Louise’s gang leader ex-boyfriend is in prison, so now she runs a community shelter for local outcasts. Blair believes she’s possessed by the spirit of her ancestor: a sorceress burned at the stake. Ziggy is the lead singer of a band that can’t gain a following because he’s changed its name so many times. These are some of the counter-culture types that you will meet in the fictional city of Holwenstall, the centerpiece of the web series Oblivion.
Other than funding, the biggest challenge for content creators is striking that delicate balance between narrative and brand. It’s a fine line between integral and intrusive when it comes to developing a branded entertainment piece that simultaneously delivers the compelling stories audiences crave, and the measurable ROI brands demand. And everyone seems to be walking the tightrope in the sometimes futile balancing act between product messaging and story integrity.
But, in the case of Altoids’ new mobile and web series, Brainstorm, in partnership with Fox Mobile Studios and Omelet, the brand integration is anything but delicate. In fact, it’s so heavy handed that it may actually border on genius.
Set in the fictitious ad agency, Yogurt, who, in the premiere episode, we find battling a round of layoffs after a huge creative misstep with one of their recent commercials that, you’ll see is more than a little suggestive, when played in fast forward — a subtle, tongue-in-cheek commentary on DVRs and the state of broadcast TV spots that prompts Don Yolk, Yogurt President, to implore, “Doesn’t anyone watch commercials at regular speed anymore?”
Tim Curcio just ran into Nick Ross, whom he hasn’t seen since high school and would have preferred it stay that way. Because, though Tim married his high school sweetheart, Nick took her virginity. Now Nick wants like hell to be Tim’s best friend, while Tim would rather see Nick get hit by a truck. That’s Old Friends, though Tim would never describe them as such.
Bottom line, this show is good. From top to bottom: premise, performances, and production all conspire to create one solid web-series with some serious legs. Tim and Nick both from NYC’s Upright Citizen Brigade not only play Tim and Nick, but created and write the show. Their last project, Park Bench, was a crowd favorite last summer. And Matt Cady as DP and producer deserves serious props for its beautiful production value and crisp look. The three of them partners in their production company, Metropolitan Bait and Tackle are working with producer Dave Title and Crossroads Films to bring this nice new show to a computer screen near you. And thank god for that.
First of all, the uncomfortable tension between Curcio and Ross will have you squirming with laughter. Curcio as a character is both slightly annoying and totally justified in his discomfort with Ross’s inappropriate reminders of their shared past. You love and hate both of these guys, Curcio just needs to get over it and Ross just needs to stop being such a douchbag about it, even though it’s hilarious how uncouth he is. Especially funny is in episode 2 when Ross first sees Curcio’s wife, Andrea (played by Amy Flanagan), at a bar and mentions, as a complete non-sequitur, “I took your virginity.” Why? Because he’s a douchbag…or maybe a sociopath.
t between one and half and three minutes a piece, each of these eps leaves you wanting more. There are six episodes so far with a seventh on the way, guest starring Mary Elizabeth Ellis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Fellow Tubefilter contributor Gennefer Snowfield (@Gennefer) excitedly tweeted on the closing night of the NYTVF, “+1 for web series!,” in response to the Jeremy Readleaf’s pilot, Odd Jobs taking the coveted FOX/15 Gigs development deal. Really though, this accomplishment is a footnote in a festival that has already gone to the web. The floodgates have opened, and Web Television is firmly in place as the stop for independent television.
Of the pilots presented, whether or not they had expressly identified themselves as a web series, well over half have already been distributed on the web, or have plans for distributing over the web in the near future (many looking for distro deals with major content networks). Ironically coming off of Industry Day, where panelist Rick Rosen explained “we just can’t make money off the web!”, the epoch of all this Web TV fever was the jam packed Digital Day. A number of companies and content creators discussed all of the ways in which they have been successful and made money off the web. In fact, at one point, after seeing both MSN and EQAL pitch products, I thought to myself, “have we gone too commercial?”
Plenty of juicy tidbits released today from Crackle’s highly anticipated action thriller web series The Bannen Way. It’s no secret we’re hot on this one, and for good reason. It’s one of the rare few web series that landed a major studio deal on just a trailer. Sure it was a slick and sexy teaser shot on the RED One, but still an indie series from the get-go.
