StoryGas in December

Things have gone pretty well this last 3 months. This was only supposed to be a hole into which I can throw all the shows I'd be looking into anyway...

Friends who are 'web experts' laugh 'out loud' at my Google AdSense ads (apparently, they are considered naff by those in the biz), but I think I'll keep them up for now - if only as an experiment to see how they work. Sometimes they throw up the odd good banner which is vaguely relevant, and who knows how many cents I'll earn for every billion hits the site gets. To give you an idea of the numbers involved, here's a glimpse at my latest "all time earnings".



New Additions
Bought a domain. It went something like this.



The only casualty from transferring over seems to be the "Updated Blogs" list over on the right hand side. Will wait a couple of days to see if they reappear, and they didn't. So put the blogroll in again. Now I've divided them into two - industry blogs and 'civilian' blogs.

And experimenting with twitter. To wit, here.
www.twitter.com/storygas


Next month?
I've found some others who have coined the terms I've been trying to use - in explaining how "putting everything out there" and making shows which are "open" seems to work best online. I'll try and put these half-thoughts into one post in the next month...
But the best of these is Chris Anderson's blog - example here:-
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2008/12/the-conservatio.html
- It seems more relevant to the world of "factual" - I'd like to explain these theories in terms of my experience of online comedy and drama production... Maybe in one post which I can keep refining.

ALL STORYGAS DECEMBER 2008 POSTS LABELLED HERE:-
http://storygas.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html

Really enjoying your messages -- click on the "COMMENTS" below to say hi, or ask/answer any questions...
.

How To Be Creative - by Hugh MacLeod

An end of year gift.

My favourite page on the Internet.

HOW TO BE CREATIVE by Hugh MacLeod.

So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:

1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.

11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.

16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.

21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
24. Don't worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.

26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

31. Remain frugal.
32. Allow your work to age with you.
33. Being Poor Sucks.
34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.

36. Start blogging.
37. Meaning Scales, People Don't.
38. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer your dreams.

MORE (A LOT MORE) HERE:-
http://gapingvoid.com/ie/

HUGH MACLEOD'S SITE HERE:-
http://www.gapingvoid.com/

HUGH MACLEOD ON TWITTER

HUGH MACLEOD ON FACEBOOK



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How To Engineer A Movie Hit - Malcolm Gladwell

From The New Yorker:-

Malcolm Gladwell talks about success in the film industry and engineering hits. From the 2006 New Yorker Festival.

LINK HERE:-
http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/2006/10/09/predictable

Gladwell covers Dear Frankie, the Death of Diana, The Interpreter, and nobody knowing what constitutes the sublime.
And a great summary here from The Krieger Group:-

Several years ago, Malcolm Gladwell gave an interesting talk for The New Yorker Festival in which he reported on a group of researchers who had developed algorithms to predict whether a script could be developed into a hit movie. The researchers used a technique called neural networks to predict, based upon elements of the script, if the movie would be a box office smash. In fact, the researchers were able to predict the profitability of a movie accurately 6 out of 9 times, even before the director or cast was chosen. In several cases they were within several million dollars. Now 6 out of 9 may not seem great, but Hollywood’s record is poor; successfully predicting gross revenues on only 1/3 of their movies (after all, if they did not think it was going to be profitable they would make the film, unless its Woody Allen).

MORE HERE:-
http://thekriegergroup.com/blog/?p=18

Treat yourself to the books - All profits help keep StoryGas running.





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All smiles as web shows come of age

Great article forwarded to me by Kirill writer, Andrew McCaldon, from last week's Observer.

Excellent overview of the recent history of Online Drama and Comedy by Ajesh Patalay.

From The Observer:-

It started with a girl named Bree. At least that's what she said her name was. She was 16, American and girlishly pretty. In June 2006, under the name LonelyGirl15, she posted her first video online. It lasted a minute and a half, was shot in her bedroom and showed her talking direct to camera. She namedropped a couple of other video bloggers (vloggers) and pulled a few funny faces. 'What you need to know about my town,' she said, 'is that it's really boring. That's probably why I spend so much time on my computer, I'm a dork.' That was it. Typical of the confessional teenage vlogs circulating the web at the time.

