Business Communicators of Second Life®

SL Business Communicators Transcript: The Office in SL with Clear Ink

Kiwini Oe (aka Steve Nelson, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer) of Clear Ink is a great typist!  And beyond that, he is funny, incredibly interesting and opened up a view for us into Clear Ink's production of their machinima segments and "back lot production" for NBC's The Office episode, Local Ad which aired October 25. 

Kiwini shared what NBC hired them to do, how the process went and what lessons were learned.  He also illustrated out how quickly and unexpectedly a community can form.  One lesson - always be prepared for what to do next.

The chat transcript follows below.  The SL voice versus chat issue always rears it's head these days. Reporter Draxtor of Life4U was there needing video and audio, but the chat transcripts are so valuable for our purposes. As a compromise, Draxtor will interview Kiwini further this week and that interview will be up on Draxtor's channel on YouTube next week.

A huge thank you to Kiwini for joining us and taking our many questions in stride. Thanks to Pebbles Hannya of Market Truths for hosting us once again - and for capturing the transcript as my machine kept crashing.  Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting!...now on to the interesting conversation:

Znetlady Isbell: Everyone, I will introduce Kiwini Oe of Clear Ink.
Znetlady Isbell: He has some fun stuff to share with us today.
Znetlady Isbell: He's going to talk about his project on The Office for NBC - and lessons learned as well.
Znetlady Isbell: It is informal - text chat for transcript purposes.
Znetlady Isbell: Please ask questions.
Znetlady Isbell: And, unless it gets unruly, should we just use chat for q's Kiwini?
Kiwini Oe: that's OK by me
Znetlady Isbell: Great. Thanks sooo much for being here, Kiwini and everyone.
Znetlady Isbell: I'll turn it over to the guy we came here to hear!
Znetlady Isbell: Kiwini..
Znetlady Isbell: all yours.
Kiwini Oe: Thanks, Z
Kiwini Oe: These will be mostly off-the-cuff recollections
Kiwini Oe: and my colleague, Keystone Bouchard is here as well in case I need my memory refreshed
Kiwini Oe: Clear Ink has been doing work in SL for about a year and a half
Kiwini Oe: though we usually take on about one project at a time
Kiwini Oe: the one I'm talking about today was one we did this Sept-Oct over a very short timeframe
Kiwini Oe: we were in the middle of another project - about a week away from an event
Kiwini Oe: with Newt Gingrich at Second Life Capitol Hill
Kiwini Oe: which was pretty time consuming in and of itself
Kiwini Oe: when I got a call from Kent Zbornak, co-executive producer of "The Office' ON NBC
Kiwini Oe: They had a script that included some of their characters getting into Second Life
Kiwini Oe: and could we help
Kiwini Oe: After thinking about a half second
Znetlady Isbell: lol
Kiwini Oe: We jumped into that one. He said it would be a very tight deadline, so we started working on it as soon as I hung up
Kiwini Oe: It was an interesting process -
Kiwini Oe: We never really signed a contract with them - they signed one with us about a week later
Kiwini Oe: but as soon as we hung up, they mailed us a script, and digital photos they took on the spot
Kiwini Oe: of Rainn Wilson and John Krasinski
Kiwini Oe: so that we could start on avatars
Znetlady Isbell: fun!
Kiwini Oe: The script looked good - it was written by BJ Novak
Kiwini Oe: who plays Ryan the temp who turned into Ryan the executive
Kiwini Oe: So we started right away on the avatars, and also spent the weekend location scouting
Kiwini Oe: Kent said basically, "run with this" - saying they were trusting us to do what was right in Second Life.
Goldie Goodman: Nice to have a client like that!
Kiwini Oe: That was the main directive from the get-go, and that was an important thing for him to tell us, and for us to recognize.
Pebbles Hannya: You might want to answer this later, but did they know that SL avatars don't usually look like the RL people? It seems like almost the only ones that do are people who come in for TV things. I wonder if that's a deliberate decision or lack of understanding of SL?
Znetlady Isbell: or branding? heheeh
Kiwini Oe: The script called for Dwight to make an avatar that was *exactly* like himself because he liked his first life so much
Pebbles Hannya: Yes, true about the branding
Kiwini Oe: he wanted his second one to be just like it
Znetlady Isbell: ah- so true..
Kim Chihuly: did you have a connection with them from some earlier project? How had they heard of you?
Kiwini Oe: We looked at the script for locations, and Kent said to send over shots based on the script, or based on any other locations that would be familiar
