nature of the show, but for the potential that it was wasting. As someone who ditched cable years ago and has had a media center laptop dedicated to his TV for almost as long, I’ve long looked for the next step in television production that acknowledges the changing environment.
Of course, I’m still using Netflix, Hulu, YT and all the other means of streaming digital media mostly to fetch content that was generated in a traditional TV environment, but more and more I’ve wondered who would have the inevitable first breakout hit doing something different. For a long time it’s been obvious that Warner Brothers is making the most daring moves, as they greenlit this series, pushed farther into digital distribution for their traditional releases, and even gobbled up some online companies with stakes in the digital world. While I still felt they were being hedging their best and moving too slowly (or outright blowing it, in the case of MK:Legacy), H+ changes that view considerably.
First, take a look at the trailer (which does begin with the silly fake ad cliche, but stick with it)…
Designed to reproduce the same kind of quality you get from a blockbuster network show like Lost, H+ is a wholly unique digital experiment. Present in four-dozen 3-7 minute pieces that span the globe and many years, H+ tells a story with a beginning, middle, 
and end that can be consumed in all new ways. The short will be viewed through a portal that lets you rearrange the order in which you consume the show, and as material accumulates you’ll be able to watch the story chronologically, or focused on a single character or location. The nature of the story itself –the world paying the price of billions of deaths for pushing past the barrier of physical connection with the internet– obviously lends itself to this format, but by looking like a high-value show in the vein of Lost, it could be the first show of its kind to cross over.
While it’s clear that WB doesn’t know exactly how this is going to work, what model could develop from it, or even what a measurement of “success” would be, they’ve gone out on a limb and given a crew of ambitious filmmakers the resources to do something different. Assuming the storytelling is worthwhile, I’m eager to see it succeed and for more studios to realize that the 
merging of TV and web currently offers the most interesting avenues for new forms of storytelling. Consider all the feature-length filmmakers that have become enamored with high-quality shorter form storytelling on HBO and premium networks… imagine what the next generation of content could be when your show could truly take any form? Content length, linear presentation, method of consumption… these are all things that no longer have to be taken for granted.
I was part of a rather intimidatingly long conference call concerning H+ last week and I will bring more from that to you soon. Until then, check out the trailer and let me know what you think.
I’m very interested in readers thoughts on the future of TV, film, and motion-picture storytelling. Do you think shows like H+ will lead the way, once one of them capture the zeitgeist? Or do you feel it will take a more traditionally popular show crossing over into the digital realm that will do it? Let me know your thoughts on twitter, through the comments below, or on the boards for a great discussion! Don’t be quiet…
14 comments
Not to harp on a tired argument, but I don’t get the refusing to have television point of view…All the shows you are getting off Netflix, Hulu, etc. rely on the revenue from the advertisers that pay a premium to be shown during the initial broadcast. If no one watches them when they air originally, series don’t get renewed because they don’t percieve that an audience is there for the show, and BAM, it’s gone. By refusing to watch tv or cable you are kind of saying… “These great shows that I am renting on DVD and streaming online… I don’t want you to make those anymore!” It’s kind of like me saying that I will only read this site when the take the ads off. You like working for free right? I’m sure you will find some innovative way to bring in the cash to pay for your content while I enjoy the fruits of you labor without having to endure those annoying ads(Dog-Human Hybrid!?!?!). Also, once tv is eliminated, or greatly reduced in influence, everything you are getting for nothing right now, you will start having to pay for. Most likely, you will be paying more than you were if you had cable. I mean, Netflix will never increase their prices, right?
My current TV set-up is not meant to imply that all people everywhere should have the same scenario, it’s just my current situation and the place from which my look at this stuff is centered. Context. It’s not a refusal based on moral high-ground, it’s because I can’t pay for cable and prefer using the online channels (all legit) that are available to me. I’m still consuming this content in ways approved/planned by the creators of said content. The time will come when they figure out the model for leveraging online views for revenue, and what I’m hoping is that web series like this one will be a part of that.