A few days later, the next video appeared, showing Bree goofing around with a puppet monkey. In the third, she talked about being home-schooled and imparted some trivia about Antarctica. Pretty mundane stuff. It wasn't until the sixth vlog, entitled My Parents Suck ..., that the tone shifted: in it she complained that her parents had forbidden her from going out with her friend Daniel on account of her 'religion'. It wasn't clear what religion this was. Within hours the video had notched up 50,000 hits. (The previous postings had counted 50,000 to 100,000 hits in the course of a week.) Two days later the tally was up to half a million. Suddenly LonelyGirl15 was a phenomenon. With each new video, as parental tensions heightened and suggestions of the occult crept in, the buzz grew ever greater.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/dec/14/internet-web-series

Ajesh Patalay also lists 10 web shows to watch:
1. Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy
2. Smart Girls At The Party
3. 50 To Death
4. Easy To Assemble
5. Kirill
6. Sorority Forever
7. The Guild
8. House Poor
9. Blahgirls
10. Sanctuary

It's a great article, but... there's just one TINY fragment of a sentence with which I really can't agree:

"Scoring a web series hit, however, is still no cinch. Even shows whose view count passes 100,000 in the first week (a fair index of success) can find it hard to sustain."

100,000 in the first week = a fair index of success?
That sounds a bit like "sunset media" industry talk.

Surely one of the strengths - opportunities - of the web is the ability to build a following from scratch. To whatever number of hits... over whatever length of time.

Unless I've misunderstood the article, applying a criteria of "TV Overnights" to the 'first week of uploading' feels incredibly bogus. There may be a time for shows to reach the stage of gaining 100,000 hits per week. But to judge the success of a show by numbers "in the first week" feels hugely misleading.

How about the size of the community around a show?
How busy the message boards or forums?
How many unofficial fansites linking to the home site?
How many members or fans signed up on the home site, or bebo, or MySpace, or Facebook?

Surely these are better indicators of the health of a show. The quantum shift for all of us is stepping away from the methodology of measuring TV shows or film "on release", towards tracking communities of fans over time.

We haven't developed ways of measuring, recording and sharing these 'other' indicators. Not to an 'industry standard'. And it doesn't fit the way sponsors or networks currently operate, so I think we'll continue to see sentiments such as
"shows whose view count passes 100,000 in the first week (a fair index of success)"
in the industry for some time to come.

What do you think? On "Comments" below.
.

Weekend Video: Entertainment execs talk with Rafat about Hulu, YouTube and more

From Guardian PDA Digital Content Blog:-

During the second session at our LA year-end Digital Media Review and mixer, paidContent's founder, publisher and editor Rafat Ali led a panel with Albert Cheng, executive vice-president of digital media for Disney-ABC Television Group; Miles Beckett, co-founder and chief executive of EQAL and co-creator and executive producer of lonelygirl15 and KateModern; and Lewis Henderson, senior vice president - head of digital for William Morris Agency.

Among the topics they covered were plans for 2009, indie content developers and those online video giants called YouTube and Hulu. Find out what Cheng had to say when he admitted ABC was not on either YouTube or Hulu and Rafat asked, point blank, "Why?"

MORE HERE:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/dec/22/digitalvideo-youtube

Interesting for me...
13.30
How replicable is the lonelygirl15 model? (Creating a studio from one hit)
14.30
Primary focus: "We are an audience company... our goal is built around building community based websites with very rich social features..."
17.45
Seth McFarlane deal with Google - (that's fine but what I want to know is) "how do you get something that's unknown distributed effectively?"
19.00
"we really believe in building a community around the brand... so there should be a fully featured rich social network around that branded show... that should be the home and everywhere the content goes should increase the distribultion and reach... increase your eyballs...
But ultimately serve to drive people back to the site, so that for the content creator... they have a much more bankable and long-term monetisable asset."
21.00 - 23.03
On Product Integrations.
24.45
ABC-Disney on geo-fencing
26.25
Why aren't you guys (ABC-Disney) on YouTube?
29.20
"We love YouTube - we see Youtube, Flickr, Photobucket as services..."

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Online drama... With The Angels

From With The Angels:-

Welcome to Hollywood. People come here to find - in Taffy Simpson's words - their "time to shine." Fresh off the Arkansas farm, Taffy moved to Los Angeles three months ago to become a “Professional Production Assistant.” But the best-laid plans can go awry, and now she's sharing an apartment with Ashley, an ambitious but slightly unhinged aspiring actress, in a run-down building on the beach in Venice. Too shy to talk to anyone, Taffy uses her video camera to get to know her neighbors.

There’s Andy, Ashley’s secretly smitten best friend; Trey, a screenwriter whose fear that he’s become a has-been has him perched on the edge between “jaded” and “bitter;” “Secret”-touting Life Coach Miranda; and the Mystery Man from Apartment 6, who is – well, a mystery. All of them share with the camera things they can't share with each other, creating a funny and moving commentary on God, fame, love, sex, cars, music, TV - and all the other things we put our faith in.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.strike.tv/show/with-the-angels/

