by Adam Wright on November 24th, 2009
New Media, Transmedia, Web Video, Web Series, Web Television, whatever you want to call “it,” “it” is the future. Anyone reading Tubefilter, which has a mission “to grow the audience of web television,” knows this. Considering this, the traditional media complex is not going anywhere anytime soon. Too often the traditional media industry belittles internet video, which is why it is refreshing to see a media mainstay, like the Writer’s Guild East pursuing an active role in promoting new media.
The Writer’s Guild 2.0 initiative could very well help close the divide between traditional and new media. This initiative corralled a slew of new media signatories (full list below) and brought them together to form a New Media Caucus within the guild.
Latest list of WGAe’s new media signatories:
9am Meeting – Original animated web series.
AGBK – A Brooklyn-based production company involved in the creation and production of web series, short films for the web, branded entertainment/web commercials and music videos.
Allevon – Original animated web series. (In production)
CJP Digital – CJP Digital produces several web series – all live action, including The Temp Life
Concierge: The Series – Original live action web series.
Confirmed Bachelors – Original animated web series.
Dinosaur Diorama TV – Production company – creator of several live action web series, The Burg.
Duder – Original live action web series. Webby nominated. 22 complete episodes online.
The Hayley Project – Original live action web series.
Hedge Fund – Original live action web series.
Heroic Pictures – Producer of live action web series, Issues: The Series.
Jamtown Films – Production company specializing in talk show style web series and children’s programming.
Life After Lisa – Original live action web series.
Louise Log– Original live action web series. www.thelouiselog.com
New Jill TV – Original live action web series.
Undead New York – Original animated web series. (In production)
Unleashed – Original animated web series. www.unleashed.tv
Untitled Chioke Nassor – Original content including web series and short films for the internet.
WGA East Executive Director Lowell Peterson described the situation as dynamic. It’s a different space for most guilds and most unions — it’s in transformation, in growth, nothing is resolved economically,” he said. “The folks that are creating content are almost by nature experimenting in this form, both what they put up online and on mobile, and economically.” Continuing on, Peterson stressed the need for organizing the space. “I think it is important to have a guild of content creators step into this space listen to what people say and hopefully have a seat at the table.” The question remains, what can the WGA East do and (what have they already have done?) to really help both legitimize and further new media content creators?
by Adam Wright on October 7th, 2009
The latest addition to a long line of new media forays backed by major media compaines is Fox Television Studio’s 15 Gigs, which recently sponsored a coveted prize at the New York Television Festival. While covering the festival, I had a chance to sit down and chat with two of 15 Gigs’ executives, Ilsa Berg, Director of Programming and Rachel Webber, Director of Digital Strategy and Development. We wanted to know what exactly they are planning to succeed in a space still looking for its go-to model.
Portfolio Approach
Fox Television Studios, Fox’s cable production arm, best known for edgy shows like The Shield and Burn Notice, is taking a different approach to creating a new media branch with 15 Gigs. “[We're] not in the business of creating a destination site” proclaimed Webber, such as Sony’s Crackle, perhaps to avoid competing with parent-backed Hulu. Also, they are not strictly sticking to branded entertainment like NBC’s Digital Studio. They are looking more towards a diversified portfolio strategy, and as a company under Fox’s cable production arm, they are expecting to launch some of their web series to cable television. Don’t get the idea that they are trying to produce TV content squished into a YouTube box either, like ABC/Disney’s failed attempt, Stage 9. While their series thus far have not completely leveraged the internet’s key difference from TV, interactivity, the series they have put out have been compelling and have explored new formats. A few examples from their current slate:
Tease, a dramedy set in a strip club, definitely something not necessarily fit for TV.
The Iceman Chronicles is an absurd thriller who-done-it in the vein of Twin Peaks
The Skinny: Fat Free News, a satirical pop culture news show with many scripted moments featuring two comically vapid hosts.
When Ninjas Attack is a scripted mock-game show in the vein of G4’s Ninja Warrior, only a little more ridiculous
by Adam Wright on October 6th, 2009
The majority of NYTVF was dedicated to screenings including everything from in competition pilots, web series premieres, and even specialty screenings like Channel 101 NY. A good portion of the in competition pilots can be found on NYTVF’s MSN Video channel. They will host the pilots for the next few weeks, including the festival winners. To wrap up our coverage of NYTVF, we thought we would share six unreleased web series you may have missed that should be popping up online soon.
Johnny B. Homeless, the people’s choice winner at the festival, follows creator and star, Al Thompson, playing the titular Johnny B., “The world’s Greatest Couchsurfer.” In the pilot, Al’s friend and SNL star, Kenan Thompson, plays Johnny B.’s arch-rival. The show follows Johnny as he attempts to win back a coveted spot on his friend’s couch while being constantly sabotaged by Kenan’s character. This series hit home for me as while in NYC, I, of course, couch surfed my way through the city from friend to friend. Expect this series to do big things very soon, I’m told they are currently weighing a number of online distribution offers.
by Adam Wright on September 28th, 2009
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?”
by Adam Wright on September 25th, 2009
The wacky guys behind Streamy-winning You Suck at Photoshop at the Big Fat Institute, Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch, are at it again. This time they are expanding beyond their twisted photoshop tutorial featuring our favorite professor with serious personal problems, Donnie Hoyle, creating a whole “fake” online university, Big Fat University.
According to Matt Bledsoe, Big Fat University site just launched in “alpha beta kappa” mode September 24th, 2009. The site launches initially with three schools, a Design Institute, a Music Academy, and a School of Filmmaking, with hopes of launching more in the future.
The idea came to them when they had learned that actual design professors were using their web series as an alternative to the standard boring photoshop exercises, Bledsoe commented, “We began hearing stories about design professors using our videos as a way to keep students awake during class.” It’s a really interesting angle and could lead the way in a new form of “edutainment.” As the site progresses, they will be rolling out materials to go with each “course” and other bonus features, possibly for pay.
by Adam Wright on September 23rd, 2009
Tubefilter research analyst Adam Wright is in New York this week reporting on both Advertising Week and the New York Television Festival (NYTVF). For live updates follow @tubefilter on Twitter. This is his recap of yesterdays’ Industry Day at NYTVF.
Industry Day is a NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives) sponsored NYTVF event that features executives in television discussing the current state of the industry. As a running theme for this festival, in general when people from traditional media discussed anything about new media and web television it was with one part caution and two parts dismissal.
Panel Recap: “A Level Headed Look at the Future of Television”
The first panel was by far the dreariest, “A level headed look at the future of television.” It included Bonnie Hammer, the accomplished President of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, and Rick Rosen, Head of Television, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
The panel started off with a surprising question from Rick Feldman, NATPE President & CEO as moderator, “Are we still in the TV Business?” This is somewhat surprising considering he made the prediction on Beet.tv this summer that “Hulu will fail in 2 or 3 years.” This question was responded to with two non-answers I’ll paraphrase: ‘Yes we are or else I’m out of a job … but more appropriately we’re in the content business.’ After continued discussion, they both did concede they had an idea of how the next generation view media. ‘Kids growing up right now have no clue what’s on cable, or what’s on broadcast,” said Rosen. “There is no difference but a plug and a revenue stream.”
by Adam Wright on September 23rd, 2009
For the uninitiated, Advertising Week is billed as ‘North America’s premier gathering of cutting edge communications leaders.’ So, one might assume that a panel at such a cutting edge conference named ‘The Future is Now: Digital Video’ would celebrate the ascendance of broadband content. Unfortunately, the conversation seemed more focused on beating the drums of fear for a threatened medium, broadcast television, than about video as the future of entertainment.
