Looking back, it may seem like mainstream media was initially slow to embrace online video, but in fact a handful of creators have been working with the networks to produce web series for years. Since 2006, the guys at Retrofit Films have worked with producers to […] Read more »
Here’s the secret to creating high-quality, low-budget science fiction: The simpler the set-up, the more money and effort you can put towards executing it well. Zerks Log is a perfect example. Zerks Log riffs on the time-honored narrative device, established by Star Trek over 40 years […] Read more »
The global community created by online video means that we can now watch a star be born — thousands of miles away, on a show unavailable on American TV — in real time. Witness Susan Boyle. Boyle, who performed I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables […] Read more »
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If you ask me, it doesn’t seem fair to call April 15th the gloomiest day of the year. Sure, a little later today I have to send the federal government more money than I’ll spend on clothes, food, and action figures this year, but once that […] Read more »
My last night at SXSW, I snapped up a chance to attend a live Proclaimers show, thus satisfying the 12-year-old inside me who still knows all the words to every song on Sunshine on Leith (I owned it on CASSETTE, y’all). Because of the band’s iconic […] Read more »
Comedians don’t always make the best talk show hosts, as anyone old enough to remember Chevy Chase’s failed attempt might remember, because not all comedians are both funny and likable enough to engage an audience. So here is the question worth asking before checking out the […] Read more »
Between Star-ving and The Hustler, Sony’s Crackle empire sure has gotten a taste for the profane. And that proud tradition has been continued with the release of A Priest, A Rabbi, and A Minister Walk Into a Bar, a vaguely blasphemous animated special launching just in […] Read more »
Despite the geeky stereotypes associated with being a filmmaker, those who slave over shorts still find ways to prove their macho-ness. Because sure, these days anyone can make a film — but make one in 48 hours? There’s a challenge. Even more of a challenge: In […] Read more »
Don’t get me wrong — Los Angeles is a wonderful place to live. San Francisco, you know I adore your bay views. And New York! So vibrant, so full of culture! But little stirs my heart like the opportunity to watch a web series set in […] Read more »
Here are some things that have happened in the world since the last time Eminem released an original album: America elected its first black president. Saddam Hussein was captured and executed. Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton went to jail. James Brown, Steve Irwin, Robert Altman, Richard […] Read more »
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One of the more original new web series to debut recently is also one of the hardest to explain. The Fine Brothers’ My Profile Story is about the drama that ensues when you rank on someone’s social networking profile page, anthropomorphized thanks to the miracle of […] Read more »
Sometimes, celebrities lend their fame to noble causes. For example, Keira Knightley’s intense headline-making PSA on domestic violence, directed by Joe Wright (Atonement). And sometimes, they lend their fame to things that are not quite so noble. See this complete collection of Nicholas Cage’s Japanese commercials […] Read more »
Green Porno, in which Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet) explains how insect sex works while wearing bug costumes, was one of the hottest web series of 2008. Well of course it was — that’s one of the top 10 premises for a web series ever, even surpassing […] Read more »
So many years after its breakout series House of Cosbys won our hearts and minds, it’s nice to know that web site/contest/network hybrid Channel 101 is still a hotbed of amazing comedy. What’s its secret? The monthly screenings, during which audiences put natural selection to work […] Read more »
Web series production, let’s face it, can be a gamble — especially for the independent creator, who’s often funding the bulk of the production out-of-pocket, with no guarantee of success. But for those who put all their metaphorical chips on black, sometimes the YouTube roulette wheel […] Read more »
It’s always nice to see content that is clearly female-oriented do well online, especially while browsing the otherwise boob shot-heavy listings of the YouTube Most Viewed pages. That’s where I discovered Aubrey of Fafinettex3, an amateur makeup artist racking up huge views with her how-to demos, […] Read more »
There is something almost too calculated about the YouTube Symphony Orchestra: a Chinese composer writing music for a Western-style symphony that draws its membership from a global community? But if you can get past the glaring PC-ness of the project, what awaits you is a sweet-natured […] Read more »
Anyone who tells you that they’ve seen every online video series out there is lying. Everyone has gaps in their knowledge, even the most devoted. Which is my way of justifying the fact that I hadn’t seen After Judgment until after it was nominated for five […] Read more »
These days we’re seeing more and more webseries, of varying degrees of web-savviness, pop up to support current network programming. And each time, I try and work out what the motivation is. Does the web-only content provide additional insight into the world of the characters and […] Read more »
As our increasingly global society slowly but surely franchises the entire world, it becomes harder and harder to find flavors authentic to their regions. Turns out the best place to find them is on the streets. VendrTV, launched last month on Blip.tv, is a food show […] Read more »
