Venice

[cabenson]

Who watched and what did you think? Tell me, tell me, tell me true!

My thoughts: It was just a little more than I expected. I had to remind myself that it was a webisode so the storyline is a bit more compact, but it looked good. Sound was an issue in the first Ani/Gina scene. The exterior scenes, along with opening titles were spectacular! And I really enjoyed the music.

CC and JL, as usual, brought it. And I am SUCH an angst whore, so I was immediately drawn into the Ani/Gina story. And I actually liked GG as Owen...he seemed real, as compared to the acting he does on DOOL. I thought the writing and all of the acting were, how to put this...honest. Real words from real people. Intersting to see where it goes.

I admit I am intrigued and will suscribe. And this may be an unpopular opinion, but so I have to buy one less dimebag bottle of wine per season- I can't believe peeps are complaining about a subscription fee (that will be used to fund Season 2, correct?) when it had been proposed from the very beginning. So they waited til the last minute to spring it... whatevs. That is how they have done everything. It takes money to make the pretty, people. Peeps need to quit acting like the makers of Venice, or ANY show for that matter, owe the fanbase ANYTHING. Except for that Cabot/Benson makeout session that I am STILL waiting for, Ironbone!

I keep hearing "This should make all the Otalia Fans happy", but not me. Not cause I didn't enjoy seeing CC/JL making out, but cause I immediately saw them as Gina and Ani. This is a good thing in my book, cause after finishing the Manifesto, I am ready to say goodbye to Otalia and move on...to my fandom retirement. Or at least a lengthy vacation.

Comments

[ariestess]

I agree with you on all of your points re: this first ep. The sound in that first Ani/Gina scene was bothersome. I'll have to dig out my headphones and watch it again to try catching all of the dialogue... and drool over the kisses.

I fully intend to buy a subscription as soon as I have an extra $10 [which should be on Friday]. And I'll buy future subscriptions. I haven't bought any of the stuff in the V-store, primarily because of A] lack of fundage and B] none of the clothes will fit me.

But I completely and utterly agree with you on some of the reactions to the subscription, which HAS been discussed from Day One practically.

[bigpurpleheart.livejournal.com]

I'm not as good with words as you are, but I agree wholeheartedly with well... everything you said here. About the first episode itself, the subscription thing and about immediately seeing them as Gina and Ani instead of Otalia. This first episode has pulled me in completely and I can't wait to see where the ladies will go with it :)

[inspectorboxer.livejournal.com]

People are bitching? Wish I could say I'm surprised. It takes a lot of money to make something like this, even when people are donating their time. It's ten bucks for some nice entertainment and it helps sustain a kind of series our community has never really had before. In my opinion, people need to put up or shut up. ;)

And I did like what I saw. I'm intrigued by the characters so far and look forward to seeing where they take things from here. Webisodes are such a fascinating thing for an old film school grad like me. I'll happily toss in my ten bucks and support the cause.

[ralst.livejournal.com]

Further to my e-mail comments... I forced myself to watch the beginning again (I'm so dedicated, it's scary *g*) but didn't notice any problem with the sound. Although, that might be because I downloaded and watched it through Media player, so I could turn it up as high as I liked (I haven't tried the player on the home page).

Re-watching, I was very impressed by the music, and how they used it to accompany emotions and as part of the story telling. I'm not sure about the guy playing Owen, but then it's probably too early to tell, as he's only been on screen a couple of minutes.

As an Otalia fan it kind of made me mad - not at Venice or the actors, but at the cop-outs at CBS and Guiding Light - because they managed to include more physical intimacy in three minutes than the show allowed in eighteen months. Hell, I'm a realise, I know it was an American soap, so I wasn't even expecting a love scene, but a kiss should have been included. Again, nothing to do with the Venice people, because it's obvious that if they'd been in charge we would have got one...two...three...four...why the heck weren't they in charge?

I need to check this is available for international subscription. If it's not, I reserve the right to bitch and moan, but that's my only concern, and it would be same if it was funded via adverts (actually, I'm guessing I've more chance of it being international friendly if there aren't adverts).

[theholyinnocent.livejournal.com]

Well, they sure do know how to start things, that's for sure. :)

My expectations were fairly low, given that this is a web series and they have a shoestring budget. That said, it sure as hell looked and sounded better than GL did in its agonizing death throes.

The acting seems solid, and much more naturalistic than on the soaps. And I DID feel like CC/JL were not doing Otalia redux; while the dynamic is similar, the characters aren't. I like the guy playing Owen (I don't watch DOOL, so I'm not familiar with him). Dialogue could be better, but that may come in time.

So what is the deal w/the subscriber option? Do you need to subscribe to watch future episodes? Or is the subscription thing just for ppl who want HD/no ads? ITA w/you that they do need to make money on it somehow, but I'm on the fence about subscribing at the moment.

[trancer21.livejournal.com]

It takes money to make the pretty, people.

Yes, yes it does. I'm interested to see how the pay-per-view format works for Venice (although, I'm too broke at the moment to pay). I don't know if Sanctuary is a good barometer since it was picked up by SciFi but it should be noted that the majority that watched the webisodes downloaded them off torrents.. for free. Admittedly, the PTB did say, if you paid for the content you could do whatever you wanted with it.

I haven't watched the entire episode, just the clip you posted, but I'm intruigued enough to try and find 10 bucks to scrape together to watch the series and show my support for (good) lesbian content. Because, yeah, sometimes 'supporting the community' means more than cheerleading. There won't/can't be a community if everyone expects to get it for free!

[shaych-03.livejournal.com]

i liked the first ep. it was NOT otalia and that's what i liked about it.

otalia was what it was. let the fandom have it now. cbs et. al. can go and pee on its memory all they want.

Gina and Ani (plus others) are new, and done by people who not only love their craft, they love their fans.

let's see what all that love can bring. and if we have to put out a little cash now in order to see results like Episode One later... i'm all for it.

and i agree with AJ... didn't buy Venice clothes because they were too small. (what's up with only 2x options, y'all? i assure you that there ARE 3x and larger fans who want to show their love too...)

[sparklebunny.livejournal.com]

I'm not subscribing.. and not because of the money factor.. I pay for a lot of online things.. and $10 is nothing. I guess nothing actually grabbed me in the 6mins that were shown.. I was a little disappointed. :( I'd really hoped I could fangirl Venice.. but almost 6mins with just kissing and not a lot of storytelling left me feeling empty. *sigh*

[sravenk.livejournal.com]

I didn't watch GL and now I am glad, because to have waited so long and not been given that hot kiss would have been torture! This was pretty well done for a web series, and again, the kiss? Hot stuff! That Crystal Chappell is one pretty lady. Dang!

[morningloryblue.livejournal.com]

I have hope. At this point, there was not enough content to make any judgement calls other than HOT and FINALLY!