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Fans choose plot for 'ReBoot' Fans of the pioneering CG-animated TV skein "ReBoot" have cast their votes in favor of developing a webcomic based on a story called "Arrival" by writer Jeff Campbell, producer Shea Wageman, artist Shaun Martens and designer Kelly Schmidt. "ReBoot" owners Mainframe Entertainment see this is as the first step in their plans to develop the property into a feature film trilogy. Contest, which I first wrote about in July, saw more than 15,000 individual ratings cast on the social networking and webcomics site Zeros 2 Heroes. Thanks to Fans, “ReBoot” Storyline Reborn On Comics Social Networking Site Zeros 2 Heroes facilitates selection of “ReBoot” contest winner Vancouver, British Columbia (October 1, 2007) – Zeros 2 Heroes, in conjunction with Rainmaker Animation, announced a first for social networking today when it revealed that fans of “ReBoot” have chosen who will reshape the storyline of the classic animated TV property. In an unprecedented competition, “ReBoot” fans selected the plotline that they want to see developed into a web comic book property. This marks the first step in re-launching the property in advance of Rainmaker’s upcoming trilogy of “ReBoot” theatrical feature films. Selected from among five creative teams, the winning production was the brainchild of Jeff Campbell (Writer), Shea Wageman (Producer), Shaun Martens (Artist), and Kelly Schmidt (Designer). Over the past month, the team won the backing of fans for their concept titled, “Arrival”.
With more than 15,000 individual ratings, hundreds of blog posts and online reviews, the fans of “ReBoot” – the classic episodic series, which originally aired on ABC, YTV and the Cartoon Network – have spoken: The world of Mainframe is about to get a whole lot bigger, and it all has to do with the emergence of a new Supercomputer. The winning concept’s storyline revolves around the idea of a self-aware program called GNOSIS that uses the power of the Supercomputer to conquer and enslave the entire Net.
But what could spell trouble for the “user” and “earth” in the vivid make-believe world of “ReBoot” promises to bring real-world possibilities of success for Rainmaker Animation. Earlier this year, Rainmaker established a strategic alliance with Zeros 2 Heroes to utilize the latest social media techniques to develop a “ReBoot” comic storyline on the web, one method of a new generation of cross-platform content distribution. Zeros 2 Heroes Media, a comics and genre entertainment social networking site, created an innovative online contest that directly engaged fans using a variety of web 2.0 applications.
Five undiscovered writers were selected to work with Rainmaker producers and artists to create five new concepts on the Zeros 2 Heroes website. The site members selected the winning storyline for the “ReBoot” web comic book property, sparking the launch of efforts to take “ReBoot” to the big screen.
“ReBoot” fans were accorded an opportunity to review the Rainmaker writers’ pitches, meet the creative teams, vote for their favorite storylines and continue to interact with other fans of the property, honing ideas and aiding in the overall creative process. Based on this feedback, each team revised and uploaded several new versions of their work during the run of the contest.
“We spent long hours listening to the fans and a lot of time refining our ideas based on this feedback,” says winning writer Jeff Campbell. “In the end, it paid off. The fans decided that our concept was best suited for the new ‘ReBoot’ storyline.”
Paul Gertz, Executive Vice President of Rainmaker Animation, states, “We’re absolutely thrilled with the outcome of the ‘ReBoot’ re-launch campaign. The intensity of the fan activity was beyond our wildest expectations and the concepts that were presented to us were unique, well thought out and fully vetted by the people who count the most: the ‘ReBoot’ fans.”
Matt Toner, President of Zeros 2 Heroes Media, adds, “It’s a win-win situation for both Rainmaker and the fans. In a very real sense, the fans are directly involved in the reshaping of this classic property, an experience that has been proven to build a deep connection and profound loyalty. Rainmaker now has a heavily fan-vetted ‘ReBoot’ storyline with recognized commercial potential that can immediately be developed.”
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