I recently had the honor of doing an interview with the talented Amanda Walgrove of The Faster Times and The New York Egotist. Amanda had some intriguing questions for me, see what I had to say below.

How would you describe the Spidvid model?

So Spidvid is where the world’s video creators and talent connect, build teams, collaborate and partner up together on projects, and produce video entertainment together. Our slogan is “Make Video Together.” Spidvid’s model empowers open video production on a global level by offering a collaborative set of tools to manage projects from inception right through to distribution.

How did you come up with the idea for Spidvid?

I personally wanted to create my own quality video entertainment but didn’t want to pay costly freelancers and contractors to do so. So I thought creating web based software that enabled me to partner up with the talent I needed on my team made a lot of sense, and doing so in a formal structure outside of the traditional social networks. Additionally I was inspired by Seth Godin as in 2008/2009 he talked a lot (via his blog) about openness, collaboration, new media, and connecting individuals together. I searched for a video collaboration site that leveraged these trending elements and found nothing so that further inspired me to build this product.

What kind of unique possibilities for creative content does Spidvid provide for that we haven’t yet seen from other platforms?

I think it’s all about empowering individuals to be able to create video entertainment that they couldn’t have otherwise. It’s all about centralizing like-minded individuals together in a community where they can openly collaborate together by leveraging each other’s time and talent, and giving them the tools to manage their projects and relationships.

In terms of property rights, why is Spidvid’s revenue distribution model for the filmmakers so important or revolutionary?

Our mission is to enable team members to share content ownership together, the “project pie” as we call it. You see this happen in big Hollywood projects where key actors and team members get project percentages but it hasn’t happened in this relatively young online video space. With more and more video creators collaborating and partnering together, we see a real opportunity to offer a formalized solution to this problem. Verbal agreements have been the norm to date, but this won’t hold up long term as projects get more extensive and abundant, and this space evolves into a real business opportunity.

Will Spidvid prove to be a helpful service for those looking to break into certain facets of filmmaking?

I think it’s a great way to jump into filmmaking. So if you write scripts but need a team to collaborate with to make things happen on screen then Spidvid is a great solution for doing that.

While the Internet provides for a great deal of social interaction, it seems that in terms of content creation — blogs, vlogs, journalism — a lot of it is still being accomplished individually and then released into a community for discussion. Why is it important to stress the collaborative side of creation, not just consumption?

I think that content creation and specifically video is all about collaboration since it takes a few team members with specialized skills to be able to successfully complete projects. I think what we seen early on in online video was creators trying to do everything themselves which produced less than ideal results, but with the ability to bring on team members as partners it allows the creator to start and complete more projects easier, and it gives members a vested interest.

Why do you think studios might be hesitant to transition from traditional media into digital media?

Because they don’t want to disrupt their traditional cash cow. Studios are afraid of change, and wish that things could always stay the same, but unfortunately their production models are under pressure, their audiences are fragmenting, and most importantly their budgets are shrinking thanks to disruption on many levels. We are seeing traditional studios move towards the digital world now as digital pennies are growing to digital dimes and will eventually become digital dollars as the space matures. I believe we are only in the 2nd inning of a 9 inning game.

How do you think new media will transform storytelling?

I think that creators and producers have to listen to their audience within social media circles to see where they should take their stories, and develop their characters. If a high percentage of viewers dislike a character, or are uninterested in a particular story line then the writers and the team needs to take a hard look at the future of their content.

Was Spidvid involved in the IAWTV awards? What do you think of them?

I think that whatever initiatives are done to enhance awareness and growth of our space then it’s great. The IAWTV does a fantastic job of evangelizing online video, and the tight knit community is really growing and learning together which is fantastic to see. We’ve had many IAWTV members on our podcast, and to get their perspectives and hear their stories related to the future of online video is very encouraging and inspiring.

What’s your best advice for anyone looking to get into the startup life?

