48 Hours to Comedy Gold
January 5th, 2008 by Alec McNayrPosted in Comedy, Content |Friends of ours just posted a video that took them 48 hours to develop, write, shoot, edit, and post. It’s a quick green-screen comedy (and aren’t there a million of those right now?), but has some cutaways that reveal their true comic sensabilities.
Will this video blow up and hit a million views? It’s possible, though unlikely. Even if it does, it’s not likely that they’ll get any money from it. They will, however, have a permanent record of their material and if it gets passed around to the right people, they could get called in to write on bigger shows (assuming the writer’s strike ever finishes). The internet, it seems, continues to be a farm system for the big leagues.
But herein lies the biggest issue facing internet video in general. It’s a breeding ground for new talent, but there’s no money in it for individual talent (as opposed to production companies, aggregators, or existing media brands). Like summerstock Shakespeare plays where actors work to the bone for meager pay, online video continues to be the minor leagues of entertainment. With infinite choices, it’s hard to catch a break online, so people like my friends will still make these until someone recognizes their talent and backs them with a contract and distribution. But until then, enjoy their work:
