Archive for May, 2008:

The Wingmen Go To Eleven

For the sake of relationships in and around the University of Texas, it’s a good thing that ‘The Wingmen’ are no longer on the air. 

The fictitious trio of love gurus – ladies’ man Zach, temperate Jordan, and romantic Chris – hosted a college radio program in which they dispensed invaluable Deary Abby advice like, “find little ways to disappoint her and if you make a point of, everyday, doing one thing to make her sad…her expectations will drop to the ground.”  Their knowledge of women was suspect, but their radio show was award-winning, so they became the subject of a made-for-the-web mockumentary, The Wingmen.

Created by a handful of UT students and inspired by real-life events (part of the crew actually did have a real college radio program, but after one semester and roughly two listeners, weren’t welcomed back into the booth), the show chronicles the compounding misfortune of this crack team of romance “experts.”

Their call-in radio show gets the boot after Chris gets dumped on air, screams a series of expletives that would make Bill O’Reilly blush, and receives a hefty indecency fine from the FCC.  The crafty kids then start an online dating service to raise some cash and it’s all captured through the lens of wannabe “documentarian” Marshall Rimmer.

The Internet has seen it’s fair share of mockumentaries, the genre popularized by Rob Reiner’s Spinal Tap and brought to us weekly by The Office.  And that makes sense.  Folks producing fiction for the web are often strapped for cash, and the easiest way to deal with low-budget production value is to make that part of the appeal.
Read On…

Collaborative Call-in Media

Wreck and Salvage and Lindsay Campbell aren’t the only ones giving out their phone numbers.  Dan Meth, of Frederator‘s Meth Minute 39, the internet’s most awesomist animator (who Josh interviewed a while back) has been sporting his slick 866-number for months.  Why?



Meth repurposes a series of outlandish to banal voice-messages left on the official Meth Minute Message Machine with that signature color, style and smirk.





Call it now! 866-575-1384 and maybe your voice can make it into the next collaborative installment.



Ah, what we accomplish when we work (and play) together.

Those Arent Muskets' Internet Party 2

Sequels are hard to pull off. Caddyshack II, The Next Karate Kid, Book of Shadows: Blair With 2, and the second Charlie the Unicorn taught us that. But Those Aren’t Muskets makes it look easy.

Four months after they hosted their first Internet Party – a sketch created for Cracked.com that anthropomorphisized Web 2.0 companies, giving them the bodies and proclivities of college coeds – Those Aren’t Muskets and Cracked today released Internet Party 2: An Intervention for MySpace. Read On…

CBC's Radio 3 Makes a Great Indie Music Show

In case you hadn’t heard, indie rock has fallen hard for web video. If there’s a skinny-jeans-wearing band or three with a new album dominating your iPod, you’re almost certain to be able to watch them doing their thing online. It’s an obvious, hackneyed point, but the interent’s filled the void left by the old MTV.

But the web’s forte is taking tired TV formats (like the news show) and making them interesting again, and the MTV formula is still undergoing that transformation. Offering a full slate of live performances, music videos, and interviews on a site is great – perhaps perfect for the hardcore fan – but it isn’t congruent with the sampling and frenetic nature of most web videos and their audiences.

If I’m looking for my new favorite band or a general overview of the scene so that I can fit in at Union Pool, I’m not going to surf through an archive of lengthy material hoping to stumble across something good. Plus, I need some entertainment value to go with my passive discovery.

Leave it to those perennial outsiders, the Canadians! (I kid about the outsider thing, of course, as our neighbors to the north have certainly become indie rock insiders in the 21st century.)

A crucial part of this community has been the CBC’s indie-focused station Radio3, and the staff’s weekly show – appropriately titled CBC Radio 3 – brings their perspective and personality to video. It’s been offering a little bit of everything from the studios since it began nearly a year ago, oddly enough, with the destruction of the old station building.

The show doesn’t shy completely away from the standard performance/video/interview music fare, but the editing and style make it much more accessible. Anyone can show the new Wolf Parade video, but who else would precede it with several odd minutes of found footage, comedy, and interviews exploring the trend of bands named after animals?

Ditto for trend pieces on indie facial hair, fashion, and rock moments.

