Warren Ellis, I Know How You Feel...

"Any show that isn’t a soap opera “about relationships” gets put in one of those “weird” places where people who are less interested in crying and hugging go for a story -- cable and satellite channels, or slotted in just before midnight and just after some programme about cocks, or(aha!) on iPlayer. Which is where Paul Cornell’s rather good medical-horror Pulse gets to live or die. Since it was onBBC3, a channel only eight people in the UK can receive; the viewership it needs to get a full-series pick-up has to come from iPlayer. That’s where the audience is – and it’s where television is going to be."

(from his Wired column)

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.

The Power of the Web Compels You...

DMc has a great post up today regarding the change that is raining down over Canadian television (or perhaps a better phrase would be lack of change in certain corners of their business), and how creative people are leading the way - "story" in hand - to create better looking, more dramatic shows such as FLASHPOINT, THE BORDER and BEING ERICA (which I haven't seen yet). This is in the face of an industry that is seemingly ill-prepared to embrace the future.

But that's kind of how it always is isn't it? The "creatives", the "weirdos" leading the charge "...half a league, half a league half a league onward... into the valley of death..."

(Okay, maybe that wasn't a good analogy)

But the creative types see not how things are, but what they could be... what they hope and work at it to be. Because that's part of the sustaining energy and excitement of it all.

Never was that more evident than at last night's premiere party for COMPULSIONS a new web serial created and written by my friend Bernie Su. This was a compelling piece of work that looked good. Tee Vee good... but different. Made for a fraction of the cost. (I write that because the economics of it always factor into these things).

Tubefilter has a nice write up of the event here:

Last night in Los Angeles, in a packed screening premiere at Cinespace a room full of some 200 or so lucky ones had a chance to collectively writhe and squirm through the first 4 episodes. “I know the expectations are high,” wrote creator Bernie Su in a post before the premiere, “especially for independent web content but I honestly don’t know if the general audience will love it or not. Our show is dark, intense, and gritty. Though I can say this… our show is definitely something else.”

The series centers on three hidden desires, or compulsions, afflicting three respective main characters. There’s Mark (Craig Frank), the compulsive sadist chillingly unaffected by his routine torture games. Mark’s mysterious handler Justine (Janna Bossier) who’s compulsive “trophy hunting” has something to do with tracking down a missing “package.” And Mark’s office co-worker Cassandra (Annemarie Pazmino) who delivers a tech-infused modern day twist on compulsive voyeurism.

Here's the trailer:





Bernie and co. are doing something new-ish for the web, creating something they wanted to see made that didn't fit into the normal "box." If the last night's audience response was any indication, they struck a nerve.

When was the last time you read something like that about a series on television that wasn't written by the PR department of the network?

Striking. A. Nerve.
Plowing. New. Ground.
Making. Something. Yours.

And Bernie isn't the only one. Good friend of the blog James Moran (Twitter: @jamesmoran), writer of the recent TORCHWOOD series CHILDREN OF EARTH, struck out on his own (okay, with others in his merry band) and created GIRL NUMBER 9.



So, where am I going with this?

Well, to quote Denis:

See, I'm really not doing it justice. And that's the point. Reaching back to an earlier form, the rules are different, the delivery different, but what was there, gloriously alive and vibrant and entertaining -- was the story. The story will survive, no matter what form or challenge we throw at it. For those of us whose business is story, that's got to come as a comfort, no matter how backward and antiquated and maddeningly out of touch the captains of the industry seem, it's we, who have rolled with the punches and changed what we do already over the last few years...it's we who will survive.

Yes, we will survive. Thrive even. If we own it, grow it and deliver it ourselves. So, in light of everything Denis talks about in his post I have this to say:

Go web, young man, and grow up with the world.

Not Readers, Not Viewers, but...

