Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are slated to perform at the funeral of Whitney Houston this Saturday, February 18, 2012. Record producer and music industry executive Clive Davis is expected to say a few words. Houston’s Bodyguard co-star Kevin Costner, ex-husband Bobby Brown, and Oprah Winfrey will most likely be in attendance, too.

The services will take place at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. An estimated 1,500 people will be invited to the private ceremony, while those without an invitation but with a mind to pay their respects will be kept at bay. Newark police say streets within a six block radius of the church will be shut down.

Houston fans who aren’t friends of the Houston family, but who want to view the funeral services shouldn’t try to bypass the Newark police (those ladies and gentlemen in uniform have to deal with enough already). Instead, they should just tune into the event online.

The Associated Press will live stream Whitney Houston’s funeral straight from New Hope Baptist Church by way of the news agency’s Ustream channel. The broadcast will begin at 11AM EST / 8AM PST on Saturday. CNN will have their own live stream the services at CNN.com/live, while FoxNews.com will embed the AP’s stream

If you think broadcasting a celebrity’s private funeral service over the internet seems strange, you’re not alone. But the practice accomplishes a couple things. First, it potentially makes the logistics of crowd control for an event of this size and status a whole lot easier, as people who may want to attend the ceremony can easily watch it in the comfortable confines of their own homes. And second, it gives hardcore Houston fanatics and opportunity, focal point, and means by which to grieve, say their goodbyes, and above all this, wish her love.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, Live Streaming, News by Joshua Cohen
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Maker Studios launched “Glease,” a parody video featuring Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger and Obama impersonator Alphacat who challenge President Barack Obama to “step it up.”

The vid is the first time both Barely Political‘s Obama Girl and Alphacat appear in the same video, and aims to inspire the president to recapture his 2008 mojo—the inspiration for Ettinger’s “Crush On Obama” video that garnered over 24 million views on YouTube—through a mashup of the musical Grease and Fox’s television show Glee.

The parody is set to the Grease song “You’re The One That I Want,” which replaces the chorus with “you wanna my vote?” The campy vid features clever lyrics and solid production value coming out of Maker’s studio facility in Culver City.

Look out for cameos from familiar faces from the Maker family: Will Hyde, Momo Rodriguez, Kyla Leon from Tutele, Miya Beauregard, Danna Richards, and Maker exec Will Keenan.

The video is on Maker Studios new political channel PoliPop, hailed as “YouTube’s First Entertainment & Politics Network.” Launching out of Washington, DC at the end of March, PoliPop will feature new politically-oriented shows debuting on Mondays and Thursdays. Check out the teaser video.

Filed under: Articles, Comedy, Featured, Industry, News, News-Current Events, Web Series, YouTube by Drew Baldwin
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Kirby Ferguson recently wrapped up his four-part 40-some-odd-minute online video series inspired by a Jim Jarmusch poster-sized filmmaking manifesto, Everything is a Remix. It’s part historical documentary, part research project, and a wholly fascinating “examination of how our world is the way it is because of an innate cut-and-past culture.” From inspecting the music and lyrics of Led Zeppelin to looking at cellular biology, Ferguson argues incredibly succinctly and successfully how stealing/borrowing/remixing isn’t just “how a handful of things come to fruition, it’s how everything gets made.”

You should watch the series. And then you should donate to Ferguson’s latest Kickstarter campaign to ensure he makes some more.

This is Not a Conspiracy Theory is the Canadian auteur’s latest passion project. He’s hoping, with your support, it will become a multi-part program “that will explain the major ideas, events and human quirks that have shaped where we are right now politically.” So, expect something that combines the informative footage and voice over of a Ken Burns documentary with the fast-paced editing of an MTV News segment that looks and feels like a Copyright Criminals or Walking on Eggshells except with a focus on the idiosyncrasies of the individuals and institutions in positions of political power.

