by Marc Hustvedt on January 11th, 2011
This one wins no points in the most original name competition, but hey, neither did COPS. This week Alloy Entertainment is starting its push for its latest brand-backed teen web series,
Talent: The Casting Call, with the lucky final six contestants (out of thousands from a nationwide search) flown out to LA to face off in hopes of becoming the next ’superstar.’
Nothing surprising here, as Alloy has played this card before with the prequel reality version of its Private web series, where it faced a final three actresses against each other for the last remaining role in the scripted drama. Sanna Haynes ended up winning the spot, and while the performance was solid, this wasn’t exactly a superstar vehicle for the young actor. So you’ll have to understand our skepticism of the whole premise of this one.
The six duking it out are Danielle Kalil, Suzi Oravec, Logen Hall, Anna Metheny, Sade Ogunfowra and Grace Doty. Watch episode 1 below:
Talent is part of Alloy Entertainment’s first official digital slate, which rounds out with last fall’s First Day and the Zoey Dean novel adaptation, Hollywood is like High School With Money. Elizabeth Chambers, who some of us remember from her days at Current TV, is hosting the casting call series.
by Joshua Cohen on January 11th, 2011
Two WGA New Media Writing Award categories were added to the lineup for the 2011 ceremonies, including Outstanding Achievement in Writing Original New Media and Outstanding Achievement in Writing Derivative New Media. Today, the Writers Guild announced the nominees:
Outstanding Achievement in Writing Original New Media
Anyone But Me – “The Real Thing,” ”Identity Crisis,” “Girl Talk,” ”Naming Things,” “Curtain Up” – Story by Susan Miller, Tina Cesa Ward, Written by Susan Miller, Tina Cesa Ward
All’s Faire – “Episode 1,” “Episode 4,” Episode 5,” Episode 6,” “Episode 7” – Written by Thom Woodley
Concierge: The Series – “Episode 1: We’ve Got Flash,” “Episode 2: Complimentary Sandwiches,” “Episode 3: Perfect Resume Builder” – Written by Timothy Cooper
The Five Faces Project – “The Shadow” – Written by Michael A. Nixon
Madison Avery – “Zac” – Written by Gregory Storm
Outstanding Achievement in Writing Derivative New Media
The 3rd Floor: The Office Webisode – “Webisode One: Moving On,” “Webisode Two: Lights, Camera, Action!,” “Webisode Three: The Final Product” – Written by Kelly Hannon, Jonathan Hughes, Mary Wall
Frank vs. Lutz – “Strip Pong,” “Tear Jerks,” “Brainstorm” – 30 Rock New Media – Written by Jon Haller
The above nominees and eventual winners are selected by a panel comprised entirely of Guild members, judging solely on written material. Only programs containing “work that was written and produced under a WGA collective bargaining agreement and for which the Guilds have determined the writing credits,” were considered.
by Joshua Cohen on January 11th, 2011
When weathering a political climate of hate, one coping mechanism is satire. Animators Wayne Stamps, David Corbett, and Tyree Dillihay employ this technique well.
B-Rock: The First Term is a new web series featuring our Commander in Chief as a chain-smoking smooth talker with William Shatner’s cadence who turns into a hulking mass of muscle when he doesn’t get his Cool nicotine fix. All the hyperbolic trappings of cartooned political commentary are present, including an emaciated Ann Coulter making ludicrous claims about the President’s past, a Barack Obama who’s good with the ladies and soft on criminals, and a Rahm Emanuel who yells a lot of expletives. The series is like Current’s SuperNews with a focus on the White House.
Stamps created B-Rock and Stamps, Corbett, and Dillihay are all on board as executive producers. Aaron Simpson at Cold Hard Flash reports the trio have completed 12 episodes of the series.
by Marc Hustvedt on January 10th, 2011
Want to show off a three-screen internet service as a universal entertainment platform? Well, you’re going to need some entertainment content that isn’t already locked up in prohibitive platform-specific licensing deals. (Premium TV, I’m looking at you there.) So why not use a polished web series instead? AT&T did just that in its national media push for U-Verse by featuring Blake Calhoun’s Exposed in the campaign that launched this past fall.
