Robotech: Shadow Rising

Any idea on when "Robotech: Shadow Rising" is set for release?

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From Robotech.com forums

I want to apologize if this sounds a bit harsh, that is not my intention as it is difficult to tell tone through the internet, but I hear this about marketing of the franchise from time to time and there is really no way to talk about this other than be straightforward.

Lets answer richardmvela question first.


Here on the boards people have stated that they have seen small tid bits of work being done on Shadow Rising at various cons



What small tidbits of Shadow Rising have we shown? We have not shown any prodution art, concept sketches or character desgins from Shadow Rising at cons.

In the fall of 2007 we did show a Teaser Trailer as part of Anime Bento and occasionally we will show it a convention. But that is it.

Now lets takle Greenlion9 concerns about maketing...


For some reason HG thinks it's good business to release as little new info as they possibly can about new Robotech projects.



I’m a firm believer that less is more when it comes to marketing a property. I feel that when you sit down and watch a movie or TV show you should not have the entire plot, key scenes, character moments, action scenes spoiled by a super saturated (and expensive) marketing campaign. We like to surprise you when you sit down and watch Robotech.


I mean, with highly anticipated Hollywood blockbusters, studios have press releases during every stage of production, you'll see teaser posters 1 or 2 years out, they'll release production stills to the media,etc.



You are comparing us to large scale studio films that spend over 50 million USD on their marketing. (the cost of all those TV Ad’s, billboards, overrated production dairies, overlong trailers, production diaries, newspaper ads and blanket internet ads really add up) I think it’s telling that our competitors have to spend millions on TV ad’s to make their money (and sometimes end up not making any money at all) yet we spend very little and are a great success.

I hear people say this about Robotech, however, I still have yet to find an anime property that a US distributor spent what a major studio spends on a live action film to bring to it to market here in North America.

I know it might seem frustrating when in 2006 some big franchises were spending gobs of money doing online webcontent over the course of 16 months and small internet audiences were haling them as the new marketing paradigm. Yet when it came time to actually make money those properties under preformed as the general audience was turned off by the overload of information.

I’m a firm believer that less is more and when you watch a movie you should not already know whats going to happen since you saw it in some “production diary” 12 months before you paid to see it in a theatre. I know some other franchises have done that in the past and I thought it was wrong then and I more convinced than ever that its wrong now.

As I said before what good is doing all of that if when it comes to time actually make money those properties under preformed as the general audience was turned off by the overload of information. Also, people forget making those “production diaries” and the like costs money. To promote them costs money. Plus when you do it you have to spend more money to make new things to keep the audience interested (it’s why those properties that did the whole “production diary” thing spent millions, yet still underperformed) yet in the end you gave away all the revenue to entertain a miniscule audience. What good is that?



It's almost as if they want fans to just give up and forget about Robotech.


We do work with fans on many levels Space Station Liberty, RTUCN.com, RobotechX.com are just several examples. This is on top of our convention tour that allows us to interact with fans, bring new fans into the franchise (you’d be amazed how many new fans we bring in via the tour) and increases Robotech presence across the country and the world. A lot of big franchises, with big marketing budgets wont even do that as its considered beneath them. When were at conventions we will often work with fan podcasters and the like to give updates through their local media as well. Not all of it gets reported here, however, it allows us to do on the ground marketing in local markets that increases local interest and awareness in Robotech.



I love Robotech to death, but HG does the absolutely bare minimum for it's fans.



We interact on a personal level with our fans at conventions, space station liberty and other events around the world. As I said above, most big studio properties consider that beneath them.


Once the live action movie gets off the ground, maybe HG will see how other studios handle distribution of information during production.



A few weeks ago when I was at ConnectiCon I had nothing new to report so I gave fans an overview of all the information we outlined in this article here on Robotech.com. To many in the audience what I said, even though it had been on robotech.com and in the press for weeks was all new. This is in part since there are many fans who are not online or at robotech.com a lot. You have to reach fans through multiple platforms to get your message out and while it can be frustrating for a fan like you who is online everyday I also have to look at the fans who are not on the site all that much (you would be surprised how many that is).


Because as crazy as this sounds, other studios want people to get excited about their future releases.



So do we, I just believe that we should do it in a cost effective manner so Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is a success (which it is) and we then make more Robotech.


How long before The Dark Knight came out were we seeing viral marketing? Pretty much as soon as production started.