EPISODES 1-8 HERE:-



From WithTheAngels YouTube channel:-

Taffy's roommate Ashley and her best friend Andy throw a party, but Taffy isn't in a partying mood. Things look better in the morning, though, as Taffy tells us about her new life and her thwarted plan to attend the Sunshine Film Academy. New-agey neighbor Miranda pushes some of Taffy's buttons, and another neighbor, TV writer Trey Alan Gordon, just might give Ashley's career a jump start. We learn that sometimes there's more to friendship than meets the eye as Andy's feelings for Ashley come into focus.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.youtube.com/withtheangels

"WITH THE ANGELS" SHOW HOME SITE:-
http://www.strike.tv/show/with-the-angels/

"WITH THE ANGELS" SHOW TWITTER
http://www.Twitter.com/withtheangels

"WITH THE ANGELS" WRITER - MARY FEUER'S BLOG
http://maryfeuer.blogspot.com/

****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
WITH THE ANGELS
Can you embed? YES from youtube
Can you comment? YES on home site and on youtube
Also on youtube? YES
Forums? YES on www.strike.tv
Blog? On Twitter and Writer blog
*********************************************

"The 37" - TV production company pilots online drama

From New Media Age:-

Tern Digital, the cross-platform arm of Scottish TV production company Tern TV, has created The 37, a drama series of six two-minute episodes fusing manga and photo-realism, which it's funding itself before pitching to Nokia among others.

The work is an online pilot and could become a key property for Tern Digital if it finds a viable partner.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/40587/TV+production+company+pilots+online+drama.html

FROM TERN TV COMPANY WEBSITE:-

At any one time there are 37 people whose collective existence maintains the stability of the planet. But now they're being targeted by a bunch of contract killers with only one thing in their way: the ancient order of the Kismet. This is high-octane broadband drama series, where Tern Digital is mixing the world-acclaimed artwork of graphic novelist John McCrea with background photography to produce an Anime-styled visual experience.

JOHN MCCREA'S WEBSITE HERE:-
http://johnmccrea.com/

We haven't found one clip on the net yet - have you seen anything?
.

RTE Storyland contenders...

Here are a couple of RTE Storyland contenders before the shortlist was released


The Love Commandments


Week


I'll be tagging all posts on the contest here with the RTÉ storyland label.
.

Tales of entering RTE Story Land competition...

Great thread on experiences of entering RTE's Storyland competition here:

From filmmakersnetwork.ie:-

Hi, my name is Shane, and I entered the competition. I handed my package in at about five to twelve (eek!). I was just wondering did anyone here enter in the end and if so what were your showreels like? I'd like to see some of them as this is my first time entering or doing anything on this scale.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.filmmakersnetwork.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=3459&page=2

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New Online Comedy... Web Therapy

From lstudio.lexus.com:-

Lisa Kudrow stars as a therapist with limited patience for other people's problems in this original improvised web series.

SHOW HOME SITE HERE:-
(**WHIZZBANG WARNING! this crashed our browser**)
http://lstudio.lexus.com/#vid1212

From tvguide on youtube:-
"FRIENDS star Lisa Kudrow is back on the small screen. The really small screen. Hollywood 411 catches up with Lisa and gets all of the details about her new web series WEB THERAPY."



From MultiVuOnline channel on youtube:-

As television networks premiere their fall line-ups, another new series is making its debut online. Lisa Kudrow is launching an improvisational comedy, titled "Web Therapy," on L Studio, a new broadband channel developed by automaker Lexus. The series is one of 30 original video segments featured on the channel, which hosts an eclectic collection of original films, live-action shows, documentaries and comedy programs.

*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
WEB THERAPY
Can you embed? YES -although code for ep 1 doesn't seem to work
Can you comment? ONLY if you register with lstudio.com
Also on youtube? not found
Forums? only if you register with lstudio.com
Blog? not found
*************************************

Coming Soon... OzGirl launches Jan 12th

From OzGirl.tv:-

Join Sadie as she moves from the country to the city this January.

MORE HERE:-
http://ozgirl.tv/2008/11/24/newtrailer/

NEW TRAILER HERE:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-lyRwvqnwg



MORE DETAILS ON OZGIRL HERE:-
http://storygas.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-australian-online-drama-ozgirl.html

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Online Drama... Running right now. Lovedistance.jp

Okay.

This is *really* different. But you have to catch it quick, as it seems to end on December 24th.

It takes a while to load and click through, and I'm still not fully sure what it's all about.


From lovedistance.jp:-

From Tokyo to Fukuoka,
one long distance relationship.
The distance, over 1000km.

The relationship, 2 and half years so far.
A man from Fukuoka, a woman from Tokyo,
to prove their love, they run.

This documentary is, until the saintly night of Dec 24th when the reunion happens, broadcasting the two's running paths. Their text messages, blogs and video chats, are open to the spectators in real-time.

This documentary will, for about a month, continue living in real-time.
We the audience, is going to observe their love relationship for the next one month to reconsider this monster, "love".