Kiwini Oe: Good question, Kim -
Kiwini Oe: I had thought it was a direct reference from Linden Lab
Kiwini Oe: but I think they gave NBC a list of who might be able to do this
Kiwini Oe: and given the quick turn
Kiwini Oe: we were available
Goldie Goodman: how quick?
Kim Chihuly: thanks
Kiwini Oe: Well, we got the call on Sept 21, and the show was to air Oct 25
Maryrose Mariani: ouch
Robbie Kiama: :)
Robbie Kiama: fast
Goldie Goodman: A whole month??? lol
Kiwini Oe: But they had to do shooting for the show Oct 1-5
Pebbles Hannya: :)
iAlja Writer: :)
Kiwini Oe: so they put off the shooting of the SL scenes until the last day - Oct 5
Maryrose Mariani: so a couple of weeks barely
Kiwini Oe: right
Kiwini Oe: The first weekend was location scouting and avatar creation
Goldie Goodman: What were your criteria for locations?
Kiwini Oe: Then that week we narrowed down the locations and did snapshot storyboards
Kiwini Oe: We needed locations that mapped to the script, that would be recognizable in SL
Kiwini Oe: and that were practical for filming - low lag, etc
Goldie Goodman: That last one is always a concern.
Kim Chihuly: recognizable - to whom? SL users or ??
Kiwini Oe: They had one scene scripted as "downtown urban"
Kiwini Oe: recognizable to SL users
Kiwini Oe: I did my location shots at the "Downtown" sim - and the producers really liked it
Kiwini Oe: When I went back for a test shoot - "Downtown" was gone!
Znetlady Isbell: ah!
Kiwini Oe: I IMed the owner, who said it had just closed
iAlja Writer: ouch
IYan Writer: whoops
Goldie Goodman: Yikes
Kim Chihuly: aarrgh!
Maryrose Mariani: lol
Kiwini Oe: so we went over to Amsterdam, which worked great
Maryrose Mariani: truly an sl moment
Goldie Goodman: What type of permission did you have to get from the sim owners?
Kiwini Oe: There was a scene in a nightclub where Dwight plays his recorder
Kiwini Oe: So I talked to Ham Rambler and Sitearm Madonna at the Blarney Stone in Dublin
Kiwini Oe: and we filmed a scene there
Kiwini Oe: There was a paintball scene - we actually filmed a test at Paintball Funhouse - but the producers had something more specific in their heads, so Keystone built one
Kiwini Oe: We went to Boardman to film Dwight just walking down the streeet
Kiwini Oe: That was in the first still shot that NBC put on their web site
Kiwini Oe: and people immediately started commenting on blogs that they recognized it.
Robbie Kiama: cool
Kiwini Oe: So we ended up with 8 locations for shooting, and we did most of the shooting on Oct 2
Kiwini Oe: Tuesday before they needed it in Van Nuys on Friday
Znetlady Isbell: How involved were the producers in that shooting?
Kiwini Oe: The producers had given feedback based on some test shots at the end of the previous week
Kiwini Oe: In addition to Kent, we also talked with Greg Daniels, the showrunner, who created the American version
Kiwini Oe: after that, we were on our own during the shooting and editing
Znetlady Isbell: wow
Kiwini Oe: We did edited clips to fit the time frames they asked for for each scene
Kiwini Oe: and also had all the raw footage
Pebble Hannya: Were all the avatars shown created specifically for this, or did regular SL residents end up on TV as unofficial extras?
Goldie Goodman: It's tough to have a producer on site during shooting, since they can't really see what you're shooting!
Kiwini Oe: we did versions with type chat as well as voice with green waves over the head
Kiwini Oe: yeah - the other thing was -
Goldie Goodman: So they'd have a choice of which to use?
Kiwini Oe: we were getting direction and feedback from the producers - Kent and Greg
Kiwini Oe: and not the director - Jason Reitman - or the writer BJ Novak
Kiwini Oe: which can be a problem
Kiwini Oe: We filmed most everything in one day:
Goldie Goodman: because?
Kiwini Oe: A scene at Ginny Business Systems
Kiwini Oe: (I'll get to that, Goldie :-)
Kiwini Oe: which was a great office complex
Kiwini Oe: Dublin was fun
Kiwini Oe: because the audience was already there for Kiki Dee at the real Blarney Stone
Kiwini Oe: and when she was done, I got on stage and said
Kiwini Oe: the next act won't be so good
Kiwini Oe: in fact you'll boo him off the stage
Znetlady Isbell: lol
Kiwini Oe: and then he'll take out his paintball gun
Kiwini Oe: and spray the lot of you
Goldie Goodman: Bet they loved that!
iAlja Writer: lol
Kiwini Oe: yup
Kiwini Oe: we filmed at boardman, and at amsterdam
Kiwini Oe: then we needed to create 3 sets on our "backlot"
Kiwini Oe: which is actually the Clear Ink dev island:
Kiwini Oe: The paintball arena that the producers envisioned
Kiwini Oe: Dwight's "apartment"
Kiwini Oe: and a bar.
Kiwini Oe: Not that there aren't a lot of bars in Second Life, but we made our own.
Kiwini Oe: As soon as each scene was shot, the files went to our editors, who worked to get them in shape to send to NBC
