Pursuant to my Earlier Post re: Web Video Money

That you can find here, Nikki Finke has a nice announcement that foretells the future of entertainment:

"Reveille last Thursday has signed a deal with Machinima.com, an entertainment network for the gaming generation. It's to executive produce and secure sponsorship for the Machinima Comedy Lab, a collaboration with 15 leading episodic television writers from popular TV series like The Simpsons, Futurama, SNL, Seinfeld, to develop original episodic comedy pilots for the Machinima.com network. One of those writers happens to be WGA West President and animation writer Patric Verrone. By securing sponsors for the Lab, Reveille and Machinima.com claim to be creating "a cost-effective way to incubate episodic series that can migrate from the Internet to TV with Reveille packaging the most successful series as pilots for broadcast and cable TV". (Machinima.com is the 7th most subscribed YouTube channel).

The writers working on the Machinima Comedy Lab pilots include: Ken Keeler, Stacie Lipp, Bill Oakley, Max Pross & Tom Gammill, Patric Verrone, Maiya Williams, Chris Cluess, Bill Freiberger, Eric Horsted, Christina Lynch, Peggy Nicoll, Mike Rowe, Loren Segan."

This came to my InBox....

So I thought I would share what's cooking over at StrikeTv:

Hello StrikeTVer's,

It's been awhile since we've communicated with all of you en masse, but now that the strike is over we realized an update was long overdue. We're happy to tell you that StrikeTV is thundering forward. We've truly been amazed by the response from the creative community. Although we've largely flown under the radar for the past few weeks, this has been an incredibly productive time for all of us. Currently, we've got 30 to 40 projects in various stages of pre-production, production or post-production. That's incredible for an enterprise that was only started in January. And these projects are going to give StrikeTV a truly diverse and eclectic slate of shows. We've got comedies, dramas, procedurals, some animation, game shows, sci-fi, horror and even two soap operas.

The writers creating these shows represent such well-known movies and TV shows as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, Tomb Raider and Die Hard, The Daily Show, The Office, Law & Order, the Child's Play films, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Prairie Home Companion, Lonelygirl 15, 30 Days of Night, Ghost Whisperer, 8 Simple Rules, General Hospital, Star Trek: Next Generation, King of Queens and the Bob Newhart Show (and yes, we've even got Bob Newhart himself!), among many others.

We've also gotten a tremendous outpouring of support and assistance from the entire entertainment community. Below-the-line crew members, actors, directors, editors, composers and even lawyers have stepped up and donated their time, expertise and energy to our mission. As to our cause -- the Writers Guild Foundation's Industry Support Fund - the fund is going to be a necessary resource for non-WGA members for months to come. The collateral damage of the writers strike, and the possibility of a SAG strike, is going to be affecting non-writing members of the industry well into the summer. So StrikeTV's purpose and mandate is still clear -- to raise money for the Industry Support Fund by monetizing original scripted content on the Internet.

But wait, the strike is over. Are you going to keep the name StrikeTV?

Yes, we are. Aside from being a strong brand name, as well as speaking to our endeavor being born from the writers strike, we want to expand upon its meaning. StrikeTV is about writers "striking out on their own," "striking while the iron is hot in New Media." It's about writers being entrepreneurial, independent and empowered.

Okay, so how do you plan on distributing StrikeTV?

To that end, we at StrikeTV Central are in the midst of ongoing discussions with potential sponsors. We're not ready to reveal specifics just yet, but suffice to say that the launch of StrikeTV is something we are handling with great deliberation and care. We want StrikeTV to be seen by as many people worldwide as possible, so it's in all of our best interests to take a little extra time and do it right. As a result, the launch of StrikeTV probably won't happen until late March. We hope to be able to make some more specific announcements very soon, and we're also planning on holding a meeting for all StrikeTV creators to discuss our launch strategy in full detail.

Until then, keep up the great work! The finished projects are already starting to come in, and we couldn't be more excited about where we're all headed.

All the best,

The StrikeTV Team

StrikeTV - The Ninja Edition

One of the things that plagues writers and media makers - especially when we are embarking into new territory - is the doubt. You know it:

Can I write this?
Is this really possible?
Am I wasting my time and should I get a real job like my Mom says?

Well, in answer to that question - not only to nonunion writers, but to our union brethren who are only now understanding that they can actual become the CEO’s of their own destiny - I present you with the following video from the first StrikeTV seminar held yesterday at the WGA Theater:

For those of you skipping the video for the moment, this gentleman is Kent Nichols, one of the co-founders of the wildly successful Askaninja.com website and video series. I say this, not as a slap to Mr. Nichols personally or anything, but if he can do this, then there’s hope out there for the rest of us.

Fun Joel goes over the numbers and revenue that Ask A Ninja generates for Nichols and his partner.

So yes, you can write this.
Yes, it is really possible.
You may or may not be wasting your time. If you believe your Mom, then yes - you are wasting your time. If you fight her tooth and nail and keep working on what you want to do then maybe not.

You see, the gatekeepers are gone. Throats were slit wide open by technology. The gates have been flung wide and everyone is free to pursue their definition of entertainment. This has its own set of horrors and honors to go with it.

StrikeTV

When television came to prominence in the late 40’s and early 50’s there was a heady feeling in the air that they were doing something that was entirely new and wonderful:

Pictures and sound together! Live! How wonderful.
Wait, how are we going to make this work?
Aw crap.

What many of the pioneers of early television ended up doing was sucking the marrow out of, errr… emulating, , older forms of entertainment that worked - theater, vaudeville, concerts, and yes radio programs. Your Show of Shows, Playhouse 90 and The Lawrence Welk Show followed the safe and narrow as Television found its legs.

