In November 2005, popular lifestyle guide Time Out magazine partnered with City On Demand (founded by former HBO executives Eric Levin and John Ovrutsky) to create video reviews of destinations and happenings in New York City. They also teamed up with Time Warner Cable, allowing the company’s New York and New Jersey cable subscribers to view the videos free of charge on-demand on channel 1112. In July 2006, the same content became available online, allowing viewers from all over the world to take advantage of the insider information.

As a disclaimer before each one declares, the videos are not paid endorsements of the products or locations. Rather, they are editorial reviews from some of Time Out New York’s (TONY) staff, from assistant editors all the way up to marketing directors, who host each video. The site is sponsored by short advertisements that play before and after most of the 3- to 6-minute videos. They are spread over several channels that match up with the magazine sections like Restaurants, Theater, Kids, and Gay & Lesbian. What makes TONY On Demand more helpful than many other internet nightlife directories is the magazine’s ability to get insider information and an unbiased review. Where Citysearch teems with disgruntled consumer reviewers who have been turned away at the door to their desired club or lounge, TONY gives instant access to the facility, the owners, the designers, and the chefs. Just check out the site’s look at Thai Privilege Spa, where it’s explained that the reason for the spa’s zen is due in part to the therapists’ daily group meditation. TONY On Demand also brings attention to establishments that are off the beaten path, like advocating Lasker Rink in upper Central Park and Kate Wollman Rink in Prospect Park over its more populous and expensive competitors.

The editors at TONY found a vegetarian dim sum house called, naturally, Vegetarian Dim Sum House. Inexpensive and relatively unknown, it’s the kind of restaurant that make sites like this worthwhile. Gabriella Gershenson, one of TimeOut’s Eat Out writers, recommends some of her preferred dishes like spinach dumplings and kiwi milk shakes.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
No Comments »

For many women, the biggest day of their lives can also turn out to be the biggest headache they’ve ever encountered. Wedding planning is an art, and even the most prepared brides-to-be might need a tip or two when it comes tackling last-minute conundrums on the big day. Thanks to Bride-O-Rama, first-time brides can harvest wisdom from real women who’ve already walked down the aisle.

Launched in August 2007 and produced by Kathy Minton (a veteran of wedding and fashion communities) at Next New Networks, the show is the first network where women can share their wedding experiences with the world and in the process help others “get tips on how to tie the knot without getting tied up in knots.” In addition to anecdotal advice, the show is also backed up with expertise from professionals like internationally renowned wedding/event planner Preston Bailey.

Bride-O-Rama features two kinds of episodes rolled out twice a week: Wedisodes on Mondays and Wedding Titans/Bride Guide on Thursdays. The latter is predominately hosted by Preston Bailey (and may feature others later), who dispenses tips on everything from decorating ideas (like how to create rose-petal centerpieces) to pep talks for getting into the bridal mindset (i.e., “don’t micromanage” your wedding day). The advice is good, albeit a little lacking in detail. These videos run only about a minute long, which could be better if half the time wasn’t devoted to simply introducing Bailey’s background and his celebrity clientele.

The meat of the show, however, is Wedisodes, where each week one woman shares her personal wedding experience and at least three tips that could help future brides. You’ll hear from women like Lisa in Michigan, who describes how she color-themed her wedding; and from Wendy in New York, who reminds brides to bring hors d’oeuvres to the bridal suite to avoid forgetting to eat. The real fun, however, is simply watching real people put together and enjoy the happiest day of their lives. As the show’s slogan goes, it’s “her story, your inspiration,” and the site should be enough to get most women, and yes, even some men, feeling a little enlightened.

For more wedding-planning articles and advice, check out the accompanying blog. And if you’re a been-there-done-that bride, Brideorama invites you to submit your story.