Once again you are comparing us to a major studio marketing campaign. Also did anyone walk out of Dark Night and say “my god I really liked that movie because of the viral marketing campaign”? No, they liked it since it was a good movie.


Maybe I'm being too hard on HG, but I don't think I am.



No I do not think you are being hard on us. I do think that you are working under a false impression that Robotech is failing when it is in fact succeeding. One of the reasons why its succeeding is not that we are copying our competitors marketing but doing smart marketing that makes it a success. (Also making a good movie helps too)


I'm a member of many other fan communities, and the one HG has set up for RT fans in by far the worst. It's like they just don't pay any attention to us. It's the little things. One silly example are there trivia and polls found on RT.com. I mean, there are times when they go months without being updated. In comparison, other places have a new poll every day. I mean, that isn't all that important, but it's an example of how the RT fan community is just an afterthought to HG. .


As I said above we interact with fans on many different levels. Online and in person through various events and everything on the site here is free.(Other franchises will charge you) We allow fan art and fan fiction which very few official sites would even consider.

Greenlion9, I think your questions/concerns are valid and I apoligze if my answers seem a bit harsh. Once again its not my intention, I do hope this sheds some light on how I and Harmony Gold approach marketing the franchise.

Whew this got really long.

Kevin McKeever
ROBOTECH.com

Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?
~Groucho Marx

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To be honest, I am content with the series ending on "The Shadow Chronicles." Yeah, I am a big fan but enough is enough when it comes to waiting on them to bring Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes Hunter back in a BIG way (that lasts longer than a 3 minute cameo).

I think I can agree with this, I'd also be content if nothing was released again post-Shadow Chronicles. But at the same time, I'd jump yards for Shadow Rising, even if just for the smallest of possibilities in more true closure -- even if open-ended -- to Rick's story. Again, what Shadow Chronicles does isn't bad to the point where I dislike where the SDF-3's characters are left, I even look at the similar open-ended cliffhanger in Angel as the most epic ending to television period. In that sense, I can live with where Rick, Lisa, and the other Sterlings stories 'end' with "killed in a blackhole or still alive out there", in a mirrored style to how Angel's series finale ends.

I'm just waiting on the "Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles" to be released in a complete paperback set this June in 2010. I'll let that give me the return of Lisa, Rick, and Dana.

Granted, Rick and Lisa's return in Prelude definitely makes up for the lone 2 minute cameo instances of Rick in Shadow Chronicles, though Dana really doesn't fare much better than said cameoness of Rick in Shadow Chronicles. She's only in one page, with literally just one line of dialogue, it really isn't much I'm sad to say. But hey, I'm glad we at least got full confirmation to another survivor of the 15th Squad besides Louie, the wise choice being Dana! Though according to Harmony Gold, other survivors from the 15th include Bowie Grant (whom is mentioned at least once in Prelude) and Angelo Dante, while fellow Masters character Dr. Miles Cochrane also appears.



Here's a quick run-down of returning characters through out the Sentinels movie, Prelude comics, and Shadow Chronicles:


Shared Characters in the Sentinels movie:

The Macross Saga:
Rick Hunter
Lisa Hayes-Hunter
Lynn Minmei
Max Sterling
Miriya Sterling
Breetai
Exedore
Dr. Emil Lang

The Masters:
Dana Sterling
Bowie Grant
Leonard
Rolf Emerson

The New Generation:
Jonathan Wolfe
The Regess


Returning Characters in Prelude:

The Macross Saga:
Rick Hunter
Lisa Hayes-Hunter
Breetai
Exedore
Lynn Minmei
Dr. Emil Lang
Lynn Kyle (Dead)

Sentinels:
Vince Grant
Jean Grant
Janice
Karen Penn
Jack Baker
T.R. Edwards
The Regent
Rem
Cabell

The Masters:
Dana Sterling
Louie Nichols
Professor Miles Cochrane
Maia Sterling (From Ep 60 Cameo)

The New Generation:
General Reinhardt


Returning Characters in Shadow Chronicles:

The Macross Saga:
Rick Hunter

Sentinels:
Vince Grant
Jean Grant
Janice (Upgraded 'Version 2')

The Masters:
Louie Nichols
Maia Sterling (From Ep 60 Cameo)

The New Generation:
The Regess
Scott Bernard
Ariel/"Marlene"
Marlene Rush
General Reinhardt
Sparks

Any Buffyverse comic that's post-"Not Fade Away" is non-canon, my PoV says. Denny Crane!

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