It was after awhile when innovators like Ernie Kovacs and others (who you can see on the PBS program Pioneers of Television) were able to grab hold of the medium that it began to grow muscles and strengthen its character into something distinctive. It was only after they figured out how to pay for television via commercials that it became a truly separate means of telling stories.

It’s with that in mind that I recount my experience yesterday at the WGA Theater attending the first ever Strike TV meeting. I warn the dear reader now that this is going to be something of a bipolar series of posts as there were many things to applaud about this first effort by the WGA to lay the tracks for the internet revolution to arrive (thank you Mr. Deitchman for the metaphor), as well as shake your head at the directions the tracks seem to be heading -- straight into “Indian Territory.” (more on that in my follow up posts).

To start things off here is Ian Deitchman on the history and philosophy of Strike TV. Ian is the video coordinator for United Hollywood and a screenwriter.

More in following posts....

"Drive!" He said...

DRIVE, FIREFLY, BUFFY and ANGEL scribe and all around media mensch TIM MINEAR will be our guest in a special podisode of the GEEKERATI PODCAST this friday evening at 7pm PST. The subject of our discussion?

Fans4writers.com and how the fans have come out to support the WGA writer's strike.

.

Have a question for Tim? Have an issue you want to see covered ? Then post your questions in the comments and we'll try to cover it. Can't guarantee anything, as our time will be limited, but we'll be putting the show outline together and we want your input.

Studios! Your Attention Please!

I know this is hard for you to fathom, what with you having a chokehold on most everybody's entertainment choices for decades, but I really have to let you know:

You're not the only game in town.

Now some of you own pieces of this new media. Good for you. However if you insist on not paying people for their intellectual property and craft, you surely have to understand that the creatives are going to go find venture capital and...

DO IT ON THEIR OWN.

(Just like Marvel Entertainment, or Sacha Baron Cohen or Zwick & Herskovitz or Eisner or Iron Sink Media...)

Welcome to your future. We really don't need you.

Run along now.

Hey! All You WGA Writers Out There...

Here's an article that may capture your interest, and give you something to think about while negotiations carry on...

Interestingly enough, the idea of creating a TV series for comics has been around for quite awhile now. Javier Grillo-Marxuach (LOST) created MIDDLEMAN awhile ago as a tv show, but couldn't get it off the ground. Then he created the comic book version, published some issues. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was a simple B&W comic that sold 1200 issues in its first run.

Then the suits with their filthy monies came calling.

Now the worst thing that could happen for comics would be for writers to flood the market with TV ideas that are realized in the comic book format... terrible...horrifying...

Yeah, right.

Thing is, you could go here and set up a shingle. Talk to artists. Maybe even get some of the art department/design folk from Hollywood to work in print (or web) for a change. Stretch their creative muscles. Own a piece of the pie you both bake. Or you could set up a writer's room for a comic book TV series. Set it up the way it should be run - fairly.

The funny thing is that the original vision you had when you sat down to write, that crazy notion for a TV show or movie that no suit in a million years would ever pay to develop... ?

Well that original vision can be realized on paper or computer screen fairly quickly (quicker than TV anyway) and put out there for people to see and appreciate, share and yes, ultimately pay for... just like this (or any other way you can imagine). The old business model just isn't working anymore.

And before you think I'm completely full of it, reread the links. Your brethren are doing it already - taking control of an opportunity. See, things are changing... Best to learn and change now before you are obsolete and those opportunities pass you by.

Feel free to discuss.
Next time: we talk about D2DVD in this era of change.

Must I Shout...

That the future is already here? Must I rant and jump up and down on the furniture of the DISContent Headquarters telling everyone that the new media has been within everyone's grasp for awhile now?

No. Not anymore.

TV Guide is doing it for me.

An official consumer-oriented magazine is holding a contest for best web series. In other words:

Web Video Entertainment has arrived.

Granted, many of the nominees are webisodes based on content created to promote regular television series, but the fact remains that original content and creators have been nominated.

Look over the nominees. Screen samples of their work.
But more importantly - vote.
Let TV Guide know that web entertainment matters to you.

Then, get inspired to do your own stuff.
We need ownership right now.

The Times Are A - Changin'

If you haven't heard already there is a pending Writer's Strike here in Los Angeles. That means that for the most part, those writers who belong to the WGA will soon be manning the picket lines, and spending the rest of their time working on spec scripts and other writing work.

I was reading Kay this morning and "Anonymous" commented on what other sorts of work he/she should be pursuing...

And here's where the axe falls on some writers' necks.

See, there's ton of work out there that's available if you are entrepreneurial enough to pursue it. No one is going to hand you a contract for a first novel. No one is going to say, "Come write a graphic novel. Here's a check." You aren't going to be flooded with people saying, "You're a tv writer so you can write for me while the strike is on."

That is unless you already have experience in these fields. (Hello Messrs. Whedon, Straczynski, Grillo-Marxuach, Vaughn).

But all is not lost. There are opportunities out there, but you'll have to set them up yourself. Be your own producer or publisher, your own marketing director, your own cameraman, director, art director and publicist.

The great thing is that the tools are already available. Free blogs. Free photo archives. Free editing software. Free publishing services. Free merchandising and marketing.

You could do this, and create an online novel series.

Or just create the novel.

You could create a web serial.

You could create a podcast.

And you can create all the merchandise for free.

You CAN do all this stuff, and the cool part is:

YOU OWN IT. YOU CONTROL IT.

I think this is the opportunity that many of the "lower earning" writer's in the union have been looking for - the opportunity to be their own boss. To own the store. To quit just being an employee. To quit having to take a stupid note because your job's at risk.

And that's when the studios are going to be afraid. That's when they are going to understand that the rules are changing and they HAVE to change with it. They are going to have to understand and look at this with new eyes...

As will all the writers.

Times are changing. Wear a cup.