So, a little more on what I was saying yesterday.
I didn’t really intend on making a big post but as I got to typing I realized that I had a lot to say on the topic. I live in Southern California and went to High School living with a Dad who liked to act in live productions (I eventually got drawn into the technical side of it myself) so I have a lot of friends who act. If you’ve never been around a group of actors let me tell you that they are normally insanely creative people. So I always wondered why they didn’t strike out on their own. With all the digital alternatives available and a friend to help them navigate through them (a.k.a. me) they could strike out on their own for pennies. In trying to convince them to do something like this I came to a couple conclusions…
- They’re not self motivated: These people are my friends and I care about them deeply but the reality is that most actors aren’t going to get anything done if there isn’t a director or stage manager around to push them. Once they get the push things tend to go pretty well but they’re nothing without that push.
- They hate technology: Anyone who has tried to teach a “creative type” how to use a computer knows what I’m talking about here. There are exceptions but for the most part they not only don’t know how to use computers they are flat out intimidated by them. The only people I know (in my age range or younger) who managed to make it through school without using a PC or notebook are actors.
Those two facts made striking out on their own, even with my help, next to impossible. But I can’t help but think things would be different if they just had someone who was willing to devote themselves to the project. If someone could sit behind them and push them to harness the creativity they have I could almost guarantee you’d get something entertaining. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that this is an area that is ripe for the picking if you are a VC. A little structure and these people will perform miracles for you and, as I said yesterday, the price isn’t that high. Most VCs I know seem embarrassed when they give less than $5 million to a company so why wouldn’t you give this a try? If you succeed you’d be at the forefront of the digital revolution, the first web based Television Network. The Network willing to take risks that not even HBO would take because they can.
Now that I think about it, that’s exactly what this is…the chance to become the next HBO except you don’t have to build out an entire infrastructure because the web provides it for you. The truth is, the web offers the same opportunity that early cable stations had at a small fraction of the price. I think that digital content has been so bad in its early stages that people think it can’t be taken seriously. That’s true to an extent in that people expect original web content to be “lonelygirl quality” stuff. But it doesn’t have to be. Invest in the right equipment, hire a professional crew and try to produce something TV quality and I’ll be you’ll succeed. Anyone who has visited ABC.com lately can attest to the medium’s ability to deliver a quality broadcast (ABC.com currently streams shows in 720p HD).
Anyway, file it under ideas I’d like to try some day once I finish the other 1,000 or so prospective projects that I have bouncing around my head.
Addendum: It looks like Quaterlife, the show that inspired yesterday's post, might end up on TV after all due to the writer's strike.