Of course now it’s a full-on Sony Pictures Television project, and is currently shooting in downtown Los Angeles prepping for its January 2010 release on Crackle.com. Creators Jesse Warren, who directs the series, and Mark Gantt, who plays the titular con man Neal Bannen, have pulled together a cast worth writing about like Michael Ironside as Bannen’s police chief father and Robert Forster as his mafia boss uncle. Former General Hospital and Las Vegas star Vanessa Marcil plays Bannen’s love interest Madison and Michael Lerner is set to be a “special guest star.”
This is what awaits you if you visit the companion website for the upcoming MTV Networks’ web series, Valemont, which will premieres tomorrow for a 12-episode run on MTV before heading to an online-only release of the remaining 23 episodes. I had a chance to speak with co-creator Brent Friedman of Electric Farm about this unique transmedia experience that blends product placement, ARG elements, and web content into an exciting murder mystery plotline that may or may not have a supernatural twist.
The multiplatform series stars a number of notable young actors like Nikki Blonsky, Kristen Hager, Georgina Reilly and Six Feet Under’s Eric Balfour. For the specifics of how this project came together, we asked Friedman to fill us in.
“Valemont originated about a year ago when Electric Farm Entertainment began discussions with MTV about producing a branded entertainment series,” said Friedman. “I created the show with Christian Taylor, an award-winning TV writer/producer with credits like Lost and Six Feet Under, Working with a former EFE employee, Andrew Black, Christian and I broke out the whole season, including a plan for the interactive layers. Then Christian wrote all 35 episodes and oversaw production on the series in Toronto this summer. Meanwhile, Nina Bargiel designed the ARG and wrote the bonus content for the show. All of which has allowed me to sit back and oversee the big picture, making sure that the series and the online site are in sync and fulfilling the vision we all had from the beginning of delivering a true transmedia experience.”
When the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) selections came out back in August, we knew the increased amount of web series in the mix would shake things up come festival time. Last week’s festival capped off with Saturday night’s winner ceremony in Manhattan.
Notable wins from web series scene included Johnny B Homeless, a comedy web series that snatched the most audience votes during screenings at the festival. Creator Al Thompson and Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson were both on hand to receive the award for the series about a semi-pro couch surfer.
Odd Jobs, which we’ve been following since its launch back in February, scored creator Jeremy Redleaf a development deal with Fox Television Studios through its web-only 15 Gigs arm, winning the “FtvS 15 Gigs of Fame” prize. Best Web Series pilot went to Canadian Film Centre-funded entry My Pal, Satan, who’s snappy theme song also won honors. And MERRIme.com creator-star Kaily Smith won best actress for he work as the lovelorn socialite.
That’s right, True Believers, you no longer have to wait for the next Marvel movie walk-on to get your Stan Lee fix. The man that created such beloved comic book characters as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and The Hulk, has come to the Internet. In partnership with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, beloved self-promoter, Stan Lee, has created the motion comic series Time Jumper.
The series, which first launched this summer at Comic-Con, is the story of Terry Dixon, a twenty-year-old college student, who is recruited by H.U.N.T. (Heroes United, Noble and True) corporation. With his older brother’s mysterious disappearance and his father’s untimely death, Terry’s the only person able to operate the Articulus, a time travel device––that resembles a circa 90’s era Game Boy, more than anything else––invented by Terry’s father Arthur and keyed to the Dixon family genetic code. This and the dastardly attempts of Charity Vyle, the diabolical leader of the criminal anagram C.U.L.T. (Council of Unstoppable, Lethal Terrorists) who has somehow managed to hack Terry’s DNA and ride his signal through time, to disrupt history thrust Terry into the role of the reluctant hero while, in typical Stan Lee fashion, trying to juggle the tropes of life as an average college student.
Time Jumper is written by Omar Ponce with illustrations by Anthony Diecidue and features the voices of Natasha Henstridge as Charity Vyle and Stan Lee, himself, as the head of H.U.N.T., Lee Excelsior.
|
|
|
|