The webpage metaphor doesn’t work for a variety of reasons, not least of which being that you don’t pay for the site upfront (yes, you pay an ISP for the ability to connect to the site, but that’s more akin to paying for electricity to power your TV than paying for a cable subscription).
Umbrella Corp.
No Box office this weekend? I miss the commentary and insight I find here on CHUD.
The visuals and production value here are encouraging. The story still seems sort of vague and nebulous. I don’t know if the guy who directed “Sorority Row” is capable of delivering a cutting-edge narrative. Any story that can be accessed in random chronological order probably doesn’t add up to much. It still feels like Hollywood is trying to monopolize a medium that could truly be revolutionized by amateur filmmakers. Regardless, broadband is definitely the future home for all media. End of rant.
Seriously, the box office breakdowns were the best thing about this site.
It’s happening gents. I’m waiting for actuals, since Cap’s total is so so close to Thor’s. Should be up a little later.
I kinda dig the notion of following any one character. Like on 24, I really just wanted to follow Jack Bauer’s day and didn’t need 80% of the other characters threads. But it needs to be done to perfection, and right now only the C list creative talent will be involved in the nuts and bolts stuff (I’m sure Singer will only be overseeing from a distance). So right now it will probably be shit, but once the big dogs get interested, so will I.
It’s unlikely that a popular show in the traditional format will be the crossover – getting the majority of its revenue from the traditional source (it is popular, after all) will result in the resistance of the producers to change its format, making its existence in the digital realm essentially pointless and probably unsuccessful. As for H+ in particular, I doubt it will be the thing that will make the grand leap, but it looks like it’ll be the first quality baby step in the inevitable (and, I’m betting, ultimately negative) direction that the medium seems to be moving in. It’s undeniable that television and the web are co-mingling, and since the internet is becoming the dominant medium, it will eventually swallow up television; first it’ll be clear through these shows, then television will try to adapt, and then it’ll all be over.
I’m an old fucking man. I’m cranky. And I don’t like these changes. We’re literally in the best time for quality television EVER. And its direction is about to change. I fear.
I was more referring to the fact that advertising pays for the site, allowing you to create content, much like advertising pays for shows budgets and allows them to create the top notch entertainment you expect. If I rent the DVD, that advertising dollar is wasted, and the show risks not being renewed, since they aren’t sitting around hoping I rent it and like it. At that point the decision has been made. If I only read your site on my phone, you are getting zero revenue(which is why I would never complain about the ads on the site, because I know it allows this site to be free).
That being said, if you are only not getting cable/satelitte because you just can’t afford it, then that makes sense. My mistake for thinking that you were refusing to have cable tv, simply because you feel you are above it, which obviously, you are not.
I would be very surprised, however, if the time will come when online ad revenue can generate significant dollars without extending the cost to you. The amount of dollars that television ads currently command compared to online ads is insane, allowing for studios to hire better talent, effects, etc. Once that well dries up, the party is over…the bigger question is once tv becomes a relic, what will people actually be willing to pay for?
Great premise. Echoes of GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX.
Of course, Americans turn it into a post-apocalypse, “we are what’s left of civilization!” yarn.
No surprised but, yet again, disappointed.
Hey I know! Let’s make season two about all those dead people WAKE UP and now it’s ZOMBIES against survivors!
Yeah man! Never seen THAT before!
“…what will people actually be willing to pay for?”
Two- or three-year service contracts with premium data plans, subscriptions, and special events available.
Hmmm, somewhat reminiscent of a certain silly Bruce Willis vehicle. I can’t wait until someone comes up with one of these plots where “something goes right”.
Still, as an amateur eschatologist I make an effort to seek out all things apocolyptic (for it seems that it will take an end-of-times scenario for me to fulfill my dream of becoming a benificent warlord with a harem of teenage lesbitwin gymnasts) and this actually looks pretty good.
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