YouTube Extends Run Time to 15 Minutes

Full press release here.

Now on the surface this time extension may not seem like such a big deal, but this timeshift brings YouTube closer to direct competition with 'regular tv' by following the 60 minute hour more closely.  Act breaks are also easier to manage and are closer to the 'teaser and 4 act model.'

Imagine every week:  your favorite YouTube show screens 15 mins worth.  This is then re-edited into a more traditional 44 minute model for regular broadcast (unless you're in the UK where shows often run longer because let's face it, the Brits are longer-winded than their American cousins).  This fits into more established rhythms of the typical viewer.  That's what the web needs more of - typical viewers - those who keep coming back week after week.

Now is this a good thing? Will this make Youtube 'Television lite?'  I'm not certain. However if someone gets their break by writing a Youtube show, and it demonstrates that the writer is capable of dealing with 4 act structure - then I don't see how that can be a bad thing.  Having the capability of transferring your show across multiple platforms with little story confusion or translation problems is also a plus.  One of the complaints regarding the generally excellent ANGEL OF DEATH was that it worked better as a serial than it did a feature.

Is this going to work for all shows? Hell, no. Nor should it.

Most comedy shows I see on the web need to be edited down severely in order to... you know... actually be funny.  They should be short, sweet and gone, but for actual drama a longer running time is preferred. A bit of breathing room (unless you don't want that).

Overall though I see this as an opportunity for everyone. For viewers to get more content per view, for advertisers to get more opportunity to sell thus driving costs down,  for producers and creatives to get their shows out there and be able to shift them to different media and markets in a way that is familiar to viewers.

We'll see what happens.

Interplanetary: 1999

Chance Shirley, the creative filmmaker behind the indie scifi flick INTERPLANETARY has cut a new trailer for his movie:


Interplanetary: 1999 from Chance Shirley on Vimeo.

I dig it.

(found by Bellware)

Big G is 56...

And he has a new movie coming out...

Warren And Joss Go Outside the System (Again)

Warren Ellis answered a few questions this morning regarding his internet serial with Joss Whedon called WASTELANDERS.  They hatched their plot pre-AVENGERS MOVIE and plan to pick it up after the movie is in post-production.

What's interesting (to me, anyway) is the following:

A few notes. WASTELANDERS is not, as some people who can’t read have commented, the same as Antony Johnston’s WASTELAND. WASTELANDERS is Joss’ idea and Joss’ title. WASTELANDERS also has no connection to DR HORRIBLE. WASTELANDERS is where Joss’ sense that too few people followed the example of DR HORRIBLE meets my obsession with the QUATERMASS serials, which were half-hour episodes. Short-form genre serials of the kind that tv just doesn’t make anymore. What we eventually came up with was very much a fusion of British and American styles, and very much a fusion of my style and Joss’ style. And full-on science fiction.

 (highlights mine)

There's a lot to follow on this one because it represents a fundamental shift in thinking regarding media.  In the previous media era, it was rare for two people to collaborate as these guys are doing.  It happened, but it was rare.  Also, we have a situation where the plan is to not go to TV (because TV doesn't do short form serials) but go to the internet (because it DOES). Both have experience with the web - Warren writing the GI JOE animated web serial as well as the web comic FREAKANGELS, and Joss' DR. HORRIBLE.

This is the next iteration of their experience in this arena, and I'm going to say this sort of thing is going to happen more and more often.  Will it pay all of the bills?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the idea that the opportunity is there to do something different is more than enough to radically change how media thinks.

Cool.

Stand By For Action!

IDW has announced they are releasing a 4-issue mini-series featuring Dave Stevens' creation THE ROCKETEER.

The comics will feature work by Mike Kaluta and Alex Ross amongst others. 

It is long overdue as Dave initially wanted to do this after his first two mini-series were completed back in the early 1990's.  It is sad to think he will never see this come to fruition, but I am certain that those involved will hold up the high standards Stevens set for himself and his character. 

This Cover is Made of All Sorts of Awesome

The Future Has Numbers Attached or How Netflix is Kicking Ass

From our friends at NewTeeVee who site WSJ sources:

Netflix continues to see its subscriber numbers and earnings increase due to strong interest and customer adoption of its Watch Instantly streaming service. With more than 60 percent of users logging in to stream videos, Netflix blew away Wall Street earnings estimates and looks to continue its strong growth throughout the rest of the year.

Nearly 2/3rds of Netflix subscribers stream video... 

Soon, movies will be D2Netflix  and D2iPad. 

The numbers don't lie. 