###One of my favorite recent episodes deviates even more from standard formulas by diving head first into the parallels between stand-up comedy and punk/indie rock (which, now that I think about it, makes complete sense). It’s even a more interesting due to its portrayal of comedians’ viewpoints, including takes from kings of pop comedy, irony and absurdism like Patton Oswalt, Eugene Mirman, and Tim and Eric (with the obligatory David Cross cameos, of course).

And if you’re still not convinced of the indie comedy/rock convergence, more recent developments should remove all doubt.

At least there’s no denying that these Canucks know what they’re doing.  They’ve made an engaging video series that stands out in a crowded space. While their access to musicians and resources certainly helps, it’s the creativity, passion, and playfulness of each episode that keeps me coming back. It certainly beats the self-seriousness and scenesterism that’s so easy to fall into on the indie circuit.

So happy anniversary, CBC Radio 3, and good luck with your Olympic mascot politicking!

ABC's Player and the Hulu Juggernaut

After just two months, Hulu has become the 10th most popular video site on the internet, beating out all the major networks.  Hulu users averaged 129.3 minutes per month, smashing nearest rival ABC.com, which sees an average of 57.3 minutes per user per month.  



Now ABC, which has been among the most progressive of the networks, punches back with some shiny new player features including “full-screen viewing, closed captioning and the ability to send video links that can be embedded on blogs and social networks.”  Users will be able to “comb series offerings graphically, alphabetically, by genre or popularity.  [The new interface also includes] content recommendation technology that suggests programs based on a viewer’s choices.”



These are all positive development that give consumers all the features of Hulu plus some; Hulu and others will surely follow suit…and quickly.  But, players shlayers.  Content, not interface, is still king, and Hulu has far-and-away the most comprehensive library of traditional television shows.  It’s extensive offerings have already created a networks affect that will continue to drive the most traffic and the best content. 



ABC is smart to continually strive to make ABC.com the premier place to view ABC content.  It can do that with technology, community, bonus videos, or even vintage programming.  Whatever developments it continues to pursue for content on its own site, the network ought to consider playing with that growing elephant in the room.

Not Charlie Rose, It's the Michael Showalter Showalter!

Michael Showalter is best known as one-third of Stella, the Marx Brothers-inspired comedy troupe whose unfortunately short-lived 2005 Comedy Central show (hey, at least now we’ve got Mind of Mencia!…that was sarcastic) nonetheless gained a considerable cult following and had fans hungering for more absurdist humor from Showalter and Stella co-members Michael Ian Black and David Wain.

Now Showalter has traded his Stella persona of goofy-faced, oversensitive man-child for that of a self-obsessed, boorish talk show host (perhaps his terrible experience on The Tom Green Show paid dividends) in The Michael Showalter Showalter, an ongoing original collegehumor.com show and parody of staid, serious interviewers like that master Charlie Rose.

The redundantly titled short webisodes, which began in January 2007, star Showalter’s same-named alter ego, a vain, assholic prima donna whose supposedly serious show (all-black backdrop, espresso props for fellow comedian guests) is repeatedly undermined by “behind the scenes” footage revealing Showalter’s manipulative, childish behavior.

Read On…

Get on the Phone with Moblogic

Two weeks ago, while covering the choreographed spectacle that was a protest for the Sean Bell verdict (Abridged Backstory: On November 25, 2006, three plainclothes NYPD officers shot 50 rounds at three unarmed black men, killing one of them, Sean Bell, on his wedding day. The cops were acquitted on all charges, and lots of people became incensed.), Lindsey Campbell was arrested.

Reporting for Moblogic – CBS’ online, community-involved answer to mainstream news coverage – the host signed up to wear handcuffs, in part because she was sympathetic to the cause and, like any good journalist, she “wanted to be where the action was.”

But unlike traditional journalists, and atypical of any regular news organization, Lindsay and Moblogic are passionate about, and determined to involve the audience in the reporting process. In an episode prior to her arrest, Lindsay attended Al Sharpton organized rallies and asked random participants questions that were submitted solely by viewers.