Poor Kelly and Don. Self-professed “terrible dancers,” they took an eight-week ballroom dancing class before their wedding, only to have a technical glitch with the music on the big day. So they “winged” their foxtrot and got amusingly rated by their friends with “reall low” scorecards that read “-3” and “√16.” Doesn’t get much better than this.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Pearl Chen
No Comments »

This or That!, usually filmed before a live studio audience at various theaters in New York City, tries to capture the glory years of burlesque, vaudeville, and variety hours. Each episode, in which the rowdy crowd can be heard cheering on the various acts, features the host, Fred Kahl, and co-host, Julie Atlas Muz, and is produced by Mark Cyr, who has, among various other jobs, lectured at such revered institutions as UCLA and USC on cinematography and HDTV production. This experienced and acclaimed crew puts together, somewhat unexpectedly, a most irreverent, bawdy throwback series that’s not always safe for work.   

This or That! has more than its fair share of good, not-so-clean campy fun, and the creators claim their shows cover a bit of everything – from sword swallowing magicians, to Coney Island style sideshow acts, acrobatics, to significantly more sexual fare. For example, one recurring act features the velour-wearing Kahl (who sometimes plays the wizard-like Fredini) looking on as brightly colored supporting cast and audience volunteers compete to see which pair of competitors can eat bananas in the most sexually explicit position. Other shows might depict Mr. Donut, the Queen of Magic, and an old fashioned Siamese twin striptease. If you find yourself thinking you’ve been time-warped to some never-before-seen 1970s network game show, you can be forgiven. There’s more than a little Gong Show present in the donut eating contest, or the rather sordid Easter egg hunt which was a staple during this past holiday season. Sometimes you can almost hear the acts getting yelled off the stage.

For some sadomasochistic pleasure, check out this Guiness world record holder. $%&# that looks painful!

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
No Comments »

Jason Rowoldt launched Brickfilms in December 2000. Originally a small collection of a handful of films, the site grew over the intervening years, taking on various features and growing into a nexus for an entire community of LEGO–philes.  In 2003, Jason – claiming that he could no longer maintain the site – sold it to Joshua “RevMen” Leasure.

Leasure continued to add staff, and initiated an extensive review panel, which would be charged with maintaining the site’s extensive collection, and sorting entries so that a novice viewer would not be overwhelmed by the glut of LEGO cinema.

Despite the efforts at cleanliness and categorization, Brickfilms is a monstrous entity, and one that requires dedication on the part of the viewer, as well as the creators.

The hundreds of entries in the film collection come from creators around the world and are divided into traditional categories: action; drama; documentary; comedy; and so on. Think everything from Star Wars to The Diary of Anne Frank, to give an idea of the range. The true cineaste can also sort entries by staff ratings of animation, story, sound, cinematography, and effects, so simply choose the staff’s favorites.

If viewers have their fill of LEGOs – entirely possible, given the range – they can head to the active message boards, check out the in-house wiki (with a fairly extensive history of stop motion film), learn the necessary techniques to make films of their own, and then download the requisite software. Once that’s done, they can peruse the latest site-sponsored film contests, and win some of the hardware they’ll need. Brickfilms is indeed a full service site.

Like most artistic aggregators, not all entries are created equal. You’re just as likely to run into professional works as you are amateur efforts.

Some production companies have made names for themselves via consistent storytelling and technical prowess; London-based Spite Your Face is one of the best known, and has gone on to produce some pretty sweet official films for the LEGO company and Lucasfilm, among others.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
No Comments »

Ronald Tobias, director of Montana State University’s Science and Natural History Filmmaking program, and his student Eric Bendick co-produce Terra, a popular video podcast dedicated to educating the world about local, national, and international environmental issues through independent documentary filmmaking. Along with PBS and a multinational team from Australia, the UK, and North and South America, Bendick and Tobias have produced weekly podcasts since their launch in October 2005. In mid-August 2006, the site celebrated its one-millionth download.