No Budget? It's All Good (Machine)

Ted Hope just published a list that circulated around the offices of his former production company Good Machine back in the day.  It's worth reading and modifying for your own needs as it contains nuggets of wisdom lost on most of today's filmmakers...

1. Write to direct. A screenplay, especially a no-budget screenplay is a very loose blueprint for a film – ultimately every choice you make will compromise something else.

2. Write for what you know and for what you can obtain. This goes for actors, locations, animals, and major propping or set dressing. If your friend owns something, anything, write it into the film.

3. Remain flexible. Recognize the essential element in a scene and allow it to take place in a variety of locations or circumstances.

I can't say I agree 100% with everything he says here - I'll let you figure out where my sticking points are - but this is a pretty comprehensive list.  

Run Silent Run Pulp

Where does one start?

With me it's usually a sarcastic note, so I'm going to go with that:

My Mom just won the Cancer Surgery Contest and won a double-mastectomy.  Funny thing is, she didn't even know she entered!  

Yes, my Mom has Cancer.  So do a lot of other folks so we're going to move on.  You can rest assured my Mom will kick Cancer's ass.  After all, where do you think I get it from?

So we're going to be fine, make a few adjustments and do what we Cunninghams do at times like this  (No, not kick people in the nuts. That's reserved for holidays and anniversaries). We're going to do what we CAN do, and move forward past the rest.  Surgery is probably next week.  It's supposed to a one overnight affair so my Mom can come home the next day and recover there.

So if you're listening to me through Facebook or some other glittery web tool like that then you'll get the info on everything there.  I won't muddy the waters too much here at Pulp 2.0.  We have media stuff to do here, and I'd like to concentrate on that.

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Had dinner, drinks and cigars with two of my fave Canucks Denis McGrath and Peter Mohan.  Boy did we have a good time kicking back and talking shop.  They are in town working, and it was great to shoot the breeze at one of my favorite Hollywood dives, Boardners.  I wish I could tell you what they are working on, but I don't have the go ahead yet.

But it's going to be good.

One thing I like about both gentlemen - besides their openness, wit and appreciation of the finer points of Piper Perabo  - is their genuine enthusiasm for what they're doing, and their enthusiasm for the diversity of opportunity out there in the media landscape.  As much as both like television and what they're doing in it - I predict that at some point we will see something from each in the new media landscape.

Stay tuned.

(Oh yeah, and sorry you guys had to follow the cancer part of this post) 

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I have to give a shout to my friends over at Comic Book Sunday (CBS). We had a great time yesterday, and many plots were hatched.  If you're at SDCC buy one of their cool shirts and support a group of creators and fans who get together every month to swap comics, pool resources and get stuff done.

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Speaking of comics - I want to formally announce we are doing Pulp 2.0 Comics.  I can't say what titles yet, but I am licensing and republishing some fun, pulpy stuff from the 80's B&W Boom.  That was a period that saw a burst of creators and creativity in the marketplace, and many comics were created that eschewed the spandex in favor of the pulp.  I will have details later as I get everything with Pulp 2.0 back on track, but  I feel safe in saying that if you like B-Movies, serials and other such wonderful nonsense than you're going to love these two series.  I know I did when I first read them.

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Speaking of getting things on track - I am looking for an unpaid intern to assist me in my publishing duties.  No pay, but perks to be had.  I also write a mean letter of recommendation.  I'll send out specifics later - but this is a great opportunity for a student who needs to bolster their resume'.

That's all for now, but trust me - I feel a rant coming on.

I Have Experienced an Upgrade

From the Set of Cousin Trevor's New Movie

Darling Nikki Finke Talks Studio Accounting

And it doesn't look good...

"Net profit deals are still a sucker's bet. I was slipped a net profit statement (below) for Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, the 2007 Warner Bros sequel. Though the film grossed $938.2 million worldwide, the accounting statement below conveys that the film is still over $167 million in the red:"

There has to be a better way....discuss. 

Your Indie Film Business Plan

"What's the secret of making money in indie film, Bill?"

"If everything's for free, or so cheap - how can I compete? How can I make money too?"

It's really simple.  [It is, and don't try and deny it.]  You can obfuscate it all you want with terminology and reports and graphs...but the underlying business plan is simple, clear and direct....

And here it is in two parts:

1. "The only film that an independent can make and survive with is a film that the major producers cannot or will not make." -- Herschell Gordon Lewis

2. "You want to get your indie movie into the hands of its audience, then you have to deliver it to where they are and not expect them to come to you" -- Bill Cunningham

Anything above and beyond this is frosting. This is the poundcake.

This is your business plan. 

Happy 4th of July, America's Independence Day