Pennyreel Presents a general dissatisfaction...
Online video is skyrocketing. Not just as a tertiary venue (after broadcast/theater and rentals) for studio content but as its own unique entity. It is estimated that Americans have watched over 10 billion online videos, and that online video advertising sales will surpass 1 Billion dollars in 2009. Close is the day when the majority of websites carry some form of video.
But the online video kingdom covers an extremely broad array of media types; there is a plethora of phylum, class, orders, genus and species beneath it. And in the genus of creative, narrative, short form video, the species that dominates is the comedy. The old saying goes that comedy is the most difficult genre, and yet there are more online comedy troupes out there than any other type of online performer. Pennyreel wonders why.
I know I can count on online video to make me laugh, but where is the action, the drama and the horror? We know that the short length cannot be the principle deterrent because commercials like Michael Bay's Black and Decker ad or John Woo's for BMW are action packed, plot driven and suspenseful, and Nike has certainly produced some of the most compelling short form video
of all time. Granted, these are big companies with huge budgets, but anyone who has seen The Celebration or Breaking the Waves knows that moving and profound work can be produced on a shoestring budget with little more than a camcorder and a broomstick, if the other elements are there.
We think it is simply that not enough people have seen the opportunity. The comedians know it's out there for them. They see venues like funnyordie.com and see successful groups like Lonely Island or The Whitest Kids You Know and it demonstrates to them a verified and legitimate path to success. But the first online comedians had no idea what was in store for them, they were simply looking for another outlet, a place to expand their reach. It is time for similarly minded artists in other genres to blaze their own trail. Quarterlife has done it, and we admire them for it.
Pennyreel Presents a genuine desire to see more drama, action, sci-fi and horror online. Remember, pennyreelers, there are no censors on the internets, or not nearly as many, at least. No execs or sponsors that will tell you your content is too racy or may alienate the target demo, there is only you and want you want to put out there. get to it.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
A Call to Action for Online Video Producers
"The internets are a vast and mysterious thing; who knows what wonders their tubes may bring." -- Eljon Hubbard, Inventor of The Hubbard Space Telescope
This blog is intended to be a discussion of all things online video, so I will first discuss its nature and value, as this speaks directly to the need for this blog to exist.
If the internet and online video were just a burgeoning venue for studio content (as in the cases of sites like Hulu or Veho), then this blog would be better suited critiquing film and general. However, we believe that this is not the case.
It is clear to the writers of this blog that online video is entirely its own entity. The the Internet offers filmmakers and the creative generation a new opportunity for free distribution and exhibition on a large scale; a scale more massive and rapid than can be effectively controlled. This is something the studios have made considerable efforts to reign in. And while they have every right to protect the content that they paid to create, they have no jurisdiction over the content creators themselves, nor where their future lies.
What the writer's of this blog see is a worldwide Wayne's World effect: young kids with a passion literally setting up production in their parent's basement, and, in a very short period of time, going global. We are talking about groups of people who circumvent film school, film festivals, unions, agents, and spending five to ten years getting shit on by the higher ups, but still find their content in demand. The temptation to sell out may be very strong after a relatively short period of struggle and hard work. We believe that this constitutes a separate industry.
Unfortunately, the only variable that remains constant is the lack of talent and inspiration in the industry. The paucity of well acted films produced and broadcast for Internet viewing can not be stressed enough. What's more, despite the relatively small production costs, the vast majority of online video is simply captured footage--security camera footage, home video footage, news camera footage--all capturing those rare, coincidental moments where something funny or remarkable happens.
Don't get me wrong, I love that shit. I laugh my ass off at the goat with huge balls that says "what?!", or the lady that falls through the trapdoor in the convenience mart, and rightfully so, because that shit is fucking hilarious. But so much of it is redundant, so much. I feel like I have seen ten thousand of the same car accident, the same drunk guy getting hurt and the same skateboard nut shot, and it is just not as satisfying as it once was and yet, it is more prevalent than ever.
