by Marc Hustvedt on May 11th, 2011
Let’s face it, the low hanging fruit on YouTube is pop—music, TV, reality stars, blockbusters—whatever is consuming an uneven share of our vocal chords makes for prime targets in online video. Hundreds of channels looking for material to program in a relentless deluge of almost 24/7 video. But sometimes, it’s the zig while other zag that scores some heavy attention.
Instead of taking on their usual suspects of viral video stars, YouTube stars and trainwreck TV stars, The Fine Brothers opted this week to shift into some hard news for their Kids React web series. The Bros. went right for it, Osama Bin Laden. To be fair, the video was actually President Obama’s speech to the nation from last Sunday night announcing the death of the infamous terror leader, but the subject was still a sharp one.
The video (below) already has over 500,000 views on YouTube since its release on Sunday, with a staggering 13,783 comments. And mainstream media have been all over it—TIME, Entertainment Weekly, CBC, Jezebel, The Huffington Post, SF Chronicle and CBS News.
by Marc Hustvedt on May 10th, 2011
Live web shows have one insurmountable hurdle every time they fire up the TriCasters and go live—alerting would-be viewers, wherever they may be grazing, and wooing them over to their stream. Television has spent years building up the notion of appointment viewing, anchored by daily Primetime programming (8:00 to 11:00 PM), that became a fixed piece of the American daily schedule. But as the internet and DVRs disrupted appointment viewing, moving us to a VOD-centric video culture where everything is (or should be) on demand at all times, the rise of live web shows has been stuttered as it tries to find footing with the modern viewer.
Ustream is the heavyweight in live video viewing, reaching more than 50 million unique people each month with live streams of everything from Bald Eagles to balding princes. Now the company is doubling down on Facebook with the launch of its impressive new App this week, that lets producers insert themselves into the social firehose, for free. Before, Ustream charged for such a custom application, but now it’s going for scale as channels can directly link within Fan Pages.
by Joshua Cohen on May 10th, 2011
When individuals with means and an entertainment background first discover a piece of online content that makes them realize the dogs on skateboards analogy no longer defines the medium, they undoubtedly conceive of a few business ideas that at first seem novel and easy to execute, but soon appear hackneyed and incredibly difficult.
One of those business ideas is the New Media Destination/Incubation Studio. The thought process goes like this: “Wow! People are creating a ton of great stuff to watch online! I’ll just aggregate the best of it on this website with a clever name and pay for super talented people to create more online videos to screen on this website with a clever name. Some of the videos will obviously go viral and others we can incubate online and then sell to television. Did a zombie just nom on my head? Because this is a no brainer! Zing!”
The execution of that business idea takes the form of now defunct sites like Independent Comedy Network, 60Frames, Super Deluxe, and Dot Comedy and now currently killing it sites like Funny or Die.
The original online playground of Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy first functioned as a video repository for Ferrell, McKay, and company’s comedic impulses while hurrying up and waiting on multi-million dollar movie sets. But soon after its launch, the site transformed into the go-to destination for culturally relevant comedy and celebrities seeking refuge from their own images and a helluva lot of viewers who like to watch their attempts.
by Joshua Cohen on May 10th, 2011
Yesterday, YouTube announced the addition of 3,000 movie titles from major motion picture studios to its rental service. That gives the internet’s largest video sharing site a sum total of somewhere around 6,000 films available for users to stream for a fee. That fee ranges anywhere from Free to $3.99 for a 24-hour viewing window.
The new titles come from distribution deals YouTube made with Warner Bros., Universal, and Sony and feature classics – like “Caddyshack, Goodfellas, Scarface, and Taxi Driver” – along with recent releases – like “Inception, The King’s Speech, Little Fockers, The Green Hornet and Despicable Me” – some of which will be made available on the same day as their DVD and Blu-ray release.
The movie title acquisition is part of YouTube’s multi-pronged approach to bring higher quality content and longer viewing sessions to the site.
