GW Channel Interview
An interview with GW Films head, The_Family_God. FPSB's very own redkulaT had the chance to sit down and have a chat with Daniel Frome who has worked hard with his team to make the GW Channel a reality. |
Well ladies and gentleman, FPSBANANA's own redkulaT has been given the chance to interview Daniel Frome who is also known as The_Family_God. His team has been working on a brand new project, and I know you are all wondering; what are they producing? A new film? Well not exactly, they’re creating a new way to play their classic films, such as Militia 2, Clanwars. It's not just for them, you guys will be able to take your gaming films and share them on the GW Channel!
Now for the people that don’t know you Daniel, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Daniel Frome. I’m a film maker and song writer who also happens to love videogames. I seem to change my alias on an annual basis, so some people know me as “the family dog,” while some know me as “the family god,” and others know me as “tfg.” Well, now I’m just Daniel (big sigh of relief).
I’ve been making Machinima films for the counter-strike community since 2002, and have recently produced some very influential eSports (competitive gaming) films as well.
That's amazing what you've accomplished so far, but can you explain what the GW Channel is all about?
It’s a very personal project that has taken me over 4 years to bring to life. Now it is almost complete.
What's so special about it? Well, it is one of the first websites that offers real DVD and high definition streaming with almost no waiting time. The technology involved in this website is something truly cutting edge and unique.
How is it possible? After producing my machinima films I partnered up with a Seattle based company that specializes in streaming video. Fast forward 9 months - GW Channel is one of the first websites to integrate a piece of software called Powergrid - this allows viewers to connect to multiple streaming servers at once. This means that we can triple, even quadruple the datarates compared to conventional streaming.
Bottom Line: You can now view DVD and HD quality video without needing to download the file. More importantly, from a film maker’s perspective, it represents a shift of power away from the giant download sites like Filefront and Fileplanet. It puts the control back into our hands, giving us a chance make a decent living off Internet video content.
What motivated you to start this project?
Honestly there are so many reasons I can’t even summarize them all. This is gonna be a long answer.
It all started in 2002 when I released Militia II, which was easily a “blockbuster” as far as Machinima / internet films were concerned. Fileplanet, one of the major hosts of the film, saw the immense bandwidth used up by Militia II and offered me a distribution deal on my next picture.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t offered any million dollar deal, we’re talking small-fry stuff (though I won’t go into details). But let’s be realistic – I wasn’t making any money on movies at the time. Fileplanet sure as hell did me a favor. It would take one and a half years before that next picture, ClanWars, would be completed.
ClanWars suffered so many delays due to various reasons. Long story short – sure, the main crew received their benefits and we walked away satisfied with our huge effort. But... if I thought Militia II was big, ClanWars just completely swallowed it up. The film had 100,000 downloads in the first 48 hours of release (not bad for a 320MB file)… it was jaw dropping for me. I knew that the film would easily reach half a million people that month. I started thinking “hey, maybe this is actually going somewhere…”
But amidst this “successful” release I was the only person who knew what a giant waste of time this entire year had been. This film should have been done in a 2 or 3 month time span. It took 15 months. Why did it take so long? The big issue – there was no money, no real motivation for me and this crew of 25 people to finish the film. I eventually put a stranglehold on the project, slave driving everyone for the last 2 months, 18 hours a day. The night before the release I remember needing to drive somewhere, and I couldn’t even do it. I had been awake for almost 5 days. It took a full month to recover from all the stress and anxiety.
Needless to say, I got a little bitter when I realized the huge advertising and subscription revenues that were made on my film. Fileplanet was (and is) completely open, honest, and fair with me. They never cheated me. On the contrary, I had cheated myself.
So that brings us to the GW Channel. What is the GW Channel really about? It’s a new distribution model designed for internet producers such as myself to make sure we never cheat ourselves again. It’s a way for viewers to watch video content hassle free, without needing to pay any subscription fees or even register a user account.
How long has it been in work?
Four years is a fair estimate.
There must have been a ton of help over those four years. How many people are working with you to produce this massive project?
There are hundreds of people involved, spanning across 10 different companies – including bandwidth providers, advertising agencies, Grid Networks, and a number of TV producers.
We understand the GW channel is free, but will you be earning any profit from commercial/advertising purposes?
Yes. The GW Channel will run advertisements (mostly single pre-roll ads) before its content. That’s how we keep the content free for everyone. When I say “advertising” – don’t start thinking of annoying pop-up ads or invasive banners. The viewing experience will never be compromised by ads. We’re talking high production television commercials that will run before your content.
Will the GW Channel be the next YouTube or Google Video for the gaming industry?
That’s a hard question. It could very well become that if enough people feel the need to upload their films (note: the user upload module will be finished in 2-3 weeks).
I hope that GW Channel becomes a place where film makers come to get a good distribution deal. I’d rather become the “HBO” of gaming (showing fewer, but higher quality films) than the YouTube of gaming.
The HBO of gaming would be very interesting. Since this was created will future projects only be available on the GW Channel, or will the community still be able to download them from different mirrors (I.e. Filefront, Fileshack, etc)?
That’s the same question I’m trying to figure out. It would interesting to think about – but let’s be realistic, we’re trying to stay away from them in the first place. Let’s just say I won’t expect them to come calling.
I took a look at the website earlier and it looked fantastic, but what are the system requirements for users?
- Windows 98/2000/XP Operating System
- Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Netscape, or Firefox 1.5 or 2.0
- 3 MB broadband connection or better
Do people have to download any special plug-ins in order to view the videos?
We broadcast in 3 different quality levels:
Low quality does not require anything. It is your equivalent to YouTube (except still significantly better quality).
High & Insane Quality requires the powergrid plugin.
Is there more than one video quality option for the users with slower internet?
Yes, as stated above – Low quality should work with just about anyone who can watch YouTube content.
Wow all of that sounds fantastic. For the ones wondering, do you need to be registered to view the videos?
Nope! Viewing is an anonymous experience, even if you use powergrid (shameless promotion: powergrid contains absolutely no spyware, malware, or tracks personal info). You will need to register an account if you want to take part in other website features such as blogs, forums, and uploading your own films.
Now for the most important question of all, will you sign my pants?
Well Daniel it's been a great pleasure interviewing you and getting a chance to talk about this wonderful project! When I had the chance to view the site I was blown away at the quality that was put into it.
It will definitely be a hit in the gaming industry and for sure will eliminate the need to download large sized movies from clans and professional gamers! I know this project will be a great success and wish best of luck to GW!
It's been a great interview, I've been waiting 1.5 years for a chance to work with FPSBANANA. Check out the GW Channel today!
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| Published by redkulaT 3 years ago |
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