by Drew Baldwin on July 31st, 2009
Last night the excitement in the air was electrifying at the Red Carpet Opening Night Gala for the 4th Annual Independent Television Festival, festival for independently produced, original and innovative television pilots and web series. ITVFest offers opportunities for web television creators like showcasing their work to a live audience and the chance to pitch development executives that can bring their projects to the next level.
On Monday, August 3 Tubefilter is proudly presenting ITVFest Web Television Day, which features screenings of the Official Web Series Selections from the ITVFest,
by Marc Hustvedt on February 23rd, 2009
Rumors are circling the web television and online video scene that HBO’s Runaway Box, the online comedy production outfit known for Elevator, Man in the Box and YouTube celeb-laden Hooking Up along with other web series, has been acquired. Sources close to the situation confirm that an acquisition has gone forward, with March 1st being the official transition date. The buyer is said to be a well known company in the web video community.
The move follows what we’ve heard to be a shift towards higher-end digital content for HBO, keeping with the network’s strategy as a premium entertainment brand. The comedy veterans, led by Woody Tondorf, Andrew Zilch and Mike Polk at Runaway Box were quick to find a new home however especially after netting an impressive 25 million views for their series, according to video analytics firm TubeMogul. It’s not known whether HBOlab director Danila Koverman will be heading out with the Runaway Box team.
by Lindsay Stidham on December 5th, 2008
The guys from Runaway Box take their comedy from the web to the live stage tonight in Los Angeles in a special one night only performance at IOWest at 9pm. Man In The Box star Mike Polk brings his sketch group Last Call Cleveland to help anchor the show that will also feature Woody Tondorf, creator of the Runaway Box show Elevator, and the man behind Hooking Up, HBO’s web-celeb driven vehicle.
We recently caught up with Woody to reflect on the season finale of Hooking Up, wokring with YouTube celebrities and the future direction of HBOlab’s Runaway Box.
Tubefilter: How do you feel about the first season of Hooking Up?
Woody Tondorf: I’m very pleased with how things turned out. This was a great experiment for us and I learned from it every single day. From production, the growth of our cast as actors, the little hiccups and our big screw ups, and our triumphs and accolades, the show had a profound effect on me.
People were all up in arms about view counts and such, and I could spend a good span of time talking about it if I really wanted to, but what I found interesting through the span of the season was the numbers staying pretty consistent after episode 3. Most web series lose views over time, going on a steady decline until they peter out at the end. Sadly, this is just a cross they have to bear, even the best of the bunch like Back on Topps, Viralcom, etc.
by Lindsay Stidham on November 7th, 2008
We attended the AFI Digifest yesterday, where HBOlab gave us a preview of their season finale cliff hanger of Hooking Up. I smell second season. A few hints: Meg (Jessica Rose) may be facing a big break-up, but she’s not going to end up lonely.
If you’ve been deeply following the show (i.e. you’re friends with Hooking Up on Facebook or better yet the show’s own social network: Baskbook) you know about the character of Dylan’s hidden plot line, or in TV-speak, the show’s b-story. Dylan met Meg at freshman orientation, they hooked up, and he’s been trying to get her attention every since. If there is a second season of Hooking Up it’s safe to say Dyan’s day is coming.
But perhaps the bigger question is, has Hooking Up been a successful experiment? It’s safe to say that so far HBOlab has ventured into the land of web television somewhat cautiously. Speaking at Digifest, HBOlab Director Danila Koverman says the name Runaway Box was created so that HBOlab could experiment, and “fly under the radar.” Hooking Up is the first show out of HBOlab show to get more heavily branded as HBO.
Additionally, to differentiate the show from other college themed web series, HBO brought together web celebs like Jessica Rose (lonelygirl15), KevJumba, Sxephil, DaveDays, and Michael Buckley, highly touting the millions of views they had garnered on the web in a trailer advertising the show.
by Andrew Schwarz on October 3rd, 2008
Man in a Box is a hilarious series from HBO Labs’ Runaway Box, created by Cleveland-based comedian Mike Polk, who also plays Greg
by Marc Hustvedt on September 24th, 2008
Trailer went up today for HBOLabs’ Hooking Up series which is set to premiere Oct. 1st. The college-based series set on the campus of fictional Bask University, is a virtual grab-bag of YouTube weblebrities, with Jessica “Lonelygirl” Rose, Phillip “SXEPhil” DeFranco, Kevin “KevJumba“, Wu, Deanna Casaluce, Michael “WHATTHEBUCK” Buckley, Cory “Mr. Safety” Williams, Charles [...]
by A. M. Mebane on September 24th, 2008
Elevator, a weekly comedy series on HBO’s Runaway Box, uses the constraints of a web format to its advantage. Each short episode feels like a living comic strip, with minimal editing, music and effects, and the action is confined within the tiny space of an elevator car. Besides the predictably present office workers, [...]
by Marc Hustvedt on September 8th, 2008
HBO’s been trying to figure out the web scene for a while now. Early tries saw them signing former Rocketboom host Amanda Congdon to a development deal that ultimately has gone nowhere. More recently they threw some cash into the web comedy portal FunnyOrDie.com, the Will Ferrell-backed site made famous with its brief Landlord series.
