Monday, January 31, 2011

Malviviendo - una serie ingeniosa

Hoy me gustaria presentaros una serie española para internet que llama Malviviendo. Es un poco mayor ya, pero muy ingeniosa y famosa! 

Malviviendo (Hustler) is set in the fictional neighbourhood "Los Banderillos" in Sevilla. The 4 main characters: el negro (the black), el zurdo (the left-hander), el kaki (the khaki) and el postilla (the scab) are a group of friends who are trapped in their everyday lives and bad habits, such as consumption of cannabis or other problems resulting from the uniqueness of each character. The series consists of 10 episodes and a couple of mini-episodes produced by Diffferent and directed by David Sáinz.

Here is the pilot episode called: "Me dicen negro"


 

There are 2 peculiarities regarding this project: 
The first is that Malviviendo has been produced with no budget and only a few technical resources. After completing their studies, the guys of Diffferent were unemployed and bored, and therefore created their own series.
As a result, they say: "Hunger sharpens the wit". Because the second peculiarity is that they parody, for example, the opening of famous series such as Dexter, The Sopranos, Lost, Sex and the City etc., in each episode. They also manage to either mention the word "melon" or to show the fruit itself in each episode. 

And there are many more references, guest appearances and other spoofs, because Malviviendo wants to break schemes and innovate content by writing witty scripts and creating convoluted stories.
For more information and to watch all episode, visit: http://malviviendo.com/

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hollywood Actors Workshop

Ever dreamt about being a rich and famous Hollywood actor/ actress? Even if you're not an aspiring actor, you should check out this hilarious web series!

Workshop is a comedic web series that takes an inside look at the struggles of actors in L.A. The show follows six actors (three guys and three girls), all in their twenties, as they try to navigate their way through the ups and downs of making it in Hollywood. It is produced, created, and written by Nate Golon and Kimberly Legg.

Nate Golon said in an interview:
"Basically, I wanted to show what it's really like in Hollywood for the majority of actors trying to make it, but take the situations that can be frustrating for actors and put them in a comedic light. Think of this show as ENTOURAGE for poor actors."

Season 1 is primarily poking fun at  casting workshops. Here is the 1st episode called "Actor's Resource" (where all your acting dreams come true):


Season 2 of Workshop begins production August 15th! So stay tuned for updates on castings, previews, and new episodes by visiting: http://workshoptheseries.com/

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Snobs with Christian Ulmen

It's about time to introduce a German web series. I chose Die Snobs (The Snobs), because Christian Ulmen is a pretty hilarious German comedian, the series got great reviews, and last but not least a friend of mine worked on that project. Die Snobs is about two men who play golf. You think that sounds boring? Not with Christian Ulmen!

Before continuing with The Snobs, I'd like to add a few words about Christian Ulmen. He started his TV career as a VJ on MTV Europe and is known for his creative, and sometimes provocative, humour, which he displayed in TV shows such as Unter Ulmen or Mein neuer Freund - the German adaptation of Channel 4's My New Best Friend - and the award-winning TV series Dr. Psycho - Die Bösen, die Bullen, meine Frau und ich. He has also appeared in leading roles in successful cinema productions such as Herr Lehmann (2003) and The Elementary Particles (2006), based on Michel Houellebecq's novel.

Now, you have a vague picture of the leading actor of Die Snobs. To get a first impression of the series, check out the trailer (even if you don't understand German):


A golf course is usually an allegory for silence, peace and concentration. But here it becomes the sadic playground of Von Zesen, an aristocratic dandy, and Astor, an stressed business and family man. This comedy is completely absurd, nasty and surprising and if you wanna see more of it, go to: http://www.3min.de/video/serien/4

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Life in a Day - A part of History

Do you remember what you did July 24, 2010? Well, I do. I actually had my birthday party on that particular day. I celebrated in a very nice, little café in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg with a bunch of friends from all over the world:


Now, you got a glimpse of what I did on July 24, 2010. Tonight premieres Life in a Day at the Sundance Film Festival which is described as historic global experiment. It's a documentary, shot in a single day, by people like you and me. Executive producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald chose from over 80,000 submissions the most compelling and distinctive footage in order to create the world's largest user-generated feature film.

