Online TV Takes the Stand
FIRST:
I am soooo flippin' excited! My parents got me a great new digital camera that has the functionality to make up to 22minute MPEG-4 videos with audio! The quality is fantastic which means I can start vlogging! Seriously, I want to start making a themed broadcast. I smell a Final Project. Amanda Cogdon will quiver in her boots! Okay probably not... but you see my point.
SECOND:
It is not healthy to be awake this late at night watching online videos! But alas, I have to do my homework. Besides Rocketboom, these are some of my more favorite online "TV shows" that have regular episodes and are fine pieces of internet creative writing.
CLASSROOM
From Channel 101 comes the online sitcom equivalent of "Boston Public." Blending sick humor with the teacher-student friendship found in primetime dramas, this is one of the more "long-running" shows on Channel 101 (with only 3 episodes so far). It is described as follows:
Even within the elite halls of prime time, there are thresholds to cross and challenges to overcome, and certainly one of them is a successful third episode. "Classroom" has not only met that challenge, but managed to do so while surviving one of the most brutal months in Channel 101 history... by keeping itself simple and modular, "Classroom" endures.
I like it because even in its short 3-4 minute story, it has characters you can connect to and like. It's gross that I like the slutty woman and crazy teacher so much! It's liberating to watch media where a character says: "He's so cute. I'm about to suck his dick..." I mean COME ON! COME ON! It is mostly character-driven and you keep coming back for more. The video editing is well timed, especially in Episode 3 where the drug-bust and surgery are hilariously juxtaposed.
You'd never see something like this on basic television, but I could definitely see this being adopted by "MAD TV" -- you may have recognized Ron Pederson from MAD Season 9 and 10 as the surgeon. Not a far cry from Late-Night Sketch Comedies!
BETTER BAD NEWS
Definitely one of my more favorite news satires (aside from "The Daily Show"), I'd really like to see this on TV. "BetterBadNews" is described as:
Unbalanced and Half-true News Opinion and Commentary. A video blog using voice, character and audio visual support to extend and recontextualize the conversation. To develop new strategies for surviving the ongoing culture war responsible for the steady and strategic de-funding of independent creative voices in the arts, including small presses, experimental theaters, and alternative media and to provide opportunities for non-commercial voices to be heard in networked media environments. "BetterBadNews" is a viewer produced experiment in new media supported by donations and contributions through PayPal.
They pose questions that are NEVER asked by news media today. I see it as sort of a comedic yet refined way of taking the protestors on the San Francisco street corners and putting them in front of the camera. I cannot discern if the episodes are more for laughs at the ridiculousness of today's news, or to "make you think." Their last broadcast on the falling of one of the WTC Buildings definitely raised my eyebrows.
What I love most about "BetterBadNews" is its presentation. The anchor is so professional, but you'll notice the map in the background is upside-down. Their panel seems to be asking important questions but there are so many jump-cuts and unexplained jokes that you're left giving into the humor that can sometimes fly over your head. And a fuzzy viking hat? But I love it! The writing is brilliant. It's more of an anarchic news project than Jon Stewart.
"BetterBadNews" is even better because it truly is one of the few video blogs that implements participatory media democracy. Via BetterBadNews TV, viewers can actually provide the text the talking-head can read directly off the TelePrompter, with no emotional slant. Just literally having a vessel to express your words.
HAPPY TREE FRIENDS
Lastly, I've got to return to my home-land of online videos. "Happy Tree Friends" is better than a fresh pot of Folgers in the morning. This is definitely the kind of cartoon I'd love to see slipped into commercial spots on [adult swim]. The humor is out of this world, and the episodes are so reliable!
Like children's cartoons, we have adorable characters that you immediately fall in love with. We recognize them and have our favorites. They have a simple problem like wanting to play on a swing or get a haircut. But instead of taking 30 minutes to learn a lesson or something new, the characters in "Happy Tree Friends" learn their lessons much quicker. And far more disgusting-er. And we love it. The writer is clever because the action is told without words. I can only imagine what the story-boards are like for these episodes.
I love seeing these kinds of shows online. They've definitely got their following. Part of me wonders if they'd lose some of their "power" on TV because internet video is just so free and uninhibited. The writing, it seems, is far more brilliant... telling a story in 3 minutes instead of 30. Keeping the watcher's interest and raising questions where necessary. Aside from "Happy Tree Friends," both Channel 101 and BetterBadNews put the broadcasting in the consumer's hands! POWER!
I am soooo flippin' excited! My parents got me a great new digital camera that has the functionality to make up to 22minute MPEG-4 videos with audio! The quality is fantastic which means I can start vlogging! Seriously, I want to start making a themed broadcast. I smell a Final Project. Amanda Cogdon will quiver in her boots! Okay probably not... but you see my point.