In order to virtually experience their long distance relationship, a male is directed to "a man" site, a female is directed to "a woman" site, in other words, you will be separated apart. This takes away internet freedom.

To tell a truth, this documentary is an advertisement. On the saintly night of Dec 24th, the client will be revealed. CF will be produced through the next one month.

Here's a frame from the introductory video.

And here's a screengrab of the live feed.
The pink and the blue show the progress of the couple getting together.

And you can track the two 'runners' on a live interactive map.

===

UPDATE:
*This* is what it was about...



A brand integration. Ad-funded programming web series!




CLICK HERE for all my web series links

CLICK HERE for all my FAVOURITE POSTS and webseries

CLICK HERE for all posts on web series funding

RTE STORYLAND SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED...

From RTE Storyland:-

After much deliberation we are thrilled to announce the shortlist for StoryLand. Many thanks to everyone who entered, the quality and standard was truly impressive.
‘For those of you who made it into the final twenty, you are invited to a pitching round to be held on Friday 16th January at RTÉ, where the winning ten will have their episodes commissioned. We will be in touch with further details but for now, congratulations and the very best of luck!

MORE HERE:-
http://www.rte.ie/storyland/

THE SHORTLIST

Erase & Rewind - Alchemy Electronic Arts productions
Writer Tina Pisco

All "Erase and Rewind" links HERE

Trailer


iCabalot - The Digital Hub
Writers Sarah Francis & John McEvoy

Jenny Was A Friend of Mine - Screenworks
Writers Thomas Martin & Steven Byrne

Screenworks Storyland site

What Does Joe Know? - FastNet Films
Writer Eoin Rogers

Rental Boys
Writer Gemma Creagh

Caped Crusader - Mercury Boy Ltd
Writer Brendan O‘Connell

All "Caped Crusader" links HERE
Mercury Boy MySpace page

Trailer


Chez Spuds - Igloo Films
Writer Pat McCabe & Johnny Ferguson

The Agency - FastNet Films
Writer Emmett Scanlan

Director's Blog Here

Trailer


In Estate - Campbell Ryan Entertainment
Writer Sarah Daly

Running Low - Happy Endings Productions
Writer Diarmuid O’Brien

Happy Endings YouTube Channel here
Civilisation dried up shortly after the oil did. But now, a D4 refugee is about to find help in the last place imaginable...

TRAILER HERE


Hardy Bucks - Hardy Productions
Writers Martin Maloney & Chris Tordoff

Welcome to Castletown, Co. Mayo. Home of Eddie Durkin and Buzz McDonnell. Eddie's thinking about a new start in Galway but will Buzz follow?
STORYGAS POST HERE
HARDY BUCKS BEBO PROFILE

Episode 1 Part 1


Sullybags - Vico Picture & Sound Ltd.
Writer Patrick O’Driscoll

Take - Still Films Ltd
Writer Maya Derrington

Happy Slapper - Screenworks
Writer Gary Duggan

eHeist - Rolan productions
Writer Robert Lanigan

Psych Ward - Blinder Films
Writers Luke McManus & Sam McManus

Jerusalem Street - Ulysses Films
Writer Deirdre Alexander

Pubworld - Eekreb Films
Writer Steven Stubbs

Trailer



Morbid & Sons - Moocow Productions
Writer Patrick Kavanagh, idea Nicholas Kananagh

Moocow Theatre Youtube Channel here
Moocoow MySpace page here
Morbid & Sons is a teaser for a web based drama by MooCow Theatre. Currently in pre-production. A comedy about a family of Anglo-Irish Undertakers living in present day Ireland, they're business is under threat of closure as no one is dying in their village and they will stop at nothing to save the business.

Recovery - Capsule Films
Writers Emma Bodger, Thomas Garbutt, Daniel Seery

Capsule Films Blog entry
Capsule Films’ online drama ‘Recovery’ , a high octane tale about a security guard who falls in love with a shoplifter, has been shortlisted as part of RTE’s Storyland project.

Trailer


All posts labelled RTE Storyland here:-
http://storygas.blogspot.com/search/label/RTÉ%20storyland

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Online Comedy Musical... Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long-Blog

From wikipedia:-

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 43-minute musical film, initially produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, the aspiring supervillain alter ego of Billy; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest.

The movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and Jed's fiancée, actress Maurissa Tancharoen. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike. On October 31, 2008, Time Magazine named it #15 in Time's Top 50 Inventions of 2008.

MORE HERE:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Horrible%27s_Sing-Along_Blog

So... What's it about, and why is it special?

From NewTeeVee:-

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon’s web series, is a bold experiment in online distribution — the series will be available for free for just one week before becoming available on DVD and possibly download — but it’s also damn entertaining.

