I really would like an opinion on this idea (thanks in advance) :) by propmaster2000

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

I really would like an opinion on this idea (thanks in advance) :)

POSTED BY: PROPMASTER2000
UPDATED: Monday, May 22, 2006 15:40
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VIEWED: 1613
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Sunday, May 21, 2006 11:34 AM

PROPMASTER2000

To Fans and Browncoats:

As most of us have read recently, there have been several ideas about collecting money to fund more Firefly episodes and how it would be virtually impossible to get the donations to those that can make it happen.
It ends up being suggested that instead of collecting money for this endeaver, it would be more beneficial to purchase several Firefly DVD sets and give them away to friends, family or even your local library. Another suggestion is to produce another ad for a magazine that would thank Universal for their efforts and the gift of Serenity:The movie.

I think that both ideas have merit, but I think that if DVD sales of Firefly and Serenity has more baring on the decision proccess (holding more weight), then the more DVD's which sell, then the more people will find out how great the 14 episodes of Firefly and the movie Serenity, really are.

I know from my experience, the people who find Firefly & Serenity tend to want to share it with others causing more DVD's to be sold, starting a snow ball effect that takes on a life of it's own.

So wouldn't the thing to do is put collected donations toward ads that tell the masses about the 14 episodes of Firefly and the movie Serenity (which we already have)?

I think that putting this money towards this type of ad in magazines, banners on busses or even bill boards would reveal the existance of Firefly/Serenity, causing more people to get the word, passing on the "Virus of the verse".

I think that there would be no restrictions placed on this attempt and it would get more people talking (without the huge cost of totally new episodes being produced).

It seems that all that would be needed is an advertising company, people with creativity to develope a distinctive eye catching ad to promote the FIREFLY/SERENITY DVD and collecting funds, donated by fans called Browncoats.

Spreading the "virus of the verse" though public ads, is a powerful tool.

Thank you for your time....

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Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:02 PM

SHINYDS

Well...I don't have the kind of experience with advertising that some other people do, but I think a billboard would be great. Unlike a mag ad, it wou;d be more permanent. But then again, the plus side of magads is that they're everywhere, rather than just one place. Maybe if the money made from using banners on websites was put toward advertising somehow, that would still leave room for COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY Firefly and Serenity DVD related gifts. That's just me, so don't take this too heavily. I'm just putting my thoughts out there.

--SDS

"If I hear the words 'that's final' coming out of your mouth again, they truely will be."

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Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:07 PM

LAUGHINGMUSE

It's a good idea, it means well, it wants to get maximum return out of the effort we put into it. However...once this gets organized, it runs the risk of getting sanitized. I personally would not look for an advertising team, or marketing research company, or others to tell us how to get the word out. We already know. We've already done it. We have to find a way to pedal faster, not switch roads.

I know that personally, I would not have started watching Firefly or gone to see Serenity solely based on the popular-media ad campaigns. (In fact, I didn't. But that's another story.)

I think that if we, the fans, do anything organized to spread news about Firefly, we need to keep our passion for the show and the story close to the heart of whatever we do. People need to feel like any effort comes from someone, or several someones, who really honestly believe in the story.

Will this be harder than a mass-produced or by-the-numbers campaign? Definitely, yes. Joss deserves huge plaudits for selling his story to Fox in the first place, then for selling it again when a major-player studio cancelled it. Passion - whether it is love or hate - demands a lot of resources. But many people are too busy - or too cynical - or both - to really pay attention to Yet One More Advertising Gimmick. I'd be concerned that we'd invest a whole lot of our money and time for no result. We don't need "eye-catching" so much as "heart-catching".

My .02, YMMV.

The studios are the conduits, not the water. Sadly, this means they can pinch off the supply whenever they feel like it. I'm mildly subversive. I like the idea of raising enough money to go to Joss and say, Here's X amount of dollars to bring us more Firefly/Serenity. Do it in episodic form, miniseries, film, whatever won't get you into legal trouble with any past contracts you've signed and whatever you feel works best for the story. We trust you - you've done well by us in the past. We'd like to see all the same characters, and the same cast members. Beyond that, go for it. Again, we trust you. We're not going to offer plot advice, we're not going to say "it would be really neat if X happened", we're not going to mandate that you keep all our crew alive if that is what you, as the storyteller, think is the best thing. I would love to have the wherewithal to do that. That raises a whole bunch of questions, though:
do we know that Joss is willing
do we know how to secure filming facilities
do we know that the actors would be willing (would working for a definite non-studio - at the behest of fans, essentially - get them blackballed? Nonono...)
do we know that the crew would be willing (see above)
do we trust whatever person or person(s) with the money
is that person or person(s) able or willing to give up a portion of their life to oversee this

...and much other such which.

A friend has just called, and I haven't spoken with him in a while, so I'm going to wuss out and stop now. Sorry!!!

---------------------------------
Mankind makes tools; we use them to augment our hands, arms and legs.
The computer augments the brain and this makes it very unpopular with totalitarians. - Charles J.C. Lyall

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Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:16 PM

AGATSU

It's on the Serenity Summer Campaign suggestion list, so no worries.

BROWNCOATS UNITE!

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Monday, May 22, 2006 3:40 PM

PROPMASTER2000

Nice

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