The Future of Web Series
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To better understand the future of professionally made web series, I first wanted to find out what type of content is being produced. It seems that there are two different types of web series emerging, specifically in terms of the ways they are being distributed. The first is embodied by the show “We Need Girlfriends”.
“We Need Girlfriends” (”WNG”) is an independent online webseries produced by Ragtag Productions. WNG chronicles the adventures of Tom (Patrick Cohen), Henry (Seth Kirschner) and Rod (Evan Bass), recent college graduates struggling to understand the complex world of the New York City dating scene after all three are simultaneously dumped by their long-term college girlfriends.
Thus far, there are eleven episodes of “We Need Girlfriends”, and it was announced on November 2nd, 2007, that “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star would be teaming up with CBS to develop a comedy based on this web series. I had personally never heard of this show until it was mentioned by Gavriella in class (thanks), but I’d assume the show’s audience must be fairly large for it to have grabbed the attention of a major network. However, it’s hard to tell exactly how many people are actually tuning in to watch “We Need Girlfriends” due to the fact that episodes can be watched on several different websites. Such avenues of distribution include the show’s exclusive website: weneedgirlfriends.tv, as well as sites that host content from millions of users, such as youtube, myspace, metacafe, gofish, veoh, grouper, and tilzy.tv. Here is the first episode of “We Need Girlfriends” (as posted on youtube), also titled “We Need Girlfriends”.
The second model of web series that seems to be emerging is embodied by the website Black20.com. Black20 in an online broadband network that currently has three different shows, with the fourth and fifth soon to be released (and several more still in the development stage). I decided to focus on Black20 because I’ve been interning there for the past ten months and I think the first hand experience will help me to better understand the nature of this type of web series development.
The main difference between this model of that of “We Need Girlfriends” is the way they’ve decided to distribute their content. At first, Black20 uploaded their content to all the aforementioned sites that support user-generated content. However, that content has since been pulled from those sites, and new episodes are are now distributed only to youtube, (in addition to existing on Black20.com). Youtube has remained a site of distribution due to the fact Black20 receives a portion of the revenue generated by advertisements that exist on the lower portion of the video player when Black20 content is watched.
Comments
Hey Katie - Cool article. I love We Need Girlfriends. It’s probably my top three favorite web shows ever.
In terms of distribution, I’d say the put your videos all over the place is the better route to take at this point. The internet’s gigantic and I think it’s best to have as many points of contact as possible.
And thanks for the mention of Tilzy.TV! I co-founded the site and just wanted to clarify that we’re not a video-hosting/sharing site. We’re more like an Entertainment Weekly/TV Guide for the online video space. We did an interview with the WNG crew a while back and have covered them a few times since.
Interning at Black20 has gotta be a pretty sweet gig. Seems like they’re a fun crew.
Thanks again. - Josh
I love WNG, I love that you can find great film shorts and unknown musicians online - I think it’s a great thing for the arts and entertainment industries because it will encourage people to act on creativity since there is finally a public space to present it.
Of course there are potential pitfalls to a series like WNG getting picked up by a major network (having to please advertisers, execs, work with different writers, deal with Nielsen ratings…) but it’s still a huge leap forward that complete unknowns can even get this much attention for their great work.
My question: how do they get the attention? I know word of mouth is a major factor, but I don’t fully understand how a video of Philipino inmates doing the Thriller dance can get national press while so many other acts presumably go relatively unnoticed. What tips the scale?
Marketers have obviously realized the potential of new media to reach whole new audiences and are desperately trying to figure out how to control and manipulate word of mouth, such as the
Word of Mouth Marketing Association
but business aside, this is a whole new kind of cultural production, reception, and distribution. Any ideas of how it happens?
Word of Mouth
I love that show.
It finally seems that the independent film industry is finally being recognized, only to be controlled by big media corporations. Although they started without the help of a network or anyone in the network, they, like many independent filmmakers, could be altered in form of structure or content in relation to what may be more appropriate for a general audience. Such as the Sundance film festival which has gained much more popularity in recent years. Creators from this low key field only experience freedom until they get what they want–exposure.
In general, I feel that with youtube and online videos, it can essentially become easier for a talented filmmaker to get his or her name out there and this is a step for people who can never receive the chance (financially, ecomically, etc…) to reach their goals. Same goes for the audience who may not be able to access cable shows, can watch these for free in the library if they wish.