A Synchronis Premiere

At 9PM EST Wednesday night, Synchronis TV debuted 35, the first ever scripted narrative to be broadcast live over the internet. Three cameras watched the drama unfold in a Harlem apartment building, while a producer fed their live-edited footage into Ustream, which distributed the show across the web.

Like most firsts, the beginning was a little rough.  ###

Sound is an issue. In the first two minutes there is none, and in the remaining five minutes the audio is often garbled, and at times causes the dialogue to become undecipherable. Video is okay. It’s somewhat pixilated and fast movements can blur across the screen. But technical glitches are to be expected. They are limitations of a live medium that’s so new it’s too young to count its age in years.

What matters is that the show is good.

Being live adds an element of excitement to the viewing experience, and being the first of its kind makes the airing of Synchronis’ 35 somewhat of an historical event. For sure the hype of that fact is packed somewhere into my praise, but it definitely doesn’t account for all of it.

The expertise of the cast and crew is clearly evident. The camera work flows, the story intrigues, and the acting appears effortless. When an unexpected, at least partially unwelcome visitor shows up in the middle of the night to an otherwise seemingly quiet couple’s home, the tension is palpable and I found myself asking what’s going to happen next.

Stay tuned to www.synchronis.tv at 9PM EST from to find out.