Lonelygirl15

[DreamerM]

Yeah, the crowley thing made no sense after it was made clear "the order" wasn't Thelema. Really, it hasn't been mentioned ever. Come on.

[The Creators]

To Our Intelligent and Insightful Fans,

I have read every single post in this thread. I have read the majority of posts in the majority of threads in this forum since its inception. I spend all day, every day living and breathing LG15. It is my entire existence. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your input and value your thoughts.

Honestly, I agree with most of your comments. It makes me sad that we haven't been able to meet your expectations. I know in my heart that it isn't for lack of talent or for lack of effort. All I can say is that we WILL meet you expectations. Each week will be an improvement on the week before.

The fact is that shows cost money to produce. I need to pay rent, medical school loans (which sucks especially considering I don't practice medicine anymore!), buy food, make car payments, etc. We have four people working full time on this (Mesh/Amanda/Greg/Miles) not including the actors. Everyone needs to be paid. It costs tens of thousands of dollars a month to produce LG15... in theory. In practice we are using the remaining tiny investment and a personal loan from my parents to pay the actors. We are draining our savings accounts to avoid paying ourselves.

TV shows cost literally millions of dollars an episode to produce. There are hundreds, and sometimes thousands of people that work on those shows. There are only four of us working on LG15. Each of us works a minimum of 17 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to fill out the myriad roles required to produce a show. To say that we are overextended is the understatement of the century.

Am I complaining? No. I love this! This is my dream! This is why I quit medicine. I'm just trying to explain what it's like for us behind the scenes. I feel your frustration, and I want you to feel my frustration as well.

In addition to spending our time producing the show, we are also working on numerous deals to start making money off LG15. As you might imagine, we need the money to continue producing the show. I am confident that we will find the money to continue LG15.

I can promise you all this:

1) The show IS interactive. We constantly adapt the show based on your responses. It IS NOT choose-your-own adventure, but your opinions guide the direction, tone and pacing.

2) Pacing, pacing, pacing. Not a day goes by that I don't think about that. We will find the perfect pace. It requires more time spent on writing, more time spent planning videos, and more money to have more actors and locations (sneaking into every location we film at is not a long term solution). I think that the pacing has improved. We will continue to improve it. It's definitely a fine balance between "interesting action" and "real life," but I know that we can find that balance.

3) Plot holes. The vast majority of clues, riddles, and plot mysteries that we placed in the past WILL pay off. Some of those payoffs will happen soon.... others will happen later. Have we dropped the ball a few times? Yes. Needless to say, it is VERY difficult to track and payoff every detail of plot with our current staff and resources. That will change.

4) Things to do on the site. We are working on adding more clear and compelling features on the site that feed directly into the show. The character chats will improve. The forums will be more organized. The user profile pages on the main site will be COMPLETLEY integrated into the video viewing experience. It will happen in stages and will take some time, but those that have been here for awhile know that the site has improved DRAMATICALLY since it was first created.

I can personally assure you that the vision that I have in my head matches the press coverage. I was OVERWHELMED by the international notoriety we received, and obviously we weren't prepared to transition directly from our "apartment project" into producing a "hit" internet show.

We had a choice with all that press: ditch LG15 and cash out with a studio deal, or try to create something novel and innovative on our own. We chose the latter. Despite the massive financial and emotional drain, I'm glad we made that decision. It is truly a joy for me to see how big LG15 has become.

We are confident that we will overcome our current financial difficulties, and I am confident in our ability to write and produce a compelling story that is 100% integrated with the technology on the website. I want to create an interactive internet show. I think we can do that.

Thanks for all of your feedback. Bottom line, I agree with the majority of it and I am working to address your concerns. I hope curiousgeorge doesn't rip me for intruding but I really wanted to respond to your concerns and tell you what's going on with us.

Miles (One of The Creators)

[trainer101]

Thanks Miles for jumping into the fray. Your willingness to engage your audience in dialog is much appreciated.
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It's STILL all connected...

