What Dr Horrible Can Teach Media Creators About Participatory Culture

Dr Tama LeaverInternet StudiesCurtin University of Technology

www.tamaleaver.net

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

• Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly).

• Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day.

• Global fan engagement in lead-up (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blog hype, Joss’s ‘master plan’.)

• Musical, fannish and fan-promoted = very participatory; fan promoted, not fan created.

• Available for a short time online for free (freemium), or forever via iTunes.

Joss Whedon & The Fans

• Buffy (1997-2003) and The Bronze (and Bronze beta) discussion boards:

– Whedon directly interacted with fans.– Other show writers, etc., interacted

with fans.– Put fans before the network:

‘Bootleg that Puppy’ after US postponed season finale after Columbine shootings.

(Unlikely progress) from Firefly (2002) to Serenity (2005)...

2007/8 WGA Strike ...

• 2007-2008 Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) strike.

• Strike, in part, over residuals for online media (webisodes, online streaming episodes, etc).

During WGA Strike ...

1) Why, Joss? Why? Why now, why free, why us?

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system. Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few. The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

Source: http://www.drhorrible.com/plan.html

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

• Three-part web-based musical comedy based on a super-villain (Dr Horrible).

• Shot on a shoe-string budget, 6-day shoot, no studio funding.

• Released online, streaming for free for one week; and for (paid) download via the iTunes store (and eventually Amazon.com).

Felicia Day ...

“Felicia is partially responsible for this ever happening. "The Guild" first made me realize we could just go out there and get it done, make funny shows all by our lonesomes. In fact, I had coffee (not literally; I had tea) with her just to ask her about the process before I ever thought to cast her. (She has a huge amount of knowledge and talks very fast. I just nodded a lot and tried not to panic.) She's perfect for this part, but it's nice that she also earned it with Karma.”

- Joss Whedon, 17 March 2008, Whedoneque, http://whedonesque.com/comments/15792#217216

Dr Horrible Web Presence

Official Web Presence:

• DrHorrible.com

• Facebook (c. 120,000 fans)

• MySpace (15,000 fans)

• Twitter (@drhorrible)

• Digg

Fan Web Presence:

• DrHorrible.net

• Whedonesque(first port of call)

• Other fragments all over the place (fan blog posts, podcasts, etc.)

Conversations, not just promotion portals.(Participation, not just dissemination.)

Dr Horrible is (just) American?

• Episode one released via Hulu.com; not available internationally for first half day (massive fan outcry!).

• Immediate response via Twitter (then MySpace and blogged at Whedonesque.) After a few hours, a Twitter post pointed to a website with instructions for circumventing Hulu’s geo-blocking via an ISP anonymiser. (NB: 1999, ‘bootleg that puppy’ after Buffy season finale delayed in US after Columbine shootings.)

• Long delay for iTunes outside of the US (different negotiations needed with each). (Lost $) Team Whedon eventually get international releases.

• The Tyranny of Digital Distance creators not aware of the need to negotiate separate contracts with Apple for each distribution region (and Hulu to release internationally – US-only default).

Immediate Response to Fan Dismay ...

Source: http://twitter.com/drhorrible/statuses/858692791

Dr Hulu …

“Dr. Horrible is diabolical, relentless and surprisingly hummable. … HULU hosted Dr. Horrible for free for a week, which we, the mushortio-makers, are forever grateful for, and now you can stream it for free on their site. How awesome is that? I know, you're humbled. Stop groveling. Just remember: the more you watch it, the more you will understand about life and the universe and hydroponics. You'll laugh, you'll cry.... and you just might learn long division. With songs! PLEASE watch it. We're so lonely...”

- Joss Whedon, http://blog.hulu.com/2008/7/29/dr-horrible

Dr Horrible: The Figures (All approximate)• 1000 hits/second in release week! (Server crashes initially.)

• 3 Episodes: Released every 2 days, in all up for 6 days. Then pulled. (www.drhorrible.com) Cost c.$250,000 to make.

• iTunes sales ($1.99 ep/$3.99 all); $3.59 remains after Apple’s cut.

• Neil Patrick Harris (Scale + 3% profit)100,000 iTunes Sales = 3,273; 1 Million = $109,100.

• Joss Whedon ($250,000 investment; 80% profit)100,000 iTunes Sales = 87,280; 1 Million = $2.6 Million!

• Dr Horrible – all 3 episodes sat atop iTunes store sales list for 2 weeks.

Source: Jeffrey McManus, ‘What’s In It For Doogie Howser?’, http://blog.jeffreymcmanus.com/896/whats-in-it-for-doogie-howser/ , 21 July 2008.

“This was a sensible article on a subject that will, if we beret-wearing artistes have our way, will matter very much. And the guestimates were not far off, as far as I noticed. I would, however, like to clarify two things:

“The Actors agreed to do this because they wanted to do this. When I finally laid out my plan for gross profit sharing, Nathan said "I think you mentioned that somewhere at the beginning. And I think we all agreed that WHO CARES." I hope they, and the writers,and the me, make scads, but we all showed up for more or less the exact same reason you all did, and I won't have my peeps thought mercenary.”