Goldie Goodman: So you did rough editing of your raw footage, before sending it out.
Kiwini Oe: we were going to do it all electronically, but of course the files were so big that really wasn't practical
Goldie Goodman: Did you capture in HD?
Kiwini Oe: we actually edited into specific lengths:
Kiwini Oe: 30 second scenes mostly
Kiwini Oe: So they could load them up on the computers on the set
Kiwini Oe: and run them during filming
Goldie Goodman: Good idea.
Kiwini Oe: Because the scenes played out on the computers in "The Office"s office
Kiwini Oe: we didn't do HD
Kiwini Oe: and they weren't really to look like machinima as much as look like someone actually in SL
Kiwini Oe: which means that it was all shot from first-person perspective
Znetlady Isbell: and they did!
Kiwini Oe: which means driving the avatar that does the filming, for the most part
Kiwini Oe: and coordinating directing the extras. TROI Timtam and Keystone were at each scene,
Kiwini Oe: making sure things were prepared and lined up
Goldie Goodman: how did you communicate with the extras?
Kiwini Oe: We mostly did that over open chat -
Kiwini Oe: setting up the scene before hand
Kiwini Oe: and communicated among the crew over voice IM
Kiwini Oe: I had to learn to say "cut" instead of "crap" when I needed to do a retake
Goldie Goodman: ha ha
Znetlady Isbell: LOL!!
Pebbles Hannya: lol
Kiwini Oe: but they knew what I meant!
Robbie Kiama: :)
Joi Koi: :)
Keystone Bouchard: lol! =)
Kiwini Oe: We were doing edits until Thursday PM
Kiwini Oe: they wanted the files by about 8 AM on Friday.
Znetlady Isbell: yikes
Kiwini Oe: So at 10, we were on the phone with the producers
Kiwini Oe: and our Clear Ink project manager, Nicole
Kiwini Oe: whose IM icon has *always* been Dwight from the office
Kiwini Oe: and was still in our office at 11PM
Kiwini Oe: coordinating the edits
Kiwini Oe: decided she could probably see fit to deliver the hard drive in person the next morning
Kiwini Oe: so she, without any sleep, having worked till 11 - went and changed clothes and got on the 6am to burbank
Kiwini Oe: hard drive in hand
Kiwini Oe: Kent picked her up at the airport and took her to the studio
Kiwini Oe: where she loaded up each of the computers in "The Office"
Kiwini Oe: met the crew and cast
Kiwini Oe: and got to hang out all day.
iAlja Writer: nice :)
Kiwini Oe: It got interesting when the director tried to continue directing the machinima
Znetlady Isbell: lol
Pebbles Hannya :)
Kiwini Oe: as though Second Life were a module within Final Cut Pro
Tynan Clary: /now that's the best part of the story
Shred McMillan: hilarious
Znetlady Isbell: hilarious
Kiwini Oe: "Can Dwight walk a little slower ther... or go backwards?"
Kiwini Oe: "No."
iAlja Writer: lol
Znetlady Isbell: lol!!
Goldie Goodman: Re-shoot time, huh?
Znetlady Isbell: too funny
Kim Chihuly: that's a great picture<G>
Robbie Kiama: :))
Kiwini Oe: so one lesson - let the director in on it a little earlier
Goldie Goodman: Surprised he didn't insist on it!
Kiwini Oe: but at the end of the day - they had their scenes shot - and Nicole left there around midnight
Tynan Clary: or add another month - which you didn't have
You: Is the story line such that they'll go back to SL (I don't watch the Office)?
Kiwini Oe: and we waited...
Kiwini Oe: Well, they didn't use all the scenes
Kiwini Oe: next thing we heard was that the edit on the 21 minute episode was down to 41 minutes
Kiwini Oe: and that maybe all the SL scenes would be cut
Goldie Goodman: oooohhh
Tynan Clary: groans
iAlja Writer: :(
Kiwini Oe: and we'd know the next day.
Kim Chihuly: how awful!
Kiwini Oe: yeah
Znetlady Isbell: oh noooo
Kiwini Oe: But the next day, Kent said that they managed to keep bits of about half the scenes - and by that time, for me the glass was WAY half full!
Kiwini Oe: having been ready to hear the worst
Shred McMillan wishes he could see the whole 41 minutes
Kiwini Oe: And NBC had already released a still photo from it
Kiwini Oe: and that's where it got interesting
Kiwini Oe: And about the question about real SL avatars aren't really photorealistic
Kiwini Oe: After we had filmed it all
Kiwini Oe: Kent asked if we could use the characters real names for avatars
Kiwini Oe: Dwight Schrute instead of Dwight Shelford
Kiwini Oe: etc.
Goldie Goodman: you mean, visible over their heads?
Kiwini Oe: "no"
iAlja Writer: lol
Kiwini Oe: right - which of course would have meant reshooting
Kiwini Oe: and getting the names from Linden Lab overnight
You: Good luck with that.
Goldie Goodman: Or, they could composite new graphics in post, lol.
iAlja Writer: ia anyone from the cast or makers of the series an SL user?
Kiwini Oe: But as soon as NBC put a photo out with "Dwight Shelford"