The tale of an aspiring supervillain told mostly in song, this WGA strike-spurred project treads an odd line between the professional and the amateur, making full use of Whedon’s considerable resources while still carrying a whiff of we-don’t-need-no-stinking-permits filmmaking. The end result is kinetic and inspired, while still bearing the trademark wit and pathos of a Whedon project.

MORE HERE:-
http://station.newteevee.com/2008/07/11/dr-horrible-preview-whedon-rocks-the-blog/

MORE ARTICLES HERE:-
http://www.drhorrible.com/press.html

SHOW HOME PAGE HERE:-
http://www.drhorrible.com/

OFFICIAL FAN SITE HERE:-
http://doctorhorrible.net/

From doctorhorrible youtube channel:

The story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to.

Starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny, and a cast of dozens!

AND HERE'S A SONG:-





*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG
Can you embed? no - one off
Can you comment? only on the official fansite
Also on youtube? NO (not officially - click here) - but it has a CHANNEL AND TRAILER
Forums? NO - but Official Fansite Forum YES
Blog? NO - but Official Fansite Blog YES
*********************************************

You can buy the DVD and soundtrack by clicking the links below
-- all profits help run StoryGas!





CLICK HERE for all my favourite links to web series

CLICK HERE for all my webseries MUSIC links

CLICK HERE if you need to see some more webseries 'you must see'

SWF Screenwriters' Festival, Cheltenham 2009 - Tickets on sale now

Spoke at an Online Narrative Session at the International Screenwriters' Festival (SWF) in 2008
- Had a great time, SWF is a great place for writers...
Tickets have just gone on sale for 2009.

From screenwritersfestival.com:-

The International Screenwriters’ Festival is dedicated to the art, craft, and business of writing for the screen. Bringing together professional industry delegates, high profile guests and new talent from around the world, the Festival provides a unique forum to debate and discuss writing dramatic scripts for film, television and new media.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/about.php

TICKETS ON SALE HERE:-
http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/attending.php

VIDEOS BLOGS FROM SWF 2008 HERE:
http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/video-blog.php?id=16


.

All other shows mentioned on StoryGas

This is a permanent home for all other shows mentioned on StoryGas, including shows possibly coming soon...


Other Shows... "In Production" and/or "Coming Soon"?

Comedy
The Alarms - A Story In Words
Children's Hospital (Rob Corddry)
Hardy Bucks
The Progressive Adventures of Mr. Vista
Til Jihad Do Us Part
Twits
Twitter Whore


Mystery/ Sci-Fi/ Horror
The Ascention Project
Origin

Teen/ Youth/ 20something
Central Station
OzGirl
Dubplate Drama Season 3


International/Non-English/Other
Bow Street Runner
LoveDistance
Car Pool


RTE STORYLAND 2 PITCHES 2010
My Dublin Style Blog
LOLcano
Punchline
The Junior
Night Shoot
Sorry, I'm Not Interested
Ed Venture
Silent Walls
Star Feck
Mariana
Devastation
Help Vanted
Bugbusters


RTE STORYLAND PITCHES 2009
The Agency
Caped Crusader
Erase and Rewind
iCabalot






.

What do you think?

Seen any good online shows we should take a look at?

What do you think of the shows linked to here?

Got a Top Secret project you'd like to make more 'Top' and less 'Secret'?

Need some help from the other folks on here with an online production?

Click on COMMENTS below and let rip!

Online Drama... The Secret World Of Sam King

From MediaGuardian:-

The series revolves around a junior employee in Universal's facilities department who secretly launches his own start-up label in the post room and is "hungry for success" to make his way up the ladder and take over the job of his boss Greg.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/09/bebo.socialnetworking

EPISODE ONE HERE:-



(UPDATE -- OFFICIAL PLAYER EPISODES SEEM TO HAVE DISAPPEARED -- 3 CHEERS FOR YOUTUBE -- FAST TURNING INTO THE INTERNET'S VIDEO ARCHIVE)

"THE SECRET WORLD OF SAM KING" SHOW PAGE HERE:-
http://www.bebo.com/samking

"THE SECRET WORLD OF SAM KING" HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.thesecretworldof.co.uk/



PRODUCTION COMPANY WEBSITE HERE:-
http://www.monkeykingdom.com/

*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
THE SECRET WORLD OF SAM KING
Can you embed? YES from bebo and youtube
Can you comment? YES on bebo and youtube
Also on youtube? YES
Forums? YES
Blog? YES
****************************************
.

LG15: The Resistance -- Season 1 Finale "12 in 12"

LG15: The Resistance (from the studios of Lonelygirl15) - Season 1 ENDS TOMORROW in the now-traditional "12 in 12"...
...12 videos in 12 hours.

