NYTimes' Screen Test Shows the Power of Simplicity

The web is not TV; we’ve been repeating that for a while.  It can be like TV, but it can be more robust, more interactive. Its shows are shorter, and sometimes longer

; they can be less commercial than TV, and they can be more.  The web is a distinctive medium with unprecedented power whose capacity should be pushed and explored by innovators…and it is.

The New York Times, despite the recent financial woes facing most print publications, is the utmost of online innovators.   Its long history and celebrated brand, its simplistic style and its air of elegance, have proved fodder for some of the most interesting, inventive projects I’ve seen on an off the web.

Despite – and indeed because of – its simplicity, Screen Tests is some of the most fascinating, intriguing work on the web. It is what it says it is, a simple video that captures the on-screen energy of an individual (via a conversation – these aren’t Warhol’s silent Screen Tests) except these people don’t need to be tested; they are already well vetted.

It’s a face to face meeting with someone you’ve never met before  but know pretty well. It’s Will Farrel’s first therapy session. It’s a second date with Naomi Watts. It’s a beer with Seth Rogan, a one-on-one with George Clooney or a chance encounter with Natalie Portman.

Who doesn’t love to hate Tyra Banks? (Hers is one of the most viewed Screen Tests)

Elizabeth Banks makes me smile.

An unprecedented opportunity to look into the eyes and soul of someone so familiar that we’ve never before met…until now.