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November 16, 2007
Web Video Show Seeks WGA Writers for Temporary Gig.
This is a piece I had meant to post last week until I got caught up in crap.
In no way do my words necessarily reflect the views of my current employer or its un/willingness to work with either side in the current WGA strike. I wasn't asked to write this disclaimer but figured it'd be good to do since it was my personal "who do I blog for" dilemma that held up the publishing of this post in the first place.
Are you a writer for The Daily Show? David Letterman? Looking for a way to supplement your income while waiting for the AMPTP to come back to the negotiating table?
Rocketboom is a daily web video program that sits outside of traditional Hollywood and the broadcasters by distributing itself via the internet. It is one of many online video programs that attract modest (by your standards) audiences but with a extremely high ratio of viewers per dollar spent.
If you're not familiar with web video, check out Ask A Ninja, FunnyOrDie, Epic-Fu, Galacticast, TikiBar TV, French Maid TV, Mahalo Daily, and the entire NextNewNetworks stable. The staffs at these programs are made up of writers, actors, directors, and editors, many of whom did the traditional media dance, found themselves either unappreciated or unhappy, then found themselves online where they could create content that they could be proud of while controlling their own distribution and staying independent while doing so.
And although they don't earn as much as your top 1%, a good number of web video producers are starting to use the word 'sustainable' with complete sincerity.
While I personally would love love LOVE to have you come write for Rocketboom, I'm also making the bigger suggestion that you use this time as an opportunity to show the studios a thing or two. Get some of your colleagues together. Grab a camcorder and some lights. Show folks like Mr. Eisner that you, too, truly understand the potential of the internet by posting your own videos online.
They may still claim to hold the keys to reaching audiences but guess what? The door's been swung wide open. (Yeah, it's corny but that's why I'm not a writer. Did I mention that you should come work for Rocketboom?)
So let the executives say that there's no money to be made online (what $1 billion Viacom-YouTube lawsuit?) Let the studios run their backup plans (which may or may not include secretly raiding the film schools for non-union talent. I wonder if anyone will write about this?) In the meantime, spend your non-picketing time online, creating and distributing your own content on the very battlefield the other side claims to own.
We're having a pretty good time over here at 'The Future of Television.' Hope to see you soon.
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Anyway, I was going to post this as an actual job listing to Craigslist last week. It's a shame that it never happened.
Posted by yatta at 2:45 AM
November 1, 2007
this week in awesome.
credit: justseamus
Posted by yatta at 2:48 PM