I would say to just jump in and do it. Get in early, create a crappy product, fail and learn, listen like crazy to your users, and try to find the right product to market fit. And find a solid co-founder or two who can help you in the areas you’re weak in. Take your time building your team because startups are like a marriage in that you need partners you know, like, and trust, and who can be there in the good times and especially the bad times. I would also say to not get too attached to your startup as it will make you emotional and can lead to making bad strategic decisions in every aspect of the company’s lifespan. Oh, and find mentors who keep you optimistic, hungry and foolish, and inspired to change the world.

This interview was originally posted on The Faster Times and The New York Egotist. Thanks to Amanda for this opportunity!

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This is a guest post kindly provided by our friends from Daddy Van Productions, who are a live concert video production company. It’s an interesting look into the music video production industry, which is important because music videos are highly sought out by viewers online!

From working with massive bands that have attained international stardom like Maroon 5 and Disturbed, to working with classic hair metal groups on a reboot like Motley Crue and Aerosmith, Daddy Van artist Charlie Terrell has carved out a niche for his digital video and film work.

As a member of the music community, Terrell has stayed involved with artists even though his own musical ambitions have burned out. “I got to a point where I was sick of music,” Terrell said, “so I said, ‘what am I going to do with myself?’” He currently creates digital portraits and the visual accompaniment to live concerts in the Daddy Van Studios based in South Austin, Texas. Though the former is still more of a hobby than a full-blown career, his ambitions transcend all forms of media.

“My video is not my true voice, it is the residue of my ambition,” Terrell stated. “But when I’m working with a client, I like the challenge of trying to please them even though it’s not necessarily my own work. That’s the real challenge.”

His creative process is contextual, always changing to meet the evolving needs of his artists and bands.

“According to the client, they’re all different,” Terrell said. “With Motley Crue, we got that gig through the lighting designer, and we got on the phone. It was me, their manager, their road manager, Tommy [Lee], Nikki [Sixx], and Mick [Mars], and we all just talked. They’d say they envision a song to be _____________, and I’d say ‘Oh, I like that’. Or I’d say ‘I see a lot of blood in this song.”

Terrell’s creative methods are always collaborative when working with Daddy Van clients , playing a balancing act between his vision and that of the artist. He often has to satisfy several aspects of the client’s visual appeal. Incorporating new and exciting imagery to accent a performance is just as important as including parts of the band’s visual history. Working with Disturbed was an interesting case.

“It’s hard for us as artists and as a band to give that creativity to someone else and trust their vision,” said Disturbed lead guitarist Dan Donegan, “and [Charlie] had a nice sense of direction, some cool dark images, and was pretty much on the same page as where we are with the imagery. A lot of stuff just really blew us away.”

But Terrell also had to contend with the band’s early career success and the various iconic figures that went along with it. Well known for their dark side, Disturbed’s official mascot, a sinister smiling hooded figure known as “The Guy” had been a part of their visual aesthetic from the start of their career.

“I like what he did with Stupefy, which was our first single from The Sickness,” Donegan said. “[Terrell] took images from our old video and just warped them and kind of turned them around, incorporated some of his new textures, and I thought that was a creative way to tie in that old look from 11 years ago. With our trademark art work, “The Guy”, to kind of bring those things in there was important to us because those images have become a big part of the band.”

“Actually, when Maroon 5 approached us,” Terrell said, “I worked with Jesse who’s their keyboard play. He’s the guy who does a lot of their writing, and their music is very layered and smart. They’d never really done video, so he wanted to pull it way back. Sometimes it was only colors or blocks of colors.”

This is quite the contrast to the elaborate and eye grabbing images that display at a Disturbed show, which show scenes from an abandoned asylum (appropriately), or a Motley Crue concert and Tommy Lee’s infamous drum roller coaster. “In that case, it’s good to be challenged that way,” Terrell said about working with Maroon 5’s minimalistic approach.

Terrell also has directorial credits to his name, taking the reigns on Disturbed’s “The Animal” music video.

“Definitely because Charlie and his production team hit it out of the park with the live show, we said why not go to him and see if he would write a treatment for “The Animal”, said Donegan. “We’ve already established that working relationship and we already gained our trust in an outside person to get creative in making sure the images go hand in hand with our message.”

Charlie’s macabre and romantic style echoes Disturbed’s music nicely as both seem to be influenced by darker sentiments.