Now, the crew’s in Georgia, because “if you want to talk about the death penalty, you need to be where it’s happening. (Abridged Backstory: In January, the US Supreme Court started an examination of whether lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. On April 16, they upheld that it was an a-okay form of execution. Since the ruling, Georgia’s put to death William Early Lynd. Barring any pardon or stay, this Thursday the state will do the same to Samuel David Crowe.).

And in an ongoing effort to create “an interactive journalism experience,” Lindsay solicits viewers to take charge of their own news.  Let her know who she should speak with, where she should go, and what she should ask.  Tell her what you’re thinking by comments, e-mail, or even give her cell phone – seriously, find her at 917-273-7212 – a call.

###

From its inception, Moblogic has fostered what web producer Sean Tice told me is a “running conversation” that starts with “topics on the street, then moves to the site where viewers comment on the comments of people in the video. From there, comments evolve into their own conversations.” Spend a few minutes browsing through those conversations and you’ll see the site has one of the highest levels of thoughtful audience participation you’ll find anywhere online. The show is not an entertainment or informational end product; it’s a starting point.

Now it’s come full circle, from acting as a focus for audience interaction to being entirely driven by an audience granted with unprecedented access to those running the show.

Moblogic is a relief from mainstream news organizations where we, the viewers, are treated like silent news receptors. Producers decide what’s relevant to report to, not with, the public. Certainly that traditional type of coverage has a place. Educated and informed anchors and analysts will always play valuable roles in providing access to information. But it’s nice to have an alternative.

Who hasn’t wanted call Lou Dobbs and tell him to get the $&@# on a bus to Southern California where he can gain much needed perspective or suggest that John King to do something relevant with his touch screen? Now you have a voice. Give Lindsey a ring – that number, ONE MORE TIME! 917-273-7212 – and let her know what you wanna know.

This Animated American Life

Since its debut on Chicago Public Radio in November 1995, the best thing to happen to This American Life has been Kausper Hauser’s spoofs. The sketchy comedy crew’s Ira Glass impression is near flawless and the casual journalistic inquiries into stories that reveal life’s peculiarities (Episode 1: Going Postal, Episode 2: Phantom High School) couldn’t be more spot-on.

The second best thing to happen to This American Life is its Showtime series. Though I prefer the radio show and letting all visual accompaniments coalesce in my imagination, at times it’s a treat to put a face to a voice, a landscape to a setting. Plus, the series comes up with storytelling techniques like this:

Created by Chris Ware and John Kuramoto, the cartoon doesn’t take sensational, Doogtoon liberties in bringing a mistaken Onassis memory to life.  Instead, morbidly disproportional figures and fantastic background changes make it fun while the tame action keeps it proper.  I like it, but if Showtime continues to create animated segments, I hope they’ll change it up.  I.e., something with an xkcd aesthetic would rock.


The Fuhrer Comes Full Circle

There’s a scene in Der Untergang – a critically acclaimed German/Austrian film about the final 10 days of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1945 – when the reviled leader of the Third Reich concedes all is lost. I don’t speak German, and I haven’t seen the actual movie, but Bruno Ganz’s portrayal appears riveting.

I wouldn’t have thunk it, but the scene’s prime material for parody. Scott Lamb pinpoints YouTube user DReaperF4 as the genius (or at least the guy who posted) a Spanish-language subtitled version where, instead of the Allied Forces, Hitler gets totally POed at his generals about a new flight simulator game. Teh internets Hitler meme was born.

Remixes followed. There’s been Hitler hating on paparazzi. The Downfall of the New England Patriots. Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live. The end of HD-DVD. And an especially poignant Hillary’s Downfall.

Like Jenna says, it’s a revelry of outrageously odd juxtapositions, and my favorite is when making fun of the Fuhrer comes full circle, and Hitler finds out he’s a meme:

Excellent use of internet famo references – Star Wars Kid, Chad Vader, Chris Crocker – and lingo. And great eyes on Mike at inside Online Video for finding this one.

Incognegro and Comedy.com

Comedy.com, which endeavors to curate the “funniest stuff on the web,” looks like your average round-up of viral videos, user-generated content, and forums, an amalgam of Funny or Die and the comedy channels on Break, Metacafe, and YouTube that’s been duplicated ad nauseum on the web.  But what sets the site apart from its predecessors – aside from an “LOL” rating system and an insult ticker that streams “Yo Mamma” jokes – are its actual comedian inhabitants and original programming.