SECOND:
It is not healthy to be awake this late at night watching online videos! But alas, I have to do my homework. Besides Rocketboom, these are some of my more favorite online "TV shows" that have regular episodes and are fine pieces of internet creative writing.
CLASSROOM
From Channel 101 comes the online sitcom equivalent of "Boston Public." Blending sick humor with the teacher-student friendship found in primetime dramas, this is one of the more "long-running" shows on Channel 101 (with only 3 episodes so far). It is described as follows:
Even within the elite halls of prime time, there are thresholds to cross and challenges to overcome, and certainly one of them is a successful third episode. "Classroom" has not only met that challenge, but managed to do so while surviving one of the most brutal months in Channel 101 history... by keeping itself simple and modular, "Classroom" endures.
I like it because even in its short 3-4 minute story, it has characters you can connect to and like. It's gross that I like the slutty woman and crazy teacher so much! It's liberating to watch media where a character says: "He's so cute. I'm about to suck his dick..." I mean COME ON! COME ON! It is mostly character-driven and you keep coming back for more. The video editing is well timed, especially in Episode 3 where the drug-bust and surgery are hilariously juxtaposed.
You'd never see something like this on basic television, but I could definitely see this being adopted by "MAD TV" -- you may have recognized Ron Pederson from MAD Season 9 and 10 as the surgeon. Not a far cry from Late-Night Sketch Comedies!
BETTER BAD NEWS
Definitely one of my more favorite news satires (aside from "The Daily Show"), I'd really like to see this on TV. "BetterBadNews" is described as:
Unbalanced and Half-true News Opinion and Commentary. A video blog using voice, character and audio visual support to extend and recontextualize the conversation. To develop new strategies for surviving the ongoing culture war responsible for the steady and strategic de-funding of independent creative voices in the arts, including small presses, experimental theaters, and alternative media and to provide opportunities for non-commercial voices to be heard in networked media environments. "BetterBadNews" is a viewer produced experiment in new media supported by donations and contributions through PayPal.
They pose questions that are NEVER asked by news media today. I see it as sort of a comedic yet refined way of taking the protestors on the San Francisco street corners and putting them in front of the camera. I cannot discern if the episodes are more for laughs at the ridiculousness of today's news, or to "make you think." Their last broadcast on the falling of one of the WTC Buildings definitely raised my eyebrows.
What I love most about "BetterBadNews" is its presentation. The anchor is so professional, but you'll notice the map in the background is upside-down. Their panel seems to be asking important questions but there are so many jump-cuts and unexplained jokes that you're left giving into the humor that can sometimes fly over your head. And a fuzzy viking hat? But I love it! The writing is brilliant. It's more of an anarchic news project than Jon Stewart.
"BetterBadNews" is even better because it truly is one of the few video blogs that implements participatory media democracy. Via BetterBadNews TV, viewers can actually provide the text the talking-head can read directly off the TelePrompter, with no emotional slant. Just literally having a vessel to express your words.
HAPPY TREE FRIENDS
Lastly, I've got to return to my home-land of online videos. "Happy Tree Friends" is better than a fresh pot of Folgers in the morning. This is definitely the kind of cartoon I'd love to see slipped into commercial spots on [adult swim]. The humor is out of this world, and the episodes are so reliable!
Like children's cartoons, we have adorable characters that you immediately fall in love with. We recognize them and have our favorites. They have a simple problem like wanting to play on a swing or get a haircut. But instead of taking 30 minutes to learn a lesson or something new, the characters in "Happy Tree Friends" learn their lessons much quicker. And far more disgusting-er. And we love it. The writer is clever because the action is told without words. I can only imagine what the story-boards are like for these episodes.
I love seeing these kinds of shows online. They've definitely got their following. Part of me wonders if they'd lose some of their "power" on TV because internet video is just so free and uninhibited. The writing, it seems, is far more brilliant... telling a story in 3 minutes instead of 30. Keeping the watcher's interest and raising questions where necessary. Aside from "Happy Tree Friends," both Channel 101 and BetterBadNews put the broadcasting in the consumer's hands! POWER!
posted by EugLoven at 4/19/2006 12:47:00 AM
1 Comments:
You couldn't be more on the money, Eugene. Online video creations would lose all of their thunder if they reverted back to the "A" typical 30-minute cable fluff. The off-kilter format and medium of these brilliant works, is what truly makes them so cutting edge.
On another note, I second the motion! Happy Tree Friends rocks my socks!
Post a Comment
<< Home