My Week Off!

Man, I am tired.  Today was my first true day off and I was still at a meeting about my next show with Dance Channel TV.  Here's a wrap-up of everything that happened Post-Streamys:

Wednesday:
Ghostfacers premiere at La Vida, Hollywood.  Ghostfacers is a new web series that is currently on CWTV as a spin-off to their broadcast show, Supernatural.  I actually had the chance to attend as a guest versus covering the event.  That was a nice break for me and I ran into fellow Streamy nominee, David Nett and his lovely wife, Shannon, from the series, Gold.

Me and my pal, Maria, just moments before the start of Ghostfacers.  Photo Courtesy of Fitz Carlile.

Thursday:
Celebrate the Web.  A fantastic night honoring the winners at the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards.
Sandeep Parikh kicked off the night with a great speech about net neutrality and the night kept going with a hilarious video by Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs.  Thanks to Jenni Powell and Kim Evey for arranging such a special evening.

Me (wearing too much bronzer!) and Streamy winner, Bernie Su, at Celebrate the Web.  Photo courtesy of Bernie Su.

Friday-Sunday:
Off to the races....literally!  I was emceeing over at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.  Brian Austin Green won the Pro/Celebrity Race, I hung out with the coveted PHV Prius, and I ran into this guy...Arrrrr.....:

Me hosting (without my signature red dress!) for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and a very tall pirate.  Photo courtesy of Matthew Troyer.

Monday:
I woke up to a fun surprise from Michelle Denise Norton of Blink Kitty Love.  She animated me into her latest episode and I have to say, it really does look like me. Can you spot my cameo?  It involves some of my favorites:  cheeseburgers and french fries.



Bonnie Gillespie of The Actors Voice wrote a few nice things about my work on the red carpet. (Thank you, Bon!) Be sure to check out her weekly column. As a casting director, she has some of the best advice in town.

Finally, if you are in LA and know of some good dance events in Hollywood that need coverage, hit me up in the comments section below.  I am working on a new project with Dance Channel TV and we want to hit the hottest sets, red carpet premieres, and shows in LA.  I would appreciate any leads with publicists or dance agents because we are ready to bring the best in dance to you!

Web TV Week: Odd Jobs

I figured today's selection for Web TV Week was perfect since Jeremy Redleaf won the Streamy Award for Best New Web Series last night at the Craft Awards at The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.  I was just talking about Jeremy yesterday morning on my walk to work with my co-host of Toyota Live.  I had sent him Jeremy's Tubefilter article on the Canon 7D and I was telling him a bit about the story behind Odd Jobs.  Well, Jeremy certainly has had a fantastic year with a big win at the New York Television Festival that included a deal with FOX Television Studios' 15 Gigs.  Don't forget, Jeremy isn't a day over 26, so it really is quite an accomplishment.  Congratulations, Jeremy!

Find out how this year's Streamy winner for Best New Web Series got started with Odd Jobs in The Web Files interview: Odd Jobs

Also, check out the supplemental interview with Gabe Marano and Ilsa Berg of 15 Gigs about Jeremy's win at NYTVF: FOX Television Studios'15 Gigs

The Behind the Scenes Blog with Odd Jobs.

The Behind the Scenes Blog with 15 Gigs.


Congratulations to all of last night's winners!

2009 in Review: October

October 2009 reviewed in 8 photos! Most of my time was spent on the road this month between Dallas and Miami. Here are some of my favorite photos of the month.

The fabulous Bernie Su took this photo at a Tubefilter Meetup in October. My first day back in LA after a month in Dallas. I was so happy to be dressed up and out of my muddy clothes.

A super cheesy shot of me and my co-host before another edition of Toyota Live in Miami.....awesomely cheesy.

A shot with publicist, Gabriel del Rio, after The Web Files shoot with FOX Television Studios' 15 Gigs heads, Ilsa Berg and Gabe Marano. Episode: 15 Gigs.

We endured day after day after day of rain in Dallas, so we felt all of the rain we swept into the gutters qualified us for the National Tour of Mary Poppins.

The littlest host for Toyota Live in Dallas and cute as a button!

My brush with the Queen of all Media....Oprah. Yep, it was more a brush-by.

I finally make it back to LA and I get to handle our first NY interview with Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs. We had a lot of fun hanging in the janitorial supply store. Episode: Odd Jobs.