Have a look at the trailer:


Since most of us are probably not in Utah right now, Life in a Day will also be available via live-streaming on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday
In case you miss it tonight, it'll be rebroadcast tomorrow January 28. But it will be the last time it’s possible to see the documentary for a while. Thanks to a pick-up by National Geographic Films, Life in a Day will premiere in theatres on July 24, 2011 - exactly one year after the day that was chronicled by contributors to the project.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

New Retro Series on Syfy.com

US cable network Syfy has just announced that a new sci-fi web series which is called The Mercury Men is coming to Syfy.com soon. With the commission of this 10-part shortform series, Syfy is stepping up its web video output. 
The web series The Mercury Men is set in Pittsburgh in 1975. Edward Borman (Mark Tierno, i.e. The Road) - a wiry government office drone - uncovers an alien invasion plan. He finds himself trapped, when the deadly men of Mercury seize his office building as a staging ground for their infamous plot. Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootten) - a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as "The League" - tries to help Edward stopping the invaders and their doomsday device, the Gravity Engine. 

Here is a sneak peek:


The Mercury Men draws from the same retro serials that inspired such films as Star Wars and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hence it reintroduces the audience to the great mystery, danger, and suspense the stories were originally known for. The series consists of 10 online episodes, each approximately 7 minutes in length. If you want to see more of this series, please visit: http://www.mercuryseries.com/ 

The web series is created by Christopher Preksta who is best known as the writer/director of Captain Blasto for which he was nominated for two Streamy Awards. His short concept film The Mercury Men (filmed prior to the series) was featured at San Diego Comic Con (2008), the Brainwash Movie Festival (awarded Best Film, 2008), and the Action on Film Festival (awarded Best Science Fiction Film & Best Visual Effects, 2008).

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Web series are still not profitable, but honorable!

Every year in January, the TV program executives get together at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach in order to attend the annual NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives) Market & Conference: http://www.natpe.org/natpe/ 

A number of panels, workshops, case studies and master classes throughout the three-day confab focus on the latest developments in the digital content industry.
During the „Developing the Next Digital Hit" session, panelists acknowledged yesterday that the returns for web-only series are often still tiny compared with TV shows, and the need to cut costs is the main concern for content creators. 

At least the NATPE trade show is recognizing - for the second year - digital contributions to the content biz by honoring on the last day of the market (January, 26) a handful of companies and personalities as "Content Innovators". The event will be streamed live on the NATPE website. Will you tune in tomorrow?

THE 2011 HONOREES ARE:
Branded Entertainment Series -- Recognizing excellence in an original online video series that is funded primarily through a brand sponsor.
Honoree: ControlTV
Brand Leadership in Online Video -- Honoring a brand that has shown repeated commitment to funding original online entertainment content that is engaging and successful in reaching a core online audience.
Honoree: IKEA
Original Web Content -- Recognizing excellence in creation of an original web series that has achieved critical and financial success in the past year.
Honoree: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (THE LXD)
Online Video Personality -- Honoring an online video personality that has built a significant audience and continues to engage and entertain them.
Honoree: Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV) 
Market Leadership in the Digital Space -- Recognizing the commitment and investment in the creation and distribution of online content.
Honoree: AOL

Monday, January 24, 2011

An experiment: Untitled Fiction Project

The Internet is perfect for experiments with different narrative techniques, such as improvisation. Today, I want to introduce a web series that has been released already back in October, but I think it's an interesting approach and worth to have a look at.

Untitled Fiction Project 1.0 is an unscripted dramatic web series by Peruvian director Alonso Mayo in co-operation with "The Gloria Gifford Conservatory for the Performing Arts" in Los Angeles: http://www.gloriagiffordconservatory.com/

The series is a collection of 13 mostly improvised scenes filmed on one location. Each scene is built upon the storyworld created in the previous one. This means there was no rewriting of past episodes for the sake of the narrative and no changing of what has already happened. It's only about moving forward.

The plot revolves around the following love triangle:
James (Jeffrey Casciano) and Georgia (Lauren Plaxco) are happily married and live a seemingly carefree life. But one day James' mistress (Jade Warner) calls in order to force James to confess their affair. Even though the trust is shattered, James intends to rebuild his life with his wife. But the other woman is absolutely determined to keep him to herself....

Here is the first episode:


Not only the narrative is creative, but Alonso Mayo also constructs some interesting imagery in quite ordinary settings. His color palette, which is full of rich coloring and deep contrasts, proves to be compelling as well as his documentary style which is created by an intimate handheld camera approach.

For further episodes and information, go to: http://untitledfictionproject.com/

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The World before the Advent of the Internet

Do you remember the world before the Internet? Sometimes I really wonder how we actually managed life without google, wikipedia, facebook, amazon - in a nutshell: the Internet.
Imagine you had to go to a library in order to get some information.... Imagine you had to go to a bank in order to transfer money.... Imagine you had to go to a record shop in order to buy music.... Imagine you had to turn on the TV in order to watch a series.....
What a different world it has been back then!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Viral videos: advertising or problem for late-night shows?