Warren Ellis had a post on his website today regarding his Sony Walkman and how his daughter relates to it and other technology. Here's the relevant bit:

I found Lili crosslegged on her bed earlier, her guitar in her hands, earbuds in, watching something on her open laptop. I suspect it was either a guitar lesson, some tabs she’s been looking for, or listening to Theory Of A Dead Man and trying to detune her guitar to C-sharp to capture their tone. That’s how she treats the laptop — what else does it do? And the very conjuring of all those elements in the first line illustrates that her generation do not live with their heads in a laptop or a DS Lite or whatever. Less so, even, than the previous generation. It’s a fully integrated part of their lives, a Swiss army knife for the world. What else does it do?

If I tell her I have a YouTube app on the Sony Walkman I’ll never get the bloody thing back.

But here's how it relates back to us..."What else does it do?" applies not only to the technology but to the media. We have a generation that's going to read books, but they will be books with built-in links to other media. They will be videos with built in blog pages that take them in new story directions (background, alternatives, expansions), or webcomics with soundtracks. Toys with built in wifi.

You want to appeal to today's readers with your media? Then understand you aren't appealing to just readers or viewers...

You have to create something that appeals to users. That dear fiends (not a misprint) is a whole new ball game.

More on this tomorrow.

The Internet is a Growth Industry...

From our new friends at ReelSEO:

The Insight Research Corp. recently released the results of an industry study which states that streaming media will be a major source of revenue through 2014. They classified streaming media as the transmission of digital audio and video files over an IP network or wireless network in real time or on-demand, while prohibiting users from storing the files locally.

For the next 5 years they predict that revenue from streaming media will grow at a rate of 27 percent per year thanks to more and more people turning to online audio and video. That means over 135% growth through 2014.

Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research president said that the growth is coming as traditional television advertising dollars are shunted into online ads.

However, don't go pulling out of traditional media (television) just yet. It's going to take a couple of years to stabilize the industry's metrics so that base ad rates, market penetration and so forth can be determined. If you're working in TV or movies and so on, now is the time to develop that web series, that book for Kindle, or Iphone app - then make the transition.

***Edit to add - and if you're new to the business, now is the time to start making a name for yourself by creating something and getting it out there.

But it's going to happen. Movies and "TV" pumped directly from the web to your home for free... Or a subscription server where you get all sorts of stuff - movies, series, books, webcomics - all built around a single or group of properties or genres. It's not any different than network TV for free or HBO. It's simply going to come to your home computer or set top box and it will be far more interactive than television ever was.

What's The Value in Online Video Beyond Money?

While I really shouldn't blog when I'm having a weird day (don't ask), I promised readers that I would address an issue from the comments...

So, RickM writes from my Green screen piece:

Here's what I find depressing. I was blown away by "Prey Alone." It looked great, action editing was superb, the story had a terrific twist. It had everything, it was a homerun. But take a look at the director's IMDB profile -- he's done nothing since. And you've linked to countless pulpy shorts on YouTube that look similarly great and have 500 views in five years (Prey Alone was made in 2004). Search google for links to this superior free entertainment and you'll find two (to the official site). TWO! It has 2000 views on YouTube. Where is the audience? How could this have led nowhere for its makers? As I said, depressing...

Let's address a couple of issues right off the bat:

-- You're equating the number of views and audience size with value for the producers. While I understand the thought process there, I would caution against stepping into an obvious sandtrap.

-- You're also equating small of views with leading nowhere for the filmmakers.

Let's use Saint & Mather as examples here because they're available. And we have several measuring sticks when it comes to value (beyond money) from online video (or D2DVD movies, or any sort of media project). There are several streams of value when it comes to creating, producing and distributing an online video project:

The Number of Views/ Who's watching:

Certainly, having a lot of people watching your video at the outset is a pleasant boost to the ego much in the same way that "festival darlings" used to be. However, you also have to factor in the demographics of who watched the video and where. Who watches is just as important as how many (something you see in television all the time).

Since Saint & Mather are commercial directors one can surmise that their agents sent the link to the video to dozens of advertising agencies around the world. People who are in a position to give them commercial jobs (Just like Ridley Scott and other high profile movie directors do in between feature films).