My absolute favorite shot from The Web Files this year. When will Camera Obscura be released? Let's hope 2010 is the year. Episode: Camera Obscura.
I am obviously failing at my 5 photo limit, so come back and join me for 10 photos or under in my 2009 review of November and December. And while you are at it, there is only a day and a half left to vote for The Web Files for Best Web Original Non-Fiction show at Clicker. No registration, no emails required. Just a click of your mouse. Thanks: Vote.

Update to the Update

Just a quick update on reactions and feedback to Liz Shannon Miller's review of The Web Files on NewTeeVee. There were a lot of comments about the article (both public and in private) and I appreciate your support. I have to say overall, I was happy with the review. I think Liz offered up some appropriate criticism and you will all see The Web Files grow over time as the audience for Web TV expands. The show truly is for the web series community and its fans/supporters. I am getting the scoop on what you want to hear about your favorite shows. Is it breaking news? No. That is what Tubefilter and NewTeeVee are there for. I see the show as a companion piece to all of the work the two sites have been doing over the past few years, we are not the competition. Finally, we have mainly focused on LA web series due to budget. We featured Jeremy Redleaf and his NY-based Odd Jobs because we were able to grab him when he was here in LA. It is our intent to make it to NY at some point in 2010 and feature all of the fantastic work happening on the East Coast. So, keep watching, we hope to have even more for you in the coming year.

Thank you for your views, feedback, support, and comments! Now back to work....we have Taryn O'Neill, Stuart Paap, and Stephanie Thorpe Hurtling Through Space at an Alarming Rate tomorrow. What? No Mike Davies? Hmmmm, maybe he will show up...stay tuned.....

Behind the Scenes of MERRIme.com

We made it to Episode 20! Thank you for watching and keeping up the momentum of The Web Files. We strive to bring you the best in web series, web celebs, and new media creators. I know we haven't covered it all and our list of shows to interview continues to grow. I think it is a good sign of growth in this industry.

I have to say that I love this show, MERRIme.com. It fits into my Sex and the City sensibility. While Carrie and Samantha have moved on to the big screen, Merri comes along and fills in that chick TV mold. Kaily Smith and David Weidoff have done an incredible job with this web series. It was filmed under their production company umbrella,Red Ladders Entertainment, "dedicated to developing and producing new works for Film, TV, Theatre, and the Web." As a viewer and a fan of Web TV, what stands out to me is their high production value. Kaily and David have openly discussed acquiring financing for MERRIme.com and they worked with a budget of under $50,000. It may sound like a huge budget, but Kaily reminded me that each episode cost around $2500. When you phrase it like that, it really demonstrates the quality of work that can be done on a smaller budget.

Overall, it is a well-produced series too. The writing is tight, they hired a publicist to get the word out to higher profile publications, they entered both iTVFest and NY Television Festival, and they called in some favors to a few name actors. I am not saying these are the right steps for every web series, but I am seeing benefits to the festival circuit after talking with Nick Carlton of Oz Girl, Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs, and Kaily and David. I think the festivals are really putting web series producers on the map.

My favorite photo from the shoot: Makeup Artist, Melissa Anchondo, applying makeup to David Weidoff as a bus passes by on Ventura. Hollywood is so glamorous!

Some of the fun footage that wound up on the editing room floor includes Kaily and I singing a bit of musical theatre. Maybe it is better it wound up there? No way! We both attended the famed musical theatre summer camp, Stagedoor Manor. If you listen to the two of us talk, it truly was some of the best summers of our lives. It is hard to explain if you didn't attend, but talk to any of Stagedoor alumni....Jon Cryer, Zach Braff, Mandy Moore, Natalie Portman, Josh Charles, and they will tell you the same thing. We are all musical theatre geeks at heart.

This episode was shot at Vivian's Millenium Cafe in Studio City in their backyard patio. We had to battle the noise from a furniture construction shop on the other side. They did not want to stop working while we shot the episode, but I think we won in the end. It was also our first episode with e.l.f. Cosmetics as our official sponsors, so we appreciate them joining The Web Files fold. Finally, check out our 20th episode with MERRIme.com. Thanks for watching!

