[TML] 3I Media (was Killer instinct)

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 2/25/08 9:40 AM, "Tom Naro" <tomnaro at yahoo.com> wrote:

> OK, there are really two types of media.  News, and Entertainment.  I think
> that the first category will be very Internet-like with leader clips and
> links.  The relevance of news is not going to carry very far unless it is
> spectacular or freakish.  All off-world news feeds are quite literally "Last
> Weeks News". The TAS news feed will cover the important bits.  Local news
> services would be much more likely to simply redo a news report rather than
> show the foreign news.
> 
> Entertainment media will be quite another animal.  The entertainment providers
> will, without a doubt, find ways to make content with wide market appeal.  It
> is their best interest to do so.

Thing is, entertainment media is dominated by a handful of celebrities at
any given time.  So by spreading the pool over 100's or 1000's of systems,
I'm liable to prefer my local celebrities (whom I can get easy
updates/gossip about) over ones parsecs away.  Well, not me, because I don't
care about the stupid gossip mags.  But many people do.  How famous would
Britney be right now if she wasn't on the tabloid covers every week?  :)

> Some types of shows will stand on their own.  Documentaries of exotic and
> dangerous places will probably hold a fair share of interest.  Travel shows
> (which might be nothing more than infomercials) would encourage tourism.
> Recordings of live performances (music, dance, stand-up) will provide a draw
> for later live appearances.  (Recording saturated cultures will probably put a
> premium on live performances.)
> 
> Some show formats will need a little extra work to go from planet to planet.
> With digital editing, it would be relatively easy to "localize" many programs
> for a specific planet. A drama might be scripted much like a mad-lib.  "Hero
> must go to <insert major city> before <insert local holiday> to prevent the
> assassination of <insert name of local VIP>".  Digital dubbing can already
> fool most people.  The production might include "extra" scenes that can be
> inserted depending on the local needs.  "Travel shot: Flying low over the
> <grassy, forest, desert> terrain, Pan up to show the <yellow, white, blue>
> sun.  Roll camera 90 degrees to show <tower, dome, sprawling> city."

Roll 90?  That'll put the camera on it's side.  :)  I suspect you mean
"pan".

> Long programs (movies) and serials (TV shows) will likely be packaged and sold
> on individual media just as we do today.
> 
> A rerun is not a rerun if you have never seen it.  A traveler might arrive on
> a planet an be surprised to see advertisements for a "new" program on a "new"
> media/service that he watched when he was a child.

That'd be funny.  Hard to give it real punch though, in the format of RPG.