https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=522rVr2TIsc
News release from RidleyReport.com:
“Ona Staines, John Stark and Metacomet himself are returning from the grave as key characters in an optimistic but terrifying passion project: Legends of the Free State. Legends tells the fantastic yet largely accurate story of New Hampshire, deep into her future and deeper into her past. An exercise in hard science fiction, the program speculates: Why is NH such an over-achiever? From the low crime rate to the high per-capita income, could there be something more at play than just her freedoms? Something….unnatural?
Ridley answers with a counterintuitive mix of art and archeology, deploying us first into a geosynchronous O’Neill colony stationed above New England, then to the Antediluvian world of 9600 B.C. It’s the pregnant era where prehistoric humans are just beginning their advance against New Hampshire’s retreating glaciers, where a shimmering “human” figure fills the night sky, and an annoying, conflicted child discovers the magical Object which is destined to affect every square parsec of our universe.
But even the production process is proving to be not-entirely-human…a team effort between one man and his artificial assistants at AI creative hub Poe.com. Former news videographer Dave Ridley of Winchester, NH says he’s using the platform’s image generation models to provide both alternative and opportunity.
“Some viewers,” says Ridley, “are tired of space shows that ignore the laws of physics, prevent you from watching them on Netflix or demand some suspension of disbelief every two minutes.”
By contrast, Ridley says he’s trying to make the series “scientific, believable and ruthlessly accessible.”
“It’s hard to get reliable accuracy out of these early image generation models and fact checking bots; I couldn’t purge the trailer (above) of every scientific error and still get it done while the iron is hot. But we’re trying to get this right, and we’re improving fast.”
In terms of accessibility, Ridley is hitting that from two different angles.
1) Like the trailer, his series is expected to air for free on Odyssey, where no login is required and VPN viewers are welcome. Revenue will likely come from product placement and limited advertising.
2) The amateur futurist also plans to release his screenplays and raw notes into the public domain, providing “every available sentient being” the data and permissions they need to produce their own Legends content.
“At a time when everyone is worried about AI replacing jobs, this is an attempt to create jobs with AI, ideally create a new industry. For now let’s call it ‘decentralized AI film-making.’ Everyone should be free to run with Legends themselves and make money off of it as they see fit. You could have your favorite AI write a book in the Legends universe and sell the paperback or produce your own side episodes for upload at Odyssey. You could submit them to Apple TV for syndication or start a Legends store on Bonanza…there are a lot of possibilities.”
You can learn more and eventually see the screenplay at:
https://forum.shiresociety.com/t/hard-sci-fi-tv-series-legends-of-the-free-state-brings-nh-icons-to-life/14011
But first, Ridley and his AI teammates will have to prove themselves capable of telling a deeply human tale.
“To me this is a story that feels electrical. But the world might disagree. Watch the trailer if you like; decide if I’m on the right track, decide if you want to jump in and push this new genre toward its golden age.”
