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The Onion’s A.V. Club “Inventory” lists become YouTube videos
Friday, January 21, 2011
The folks at the A.V. Club (the pop culture wing of The Onion) have a new series debuting on YouTube this week called “Inventory,” based on the popular lists by the same name at
avclub.com
. If you chug pop culture, but like it served up with a twist, “Inventory” will delight every nerve in your nerdy body.
1) What was the genesis of the Inventory program?
Inventory started as a weekly feature on
avclub.com
in 2005 -- we've done something like 300 of them now! We wanted to challenge ourselves to do a list-type feature in our own way, without being trite or boring like so many lists are. We never wanted to do anything like "10 sexiest movie scenes" or anything; we'd rather do "14 movies featuring tragic masturbation scenes." (Like the one in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. You know what I mean.) It quickly grew into our most popular feature; our readers love to comment on what we missed, and what they agree/disagree with.
2) How does YouTube help in your process, if at all?
We use YouTube all the time to embellish the text Inventory pieces. We'll very frequently reference movie scenes or particular songs, and it's great to be able to show and tell. Sometimes the Inventories are really long -- I've had people tell me that they spent hours just reading one and watching all of the accompanying YouTube clips. Probably while they're supposed to be working.
3) How can the YouTube community get involved in the show, making recommendations or other?
We're often inspired by commenters with new Inventory ideas, and we've always positioned Inventory as an incomplete list of whatever we're talking about. If we have 24 great films too painful to watch twice, for example, we'll learn of a dozen more that could've been on the list from our commenters. We like to think of the feature as the beginning of a conversation, not the end of it.
4) What's a little known fact about Inventory that you'd never know by watching it?
Maybe that we argue amongst ourselves about what should be included. Sometimes people read Inventory as a definitive list of things, not realizing that there are half a dozen people in a room, often vehemently disagreeing on whether something should be included.
5) What question would you ask yourselves if you were doing this interview?
Are you hungry? Can I get you a snack?
Josh Modell, General Manager, The A.V. Club, graciously answered these questions but points out that “pretty much everybody in The A.V. Club had a creative hand in these video segments.”
On the Rise: Help these users get on the homepage!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Check it out, people! This month’s “
On the Rise
” nominees are in -- and we need your help to choose a winner.
Just to remind you how this works: we identify a handful of channels who’ve rapidly increased their subscriber base in the last 30 days but haven’t yet hit the 100,000 mark. You watch their videos, and then vote for your favorite in the top right-hand corner of this blog. You have until noon PT on January 14, 2011, to make your choice. Once we have a winner, we’ll give them a big leg up with a feature on the
YouTube homepage
and
videos page
, as well as love on
Facebook
and
Twitter
. Past winners
emilynoel83
and
justjesse197
more than doubled the number of subscribers gained during the month of their spotlight versus the previous month, and Emily is close to hitting the 100,000 subscriber milestone herself.
And now, in alphabetical order, here are the nominees for the homepage spotlight on January 22:
Michael Aranda
You never quite know what you’re going to get with a Michael Aranda video: one minute he’s dropping knowledge, the next he’s freak-dancing -- or turning his car into an art project.
Luke Conard
Catchy pop songs. A sense of humor. Adorably goofy videos....What’s not to like about Luke Conard?
Tori Kelly
Tori Kelly’s just 18 years old, but she plays piano and guitar and sings like nobody’s business. Check out one of her original songs.
Josh Sundquist
Josh Sundquist has quite a personal story: overcoming childhood cancer and a leg amputation to become an athlete, inspirational speaker and author. Check out his sweet and affecting animations.
Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “
Taylor Momsen escapes paparazzi
.”
Next New Networks shares the spotlight with YouTube comedians
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Next New Networks
has developed, produced or promoted some of the most popular web series on YouTube, including “
The Key of Awesome,
” “
Obama Girl
” and “
Auto-Tune the News
.” They recently launched a new series, “
Comedy Thunder
,” to help introduce you to some of the great comedy channels available on YouTube. We asked them some questions about the new show...
1. Tell us about "Comedy Thunder." Where did the idea come from and what can the YouTube community expect?
It’s our version of a comedy festival. Each week the eight channels will tackle a topic that we select, like cute animals or blockbuster movies, and give their comedic take on it. We will also have surprise YouTube guests taking part in the series.
