Wednesday 31 March 2010

Online Comedy Web Series - POST NUP



From comment from Natasha left on WHAT IS STORYGAS
We thought that you would find our animated web series interesting :)

Post-Nup is an animated show about marriage. More specifically, it’s a show about that last hour of the day, on a night when it’s pretty apparent (at least to the woman) that there isn’t going to be any sex. Our interracial couple sits in bed, recaps their day, checks email, and reveals comedic insights about their relationship and modern, urban marriage in general.

Post-Nup is a new Web Series and we are actively employing new marketing strategies to create a larger online fan base for the show as we begin the process of streaming at different WebTV sites.

So far, we have secured about 10,000 views/month. As an exclusively online Web Series, we believe in the power of online marketing as a method of increasing the leverage of online video streaming.
POST-NUP SHOW HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.postnupshow.com

POST-NUP YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePostNupShow


PostNup: Episode 1


In Episode 1, Gaby is giving Omar the silent treatment. Unfortunately for Gaby, Omar discovers that being a cartoon has some amazing perks, such as being able to read your spouses thought bubbles. With access to Gabys brain (which, BTW, is still running Mac OS 9), Omar sees her thoughts, explores her fantasies, and ultimately, decides to use his cartoon power to control her.



Post-Nup: Episode 2




Post-Nup: Episode 3




POST-NUP SHOW on FACEBOOK


POST-NUP also has a great blog about the process of web series production.
http://www.postnupshow.com/blog


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Tuesday 30 March 2010

How to get all this web series stuff direct by email

Find these links to web shows, creators, producers, industry news and productions useful?



You subscribe to these blog posts direct by email as a daily digest:-
all you have to do is click on this link

http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=storygas


Which takes you here:




Where you can enter your email address and word verification.

New posts are delivered automatically by email, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The link again...
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=storygas

...and if you've already received this by email - THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - Feel free to forward to someone you think could use it!

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Monday 29 March 2010

WEBISODE? Is webisode the right term for your episodes? Or does it denigrate your work?

GREAT discussion on twitter over the term "WEBISODE" found via @richardhartley

webisode is it the right term to use for an episode of a web series or webseries

From Eric Mortensen
Bio director of content development @ blip.tv. beginner thereminist. cookie thief.

Please stop using the word #webisode. Is that really the message you want to send? Wannabe TV episode? Don't denigrate your work.



Here's his side of the conversation... (most recent first)


@AnthonyDeLosa Perhaps we'll have this discussion in person someday.

@AnthonyDeLosa So, to bring us back a few steps..does #webisode mean interactive? Does it mean something broader than TV?

@AnthonyDeLosa The web is largely where it's watched for now.Absolutely.But things change fast and thinking only in terms of Web = mistake.

@AnthonyDeLosa There's still a lot of work to do. An INSANE amount of work. But if the next 5 move as quickly as the last 5? BLAMMO!

@AnthonyDeLosa We've been grappling with that for 5 years now. This industry has moved forward at an astonishing rate over that time.

@AnthonyDeLosa We've been delivering web series to Sony TVs for 3 years now. Roku,Tivo,AppleTV, too. Content comes from the web, not to it

@AnthonyDeLosa But "web series" isn't about where it's watched. It's where it comes from. Why would someone make something just for the web?

@AnthonyDeLosa I have issues with "web series" and "indie music", too. But I see the logic there. They serve a purpose for the time being.

@AnthonyDeLosa Web series tells you where content comes from. It's sorta like "indie music". Webisode suggests "not quite a real episode".

@AnthonyDeLosa But who is looking webisodes? Who is looking to be entertained, but *only* by "webisodes"? What viewer even uses that word?

@nicolespag I really don't understand the word's purpose. I wonder who was the first to use it.

Head over to @podictionary for more on the word "episode". http://podictionary.com/?p=170

"Episode" has been used in everything from Greek tragedies to Who Wants To Marry a Millioinaire. It's the right word for your show, too.

###



And on the other side of the chat... @anthonydelosa
Anthony DeLosa
Creator: Neighborhood Watch @TheHollywood Web Series

(most recent comments first)

@ericmortensen Thanks for an interesting discussion. One thing I can absolutely agree on, without a doubt there is a lot of work to do.

