Sanctuary - The Media Pundit: Martin Wood talks Sanctuary, Canadian productions

From The Media Pundit:

http://www.mediapundit.net/2008/06/martin-wood-talks-sanctuary-canadian-productions.html

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Martin Wood talks Sanctuary, Canadian productions

June 16, 2008 in Digital Media, Internet, Television



If you've heard about Sanctuary then you'll probably dig this, and if not, it's still worth noting because I think this represents the very beginning of a new digital development platform for television. Note that I said development and not distribution, because I'm of the mind that the Internet can't possibly replace cable or satellite distribution -- physically incapable of it -- meaning it'll make a good proving ground for trying things out, but not much more than that. Sanctuary is a show that like Quarterlife was produced by veteran TV producers and writers, self-financed, broadcast initially on the 'net without much success, but garnered enough attention where it counts to make the leap to broadcast television.

**snippage**

For Wood, this is less about developing shows on the 'net before moving to traditional distribution channels, and more about developing successful shows that are entirely Canadian productions. Stargate for example only features one WGA writer (the rest are WGC -- Writers Guild of Canada) and only three SAG actors amongst the main cast. The studios where the show is filmed are in Canada -- which is not to be confused with the studio that owns the show, MGM, which is based in the United States -- and all post production and effects are done locally. I know a lot of Canadian writers that desperately want their government to invest more money in local productions instead of acting as outsourced talent for American industry, and Wood sees this as progress in that direction.

**snippage**