Behind the Scenes of FOX Television Studios' 15 Gigs

Well, the big day finally arrived and The Web Files was officially allowed into a studio executive's office. I was a bit nervous for this interview because it's FOX, Gabe Marano and Ilsa Berg are important studio executives, and this is a big opportunity for The Web Files to showcase all aspects of the Web TV world. Little did I know that they were a bit nervous too. I don't think twice about sitting in front of a camera and talking endlessly, but I forget that it isn't as comfortable for everyone. Ilsa and Gabe might be creating and making deals throughout the TV and digital world, but they don't often find themselves with the camera turned around and focused on them. Fortunately, they gave a fantastic interview and gave us some of the most solid advice yet.

Gabriel del Rio, publicist for Bender/Helper Impact, and I after the interview.

We utilized a conference room at FOX Television Studios' office. I felt like I was back in school with the chairs that had the swiveling desktops. Time to take the SATs again? Nope, time to dig in and find out how the studios see the digital world.

15 Gigs opened earlier this year to little fanfare. I thought it was a subtle way for FOX to ease their way into the digital world because of the high profile closures of other web studios in the past year. Even without all of the hoopla, I have to say I was shocked at Gabe and Ilsa's answers to some of my questions. I expected them to say that they are having an easier time than the independent web series creator, but the industry just isn't that easy or simple. They are hit with the same challenges as all of you....finding an audience, marketing their show, and creating content that is both interactive and compelling. While they don't seem to have the same budgetary constraints as an independent web creator, their web series have considerably smaller budgets than a cable or network show.
I was so glad we were able to bring this show to everyone because it is crucial for all of us to understand their perspective. 15 Gigs is open to new content and they gave some great ideas of what they are looking for in their portfolio, so really listen to the interview and gauge whether you have a show for them. They are also approachable and looking for new talent to develop like Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs. Take your web series and enter it into one of the growing television festivals: iTVFest or NY Television Festival. The other factor that is continually being hit on is interactivity. How can your fans participate in a larger world that you create for your show? Can they interact with the cast? Are there other ways to utilize your show to create more platforms and websites? These are all great questions that Gabe and Ilsa answered for our Web Files interview, so go out there and watch Episode 19.

Finally, a huge thanks to Gabriel del Rio of Bender/Helper Impact. Not only is he one of the most organized and prepared publicists in the web world, he is also one of the kindest. Thank you for making this all a reality for us, Gabriel. We appreciate it and look forward to working with you again soon!

Behind the Scenes of Odd Jobs

Yes, here we are in the McCalla Company Janitorial Supply shop. Another colorful and unique location for our Web Files interview with Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs/Odd Job Nation. Jeremy Redleaf secured the spot as our first New York web series creator. Although we were obviously not in New York, it was a treat to hear how different the web series world is in on the opposite coast. Jeremy spells out some of those significant differences in the interview. As a former New Yorker myself, I know one big difference is driving! Poor Jeremy raced back and forth past our shooting location several times before we flagged him down to the correct location. I remember those days with my Thomas Guide hoping that the location would magically drop in front of me. LA driving can be intimidating to a New Yorker.

Regardless, Jeremy offered up some great advice to web series creators in terms of monetization: start small with micro-advertising. Even with a $50 ad, you can start building on that first sponsor. It may not sound like a lot of money, but it is a great way to think outside the box since as web series creators, we are often looking for that lump sum of cash. At 25 years of age, I definitely think Jeremy has proven himself to be a creative thinker, not only with his web series, but with his entire branded plan of Odd Job Nation.

Can you imagine your site drawing more attention than your web series? His supplemental material was so good and so timely, he has CNN, Newsweek, and CNBC banging on his door for interviews. His ideas were so fleshed out that he had to remind them he had a web series. After looking over that list of media outlets, I feel honored that Jeremy took the time to talk with us over at The Web Files.

The other interesting piece to this puzzle is the NY Television Festival. Jeremy decided to enter Odd Jobs into the festival even though he only had 3 episodes in the can. It obviously was enough for the judges to award him the "15 Gigs of Fame" award. It is essentially a fantastic development deal with FOX Television Studios' new digital arm, 15 Gigs. If you want to learn more about 15 Gigs, just wait until next week when The Web Files brings you our first studio interview with Gabe Marano and Ilsa Berg. They truly believe in Jeremy's talent and they are eager to bring more of his work to the table.

Finally, the original opening had me sweeping in heels. If you notice in the interview, we changed it to a feather duster. It was easier to capture on film, but only a true shoe fashionista dusts with a broom in hand and 4 inch heels on her feet.

If you missed our interview with Jeremy Redleaf, check it out here: Jeremy Redleaf.