This is indicative of a general laziness in modern society. Technology has given us the opportunity to be filmmakers without spending tens of thousands of dollars or a dozen years fetching coffee; the chance to be actors without being objectified, discouraged and humiliated by the current studio process; the chance to produce something, tell our stories, to be artistic, and we are squandering it in exchange for sitting passively and watching blurry figures rob a gas station, from the viewpoint of a ceiling tile.
So, Pennyreel Presents is a call to action: If you are a serious filmmaker, or a serious member of the creative generation, and you are involved online, we will treat you with respect. You are a founder of what will soon be a massive global industry that will redefine modern entertainment and we salute you for your entrepreneurial spirit and for your willingness to share with the online world your work that is so personal and important to you. Furthermore, we want to know about you. We want to know who the online video people are and what they are holding for the future; that is the goal of this blog. Pennyreel Presents online video. Pennyreel Presents the creative generation. Pennyreel Presents itself.
This blog is intended to be a discussion of all things online video, so I will first discuss its nature and value, as this speaks directly to the need for this blog to exist.
If the internet and online video were just a burgeoning venue for studio content (as in the cases of sites like Hulu or Veho), then this blog would be better suited critiquing film and general. However, we believe that this is not the case.
It is clear to the writers of this blog that online video is entirely its own entity. The the Internet offers filmmakers and the creative generation a new opportunity for free distribution and exhibition on a large scale; a scale more massive and rapid than can be effectively controlled. This is something the studios have made considerable efforts to reign in. And while they have every right to protect the content that they paid to create, they have no jurisdiction over the content creators themselves, nor where their future lies.
What the writer's of this blog see is a worldwide Wayne's World effect: young kids with a passion literally setting up production in their parent's basement, and, in a very short period of time, going global. We are talking about groups of people who circumvent film school, film festivals, unions, agents, and spending five to ten years getting shit on by the higher ups, but still find their content in demand. The temptation to sell out may be very strong after a relatively short period of struggle and hard work. We believe that this constitutes a separate industry.
Unfortunately, the only variable that remains constant is the lack of talent and inspiration in the industry. The paucity of well acted films produced and broadcast for Internet viewing can not be stressed enough. What's more, despite the relatively small production costs, the vast majority of online video is simply captured footage--security camera footage, home video footage, news camera footage--all capturing those rare, coincidental moments where something funny or remarkable happens.
Don't get me wrong, I love that shit. I laugh my ass off at the goat with huge balls that says "what?!", or the lady that falls through the trapdoor in the convenience mart, and rightfully so, because that shit is fucking hilarious. But so much of it is redundant, so much. I feel like I have seen ten thousand of the same car accident, the same drunk guy getting hurt and the same skateboard nut shot, and it is just not as satisfying as it once was and yet, it is more prevalent than ever.
This is indicative of a general laziness in modern society. Technology has given us the opportunity to be filmmakers without spending tens of thousands of dollars or a dozen years fetching coffee; the chance to be actors without being objectified, discouraged and humiliated by the current studio process; the chance to produce something, tell our stories, to be artistic, and we are squandering it in exchange for sitting passively and watching blurry figures rob a gas station, from the viewpoint of a ceiling tile.
So, Pennyreel Presents is a call to action: If you are a serious filmmaker, or a serious member of the creative generation, and you are involved online, we will treat you with respect. You are a founder of what will soon be a massive global industry that will redefine modern entertainment and we salute you for your entrepreneurial spirit and for your willingness to share with the online world your work that is so personal and important to you. Furthermore, we want to know about you. We want to know who the online video people are and what they are holding for the future; that is the goal of this blog. Pennyreel Presents online video. Pennyreel Presents the creative generation. Pennyreel Presents itself.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Hello and welcome!
Hello and welcome!
This blog is here to update us all on the process and production of all your contemporaries. Anybody interested in produced or creative filmmilking (pun intended) will find their audience here. We look forward to providing you with interviews and industry updates with the best and brightest in the online video world. Please email us for more info. And the journey begins….
This blog is here to update us all on the process and production of all your contemporaries. Anybody interested in produced or creative filmmilking (pun intended) will find their audience here. We look forward to providing you with interviews and industry updates with the best and brightest in the online video world. Please email us for more info. And the journey begins….
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