Lunch with Chris Chang

Last Monday, Josh and I had lunch with Chris Chang, co-founder of 10Ton, a production company uniquely positioned to bring quality production to the web, and organizers of New York Big Screen Little Screen.  We shared our thoughts on great shows, monetization schemes and how the next few years of democratized TV will shake out.

Chris seems to have an endless supply of creative ideas, and we can’t wait to see (and cover) what he comes up with next.

Liz Gannes @ TilzyTV

Last week, Josh and I sat down with Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee to discuss all things internet-TV. Liz was in New York for the NewTeeVee Pier Screening.  It was a great event, and an interesting conversation –we’re looking forward to seeing  her again soon.

Meeting with Paul Kontonis

Josh Cohen and I recently met with Paul Kontonis, CEO of For Your Imagination, which is creating incredibly innovative Internet-TV content. Paul is an inspiring individual.

We had a brief chat about all things Internet-TV, and Paul shared his insights on an upcoming project of ours. Notably (and in the video below) he suggests that we not conform to the rigidity of traditional TV, which is something we’ve advocated for a long time. Time constraints and schedules are a thing of the past.The clip below is a random sampling of our conversation taken for posterity. We’re at the helm of a major sea change.

We’re looking forward to continuing coverage of the interesting, imaginative and provocative content that will continue to flow from the For Your Imagination studios.

Catching Up – NY Video 2.0 MeetUp

I’m cleaning house. This one should’ve been posted a few months back.

Jamison presented at the NY Video 2.0 Meetup at the end of April. Robert Sandie, the young, tall, enthusiastic CEO and Founder of video-sharing site Viddler, was also slated to speak and gave a great demo of his product. What makes Viddler different? Searchable tags and text and video comments.

During playback, users can tag specific portions of a video and leave whatever commentary they choose. Not only does this make the video more navigable by allowing you to direct others towards specific points in the timeline, but it adds more searchable metadata to each clip.

Check it out in action below. As an added bonus, you get to see Jamison present to New York’s web video crowd and an unexpected guest appearance by the Vayniac himself, Gary Vaynerchuk (Tilzy.TV page).

Catching Up: Thoughts on Launching

It’s been a month since Jamison and I launched Tilzy.TV, and we’ve been at this non-stop ever since.  Before we flipped the master switch to send this puppy live, I was almost certain that it’d be easier on the flip side. 

"Pre-launch" was a phase we worked in for the better part of a year and was filled with a certain set of problems that needed solving (What does this site look like?  How do we make some sense of this industry?  What needs to happen to get this up and running?).  While we were jumping over development hurdles and navigating through content hoops I would delude myself into thinking, "Things will be easier after we launch.  This will be more manageable."  Whoa.  I was wrong. 

I’m sure that if I’d taken a moment to visualize the coming months I could’ve better anticipated what "post-launch" would entail, but I couldn’t have accounted for everything (How will people react to the site?  What will they hate?  What will they like? How do we find time to update, troubleshoot, manage, market, travel, and publicly relate?).  We’re involved in a FAST-paced industry.  New developments and technologies are rapidly emerging, spawning new conversations, new paradigms, and new problems that need to be solved.  There’s no way to foresee it all. 

But that’s the fun part.  Not knowing what’s next and thinking of dynamic and creative ways to use innovative technologies to challenge norms and overcome challenges is why I’m involved with this internet thing in the first place.  I’ve always dug solving problems.  That’s why I’m doing this and I’m learning that’s why entrepreneurially-minded people do what they do.

This "post-launch" environment isn’t as easily navigable as I had anticipated, but along with the challenges it’s providing some fertile ground for learning and opportunity.  After six months of idle conversation about the site and six more months of serious work, it feels good to be up and running. 

– Josh

News

CONTENT PRODUCERS:

A few of you have contacted us about new developments on your shows/sites; we can’t wait to start posting them. 

We want to post news about all of your sites.  When you have news to share, contact us.

We want to hear about…
–New interactive elements
–Special episodes
–New characters
–New actors
–Drama
–Open key-crew positions

Help us drive traffic to your brand.

Jamison

Brainstorming@Tilzy.TV

I’ve been thinking about the ways in which content producers might use interactive tools to enhance viewser experience.  I am convinced that the most popular (and profitable) entertainment websites will combine serial episodic programming with interactive elements.  I recognize the role that video aggregators like iTunes, Fireant and Democracy will play, but it is also important to note that a brand has an inherent interest in driving traffic to its own websites.  How will you drive traffic to your brand?

I had noted the interactive elements used by talented producers in a previous post, but I thought I’d throw some ideas around, maybe get some people thinking.  Here’s a few ideas that came to my mind — feel free to add.  

• Alternate endings
• A choose-your-own-adventure, "A day in the life of  ______" series
• Put the viewser IN the trivia game-show
• Each character of a sitcom has a personal vlog

I’ve also thought about the value that a custom user-interface can add to a brand.  The videos on Wildcast are stunning, but should they be ordered only by date?  I can imagine  added functionality that would create a  self-guided viewing experience.  The combination of Discovery Videos with Google Maps is a perfect example of how interface can enhance  viewing experience. 

