The Daily Online Video Fix: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along

This is going to be the future of online content. Professional, dynamic and originally web-centric. Love the pacing, performances, lighting and overall production value. It's evident that Joss Whedon really gets what makes the medium work. Hulu's site really is also easy on the eyes. The player is elegant and clean. This is a short blog entry since it is Friday, the debate is on and it's time to step away from computer. I repeat, step away from the computer. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Daily Online Video Fix: 24:Conspiracy - The First Mobile Series

One of the things I quickly learned once I started producing and directing after NYU, is that finding work is a mixture of talent, tenacity and luck (and not specifically in that order).   The other lesson is that good work always leads to more good work.

In 2005, I was producing/directing/editing behind the scenes documentaries for DVDs.    These were mostly for feature films and TV shows.   I created material for Daredevil, The Shield, School Of Rock, The Commitments, The Harold Lloyd Box Set and many more.

Another project I happen to be working on was the TV show 24.  I created a 90 minute documentary following the cast and crew as they created the season 2 finale.   We shot the documentary in the style of the TV show:  2 cameras (one wide and close, the other telephoto and roving), snap zooms, backlighting, split frames, same sound fx, etc...  

The piece came together and everyone on the show really thought we did a good job.  At the same time, Fox had just made a deal with Verizon to create programming for their new 3G cell phones.  They wanted to create a spin-off of 24.  When the question came up to the producers of the show, "Who should we get to make the series?"  Everyone said, "Get the DVD guy.".  

Being able to play in the fiction sandbox again was a great experience.   However, this whole endeavor was a big experiment.   We were not going to be using the cast members from the TV show.  Our budget was a fraction of the cost to produce one episode.   We were doing this non-union.  

Now that a few years have past, I can look back and see the shortfalls.  The biggest problem was not having the cast.   I'm not sure why someone would want to pay to see unknown actors when they can watch Kiefer for free every week on Fox.  In this case, the rationale was that people would pay just to say they watch video on their phone (which was true at the time).   However, the novelty of the 3G technology would quickly fade.  Which leads to the next big issue.  Just because the technology is there, doesn't mean people really want to watch TV on their cell phones - unless there is something that is truly unique about the experiencing the content on a phone than any other medium.   This is one reason why the mobile content market has not caught on yet (especially for original programming).   No one is creating anything that NEEDS to be seen on a cell phone in order for an audience to get the full impact of the story. 

But at the end of the day, I was really proud of the work. Fox execs and the 24 producers were also happy. I thought our episodes had the same style and tone of the TV show, great production value, action and pacing. And it's always great to say you were the first at something. In this case, 24: Conspiracy was the first series made specifically for mobile phone. That year, we were nominated for an Emmy award in the new category of new media programming.  

Here are a couple of "mobisodes" from the series.  I hope you enjoy!

The Daily Fix: Pressure Drop Online

The Pressure Drop Website is showing the award-winning NYU thesis film.   Ezra Soiferman and I made this film almost 15 years ago and I think it holds up as a classic stoner comedy.   We launched the site in 1996 and still periodically add updates.  I'm so happy that we continue to find an audience for this short and that traffic to the site continues to grow.     Please visit the website, watch the adventures of the original token jew and leave a comment in the "eye say" section!   

Or, if you're too high, just watch below from someone who ripped the embed and posted it on youtube.

Getting Hooked On New Media, Pt 2

...Before the deal was done with Eveo, I made sure they would pay for as many videos as I could possibly crank out.  There was no minimum or maximum number.   Each video could be just one piece or broken into several parts.   This was key.    I had total freedom.   The one thing that was important to them is that the video was in focus (most of the time) and that there was audio.   Period.   I was unsure if they trusted my abilities or were completely out of their minds...  Oh, and I got to keep the copyright and they would license the content.   Not  bad. 

Once I got the go ahead, I called everyone I knew who was involved with the NYC art world or had a band that didn't suck.   Part of the reason for pitching these series were because I went to a high-school of visual and performing arts in Miami called New World.  I was still close with a bunch of people who were now breaking into the art or music world and thought this would be a great chance to highlight their work.  Within an few days I had set up over a dozen shoots.  It was the middle of winter and it was brutally cold in NY.  I packed up my Sony TRV-900, ME66 shotgun mic, Arri light-kit and Russian fur hat and headed to NYC.

Most segments took two days to shoot.  The first day was usually shooting b-roll of the artist or musician working...   I was able to get familiar with their style and process.   This allowed me to formulate questions for our interview which would usually happen on the second day.   Most of the time, I realized that there was enough content to support two segments for each artist.    

Once I started, I was soon being introduced to other artists, musicians, A&R execs, gallery owners, curators who all wanted to participate as well.  It seemed each segment opened the door to two additional people to document.   