“We get treatments from multiple directors out there,” continued Donegan, “and Charlie submitted his and it was dark, it was cool, it was something different. It was a different location, it was something we haven’t done before.”

Using several digital film and video software, Terrell’s influences can manifest in several different ways. From splashes of color behind Maroon 5, the distorted and warped asylum scenes from disturbed, to the over-the-top hand that guides Tommy Lee’s drum roller coaster, his creations can be both entertaining and serious works of art.

Terrell has nothing but good things to say about his clients, as he’s always inspired by their vision. Satisfying that seems to be his highest priority.

“Everything is about matching the video to the song,” said Terrell.

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I had the opportunity of joining Marc and Brett last week as a guest on their podcast “Web of Intrigue” and had a blast. We talked about Spidvid, open video production, new media, branded entertainment vs ads, and the online video space.

These guys are doing some big things in online video through their Fresh Baked Entertainment studio, and have a new web series (sponsored by VH) which is being very well received, see the trailer below for Life Unjarred.

If you are interested in the topics that we covered, want to hear what I had to say, and as a special bonus hear Marc and Brett pick on each other, then be sure to listen to the show below. If you have any comments be sure to include them below, or get in touch with an email or tweet us.

Thanks gentlemen, and thanks to their supporting cast Brendan and Kaylen for making this all possible!

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I recently had the opportunity to interview Mark Gantt who is the executive producer and lead actor of the web series “The Bannen Way”. The Bannen Way killed it at the Streamy Awards and went on to win four awards, and has attracted over 14 million views. Mark is now passing down his knowledge of the web series business as a teacher through his workshop, so if you’re looking to learn from one of the best be sure to check that out.

Enough of kissing Mark’s ass, below is our interview.

1. Did you create your web series workshop to pass on the information and knowledge you gained from creating and producing “The Bannen Way” to other aspiring video creators and filmmakers?

Yes. I have met over thirty people for coffee to discuss my experience with The Bannen Way and have done over twenty panels in the last five months and realized that with the limited time available, there was little ‘nuts and bolts’ being talked about. One attendee of the NATPE panel I was doing called “Anatomy of a Hit Web Series” was very frustrated afterwards and I overheard her saying, “I still don’t know how to make a $#&@ web series!” I heard that, I heard that from several people. In the workshops, or on a panel, or at coffee, I explain that creating a web series isn’t brain surgery but it feels like that if you don’t have all the tools. You don’t need to be able to do everything, you just need to be able to work very hard, research like crazy, and build a team to help you with your vision.

2. Do you expect any of your students to go out and create a hit web series like you did?

Absolutely. I want them to create something that will empower them as artists, and give them a little extra leg up in the industry. It’s really about giving people a jumping off point. Enough information to get in trouble as I always say.

3. What’s the best book you’re read, or video you’ve watched that inspired you to create entertainment at a high level?

LOL. uh… I’m not really a book guy, everything is from experience. I have just worked on a lot of sets, so if people were doing a project I was there listening and learning… for free.

4. What do you think of web series creators and producers turning to crowdsourcing platforms like KickStarter and IndieGoGo to raise funds for their production projects?

I think it’s a HUGE resource. It’s an interesting model for a couple reasons. I think it allows the investors (ie: mom, dad, uncles, dentists, viewers, etc.) to feel that their money is actually going into a production, and helps force the filmmaker to FIGURE OUT how they are going to make it. It’s a great pressure on you to get things made.

5. What advantages do web series creators have over TV producers?

There are about 30 people that have to approve of you doing a TV series, not including agents, managers, and lawyers. To create and distribute a web series… you can be the boss. We worked with Sony (on The Bannen Way) so it wasn’t just us, but it was a lot easier than working with a studio AND a Network.

6. How is collaboration benefiting the new media production landscape?

Filmmaking by definition is a collaborative art. I love that you get a chance to work with a group of people with different talents to complete a common goal. People want to create. A director of photography wants to shoot, actors want to act and with technology improving, you can now actually shoot for very cheap. So instead of talented people without the money to shoot on film, they can now shoot on the Cannon 7D or rent the RED camera and end up with a great looking project in the end.