@ericmortensen experiences and worlds unique to the web not inferior versions of TV shows. I think there will always be a place for that.

@ericmortensen Whenever I look at web shows I ask "why does this exist on the web and not on TV?" I'm interested in creating interactive

@ericmortensen But does the average person view that way? How long before they do? Have to meet the capability of the average user.

@ericmortensen I think web series is where it's watched. If there is interaction and requires use of the keyboard that's where it needs 2 B

@ericmortensen I feel as an industry "WebTV" fails to let the average person know it exists and where to find it.

@ericmortensen Either you go to the audience or you hope the audience somehow finds you. Not just on the show level but on the ind. level.

@ericmortensen I always go back to hulu. They have the most known IP in the world but took to TV to tell people where to find it online.

@ericmortensen I think there will always be content made just 4 the web. That viewers aren't looking 4 is because they don't know about it.

@ericmortensen I can see where using web series and webisiode would be redundant. Fair enough.

@ericmortensen I have no love for the term but "web series episode"-"webisode", "tomatoe"-"tomatoh" IMO

@ericmortensen You could never just use episode by itself. You'd have to preface it with web series anyway which is the same as webisode.

@ericmortensen Where discovery is enemy#1 webisode is necessary. It makes it clear that it is an episode of something made for the web.

###

I hate the term 'webisode', but not as much as the term Web TV, which really does feel backward looking, and inaccurate (for failing to distinguish TV episodes merely uploaded from interactive storytelling)...

...but only because the word 'webisode' feels ugly and pretentious. But as Anthony says,
Where discovery is enemy#1 webisode is necessary. It makes it clear that it is an episode of something made for the web.


Someone out there must have a better term?
(we don't call TV programmes "films")
(for our friends in the US: we don't call TV programs "movies")

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE A COMMENT BY CLICKING COMMENTS BELOW!

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Friday 26 March 2010

10 Steps For A Facebook Fan Page - from the next web



Via @LucFalempin

Great top 10 list by Ayelet Noff on how to create a fan page on facebook.

The tips are written from the angle of social marketing for brands...

but it's a pretty complete checklist for getting your web series onto facebook... and includes...
1) Open Page – I have often seen the mistake of many companies opening a group or a personal profile for a company. Facebook has created Facebook pages for commercial companies to be able to carry on conversations with their consumers. Pages (unlike personal profiles or groups) enable brands to view insights such as fans demographics, number of interactions with fans, etc.

2) Content is king – Add dynamic content such as screenshots of highlighted areas on your site, videos of explaining your service, stuff that people would be able to look at when they make the decision of joining your fan page or not.

3) Networking – After you’ve uploaded enough interesting content, suggest your page to relevant members in your network.

4) Find your target audience - Finding the people within Facebook that will take an interest in your brand and in your campaigns and make sure they know your page exists.

5) Keep the conversation awake – Create live discussions on your page by both utilizing the status feature and also the discussions app.

6) Excite people about your brand again and again - Create frequent contests and special campaigns for fans to take part in and reward them for their participation with either social or monetary incentives that have to do with your brand.

7) Create a Welcome tab

8 ) Bring Value - Create other tabs that are relevant to your brand.

9) Utilize Facebook’s Insights - How many interactions did you have with fans this week? How many people commented on your posts?

10) Increase your exposure - Promote your Facebook page on your email signature, on your homepage, in other social networks that you’re a part of and in all outgoing materials to bloggers and journalists.


From CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE...


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Wednesday 24 March 2010

KateModern on The Money Programme - Media Revolution




Mentioned this almost exactly a year ago here!http://storygas.blogspot.com/2009/03/katemodern-and-me-on-money-programme.html

Here's an extract.

KateModern Mention on TV




From BBC News Money Programme:-
A decade ago, the UK was a net importer of television programmes. Now we're one of the most powerful players on the international television stage, exporting more than half the world's TV "formats".

Consumers are changing the way in which they watch television
But a transformation in the way viewers consume television is turning the industry's business model on its head and threatening the long-term future of this, one of the UK's most significant creative industries.

'Profound' changes
All the UK's major broadcasters have set up websites to allow viewers to watch their programmes via the computer, while social networking sites such as Bebo are carrying television content and even originating their own shows.