From
GoPotatoTV
to
Cyr1216
, we want to showcase the best, up and coming comedy talent that YouTube has to offer. We're re-creating the experience of going to Montreal for Just for Laughs or HBO's now-defunct Aspen Comedy Festival and bringing it to YouTube. Like popping into a showcase at a big comedy festival, viewers will see a range of comedic styles.
2. You've had previous success with series like "Key of Awesome" and "Obama Girl." What words of advice would you give to other YouTube content creators looking to build their audiences?
YouTube is a social platform. Your audience wants to talk to you. Ask them questions. Get opinions and then feature them in your videos. You are leading a conversation.
3. Are you hoping to help the comedy groups you're working with get discovered? Is this kind of collaboration the future of online video?
Collaboration and cross promotion between channels is not the future of online video – it is the present. It is what makes YouTube a unique and social experience. Fans get excited seeing their favorite YouTube users show up on other channels they love. I am hoping that the series helps these channels grow their audience so they can get closer to making online video their full-time jobs.
Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched "
Vader VS Hollywood
." You can follow all the videos and channels participating at
youtube.com/comedythunder
.
Live 24-hour webcast from Conan O’Brien HQ: Dancing tacos! 80's aerobics! Intern Twister!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
As Conan O'Brien's crew plans for their 24-hour marathon live stream on YouTube, in what promises to be a kooky peek into life at Team Coco HQ, we thought it was best for them to tell you about it themselves. Here's Aaron Bleyaert, the blogger for the new CONAN show on TBS.
People constantly ask me questions like, "Hey, Aaron, what's it like to work at such an awesome show?" Or, "Hey, Aaron, what do you guys do all day in your offices?" Or even, "Aaron, you are incredibly handsome -- how can one man have such stunning good looks?" The answer to that last one is simple: I moisturize.
For the answer to the first two, I invite you to tune in to the massive online comedy event we're calling "The Live Coco Cam." As the word "live" implies, it will be live. And as the word "Coco" implies, it will be TOTALLY AWESOME. Starting today at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, we invite you to take a look inside the wonderfully weird offices of the brand new CONAN show as we prepare for our November 8 debut on TBS. We're shoving a camera in the second floor stairwell of our offices and will be broadcasting all of the behind-the-scenes comedy madness live for 24 hours. Here's a taste of the crazy:
Who's gonna show up? What's gonna happen? As our Live Coco Cam event unfolds, all the weird, funny and tender (yes, tender) moments will be captured and uploaded to
Team Coco's official YouTube channel
so you don't miss a second of the action. In addition, we'll be tweeting about the events through the day and night from our
Team Coco Twitter account
and will be recapping all the events after they happen (as well as after the event ends) over on our show blog at
TeamCoco.com
... That is, if I survive the next 24 hours. ;)
So tune in at
youtube.com/teamcoco
and enjoy 24 hours of Live Coco Cam antics...whatever they may be!
Aaron Bleyaert, Team Coco, recently watched "
Conan O'Brien's Favorite YouTube Videos
."
Best in Jest Returns
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Comedy fans are rarely starved for laughs on YouTube, especially when there's a new edition of
Best in Jest,
our long-running comedy program. B.I.J. is back for three weeks of concentrated comedy capers, sponsored by Warner Brothers'
Cop Out
, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.
When compiling this edition of the program, we noticed that comedy on YouTube seems to be evolving: the most popular comedy videos are often collaborations between visible personalities like
TheStation
's
ShayCarl
and
KassemG
. While scripted comedy is going strong, YouTube "star power" seems to be in the driving seat. Does a great comedy video need a successful face to make it shine, or do channels like
TheLandline
demonstrate that sketches don't need celebs to make a splash? Is your favorite comedy creator being overlooked, or do videos with online stars feel more like a uniquely YouTube experience?
Let us know in the comments what you think of the state of comedy on YouTube these days and who's worth noting. We'll spotlight the most interesting suggestions in the
comedy section
soon.
Mark Day, Senior Associate, Ad Programs, recently watched "
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's Take on Star Wars
."
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