The explosive trailer for Mark’s hit web series, The Bannen Way.

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My previous interview was with Abbi and Ilana where we discussed web series creation, collaborative team work, and the future of web series.

Today we learn from talented film director Johnny Blank.

1. What are the biggest challenges in creating a film, TV or web show?

Financing, financing, financing. We’re at a real turning point with the rapid rise of digital. Technology is now so cheap anyone can create it, so there’s more video content than ever before. Professional content creators are now fighting with a whole new influx of amateur content makers who are vying for audiences. Audiences are rapidly moving online and advertising dollars are drying up on TV. Then you also have the huge rise in illegal downloading which is crippling the film industry. Five years ago, digital was new and exciting and people were willing to invest in new web series and other video content development, now even that has dried up as investors can’t figure out how to successfully monetize online. What does this all mean? It means we’re currently stuck in an awkward transition phase. I attended MIPTV earlier this year, and all the broadcasters weren’t there to invest in new shows, they were there with repackaged old shows they were trying to sell to new markets to make local versions of these old shows! Things will definitely begin to change once convergence really happens between TV and online. The film industry is also beginning to learn some of the lessons from the music industry on finding new ways to monetize. I think we’ll begin to see some really new and exciting financing models emerge in the next few years. Sites such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are just the beginning.

2. Is collaboration between team members integral to the success of your production projects?

Absolutely, it is of paramount importance. Collaboration works on a number of levels: it is team building and encourages people to work together to make the best production possible. Everyone’s input is important to the process, and end result. There is also something quite magical about the collaboration process when people get together and bounce ideas off each other, often new and unexpected results occur that can really add to a production. Some of my best filmmaking experiences have occurred during the collaboration process when a discussion with a collaborator really sparked an idea that added to the narrative of a film, or added that special something to a scene. Great ideas are made even better and tremendously improved with great collaborators on board.

3. Is creativity perhaps the most important element in video production and content going forward?

It is certainly massively important. With the amount of video content set to rise exponentially (Cisco predicts that 90% of all internet traffic will be video by 2013) the main way for a video to stand out, is through creativity. I’d have to say though that technology will play an equally pivotal role in productions moving forward, it has already been a game changer in opening up filmmaking tools to just about anyone. With the advent of ARG’s, and innovative online distribution strategies, I think that creating ’story worlds’ rather than one-off videos or films will become the norm. Video’s that engage and allow an audience to interact on different levels will be the one’s that get the press and the audiences. I hasten to add though, that technology is often used in video now simply for the sake of it, but without creativity behind it, it falls flat.

4. Is film school needed in 2010 to become a star in the video or film industries?

No. Nor has film school ever been essential to becoming a star in the film industry. Many of the world’s greatest film directors never attended film school. Most of the new spate of online stars who are commanding millions of views per month never went to film school either. That being said, whether you attend film school or not is a choice about how you learn. For me personally, I’ve often found it easier to learn by doing rather than by sitting in a classroom. On the other hand, great film schools give you a fantastic grounding in the technicality and craft of filmmaking. In the end, making compelling work will make you a star in the film industry, no matter whether you went to film school or not.

5. What will the video production landscape look like in 2015, and how will it evolve from its current state today?

Hopefully it will be extremely exciting and true convergence will finally be upon us! I think we will see a lot of new and innovative ways to fund production that we haven’t thought of yet. I think we’ll also see a lot more of the trend toward transmedia. For example, making whole ’story worlds’ that include gaming and social elements, ARG’s, etc. With the rise of hybrid DSLR style camcorders we’ll also see a shift toward better and better production values at less cost. The number of new web series will be off the charts!

My only hope is that the 3D fad disappears until such a time when technology can deliver true gobsmacking 3D without the need for ridiculous glasses! And yes, I know there are already 3D TV’s that don’t require glasses, but they are still awful.

I thank Johnny for the interview, for his insights, time, and kindness. If you aren’t already, be sure to have our future interviews and posts delivered to your email inbox, or get them through your favorite RSS reader.

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