As the lines between television, the internet and social networking sites blur, this presents exciting but controversial new opportunities to bring advertising revenue into programmes.

Experts predict a future in which broadcasters gather substantial amounts of information about viewers and sell this data to advertisers who target their messages much more precisely than at present.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE


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Monday 22 March 2010

Net Neutrality



In all of the rows brewing over online content, I’ve only ever seen fears over access and availability and supply of content... not fears of access and availability and supply of the bandwidth itself.

So thanks to this article by Ted Johnson in VARIETY, for the first time, I came across the term
NET NEUTRALITY

A central argument is the worry that Internet service providers, such as Comcast, Verizon, et al., could give speedier delivery to some websites and services than others.

That would drive monthly subscribers to some websites while they eventually shut out the slower ones. And as Hollywood increasingly looks to the Web to deliver entertainment -- via video streaming, downloading and techniques that are still in the formative stage -- billions of dollars annually could be at stake.

The fear is that without the teeth of government restrictions, the Internet will one day resemble cable TV, where consumers are at the mercy of the dealmaking prowess of operators and networks, who decide what viewers can get via bundled tiers of channels.

When someone subscribes to cable, they get certain channels because those companies made a deal to be there, and some Web folk want to ensure that the Internet avoids the more-money/more-access approach.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VARIETY ARTICLE


Seems its been around for a while -- here's an explanation in video form from December 2006....

Save the Internet!


http://www.SavetheInternet.com
WINNER of a 2007 Webby People's Voice Award!


SaveTheInternet YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SaveTheInternet


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Monday 15 March 2010

Online comedy - Top 20 5 second films

Not strictly online narrative... but man, do they manage to bang in a beginning-middle-end...
Via the awesome @mrjonmacqueen



Top 20 5 Second Films Presented By UPROXX
These are the top 20 5 Second Videos Presented by UPROXX.com and 5secondfilms.com

The rules are simple: 2 seconds of beginning titles, 5 seconds of film, 1 second of end titles. If you take umbrage with these 5sfs running at an actual length of 8 seconds, we can only assume youre no fun at dinner parties.

Vote For Your Favorite Here


5 SECOND FILMS HOME SITE HERE:-
http://5secondfilms.com


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Wednesday 10 March 2010

New comedy drama web series coming soon - THE VERGE



Thanks to a comment left on What is storygas?
"The series itself is a comedy/drama about James (a suit and tie office worker) who moves into a share house on a street named "The Verge". James quickly realises that he is the "normal" one in a house full of eccentric archetypes (stoner/drug dealer, promiscuous young uni student, closet case homosexual Goth, tyrannical law secretary), and due to events that lead him to live at "The Verge" he must accept his fate and become a member of the house.

Our website (still under construction) is: www.go2theverge.tv

However we do have a "teaser" up on youtube which gives an idea of what the series is about.

I would be keen to get your feedback on whether or not it has the ingredients to become a successful webseries once it is up and running, cheers!


So, what do you think? Leave a COMMENT by clicking on COMMENTS BELOW!


THE VERGE SHOW HOME SITE HERE:-
www.go2theverge.tv
Come to the place where anything can happen in one of the craziest share houses in all of Australia. Some believe, "the world becomes wilder, when you're living on the edge..." Others say: "Welcome to The Verge".

Set in modern day Brisbane, 'The Verge' is an interactive web series about a house of 20-somethings, living, working, playing, partying and loving every minute of it. The house mates form an eclectic melting pot with casual flings, heady relationships, good friends, jealous rivals, sex, drugs and a killer soundtrack to boot.



THE VERGE PRODUCTION COMPANY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TriptychConcepts


'The Verge' Extended Show Teaser
Set in a house on a street called 'The Verge' the show is about a group of housemates with very different personalities all trying to learn to get along and live together. Follow the weekly adventures of James, Nate, Rachel, Blake and Bec in the most unruly house you will ever come across!

This first video is our extended teaser trailer with many more shows to come.


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Thursday 4 March 2010

Favourite Posts - KATEMODERN - online drama web series

Started StoryGas just over a year ago, and now going through the blog archive to pick out notable shows and favourite posts.

