Thanks for reminding me about this. I really enjoyed it and want to see more.

Just because shows like this could become successful, doesn't mean all the other underfunded and anonymous video projects will instantaneously be engulfed in a ball of magical fire and turn into piles of dust.

Celebrity videos and videos made by people formally know as the audience can coexist. Unless the Long Tail theory is wrong, I don't see why you couldn't root for shows like this AND non-celebrity videos.

I hope they get the funding they need to continue. If they do it won't be the end of web video, how could it be, it's a web video show.

If broadcast television's success was dependent on the success of every pilot that failed, didn't receive funding or that didn't hit the Nielsen rating the networks wanted in the first three episodes then it would have been dead long, long long ago. Even critically acclaimed shows have been canceled due to the multitude of business decisions that go into creating and producing a show.

Webshows are very much in their infancy and we shall see many more go by the wayside before the perfect formulas are found.

Dramatic/narrative/comedic content involving story is much heavier at any production design level versus news-styled production. This is why we see the success of Geekbrief.tv and Rocketboom.com versus a show like this. The upfront costs are "dramatically" higher. Also if a relative percentage of the advertising dollars that get spent on broadcast television were pointed to web video shows I'm sure that we would quickly see a difference.

We will find that sweet spot to balance production cost and good production value to create successful narrative content online but it will take time. She's not dead yet, just taking a few victims along the way.

Thanks

Craig Moore
Spider Video
http://spidervideo.tv

Hi Tim! I can see your point but I have to say I don't think this is grounds to proclaim the end of online video. Far from it. It is a tough time for online scripted drama. From day one at DECA we have been skeptical of the short term business model for scripted drama online. Its a form that requires significant expense. If you're going to tell a story that holds people's attention online you're going to need writing, directing, acting and production that at least competes with what we're used to from TV. Stuff in the $500k+ per episode ballpark.

And if you're a new brand with uncertain distribution you probably need to be quite a bit better than TV or be doing something unique to have a chance of breaking out. A tall order.

There are a couple of exceptions to this but I think what you are seeing now is that logic being played out. The business model will get there eventually but not in this business cycle.

Also, if all you are doing is scripted drama, why do it on the web? TV & theaters are still the best media to do that and the most lucrative. If there's not something going on that's unique to the internet medium - like the EQAL guys - you're wasting your time.

A lot of people in online video are doing online because the traditional route is either out of reach or too frustrating/unjust.

As far as pilots that are better? It depends on how you define better. A lot of our focus at DECA is in factual entertainment in ad friendly niches. We think those are better businesses with a better value proposition to consumers and advertisers. From that perspective, all of our pilots are better! We're finding its a great time to be in online video.

Thanks for the comments. It's good to see a healthy discussion going on.

Steve Garfield from Steve Garfield Dot Com sent me a link to a Forbes article about doing things different: http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/08/video-prospect...

I agree with you Craig that Online Video is not dead just taking some victims along the way. I wish I knew some guys from the early days of TV. I bet their stories are very similar to ours and their struggle against the well established radio.

Hey Chris, what are some of the pilots at DECA that we should check out?

Hey Tim, I read about 'The Remnants' on Cynopsis Digital back in October and remember thinking, 'oh great, a 60Frames, NBCU funded comedy version of our show,' so I just put it out of my mind as I didn't want to dwell on it. I'm glad, however, you posted about it as I enjoyed the pilot. It's quirky and accessible and the flashback scene with Enrico Colantoni (though suddenly saturating the show with heavy drama) sets up the 'what happened' reveal. After just having read 'The Road', I can bet that John August took some of his inspiration from that post apocalyptic book but shuddered at it's bleakness so thought to move some of those plot elements into the comedy realm.

But to answer your question, yes I have a web series that rivals this studio produced pilot. It's about an rag tag band of strangers left behind after the end of the world. It's called AFTER JUDGMENT and the 2nd half of Season 1 is premiering this Tuesday, Jan 13th. We have no stars in it, shot it outside of the studio system and shot it on a ridiculously small budget. We have attempted to create a suspended world around the show- built our own site, developed a companion series called 'Before Judgment' that explores character backstories through 'discovered video footage' that lives on a sister site. We shot 16 four minute episodes and Michael Davies, the series creator, has written seven seasons. We also endeavored to experiment with the way we told the story, through releasing episodes in non-sequential order and shunning dialogue heavy scenes. It's Michael, myself, the composer and our webmaster getting things done- post production / promotion wise- that's it. We know how amazing season 2 will look when we actually have a budget- but one of those budgets that exists in the grey area between 'star driven series' and 'indie show shot in an apartment' because we are neither. So check it out, we're incredibly proud of what we've created.

Have a great rest of your weekend and thanks for the opportunity to comment.

Taryn O'Neill
Captain Films

New episodes of 'After Judgment' premier on both http://afterjudgment.com and http://Koldcast.tv Tuesday January 13th.

Hey Taryn,

Thanks for the comment and the links!

Looks like you are having fun with After Judgement. What are you doing to monetize? Are you currently looking for sponsors?

