Could we get more concurrent projects in Fusion?

[Pencilero]

I've been thinking about it, and this is one section of the site which is a strength and win/win situation for all parties involved. Unfortunately, I've missed out on a couple of Fusion projects over the past couple of months; and it got me to thinking, with the volume of users here could we get two or three Fusion projects running simultaneously?

Just a suggestion.

Thoughts?

Na razie,

Greg

[red7ine]

i thought you woulda learned why when you were doing the jamborees: it's not a matter of the number of members, the problem is the number of participating members...

[Deth]

I know Im gonna sound like a dork but uh whats Fusion?

[Justice41]

It's the projects, same issue with the Jamboree's. Some are interesting some aren't. I'm waiting for something I like.

[DestroyAll]

Well...I'd be up for trying my hand at writing anything, so what kind of stuff do the artists want to do? Existing characters/universes? Any particular genre? If I'm not mistaken, in the past the projects have been full length stories with a different team every page, that's a pretty big logistical nightmare isn't it? What is a better way of doing it do you think?

Off the top of my head I'd suggest a zany or neonoir crime yarn. Hitmen, private detectives, leggy dames, double crosses...but not set in yesteryear.

[Pencilero]

i thought you woulda learned why when you were doing the jamborees: it's not a matter of the number of members, the problem is the number of participating members...

Yeah, maybe I'm slow; but it always seems the ones I'm interested in (Tick, Blade) fill up too fast and I'm just sitting there scratching my ass. :\

I can agree not every Fusion project is a hit, but having two or three running at the same time increases the odds that there will be something you want to draw.

As for Jamborees I'd like to do a weekly drawing gig and get everyone involved, but I don't know where to start it (I lean toward sketch or illustration forum), and I've asked Terry but gotten no response. So I'm peeking in on the Ten Ton Studios weekly drawings, and hopefully will make the time to jump in there at some point instead. :\


I know Im gonna sound like a dork but uh whats Fusion?

Community made comic projects. They're in the middle grouping of forums.

[Justice41]

Has anyone noticed how dead it's been the last week here? Must be that time of year.

[krikkit13]

Yeah, this place has slowed down considerably over the past few weeks. I've been super busy, but it seems like everybody else has been too.

[DJ Kenobi]

It's finals time for a lot of us. Personally, I have about 35 more pages to write and then I'm done with my masters. I'm sure a fair amount of the gang is also swamped right now.

[xadrian]

We hit a snag with the Community Projects board. We were going to have them overlap a bit more so about half way through one we'd start another one, but unfortunately those I trust to run these shows are all pretty tied up and those who've spouted off about them being slow have balked at the idea of running them.

So we're back to one at a time for the time being. I'm not terribly sorry about the lack of interest or the missing out on the current one. We sat there for about a week with about 3-4 people total participating. If that's "too fast" then I don't know what to say, I thought it was glacial.

I'd like to get another one started soon as the Tick seems to be moving along quite well, I'd love to hear if you guys would like to edit one, that'd help me out a great deal.

PS, I'm gonna move this to the Discussion portion of that board.

[Pencilero]

We sat there for about a week with about 3-4 people total participating.

Funny, everytime I looked in it was the writer wrangling and boring stuff. Then I look away, and when I look back - BOOM! All drawing slots filled. :P

How does the current process work? Is it design by commitee? Or do writers just say, "Hey I want to do this!" and get people?

I think making it more of an official procedure, and possibly posting stickied topics in the writing / penciling / inking / etc. forums to notify PJ users when the project is seeking talent for their area of interest.

Personally, I'm still trying to hash out how I attack PJ. I'm trying to stick to Sketch, Illustration, and Proving Grounds - or whatever the votey / draw-y thing is. So does that mean I have to check the Community Projects area once a month just to see if anything is happening?

Like I said, I think the whole collaboration stage could be better run to inform users that participation is open.

What kind of editing are you guys doing on these projects? @_@

[xadrian]

Funny, everytime I looked in it was the writer wrangling and boring stuff. Then I look away, and when I look back - BOOM! All drawing slots filled. :P

Yeah, phase one was the script phase. Phase 2 is the art phase. The initial sign up took about 10 days to get enough people to fill all positions, and that was with some people doing pencils and inks or pulling multiple duties.


How does the current process work? Is it design by commitee? Or do writers just say, "Hey I want to do this!" and get people?

Process is, I pick the next jam topic. We agree on a page count. Someone volunteers to do a script, which is then critiqued. Then I open it up to volunteers to draw. That's about it. In this discussion people come up with ideas and I try to take the most popular idea or at least the most current, but sometimes I go back a ways to get a theme and bring that up again to discuss.


I think making it more of an official procedure, and possibly posting stickied topics in the writing / penciling / inking / etc. forums to notify PJ users when the project is seeking talent for their area of interest.

The more official it gets, the less fun it becomes. It's not about structure, it's about just trying to get something done fast and working with other people. I'd love to be able to post alerts in all forums, but that's not my call to make. I make an announcement in the bulletin board and hope people see that.


Personally, I'm still trying to hash out how I attack PJ. I'm trying to stick to Sketch, Illustration, and Proving Grounds - or whatever the votey / draw-y thing is. So does that mean I have to check the Community Projects area once a month just to see if anything is happening?

That's your call. You visit often enough. I'm surprised you just don't hit New Posts.


Like I said, I think the whole collaboration stage could be better run to inform users that participation is open.

It's the best I can do, and it's not my fault people don't come here. Anyone has the ability to look around, and it's not like we didn't tell people.


What kind of editing are you guys doing on these projects? @_@

Just making sure it's done it time, it meets the requirements of the script and it's at least character/plot/environment consistent if not stylisitically similar. It's more about whip cracking than scrutinizing.