The two could be happily raking in the cash by making commercials, joining crews on TV series, they could be quite happy being paid to develop a movie or two -- or not. We don't know. I do know - they have representation, they used local funding and tax incentives to make their movie, and their movie was distributed worldwide via the web and possibly other media (DVD sampler reels, etc...).

That's a win.

But let's say this didn't lead to jobs but to just 2000+ people who watched the short movie, liked it and said so...

(also understand this movie was on their website, atomfilms.com, youtube.com, and I'm sure others. The 2000 number is an extremely low reference, and I think actual numbers would range in the 10's of thousands)

The Publicity value:

I just Google searched "Prey Alone" and came up with 792,000 hits on the subject. Let's discount a third of that as unsuitable and come in at 550,000 (+/-) for actual related hits about this short movie. That's quite a few hits - see?

Bottom line: People are talking about this movie - the subject, how it was made, the people who made it - all of the topics publicists and agents dream of for their clients. It seems that everyone who's seen it has talked about it in some way, shape or form - both online and in magazines.

Not too shabby for one 15 minute short film.

The Brand Value:

Saint & Mather have other commercial work up on their site and how to contact them. Let's put this another way - every online video is someone's first. I stumble across new stuff all of the time - only it's not new it's just new to me. People send me links. I recognize titles and names. I try new things from people whose work I've enjoyed before. I bookmark sites and add their feeds.

And I am not alone in this.

Online video never dies. It keeps on representing how good you were when you made it.

(That's both a good and bad thing)

The Experience Value:

You will find that in this business there are people who talk about what they are doing, and those who get it done. The more you can do without supervision - and demonstrate that you are capable and independent and yet willing to work with the team - the better you are.

That comes from doing it - a lot.

If you want to push yourself there's no better way than for someone to say, "We can't afford that," or " You can't do that," and then you go off and show them it can be done - and how. You can do that through online video. You can get better, stronger, faster...

(cue theme music)

Does that mean you're going to "win" every time? Hell no, it means you're going to fail - a lot. But you are going to get better because you will have an audience that WILL tell you how they feel about your work, where it worked and where it didn't. Think of it as defending your thesis day in and day out.

The Educational Resource Value:

On that note, there is an umbrella factor we are forgetting here regarding online video - it serves to educate. At my fingertips I now have access to tons of data and reference when it comes to making my own media. When I pitched my movie to Drew Bellware I told him exactly what kind of movie I was developing by linking video clips within my pitch document.

Used to be you had to go home and edit tape to bring in to a client to demonstrate the concept. Now it all happens online... and the more people who add to it the better. Unless it's more of the useless cat videos.

I can conceive of a time in the next year or so, when all of the material that is taught in film school is available online in real time. That someone can utilize online tools to learn to make all their movies and media...

The Social Value:

Making and sharing media performs a valuable social function. Just ask Iran.

-----------------------------------------

The fact I'm writing this post five years after a 15 minute short film has "aired" should be argument enough that Prey Alone hasn't led to nowhere. Maybe it hasn't led to the two directors being handed the keys to the feature film kingdom (with its many virgins dressed in white), but it's certainly not the fail that your comment implies.

You also have to understand that things are changing, morphing, evolving and the monetary aspect will evolve with it. The audience for online video is growing every day. From old shows finding their way onto the Hulu brainsuck to new stuff like The Mercury Men .

Be a part of it.

Grow with it.

But most of all... just do it.

(Did I really just end this thing with a Nike slogan?)

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."

He Knows What You Fear!

Right here.

Thanks go to Gregg and the gang at Decoder Ring.

Enjoy... I have to get back to cropping video for my garage sale....Tomorrow!

For Immediate Release: Knightmare Launches New Pulp Media

Radio Audiences to Thrill to
Internet Adventures of
The Knightmare




Bill Cunningham and Decoder Ring Theatre
network across internet to produce
2-part radio adventure,
"The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight."