Despite the fact they’re constantly remind us, it’s often easy to forget politicians are people, too, and susceptible to the same whims of emotion as the persons who comprise the unelected masses. This is Not a Conspiracy Theory will show us how those whims have influenced history and helped to construct our current political arena (at least in Ferguson’s opinion). With the 2012 election fast approaching, I can’t wait to watch (and donate).

In the mean time, if you’re craving some quality online video content, be sure to check out Ferguson’s engaging output of video art and observations under the banner of Goodiebag, as well as some of his earlier, sexier productions.

Filed under: Articles, Documentary, Featured, Kickstarter, News, Web Series by Joshua Cohen
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The NewFront is a half conference, half dog and pony show that brings together “content creators, distributors, talent and brands to harness digital creative media opportunities in a post-advertising marketplace.” Hosted by integrated advertising agency, Digitas and its branded content arm, The Third Act, the event (explained in non-marketing speak) provides an opportunity for the agency to show off its new media expertise, allows for industry experts to educate the decision-makers at major brands about the importance and/or efficacy of digital advertising, and gives content creators a platform from which to pitch programs and court potential advertisers.

On April 26, Digitas will host its Fifth Annual NewFront in New York city. This year, it will have some company.

Suzanne Vranica at the Wall Street Journal reports major players in the digital media and online video industries, including YouTube, Yahoo, Hulu, Microsoft, and AOL are all signed up to participate in a two-week long digital upfront dubbed the “Digital Content NewFronts.”

The NewFronts (with an “s”) will be organized by Digitas and are presumably intended to mimic the style and format of the traditional Upfronts of the television industry. Beginning in March, but culminating with the major broadcast networks during the second or third week in May, the Upfronts is a period in time at which television channels present their viewership analytics and upcoming programming slates by way of top executives and celebrities to rooms full of advertisers. The advertisers are intended to be impressed by the network’s ratings, wooed by their talent, and then commit to major sponsorship and commercial deals for the fall television season.

In 2011, the advertising industry spent somewhere in the ballpark of $9.3 billion on primetime programming on the five major networks alone (CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, and CW) and another estimated $9.2 billion on cable networks.

That’s a lot of cash. It also shows you how much bigger the television industry still is compared to online video and digital media. If YouTube, for instance, can secure just 0.55% of that total dollar amount after it makes its digital upfront presentation in March, the world’s largest video sharing site will have paid for one of the world’s largest investments in online original programming.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, Hulu, Industry, NewFronts, News, YouTube by Joshua Cohen
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You like you some Antonio Carols Jobim, samba, and feather-accented and hyper-colored revealing attire worn by Afro-Brazilian beach bodies, but can’t swing a plane ticket down to Salvador to catch a Carnival from one of the oldest cities in the America in person. Don’t worry. YouTube is streaming the main events from the annual festival live and online, so you’re sure to have an even better view than if you were on the Elevaldor Lacereda.

From February 16th through the 21st, YouTube will bring “the sights, sounds, and energy of Brazilian Carnival directly from the streets of Salvador” to your computer screen. That includes, a live transmission of all the sama schools’ performances, musical acts, and general partying and revelry from the scene, along with celebrity “interviews running live throughout the week on the AoVivo (Live) Google+ Page and transmitted simultaneously on YouTube and Orkut” (and you thought all that “Orkut is HUGE in Brazil” talk was just something people liked to say).

The festivities officially begin on February 16th at 5PM EST. I’m sure those that tune in – like those that watch the girl from Ipanema walk by – will go “ooohhh” and “ahhhhh.”

Filed under: Articles, Live Streaming, News, YouTube by Joshua Cohen
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Will Myspace‘s latest tentpole help revive the company’s image?

First Fox parent News Corp bought it for $580 MM. Then Justin Timberlake bought it for $35 MM. Now Myspace is teaming up with Fox Digital Entertainment to release original series Wolfpack of Reseda, a horror comedy debuting February 16.

The weekly series focuses on disgruntled office worker in the Southern California’s San Fernando Valley who finds escape from suburban ennui when he’s bitten by a strange creature that he believes to be a werewolf. Part Galafianakis from The Hangover, part Fight Club, part Shaun of the Dead, Wolfpack promises a mix of white collar workplace comedy with conventional horror tropes.