From InsideLG15:-

12 videos

12 hours

12.12.08

the day begins at 8:oo am PST (4PM GMT)

MORE HERE!:-
http://inside.lg15.com/2008/12/01/lg15-the-resistance-presents-day-of-atonement/

and the shows appear here:-
http://www.lg15.com/

...community reaction and updates here:-
http://lg15today.blogspot.com/


.

What is StoryGas?

In 2008, I was a writer on Season 2 of the Online Drama KateModern: storylining 157 and scripting 74 webisodes in six months. The series gained 66 million video hits - and a community response so seemingly disproportionate to the short daily episodes we were delivering.

Something else was going on, and I was getting first hand experience (guided by the path blazed by Miles Greg and Amanda - The lonelygirl15 Creators) - a transaction with the audience which is vastly different from the one we're used to in TV, Radio and Film production.

The series was being produced while the audience was able to comment, contact, contribute to and discuss - and feedback from that community was incorporated back into the series. Which, in turn, strengthened and grew the community around it.

Since the show came to an end in June this year, I have given talks on what it was like working on KateModern, and "Writing Online Narrative" more generally - and found myself referencing the same shows, links and sites. It seemed crazy not to have a place where I could 'bank' those, and update them with more news and links as I stumble upon them myself.

Welcome to StoryGas!

The posts here are biased towards...

- Online narrative

(rather than factual or entertainment series,
such as "Black Cab Sessions"
StSanders' surreal genius Shreds,
or BBC News' "The Box")

- Live action

(rather than animations like Salad Fingers
or Charlie The Unicorn)

- 'Open' shows

(produced and uploaded while the audience are (or were) able to contribute, rather than 'closed' series which are completely produced, done and dusted, before uploading).

This is probably the biggest difference between "Online Narrative" and say, a TV show on, say, BBC iplayer. The definitions of 'ongoing' are still bedding down - a 'closed' one-off show such as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog could be seen as part of the ongoing community around Joss Whedon's content, or the completed series of The Guild as part of a larger building of a community around that show...


So this is the blog. In the meantime I'm working on 3 commissioned online shows, and hope to share gossip from them with you here as they progress.

Feel free to say HI by clicking on anywhere marked "Comments" -- there are already others out there writing and producing online shows... with exactly the same questions as you -- we can help each other out with the answers!

NEIL MOSSEY
www.neilmossey.com/

You can email direct - storygas at gmail dot com

But... to be honest... the QUICKEST way to get something on to the site is to leave a COMMENT under the latest post, or right here, so everyone can see your link...

IF YOU'D LIKE YOUR SHOW TO GET A PLUG HERE...
This blog is a bank of the shows I'm watching - which means there will always be a backlog.

You can really help me to help you by sending/pointing me towards:
- a nice EYE-CATCHING PICTURE, logo, screenshot or any or all of these
- EMBED CODES for the episodes you like best, or which best introduce your show to a new audience
(I avoid autoplay they are pain in butt - width bigger than around "400" is tricky too - this is why I tend to link/embed YOUTUBE vids... they just... work).
- a PARAGRAPH explaining what the show is
- all the LINKS you think a new audience would appreciate to 'get' your show.

These things really will put you at the top of the list of what to watch next!

And if you like what I've done, feel free to buy me a coffee.
Thanks for the support!

Possible Storyland contender..? The Ascention Project

From The Ascention Project Myspace:-

It was in an innocuous back alley on a cold day in early 2009 that the virus claimed another victim.

At least, that's what the doctors said.

Less than six months later that person, we’ll call him “Callum”, had achieved something not another single human on this planet had done for thousands of years.

MORE HERE:-
www.myspace.com/theascentionproject

PRODUCTION COMPANY MYSPACE:-
www.myspace.com/suolasfilms

A Message


.

Examples of Web Series

Great breakdown of sub-genres and examples of online web series on Neil Leyden's blog

Online Web Series
Lonelygirl15, KateModern, Sofia's Diary, Sam Has Seven Friends, Quarterlife, In The Motherhood,
Webisodes
Battlestar Galactica, Tardisodes,
Animation
Afterworld, Happy Tree Friends, Joe Cartoon, Charlie the Unicorn, Salad Fingers
Machinima
Red Vs. Blue,
Mobisodes
When Evil Calls,
Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)
Perplex City,

MORE HERE:-
http://www.calico.ie/2008/12/screen-leaders-online-narrative-session.html
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Funding - The web's T-shirt economy

From Jemima Kiss MediaGuardian:-

Wired has a great piece about running a web content business on the power of T-shirt sales. In these tough economic times, startups need all the help they can get...