- Joss Whedon, July 23, 2008,

http://whedonesque.com/comments/17017#244802

Dr Horrible as purposeful exemplar ...

“Proving we can turn Dr Horrible into a viable economic proposition as well as an awesome goof will only inspire more people to lay themselves out in the same way. It’s time for the dissemination of the artistic process. Create more for less. You are the ones that can make that happen. Wow. I had no idea how important you guys were. I’m a little afraid of you.”

- Joss Whedon, http://www.drhorrible.com/plan.html

• Zappers

• Casuals

• Loyals

‘Loyals watch series; zappers watch television’ (Jenkins 2006: 74).

“ … few watch television in total silence and isolation. For most of us, television provides fodder for so-called water cooler conversations. And, for a growing number of people, the water cooler has gone digital.”

(Jenkins, 2006: 26).

1000 True FansA creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living. A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up.

- Kevin Kelly, ‘1000 True Fans’, http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php

A Horrible Model?

• Whedon has a few more than 1000 true fans; Dr Horrible is clearly a huge success.

• Dr Horrible’s publicity – entirely web-based and fan-reliant –could be harnessed by entirely unknown producers with carefully designed publicity, conversation and full fan engagement (probably have to give more initially).

• Tools for global distribution are getting better (Vimeo, Hulu, iTunes, etc.).

• In the YouTube era, quality entertainment and quality engagement with fans still works.

Participation Continues After Release ...

• Thousands of YouTube parodies, homages, sing-alongs.

• Everything from fan-art to sheet music.

• Dr Horrible on twitter continues to converse and engage with the fan base (although not always about Dr Horrible per se) real connection with other Whedons (Zack & Jed).

Dr Horrible ponies ...

Source: http://www.requiemart.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core%3ADownloadItem&g2_itemId=6138

The DVD: “Seeking New Evil”The rumblings you've been hearing in the criminal underground since July indeed are true: At long last, we are seeking new applicants to the League.1 Aspirants to new heights of Evil should submit an application video that meets the terms below.

• It should be no more than three minutes in length.• There should be little to no swearing.2• Dialogue, logos, and music must be original.3• Songs are not required (singing is a bonus).• You must be evil -- it's a plus to have a name.• Your application video should be posted to YouTube or Vimeo.• Email us a link to the video, with your contact information.4• October 11 is the last day to submit.•The best applicants, as determined by the League or its designated agents, will be included on a special DVD commemorating our most recent member.

1. Henchmen need not apply. Please contact your union.2. Evil can be something of a family affair.3. We're evil, not stupid.4. Finalists may be contacted by the League or its agents.

Source: http://www.evilleagueofevil.com/apply

Dr Horrible on DVD ...

#3 Bestseller,Amazon.com,December 2008.

#23, Film & TV, Amazon.com,26 May 2009,(179 days in chart).

Dr Horrible at high school ...

Winward High School. Source: http://twitpic.com/4ytuv

Dr Horrible at Miami Valley School ...

Source: http://newteevee.com/2009/05/07/high-school-performs-dr-horrible-live-on-stage-tonight/

Does Dr Horrible Work as a Model for new creators?

• Whedon’s popularity and connection to fanbase existed long before Dr Horrible.

• Conversations with fans take time to build, but move beyond franchises (eg Buffy to Firefly to Dr Horrible).

• Start the conversations as soon as possible (long before the ‘product’ exists), and be as genuine and transparent as possible.

• New creators won’t hit the same heights as Dr Horrible, but even a fraction of that success is a good start!

Warren said…

“And while there are elements of the project that only someone of Joss’ position could pull off — the money, the cast, the values, etc etc etc — I think there are still lessons to be taken from it that apply broadly. Not least of which are, Be Short, Be Bold, and Get It Done.”

- Warren Ellis, ‘The Guts of Dr Horrible’, http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=6206

Fan Loyalty crosses franchise boundaries ...

“Terminator had a nice little run," explains [Fox] Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. "We did see it trailing off a bit, and ultimately we made the bet on Dollhouse. That's it for Terminator. If we canceled Joss Whedon's show I would have got 110 million emails from his fans today.”

Source: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/05/fox-announces-f.html

Possible issues with fan media creation...• Who ‘owns’ fan creations relating to Dr Horrible?

• When fans engage in media creation (eg posting YouTube clips of Dr H sing-alongs), this work might be transformative (US: fair use) but possibly not. Also, no ‘transformative’ clause in Fair Dealing (Australia, for example).

• Fan media creation relies upon a social and historicalunderstanding with Whedon (ie ‘make clips, we like them’; not ‘don’t use our stuff, we’ll sue’).

• For new creators, clarifying what fans can and can’t do in their engagement media products is paramount to avoid confusion, legal issues and bad blood with fans. (Creative Commons licenses are one possible solution.)

So the Future Might be Horrible …

… and rely greatly on the power of participatory culture and harnessing social networks

through genuine ongoing engagement with fans…

… and oddly, that might just be a really good starting point for the

upcoming media creators of today and tomorrow!

Questions? Comments?Criticism?

http://www.tamaleaver.net

t.leaver@curtin.edu.au