[xadrian]

So I guess the lack of response was because I moved this or because I responded to the points so well that it stunned everyone.

[Pencilero]

Process is, I pick the next jam topic.

Are you open to allowing writers to pitch topics to you on a monthly basis?

Goodness knows, I've seen enough writers poking about the art Jamborees inquiring about writing events. There seems to be enough interest, and leaving ideas up to one person may not be the best way of exploiting PJ's full potential.


The more official it gets, the less fun it becomes. It's not about structure, it's about just trying to get something done fast and working with other people. I'd love to be able to post alerts in all forums, but that's not my call to make. I make an announcement in the bulletin board and hope people see that.

I don't mean "official" as in bureaucracy. I mean in terms of getting word out and getting the PJ creative base involved.

This is more a beef with the general structure of the board, but I don't see the fault in soliciting contributions from members via a (for lack of a better term) "job posting" in the relevant discussion areas. Once the slots fill up and moderator could simply delete the topic from the forum.


It's more about whip cracking than scrutinizing.

Excellent.

[xadrian]

Actually the previous entries have been writing contest winners and we rotated a "normal" or just off the cuff but decently known character jam and then a writing contest winner. So we have been using the writers on the forum. We could have all the writers in the world come down on the Fusion forum, but I can only handle one at a time. Monthly basis would assume we can do a jam in a month.

We've tried mutliple jams before and they have died slow, agonizing, tedious deaths. Some never finished. One at a time and we're barely getting the word out.

And if I could post an announcement in each forum I would, but I can't. I can post in here and Bulletin board, which I do. I also tell people on different boards that I know are PJ people. Outside of that, I don't know what else I can do.

Since so far I've been one of maybe three or four people who've done a successful one, I'm sticking with the one at a time, every three months, until a group can prove me wrong. If the Tick jam gets knocked out in 6 weeks, huzzah! We'll start another one right away. If that one turns in at 4-6 weeks, bully for us! When I get three of those in a row, it'll be worth it to maybe up the schedule to two at a time or overlapping.

But keep in mind it's all voluntary, even my whip cracking, and I've been let down by it before and must temper my time constraints. Again, if you'd like to add to the list of a jam you'd like to do, or one you'd like to run, I'd be more than happy to let you go with it.

You could start tomorrow.

[Spidey]

So you don't neccessarily have scripts on que right?
Does anybody with a decent idea have a chance of getting 'picked up' for a fusion jam?

I brought up the idea of getting a BPRD jam started and some people expressed interest (okay, so only me, Nate and Greg, but I'm sure many more will come). I wouldn't mind ring leading the whole thing. You know I can be timely and organized as with the tournaments I've thrown on the provong grounds forum.

All I would really need is somebody to write the script and I'm sure there's a surplus of writers that would be willing to take on the job.

[xadrian]

That's very true. And since you and other folks have shown some interest, I don't see why would shouldn't do this next.

And feel free to run it. The only real rules are that there's no voting on anything; it's not a competition, and that it's done within three months. Try to make everything as collaborative as possible.

[Spidey]

The only real rules are that there's no voting on anything; it's not a competition,
The only thing I planned to vote on was the script or story pitch rather. Should I nix that part of the process and just go with which ever idea seems to get the most interest?

[banshee]

hmmm... we've been running the writing contests (and now spidey's posted reg: the BPRD script too) over in the writing lab.. Ben's raised all the pertinent responses/points really...

Sometimes the scripts are written ahead of time. I've tried very hard in my own limited experience to make the jams I've been on work. :D

Gag, you gotta check in often muahhaha

[xadrian]

Yeah, go with pitches like we briefly discussed. Just seems a big waste of effort to write a full script specifically for something you can't use later, ya know?

Quick synopsis of ideas using the characters or situations agreed upon.

[G-man_2000]

Bah, just use Kung-fu monkey. :P

[xadrian]

Bah, just use Kung-fu monkey. :P

Keep that one alive, when Tick is done and the BPRD thing is rolling, I'll be coming back to you with this idea. You can run the show.

You guys want multiple jams? Let's see how it rolls.

[Pencilero]

Gag, you gotta check in often muahhaha

Sorry, bureaucracy bores me to death and watching writers do their thing is a sure recipe for nap time. :P

I'm just interested in getting the whole freakin' PJ community involved in crap. If we wanted to run our mouthes, there are a million blog sites and myspace pages to do that on. We're ostensibly creators - so let's create!

It appears the BRPD's got me by the balls now. Should be interesting drawing something based off of someone else's writing. And by interesting I mean much gnashing of the teeth and cursing. :P

[jsalwen]

Where do I find the BPRD project? I passed on the Tick because it's not really my style and I was waiting for the next jam. I mostly just post my art in the crit forum as I am looking to improve, but I would love to collaborate on something with you guys.

[Pencilero]

Read Me! (http://www.penciljack.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=68029)

Don't worry, PJ is a damned confusing place. Which is why I'm doing my part to linky link link link stuff all over the place. :P

[banshee]

yeah, lets see some more editors running the jams :D :D

[jsalwen]

Read Me! (http://www.penciljack.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=68029)

Don't worry, PJ is a damned confusing place. Which is why I'm doing my part to linky link link link stuff all over the place. :P

Thanks, GAG2. I will check back often to see if you guys are looking for pencillers for BPRD. I have checked out previous 'jams' and they look great. Can't wait to see the Tick.

[Spidey]

Do you think it would be too much to ask to make a sticky thread when the script is ready asking members to come sign up for the jobs? In the break room atleast?

[banshee]

Youd have to ask PJ I guess..