The greatest discovery however was realizing how much people opened up if they didn't feel like there was pressure on them to deliver.   Just being one guy with a camera, I think allowed people to let their guard down and just be themselves. There was an intimacy that I had never gotten before when working with a larger crew.  Sure, when you have a team of people, the level of production value goes up (some of the time).  I found the trade off was completely worth it. Getting great content from your subjects always trumps production value.   Obviously, I tried my best to light things properly, get good audio and shoot with a steady hand and pick interesting angles, but nothing was more important than making sure the people I were taping were dynamic and fun to watch.   

I also think my subjects saw that I was having a good time.  And if I am having fun, there is no reason for them not to relax and have fun as well.  When I would go on other shoots with larger crews, everything was always very professional and serious.   Now, it was important to just relax, have fun and get the magic of the creative process.   

The other major lesson I learned was that, being the shooter/producer as well as the editor, allowed me to shoot just enough so I could get a great segment.   I didn't have to overshoot everything.  Once I was in the editing room, the pieces came together fast.    I knew where the best shots were.  I could sometimes cut together two or three segments in a day.  

To this day, I look back on those three weeks of shooting and realize that was the most fun I had creating a series.   The initial fear I had that it was going to be crap because it wouldn't feel professional was crazy.  Eveo wanted it to feel like an amateur made it.  They wanted it grungy and homemade...  Luckily, that's exactly what they got.

Within six weeks I delivered 33 segments - 20 on emerging artists, 13 on breaking bands.   Eveo, I think was a bit shocked that I was able to crank out so many segments that quickly.     They were very happy with the pieces, but more importantly, most of my subjects were also thrilled about their segments as well.   That was a great payoff.   Not to mention, I made ten grand.  I think I was one of the first people hired to create original video content specifically for the Internet.

However, once the videos were up, it was clear that the technology was not yet ready for prime time.  Most people still didn't have broadband and most computers took forever to stream a single piece of video.   It wasn't long before the Internet bubble burst and many companies folded or changed their business model.    It was a shame, because Eveo was really trying to make a great site that was about the democratization of video.   It would take another six years till YouTube came along and proved that user generated content was a powerful creative force.    

Here are a few segments for you to check out.  I will add the complete series shortly.  Hope you enjoy!

LOCKOUT:  JAMMIN WITH LINKIN PARK

LOCKOUT:  DJ JOE OF LINKIN PARK

STUDIO VISIT: RACHEL LEVINE

First! Getting Hooked On New Media...

I fell in love with original online video from the start.  It was 1999 and the first Internet wave was washing over the country.   I was finishing up co-writing, producing and directing PRESERVING THE LEGACY, a three-year environmental documentary series for PBS.   At 26, I had travelled the world and discovered the incredible ways we were quickly destroying the planet.  This was years before it was cool to be aware about global warming.  My friends hated hearing about nuclear waste, the population explosion, our carbon footprint, Superfund, air pollution and so on...  Working on this series was an incredible experience, but left me with a feeling like I needed to create something on the lighter side once it was over.    

At the time, broadband and video were the big buzz words and companies were sprouting up like weeds on the Internet to cash in on they hype.   Start-ups were being given huge amounts of cash.   They needed content and they needed it now.   To me, as a filmmaker, the future was here.   For the first time, advancements in digital-video cameras and online editing software made it possible to create stories that didn't have to cost a ton of money.   Anyone could do it and that what companies were banking on...

I was pitching two series ideas.  STUDIO VISIT followed the creative process of emerging visual artists and LOCKOUT revealed the process of breaking bands.    After three months of getting nowhere, Eveo came along.  

Eveo was a startup based out of San Francisco and they were YouTube before there was a YouTube.   They were betting that user-generated video content would be huge.   However, before they launched their site they needed videos (which they called eveos)  to be seeded on the site so they could show their potential audience what to make.    They loved my ideas for LOCKOUT and STUDIO VISIT. Kids would see the videos, be inspired to make their own videos and then post them on the site.   Great.  Perfect.  Let's make it happen!

The deal was fast and loose.  Since they wanted my videos to inspire others to make their own, my videos needed to have a home-made feel.   It was to be a one-man-band operation.    Me shooting, doing sound, lighting, everything...   They wanted me to make as many as I could as quickly as possible.   I was going to get paid $300 per video.   Each video was to be 2 - 4 minutes in length.    I could do whatever I wanted as long as it was about breaking bands or emerging artists.   I needed to be smart and plan ahead.   If I wasn't careful, this process could become very painful and expensive.   If done right, I would be able to tell some great stories and be able to make rent for a while.   What followed was the most intensive filmmaking experience I've ever had in my life.

To be continued...