I'll try to update some of the entries along the way too, and don't forget you can CLICK HERE to get these posts sent direct by email.


From November 2008...

This is KateModern - Original Post here.


kate modern web show web series online drama katemodern

From wikipedia:-
KateModern is the sister series of lonelygirl15. The series, which was announced on April 16, 2007, began filming on July 9 and the first video, Fight and Flight, was released on July 16. The show is produced by LG15 in partnership with Bebo. It ended on June 28, 2008, slightly less than a year following its original release.

KateModern is set in East London, England, and bears many similarities to its parent series. Both Kate and Bree are avid video bloggers and carry a dark secret. There is an alternate reality game component of the series as well.



KATEMODERN HOME SITE:
You could either watch the show here, on the KateModern bebo site
"KateModern ran from 16th July 2007 to 28th June 2008 and was produced by the creators of lonelygirl15 - EQAL. During it's highly successful year long run it was nominated for two TV Craft BAFTA awards, a Webby Award and won the Broadcast Press Guild Award for Innovation 2008."
www.bebo.com/katemodern

Or here on the lonelygirl15 katemodern show site:
www.lg15.com/katemodern

KATEMODERN WIKI, on the LGpedia:
http://www.lg15.com/lgpedia/index.php?title=Image:KM_Portal_Season_2.jpg

And the Production Team even have their own bebo profile:
http://www.bebo.com/KateModernProduction



KateModern Forums are here:
http://www.lg15.com/katemodern/forum/

GMTV Behind the Scenes item on KateModern here:




katemodern kate modern press articles reviews

Here are some press articles on the show...
Kate Modern herself was killed off at the start of the second series; a bit of a bold move you might think, but the format of the show means it is constantly breaking new ground.“You can interact with the story, talk to the characters, comment on the plot – we get feedback all the time,” explains Rushton.

“What I find so interesting is the fact that people are coming together and discussing the show, but they’re also coming together to discuss things that lie outside of the show that affect them. People actually come to you on Bebo and share their experiences and they feel like they’ve got a place to do that. It’s the way that communication is going.”
The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/music-film/modern-miss-817538.html
kate modern katemodern on bebo profile
We told you last month about the planned wrap-up of KateModern, the very successful Internet television show exclusive to the AOL-owned Bebo social network.

Well, today’s the day that all is put to pasture. KateModern is having its finale, and it’s going out with 12 episodes in 12 hours. The countdown to the series close began earlier this morning and will stretch to 7PM EST, with hourly videos releases complemented by live chats with and among the fanbase.

In fact, due to its viral achievements EQAL was able to secure both a $5 million Series A funding round and CBS partnership in the space of a single month.
Mashable.com
http://mashable.com/2008/06/28/katemodern-2
BEBO's Kate Modern has become an internet sensation since being launched a year ago.
More than 66 million people have logged on to view the interactive online drama's 'webisodes' since July 2007.

TV Biz has an exclusive preview of this week's season 2 finale for your pleasure. It features Ralf Little and man-of-the-moment Noel Clarke - who wrote, directed and starred in the Kidulthood and Adulthood films.
The Sun
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1345446.ece
Who killed KateModern? It's the question that has been occupying several million minds since the beginning of the year, when the heroine of the eponymously named online drama met her end. Kate, for those who have been living in a bunker since July 2007, is, or rather, was, a troubled teenage university art student living in London. She had a dark past that she was unable to remember and was somehow connected to a secret organisation called The Order.
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/03/digitalmedia.web20

who was in kate modern katemodern
Social networking site Bebo is to shock fans of hit online drama Kate Modern by killing off its eponymous star in the first episode of its new series.

The series' first sponsors - which get to see their products placed within the video - will be Cadbury's Creme Egg and Toyota's youth-targeted car Aygo. Sponsors of the first series included Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Warner Music, Paramount and Orange, which each paid up to £250,000 to appear within the show.

No figures have been revealed about what each company might pay to be involved with the second series.

However, each company stumps up cash based on the amount its brand is integrated into the storyline, which includes monitoring the number of times it appears in the video and is mentioned in the script.
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jan/16/bebo.television

kate modern web series katemodern bebo originals
KateModern, the flagship online drama broadcast by social networking site Bebo, will wrap up for the last time at the end of June, it was announced today.

