I’ve been to a ton of panels on the Future of Web Series Production, but most of them take place at conferences like Digital Hollywood, which are dedicated to new media. On Sunday, October 11th, independent film organization Film Independent (FIND) got into the act at the FIND Filmmaker Forum with a panel entitled “Going Online: New Stories for New Media.”
In the midst of a weekend filled with sessions covering the art and business of indie film, the panel gave the producers, writers and directors in attendance a look into the possibilities the smallest screen has to offer. The session was specifically focused on creating content for the web, as opposed to using the web as a means of distribution for feature films. Producer Ami Armstrong (Mr. Nice) moderated, and panelists included Jonathan Stern (Producer, Centrifugal Films), David Worthen (Sr. Vice President, Fox Digital Studio), Scott Sanders (Director, Black Dynamite) and Mike Farah (Producer, Funny or Die).
Armstrong kicked off the session with the question, “Who’s actually watching all these videos online?” The general consensus was that while so far the young male demo has dominated, there is an emerging female audience for web content. Panelists cited breakout shows In the Motherhood, an MSN online original that was picked up for broadcast television by ABC, and Lisa Kudrow’s Web Therapy.
Stern, producer of Wainy Days, Children’s Hospital and Hot Sluts, says that he is starting to put together a few shows created by women over 30. “It’s almost easier to get a female-driven show going right now,” says Stern, “because the sponsors are looking for it. The Axe’s of the world already have a foothold in that space.”
