by Drew Baldwin on February 28th, 2011
Last week, YouTube has pushed forward some initiatives to expand itself as a forum for political discourse and communication between officials and the general public.
Last Friday the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron responded from a pool of 10,000 questions posed by YouTube viewers. Topics ranged from violence in the Middle East, global arms trade, and tuition fees for U.K. students, reports the YouTube Blog.
In the interview, produced YouTube World View channel and Al Jazeera English, the Prime Minister shared his thoughts on what should be done in Libya, whether banks in the U.K. should pay increased taxes, and what Britain’s role is in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, YouTube invited viewers to submit questions to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), one of the most outspoken opponents of President Obama’s recent budget proposal. The YouTube Blog promised an interview in which Speaker Boehner will “answer top-voted text and video questions about the budget and spending, as well as other hot topics like the economy, jobs, health care and foreign policy.”
The process of narrowing down the questions will undoubtedly make use of the YouTube Moderator tool, frequently seen among interviews with
by Joshua Cohen on February 28th, 2011
Taiwan’s Next Media Animation TV is usually the go-to spot for timely, cartooned synopses and send-ups of important pop cultural events.
The first time NMA appeared on my radar was when I watched their interpretation of Tiger Woods acting less like a squeaky clean billion dollar spokesperson and more like the way he’s characterized in this Maino jam. Their turn around-time is ridiculous, too. Less than 12 hours after Oscar ceremonies wrapped up, NMA uploaded this video summary (with an unexpected, but sweet shout out to Norm MacDonald, who may or may not be huge in East Asia).
But for one of Charlie Sheen’s latest tirades, (who NMA is usually all over like a laugh track on a lowest-common-denominator CBS sitcom), Slate V beat the Taiwanese company to the punchline.
Producers at the video spin-off of the online current events and cultural magazine made use of the stupid easy animation tools at Xtranormal, took the “juiciest bits” of Charlie Sheen’s interview/rant/tirade with Alex Jones, and made a pair of CGI bears perform those bits with monotoned aplomb.
by Joshua Cohen on February 28th, 2011
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards was a 180+ minute affair full of half-hearted attempts to make the extravagant, star-studded ceremony attractive to a younger demographic.
Inception and Alec Baldwin provided the inspiration for an opening video that would’ve been far better executed by the MTV Movie Awards. Justin Timberlake messing around with an iPhone app to animate the Oscars’ stage just looked lame. And I could list a few more things that didn’t work out well for the show if I hadn’t taken a queue from hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway and been kinda whatevs about the whole thing.
But there was at least one moment when the producers of the awards took aim at appearing hip to the online-savvy cool kids and hit the mark. That happened after Franco and Hathaway introduced the Gregory Brothers’ contribution to the show.
The creators of Auto-Tune the News remixed clips from four of the past year’s biggest films – Harry Potter, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Twilight – into a musical number that concluded with Taylor Lautner’s abs. It wasn’t as great as Auto-Tune the News’ normal fare, but it was still good. The best thing about it, though was the fact the Gregory Brothers created it.
by Drew Baldwin on February 27th, 2011
Only a few hours remains before the Oscars, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is ramping up its web series The Road to the Oscars in anticipation for the big night.
Host Chris Harrison (Host of The Bachelor) guides us behind the scenes of a different aspect of this year’s telecast The series began February 18 and culminates the day of the awards in a ten day lead up on ABC’s video platform, sponsored by Hyundai.
With its goal of being “the most interactive awards show of all time,” the 83rd Annual Academy Awards has launched The Road to the Oscars as a part of its You’re Invited campaign, an unprecedented shift from its usual closed doors of exclusivity. In addition to its pay-per-view Oscars All Access show, which takes viewers live behind the scenes on the red carpet, at the awards show, and at the Governors Ball, the Academy has released an app for the iPhone and iPad through the Apple iTunes store.
by Joshua Cohen on February 26th, 2011
The night before the glitz and the glamour and the James Franco and the Anne Hathaway of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, Hollywood delivers the casual and the breezy and the independent and the Joel McHale on a beach in a tent for the Spirit Awards.
The Soup centerpiece and Community star will host Film Independent’s big night, with promises to make fun of Transfomers 2 and not not be racist nor misogynist nor grope any of the presenters. To see how he does – and to see who wins – tune into the Film Independent Spirit Awards tonight, Saturday, February 26 at 10PM EST/PST on IFC.