Kiwini Oe: people started IMming him, friendship requests, etc.
Kiwini Oe: This is part 2:
Pebbles Hannya: :)
Robbie Kiama: :)
Kiwini Oe: In order to give Dwight and Jim the right titles,
Maryrose Mariani: lol
Kiwini Oe: we made groups
Kiwini Oe: and TROI made them very realistic groups and profiles
Kim Chihuly: i know my students went right in the next day in class looking for dwight
Kiwini Oe: Like the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. group
Kiwini Oe: with dwight's title "Assistant to Regional Mgr"
Kiwini Oe: and did detailed profiles for others
iAlja Writer: nice touch :)
Robbie Kiama: yeah
Kiwini Oe: This turned out to be important for the viral aspect of this.
Goldie Goodman: the after-life, so to speak?
Kiwini Oe: NBC never engaged us to do promotion, viral marketing, etc.
Kiwini Oe: But when a viral phenomenon happens
Kiwini Oe: you don't ask questions - you just follow your instinct
Goldie Goodman: it can't be stopped!!
Kiwini Oe: I had said that Luck = Preparation + Opportunity
Kiwini Oe: and because of the details that went into the profiles and groups
Kiwini Oe: people connected
Kiwini Oe: We were trying to be true to two passionate communities at the same time:
Kiwini Oe: Second Life residents
Kiwini Oe: and fans of "The Office"
Kiwini Oe: and in the end, we heard from SL people who had never watched "the office" until then
Kiwini Oe: and from Office fans who had never heard of SL
You: And you also created an opportunity for them to come back and pick up on some of those groups in a future episode :)
Kiwini Oe: and each got from the experience what they thought it should be
Kiwini Oe: I read about someone's kid who laughed for 4 minutes, just because Dwight was flying
iAlja Writer: lol
Robbie Kiama: hehe
Kiwini Oe: So we understood from about a two weeks out, when the first picture was up
Kiwini Oe: that fans would get hold of Dwight, Jim, etc
Kiwini Oe: so we decided that after the show aired
Kiwini Oe: we'd open our "backlot" for the night
Kiwini Oe: and invite people to party there
Goldie Goodman: nice of you.
Znetlady Isbell: smart too
Maryrose Mariani: yes very cool
Kiwini Oe: Because of the response, we kept it open for the next week, until the next episode aired
Kiwini Oe: we hated to close it down, but we had to get back to our development - and we didn't want to be running NBC's 3D fan site forever!
Kiwini Oe: Though we let them know what the response was, they didn't pick up on any followup
Kiwini Oe: for several reasons, I'm sure:
Kiwini Oe: Immediately after the show, they had the first Real Life fan convention in Scranton
Kiwini Oe: most of the producers were there, and that was keeping them busy
Kiwini Oe: They have their own community site: dundermifflininfinity.com
Kiwini Oe: that was giving them some fits
Kiwini Oe: and I think they wanted to attend to the one that they probably paid big bucks creating and promoting
Kiwini Oe: (I almost typed "big bugs")
Kiwini Oe: and finally:
Znetlady Isbell: lol
Kiwini Oe: they were distracted by the writers strike that was about to hit th em
Goldie Goodman: (could have paid you big bucks to continue the SL promotion :-)
Kiwini Oe: I saw in EW magazine that "the office" had the least amount of finished scripts before the strike
Znetlady Isbell: such a shame they didn't too Goldie
Kiwini Oe: The SL group has about 840 members
Kiwini Oe: based on word of mouth
Pebbles Hannya: Wow
Robbie Kiama: wow
Znetlady Isbell: 844
iAlja Writer: impressive
Kim Chihuly: Man - nbc missed out!
Kiwini Oe: the dundermifflininfinity.com site is based on people creating "branch offices' based on their city
Znetlady Isbell: Big time.
Kiwini Oe: without any promo, the SL group would be in the top 25% of their "branch offices"
Znetlady Isbell: Wow - so easy to extend that into SL.
Salt Voom: Sorry to interupt but Kiwini Oe your 1st life website has some of the smartest marketing i have seen in a long time!
Pebbles Hannya: I'm guessing you pointed that out to them?
Goldie Goodman: There's a brief window of opportunity, and it sounds like they lost it.
Kim Chihuly: yeah - since they could actually "build" the branch ovffices
Kiwini Oe: I agree - though there are some other fan groups that have formed
Znetlady Isbell: Clear Ink rules!
Keystone Bouchard: ;-)
Kiwini Oe: We did what we did because we thought it was the right thing to do in SL
Goldie Goodman: Can I ask again about the permissions thing?:
Kiwini Oe: but we can only go so far
Kiwini Oe: sure, Goldie
Goldie Goodman: Did NBC give you legal release forms to have "avatars" sign?
Goldie Goodman: And location owners to sign location releases?
Kiwini Oe: As I said, our client was not very formal in any of this - they did not do any avatar or location release management
Goldie Goodman: Did you?
