by Logan Rapp on July 6th, 2010
With plenty of press building up to its online debut today, I decided to go on a personal media blackout for SOLO: The Series to come in cold as any average potential web series viewer. It’s a sci-fi show, with some space ship special effects. All right, SOLO, I’m listening.
The reality show in question is set on a ship headed for Mars and back, with everyman dunce Scott Drizhal (creator/writer/actor Jonathan Nail) alone save for the AI aboard the ship. When the show is canceled, everyone on the technical crew on Earth is fired, leaving Jack Spratt (Jay Caputo) stealing equipment to try and bring Scott home.
And speaking of the wife, if scene stealing a criminal offense, Michele Boyd (The Guild) would be doing a life sentence at this point. In the pilot she doesn’t show up until about halfway through, and up until that point I wasn’t sure about this series, but the moment she did, the words “thank God” fell from my mouth – unintentionally in sync with her line. She’s the sole reason why and how these disparate elements are able to merge into a cohesive whole. As Scott’s wife Rebecca, she’s able to play the pissed off spouse without succumbing to the ever-lingering trap of Shrew Wife Syndrome. It’s an easy trap to fall into, and difficult to avoid, but from what I’ve seen, she’s managing without any trouble (call me).
by Joshua Cohen on July 6th, 2010
The good news is in the year 2137 humans are still living on planet Earth. The bad news is in the year 2137 humans are still living on planet Earth.
According to the The Onion, in 127 years the USA will have devolved into a united confederation of corporately owned territories with its citizens gladly welcoming the detonation of doomsday devices. The satirical publication’s latest send up of local and broadcast news outlets is an epic, 12-minute, mini-feature dubbed, Future: News from the Year 2137. As the New York Times calls it in their exclusive preview of the video, Future is a recovered newscast from “a ruinous future America.”
The video, which is scheduled to launch today after a year in the making, differs from The Onion’s other 300+ online video offerings in two ways: 1) The length, and 2) the cost. Traditionally a totally free publication relying solely on advertising revenue to cover production costs and turn a profit (both online and in print), The Onion is selling downloads of Future on iTunes. You can own your own copy later today for the low cost of $2.
by Marc Hustvedt on July 6th, 2010
The internet scientists at Know Your Meme are getting so good at tapping the juju of online memes, it now seems they can actually predict the future. Last week’s episode, “Troll Bait” (below) opened with a fortuitous intro explaining how some (un)lucky folks make supreme targets for attacks by those increasingly numerous internet trolls. Their prime example? None other than YouTube discovery turned tween-pop heartthrob, Justin Bieber.
They even called out 4chan, the anonymous message board so often the origin of the web’s most popular memes (and pranks)—think LOLcats, Rickrolls and even Tay Zonday’s breakout “Chocolate Rain“—as the most likely assailant. Well, over the weekend the Bieber attack became a reality.
The 4chan ‘/b/tards’ launched a two-pronged attack on Bieber, first by taking advantage of a security hole in YouTube that let them redirect fans searching for Bieber’s music videos to porn sites and even that rumor that the 16 year-old singer had died. Then, in another one of their vote-rigging schemes, inundated a fan voting site to decide which country “wants Bieber the most” to put shadowy hellhole North Korea in the top spot. Well done.
by Logan Rapp on July 6th, 2010
Let Me In’s trailer is a textbook method of inserting a trailhead to an ARG without it seeming forced, and tying in with the film’s characters and plot. Only it wasn’t a trailhead. Whoops.
by James C. Roberts III on July 6th, 2010
This is the latest column from Tubefilter News’ resident new media legal expert, James C. Roberts. Last time he tackled reader questions on ownership of intellectual property in new media and online entertainment. This week readers wanted to know about where to set up shop, in the legal sense, when starting a digital media company. Also be sure to check out James’ thoughts on the YouTube v. Viacom ruling last week and its effects on copyright protections in online video.
Remember: Your mileage may vary, or to put it another way, these answers are not legal advice. How the law applies to you will depend upon the facts of the situation. Talk with a lawyer about those facts. In some cases, talk also with an accountant.
Q. I live in Los Angeles and I want to start a digital media company. I have heard that startups should be incorporated in some other state—like Nevada or Delaware. Does this make sense?
