My So Called Life - DVD Boxset Release Details (1 Viewer)

[JasonRosenfeld]

For those who are hoping (like me) that this DVD set will contribute to the improved possibility of more niche and "super-niche" shows coming out on DVD, I think that you will enjoy reading this article. It's specifically about the MSCL disc.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Jason, is Eerie, Indiana really up next? I'd like that and Space: Above and Beyond!

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

Eerie? Yes, I suppose the cat is out of the proverbial bag.
I am hoping that the press over the next 2 weeks (more is on the way) will start appealing to the entertainment companies' desire to make money, and they will start to look at this niche stuff seriously, or at least let me and my friends handle the process for them.
Most likely, knowing the entertainment companies, they will insist on doing it without outside help, and will ignore fans and end up failing miserably, and saying that niche product was a bad idea.
Can you tell I don't have much faith in media companies?
PS: I would jump on Space: Above and Beyond.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

The problem with the big companies is that they can't devote people who are real fans to most of their projects, and won't allocate the time either. Having fans on board is good to a point, at least as far as establishing expectations goes, but a production environment doesn't lend itself to being too picky on the details that can change a good release into a great one, especially with release schedules and hard deadlines looming.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

Jeff, I disagree. I don't see why a bunch of independent go-betweens (what I consider myself) with knowledge of the production process could not manage the production of 2-5 projects simultaneously, assuming this was their focus.

Reasons:

1) Episodic programming allows you to templatize certain elements of the menu system within a single franchise. Not cookie-cutter, but a degree of uniformity between discs in a multi-disc set. This means you can reduce the authoring costs. Manufacturing costs are lreasonably low even at very low volumes.

2) A&R folks usually cater to the least common denominator. If you want to focus on niche titles, the diehard fans are more knowledgeable that the A&R people.

3) A go-between answers fan emails, works with the fans and allows the studios to focus on their mainstream titles.

The end result is that the studio is not spending an excessive amount of time on each title. Doesn't mean every title would work this way, but many would.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I don't disagree that having people like yourself who know the production process and can work as a go between are useful in situations like this. What I was referring to is the average fan, who may not understand the limits to both production time and budget, who become focused on details and getting every little thing included in a release, which as I fan I would appreciate, but as a producer may bog things down to the point of never finishing a project.

In cases like this project, and others where there is a fanbase who can contribute some input, a go between would work well, as long as they know when to draw the line, and what is reasonable to expect could be included in a release. As you well know, anything that gets included has to have legal clearance, which is something many fans may not appreciate - they supply a photo or other cool item, but it can't be used for legal reasons.

I certainly think that if there were more companies willing to delegate a portion of their production to dedicated project coordinators intimate with the show, that the overall quality and relevance of a release could be elevated, but the fan involvement has to be managed in a way that doesn't keep the project from happening.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

I think the US News article oversimplifies for brevity's sake. The fans are not running the show, while they are very involved. AU and BMG are very much in charge of the process, and I have sort of been there like this anvil of reality.

Fan: It would be cool to do this.

Me: Yeah, but then we would have to get additional synch music rights and track down the owner of this or that.

There have been ideas that have been shot down because they would cost way too much to include. Basically, I think the gist of the US News piece is that the fans have a high degree of expertise and you can certainly try to incorporate the ideas that are doable. Ultimately, the fans want to make sure that the show is being given its due.

 

[Tom B. Stones]

From www.mscl.com :

Nearly three weeks ago, a charge approval email was sent to all people who had paid a deposit for the box set.
Approximately 2,800 emails were sent, and apparently only about half of those people responded. We believe that spam filters might be partly to blame.
If you did not receive this email (reminder: it asked whether you approve the $99 or $89 charge, or wished to cancel your order), do not panic. AnotherUniverse.com is arranging to send me a list with the order status for each customer number. I will make sure that you receive the approval email, and will personally respond to any questions or concerns that you might have.
Thanks,
Jason Rosenfeld

Hi, Jason. Could I ask please, what the latest is on this issue? What if we still have not heard anything?
Thanks.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

I emailed 500+ credit card decline people on Friday
I emailed 850 unconfirmed people yesterday.
I'm SWIMMING (drowning is more like it ) in emails today. Have 340 replies in my inbox this morning. Luckily, I automated some of the process. I would imagine that we will be in good shape at the end of the week to send snail mails.
I'll keep you posted with what I get done.