Hey Tim- we are definitely having fun with the show! I love being able to wear multiple creative hats, especially being a sci fi geek myself. We are doing rev share deals with a few sites and we'll be available for download on Tivo because of our deal with Koldcast.tv. Yes, we will be looking at sponsors but at the moment we are focusing on the launch of the new episodes. Hope you enjoy the show and have fun with your new episodes of French Maid TV- I know my better half is looking forward to them!

Taryn
http://afterjudgment.com

I agree with the comments above. I don't think, name actors will kill the online video. It hasn't reached its zenith yet, there is still more to be discovered on online videos.

Off topic: I have been trying to reach you, I need your assistance on setting an online series myself, and sponsorship. Please email me, at missingpeacefilm@yahoo.com

TIM- please email me!!!!

thanks

cheers

I think if anyone is starting a new web series these days, they should be thinking about multiplatform right off the bat. It's a buzzword, sure, but it seems like everyone we talk to who is in a position to spend money on shows is looking for something that can have a life online and move to tv, mobile, and other media. The harsh truth is that it is not realistic to expect to make a living from a web show these days. There is so much noise out there to get through, and there is no promotional mechanism in place to help new shows break through. You still get the standounts, of course. But I think my advice to a filmmaker who wants to make shows for the web would be to create an idea that can live across multiple forms of media, and beyond that, can live in multiple language and different internationalizations. Oh, and if that isn't enough, it better immerse the audience and give them a sense of ownership, otherwise it's that much harder. I think that is going to be the business model that emerges at the end of this painful cycle, and content creators who can put together a *package* as opposed to 10-12 episodes will be in a good spot.

Just like it was the content creators with tech skills that helped define this past couple of years, it will be content creators with packaging skills that help define the next couple of year.

My $.02, fwiw.

I have created a number of web series and one of the reasons I have done so is something that no one seems to be mentioning in these articles. IT WAS A FULFILLING ARTISTIC ENDEAVOR.

Must we always be equating success with money and a so-called "following"?

Chris -above- hit it on the head when it came to my CHOICE of medium to express myself: "A lot of people in online video are doing online because the traditional route is either out of reach or too frustrating/unjust."

So for some of us it's a combination of a love for creating something with our friends and then finding the easiest no frills way to put it up for viewing. And I therefore celebrate web video for this. How soon did the inventors of the radio say to themselves, "Well this sucks? We ain't makin any money with this gadget."

Here's a link to Episode 1 of my latest series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jV1LJrjVmo

(make sure you watch it in "HIGH QUALITY")

and best wishes on your CREATIONS - (if any of you are even artists)

-Jonesy, New York City Comedian

I hear what you are saying Steve. I'll take your 2 cents anytime.

Remember it took almost 25 years from the time TV was invented until it had sponsors sponsoring shows. I don't think it's going to take that long but I do think there isn't going to be one single answer.

Yes, you can fetch money from others to pilot multi-platform shows but if you take that money you will not own those shows and chances are they will pair you with a TV Show runner who will take away your creative control. That happened to me during Web 1.0 when I was producing For the Love of Julie. My agent paired me with the show runner from Eerie Indiana. The Dot Com crash happened and we went are separate ways. Next I was set up with the show runner from the TV show The Trouble with Normal. I built a website for this show that appeared to be a blog from a crazy guy who had the same name as the main character of the show Zack Mango. The show was cancelled. I went on to my next pairing. I worked on other websites for other networks and studios playing in this early two-platform space but it wasn't until I did Who is Tyler Durden for FOX that the light bulb went off that I was doing other people's dirty laundry. I needed to create as an independent producer.

Is there an opportunity here to create independent multi=platform shows? I say yes.

A few of us know how to create web series that get millions of views. Can we leverage that to mobile phones? I say yes. Can we leverage it for Independent film? I say yes. Can we leverage it for TV? I say yes for cable and maybe for network television.

The tough part with TV is going to be ownership. We will have to build our brands strong enough to have that leverage or we will have to give up ownership or a large portion of ownership to the TV network.

Networks are struggling to maintain their brands. When we watch TV shows now we find them through social media or search. We don't ask what's on NBC or MTV tonight. We search and we listen to our friends on Twitter for the things we are interested in.

NOTE TO TV ON AIR PROMO DEPARTMENTS: GET YOUR HEAD AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA NOW!

Sure TV, Radio, Magazines and Newspapers still have power because there are many people who only go online once or twice a week to check email and some who never go online but with more people spending more time online looking for high paying jobs during this recession we are going to have the opportunity to reach those people and build our brands the way Hollywood built Movie Stars during the Great Depression.

Many of us who have been doing this for some time now are burnt out. We are not ready to launch new shows because we have not seen millions of dollars to go with the millions of views we have. Keep in mind though that we have laid the groundwork and others are now able to learn from our mistakes and successes and stand on our shoulders.

Now is not the time to give up on Independent Web Video, now is the time to press on and find new ways of helping each other as well as helping other brands, products and services reach the consumers they want to reach with solutions that our audiences want.

Many of us really enjoy hanging out together at conferences and parties and I think we might enjoy sharing sponsors and making money together as well.

I'm talking with several different independents now about non-exclusive arrangements that would allow us to work together sharing sponsors and revenue.