[Luv2Skydive]

I, for one, won't give up yet. The potential has been there since the beginning so that alone keeps me in this thing.

I understand the funding issue, however, I feel that money isn't an issue when it comes to script. The last several videos could have spent the same budget and still moved the plot along.

Do you know where you are going with this story? I don't want our opinions to have a big influence...the surprise is half the fun, but we need a surprise! ANY surprise!

I believe if we were given a straight answer from Bree (i.e. the horse's mouth) that verified ANYTHING we'd be satisfied for a longer period of time.She's the only one who can do that. We doubt EVERYONE else and I'm beginning to doubt her sanity!
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LG15 needs more COWBELL!
http://www.youtube.com/luv2skydive

[Luv2Skydive]

[khjq]

Yeah, thank you Miles.

[trainer101]

[immortal1]

I think if it's one thing people need to take away from this thread it's that this is an interactive internet show. That means Tachyon and OpAphid are part of the deal. That means if Nikki Bower finds a box with a symbol on it that later proves to be the Watcher symbol that may not make her canon but it does make fan vids like her's relevant.

You would have to be nuts to think you could compete with Hollywood and have the same production value as film and TV. Why would you even want to? The interactivity is the piece that makes it unique, innovative and different. So you can't have the same expectations as you would watching TV or film.

I agree many of the issues some of you have laid out but it's 1-2minutes out of your life a day and these guys are breaking new ground, I think we can cut them some slack. You know there are a zillion books on the proper formatting for film and tv scripts, what's the proper format for an ongoing series of 1-2minute webisodes? I saw someone mentioned "show don't tell." It's the golden rule for film and tv but does it even apply here? Once you've broken the fourth wall, you're pretty much committed to primarily telling. We just might have to accept that as apart of the deal as well.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand the concern because it doesn't seem like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Miles just said there is, you're gonne either have to hang on and trust that or move on.

[DreamerM]

Mr. Miles,

First off, I have to say I'm amazed. Call me a cold-hearted cynic, but I was sure the statements that you guys frequented this board was simple executive P.R. I was wrong, and you earn a bow from me.

I certainly feel for your financial woes. I understand the strain you must be under given the fact that LG has grown as it has and the fact that enough time has gone by that your financial buffer must be running out. You have nothing but my greatest sympathy as far as that goes. A way out there exists to produce the show and NOT go broke while it happens, and you will find it. All that said....

LG15 is not a religion. We are not obligated to have faith. You earn our devotion by, against the odds, producing a high-quality product we enjoy.

If you let the quality of that product slip, for whatever even-deeply-sympathizable-reason, you will loose your fans. Appologetic posts on the message board are nice, they keep us informed and tell us you really do care, but not everyone reads the message boards. LG15 cannot survive on appologies alone, however heartfelt.

I'm sorry, but it's the truth.

I will say, if you guys pull this off, you will be heros.

Milo filled me in via PM on the process by which the videos are produced: mostly the three actors and thier directors work independantly once it's been decided what the main events are. This sort of free-form loose writing meathod has it's advantages, but sooner or later you need to reign people in, pool your resources, go over every detail and figure out what it all means and (most importantly) where you are going with it.

Sit down with a laptop, make a list of the stuff that's been left dangling, and talk it over: figure out where you are going and what's gonna happen in what order.

Your pacing worries will be over. Once you know where you're going, the timing will happen natually. Don't be thinking about what you are releasing and when, concentrate on TELLING your story and everything will fall into place.

Don't be afraid to let the story grow in the telling either, it might happen that, as you actually start closing plotholes, the story takes on a life of it's own and swerves into knew and unexpected places. This can be disconcerting, but it's a very good thing. Roll with it. And relax. Have fun with it. Let it take you places. Let it come to life for you.

I'm sorry to hear of your production problems. In a way this explains the headspace of the latest videos. This is a crucial time in the life of LG15: she needs to grow up, the project needs to find it's financial legs, and everyone's nearing thier wits end and needs to get thier act together before the money runs out, the Order shows up or the fans get bored and move on to something else.