Similar to straight up stand-up sites like EffinFunny, Comedy.com’s “Stand Up” section features real deal comedians and allows for those as yet unknown to upload their bits, which are sorted by category (i.e. “Topical,” “Gay & Lesbian,” “Real Life“). Viewers can rate, share and even “heckle” the performances (there a quite a few worthy of heckles). Comedy.com posts the top-ranked comedians with the most “LOLs” as a way to filter the talent.

Currently, the most popular user-gen bit is from comedian Sheng Wang’s snippet on car insurance.

Eh, maybe it’s funnier in person. If you’ve ever sat through a lousy comedian act, or the clip above, you’ll appreciate the swiftness with which you can click through the performances.

A better bet is to check out some of Comedy.com’s five original series.  Newest New News, “the only daily satirical newscast with a deaf music critic and Hitler book reviews,” is kinda like a less-funny ONN. Make a Hot Girl Laugh (reminiscent of the short-lived game show Make Me Laugh on Comedy Central), pits two comedians against one another in a battle for a bimbo who would otherwise be outta their leagues. Then there’s Glitch in the System, a weekly series and a satire about video gamers.  Do Unto Others is a series in of montages in much need of edit with absurd suggestions for #$%&ing with people.

Incognegro is the only series worth a click.

Read On…

Barely Ignorable

Ben Relles, creator of Obama Girl and Barely Political, spoke on a panel today about viral video at Streaming Media East.  When we met, Relles noted my tendency to trash BarelyPolitical, a website which, I maintain, was once a waste of my time.  I did not mean to disparage Mr. Relles, however, who is indeed a marketing genius with an intuitive instinct for creating videos with zeitgeist potential, and someone with a very creative style.



Remember the MeowMix theme song created by Shelley Palmer? It’s probably the last thing I’d ever put in my Ipod.  (S#^%, now it is stuck in my head.)  Even though I find the song annoying and generally worthless (I never liked cats), I admire it.   I visit Palmer’s blog, MediaBytes, almost daily; I even listen to the podcast. 



And Barely Political, which launched with a killer name and URL and a brilliant marketing campaign, but not a shred of enduring entertainment value,  has indeed found its bearings.  It was haphazard and confused early on, but the brand has become a tangible entertainment property with legs.  This is due largely, as Mr. Relles readily acknowledges, to his partnership with people who truly understand the process of building entertainment brands, NextNewNetworks.  Smart partnership.

 

A new Barely Political video, Bill O’Reilly’s Producer (Unseen Footage), screened by Relles during the panel, exemplifies what Barely Political does best and should be: a satirical response to our collective conversation with a wink to its absurdity… not a series of videos devoted to a vacuous chick lip-syncing catchy songs.  The latter is marketing, I think.

 

 

Good stuff.

Viral Video Afterlife

The Angry Video Game Nerd’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles review was removed from YouTube on May 20, 2008 at 8:27AM EST due to a “terms of service violation” after being on the site for 690 days and receiving 2.7 million views. Asahi Corp. called for this “crazy ass Japanese game show” clip to be taken down 8 hours earlier after 633 days and 1.7 million views.

 

In a litigious online world, where precedents are obscure if not completely unestablished, “fair use” is an obtuse phrase, and issuing DMCA takedown notices consumes the lives of first year associates at entertainment law firms, it’s good to have a record of the type of info above, the who, when, and why of videos removed from one of the largest video-sharing sites on the web.

And that’s what YouTomb provides. A product designed by MIT Free Cultue that “continually monitors the most popular videos on YouTube for copyright-related takedowns. Any information available in the metadata is retained, including who issued the complaint and how long the video was up before takedown. The goal of the project is to identify how YouTube recognizes potential copyright violations as well as to aggregate mistakes made by the algorithm.”

Said algorithm was deployed in 2007 at the behest of ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, etc. to automagically remove copyright-protected video, but it’s far from perfect. This industry needs a watchdog. Congrats to MIT for getting the ball rolling.


Good find by Techcrunch.