Burnie Burns started the machinima comedy series Red vs Blue with two friends in 2003, and nearly one million people were downloading the show each week for free. Burns did what any internetter with initiative would do and put the show's one liners on T-shirts. Before long he was selling enough to pay everyone a salary - it turned their hobby into a business.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/dec/09/startups-digitalmedia
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New Online Drama... Heart and Soul

From Mumspower:-

Mumspower is the place where all working mums can talk, share information and catch up with the gripping new online drama Heart and Soul. Mumspower offers information, discussion boards and social networking to help working mums looking for a happy work/life balance.

HEART & SOUL HOME SITE HERE:-
http://mumspower.com/


HEART & SOUL YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:-
http://www.youtube.com/user/BethMumspower


EPISODE ONE HERE:-



*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
HEART & SOUL
Can you embed? not found on home site, only from youtube
Can you comment? on youtube
Also on youtube? YES
Forums? not found
Blog? not found - characters have "blogs" here
*************************************

UK Centre for Online Drama

From Interactive Media:-

The UK is fast emerging as a centre for the production of online interactive dramas. One of the earliest shows Wannabies was produced by Illumina Digital for the BBC. The BBC followed this by one of its biggest online drama commissions to date - Signs of Life which was produced by Endemol’s digital arm.

MORE HERE:
http://nickunderhill.blogspot.com/2008/10/uk-centre-for-online-drama.html
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Best Webisodes and Vlogs - The Ten

From alloy.com:-

"Best Webisodes and Vlogs - The Ten - Entertainment"
Esmee Denters, LonelyGirl15, KateModern, LisaNova, Clark & Michael, The Academy Is..., DaveDays, Prom Queen, Barats and Bereta, Smosh, and Quarterlife.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.alloy.com/5/54/6150/1/ref/5/54/6150/2/

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Irish Web Awards...

From Irish Web Awards:

Oh and we have a Bebo Profile too!

http://awards.ie/webawards/

From Skillset

From Skillset (UK):-

"Welcome to Skillset's Interactive Media, the source of up to date information on training and education; tips for getting started; and news of any upcoming initiatives in the Interactive Media Industry.
You can find information here on our key projects and take the opportunity to get involved with the work of our industry forums, through the Creating the Future: The UK Skills Action Plan - which sets out the key implementation points for training and education in order to maintain our highly skilled workforce."

MORE HERE:-
http://www.skillset.org/interactive/

Funding
Skillset manages a range of centrally-collected training funds
contributed to by industry and public sources. The main aim of these funds is to
help ensure that the UK creative media industries have a workforce with the
right level and range of skills. The funds broaden access to training
opportunities and career development, support company development and make the
workforce healthier and safer. Skillset works pro-actively to bring these
opportunities to the attention of a diverse population.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.skillset.org/funding/

.

Creating TV shows online

From BroadcastNow:-

With social networks and ad brands demanding original online content, smart indies are seizing opportunities outside terrestrial platforms.
With non-broadcast platforms and advertising brands increasingly interested in generating their own online content, an opportunity has emerged for far-sighted indies in a new and fast-growing market. Websites such as Bebo, Babelgum and MySpaceTV are now commissioning their own original online content and evolving business models to support it, from advertiser funding to revenue sharing.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/multimedia/in-Depth/2008/11/creating_tv_shows_online.html

.

Online Comedy... Toyboize

From Broadcast Magazine:-

TalkbackThames is in talks with broadcasters to take its web comedy series Toyboize to the small screen after its audience topped 1 million.
Since launching on YouTube and its own website in May, the washed-up boy band comedy created by Navelgazing has become one of the most watched UK web channels.

MORE HERE:-
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/11/broadcasters_mull_web_hit_toyboize.html



SHOW HOME SITE HERE:-
http://www.toyboize.com/

EPISODE ONE (was) HERE

"In 1988 they were the UK's biggest child band... Now they're back. And they're all grown up. Yes, the rumours are true: JP, Martin, Nicky and Tim (sadly not Reece), aka the TOYBOIZE, are reforming and relaunching.Follow the action here as we capture their every move."

SHOW YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Toyboize

*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
TOYBOIZE
Can you embed? no - embedding now disabled.
Can you comment? YES on youtube and HERE
Also on youtube? YES
Forums? not found
Blog? YES
*************************************
.

New "season" of web series is most mature yet

From LA Times Blogs:-

For the last year or so, amid the angsty teenagers talking into their webcams and the skateboarding dogs, you could find professionally made Web series scattered around if you knew where to look, and when. But this month and next, there’s a critical mass approaching: Hollywood is bringing out what you might call the first “new season” of spiffy, corporate-backed Web series designed to be watched on your computer.

There’s now a clear line between amateur “user-generated content” and the new wave. On one side, you have the YouTube revolution in all its rough-edged glory. On the other are slick, premium productions coming from Web teams at Warner Bros., Sony and HBO, and from hopped-up bands of writers and directors who were motivated by the writers’ strike to land corporate sponsorship and create their own shows. Many can boast celebrity names on camera, behind the scenes or both.

