Comments on: Fred Envy Pervasive at LA Conference

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 01:05:20 +0000

Fred is embarrassing. But I really find unbearable is the flood if utterly out of touch professionals that are convinced he has a formula they can copy. Actually, I'm torn between that set of idiots and the vapid, hipster morons that believe, because their parents told them they were indigo kids, they have the gift of special insight into art that the rest of us will never fully understand (see also: Chris Lynn)

Fred is massive because children like nonsense. His success is online because broadcast commissioners exist. They have standards - arguably not admirable standards, but at least they draw a line somewhere. There are thousands of similar shows on TV already. They just lack dialogue.

As deep as the rabbit hole goes - it's mindless sub slapstick nonsense. Shows like Teletubbies get away with being completely crap by replacing narrative, plot and objectives with farts and rainbows. Fred gets away with it online because nobody exists to get fired or field complaints.

All that said. Well done to the kid for exploiting it first. But for the love of all that is good, see it for what it is. If you think you "get Fred" - you don't. He's a kid little girls want to marry.

By: Fred the Movie the Trailer Debuts Online

Fred the Movie the Trailer Debuts Online — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:31:39 +0000

[...] 0 Oh boy, oh boy, it’s a big day for Fred fans (both of the pre-teen and adult variety.) Via Buzzfeed comes the trailer for Fred the Movie, which will air on cable channel [...]

By: Gokce

Gokce — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:05:05 +0000

I am a teen writer at RadicalParenting.com which is a parenting blog from the kid’s perspective there are 60 teen and tween writers run by teen author, Vanessa Van Petten. We just posted a video of a Girl version of Fred Figglehorn here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH5A9bCyJc0

and would love for you to check it out and tell us what you think or repost if you like it,

Cheers, thanks for checking it out!

Gokce and the Teen Team
http://radicalparenting.com

By: Munir

Munir — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:29:33 +0000

Just cant stop my self to comment on your blog. Good post.

By: Liz Gannes

Liz Gannes — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:52:32 +0000

@Bill - I agree, it was a pretty depressing moment all around. Do you think the reality is different or no?

By: Bill Streeter

Bill Streeter — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:43:45 +0000

This has to be the most depressing post I've ever read on NewTeeVee.

By: Thee Stranger

Thee Stranger — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:02:19 +0000

I have to laugh at these producers tying to decode this mystery that is Fred.

Look at his YouTube videos where he made an appearance at Hot Topic. The majority of people there to see him were children and tween girls.

The children like him because he's silly and kids like silly things. The tween girls like him because he's a cute boy roughly their age that acts silly.

That's it. I don't understand why that's so hard for these people to figure out.

By: Reader X

Reader X — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Morons. Running around trying to figure how to copy ‘Fred’. Fred is successful because he is authentic and funny. He is his own thing. You can’t copy that. I’m 43 and I get it. Fred is social satire for the teenage set. He’s a sort of Beavis and Butthead for You Tube if you have to use a showbiz analogy. If you get past the voice and listen, you’ll get it. That said, the message of Fred’s success is not ‘do what Fred is doing’. It’s ‘do your own thing and do it well’. As for the video producer who sold 14 webisodes for $2,500, he’s a…well, moron. If it’s that cheap to make, better to try and create a successful show on your own and leverage it. Morons.

By: Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:18:54 +0000

At first, I didn't get Fred. But after you get past the screeching chipmunk voice, there is some real story telling going on there. Instead of traditional narrative, he's creating an alternate world. Within the SHORT episodes, he gives you just enough to have you curious about his world and the 7 (or so) characters who inhabit it. It's exactly what Lonely Girl did before they turned it into a soap opera with a flip cam.

To create a web-series that will resonate with today's online audience, you have to look at how we use the Internet and what makes text-based media work.

The power of the web is that everything is connected. Through linking, we can follow a blogger's thoughts, while also exploring and learning more ourselves. The problem is that most corporate webs-series want to spoon feed their story. The Internet native wants to do a little of the work, so try to appeal to their sense of curiosity and exploration.

There are a lot of people out there, myself included, who are doing innovative things. It just takes a while to bubble up.

Keep on truckin :)