Thoughts on the New
Posted March 27th, 2008 by Matthew in Comments, RantsRecently, I read a blog post asking if online video is dead. There was back and forth about how online video content creators weren’t seeing any money for their creations, whether or not they would, or if it was already too late for that based on traditional media pushing more and more “professional” studio content into the online space.
A quick note/legend before I move forward any further on how I’m going to define things for this post:
-New Media = Online video, ongoing original content produced by those who aren’t considered professional, i.e. have deals with major studios (this knocks the Ask a Ninja folks out of the running, based on their current deal to direct a remake of … Attack of the Killer Tomatoes … sigh. Really?). I include any original content produced by amateurs and hell, even by “prosumers” in the New Media category.
-Traditional Media = Movies, TV, commercials, or web videos that were movies, tv, or commercials. This is content produced with studio support. I’m F***ing Matt Damon isn’t new media, it just got popular via the online space. Tragically, I have to include The Lonely Island guys (SNL Digital Shorts) in here too, because Lorne Michaels is funding all of their fun stuff now.
So, is New Media already dead? Well, it depends on who you are and your expectations. It’s either dead, or we’re just getting started, in my opinion. If you recognize that the online space is a new haven for content, and that as we move forward, more and more original quality entertainment will be produced strictly for the online space - then yes, we have a pulse. It’s growing inside the cocoon of the internet. If you think that as a creator, you can simply jump in and start monetizing your content, that you’re going to become a celebrity or a “rock star” and be fabulously wealthy or even be able to make a living off of your New Media - close the casket. It’s dead. The first window has passed, because the online world moves astoundingly quickly, there wasn’t much money to be made, and you missed it.
Now, that’s a bit of a blanket statement. But the important take away from that is that as a content creator, you have to manage your expectations and shift your thinking in a very extreme way. I see a lot of creators approach the New Media space like they would Traditional Media - the only difference is that they do this AFTER they’ve produced their content. Which isn’t really all that different than your typical indie filmmaker nowadays. But there are a lot of creators that talk a great game about how different the New Media space is from Traditional Media, and then once they get a little popularity behind them, they hire an agent, try to make studio deals, etc. etc. The very first thing they do is apply Traditional Media thinking to their New Media product and nothing comes of it. They make that deal, and they’re directing…an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes remake. If that’s the pinnacle so far of what New Media creators can accomplish (or the cover of Wired, or a tiny spot on CSI) then I’m not entirely sure I’m sad about New Media being dead.
What I really feel though, is that New Media is only just starting. Yes, the space is already flooded with content - yes, it’s incredibly hard just to get an audience for your work - yes, you’re most likely not going to make money for it. Again, this is just like the Traditional Media space. This is where the quality of the work separates the big audiences from the small audiences. But we’re also starting to see folks being smart about it and making it work for them. People who are thinking differently about how to distribute content, how to monetize content, and how to build audiences that will support you and your content long after Hollywood would have spit you out, had they even given you a shot at all.
You want to keep New Media alive? Walk the walk and figure out how to succeed and tell your story in a way that you don’t need investors, or studios, or the Traditional Media trappings. Or, just figure out a different distribution pathway that works for you and your definition of success. Be smarter than Traditional Media, celebrate and embrace the differences. It’s a whole new world for creators. Make your own success.
Matthew
March 27th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Interesting post, Matthew. Food for thought, to be sure. I agree with you that New Media is just getting started in the sense that the freedom to make your own story with your own means and have venue with which to present it is something that people are just starting to embrace. Sketch, scenes, and random pranks/accidents are about 90% of what you can find. Continuing series are just starting to emerge. We as a culture are starting to experiment and harness the format as a storytelling device.
That said, I don’t think things have to be an either/or between New Media and Traditional Media. I think you have to approach the canvas that will best contain your story. I wouldn’t watch the Indiana Jones movie online. Even if the the technology got to the point where presentation is as good or better than the theaters. It just wasn’t made to be consumed like that.
