Wednesday 29 April 2009

How To Make A Hit Internet Show #3 - On Online Regulation

Don't know where exactly, but this would fall somewhere in the ever-growing "How To Make A Hit Internet Show".

It's a response to an excellent article written by Bill Thompson on bbc.co.uk about online regulation.
There are often moments during the widespread adoption of transformative technologies where an old way of thinking or doing business is so threatened by the new possibilities that its adherents call on those with political power to "Do Something!"
It never works.

If the music industry had spent more time thinking of ways to deliver great music to its customers over the internet and less lobbying politicians and suing potential customers it would probably be thriving by now.

Book publishers, less certain of their own importance, are taking notice of the exciting experiments at Faber & Faber and Penguin instead of looking for protectionist legislation to keep the new media world at bay.
The full article is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7644849.stm

And these are extracts from an email I sent.
###
Since December last year, I was on the writing team for an online drama called katemodern.

You may have heard of it -- it was, apparently, the first online drama made in the UK, and one of the first in the world (certainly in the UK) to embed itself on a social networking website (bebo)
www.bebo.com/katemodern
and was the UK spinoff of the American online phenomenon lonelygirl15.

katemodern got 61 million video hits, and 6 million profile views on bebo.
The show ended this summer as scheduled - sorry, bear with me, there is a point to this email! - and I now give talks to and consult for [large and small] media organisations.


It feels as if I was hurled on an exponential learning curve, and am now try to bring others up to speed on what I glimpsed writing 70 odd episodes, (storylining 140 odd episodes), as to the potential of interactive drama - while you're making it along with your audience interacting with and commenting on it.

The way I try to explain it is that it feels like working in television drama in 1950.

"Everyone is trying to think of it, and critique it, and work in it, as if they are radio drama producers.
But it's not radio, it's television. But we dont know what the medium can yet fully achieve! We just know it's not radio, theatre, or cinema."


Anyway - wanted to share this story with you.
This is a blog devoted to the show lonelygirl15, it's called lg15today
http://lg15today.blogspot.com

It's written and maintained by fans of the show.

Have a look at this article from a couple of weeks ago.
http://lg15today.blogspot.com/2008/09/note-about-removal-of-video.html
Note About Removal of Video
Due to it's use of nudity and adult themes, a video was removed from the blog by myself after a lengthy discussion with community members and a consensus that this was the proper action to take. The author of the post has been contacted and informed of the removal and why it occurred. Anyone wishing to discuss the matter further can contact me at xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx
or can PM me in IRC.
Thank you!


-- I read some of the comments, and apparently, the post didn't have a harmful intention behind it. That's not what's interesting.

What's interesting, for me, is the *the community* decided it wasn't right for lg15today.

lg15today's *audience* decided it wasn't appropriate.

Not the makers of lonelygirl15,
Not the authors of lg15today.blogspot.com
Not the company that hosts the blog,
Nor even the ISP.


*The Audience*, *The Community* decided it would be best to take it down.
For the first time, we have a medium which allows *the audience* to moderate content.

To flag up and vote down the inappropriate.
To decide amongst ourselves (as an audience) what is safe and appropriate and what we would like to be associated with.


As an audience, we're not quite ready for what exactly that means.
But we're all learning. And becoming more 'literate' and experienced audiences.


It's a fascinating time out there, as content adapts to the technology.
And even more fascinating as we, the audience, adapt the content to fit what we as a society feel is best.



Full HOW TO MAKE A HIT INTERNET SHOW article by clicking on here.

Thursday 9 April 2009

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep10

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

So this is it - the final of the LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS of Season One of The Guild. Think it'll be Clark and Michael next week. Not sure.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 10: Annotated

We removed the pre-roll and fixed the donor page (two people got left off) and decided to annotate this re-upload! Please click to turn it off if you wish!
Maybe that's why the view counts vary wildly over the season?


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com

And to give you an idea of the fan response, - here is The Guild's playlist for fan responses.

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Wanted: The brightest new multi-platform talent in the North West (of UK)



From Northern Lights Training:-
“Multi-platform” is today’s media buzzword. Computer games spawn feature films. TV programmes launch music careers. Social networks form the new hubs for boutique video content. How does a media industry that traditionally recruited and trained along clearly demarcated and segmented channels find the talent to develop the ideas of tomorrow?

From now on they may be graduates of a new four week industry-based training programme being developed for Northwest Vision and Media in partnership with some of the biggest names in the media sector in the North West: the BBC, McCann Erickson Communications House, Onteca and Made in Manchester.
MORE HERE:-
http://northernlights-training.co.uk/

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep9

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

More LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS with Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 9: Owning Bladezz

The Guild confronts Bladezz and Codex holds the trump card.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Coming Soon... Online Comedy - The Hillers




Thanks to a comment left by Joel...



From hillers.tv:-
Hillers is an original, dark comedy that follows the life of Mitch Repter- an average, middle-class, middle-manager, as he struggles with why his life went from happy and contented to miserable and unfulfilled over the last few months, and with the bigger question of what to do next.
MORE HERE:-
http://www.hillers.tv

"HILLERS" YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:-
http://www.youtube.com/user/steeltreefilms

"HILLERS" on TWITTER:-
http://twitter.com/mikestivala


ALL ONLINE COMEDY posts here...

http://storygas.blogspot.com/search/label/online%20comedy

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep8

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

Another LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG with Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 8: Tipping Point

It's up to Codex to grow a spine, eep.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com


(Only noticed now how effective the pre-titles teaser is...)

Something to plug?

Great comments being left with links to shows...

Got a show to plug? Or any other links?