But will it work?

Kia Motors seems to think so. The Korean auto-maker is the exclusive brand sponsor of the series, hoping perhaps to capitalize on the one million new users the company has added in the past 30 days, thanks to new alliances with Twitter and Facebook which has grown the social platform to 25 million registered users.

“Wolfpack exemplifies the kind of storytelling and distribution that is ideal for the current digital media landscape,” said Matt Glotzer, Senior Vice President, Fox Digital Entertainment. “We are very excited to be working closely with Kia and Myspace to bring this original and darkly hilarious story to a broad audience on a wide variety of platforms.”

Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Comedy, Featured, Horror, Industry, News, Web Series by Drew Baldwin
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In January, YouTube announced its first slate of sports-related Original Channels. It features X-Games-oriented programming from brands well-known to snowboard bums and skate park residents highlighting those snowboard bums and skate park residents who’ve made a living from becoming action sports professionals.

NBC Sports’ AlliSports debuted with at least five online originals covering tips and tricks from your favorite BMX, snowboard, freeski, and Moto (that’s how the cool kids say Motorcross) athletes, “news and highlights from the industries most insightful analysts,” and mini-docs of “the lives of the biggest and fastest rising stars in the sports.” Network A launched with a handful of videos featuring the same kind of content, but with different names and faces. Red Bull released no less than 13 new original web series chronicling “the competition and daily lives of the world’s best action sports athletes,” including individuals like mountain biker Danny MacAskill, skateboarder Ryan Sheckler, and surfer Jamie O’Brien. And Tony Hawk’s RIDE Channel promised the release of 22 new shows throughout 2012, at least two of which will be geared towards amateur skateboarders showing off their sills for a chance at cash, prizes, and sponsorship.

YouTube announced its second slate of sports-related Original Channels today. If you dig your sports, but not the kinds where hoodies and chain wallets are considered appropriate attire, you’ll feel more comfortable with this set of online programming.

Online sporting news network Bleacher Report launched with four series, including the daily sports pop culture show BR5, the as-of-yet unreleased Real Sports-style documentary show Why We Watch, the all-football-draft all the time NFLDraft365, and the insider’s look at the world of college football recruiting Full Ride. KickTV is for all the un-American sporting enthusiasts who like them some soccer. And the Network of Champtions (aka TheNOC) kicked off with at least five original web series “devoted to athlete lifestyle and comedy,” like Faceoff, where famous athletes and online video and/or traditional entertainment celebrities compete against one another, and Say What, where TheNOC hosts talk about what athletes are talking about on Facebook and Twitter.

The programs from Bleacher Report and TheNOC will surely appeal to MLB, NFL, NBA and other individuals who are fans of sports that have been part of mainstream American culture since before the birth of Generation X, but the AlliSports, NetworkA, and Red Bull channels have the added benefit of showcasing amazing content, palatable (at least eye candy) to those who don’t even know what an ollie is, let alone how to do one.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, News, Red Bull, Sports, YouTube by Joshua Cohen
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Digital studio Fishbowl Worldwide Media, founded by entertainment industry veterans Vin di Bona and Bruce Gersh, just inked a deal with Revision 3 to distribute CuteWinFail.

Now in its fourth season, CuteWinFail will be part of Revision 3’s global online network, and the Rev3 will serve as Fishbowl’s exclusive advertising sales partner for the CuteWinFail channel.

YouTube sensation Toby Turner will return as the CuteWinFail host.

“With CuteWinFail, which was FishBowl’s first digital content initiative, we have successfully built an online brand that has grown exponentially and has continued to engage new viewers with each of its 60-plus episodes,” said Gersh, president and CEO of FishBowl Worldwide Media. “We are very excited to continue to reach new audiences through Revision3’s global distribution network.”

Fishbowl has been on fire recently, having just launched the Petsami YouTube channel last month and Ultimate Proposal on Yahoo! in October, which started off with a bang at 1.75MM views in the first week.

