Let’s Save the Web Series
These are the thoughts of Yuri Baranovsky — creator of the innovative, critically-acclaimed series BREAK A LEG. I think to call the whole web series genre as ‘dying’ is a little dramatic, but he does give 4 pointed ideas to help the industry as a whole.I think Yuri started Break a Leg way too early. He was a pioneer, and he deserves credit for this. But he’s
bitterdisappointed because he poured his life and soul into a project which was too early. It happens to the best of us. Others — many not nearly as talented or dedicated as him — are and will continue to find success where he didn’t.In an ideal world Yuri would start an entirely new project today. He would take his lessons learned from the early years and apply them to today’s market. And he would find more success — in both traffic and revenue — than he imagined possible.
As an advertising category original web video is still in its infancy. Advertising agencies and brands are still trying to figure out how to align with original web video to deliver their messaging in an efficient and effective manner that drives ROI and creates an emotional connection. This is not easy. But we’re getting there.
In the six months I’ve been at blip.tv, I’ve seen a number of marketers effectively use original web video. We’re working very hard with our partners (show creators) to educate the advertising community. And slowly but surely it’s working. We’ve seen some great results lately and I am very optimistic about 2010. I think it’s going to be a game changer for original web video.
Rafi runs West Coast sales for us, Evan is our nationwide head of sales and I’m one of the founders and the CEO. I remember working with Yuri two or three years ago when blip.tv was still eight people in an apartment on Centre Street. He’s a visionary. But it’s still early for Web video now, and it was really early then.
This article and all the comments I’ve seen regarding it are just naive, is all.
Look, forget the term “web series”; we are witnessing (and participating) in a radical change in DISTRIBUTION. You are STILL going to need talented people to create the content. You are STILL going to need money (either from private/VC funding or sponsors-the film and TV models respectively) and you’re STILL doing to need marketing and distribution.
Claiming “death to the web series” is like claiming that “the Internet has failed”. That’s silly. There’s A LOT of impatience out there. There’s a lot of discomfort with this changing model. There’s a lot of sponsorship money becoming accustomed to the change.
It’s here and it’s developing.
Be patient. This is TRULY only the beginning.