Each of the seven- to ten-minute episodes is preceded by a shorter 20- or 30-second preview, giving viewers a taste of the episode before they dive in. Featuring both concerns about the environment and lush appreciations of its splendor, Bendick and Tobias’ site covers everything you could hope for in a progressive, eco-conscious podcast. Conventions, Spinner dolphins, activists, artists, Yellowstone, bison, and Mars all have equal footing here and viewers can search the site by topic for easy browsing. The best videos tend to involve investigative journalism, like Hannah Walker’s piece called “The Principles of Mosquito Warfare.” Shot back in The Great Bird Flu Scare of 2006, the video explains not only what scientists were doing to dissect the strain and discover counteragents, but also how their work embodied countless years of medical exploration. Though some content comes from outside organizations like INCEF, the podcasts are privately funded and exorbitantly so, resulting in videos of the highest quality of independent filmmaking, without the bureaucratic restraints of sponsorship deals and cable networks.

Of all the great content available on the site, the investigative journalism is the best. Hands down. Owen Bissell’s three–part series on northern California’s plummeting salmon population and his analysis of what it means for an indicator species like salmon to deteriorate is phenomenal. Henry Harrison uses a piece on how absinthe came to be erroneously banned to illustrate a thesis on how “bad science” and economy can influence public opinion and public policy. The piece which lends itself to profitable discussions about oil and stem cell research.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
No Comments »

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Anusha Alikhan
No Comments »

Blogger (site in French) Cyrille “Vinvin” de Lasteyrie began his vlog (site in English) in February 2006, finished his first season of 29 episodes in early July of the same year, and began his second season four months later. He’s fluent in English, lives in Paris, and explains his interest in America is due to allegedly being the great-great-grandson of General Lafayette.  If you’re American and you don’t know the importance of General Lafayette, then you are the exact target demographic for Cyrille’s explanatory babblings about French culture.

Most episodes last around 10 minutes or less and generally consist of Cyrille – or one of his alter egos – wearing wigs and going berserk over all things American and European. Most of the footage of Cyrille is shot in front of a simple backdrop or at home, and is cut together with scenes and interviews from around Paris. Some episodes explain abstract surrealism, others discuss soccer or the existence of Happy Meal toys from French McDonald’s, and more answer age-old questions like, “are the French really dirty?” But regardless of the video’s subject matter, all episodes involve at least one wig or wacky hat and, although funny and informative, are most entertaining simply because Cyrille is a little bit crazy.   Although not regularly updated, his English blog can also provide some additional commentary about the site.

The best shows are the light-hearted, informative explanations of French society. For example, his two–part French political map is detailed and weirdly comical. It explains the electoral process, political parties and their ideological foundations, and popular figures from the past and the present with the help of a whiteboard and, of course, a funny hat.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
No Comments »

The Tenderloins are an improv and sketch comedy group made up of four former high school buddies from Staten Island, New York. The quartet has been in the improv biz for over a decade and has been making well-produced comedic shorts that have seen their fair share of internet popularity on the likes of YouTube, MySpace, LiveVideo, CollegeHumor, and many more. Members Brian Quinn, James Murray, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulcano also take their edgy improv act on the road, standing up on comic stages on both coasts. Since launching their website in January 2007, the groups’ crazy online antics have scored the members some cash. The Tenderloin’s short comedic videos have won challenges on the NBC and Carson Daly sponsored It’s Your Show TV, earning them a whooping $100,000. And to top it off, the group has already sold two TV pilots, including the comedy I Never Said That, featuring Tim Meadows.