“Revision3’s partnership with Fishbowl continues to help us expand programming for our global network, as well as bring the incredible CuteWinFail series to new audiences,” said Ryan Vance, Vice President of Programming and Production, Revision3. “We look forward to offering our advertising partners engaging and creative ways to connect with audiences through Fishbowl’s premium quality channel.”

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Hosted, News, Revision3, YouTube by Drew Baldwin
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It’s no animated rendition of Freddy Mercury flying through sky like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity accompanied by one of Queen’s greatest hits Don’t Stop Me Now, but the Valentine’s Day Google Doodle (or Yoodle) is more than enough to illicit warm fuzzy feelings and/or put a smile on your face.

The 71-second animation in honor of the holiday that honors love features a flirtatious display of youthful exuberance followed by a cute can’t-we-all-just-get-along collage of romance’s many manifestations (including the same-sex variety) all accompanied by Tony Bennett singing the Hank Williams original Cold, Cold Heart. It’s great and the kind of video that will make even the most ardent Valentine’s Day opponents feel okay with the celebration, if only for a minute or two.

If you’re wondering how the powers that be at Google chose Bennett’s song as the video’s soundtrack, there are two reasons. One, it’s fantastic. And two, Bennett is being honored today in the city of San Francisco. February 14, 2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of the first time the now 85-year-old American singer performed his Frisco anthem I Left My Hear in San Francisco in the Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel. To commemorate the anniversary The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus along with Beach Blanket Babylon sang the tune from the City Hall rotunda at 12 Noon PST.

Like Google’s other Video Doodles, Valentine’s Day Google Doodle is generating a lot of press, but a publicly unquantifiable number of views. No viewcount is listed on the video’s YouTube page.

Filed under: Articles, News, YouTube by Joshua Cohen
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David Wain’s original web series about his (slightly) fictionalized adventures in life and love in Brownstone, Brooklyn just ended its latest (Fiat-sponsored) season. That makes for one season of Wainy Days every year since producer and distributor My Damn Channel first released the series back in 2007. So, that adds up to a total of five seasons, 39 episodes, one laundry list of stellar special guests (including Elizabeth Banks, Lake Bell, Julie Bowen, Saffron Burrows, Rob Corddry, Rashida Jones, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Amanda Peet, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis) and enough awkward make out sessions and other sexual suggestive scenes to fill an online video with three minutes and 43 seconds of inelegant intimacy.

Wain and the good people at My Damn Channel cut together a Makeout MegaMix for your viewing enjoyment, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and to promote the just released Wainy Days DVD.

The steamy action is one of several DVD extras you can own, along with Wainy Days Seasons One through Four for the low Amazon price of $9.99. Other special DVD only features include:

• Pajama Party with David Wain and 23 guest stars
• An hour of never-before-seen content
• Outtakes from all the episodes
• Wainy Days live script reading
• Never-before-seen shorts: Aisle Six, Portrait, Real World (Citibank)
• Audio Commentaries

The Wainy Days DVD is released by My Damn Channel, Wain, Wain’s production company Marcus Stansel, and Salient Media, which is the “production, distribution, and marketing arm of The Collective,” which Tubefilter readers will know as the “full-service entertainment management, media and content production company” that works with online video superstars, including Fred and The Annoying Orange.

Filed under: Articles by Joshua Cohen
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Early Bird Tickets on sale now!

Over 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. That’s one hour every second. With so much noise out there, how do you get traction with your videos? It’s time to learn the truth about what it really takes to launch a video online.

At our last Tubefilter Meetup, Cheaters Never Prosper, we learned from our panelists of top YouTube creators the importance of YouTube Subscriptions and how indie producers are making the best of their limited resources to promote their programs.

Now it’s time to turn to the experts.

Outside the Box:
Creative Marketing in Online Video

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 in Los Angeles
Early Bird Tickets on Sale Until February 19!

If this year’s Super Bowl Ads were any indication, social video is an extraordinaryily powerful format for engaging consumers. From small companies trying to break through the noise to global brands vying to edge out their competitors, getting noticed online is what its all about, and our panelists have turned video marketing into an art form.