The last part of series two will air on June 28, with Bebo promising a "high octane" ending with multiple episodes.

Featuring Royle Family star Ralph Little, the interactive drama has run for more than 300 four-minute episodes since it launched in July last year, racking up more than 57 million views.

Bebo wanted the show to "encourage unprecedented interactivity" with its audience and has also tried to distinguish itself from rival social networking sites by building up original content.

Users are given interactive tools to "talk" to KateModern characters and producers from the series, suggest storylines and solve puzzles in the plot.

The Bebo president, Joanna Shields, said KateModern has "created a new genre and demonstrated the power of media on a social network with gripping storylines and peerless production values".
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/12/bebo.web20




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Tuesday 2 March 2010

Favourite Posts - LONELYGIRL15 - online drama web series

Started StoryGas just over a year ago, and now going through the blog archive to pick out notable shows and favourite posts.

I'll try to update some of the entries along the way too, and don't forget you can CLICK HERE to get these posts sent direct by email.


From November 2008...

This is LONELYGIRL15 - Original Post here.


lonelygirl5 lonely girl 15 lonelygirl lonelygril15

From wikipedia:-

"lonelygirl15 was an interactive web-based video series which began in June 2006, and ended on August 1, 2008.

The show focuses on the life of a fictional teenage girl named Bree, whose YouTube username is the eponymous "lonelygirl15", but the show does not reveal its fictional nature to its audience.

First Blog / Dorkiness Prevails


After the fictional status of the show was revealed in September 2006, the show gradually evolved into a multi-character show including both character videoblogs and action sequences, with a complex story universe involving "trait positive girls" who are sought by an evil organization called "The Order".

Lonelygirl15 first came to international attention ostensibly as a "real" video blogger who achieved massive popularity on YouTube. The show was eventually proved as a hoax by suspicious viewers as featuring a fictitious character played by American-New Zealand actress Jessica Rose.

The three creators of Lonelygirl15, first revealed by the The New York Times, were Ramesh Flinders, a screenwriter and filmmaker from Marin County, California, Miles Beckett, a surgical residency dropout turned filmmaker, and Greg Goodfried, a former attorney with Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp, LLP.

The series began on June 16, 2006, and was slated to run through August 1, 2008. New videos appeared, at a clip of four to five a week, first on YouTube and lg15.com, also on MySpace. As of July 2008, the series has had more than 110 million combined views."


More here:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonelygirl15

New York Times Article here

LONELYGIRL15 EPISODE ONE DETAILS

LONELYGIRL15 EPISODE 2 - Purple Monkey


LGPEDIA DETAILS


LONELYGIRL15 EPISODE 3 - School Work in Summer... BLECHH!!!


LGPEDIA DETAILS


lonelygirl 15 home page

"LONELYGIRL15" WEB SERIES HOME SITE HERE:
www.lg15.com

"LONELYGIRL15" SHOW FORUM HERE:
www.lg15.com/forum

"LONELYGIRL15" BEHIND THE SCENES BLOG HERE:
http://inside.lg15.com


loneonlygirl 15 lonelygilr lonelygirl15 you tube channel

"LONELYGIRL15" YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lonelygirl15


ABC NIGHTLINE INTERVIEW
with the creators of lonelygirl15 (From November 2006?)




Behind Lonelygirl15 (interview) - From January 2008


Rocketboom field correspondent Chuck Olsen interviews Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, the creators of lonelygirl15.


Lonelygirl15: The Resistance on Tilzy.TV


Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried - creators of Lonelygirl15 and Kate Modern and founders of new media company EQAL - talk with Josh Cohen of Tilzy.TV about LG15: The Resistance, why the series is different, and how the LG15 world comes to life.


'Lonelygirl15' creators Beckett, Goodfried discuss new drama - from Sept 2008


"We call the shows that we produce 'social shows,' and they're very different from a TV show or a film,"

"The way that you actually construct the narrative, the way that the plot points flow over the course of the week, the way the site interplays with the video, the way the community works together and talks to the videos and talks to the characters, is all different,"




LONELYGIRL15 FAN NEWS SITE - LG15 TODAY


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