Get your heads together. Think. Go over your options and decide on a proactive course of action. You're a very smart bunch, if you don't like ay of your choices, keep this in mind:

"There is always another way."

The problem is seeing it in time.

[Nora Volkova]

Miles, you should also know that those of us who have been with you the longest, no matter how much or how bitterly we bitch and moan, no matter how much or how little insight we imagine ourselves to have about some of difficulties of the summer, are still pulling for Telegraph Avenue.

We are just as amazed as you guys are that something that started out as idle party chatter just this past spring has so quickly snowballed into all this. That's inspiring to everyone, but I'm sure that the sheer momentum has been fatiguing.
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CALL BORIS, DANIEL

[stuart2004]

[curiousGeorge]

[milowent]

[VanillaFlava]

I just dug my way through this thread in its entirety. Previously, I gave up on frequenting the Phorum, simply because it seemed to be the sole domain of the audience segment interested in the ARG part of LG15, which has left me uninterested since the early CIW days. It's great to see such focused and intelligent discussion of the state of LG15, however, so I'm glad I checked back in.

Also, thank you Miles for such a frank and heartfelt response to the posters' concerns and remarks. One thing to remember is, despite the criticism we level at LG15 right now, we wouldn't even be here, if we were indifferent about the show or its success.

This also explains why tempers are flaring up. Many of us have become quite emotionally invested in the whole experience, and the series has reached a status that suggests that there really is nothing behind the curtain, no real secrets, no engaging plot, just a meandering collection of snapshots that lead this way or that way, depending on which foot some phorum posters got up in the morning. If that were true, and I am not saying it is, it would make all of us look foolish for believing there was more to it than was apparent. Despite all upfront credit and cheering on, nobody wants to look foolish. So here we are.

I admire the vision and the obvious courage to go out on a limb and try to get this done. Kudos. At the same time, maybe it's all a bit too much too soon and in all in parallel. Dedicated teams can be overtaxed for some time, but when that becomes the standard MO, quality just goes down the drain big time.

What I would like to convey is, that when you can't cover everything with the same attention to detail and dedication, it is time to focus in on the core. Arguably, everything else is derived from that. ARG, monetization, interaction, fan stories etc etc. all that is fueled by the LG15 core, which, at least in my assessment, is the main plot and characters.

We need some things tied up to progress and start new tension. So far there has been built-up and then ... nothing. Some examples have been mentioned, Crowley, The Order, but most striking in my mind the Ceremony ... Huge build-up, then ... nothing. No mention anymore, no explanation of what it was, the preparations, etc etc.

For the casual observer, all these things start to look like little vignettes put in for short term effect. Like the bitter-sweet ending of Poor Pluto. They work on an epsiode to episode level, but now, I feel we have a whole mobile of poor, neglected plot planetoids on their individual strings left dangling in the air.

Daniel is carrying the show on his shoulders right now, as the main emotionally believable character (who also gives a great performance). Bree has really not been developed and is switching modes between pleasing the old-time fans with cuteness which stands at odds to the severity of their fictional situation. If this is simply her way of dealing with things its not really coming across. The new characters just come fast and furious out of left-field. I wonder, if too many people voiced they don't like a particular character, would the reaction be to write them out again?

I guess, this will be the watershed between authorship and interaction, the real battle field, if this is to be a new art form, or simply traditional short-form drama with audience participation. But I don't want to get into too much detail and take up OT space here.

Simply said, we care, that's why we're here. But it's starting to slide, and we hope that you will prove we were never fools for caring in the first place. But, you know, no pressure
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Well now, I'm not gonna talk about Judy. In fact, we're not gonna talk about Judy at all, we're gonna keep her out of it.

[lesbrent]

Thanks Miles for participating as a real person and talking with us.

Like Nora before me said, I can speak for all of us when I say that at rancor cove, we are all pulling for ya.

If you read criticism at the Cove or here, be assured that even if we bitch, we are still watching!

I'm an LG addict!