A. We usually advise California-based startups to incorporate in California if: that’s where their main office will be; that’s where their management and people (or most of them) will be; and/or that’s where the bulk of their business will be. Incorporating elsewhere increases burdens that a startup does not need.
by Marc Hustvedt on July 2nd, 2010
An interesting update on the $9.99/month Hulu Plus service which was announced this week after long speculation of Hulu moving to a paid subscription service. While it seems like a classic example of the web’s freemium model, it turns out nothing is that simple in the land of Hollywood content licensing.
What we’re hearing from sources who are closely familiar with the new service is that viewers shouldn’t expect to see all of the content they are used to watching through Hulu.com, as several of the studios who were not equity partners in Hulu—like Sony, Warner Bros. and MGM—did not agree to participate in Hulu Plus.
If you look closely at Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s blog post announcing the service earlier this week, he does allude to some content not making it into the paid service, though does say “almost all.”
by Joshua Cohen on July 2nd, 2010
If you’re a child of the ’80s, you’ve heard the myth. With a combination of the right speed, trajectory, and skill, you can jump over the flagpole in the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES.
No doubt you knew someone at your elementary school, who knew someone else at another elementary school, who completed the Arthurian task to become revered by his peers and crowned king of all Nintendo. Or you lied. After your sore fingers and calloused thumbs could endure the repetitive task of trying no longer, you told people you had done it yourself. And that it was awesome. Still, whether or not it could be done at all remained a mystery. Until now.
The meticulous video game junkies at GameTrailers.com are debunking and verifying some of the biggest video game myths of all time. In their brand new series, Pop-Fiction, urban legends whispered in the halls of E3 are posited, explained, and then put to the test. It’s basically “what would happen if Mythbusters aired on G4 instead of Discovery.”
With a wonderful blend of niche and pop culture nostalgia and empirical evidence, the three episodes of Pop-Fiction have amassed over 600,000 views on GameTrailers alone. Check them out to see if you can play as Master Hand, find Zelda’s fabled Chris Houlihan room, and get Mario enough ups to clear that flagpole.
by Joshua Cohen on July 1st, 2010
Canadian media behemoth and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Media yesterday announced the exclusive Canadian premiere of Prom Queen: The Homecoming. Produced by Michael Eisner’s new media production house, Vuguru and Big Fantastic, the third installment in the popular Prom Queen series is set to debut on July 5 across Rogers’ Citytv.com “multi-screen initiative.” Over the coming weeks, our neighbors to the North will be able to see a total of 22 episodes on a number of Rogers Media websites and on the Nissan-sponsored “Shorts in the CIty” iPad and iPhone apps.
The release of Season 3 of Prom Queen has been a long time coming. Big Fantastic wrapped production on the series in the second half of 2009 around the same time Vuguru announced their multi-million dollar investment and distribution deal with Rogers Media. Presumably, between now and then, the good people at Vuguru and Rogers have been pitching the show to potential sponsors and working on a feasible distribution strategy. The fact that Prom Queen was already a finished product might actually explain why that process has taken so long.
It may seem like it’s an easier sell to sponsors if the show is nicely wrapped up and ready for delivery, but brands are more likely to jump on board if they can influence production. After everything’s shot, your advertising options are limited. There’s no longer an opportunity for brand references or product placement within the storyline. That leaves you with pre-rolls, lower-thirds, “Sponsored By” spots and other types of advertising that live around or on top of the video. That’s not to say no brand will sponsor a finished product – Hair Spray presented the first season of Prom Queen and had no presence within the storyline – it’s just that it may be more difficult to find one.
In late 2009, Vuguru and Rogers Media announced plans to produce 12 web series in 2010. With none out the gate so far, they’re a little behind schedule. Rogers’ upcoming Canadian release of Prom Queen: The Homecoming is one of the first joint actions we’ve seen from the two companies since they inked the deal. The second is an anecdote we heard from Big Fantastic principal Chris McCaleb, who let us know Rogers is doing its part to promote the series:
Our friend Doug Perkins (who actually has a cameo in the new series) was in Toronto recently at a Blue Jays game, and he told us they showed an ad for Prom Queen: The Homecoming on the big screen. That’s pretty wild.
No word yet on when Season 3 of Prom Queen will hit MLB scoreboards or computer screens in the US.
