Streaming Media - October 2008 - (Page 42)

they thought were great ended up flopping, while other videos that weren’t as exciting attracted impressive viewerships. “When you’re producing a show from scratch, knowing it’s going to be a success before you put it online is akin to knowing it’s going to be a success before you put it on air. Namely, you don’t,” says Greg Clayman, executive vice president of digital distribution and business development for MTV Networks. Yet that doesn’t mean lessons aren’t being learned and best practices formulated. Every time a new video goes up, producers gain a little more insight into what works and what doesn’t for online video. So even though we may never find the magic formula for creating successful online video, by entering the minds of people who have found success, this article will set out an overview of what’s been learned so far in order to help all online content producers better aim their efforts toward creating video that works for online distribution. Fish Where the Fish Already Are Here’s a crazy idea: If you want to create a successful online video, find ways to leverage brands, people, or trends that have already proven popular elsewhere. While not an earth-shattering concept, it’s interesting to see how this central tenet can be found responsible for driving for the online After Show that shows the audience a different side from what they’re seeing on TV, more of a behindthe-scenes angle, like having the cast show off their houses Cribs-style,” Clayman continues. “These things do brilliantly well, millions and millions of views. The reason we think they do so well is because they’re tied to content that the audience already likes.” Taking this a step further, it’s not just content that audiences like but personalities. As online video enables a more personal, intimate viewing experience than broadcast, exploiting the cult of personality has proven effective at attracting viewers. “We think personality is a key format,” says Richard Glosser, executive director of emerging media for CondeNet. “We have some established personalities already, like the editor of Epicurious Tanya Steel who we feature on videos and who has appeared on the Today Show quite frequently. On our Style site we’re now doing a series of videos with one of the new up-and-coming super models, Coca Rocha, as we think she’s a personality that people connect with. And on Wired.com some of its podcasts are very much personality-based.” For online-only media company Revision3, finding new personalities to base shows around rather than leveraging traditional media stars has been key to its creating online video content that works Major media companies such as MTV have an advantage over their internet-only counterparts, being able to build on the success of on-air hits like The Hills with additional online video content, such as the wildly popular The Hills After Show. "I think it's interesting how it's different whether you're on one of our websites and you're looking at comments versus on YouTube where there's a much broader audience watching Epicurious videos in our channel there than those viewers who come to Epicurious.com," says Richard Glosser, executive director of emerging media for CondeNet. "You are going to find the comment[s] are not all on topic, and it's a much more free-flowing conversation. In many ways when you're looking at YouTube comments you're using a different filter than on your own site." successful online video at everyone from major media companies to internet aggregators to YouTube auteurs. On this front, major media companies have a significant advantage over their internet-only counterparts as they already have high-profile properties around which to build online experiences. “That helps a lot when it comes to creating popular online content,” says Clayman. “A good example of this is we do a thing called the After Show for The Hills. “While we’re shooting [those episodes] the same camera people are recording extra footage exclusively 42 STREAMING MEDIA October/November 2008 success. “It’s not important for us to have people who have traditional Hollywood or TV experience per se because it’s a different style of skill, personality, and brand that works for online video,” says Revision3’s CEO, Jim Louderback. “For us what’s really important is to find people who have a proven ability to create communities around their interests.” He goes on to describe the characteristics that Revision3 has found make up a personality they can build a successful show around: “First of all, they’ve got to love what they’re talking about. They’ve got to know it http://www.Wired.com http://www.Epicurious.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Streaming Media - October 2008

Streaming Media - October 2008 Table of Contents Standard Time Technology and Business Trends by the Numbers Encoding for Screencams Meeting the Enterprise Video Distribution Challenge Pulling Back the Curtain on Level 3 The 2008 Streaming Media Readers’ Choice Award Winners The Ultimate Guide to Creating Online Video Content That Works, Part 1 Brave New Platforms Video From the Democratic National Convention—Both Official and Unofficial—Made Clear That It’s No Longer Politics as Usual Creative Suite Turns 4 The Future of Internet Radio Decoding the Truth About Hi-Def Video Production Educating the Next Generation of Online Media Makers ViewCast Niagara GoStream SURF The Past and Future of Online Video: I’m Not Dead Yet!

Streaming Media - October 2008

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