Goldie Goodman: To protect yourself?
Goldie Goodman: Or just informally by asking?
Kiwini Oe: we asked permission of the property owners, and announced to anyone in the scene that we were filming
Kiwini Oe: so that they would know to leave if they didn't want to be in the scene
Kiwini Oe: the only "crowd"' scene was at Dublin
Kiwini Oe: One lesson learned:
Goldie Goodman: OK, thanks. Curious that NBC wouldn't pay attention to releases in this situation.
Kiwini Oe: I don't think this whole endeavor rose through the corporate machine at NBC
Kiwini Oe: that was part of the quick turn nature of it
Goldie Goodman: ahhh, the content police didn't even know about it, then, lol
Kiwini Oe: And from the other side, we were careful in how we used NBC IP
Goldie Goodman: That's the way to do it -- get in, do it, and get out before they even know what's happeing.
Kiwini Oe: that everything we did was an extension of the assignment
Kiwini Oe: the group, the sets, the avatars, etc
Kiwini Oe: and informing them along the way
Kiwini Oe: So a good lesson was:
Kiwini Oe: when the client says they trust you to do the right thing -
Kiwini Oe: that means you'd better pay attention -
Kiwini Oe: and use that as a real opportunity
Goldie Goodman: and earn their trust.
Kiwini Oe: Also, know the routes of amplification of the story
Kiwini Oe: I had my Google Alerts well tuned
Kiwini Oe: and made sure to comment on blogs
Kiwini Oe: and track how the story progressed
Goldie Goodman: You're very conscientious.
Kiwini Oe: And to let fans know what was going on
Kiwini Oe: It's all been interesting in the context of the writers strike
Kiwini Oe: that NBC is showing the episode we helped them create
Kiwini Oe: on the web
Kiwini Oe: selling advertising
Kiwini Oe: but not compensating the writers for that
Znetlady Isbell: yeah...
Kiwini Oe: The Office was one of the first staffs to get laid off
Goldie Goodman: that's the writers' key gripe, i sn't it?
Kiwini Oe: so beyond the stars, the writers, etc
Kiwini Oe: there are 102 people who have lost their jobs, just on the Office
Pebbles Hannya: Wow
Znetlady Isbell: wow...
Kiwini Oe: Not to make too blatant of a pitch, but a fan is working with Kent Zbornak on a Office Fans Christmas Fund for those 102
Kiwini Oe: http://www.myspace.com/ofcf
Kiwini Oe: like the props people, the crafts people, the medic, the interns etc., fired without severance
Znetlady Isbell: great idea!
Kiwini Oe: but that's enough of my soapbox :-)
Kiwini Oe: any more questions?
Kiwini Oe: I feel I've scratched the surface of a lot of the experience
Znetlady Isbell: Kiwini, this was soooo interesting!
iAlja Writer: yes!
Goldie Goodman: Very nice presentation. Thank you very much.
iAlja Writer: is the writer of the episode in SL?
Robbie Kiama: thank you a lot
Znetlady Isbell: I can't thank you enough for everything you've shared.
Robbie Kiama: that was very interesting
Kiwini Oe: iAlja -
Maryrose Mariani: Thank you so much Kiwini.
Kiwini Oe: I don't know - someone there is
Kiwini Oe: because the script really showed knowledge of it
Tynan Clary: I'm still realing at the short timeframe you had
iAlja Writer: yes, that's why I asked :)
Znetlady Isbell: Kiwini, i there anything I shouldn't publish on the blog?
Kiwini Oe: No - it's all open, Z
Znetlady Isbell: thanks - just making sure.
Goldie Goodman: Thanks for setting this up, Znetlady.
iAlja Writer: yes, thanks for sharing - interesting story!
Znetlady Isbell: Please thank Kiwini, who has been so generous.
Pebble Hannya: Yes, this has been really interesting!
Kiwini Oe: If anyone has any other questions, just IM me
Znetlady Isbell: An Pebbles for letting us meet here.
IYan Writer: thank you for an interesting insight into the project
Goldie Goodman: applause
Tynan Clary: /claps
Kiwini Oe: Thanks everyone
Znetlady Isbell: Yay!!!
Znetlady Isbell: Thank YOU!!
Znetlady Isbell: Thanks everyone for coming.
Joi Koi: cheers
Tynan Clary: :)
Tynan Clary: thanks you for having us
Znetlady Isbell: Since I've been crashing Pebbles is giving me the transcript and it will be up on the blog later today.
iAlja Writer: awesome!
Znetlady Isbell: Thanks, Pebbles.
Tynan Clary: and sending me a landmark when I emailed a few days ago - that was helpful Z
Znetlady Isbell: np Tynan
Znetlady Isbell: Thanks for spreading the word.
Tynan Clary: Love to
Znetlady Isbell: Check out Clear Ink's site too....they are awesome.
Tynan Clary: Nice to see you again too Joi
Robbie Kiama: yep they realy are :)
Joi Koi: u2 Tynan ;)
Kim Chihuly: thanks znet - another good talk
Znetlady Isbell: Every event I have been too that they have held has been so well handled - and just smart.
Znetlady Isbell: smart, smart, smart.
Znetlady Isbell: Thanks again, Kiwini for taking the time.
Kiwini Oe: yw, Znet
Kiwini Oe: I'll see you all later!