This post is not about a new web series, but about a very interesting topic I stumbled upon on THR website:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/unfunny-side-late-night-viral-73988
The article looks at the growing trend of must-watch videos and the danger it poses to late night television.

Do you remember the video in which then-Jimmy-Kimmel-girlfriend Sarah Silverman revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she is f*cking Matt Damon:


Or when late-night talker Jimmy Fallon covered Willow Smiths's "Whip my hair" as Neil Young:


Of course, we all remember these great bits from late-night shows that have gone viral on the internet. Now the article suggests that people don't watch the shows anymore, except for the just mentioned "best bits". Furthermore, they say that it's not just funny monologues or taped bits from the late-night hosts. But add in some great musical performances and pieces of celebrity interviews gone goofy or surreal, and you’ve got an environment that’s ideal for YouTube and Twitter. In fact, if you follow any TV critics or media outlets on Twitter, it’s almost impossible to go a single day without seeing links to funny or embarrassing moments from the late-night show hosts.

The question is whether those viral videos are the best source of free advertising in a highly competitive environment, or if this pop-culture link-excess of readily available “greatest hits from last night” is putting a real hurt on somebody’s ratings? What do you think?

I think it's great advertising for a show! When I was in L.A. in 2009, I went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. I haven't really heard of him before - all I knew was the famous Sarah Silverman video.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Watch out cyber world - here come The LeBrons!

As if NBA player LeBron James wasn't already ubiquitous, he will now star in his own web series, called The LeBrons. LeBron James whose nickname is "King James" or "Mr. Basketball" in high school, will attempt to portray the four characters he feels like he is on a day-to-day basis: Kid LeBron, Athlete LeBron, Business LeBron, and Wise (the mentor of the whole family). These characters are animated versions of the characters already introduced in the WTF Nike commercials.

Let's hear how LeBron himself describes his web series:

 

The series takes place in his hometown of Akron, Ohio and will debut on his website http://www.lebronjames.com/ as well as on http://www.youtube.com/TheLebrons. Currently the series creators, Spring Hill Productions and Believe Entertainment Group, are trying to build a subscriber base on YouTube in anticipation of a spring debut of the 10-episode series.

If you want to see more of The LeBrons, here is some Behind the Scenes - footage:

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Situation gets a web series

If you have no idea who "The Situation" is, here is a little reminder:


Yes, it seems like Mike Sorrentino from Jersey Shore will play the lead fictional character in a comedy series featured on online talent competition site http://yobi.tv

The Situation’s co-stars are also yet to be determined. Yobi.TV is hosting a contest, where one aspiring male and female actor will win the opportunity to act alongside Sorrentino and force the word "situation" into as much dialogue as possible. Similar to Yobi.TV’s singing, filmmaking, comedy, and photography contests, the winners will be determined by whichever audition submission receives the most number of votes from Yobi.TV users.

This isn’t the first Yobi.TV series and co-star contest to feature a popular MTV reality personality who also appeared on Dancing with the Stars. Audrina Patridge from The Hills is also set to star in a web series alongside two members of the Yobi.TV community.

Monday, January 17, 2011

AOL and Endemol USA as well as BiteTV develop new web series

I'm sorry I have been MIA for the last week...I had such an amazing, memorable and interesting week in Israel, though:


But now I'm back and have some exciting news regarding new web series:

AOL and Endemol USA have just signed a production agreement to develop and co-produce new web programming for AOL's female audience. They will start with a nationwide makeover show, called Re-Dressed By America. It will be an interactive web series in which AOL users makeover subjects by voting on their hairstyles and fashion. The series will be featured on  Stylelist.com and MyDaily.com.
A second show coming out of the alliance will be Mama's Recipe, in which families share their recipes with the AOL audience. The series will be featured on KitchenDaily and AOL Latino.
Both projects are at the built-if-sold stage, pending on sponsor interest.

There are also some news from Canada. Canadian internet and TV outlet BiteTV has greenlit a new web series, and will start working on the comedy Papillon this month with partners Duopoly and Farmhouse Productions. The comedy series is set at a discount airline and stars Kevin McDonald as a pilot with a chronic fear of flying. It will be shown on bite.ca in Canada and on babelgum.com in the US.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Shalom from Tel Aviv!

