10th
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Can a Web Show (a show released primarily for distribution and viewing on the internet) derive more interesting material, whether comedic or dramatic, from interesting characters and monologue driven scripts than old formats- television, movies, etc, which I postulate are more story driven?No. Unless you are a Performance Art genius like Eric Bogosian or Ann Magnuson. You have GOT to have a good story. Let me put it this way, the web is littered right now with videos of people trying to get away without stories and it shows. So that’s being taken care of. You have to be part of the next wave (tell a story) or no one will notice your web-series.
By the way, when you say “old formats” when referring to good solid stories, you’re really talking about the entire history of the narrative with spans back to the cavemen. If what you mean to avoid is “old media” ways, i.e. allowing 20 business school graduates to give notes on your script and dailies, then yes, avoid THAT.
Until now, the story arc has mostly been the most important facet of entertainment; with the exception of Seinfeld, and maybe Arrested Development, everything else is driven as much by the story as it is by the characters.
With the web, I feel like you have the power to become much closer to the characters. A lot of it has to do with the way that a lot of web shows are viewed- up close on a computer screen. Watching something on your computer is different from watching it on your TV, which in turn is different from watching it in a movie theater with a hundred people. For example, I watched a web show alone at home on my Macbook one night and hated it. It was stupid, immature, unfunny, and it had been up for a while without really getting any attention from audiences. But when I talked to two other guys who had watched it through their TV, and had watched it together, they loved it! I couldn’t figure it out; our tastes weren’t THAT different, but our perspective on the show was so different!
I finally figured it out; it was the social aspect of the way they watched the show that affected their perspective. Watching it together, they could laugh at its stupidity with each other, and enjoy it that way. It’s the same reason why people laugh more when they’re AT a comedy club than anywhere else- being with people causes you to act differently. With the web it’s a similar thing… viewing a show online makes it a personal act between you and the show. You’re watching from only 1 or 2 feet away, and you may even have headphones in. Thus, I feel like web producers have an opportunity to make a more personal connection between the viewer and the character. Look at LG15, which was based on vlogging, or The Guild, which uses vlogging-type camera angles.
Obviously, there are some people (myself included) who DO watch some web tv on my actual television, but overall, most web tv is viewed on the computer. So let me restate my question again: Given the nature of web television viewing, does a web show have more potential for character-based development than an old media production?
