You Tube
These Were Their Stories
May 25, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
“Appointment television” may be defined as the need to be home when a television show airs to ensure we capture every second of the show.
In a Hulu-You Tube-On Demand universe, appointment television in the strictest sense is no longer necessary. We’ll still seek quality, although the viewing time is in our hands. We need to make the appointment to watch the show, not the broadcast or cable networks. But after 24, Law & Order, and Lost, will prime time television ever be that good again?
On Sunday night, we learned that the Flash Sideways story line on Lost was really a waiting state for the dead. Our favorite characters remained there until they remembered their time on the island. Apparently, they needed to remember so they could move forward on their afterlife’s journeys.
Last night, we said goodbye to Jack Bauer. He’s on the run after triggering the exposure of a massive cover-up that reached the Oval Office, not to mention pulling the trigger to seek revenge on almost everyone involved. The cover-up killed Renee Walker, Jack’s paramour and fellow CTU agent.
We also bid adieu last night to Law & Order, one of television’s true stalwarts. With twenty years of episodes, we will easily have ample time to relive the stories of Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Jack McCoy, Anita Van Buren, and the many others who dramatized true-life stories.
When a television show creator pitches a show, he or she explains the first few story lines or ‘bible.’ On Inside the Actors Studio, Dick Wolf recalled pitching L&O to Brandon Tartikoff, then the President of NBC Entertainment. When Tartikoff asked about the story bible, Wolf said that he would get his stories from the front page of the New York Post.
david@davidkrell.com
“Appointment television” may be defined as the need to be home when a television show airs to ensure we capture every second of the show.
In a Hulu-You Tube-On Demand universe, appointment television in the strictest sense is no longer necessary. We’ll still seek quality, although the viewing time is in our hands. We need to make the appointment to watch the show, not the broadcast or cable networks. But after 24, Law & Order, and Lost, will prime time television ever be that good again?
On Sunday night, we learned that the Flash Sideways story line on Lost was really a waiting state for the dead. Our favorite characters remained there until they remembered their time on the island. Apparently, they needed to remember so they could move forward on their afterlife’s journeys.
Last night, we said goodbye to Jack Bauer. He’s on the run after triggering the exposure of a massive cover-up that reached the Oval Office, not to mention pulling the trigger to seek revenge on almost everyone involved. The cover-up killed Renee Walker, Jack’s paramour and fellow CTU agent.
We also bid adieu last night to Law & Order, one of television’s true stalwarts. With twenty years of episodes, we will easily have ample time to relive the stories of Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Jack McCoy, Anita Van Buren, and the many others who dramatized true-life stories.
When a television show creator pitches a show, he or she explains the first few story lines or ‘bible.’ On Inside the Actors Studio, Dick Wolf recalled pitching L&O to Brandon Tartikoff, then the President of NBC Entertainment. When Tartikoff asked about the story bible, Wolf said that he would get his stories from the front page of the New York Post.
Television Technology
April 20, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In every decade, television makes mammoth strides in technology. These progressions give the viewer more control, options, and power.
The 1950’s brought television to mass medium status.
The 1960’s brought color to television.
The 1970’s brought the remote control. It gave viewers the choice to instantly change channels without getting up from the E-Z chair, couch, or floor.
The Me Decade also brought cable to millions of homes. By the end of the 1970’s, cable made its first dents in the armor of the Big Three television networks -- CBS, ABC, and NBC.
The 1980’s brought the rise of the VCR. It gave viewers the option to time shift. No longer were viewers bound to the time restrictions set by stations and networks. You could set your VCR to tape a show and watch it at your convenience.
The 1990’s brought the Internet and E-Mail. If you wanted more information about a favorite show, the odds were very good that somebody started a web site, message board, or E-Mail thread about it.
As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we see that it has brought us the undeniable, unbreakable, and incredible connection between television and computer technology. You can watch television programming on a laptop computer with a DVD capability, on Internet sites like You Tube, and on devices not much bigger than a credit card.
This connection offers nothing but choices for the viewer and nothing but challenges for rights owners.
For example, the water cooler story of the decade has to be Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. She personifies the age-old maxim -- Don’t judge a book by its cover! Boyle captivated audiences worldwide with her performance of I Dream the Dream from Les Miserables. The word-of-mouth about her performance was viral, intense, and urgent. But think about these questions:
How many people have you told about Susan Boyle?
How many times have you watched the video on You Tube?
How many people did you E-Mail the You Tube site link to?
Now multiply your answers by one thousand. The result probably won’t even come close to the number of viewings on the Internet.
Great publicity for Les Miserables, the play in which the song appears.
Great publicity for Simon Cowell, et.al. and Britain’s Got Talent.
Of course, great publicity for Susan Boyle. Millions of viewings of her rendition.
Millions of unpaid viewings.
Where are the attorneys, accountants, and agents for the entities owning, managing, and controlling Les Miserables? What are the financial ramifications for intellectual property rights owners in the digital media economy? And what will be the new paradigm for media economics?
Content is, always has been, and always will be the cornerstone of the media industry.
Maybe the next decade will bring a paradigm to monetize it.
david@davidkrell.com
In every decade, television makes mammoth strides in technology. These progressions give the viewer more control, options, and power.
The 1950’s brought television to mass medium status.
The 1960’s brought color to television.
The 1970’s brought the remote control. It gave viewers the choice to instantly change channels without getting up from the E-Z chair, couch, or floor.
The Me Decade also brought cable to millions of homes. By the end of the 1970’s, cable made its first dents in the armor of the Big Three television networks -- CBS, ABC, and NBC.
The 1980’s brought the rise of the VCR. It gave viewers the option to time shift. No longer were viewers bound to the time restrictions set by stations and networks. You could set your VCR to tape a show and watch it at your convenience.
The 1990’s brought the Internet and E-Mail. If you wanted more information about a favorite show, the odds were very good that somebody started a web site, message board, or E-Mail thread about it.
As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we see that it has brought us the undeniable, unbreakable, and incredible connection between television and computer technology. You can watch television programming on a laptop computer with a DVD capability, on Internet sites like You Tube, and on devices not much bigger than a credit card.
This connection offers nothing but choices for the viewer and nothing but challenges for rights owners.
For example, the water cooler story of the decade has to be Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. She personifies the age-old maxim -- Don’t judge a book by its cover! Boyle captivated audiences worldwide with her performance of I Dream the Dream from Les Miserables. The word-of-mouth about her performance was viral, intense, and urgent. But think about these questions:
How many people have you told about Susan Boyle?
How many times have you watched the video on You Tube?
How many people did you E-Mail the You Tube site link to?
Now multiply your answers by one thousand. The result probably won’t even come close to the number of viewings on the Internet.
Great publicity for Les Miserables, the play in which the song appears.
Great publicity for Simon Cowell, et.al. and Britain’s Got Talent.
Of course, great publicity for Susan Boyle. Millions of viewings of her rendition.
Millions of unpaid viewings.
Where are the attorneys, accountants, and agents for the entities owning, managing, and controlling Les Miserables? What are the financial ramifications for intellectual property rights owners in the digital media economy? And what will be the new paradigm for media economics?
Content is, always has been, and always will be the cornerstone of the media industry.
Maybe the next decade will bring a paradigm to monetize it.