Seduce the Studios with 'Going Pro' at the Hollywood Web Television Meetup

Did you make it to the October Meetup? If you didn’t, you missed one heck of a night. We had our (recently announced) team members from New York in town, smack dab in the middle of Web TV Week, and on the heels of the IAWTV new members info meeting. Our theme was Going LIVE! and our panel delved deeply into the world of live web television production, distribution, and, of course, monetization. If you missed it check out the great photos on flickr and the archive from the live broadcast on Stickam (thousands of people tuned in to the live stream). We gave away laptops, editing software, and graphics cards. How could we possibly top this meetup?

Watch us. This month we are bringing you Going Pro: Seducing the Studios, featuring panelists from Big Fantastic, Sony Pictures Television, and Crackle’s upcoming action series, The Bannen Way.

Many producers dream of scoring a studio deal. With financing, marketing, and distribution all taken care of, can’t you finally just focus on creating something great? But what’s it really like when a studio gets involved? At December’s Hollywood Web Television Meetup we’re exploring these questions and more.

Web television powerhouse Big Fantastic first caught the eye of former Disney Chariman Michael Eisner’s web production studio Vuguru with their debut independent series Sam Has 7 Friends, the first daily scripted dramatic web series. Together Big Fantastic and Vuguru created Prom Queen, which drew over 20 Million views during its initial run, and has since spawned two sequels and a Japanese remake.

Last year Sorority Forever received multiple Streamy Award nominations, including Best Director for the four-man team consisting of Douglas Cheney, Chris Hampel, Chris McCaleb, and Ryan Wise. Big Fantastic has grown to become a household name in web tv, producing and directing series for studios like Warner Bros.

, McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision, 60 Frames, and Generate. They’ve just recently completed their latest series, Prom Queen: The Homecoming, scheduled for release after the new year.

In Summer 2008 Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren shot and released a short, sexy and slick trailer for a high-concept indie action web series that hadn’t yet been produced. Hollywood took notice, and after getting signed by International Creative Management they landed a 13-episode deal with Sony Pictures Television to produce The Bannen Way for Crackle.com, debuting early 2010.

Find out from these creators just what it takes to go pro and what it’s like directing, producing and starring in a studio-backed web series. With exclusive, never-before-seen footage of The Bannen Way!

This month we’re continuing the format with a limited-seating panel starting promptly at 7:30 pm, followed by our infamous networking mixer, which starts at 8:45 pm. The panel will be moderated by Marc Hustvedt, Editor-in-Chief of Tubefilter News.

Going Pro: Seducing the Studios
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
7:30 pm – Panel / 8:45 pm – Mixer

Location:
Busby’s East (Mid Wilshire)
5364 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036

Panelists:

	Chris McCaleb, Big Fantastic: After college, McCaleb worked closely with legendary filmmakers Michael Mann and John Sayles for nearly six years, where he cultivated a passion for personal storytelling on multiple levels. He co-founded Big Fantastic in 2006, and today is dedicated to the creation of original entertainment across every platform – film, television, comics, games, toys, phones, and of course, the internet. McCaleb also enjoys long walks on the beach.
	Ryan Wise, Big Fantastic: Ever since he was a little kid, Ryan always wanted to make content. When he was eleven years old he rode his bike into a pawn shop and walked out with a content camera. He co-founded Big Fantastic in 2006, which has made over 300 episodes of high-quality original entertainment for the internet. When he’s not making content, Wise runs a comedy club in his garage.
	Mark Gantt, Executive Producer, Writer, and Star of Crackle’s The Bannen Way: Originally from Stockton, CA, Mark got his start in the business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on over 100 feature, TV and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, where he met his writing partner Jesse Warren. Before creating The Bannen Way, Mark wrote, directed, produced and/or edited over a dozen short films (including the award-winning Martine), and acted opposite Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven, Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign, as well as in many other films and TV shows.
	Jesse Warren, Executive Producer, Writer, and Director of The Bannen Way: Having graduated from UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television, Jesse has studied all aspects of film-making in preparation of becoming a director. Before being able to commit to his craft full-time, he was a World Class Track Athlete, sponsored by Nike, where he competed all over the world; from the Dominican Republic, all throughout Europe, and as far as Beijing, China. After retiring a few years ago, he changed his name and devoted his entire energy to his reel passion. After writing a few screenplays, and appearing in TV and Films like CSI and Brothers Solomon, Jesse finally created his own project with partner, Mark Gantt. The Bannen Way marks Jesse Warren’s directorial debut.
	Eric Berger, Senior Vice President of Digital Networks at Sony Pictures Television: As the head of Crackle, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s premium online video network, Eric supervises content development and programming, marketing and distribution for Crackle. Berger also manages the day to day operations of the digital networks group. These responsibilities include overseeing product, video operations and engineering as well as Crackle’s programming and multi-platform distribution functions for original series, television shows and movies. Prior to Sony Pictures, Berger was Vice President of Strategic Planning at Time Warner Inc. (AOL, HBO, Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable, and Warner Bros.)

Watch Live on Stickam

Streamy Awards Commemorative Program

Want to own a piece of Web Television history? Attendees of the Hollywood Web Television Meetup can purchase a Commemorative Program from the 1st Annual Streamy Awards, compliments of KoldCast TV.