On Line
Encyclopedia
On_Line is a 2002
drama
directed by Jed Weintrob and executive produced by Richard D. Titus
and Tavin Marin Titus
. The film was selected to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
and was released theatrically, on DVD and television world-wide.
) and Moe Curley (Harold Perrineau) start an adult internet site
named InterconX where Jordan Nash (Vanessa Ferlito
) is one of their stars. John has recently gone through a disastrous break-up with his fiancé
, and is now obsessed with a woman named Angel, who lives her life on 24 hour webcam
. A handful of people whose lives revolve around internet relationships at an adult web site become entangled in person in this comedy
/drama
.
. The design, look-and-feel, animation, and programming was created by Christian D. Bruun. Programming was assisted by Steven Osit and Kate Schaffer.
The technological implementations have several aspects:
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
directed by Jed Weintrob and executive produced by Richard D. Titus
Richard D. Titus
Richard D. Titus, FRSA is an entrepreneur and film producer. He was born on March 23, 1968 in Anaheim to Richard G. Titus, an executive at defense contractor Rockwell International and later Boeing and Susan Titus Osborn, a conservative Christian author....
and Tavin Marin Titus
Tavin Marin Titus
Tavin Marin Titus is a young film producer who has worked on a projects of a diverse budget range from blockbusters The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day and Godzilla to her more recent work producing Sci Fi Channel Original Movies including: "Odysseus: Isle of the Mist", "Riddle of the...
. The film was selected to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and was released theatrically, on DVD and television world-wide.
Plot
Roommates and pals John Roth (Josh HamiltonJosh Hamilton (actor)
Josh C. Hamilton is an American actor.Hamilton was born in New York City, New York. His father is actor Dan Hamilton, and his stepmother is actress Stephanie Braxton...
) and Moe Curley (Harold Perrineau) start an adult internet site
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...
named InterconX where Jordan Nash (Vanessa Ferlito
Vanessa Ferlito
-Personal life:An Italian American, Ferlito was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father died when she was three. Her mother and stepfather own a hair salon in Brooklyn...
) is one of their stars. John has recently gone through a disastrous break-up with his fiancé
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
, and is now obsessed with a woman named Angel, who lives her life on 24 hour webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
. A handful of people whose lives revolve around internet relationships at an adult web site become entangled in person in this comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
.
Cast
- Josh HamiltonJosh Hamilton (actor)Josh C. Hamilton is an American actor.Hamilton was born in New York City, New York. His father is actor Dan Hamilton, and his stepmother is actress Stephanie Braxton...
as John Roth - Harold Perrineau as Moe Curley
- Isabel GilliesIsabel GilliesIsabel Gillies is an actress and author. She has played Elliot Stabler's wife, Kathy, in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999...
as Moira Ingalls - John Fleck as Al Fleming
- Vanessa FerlitoVanessa Ferlito-Personal life:An Italian American, Ferlito was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father died when she was three. Her mother and stepfather own a hair salon in Brooklyn...
as Jordan Nash - Eric MilleganEric MilleganEric Millegan is an American actor, primarily known for his work on the Fox series Bones in which he played Dr. Zack Addy. Millegan is openly gay, and was out before being cast as Zack Addy in Bones.-Biography:...
as Ed Simone - Liz Owens as Angel
Technology
The film relies heavily on technology and in many aspects it predates or anticipates both technologies as well as cultural habits that would later become standard online practice and interaction: NetiquetteNetiquette
Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described in IETF RFC 1855. However, like many Internet phenomena, the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary...
. The design, look-and-feel, animation, and programming was created by Christian D. Bruun. Programming was assisted by Steven Osit and Kate Schaffer.
The technological implementations have several aspects:
- 1) The technical aspects of filming and recording four to six cameras simultaneously on two separate locations or sets. The set-up included two-way live video feeds embedded real-time in an interactive interface. The cameras included DV cameras (SONY PD-150 pal, Sony TRV900) and a variety of USB and FireWire web cameras.
- 2) Extend the reach and universe of the film beyond the movie going experience. This included making the featured websites available online for the audience to be able to explore the back stories as well as future developments of the characters in the film. This meant that the websites had to reflect each characters or mimic the social environment in which it existed.
- 3) The marketing of the film utilizing the websites and viral video clips. The clips could be emailed as well as transferred and shared on PalmOS devices. Initially launched at the Sundance Film Festival the clips was an early example of digital video viral marketingViral marketingViral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
.
- Internet. All the websites created and used in the film was also made available on the internet.
- SilentCity.net. This is the main character's web video diary (a precursor to Blogs and Vlogs). New videos featuring Andrew Osborne as the online version of John Roth was regularly uploaded. These videos both preceded the film but also continued Joe's life after the film ended.
- AngelCam.org. AngelCam is the 24/7 online website of webcam girl Angel. On her web site we can watch what John is watching in the film and read about Angel's daily activities. For a while the site was truly live as real life web cam girl Liz Owens' camera feed was streamed through the site. The site was loosely inspired by the phenomenon of JenniCam.
- FinalExit.net is the goth website where Moira Ingalls and Ed Simone meet.
- InterCon-X.com is the adult web cam service designed to enable both professionals and amateurs to connect and watch and talk to each other.
- Web chats. Developing the interfaces for the web chats in the film Tim DorcyCU-SeeMeCU-SeeMe is an Internet videoconferencing client. CU-SeeMe can make point to point video calls without a server or make multi-point calls through server software first called a "reflector" and later called a "conference server" or Multipoint Control Unit...
and his iVisit software were consulted.
Trivia
- Liz Owens was actually discovered on the Internet as a real CAM girl.
- Several of the scenes in this movie were actually shot over the Internet, making it the first film ever to do so.