The recent purchase of Next New Networks and subsequent launch of YouTube’s Creator Institute and Next Up highlight how the company is attempting to foster talent internally in hopes of elevating on-the-rise content creators from the level of popular amateur to well-known professional. The addition of popular studio films rounds out YouTube’s content offerings, helping it create viewing experiences for its 143+ million monthly visitors, regardless of whether or not those visitors want to watch homegrown online videos, indie films, or blockbuster releases.
by Joshua Cohen on May 9th, 2011
Amy Hiedemann and Nick Noonan met while studying at Boston’s Berklee Collegee of Music (the Alma mater of members of such bands like the the Dixie Chicks, Dream Theater, and Aerosmith). The now engaged couple (sorry single boys and girls!) of six years this September first collaborated on school projects in Back Bay in 2008. Stints with other bands didn’t work out after graduation, so the duo decided to try their luck as as a pair.
Karmin (a neologism created by Nick and Amy that means “song,’ with altered spelling to hint ‘karma’”) is the couple’s band’s name, under the banner of which they uploaded their first video to YouTube in August of 2010. What started off as reengineered renditions of pop songs sung over a six-string and a wooden box, taped live in recording sessions with budget music video interstitials are now reengineered renditions of pop songs shot beautifully from a single camera angle capturing the whole of Amy and Nick’s insane musical abilities.
In nine months, Karmin has racked up 225,000+ YouTube subscribers, putting them in 91st place on the Most Subscribed All Time list for Musicians. Their talent and quick rise to online notoriety (their recent cover of Feel Me Now has been watched over 11 million times) attracted the likes of Ellen, Best Buy, and this guy.
by Drew Baldwin on May 9th, 2011
Today My Damn Channel launched Versailles (pronounced Ver-sales), a new original comedy starring David Hunt, Fred Willard, Martha MacIsaac, Eve Gordon, and featuring William H. Macy and Patricia Heaton.
The weekly 8 episode series is about a brother and sister who broadcast public access talk show You’re In Sports! from the basement of their local library in order to “live out their fantasies and escape the legacy of their dearly departed mother, a TV star and B-movie actress.”
Hoyt Hoogerhyde (Willard) finaces the public access sports talks show for his wife Summer Tickler-Hoogenhyde (Gordon) and her grown sibling Colin Tickler (Hunt). Hunt’s real wife Heaton plays the late mother, ’60s era B-movie actress Evelyn Anders (whose career included films No Phone of Her Own, It’s In The Jeans, Please Don’t Frug on My Bippy, Kill, Hippie! Kill! Kill!). Evelyn’s former student is hilariously portrayed by William H. Macy, as himself.
Versailles is produced by FourBoys Films (co-founded by Hunt and Heaton) and is directed by Hunt. New episodes on
by John Reding on May 9th, 2011
Whether you’re promoting a movie or generating buzz for a new toothpaste, chances are that you’ve reached out to YouTube talent in the last few months.
Listen in on any PR agency pitch, studio marketing meeting or digital content panel and you’ll undoubtedly hear the talk turn to a “YouTuber Strategy.” To Hollywood’s credit, YouTube talent are becoming the norm in any meaningful social media and digital marketing plan where the goal is to have users interacting with your content on their own terms and through their own networks. But why hasn’t this mania extended beyond the PR department? Sure there have been some wildly successful exceptions, but more often than not using this talent for more than promotion and content discovery has been anecdotal.
To traditional media execs, the “emerging” talent on YouTube and its platform remain, well, emerging. With a mixture of envy, adulation and fear, these execs cast a curious eye toward YouTubers. But promotional value alone short-sells the incredible authority YouTubers have as cultural touchstones and next-gen programmers.
Here are some hard-earned lessons from a former traditional media exec; what we’ll call the “5 Things Never To Say To A YouTuber.”
by Joshua Cohen on May 9th, 2011
Magnum is a Unilever-owned mostly European ice cream brand known for its chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars on sticks and risque ad campaigns of ladies in semi sexually suggestive positions eating chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars on sticks.
This year, the powers that be at the 14-year-old brand finally decided to seriously enter the US market (though they long used US stars to market their wares overseas). They tapped renowned German designer and creative director at haute couture fashion house Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld to create a series of online films featuring The O.C. star Rachel Bilson to promote the launch. Obviously.
There are three shorts in the online video campaign. All star the calming and soothing effects a Magnum ice cream bar (now available at your local grocery store in six flavors including Classic, Almond, Double Caramel, Double Chocolate, White and Dark) can have on an incredibly attractive individual who is chased by an excitable mob and equally attractive significant other, has a tough time being photographed, or is in need of a muse. They also all highlight why Lagerfeld is an household name in the fashion – and not film – industry.