We asked Calhoun, who directed the series, just how this opportunity came to be. “It was really completely out of the blue,” he told us. “AT&T wanted to feature a web series in their new U-Verse campaign and we’re told they reviewed close to 200 shows, then narrowed it down to three (we don’t know who the others were), and ultimately chose Exposed. So far the spot has run for two 13-week cycles (including during the World Series) and is being considered for a third, and has featured the iPhone, Blackberry Torch and the new Windows phone.”
by Drew Baldwin on January 10th, 2011
That 70′s Show star Laura Prepon just sold her successful web series Neighbros as a half-hour scripted comedy to an undisclosed television network.
“[It's] really, really exciting because I’ll be able to direct the pilot,” Prepon told TV Squad. “We created it. I’m so excited about it because we worked so hard on that web series it’s ridiculous.” The series, which stars Scott Michael Foster of Greek and Jamie Jorn, is “about a couple of dudes that live by each other” and is filmed in their actual apartment building.
Prepon, who writes and directs the series, put together the series on a super low budget of favors and cupcakes. “I was the one-woman crew on it,” she said. “I direct and I edit it, and if I’m lucky one of my friends will hold a boom mic for me. Other than that it’s me and the two leads.”
The series, which launched in April of last year, has garnered only 142,035 views and 1,090 subscribers to its YouTube channel, with the highest viewed episode “Naked Tuesday” earning under 16,000 views—which goes to show that producers don’t necessarily need Fred numbers
by Joshua Cohen on January 10th, 2011
The Guggenheim Museum and YouTube recently collaborated on YouTube Play, an event intended to elevate online video’s status and place it on the level of high art. The Vimeo Awards attempted something similar. The destination for online video auteurs honored some of the most creative talents in new media, and by doing so, showcased how “some little fat girl in Ohio” has transformed film into an art form.
While art institutions and video-sharing sites try to position online video onto the upper echelon’s of our creative cultural hierarchy, other art institutions are just starting to discover the medium. Last week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art launched a web series aimed to market the museum and educate the online masses.
Connections is an audio slideshow in the vein of MediaStorm or Magnum’s In Motion. Staff from the MET “offer their personal perspectives on works of art in the Museum’s vast collection.” Hear Melanie Holcomb explain how subway maps and Medieval Art allow us to – just for a moment – play God or listen to Nadine Orenstein opine on the ideal man. Four minute installments of the series, meant to both advertise the museum and make its art more relatable, will be released weekly throughout 2011.
by Marc Hustvedt on January 8th, 2011
As more details surface today in the chilling shooting in at a political gathering at a Tucson, Arizona Safeway that has left six indivuduals dead and 11 wounded including Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who remains in critical condition. It appears the shooter may have been sending some early hints at his actions through YouTube. The AP is reporting that the suspect in custody, 22 year-old Jared Lee Loughner, posted a few creepy videos last month on his realatively new YouTube channel, Classitup10.
“Hello, my name is Jared Lee Loughner…this video is my introduction to you!” wrote Loughner in My favorite activity is conscience dreaming; the greatest inspiration for my political business information. Some of you don’t dream – sadly.”
by TheWillofDC on January 8th, 2011
At CES 2011 on Las Vegas Thursday, four of the top most successful YouTube content creators gathered with Tubefilter’s Marc Hustvedt to share their secrets on how they became superstars and transitioned their hobby into a sustainable business. The lineup: iJustine, Philip DeFranco, MysteryGuitarMan, Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch.
iJustine quit her job 4 years ago before YouTube was ever paying the bills because from her breakout video hit, iphone bill, she saw the possibility of what was to come from building an audience and bringing her life to video. For her the biggest part about creating and growing a successful YouTube channel is knowing your audience, serving their needs and expanding that demographic. She also credits her success with being a lover of social networking. She has diversified outside of YouTube to actively participate in every social network so that her audience always has a way to connect with her, which in turn allows her to expand her audience.
MysteryGuitarMan (Joe Penna) shared that the key to his successes was organizing a schedule and sticking to it. He let his audience know when to expect content so that they would build a loyalty to his channel and come back on days they knew he would be uploading new content.