Join us as we hear from the pros just what it takes to get a video campaign to take off, whether for a new product, a new movie, or a new web series.

Panelists:

Rome Viharo
Senior Vice President, Business Development and Innovations, Alphabird

As an early evangelizer of YouTube, Rome Viharo has been involved in viral marketing around YouTube as early as 2007. His complete skill set is content development and production, marketing, media planning and buying around social and viral campaigns. He was worked with some of the biggest brands, agencies, and studios in the world. In 2011, he gave a TED talk on ‘Google Consciousness’ in the UK.

Tony Chen
CEO, Yellow Thunder Media

YTM is a YouTube-centric platform specializing in seeding and optimization: generating organic views, growing subscribers, monetizing video content, and guaranteeing viral success for advertisers and content creators on YouTube. YTM’s team is composed of experienced YouTubers and YouTube marketing experts who have successfully built and managed large YouTube channels, and generated more than 120 million views in 2011. YTM works with dozens of major brands and agencies worldwide.

Kai Hasson
Partner and Creative Director, Portal A
Creator, White Collar Brawler

In 2008 Kai Hasson co-founded Portal A, a creative studio based in Los Angeles and San Francisco that specializes in digital content for brands like YouTube, Banana Republic, Ubisoft and Jawbone. He oversees creative and production for the company.

Maggie Finch
CEO, King of the Web

For more than a decade, Maggie built aQuantive’s digital media services as a General Manager and VP of Media. In 2007, Maggie shifted her attention to publishers, building digital marketing and technology products at Microsoft Advertising as the General Manager of the Publisher Solutions division. Today, Maggie is enabling the web to reward talented and inspiring online personalities at King of the Web.

Moderator: Drew Baldwin, Tubefilter

Drew is the Co-Founder of Tubefilter and Executive Producer of the Streamy Awards.
This year we’ve been exploring how YouTube and its partner program have opened a clear path to online video monetization.

As we’ve learned from our contentious Beyond YouTube event, advertising revenue share on YouTube is just the tip of the iceberg: producers are maximizing their online video business with their own websites, platforms like Blip.tv, smartphone apps, merchandising, licensing, and more.

Being a successful online video producer is about being both a creator and a marketer. And in our Social Video on Steroids panel, the experts shared how to engage and drive audiences using best practices in social media marketing and promotion.

Photo Booth by Snap Yourself!

Outside the Box:
Creative Marketing in Online Video

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 in Los Angeles
Early Bird Tickets on Sale Until February 19!

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Hollywood Web Video Meetup, Hosted, Industry, News, YouTube by Drew Baldwin
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If you’re not one of the 830,000+ subscribers to one of Karmin’s two YouTube channels nor account for any of the nearly 200 million views the band’s music videos have accumulated since its first upload in August of 2010, then you’re probably not familiar with Amy Hiedemann and Nick Noonan’s particular brand of cover artistry and original rap-infused pop. That is, of course, unless you were one of the half-dozen-or-so million people watching Saturday Night Live last weekend. Then you saw it in real time.

SNL guest host Zoey Deschanel introduced Karmin twice throughout the evening before the band / engaged couple who met at Boston’s Berklee College of Music played two tracks from their upcoming album scheduled to be released by Epic Records later this year. The appearance on the program was the latest in a number of high-profile accolades Hiedemann and Noon have received in the past 20 months, including being honored by the American Music Awards and writing and performing an original theme song for the 2011 NBA Finals.

This wasn’t the first time a musical phenom discovered on YouTube has performed on SNL. Justin Bieber was the musical guest (and serenaded Tina Fey) back in April 2010 and is slated to host an installment of the  weekly sometime this year. This is, however, one of (if not) the fastest trajectories from YouTube prominence to Saturday Night Live musical guest I’ve seen from any band. YouTube proper made a video to commemorate the occasion. You should watch it after you view my interview with Karmin below.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Music, News, YouTube by Joshua Cohen
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