Next month SL Business Communicators are slated to meet with Orange.

November 20, 2007

SL Business Communicators November Meeting: Producing "The Office" in SL

SLBCers unite in Second Life on Tuesday, November 20th to meet with avatar Kiwini Oe a.k.a. Steve Nelson, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer of digital marketing agency, Clear Ink.  We'll be getting first-hand accounts and insights as to what was behind producing the Second Life TV segments for The Office "Local Ad" episode which aired on NBC on October 25th.

Clear Ink and Kiwini worked with NBC producers to create the in-world set design, character and extra avatars and to produce the machinima, plus all the  behind-the scene logistics that contibuted to the episode storytelling. 

Come on out in SL to meet Kiwini and learn what it took to put their piece of the total together, and why they made the various decisions they did when creating the in-world TV experiences.  The installation in SL is now closed - but this is your chance to go beyond visiting it and getting the low-down on what it took to make it happen.

I have to admit the subject of the production fascinates me as it fondly throws me back to my days of live webcasting  - some of which were simultaneous live broadcasting for TV.  In those days we were dependant on satellite for such complex broadcasting.  Fast forward to today and companies like NBC, CBS, CNN, MTV and film producers are moving to HD and 3D immersive  TV/movie/web experiences that are also both real time and on-demand.

There are important lessons to learn from Kiwini for communicators and marketers who must be thinking in multimedia, and bringing both real-time and "on-demand" experiences to niche communities of people as we meld all media into a myriad of virtual, personal (and still social) experiences.

We will be meeting at Market Truths Island in the gardens.  If you RSVP I'll send you an LM and a reminder.

Tuesday, November 20
9:00 a.m. SLT
Market Truths Island

Here's a couple of recommending readings on the project:
Clear Ink and NBC's "The Office" in Second Life - A Quick Recap
The Office: A Viral Approach to Second Life

Please join us!

November 17, 2007

CSI New York in SL: Information Week 10/16 Gridtalk

Mitch Wagner/Ziggy Figaro of Information Week is hosting Electric Sheep Company tomorrow, October 16th at the regularly scheduled GridTalk at 8:00 a.m. SLT to discuss the ESC and CBS initiative that will bring the CSI: New York TV show into Second Life.  Dr Dobbs Island is the place to be.

The news of this particular move into SL by CBS has been widely reported in both the SL and mainstream press, but in case you haven’t gotten the skinny, here’s the news:  In an episode to air on October 24, CSI: NY detective Mac Taylor enters Second Life to chase an avatar suspect.  In the episode the virtual world is not renamed to protect its identity.  The story line seeks to meld the virtual and the real, with a RL victim who is a wildly popular avatar in SL, and a killer who attempts to assume her virtual identity.  Taylor (and you, should you decide to accept this mission) goes in world to track down the killer.

We’re seeing with this the logical evolution of the 7 million-dollar investment in Electric Sheep Company in which CBS participated in February of this year; the acquisition around the same time of machimists, ILL Clan; and the success CBS/Showtime experienced with The L Word in SL.

CBS plans to air two 30-second spots that will direct viewers to experience SL for themselves.  The uninitiated will be able to choose from 12 avatars – smart move – and the promise is CSI creator, Anthony Zuiker’s avatar will greet the newly virtual viewers. For the occasion, ESC will provide a customized version of their new browser-like Second Life viewer to make SL easier to navigate and to join in on the planned CSI activities.

The SL CSI environment will reportedly include CSI forensic lab activities, clues left at the virtual murder scene and a field kit of tools for those who want to become a virtual CSI agent.  The aim is to provide various levels of participation.

The “episode” will continue until February during which time Zuiker hopes to draw the connected crowd back to television by integrating show content with the immersive and interactive.

Although not unexpected, I’m delighted to see this move by CBS and I sincerely hope CBS and ESC will share the ups and downs they experience with their initiative. Dare I say this is an important milestone for TV.  This is the future of television in one form or another - from both a content and advertising perspective.  This is one to watch and learn.

Various details at the Virtual Worlds News, the Scotsman and the SF Chronicle.   But be at GridTalk on Tuesday as that promises to be the best bet for up-to-the-minute info.