As for the Ask A Ninja folks, I say good for them. I think Attack of the Killer Tomatoes could be a fun remake. I like the idea of taking a unique humor sensibility to make a quirky comedy/horror film. If they signed the deal to make Fools Gold 2: Fool Harder, then yeah, I’d shake my head. But they’re taking a crack at something that will allow them more creative freedom than a traditional movie with a slightly larger canvas and budget than they had access to previously. So why not? I wish them luck.
DCW
March 27th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Yeah, I don’t think that it needs to be an either/or, my point is more that creators need to understand and embrace the differences and make those work for them. There are some creators who were/are fanatical about how much better New Media was than Traditional Media, to the point of insult. I’m trying to call out some of that hypocrisy here and just ask that if you’re going to talk the talk, then walk the walk and don’t jump into the Traditional Media pool when they dangle the first carrot in front of you.
I don’t know what to tell you about the theater experience versus the online experience. I feel like unless theater chains start doing something revolutionary in the near future, they’re going to die out based on ticket/concession costs rising while home theater costs keep dropping. Add to that things like Apple TV and XBox Live, and things look grim for theater chains. Not fatal, because of the purists out there (after all, there must be some drive in theaters out there…somewhere….) but grim. This is a whole other post, but I think we’re going to start seeing more success in the Mark Cuban model - releasing in theaters, DVD, and now online - all on the same drop date.
I wish Kent and Douglas the best of luck with…Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I’m sure it will be great, considering their sense of humor. I really hope that Clooney comes back for it.
Matthew
March 27th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’m curious to know the blog that spurred your post above. I think it’s really easy to say “xyz is dead.” Oh he is the height of hipster. (Even tho such complaints predate hipsters altogether.) Having once declared that medium, idea or genre dead, they seek a new one and what they do is breaking new ground because of it.
What that writer wants is a new niche market instead of one that has been popularized and capitalized upon. Sure this creates a lot of competition but it also means there’s more money available within that medium than before. But I think the argument goes beyond media, new or traditional. It continues the long standing argument of the self-owned business decrying corporations; the ground breaking independent musician who goes platinum and forgets where he’s from. Are you implying that being funded or successful necessarilly means a compromise in their creative integrity?
I guess what I want to know more is what do you think it entails to “walk the walk.” Is it rejecting studio and corporate funding? Maintaing creative control and distribution rights in spite of it? When someone does offer that carrot, the potential to make a living off of such content, what do you want the response to be?
What would yours be?
March 27th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
New Media isn’t dead. It isn’t really anything. I don’t believe that because a video is created specifically for the web that it is magically different from a film shown in theaters. Anybody with a video camera and a Mac/PC can put up a video of their skateboarding bulldog or even produce some ongoing web series. That’s great, but if it’s shit, it’s shit.
I have yet to see any sort of good online video content other than the stuff like Homestar Runner (from several years ago). I tried to watch the Ask a Ninja stuff and quite frankly, its not remotely funny or even watchable and that becomes the problem with the New Media stuff. Its great that anybody can create a video, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
And while of course I have a prejudice here, I think good work, including a good chunk of g14’s content gets lost in the sea of crap.
My own belief is that this online content needs to be interactive and not just having people post comments. For example, viewers drive the story either through polling or creating the equivalent of choose your own adventures.
What would YOU rather see.
Matthew stands in front of a door. Inside is Dave naked, is Balz gay?
OR
Matthew stands in front of a door. Inside is Jeff naked, is Balz gay?
OR
Matthew stands in front of a door. What does he do next? Go gay?
Insightful post Balz…
March 31st, 2008 at 10:58 am
gavin: about the choose-your-own adventure video… some friends of mine made a show that screened out in la for the channel101 audience and they did just that- they shot three versions of a bunch of different parts in the show and gave everyone in the audience laser pointers… then as they were screening it, options would come up on the screen and the audience would point at the one they liked the best and the person screening the show would switch over to the option they chose live so that the thing they chose was what happened next… pretty fun stuff!
and i vote for “go gay”