But if you want to catch the part of the event that’s better designed to show off all the pretty faces and dresses in attendance, you’ll have to tune in online a little earlier.
Film Independent and Dick Clark Productions will aire a live arrivals and red carpet webcast online starting today at 2:30PM EST / 11:30AM PST. Livestream is powering the broadcast, which will feature “multi-camera, multi-host coverage, including nominee interviews, expert commentary as well as fan‐generated questions and comments for hosts to ask the celebrities in attendance.” Web exclusive videos will also pepper the online broadcast.
by Joshua Cohen on February 25th, 2011
Howcast is an online destination, friended by YouTube that “empowers people with engaging, useful how-to information wherever, whenever they need to know how.” That includes concise, practical, and often times comical video tutorials on the educational, the useful, and the risque.
Through its vast distribution network, Howcast reportedly streams tens of millions of videos a month to those in need of knowing how to do whatever is they need to do (I account for at least four of those monthly streams due to an inability to remember how to dress myself for formal occasions). And through its tens of millions of monthly streams, Howcast has been able to entice big name sponsors to pay for Howcast-produced branded content. It’s a model that’s putting the company on a path towards profitability (if it’s not already there).
So, with it’s business operating effectively, the principals at Howcast asked themselves, “What more can we do with the how-to genre of videos?” Their answer is Party Builders.
The six-part web series is a diversion from Howcast’s normal, didactic fare and ventures into the realm of high production-value documentary, going behind-the-scenes at a handful of select, extravagant parties and showing viewers how the events come to be.
“We strive to constantly elevate the how-to genre of videos and we’re excited to uncover niche interests such as ‘party building’ and provide high-quality Web content celebrating such interests,” wrote Darlene Liebman, Co-founder and Vice President of Production at Howcast over e-mail. “Party Builders is the next level of how-to web series and provides audiences with the creative and complex processes that go into some of the world’s most exciting parties in a high-quality and engaging package.”
by Joshua Cohen on February 25th, 2011
CollegeHumor has made the transition from the internet’s online video hit factory with a batting average that makes Ichiro Suzuki look like Casey at the Bat, to the internet’s online video hit factory with a success rate approaching 1.000 and a stellar lineup of fantastic web series.
The company launched its Fall programming slate last October, which signaled a slight change in direction from its normal college-coed and twentysomething-oriented viral video fodder.
CollegeHumor co-founder and CEO Ricky Van Veen told Mike Shields at MediaWeek his production team was “trying to shift from one-off viral videos to a full slate of shows.” That strategy saw the launch of programs like Full Benefits, Hello My Name Is, Very Mary-Kate, and the celebrity-studded Star of the Week.
You should give all those titles a watch. They’re as entertaining as they are popular, and they’re very popular. Their productions also forced CollegeHumor to dive into, and take a closer look at the web series world, something it hasn’t fully immersed itself in since 2008 with Street Fighter: The Later Years.
The company is now using its experience from producing those Fall shows to launch a trio of programs for the Spring. “In the Fall, we saw our first real success with series,” says Sam Reich, CollegeHumor’s President of Original Content. “Now, we’re taking what we’ve learned and creating bigger, better shows.” Those include:
by Drew Baldwin on February 25th, 2011
Trading on its tradition of hyper-exclusivity, the Oscars is offering an unprecedented opportunity for cord cutters to experience the red carpet, the awards show, and the Governors Ball with Oscar All Access, an interactive live stream of the event.
“The Academy has lowered the velvet rope, and you are invited to walk in,” touts the Oscar All Access promo on Oscar.com (above). The premium live stream service, which costs $4.99, allows online viewers to “experience the oscars like never before,” including access to “360 cam” technology that allows users to navigate the event.
The Oscar All Access campaign also includes a ‘Backstage Pass’ application for the Apple iPhone and the iPad for $0.99. “With Oscar Backstage Pass, you get more stars, more glamour, more of everything you love about the Oscars,” the site reads.
I have to say, I’m impressed. With Oscars All Access, ABC and the Oscars are exploring the more engaging and interactive experiences offered online, and by attaching a price tag we may see a new model for appointment viewing online. What’ll be next?