Here’s the CSI:NY promotional machinima:

October 15, 2007

Marketing Wisdom in the Stars

I've written before that virtual worlds are where art and communications collide.

Robbie Dingo's words about creating his beautiful machinima "Watch the World(s)" are words of wisdom for marketers.  Watch the video.  Read his words below.

 

Robbie said of the project:

"For me projects like this are all about the pre-planning (storyboarding and imagining the result, the bigger picture of the entire project, before I start building.)  All starting with the [Don Maclean] song as a framework, working towards the climatic moments in the words. I spent a lot of time listening to the song and looking at the original painting, considering the inner meanings."

Read Robbie's blog post.  He also provides higher quality versions for download.

New World Notes has the details on Robbie's process.

via New World Notes

July 19, 2007

Virtual NBC Puts Out Audition Call for Second Life Talent

The NBC franchise, America’s Got Talent goes virtual, and presumably international, with Virtual NBC’s call for auditions to find the most talented avatars in Second Life.  But not much time to rehearse – auditions are this Tuesday, June 5th and Wednesday, June 6th on NBC 1 in the Peacock Room.

The chosen avatar will be featured in a future RL episode of the NBC show and will snag $1,000,000 Linden dollars.  The final competition will be at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13th at Virtual NBC Studios on NBC 2 island.

This promises to be fun.  The depth of talent is as endless in Second Life as anywhere and it is only right the fantastical gifts bestowed on many SL avatars be showcased.

Pierce Portocarreo gives us a sample of the possibilities in his machinima:

I like what’s behind this competition.  It expands and mashes the experience of one medium into another; obviously taps into a valued aspect of Second Life; it is all around fun; the prize is meaningful and respectful of the work it could take to participate; and it gives a real someone a real life value as well.

NBC and Infinite Vision Media, NBC’s virtual world agency, are being “social media” savvy with this.  It potentially offers several key social networking activities to draw in the broader SL audience – especially if avatars get to vote along with judges.  Depending on how the competition is ultimately implemented, and harkening back to an earlier post, it offers at least three, and maybe up to five ways avatars can participate – not everyone has to be a creator-type.

Kudos to NBC, although the short time frame is unfortunate.  I hope they expand the concept for next season and announce it in time to allow for more avatars to participate.  It would also encourage some ongoing community formation.

In-world kiosks have rules and more information, although I didn't have any luck at the time I tried with getting it at the NBC 1 kiosk.   The auditions are June 5th, 4 – 8 p.m. SLT; and June 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Kiosks are located here:

NBC 1 – 30 Rockefeller Center
NBC 1 - Peacock Room
Midnight City
Crayonville
Dell Island
Dublin
Diegoland
The Edge
Artropolis
Pi
Innovations

June 3, 2007

Whimsy, Women, and Wheels: Ask Patty in Second Life

AskPatty.com officially launches their automotive haven for women in Second Life on May 11th, but it is open to all now.  I have to admit the $50,000 automotive spending spree got my attention – and that’s not Linden dollars.

It is a thoroughly charming and whimsical build on a corner of Pontiac’s Motorati Island, built by women intended for women and about all things automotive. 

Jody Devere, president of AskPatty.com, as well as the president of Women’s Automotive Association International waves away the notion that car culture is just a guy thing in an interview about their SL strategy over on the Diva Marketing Blog.

The build and promotional machinima were created by Osprey Therian.  The free instructions on how to drive a car in Second Life is a thoughtful touch.

I hope AskPatty brings as much into Second Life as they get underway as they have brought to the web.

Catch the machinima here.

The press release is here.

AskPatty web site is here.

AskPatty in Second Life is at: Ride 22,209,29

May 5, 2007

SL Event “Crisis in Darfur with Mia Farrow” Video Available

Bill Lichtenstein of Lichtenstein Creative Media sends word that he has made a 12-minute machinima of the Second Life event, “Crisis in Darfur” available on Google Video.  The event was held in Second Life on January 9 and sponsored by the Committee on Conscious of the U.S. Holocaust Museum to bring attention to the on going genocide in the region.  For more detail on the Second Life event read my earlier post and see the event website.

The Infinite Mind SL sim continues to host the visual exhibit that replicates a unique photography exhibit of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. "Our Walls Bear Witness: Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" Teleport over to The Infinite Mind, 128, 128, 0.

The Google video is available here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1156309363278144913

February 19, 2007

Machinima Classes with Machinimatographers

I noted in a recent post that interest in machinima is broadening rapidly.  So, if you would like try your hand at it and to learn some machinima basics, Moo Money, Kiwi Alfa and other members of the Second Life group, Machinimatographers, offer free classes.   You need to join the group (also free) to attend.  Machinimatographers is one of the larger groups in SL, by the way, which also speaks to the growing popularity of the genre. 

While it takes a bit of learning to acquire a new skill, it isn't surprising that in world video is as integrated into the social media atmosphere in SL as YouTube and Flickr are on the wider web.