If you were interested in checking out this Saturday’s high-profile celebration of excellence in online video, well, we can help you out. NewTeeVee has a limited number of tickets to give away for the Streamy Awards in Los Angeles, and what better way to determine who […] Read more »
The greatest odd couples are the most unlikely ones, and the newest one currently circulating the YouTubes definitely wins some points for oddness. Our introduction to Duffy and the Crab is as follows: Patrick Duffy, 80s icon and star of the long ago-canceled Dallas and Step […] Read more »
In the world of online video, once you’ve secured the support of a large and generous fanbase, there’s very little you can’t do. For proof, look no further than Felicia Day: Loyal viewership has been a big factor in the success of her show The Guild. […] Read more »
If I know anything for certain, it’s that long after Battlestar Galactica comes to its conclusion tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel, we’ll still be talking about it. And whether or not you’re satisfied by the series finale or have lots more questions, there’s no denying that […] Read more »
While I don’t normally make a point of doing content warnings, In The Moment, a soap opera set in a thriving gay community, deserves one. Created in partnership with the LA Gay & Lesbian Center and the city of West Hollywood, the series showcases a multicultural […] Read more »
When it comes to comedy webseries, I’m starting to worry about the fake documentary (fauxumentary, perhaps?) format. Specifically, I’m starting to worry that between established entities like Dorm Life and newer shows like Bumps in the Night, it might be getting overplayed. It’s little wonder that […] Read more »
“Interview Cory Doctorow.” RIP director Brett Gaylor’s answer to the question of how to attain attention for your projects online got big laughs at a SXSW panel titled Marketing Meets New Media. But for those who can’t get the Boing Boing editor’s attention, don’t worry — […] Read more »
While Rockville, CA is a pretty good name for a web series, Club Rockville is kind of a lame name for a music venue, especially a music venue crammed with hip kids in their early 20s. But that’s one of only a few missteps in The […] Read more »
Without even the promise of free wine, Wine Library TV’s Gary Vaynerchuk (an NTV Breakout Video Star and old favorite) packed an auditorium here at South by Southwest Sunday evening with the faithfully devoted of the Web 2.0. Moderator Susanna Hamner, a self-employed writer, Jenna Wortham […] Read more »
The crossover between the SXSW film and interactive conferences usually comes in the form of DIY tips for filmmakers. The “Soapbox Spielberg” panel, listed on the agenda for both branches of the conference, took that to a new level on Saturday afternoon by producing some classic […] Read more »
Zak Knutson and Joey Figueroa of Chop Shop Entertainment are all about using webisodes to promote your film, but the role of the promotional webisode as it relates to mainstream content turns out to have some awkward side effects, as they discussed on a panel at […] Read more »
Dispatch from Liz Miller, NewTeeVee Reviews editor – Just got into Austin for SXSW, because I never got to go on spring break while I was in college. But while I’m here, I might as well go ahead and file stories on the interactive and film […] Read more »
The “It Girl” label is one that pops up when no one can quite put their finger on what makes a person worth caring about, despite the fact that her popularity is seemingly effortless. So, how should we define the Internet It Girl? Is she a […] Read more »
Update, Friday afternoon: Jon Stewart’s faceoff against Jim Cramer has already performed huge for Comedy Central online, as Chris reported earlier. Check out the unedited interview here. So, maybe Jon Stewart told a lie on Tuesday night. Let me back up, for those who haven’t been […] Read more »
Right now, Rainn Wilson is best known as the scene-stealing Dwight Schrute on The Office — but in the future will we know him as a a spiritual guru? Unlike his socially defective on-screen persona, the real-life Wilson is a husband, father, and a practitioner of […] Read more »
Clearly America has a high tolerance for misanthropes and social outcasts — Larry David’s whole career is based on that, after all. But how much pleasure can really be derived from watching someone be an awful human being? I guess it depends on how long you […] Read more »
Today, the struggles of average people aren’t just easily captured but easily distributed, and it’s such a pervasive element of our culture that sometimes I have to make myself remember that the same sort of documentation doesn’t exist for previous generations. Which is a shame; I’m […] Read more »
Warner Brothers went all out in its online video outreach for Watchmen, setting loose two months ago viral clips that gave fans a taste of how faithful the adaptation might be, while slowly drawing newbies into the complex world of the graphic novel. But in this […] Read more »
So perhaps you have a friend who plays it cool most of the time — dresses well, is really passionate about his or her career, can talk about American Idol if the subject comes up. But something about this person seems off to you, and you […] Read more »
If you were a Deadwood fan, but found yourself wishing occasionally for a little less cursing and a lot more philosophy, Heathens might be for you. Seeking to answer the question, “If Freedom was a place, what would it look like?” the 28-episode indie web series […] Read more »
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