MORE HERE:-
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/09/new-season-of-w.html
.

How about you?

There are about 20 shows linked from here now - what do you think?

Do you like any of them?

Have any you would recommend that we've missed?

Just click on the 'comments' link below!

.

How Much Web Drama for £1.3m?

From FutureScape:-

"That was the question we posed last week to British Web producers, following Jane Tranter’s announcement that the BBC had earmarked £1.3m for online drama.

The initial reactions were sceptical. From Tim Wright at XPT, creator of the BAFTA award-winning Online Caroline: "So how many original online dramas can you make for £1.3m? one? thirteen? twenty-six? ;-) "

And in the comments, Garret Keogh, Director of Content, digital department of RDF Media: "I was thinking the same as Tim. You don't get a lot of drama for £1.3 million. Even in the digital space."
Futurescape invited some other producers to share their opinions of what’s feasible...

MORE HERE:-
http://if.futurescape.co.uk/2008/10/how-much-web-dr.html

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Online Drama... Sofia's Diary

From wikipedia:-

Sofia's Diary is a drama that is shown online through the social networking site Bebo, which is the same site that hosts KateModern.

A version of Sofia's Diary originally came out in 2003 in Portugal. This means it actually predates the first video of lonelygirl15 which came out in 2006. Sofia is played by 21-year-old Rachel Hyde-Harvey.

MORE HERE:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia%27s_Diary

SHOW SITE HERE:-
http://www.bebo.com/sofiasdiary

EPISODE 1 HERE:-
"Sofia is a 17 year old girl, who now lives with her dad, step-mother and step-brother (also known as 'Devil Child'). The story begins when Sofia finds her (now ex) boyfriend kissing her step-sister Trisha. As revenge, she plays a trick on her ex, but it backfired and somehow she managed to set the whole chemistry lab on fire. Doing this got her suspended. Her mum then found some ecstasy tablets in her bedroom, so she decided to send her away to London, to live with her dad, his wife and their baby. Her best friend, Sean, recently died from a random gunshot."

PRODUCTION COMPANY WEBSITE HERE:
http://www.campbellryanproductions.com/

*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING*****
SOFIA'S DIARY
Can you embed? not presented as an option
Can you comment? YES on bebo
Also on youtube? not found
Forums? not found
Blog? YES on bebo
*************************************
.

Felicia Day Web Exclusive 'The Guild' Interview

Because "we love The Guild".

From g4tv.com:-



VIDEO SOURCE HERE:
http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/videos/35144/Felicia_Day_Web_Exclusive_Interview.html

MORE ON "THE GUILD HERE"
http://storygas.blogspot.com/2008/10/online-comedy-guild.html

.

Clark and Michael

From wikipedia:-

"Clark and Michael is a CBS Internet television series created by and starring Clark Duke and Michael Cera. The series takes the form of a mockumentary following Duke and Cera's ambitions to write and sell a pilot for a television series. Influences on the show include comedy group Stella, Arrested Development, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' Mr. Show, British mockumentary The Office, comedian Larry David, The Larry Sanders Show and the Adult Swim block of Cartoon Network.

Duke and Cera play fictionalized versions of themselves, Cera describing the characters as "more idiotic and more deluded". The series is a low-budget affair, filmed on handheld cameras by friends of the duo. The cameras are acknowledged by Clark, Michael and others, who will sometimes address them or those operating them; in one scene, an upset Michael shouts a cameraman out of the bathroom, after which Clark angrily points out to the crew that their contract states "no bathroom stuff". Boom mics are often visible, and the crew have also intervened in fights between Clark and Michael."

MORE HERE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_and_Michael



SHOW HOME SITE HERE:
http://www.clarkandmichael.com/

EPISODE TWO HERE:


*****STORYGAS INTERACTIVE RATING!*****
CLARK & MICHAEL
Can you embed? YES - from youtube
Can you comment? YES - but seems to have stopped
Also on youtube? YES - but buried on CBS channel
Forums? not found
Blog? YES but seems to have stopped
**************************************

CLARK & MICHAEL epsiode 1 part 2

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 2 - "Dinner and a Show"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 3 - MISSING???

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 4 - "DA Dad and the Break-Up"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 5 - "Driving School"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 6 - "Office Hunting"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 7 - "Premium Milkshakes"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 8 - "Writing Partners"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 9 - "There Is Only One Highlander"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 10 part 1 - "Kings of Holly"

CLARK & MICHAEL episode 10 part 2 - "Kings of Holly"

CLICK HERE for all my links to Online Comedy web series

CLICK HERE for all my links to specific online shows

CLICK HERE for all my favourite posts