Next Machinimatographers classes are:

Feb 15th - 12:00 SLT/PST
Feb 17th - 15:00 SLT/PST (3:00pm PST)
Feb 19th - 12:00 SLT/PST

February 14, 2007

Virtual Worlds: Where Communications and Art Collide

With the airing of the pre-Superbowl machinima promotion of CBS’s TV show Two and a Half Men and the Star Trek machinima spot CBS commissioned for State of Play and CES, machinima is obviously getting attention from the “massive media” outlets.  This may be due in small part to the interest surrounding Second Life, but I suspect it is more due to exposure to some outstanding machinima that TV and film talent scouts are finding on various video sharing sites.

Machinima actually has its roots in the 1980’s (yes, it pre-dates Second Life) on the earliest of personal computers, but the first “modern” machinima was in 1996, and were often referred to as “Quake movies.” Moo Money of The Grid Review in a Second Thursday meetup presentation about machinima talked a bit about the history, saying that players of Quake first started recording their in-game matches, which then evolved into creating story lines, acted out in-game by the players.

Machinima is indeed picking up steam, moving from a highly niche media format and audience to a wide number of interest groups.  Academia has embraced it as a serious medium for several years.  The University of Kansas is just the latest to announce a graduate course in their theater and film school called New Media and Cyberculture.   John Hopkins offers a course through their Digital Media Center; Harvard in their extension courses, and the University of South Australia through their (yay) communications department.

Why should machinima interest you?  Because it is exactly where web-based communications and marketing is moving to within 3d spaces like Second Life - where content and performance art collide.  As more immersive spaces become more accessible (to both the user and the content creator) content becomes animated, 360-degree, un-flat, multi-dimensional and multimedia.

Communicators will need to move toward thinking in visuals, about auditory experiences – and about how space (props) communicate the message.  Eventually performance art will be a required course for that communications, marketing or journalism degree. 

Take 5 minutes and watch this machinima, The Regenerated Dante Hotel.  It documents work going on in Second Life to animate an archive housed at Stanford University.   The project is ambitious and utterly fascinating, but to my point it examines: “innovative technologies to investigate archives and develop new digital models for introducing new forms of active engagement with them. ..The usual static notion of "document" is replaced by co-creative remaking."

By the way, this machinima sits in The Machinima Archive, which is being jointly created by Stanford University, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Internet Archive and Machinima.com for the historical preservation of this emerging media.  I encourage you to go there and browse through a sampling of the outstanding 500 or so machinima there produced in Halo, The Sims2, Doom, Half-Life, Second Life and more.

Photo credit: Netribution

Februrary, 11, 2007

Telus Training Machinima

TELUS, the Canadian telecomm company who opened its Second Life store in August of 2006, commissioned a training machinima to assist their internal teams in getting acquainted with virtual worlds.

SLBC member, Sparkle Dale took part in the project (among many other talented avatars).

Click To Play

January 14, 2007

Second Life Starship a CBS Mashup Enterprise

Okay, I admit I reached a bit for that title - but it is indeed, according to CBS President and CEO  Leslie Mooves.  A seminal, yet little reported comment Mooves made during his CES keynote speech earlier this week about an upcoming Star Trek project in Second Life:

    "In fact, eSheep [The Electric Sheep Company] is currently building out [our] very own Starship Enterprise to allow the Second Life community to mash-up a slough of Star Trek episodes. It's a great way to give back to the fans who make the show as successful as it is. Who knows, maybe some day we can even broadcast one of their virtual works on one of our television networks."

Philip Rosedale, CEO of Second Life set up this segment of Mooves' presentation by showing this video, at the end of which Mooves makes the comment.

If this plays out the way Mooves hints...well now, that's social media.

We can only speculate on the meaning of ..."virtual works on one of our television networks."  Could it mean machinima going mainstream?

For a high-quality version of the machinima go here (via ESC).

To browse through the entire text of Mooves keynote go here (pdf) or view the video here (WMP).

January 13, 2007

Edelman's Grid Review Machinima Property Launches

Edelman's machinima project, the Grid Review has launched.  The project/web site is a joint publication of Edelman and The Electric Sheep Company.  Grid Review seeks to present Second Life news in machinima format with submissions from residents.  It kicks off with such initial news categories as Building/Architecture, Business & Economy, Editorial/Opinion, Entertainment, Fashion, Policy & Governance, Social Trends, and Tips & How-to's.  The Grid Review is co-anchored by two Second Life residents, Moo Money and Nylon Pinkney, and launches with a half-dozen machinima.

Grid Review is one element of Edelman PR's Second Life launch.  They are also in the midst of conductng a Second Life business plan competition, submissions for which are due on December 20, 2006.

Grid Review is accessible on the web, but is not [yet] available in-world on the Edelman sim.  You are invited to submit your machinima and 3pointD hints that there may be some tools or features in the works to facilitate machinima production.

December 12, 2006