 

[Tom B. Stones]

Jason, many thanks for your most prompt response.
The order is actually in my wife's name (and on her card! - well, I certainly found much to admire in the show, but she loved it), and she has not received one of these recent e-mails.
Should we now worry??? :frowning:
I must say that I don't envy you those numbers. (Your committment to the project is clearly not in question!) In the light of this deluge, would it or would it not be simpler for us to e-mail you directly? Please let me know here. I was inclined to post the query here in the first place, thinking that other forum members may be in the same boat.
Thanks again for your on-going support.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

email me a [email protected]
indlude HTF in the subject line.
thanks,
jason

 

[Tom B. Stones]

email me a [email protected]
indlude HTF in the subject line.

Wow! You were even quicker that time!!
E-mail away.

 

[Tom B. Stones]

Hi, Jason.
I am sorry to trouble you again, but we still have not heard anything.
You may be snowed under, of course, but we are getting increasingly nervous as we don't want to miss out! Could I check with you please if you received an e-mail from my wife (Mary Ryan)? It was sent last Tuesday - twice actually, as the first time she overlooked to include HTF in the subject line.
Thanks.
- Tom

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

I sent a response the second I got an email with the HTF in the subject header. I have not replied to the second email because, and I am being honest here, I promised my fiancee that I would not work over the 3 day weekend. 77 days until the wedding!

 

[Tom B. Stones]

Hi, Jason.
Many thanks for replying.

I sent a response the second I got an email with the HTF in the subject header. I have not replied to the second email because...

I am beginning to wonder about my wife's account! Regrettably, no reply from you has reached us. Her two e-mails were actually sent in rapid succession (seperated only by a couple of minutes), on Tuesday May 21st. The second one was essentially a forwarding of the first, and sent only because she overlooked to include HTF in the subject line of the first e-mail. The second one, therefore, including the HTF tag, would be the one to which you replied. However, as I say, somehow your reply has not made it through either. :frowning:
Would you mind sending it again?
We do hate to trouble you, especially having learned that your wedding is coming up (congratulations! ), but as one "MSCL" fiend to another, I am sure that you will appreciate my wife's anxiety that her pre-order work out.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

That's odd. I received 2 emails with "HTF" in the header and I promptly responded to them. Send them to me again. I will write back again.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

What's happening with this set? Can we get an update? Packaging (of the individual discs)? Content? Street date?

Thanks muchly.

 

[Tom B. Stones]

Hello again, Jason. Thanks for responding.

That's odd. I received 2 emails with "HTF" in the header and I promptly responded to them. Send them to me again. I will write back again.

Only one of my wife's two e-mails of last Tuesday was marked HTF, so perhaps these came from other people with pre-orders. Anyway, she has just e-mailed you again.
The e-mail is from M. J. Ryan. It also includes the text of the confirmation e-mail she received confirming the pre-order, which we thought might be helpful to you. The subject line reads thus: HTF --- Fwd: Order #******* PAID (with the order number instead of the asterisks, of course).
Thanks again for your help. Looking forward to hearing
from you.

 

[JasonRosenfeld]

Update for Jeff:
We had a cast interview scheduled a few weeks back. AJ Langer backed out and the thing fell apart the day before (much to our chagrin, as we already flew Dan out to film it --he has posted on this thread before. I know I couldn't get him to talk about it for days. It was a big letdown :frowning: ).
I'm going to try to reschedule it within the next week or two, and I am also trying to get rights to some footage from the Museum of TV and Radio which held a MSCL event 6 years ago.
It would be easy for me to cop out and say that this is the main reason for any delays, but I must honestly admit that it seems to me like BMG is taking their jolly old time on this. I will call them tomorrow morning and see where things stand. :star: I feel like it is my responsibility to be their booster when they do the right thing, but to be critical when I think that they are dragging things.:star:
The box set is confirmed and it is happening, but the June 18 date isn't realistic, when you take into account that the cast interviews will probably be in the first week of June. I will have more info as soon as I speak with BMG tomorrow. I will also get an update on the music clearances.
Jason
PS: Incidentally, I caught a program on cable the other day about making sausage. That old saw about making laws and sausage is true, but I would argue that most people don't want to see how a DVD is made either.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Okay, let me just make sure I have this straight.

Preorders were paid in full in March. We are three weeks before the initial street date, and authoring has not yet begun. We may not have music clearances, and we don't have the extras yet. We don't have packaging decided on yet, and the lunchbox art may or may not have been cleared yet, so is also not in production.

The promised mail confirmation (promised in March) of our orders has still not been sent out yet.

Is that about right?