Comments on: Don’t Call Me Digital

By: untoldentertainment.com » Made in Canada AND with Unity: Apollo 11: The Game

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:09:53 +0000

[...] Interactive, the “digital” arm of the company (don’t get me started) collaborated with NASA to produce Apollo 11: The Game for the iPhone. i have it on good authority [...]

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:24:35 +0000

Bwakathaboom – i feel like a thug when i post stuff like this, and then a higher-order mammal comes in and eloquently states an excellent point like you’ve just done. i get a little chaffed when i tell people who difficult it is to keep a start-up games studio afloat, and they say “Why don’t you just get OMDC/Telefilm/Bell Fund money?” They don’t realize that on any given day, 1) the deadline is six months from now 2) it takes about two weeks of full-time work to write those applications and 3) the funds are “oversubscribed”, as the government puts it, meaning you have to luck out with right-place-right-time-right-pitch mojo to get chosen.

i agree that the funds should run leaner, but this is the government we’re talking about. Bloat and bureaucracy are their hallmarks.

By: Bwakathaboom

Bwakathaboom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:40:38 +0000

What Canada needs is to create its own development paradigm. No matter what you label them, the problem still exists that these funds are based on a 20th century production model. We’re borrowing a failing model from south of the border and propping it up with slow-moving tax dollars.

First they fund developing the *idea*, then they fund a prototype, then completion funds (but only if you have a publisher), then the American owned, publicly traded distributor gets tax-payer dollars to market the game. It’s ridiculous.

The amount of time is takes these dinosaurs to APPROVE a prototype grant I can finish the damned game in Flash (or, soon, Unity). The amount of time it takes to fund a Telefilm TV pilot I could produce a 6 episode animated web series (and generate a greater return on investment). The dirty secret is that nobody is making any real money under this model.

With current tools and technology there is no excuse to take 2 years and millions of dollars to complete a single project. Canadians need to work faster and leaner, something not possible using Telefilm / OMDC methods.

By: cartoondutchie

cartoondutchie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:30:24 +0000

The part that confuses the CMF is that theoretically, online video series would also be eligible in the experimental. So to THAT group, it really is experimental. unfortunately us IDM and convergent firms are left kinda rolling our eyes.

aside: My ‘most favourite’ question from TV producers was always “well, my TV show is new media because it is being shot in HD. That’s a new media. ” they have come a long way….

By: Jarrett

Jarrett — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:07:28 +0000

lol well said (the article that is)

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:48:54 +0000

Iain – vaudeville was here before me, but i don’t think that it should be sucking up the lion’s share of ad revenues and Canadian Ministry of Culture funding.

By: Iain

Iain — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:16:30 +0000

I’d go along with the name change. Don’t write off TV so fast though. It was here before you, and it’ll be here after your gone. Some things just work better in a linear, non-interactive format. I don’t want to control the humvees in Generation Kill, or waggle the thumb-sticks to make Tony Soprano strangle Ralphie, I just want to sit back and enjoy the drama. And maybe post on twitter while I watch it.

By: Jean-Guy Niquet

Jean-Guy Niquet — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:59:05 +0000

/clap