Collaboration launches media company to produce "New Pulp Media"

May 26, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA: Bill Cunningham's New Pulp Media (NPM) announces their internet radio adventure,
THE KNIGHTMARE: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight will premiere May 31st, 2009 on Decoder Ring Theatre (www.decoderringtheatre.com). This collaboration marks the first media release for NPM and a new radio adventure program for Decoder Ring which produces The Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice for enthusiastic audiences worldwide.

"The Knightmare is a character originally created by poverty row movie producer Cameron Tyler back in the late thirties. Tyler wanted to create a movie serial and radio drama at the same time so they could promote one another. This is similar famous mystery man The Shadow who leveraged his simultaneous radio and magazine appearances," said Cunningham. "I acquired the rights to the Knightmare character Tyler had outlined, but was never able to complete because Pearl Harbor derailed his plans."

Originally, Cunningham wrote a movie script updating the character, but later decided to lay the groundwork for a new, web-based serial project by recreating the adventures of the original Knightmare for radio. Enter Gregg Taylor, head of Toronto's Decoder Ring Theatre company which had been developing new radio adventures done in a classic style for internet audiences.

"We met on the internet and immediately checked each other's 'geek cred," said Taylor. " We kept in touch and followed each other’s projects, often running along parallel lines like the online Astonishing Adventures! Magazine. The day came when we both realized that several seasons and damn near a million downloads later, Decoder Ring had grown into a swell outlet for the mysterious Knightmare… a way to start the ball rolling on a quest to conquer all media and finally get me a ticket to that movie that I wanted to see so badly."

The Knightmare is a hero cut from the same cloth as The Shadow or The Green Hornet. He is "The Master of Fear" whose catch phrase "I know what you fear" clues audiences in to his mysterious power to overcome evildoers. In this 2-part episode, The Knightmare goes up against Hollywood gangsters, the Police and yes, Nazis - the dreaded Murder Legion - who are here to rob a charity event taking place at the famous Griffith Observatory.

"The Knightmare radio adventure is definitely a ride on the fun train for those fans of old time radio, comics, movie serials and pulps. We've peppered the story with plenty of nods to our childhood influences, but what's really fun about the show is that it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the internet," says Cunningham.

This internet radio collaboration is the launch for NPM, Cunningham's company label for pulp-styled material he and other partners create and distribute via the internet. This includes adventure podcasts like The Knightmare; pulp stories and novels for digital and print; Comics and eventually Video serials. "The pulp publishing model was always "Make it fast, make it inexpensive (I won't say 'cheap'), but most of all make it entertaining," smiles Cunningham.

"Thanks to the internet and its myriad possibilities to collaborate, market and distribute we can produce a variety of entertaining pulp media with a high degree of style, quality and fun. I've been very fortunate to collaborate with people like Gregg Taylor, Scott Godlewski and Matt Bennett who publish Mysterious Adventure Magazine (http://mysterious-adventure.blogspot.com), and dozens of other people creating art, stories and other new pulp media."

NPM has already signed a publishing deal with noted author and filmmaker Donald F. Glut (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK novelization, Gold Key comics' THE OCCULT FILES OF DR. SPEKTOR, and the cult motion picture DINOSAUR VALLEY GIRLS. ( www.donaldfglut.com) to release several of his novels for Amazon's Kindle format as well as collector's print editions through Createspace. "We are collaborating with writers and artists to republish classic pulp in new, definitive editions as well as create new adventures based on the pulp template” says Cunningham. “In addition, NPM is cultivating our fans and our brand very carefully using all of the free web tools at our disposal like our Fans of the Knightmare Facebook Page.

We aim to create an interactive, innovative business model that brings the creators and audience together as part of the company. Scheduled for release later this summer 2009 will be author Glut's 1970's styled horror blaxploitation novel: BROTHER BLOOD (textless artwork by Nik Macaluso) and other higher profile projects to be announced.


(c) 2009 by individual creators respectively. New Pulp Media (NPM) is a trademark of Bill Cunningham.