WEBISODIC
The Strand, directed by Dan Myrick (The Blair Witch Project), “is an uncensored look at the lives of several off-beat characters that inhabit the unique world of Venice Beach, California, and how they are all interrelated. Utilizing many of the method-film techniques that were incorporated into Blair Witch, The Strand maintains a sense of authenticity that cannot be found in large-scale productions. Real people and actors populate a fictional world in which spontaneous as well as scripted dialogue bring a sense of unpredictability and realism to the characters and situations.”
Produced by Myrick’s company Gearhead Pictures, The Strand is one of the first full-length, live-action, independently produced episodic narratives intended specifically for the Web utilizing a micro-payment system — hence the term “webisodic.”
The flagship show premiered online March 15 free-of-charge. Audiences will be asked to pay $0.99 for each subsequent webisode using BitPass digital payments technology.
“While the entertainment industry continually grows more risk-averse, the Internet still beckons with its promise of becoming the great equalizer,” says Myrick (seen above right directing Peter Pasco in an episode of The Strand). “BitPass enables independent production companies like [ours] to make a show ‘for the people, by the people,’ where production is sponsored by people who watch it, leaving its destiny in the hands of those who care most about its future.”
.