The Tenderloins gallery of comedic shorts explore the troupe members wildest off-the-wall fantasies. If you have ever wondered what would happen if your babysitter burst into your room with a machete to teach you to behave, or if your Dad used to take you through the fast food drive-through window to teach you how to pick up girls, you are visiting the right site. Some of the videos start with the absurd like mass chicken suicides, while others explore the “oh-no-they-didn’t” humor set, like a comedic roast of Jesus Christ. The Tenderloins are like the crazy, overly inebriated frat boys that lived next door to you in college, only add about a decade and (if needed) Staten Island accents. But while their maturity level might be stuck in the Delta house, their refined timing and honed style show off the quartet’s experience. They’ve been working together at this for over a decade, and it shows – in a good way. The site provides quick links to their newest sketches, as well as information on upcoming live performances and footage from their improv show. The Tenderloins are not your nicely behaved next-door comedy troupe; and likewise, their site is not for the easily offended or the un-amused. Love them or hate them, this is definitely a site for any sketch comedy junky.

Want the Tenderloins to entertain you and your friends in your own hood? Pony up enough cash to hire the crew and they’ll be at your doorstep in no time.

If you are a fan of the Tonight Show’s “Jaywalking” or the game show “Street Smarts,” definitely check out How Smart is the Average Person? for a few more reasons to be embarrassed of your fellow Americans. Or, if you know what it feels like to have to hide your respect for a certain sensitive, guitar-playing heart throb, John Mayer Concert T will strike a familiar chord.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Meredith Parker
No Comments »

Scott Nicholson is a board game connoisseur and enthusiast, who – in addition to collecting both rare and popular board games – wants to help others decide which games are right for them. As a result, he started his biweekly video blog, Board Games with Scott. During breaks from his tenure at Syracuse University as an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Studies, he reviews the titles he receives from Funagain Games, and other publishers, and he also buys on his own, making a point to note that the episodes are geared toward those who have never played the game, as current players will not gain much in the way of new information.

Because games are an interactive experience, the format is like that of a cooking show – as opposed to a movie review – and includes the following: Nicholson introduces the game (or two in some cases); discusses the manufacturer, history, and packaging and production values; presents the Game Bits – the pieces that come in the package; describes the method of play; demonstrates a round or two; and then gives his conclusion in the form of a letter grade for the game. He is always honest; however, since this is a hobby, he has made the decision to only review games that he already likes, so as to avoid negative reviews. The games cover a wide range of difficulty – from the simple, potty-humored Why Did the Chicken… to the more intricate and involved Cleopatra and the Society of Architects. Occasionally, Nicholson meets with the game designer, such as Tahuantinsuyu’s Alan Ernstein, to get a look behind the scenes of game development. Episodes last between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the complexity of the game, and archived episodes are divided into categories – Strategy/Eurogames, Party, Heavy, Two-player, Family, or general Non-specific.   Viewers can comment on episodes in the BoardGameGeek forum. Also, links to purchase games are found below each posting. For each game that a viewer purchases through Nicholson’s link to Funagain Games, Nicholson gains credits toward purchasing new games to review. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Although the demonstrations are geared toward prospective players, I did learn an interesting variant to my favorite game, Apples to Apples. he also compared it to a similar, but more intricate German game called Attribute, which recently became available in the US. Nicholson also sold me on GiftTRAP, which comes in a cubic box, and like Apples to Apples, tests your knowledge of your friends’ likes and dislikes.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
No Comments »

TED began as an annual conference in Monterrey, California in 1984. It’s purpose: to bring together leaders in the fields of technology, entertainment and design to create a forum for the exchange of ideas. Founded by Richard Saul Wurman, media entrepreneur Chris Anderson took charge of the conference with The Sapling Foundation in 2001. When Anderson became conference curator, the best speeches and performances were added to the website. These online video and audio presentations became so popular that an April 2007 relaunch of the site made this media its primary focus. Though it is an invitation-only event with about 1,000 attendees, the website allows the TED conference to reach a much broader audienceand create a truly global dialogue.