(Slowly linking to them myself... but in the meantime...)

Leave them in COMMENTS below!

Monday 6 April 2009

Music to write shows by...




When I’m writing, it’s got to be instrumentals. And I think I’ve found the ultimate stream of instrumentals.

The BBC Radio 3 breakfast show on iPlayer.
(Their almost barren home page is here:-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/breakfast

Three hours long, and a week’s worth on there.

I am totally clueless about classical music, but I love it. And it helps.
As do the spooky photos of the days’ different hosts, Rob Cowan, Martin Handley, & Sarah Mohr-Pietsch.



No ads, no jock schtick, you’re in the hands of pros... for your prose.


Shame you can’t get it out of the UK
-- Do you have any music rituals that keep you going on the keyboard???

Any links to share?

Suggestions in COMMENTS below!


PS (its either that or the “Forbidden Ensemble” porno soundtracks here
http://www.last.fm/music/Forbidden+Ensemble)

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep7

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

New week, and the final run of LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS in Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 7: Home Invasion

Codex discovers why Zaboo is so weird. It's genetic.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com


(Interesting to see the view counts fluctuate over the series... Episode 1 has about 2 million at the moment, this ep, half a million... but it doesn't seem to be an orderly dwindle as the season goes on...)

Friday 3 April 2009

Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine - episode 2 promo (RTE Storyland)

Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine - EP2 Promo

17-year-old Emma Johnstone's former best friend, Jenny, has recently killed herself and everyones starting to ask questions about Jimmy D - a boy Jenny met online on the social networking site Bebo, a boy who seemed perfect initially, but who turned nasty. Now Jimmy D's sinister presence has disappeared from the internet, people are getting suspicious and Emma knows much more than shes letting on. Emma has a secret and it wont be safe for long because someone is watching her...
MORE HERE:-
http://storygas.blogspot.com/2009/03/rte-storyland-contender-jenny-was.html

RTE STORYLAND SITE HERE:-
http://www.rte.ie/storyland

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep6

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

The last of the LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS this week with Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 6: Total Wipe

Emotions run high in the Guild after the disastrous Cheeseybeards meeting.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com

Thursday 2 April 2009

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep5

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

More of the LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS with Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 5: Rather Be Raiding

Codex struggles to keep the Guild meeting on track, and everything turns out great! Not.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com

RTE STORYLAND Round One Results

From rte.ie/storyland:-
Voting for episode one has now closed. We are pleased to announce the top seven dramas will be commissioned to make episode two.

Voting reopens Thursday 5pm 30th April 5pm until 5pm Monday 4th May where you decide who goes on to make a third episode.

Good luck to everyone and don’t forget you can only vote once so make it count!
MORE HERE:-
http://www.rte.ie/storyland/

Spookily close to the results of the home made poll amongst us...
(link here) - final line up is...

1st Hardy Bucks
2nd Rental Boys
3rd Psych Ward
4th Happy Slapper
5th Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
6th Pub World
7th Running Low

8th Chez Spuds
9th This Is Not A Conspiracy Theory

Hope the Shay and the TINACT keep going -- send us links
or show some web love here...

http://chezspuds.com/

and here

http://tinact.com/


So seven go through this time...

Anyone any idea how many shows will go through to Round 3?

Wednesday 1 April 2009

Web shows and live events - KateModern style

online shows web drama kate modern storygas


Found this great academic post exploring the live events on KateModern, and what that means for the medium of online shows.


From mediacommons.futureofthebook.org:-
However, (the clips) from web series Kate Modern, show how online video content is also working to recapture the ephemeral moment of broadcasting. Hosted by the social networking site Bebo, the series presents a form of entertainment that simultaneously utilises the ‘anti-ephemeral’ archive capacity of the internet whilst promoting a ‘hyper-ephemeral’ mode of engagement. The former is clear in the total length of the series (almost 14 hours over the two seasons) and the permanent access to the series offered through its website (www.bebo.com/katemodern). The latter is evident through techniques such as marathons, where viewers were invited to remain at their computers for 12 hours as new videos were released hourly, and quizzes that formed part of the narrative and viewers had to solve before the next episode.
MORE HERE:-
http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2009/02/16/10am-carnaby-street-kate-modern-and-ephemeralisation-online-drama

(Click here for more articles labelled RECOMMENDED READING)

.

LUNCHTIME WATCHALONG - The Guild - S1Ep4

web series comedy show The Guild storygas gild

Kick and a punch for the first of the month, and NO returns... it's the LUNCHTIME WATCHALONGS with Season One of The Guild.

Explainer here.


The Guild - Episode 4: Cheesybeards

The Knights of Good finally meet face to face and...it's awkward.


"THE GUILD" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.watchtheguild.com

StoryGas in March

Romped through the 5000 hits barrier, thanks to the list of Streamy Awards winners.
Hi to everyone new around here.

And great comments on the RTE Storyland competition entries - these shows are well worth checking, the sign of a bigger groundswell rumbling this side of the Atlantic.

I even like the way RTE is kind of reverse-engineering everyone to bring their own "2.0" to the project...

And finally started HOW TO MAKE A HIT INTERNET SHOW (or web series). If any more comes, I'll add it to this link:
http://storygas.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-hit-internet-show.html


Favourite non-narrative website finds this month:-
Ork Vs Dwarf
tremendousnews.com
insultsblog.com


Seen anything out there worth having a look at?

Any shows to plug?
(Hoping to link to The End Is Nigel, Speedie Date, Rainbow Bridge, After Judgment and Gemini Division soon...)

COMMENTS BELOW!


ALL THE MARCH POSTS - CLICK HERE