Producers are no longer bound by the rigidity of television distribution.  Let’s see what happens when we start to think outside that box.  Nothing excites me more. 

The Role of Tilzy.TV

Devon  asked what the role of Tilzy.TV would be in the "trajectory" of entertainment media, and to be honest, I’m not sure. 

Josh and I see ourselves as champions of the new entertainment medium–we want to support its development–but we’re careful not to confine it to what’s currently out there.   

When the medium changes, so does the message.

Will the "lean-back" experience of TV remain the principal source of in-home entertainment?  I doubt it.  IP distribution enables richer entertainment experiences, but we’re not sure how this mode of expression (and industry) will evolve.  Talented producers will continue to innovate.

We’ve said that we’re here to "celebrate, support, discuss and explore" the new entertainment medium, but the form that that mission takes is ultimately up to our users. 

What role do you see Tilzy.TV playing? 

Jamison

The Trajectory of Entertainment Media

The Trajectory of Entertainment Media (from 1995)

I. The Advent of the DVD makes the formerly passive experiences of TV and movies more interactive

• Hollywood business-model becomes increasingly reliant on DVD sales.

II. Broadband connectivity becomes mainstream

III. Investment in Internet-video publishing services

• Blip.tv
• Brightcove
• YouTube
• Google Video
• Veoh

IV. Richer user-experience causes a shift in consumer trends

• Movies and TV lose audience share to Internet, especially among younger demographics

V. So, the paradigm of entertainment distribution and consumption has changed.  The medium is broadened. 

VI. Consumers respond

• The passivity of TV and movies is due to technological limitations.
• IP dirstribution enables both passive and interactive entertainment experiences.
  • Consumers can now choose between passive and user-guided entertainment experiences.
  • People like both.

VII. Economic model for user-guided entertainment experiences becomes clear, market expands

• Networks begin to invest in user-guided experiences for online users
  • Very Funny Ads
  • Brilliant but Cancelled
  • DotComedy

• Resources are invested into original content development for consumption on the Internet
  • Next New Networks 
  • Vuguru
  • Diversion Media
  • MTV to launch "hundreds" of websites

VIII. How will consumers discover these experiences?

• A guide must be platform agnostic — I want to see media hosted with Brightcove, Veoh, Blip, etc
• Text search is insufficient
  • I like the sitcom Something to be Desired. How would I have searched for that?
• People discover media through browsing and recommendation.

IX. Recommendation engines will power discovery

• And recommendation engines are driven by data

X. DATA comes from USERS

• Users will respond to the best user-experience
• In the short-term, a "human element" will aid discovery better than technology alone and will drive traffic

Jamison

Engaging Audiences

At Tilzy.tv, our operating principle is that the flexibility of Internet-video is its most powerful asset.  We seek to promote the development of a form of expression that–until recently–has been nonexistant.

We try not to confine this medium to what we already know.  We explore it. 

The Internet-entertainment industry is young, and so is the art form.  Content development and experimentation– especially with entertainment industry resources– has only just begun. 

Josh and I have spent a lot of time interacting with this new medium, and we started talking about what sites should do to keep viewers engaged.  I have two primary suggestions:

1.  Streaming video is important

Your media should be easily and immediately accessible.  If I have to wait, I grow impatient and move on.   Ensure that content delivery is quick and reliable. 

Quicktime and Windows Media often face compatibility issues.  Flash has become the standard streaming-video codec for a reason.  Use it. 

You don’t have to spend any money for a quality video publishing service; by using a service like Blip, Brightcove, AdBright, Veoh or countless others (most of which are listed within our resources section), you generally aren’t limiting your rights as a content owner.  If, down the line, a better service with a better revenue deal comes along, you’re fine.  Using a video publishing service will enhance the reliability of your streaming media and  likely increase viewesership. 

2. The website is the medium

This is most exciting from a creative standpoint.  The expression enabled by the new medium has the potential to be very powerful.  Producers should devote attention to user-interface.  It’ll be interesting to see how creative minds engage us.

From an economic standpoint, your brand should take advantage of every opportunity to engage viewsers.  It may contain a passive, TV-like experience, but an entertainment brand  should also engage users with interactive elements.  People inherently share, exchange and explore.

Here are some simple ways to engage viewers with interactive elements:

• Ask viewers to submit story ideas like Justin Kownacki, from Something To Be Desired

• Use a Wiki like Rocketboom

• Create a user-interface that allows a self-guided experience like DavidLynch.com

• Incorporate offline elements like ZeFrank. 

• Sell related merchandise.  A service like CafePress costs nothing and requires only moments to set up.
  

We will be continually impressed by fresh and innovative interactive elements brought by talented producers. 

Bottom line:  Consumers are impatient, and they want different types of experiences at different times.  Producers have new and under-utilized tools for creative expression. 

Jamison