One of three winners of the 2006 TED Prize for her documentary film Control Room, Jehane Noujaim spoke at the 2007 conference and revealed her wish (in addition to $100,000 all TED Prize, recipients are granted “a wish to change the world,” which will ideally inspire the TED community into action). Aware that she sounds like a beauty pageant contestant, Noujaim shares her wish: world peace. She also has a vision: to use film to create a global dialogue that will eventually bring about her goal, revolving around an annual film-screening festival that she calls “Pangea”. Though Noujaim is not involved with the TED project, The TED website itself is a microcosm of her grandiose vision – allowing people across the world to develop mutual understanding by sharing ideas and experiences, visions and goals.

Each video begins with a brief explanation of TED and then launches into lecture, photo presentation or performance on any number of topics. The speakers – all leading creators or experts in their given field – are encouraged to give “the talk of their lives,” ideally in under 20 minutes, though some run a bit longer than that. From creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson’s thoughts on how modern school systems kill creativity to dance duo Pilobolus’s performance merging dance and biology, from chimp expert Jane Goodall’s talk on what separates humans and apes to nature photographer Robert Neuwirth’s photo presentation of earth’s evolution, this site is a fount for knowledgeable conversation and breathtaking entertainment.

Presentation on the site is top-notch, with the ability to jump seamlessly from one section of a video clip to another and links to biographies of the speakers and related talks displayed clearly on each page. The video is high-quality and can be enlarged. The site also encourages viewer participation with a ratings system and a section for comments.

Jill Sobule takes a lighter look at global warming with a song about the phenomenon’s positives. Former vice president and climate advocate Al Gore even appreciated her efforts (check out the end of the clip). Though everyone’s heard Gore’s own views on global warming, the opening of his own presentation is worth a look, simply because watching him joke about losing the 2000 election never gets old.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Sushil Cheema
No Comments »

Established in 2005 by Clint Gage, Michael Truly, and Nick Mundy, Team Tiger Awesome (TTA) is an LA-based sketch comedy troupe. The group found initial success with the release of their 28 Day Slater series that documents the one month out of the year that actor Mario Lopez believes he is actually the character he played on Saved By The Bell: AC Slater. (A little like the Brady Bunch Movie where the whole family somehow existed in the 1990’s, but more psychotic). The series debuted on Channel 102 in March of 2006, and the TTA  site was launched later that year.

In addition to its Slater series, TTA produces a number of short films as well as a few episodes and “news” pieces about themselves. The team’s general approach seems to be a combination of parodies on advertising and all things late 80’s/early 90’s with ostensibly immature frat-boy humor that actually proves to be well-thought out and well-executed under closer inspection. Many pieces are set to really awesome music like late 80’s favorite Mr. Big (Happy Valentine’s Day Lisa Nowak Crazy Astronaut Diaper Gun), or Pat Benatar (Bike). Videos can run between 30 seconds and five minutes long and though some could probably benefit from further plot development, the majority are nevertheless generally smart, witty, and entertaining.

Most people don’t know that Dirty Dancing was originally a silent movie from the 1930’s set to ragtime music. Well it wasn’t actually, but TTA could have convinced you with their short film, Dirty Dancing: The Corner’ingation of Baby.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Kate Dundon
No Comments »

There are some companies who have video content that is just inexplicable. But BMW is one of those few automobile makers that don’t just inspire brand loyalty; they have produced a community of proud drivers who love reading about their cars almost as much as they love talking about them. And for the luxury sedan owner, the BMW Vodcast – which began releasing episodes in January 2006 – should fit well alongside the company’s assortment of magazine and book collections.

Covering a wide range of material, from introductions, to technological advances, like the new inline-6-cylinder gasoline engine with Twin Turbo and High Precision Injection, to events, like the BMW International Open 2006 and the BMW ConnectedDrive, this is a vlog for aficionados and informed company clientele. For the voyeur without enough budget to own his or her own sedan, there are test drives of unexpected new products and footage of exotic race tracks, shot from inside the driver’s seat with the famous Formula 1 racers – including Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve – who man them. Most videos are under five minutes in length and all videos are polished to a high gloss, clearly made with a substantial budget.

Who doesn’t want a BMW racing yacht?

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
No Comments »