I just arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday:


So, I wanted to present an Israeli web series today and I actually found a new Israeli comedy web series called PINI. It's a series for Israelis who live abroad...or in Israel, but I find it rather funny, too. Take a look at this trailer:


Pini used to be a cook in the ‘Kirya’ army base, but now he is trying to fulfill his dream of being a great chef in London - like Gordon Ramsey. The show is being filmed in London and it speaks English, but thinks Hebrew.
Even though Pini is very intelligent, most people think he seems rather dumb. For example, his housemate, Tom Jones, is trying really hard to understand what Pini wants from him…

If you wanna find out more about Pini, visit his Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pini.fans

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Save the Date!

On November, 12 the Rocketboom network premiered the scripted, 10-part web series Save the Date.

The series takes place in real-time and follows the social media mishaps among a group of friends, just moments before two of them update their relationship status from engaged to married.
The situational comedy exposes the misunderstandings that can occur when you rely on technology for facts, and when being too web-connected can interfere with rational thinking.

It was shot over 3 days in New York City with a cast and crew of local talent, including Rocketboom Daily host Molly. Save the Date is Rocketboom’s first co-produced narrative series.

Enjoy Episode 1:


If you're hooked now, go to:
http://www.rocketboom.com/savethedate/

Friday, January 7, 2011

Van der Week on Funny or Die

Do you remember James van der Beek who played Dawson Leery on the popular 90s show Dawson's Creek? Then you might remember the scene when Joey (Katie Holmes) breaks up with Dawson. If not, here is a quick reminder:


Well, James just launched his website http://www.jamesvandermemes.com/ this week and if you intend to laugh really hard, please visit! He basically makes fun of himself by teaching his new-and-improved - Dawson Leery .gifs. I think it's certainly a funny way to handle being the butt of an internet joke.

Comedy video website Funny or Die presents the Van Der Week, "a celebration of all things James Van Der Beek!"
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/2fbe5df820/vandermemes?rel=player&playlist=326139

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Vampire Mob with John Colella

Are you tired of vampire series such as Twilight, Vampire Diaries, True Blood etc? Today I stumbled over the episodic comedy web series Vampire Mob and it's really worth a look!

The series follows Don Grigioni, a hitman and vampire, who just found out that his mother-in-law is moving in - for eternity. Don became a vampire because “it was a good fit” for his nocturnal life of crime. He never planned on biting his wife Annie, and making her immortal too, but then he got hungry. Annie felt bad that her mom would die one day, so she bit her, without discussing it with Don, and now mom needs a place to stay and also blood to drink. With Don’s hit business slowing down, the last thing he needs is more “grocery shopping” to do....


 Vampire Mob already premiered June 30, 2010 and has finished its 1st season. Cast members include John Colella (CSI: NY, The West Wing), who plays Don, Marcia Wallace, the voice of Mrs. Krabappel on The Simpsons is the mother-in-law, Virginia Jones, and her daughter, Laura is played by Kirsten Vangsness, known for her role as Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. 

Vampire Mob was written & directed by award-winning filmmaker and comedian, Joe Wilson, who was working as a private investigator when he got the idea for Vampire Mob during an investigation. Wilson’s “The Swear Police” won best short under five minutes at the 2009 LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival. 

For further information please go to:
http://www.vampiremob.com/   

That's what others say about it: 
“Vampire Mob combines the mythology with The Sopranos”  -NewTeeVee

Monday, January 3, 2011

Sesame Street releases iPad Monster

Nowadays, there are endless ways and tools to tell a story. One of the most recent, though, is an iPad app. Not only adults are fascinated by Apple's newest invention, also kids love to play with it.

Now, Sesame Street has partnered with New York-based Callaway Digital Arts to create its first iPad app. Callaway Digital Arts already released the first iPad-specific app for Thomas the Tank Engine on behalf of Hit Entertainment back in December.

Sesame Street chose the kids' classic The Monster at the End of This Book, which was published for the first time in 1971. Just in time for its 40th anniversary they publish it as their first iPad app.

Narrated by the furry blue Grover, the Sesame Street app integrates a variety of interactive animation within the story, which was written by Sesame Street director and executive producer Jon Stone.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

1st new web series in 2011: AIDAN 5

I hope you all had a great NYE and I wish you a very happy and successful 2011! 

The first web series I want to introduce in 2011 is an ambitious project that was produced  with no sets and no budget! It's called AIDAN 5.

Here is a sneak peek: 


The show is based on the award-winning 48-hr film festival short, AIDAN 5. It's a sci-fi web series made only with an all-volunteer cast & crew under pressured time restrictions. Their goal was to create an ambitious series with creativity and determination as the only resources.

Set in a futuristic city, AIDAN 5 chronicles the journey of one detective who must unravel the mystery behind the serial killings of his own clones. This 15-episode living comic book is told through a unique style of filmmaking and sketched art. 

For more information please visit: