What’s really special about this project isn’t just that it’s well-written with a simple yet engaging story, though it always helps to enjoy the material you are working on, but how it is going about trying to put together funding for the project. Jessica Noboa, who is not only on the producing team but will also star in the film, has put together some fundraising events that are not only enjoyable but that take advantage of talents at her disposal and fit in with the theme of the film.

The first of two events is a Massage and Mimosa day. Jessica is a masseuse and she is using those skills to provide a relaxing afternoon of inexpensive massages and free mimosas. I know I’ll be there and boy will my aching muscles thank me for it! And 100 percent of the proceeds go straight back into making the film.

If any of you have July 11 free and want to partake of this luxurious event, here are some more details:

Kenmore House
1323 N Kenmore Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Massages will be begin at 10 AM and you will have your choice of a 10 minute chair massage for $15 or a 20 minute table massage for $25.

Hope to see you there!

Now is one of those times and you can help. The NCCC is holding an online auction to try to raise funds for their organization in order to broaden their abilities to be able to help even more individuals effected by this disease. Ninety percent of cervical cancer instances are caused by the HPV virus and THERE IS A VACCINE FOR IT. We have the capability to wipe out this virus and yet so many people are still so undereducated about it.

The auction will run from June 25, 2010 to July 7, 2010, with 100 percent of proceeds going to National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC). Items include Costco gift certificates, hot air balloon rides, even a 7 day vacation to an exotic location in the Caribbean. There is truly something for everyone.

So please, consider making a bid or please take a minute to refer interested friends to the auction. I truly appreciate you taking the time.

Due to our extremely busy production schedules (we do after all not only love web content, Kim Evey and I are producers of it!) it became clear that we’d need to bring on some additional partners who were just as passionate (if not moreso) about the web community as we were to continue to take this event in the direction we’d envisioned it and keep the spirit of it fresh and exciting to the community. I had been approached several months ago by the fabulous and talented web community multi-hyphenates Stephanie Thorpe (Hurtling Through Space at an Alarming Rate, After Judgement, GOLD: Night of the Zombie King) and Taryn O’Neill (Hurtling Through Space at an Alarming Rate, After Judgement, Compulsions, Continuum) about helping to produce an event during the weekend of Comic Con in San Diego that would help fill the demand for more of a web series presence during the Con. Over the course of trying to plan both events, it became clear that we all had the same vision: one of giving fans and non-fans alike a chance to be exposed to and to celebrate the awesome web content that is being created by extremely talented individuals.

It became clear that the best way to make a truly unique and quality event would be to merge these two events into one, while keeping the strengths of what worked with Celebrate the Web (a relaxed atmosphere where fans and creators can come together, whether in person or online through livestreaming) while also celebrating the unique energy that exists during Comic Con and making a strong web presence there.

The format of this event will be slightly modified from our first event: instead of individual speakers, we will be hosting a series of two panels that celebrate Genre (scifi/horror/fantasy/gaming) web series at a beautiful offsite (but within very easy walking distance) location from the Con. These panels will be livestreamed for anyone not in San Diego that weekend to enjoy. A mixer will follow where creators and fans can interact with one another.

As well as the panelists that will be featured, we’ll be giving creators who cannot be at the event an opportunity to provide any materials about their shows (flyers, t-shirts, DVDs, whatever swag they wish to provide) to be made available for attendees to enjoy. Any show interested in participating in this should contact me (jenni dot powell at gmail dot com) and I will get them all the information.

The event will take place on Saturday, July 24th so please save the date. We will have more details for you very shortly!

We hope you’re all as excited about this new prospect as we are and as always, we’re doing this for you, the web series community so we are open for all feedback, so please comment on this post. Stephanie, Taryn, Kim, and I are all tremendously excited to have this great opportunity to provide an amazing event to all of you.

The next step was deciding when to do the next installment of the event. We didn’t want to do it too often and have it only become another mixer. Don’t get us wrong, we love a big mixer, but the networking and hanging out was just a small element of what we want this event to be. Celebrations are special occasions, that should be met with a sense of anticipation. At the same time, we also wanted to keep the amazing momentum of camaraderie and inspiration the first event generated. We all wanted to feel that good again!

So Kim and I came up with a compromise: we’d like to do the event quarterly, with our next event coming up on July 15th (more details to come!). Four events a year would allow us to feature even more Streamy Award winners and nominees leading up to next year’s award season. Our second event will feature 2010 Streamy Award nominees.

Like the first Celebrate the Web event, we want to structure it as a way for presenters to speak for a few minutes on an aspect of working on the web. The first installment asked the simple question: why do you like working on the web?

For our July 15th event we want to pass it over to the web community at large: what do YOU what to hear more about for the second Celebrate the Web event? Should the event focus on production? Storytelling? Challenges of working in the space?

Leave us a comment of a one-sentence question you’d like our speakers to answer. We’ll take submissions until Saturday June 12th and then Kim, myself and WorldofHiglet (who has been amazing helping us with organization on our second event) will pick our 10 favorites which we will then let you all vote on, ultimately letting you choose the theme for the event.

We can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

–Jenni, Kim, and WorldofHiglet

This proved to me that there is a great need for the discussions and issues brought up in these meetings to make their way out into the internet community at large. It is not enough that we call for transparency within the IAWTV itself, but it needs to flow outward and beyond us. Michael Wayne, current Chairman of the IAWTV, was very clear in saying that the Board of Directors of the IAWTV is only there to serve the IAWTV as a whole. I think it is equally important to distinguish that the IAWTV in turn serves the entire internet community as a whole and we have a responsibility to them, just as the Board of Directors does to the IAWTV.

But I can’t take credit for this being my idea alone. I think one of the happy ironies that has come out of this meeting is the fact that the one creator currently on the Board of Directors was not able to attend it because she was, well, creating web content. Because of this, she was able to instead share her thoughts in a more public manner. There is also a fantastic episode of New Mediacracy, which gathered some of the most vocal and passionate members of the organization and got their thoughts down in a podcast recorded directly after the meeting. And there is the always astute observations of the lovely Liz Miller at NewTeeVee, which, honestly, are much more succinct then I am about to be, so those who want a much shorter summary should just pop over there.

With that said, here are is my summary and thoughts of the night. Any opinions expressed are mine alone as a member of the IAWTV. I apologize in advance for the length.

The night began with IAWTV Chairman Michael Wayne pointing out the awkwardness of the setup of the room. He and the other board members as well as the about-to-be-announced Executive Director Elisabeth Flack, sat behind microphones and a long table, facing the rest of the room. And while it was instantly acknowledged that it just didn’t feel right, it highlighted the core theme of the evening: things HAVE to change.

And while, frustratingly, there was no official set agenda for the meeting, Michael did open the meeting with 3 goals in mind:

1) Getting everyone on the same page on how exactly the IAWTV and its relationship to the Streamy Awards was created.

2) Making it clear that this is only the beginning of the dialogue and a forum now exists for continuing discussion beyond the current meeting.

3) Begin explaining possible initiatives and outlining ways members can get involved.

We sort of got to all this in the three hour meeting that followed.

Objective 1 got off to a good start with the explanation that the Tubefilter team (long before I began writing for them) selected the original IAWTV in an informal fashion. After the 1st Streamy Awards, that initial group of IAWTV members felt that forming a non-profit corporation would best serve the organization. That is still the plan, though the paperwork has not yet been filed (Liz Miller later updated her article to include a quote from Brady Brim-Deforest on this issue: “The IAWTV is a Nonprofit corporation registered with the State of California. While we have not yet filed our application for federal tax-exempt status (the IRS gives non-profit organizations up to 24 months to file) the application is currently in progress.”)

It was off of this wave of euphoria and excitement over future prospects that the IAWTV probably hit its first major hiccup. As Michael put it: “We hoped for the best but never planned for the worst”. The board went into the second Streamy Awards assuming they would not only be as successful as the first…but more successful. Worrying about the content of the show did not occur to them. Historically, they formed the opposite way than is traditional: they formed an organization AROUND an award show as opposed to developing an awards show out of an organization.

So the glaring flaw was out on the table: the Board of Directors is not a functioning board at the moment. They have had only had 2 official board meetings, one to pick the Visionary Award winner for the 2nd Annual Streamys and the 2nd was supposed to consist of Elisabeth presenting a possible roadmap of the organization going forward. But that became derailed by dealing with the aftermath of the 2nd Streamy Awards. (It is important to note that though of course, talk of the ceremony was peppered throughout the conversation, on the whole, no one tried to rehash the nitty gritty of the ceremony itself)

This is basically the point at which people started to throw their thoughts into the conversation. People wanted to understand how it is possible for a for-profit awards show and a non-profit organization to work together, especially when there are quite a few conflict of interest situations going on. This conversation then went on to point out another area in which the organization needs to improve: in its infrastructure.

It was revealed that the current Board of Directors is slated to stay in their positions until December 3rd, 2010. This was met with mixed reactions. There were definitely indications that that may be too long for many who feel that the current configuration of the board does not accurately represent the community (something which has come up again and again). It was vocalized at one point that no one has quit since the Streamy Awards and that there is feelings that there were no consequences following. It was reiterated several times that even Tubefilter is aware that there should not be 5 members of Tubefilter on the Board. But Michael was very clear to clarify that the original reaction of feeling as if there was going to be a “hostile takeover” have passed and the Board and Tubefilter want nothing more than to work together to come up with a solution. The infamous “Rebuild the Trust” site has now been taken down. “We are all content creators…we all love drama,” Michael quipped. But now it’s time to move on and correct the situation.

This moved into discussion of some of the changes that the Board plans to implement. A member forum is now live (though there was lively discussion, especially across Twitter, of whether or not it should be open to the wider community, or at least have a section there is open). There will be monthly e-mail newsletters as well as weekly conference calls. There is still plans to create 22 Peer Groups but at the present moment, there still aren’t enough people in each of the groups to fill them. An org chart was called for, which is now available, though the list of by-laws, which was also requested, is not yet available. Update: the by-laws are also now available.

The conversation then turned to HOW these changes were going to be implemented and how soon. Another major theme of the night was the desire and need to act NOW. Many members in the room expressed frustration at not being able to make changes at a faster rate when most of us are used to working in the fast-paced world of New Media and that we specifically work in this field because of the freedom of doing it our own way and that the IAWTV needs to adapt to that. There was a call for more leadership and a Board that is more proactive. There were calls for a visionary meeting, where the exact mission of the IAWTV can be broadened upon. The current mission statement, which basically says the IAWTV is nothing more than a group of web professionals devoted to voting on and awarding the Streamy Awards, is far too limiting and not what anyone wants the organization to be (though it was humorously pointed out that at least we can take comfort in the fact that the IAWTV DID do what it was originally set up to do…it gave out awards).

The meeting wound down with an announcement of when the next meeting will be held (in a month) and the reiteration that the Board will come to that meeting with a set agenda, the most important components of which will include a roadmap for the vision of the organization (which the membership will have complete control over discussing and changing) and a proposed decision on what the relationship between the Streamy Awards and the IAWTV will be (if any).

This summary is my no means completely exhaustive. I was taking notes by hand and choose not to direct quote any members for privacy reasons (another point brought up several times at the meeting, mostly in the context of a complete IAWTV member list still not being available), besides Michael Wayne, the IAWTV Chairman. If you do have any direct questions or want clarifications of specific topics, you can post them in the comments section and I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

If you’ve made it this far, I humbly thank you.

And yet, those are not the reasons I’m awake right now. And that is a problem. I am being distracted from what I could be…nay, I SHOULD be doing, what makes me feel alive and as if I could potentially leave my mark on this planet. I am not doing those things because people I care about are angry, confused and hurt.

Today called for Rebuilding. Okay, let’s take a look at that for a second:

Re-build
–verb (used with object)

1. to repair, esp. to dismantle and reassemble with new parts: to rebuild an old car.

2. to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce: to rebuild an army.

3. to revise, reshape, or reorganize: to rebuild a shattered career.

Origin:
1605–15; re- + build

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Three definitions, all for the same word but with vastly different implications. To dismantle and start from scratch would mean to take immediate and definitive action. Tear the weeds out by the roots, refirtilize the soil, replant with tomatoes or cucumbers…something actually sustainable over the long term.

The second is a form of reaction. “I feel weak, in response, I’m going to add more power to my arsenal, add troops to my forces so that I can attack harder next time”. It’s the bully who has gotten the drop on him once, so next time he’s bringing brass knuckles and he’s taking teeth.

The third lies somewhere in the middle: there is still a foundation in place, there are aspects that don’t want to be let go of. Paris Hilton is still a Hilton, no matter how many sex tapes she makes. The question is whether she chooses to do “Two Nights in Paris” or not.

So where does that leave us? The problem is, I think each of us takes a different definition. While others aren’t even contemplating what the word means because they were perfectly happy with the road things were already going down and only see it as adding insult to injury. And while ALL points of view are valid, sadly, the ones that are immediately effected by it are few (5 people, to be exact). And some of us hold those people to the first definition: in order to rebuild, we need to tear the problem out by it’s roots…in this case, the roots affect the livelihoods of individuals. Some of us want to run to their aid, become soldiers in the quest to uphold the values of The Future of the Web.

I think maybe, just maybe, some people are hoping for the “somewhere in the middle”: they don’t want to see anyone dragged through the mud but acknowledge that something doesn’t feel right and needs some adjusting.

Are any of the definitions RIGHT? I can only speak for myself and my instincts always tell me to take an action. And generally, that serves me pretty okay. And in turn, I try to realize that others are working off their instincts as well…they have their own definitions, their own RIGHT. It’s not for me to take that away from them, but to see how and if my views can mold and adapt to theirs. I guess you’d call that compromise.

So I guess that is ultimately what I’m hoping for. How can we take all these various definitions, with their equal merits and worth and bring them to a point where they can coexist? Is it even possible? Definitely not in a day, or even a year, hell, we’ll probably never get it perfect. We may need to draft up a forth definition. But at least we are taking action, which is a huge testament to how much we care about what we are doing. And if we never lose sight of that, I think in the long-run, we will be okay.

But let’s not forget that we are all creative people and as such…we are naturally emotional. Which I take as an advantage, not a disadvantage. Most of us are storytellers…as such, we like to delve inside others experiences to understand them and bring them to life. This puts us in the unique position of seeing the other person’s points of views, to understand what definition they are operating under. We can use that as an opportunity, or we can use it to attack.

I think for starters, I’ll try to get some sleep now.

The response has been so overwhelmingly positive and we are incredibly excited but do have to make it clear that seating in the actual theater itself is limited (it’s a 99 seat comedy theater), so hopefully no one minds that we hope to seat attendees in the following manner:

–2010 Streamy Winners and their guests
–Press and 2010 Streamy nominees
–Additional guests on a first come/first served basis

When you arrive, please check in at the ACME box office where we will have a sign in sheet for additional guests as well as name tags which we encourage you to wear!

In addition to the theater itself, the lobby is equipped with monitors, so an extra 40 people will be able to watch from there (though it will literally be standing room only). The ceremony itself should last no more than an hour and the most important part of the evening is the opportunity to mingle and enjoy time with each other before and after the event. Amalfi Restaurant next door (the two are connected) should be able to accommodate everyone for this purpose.

And again, for those who can’t be there in person, we will be streaming the event live at http://www.acmecomedy.com/livebroadcast.shtml as well as posting the livestream (as well as some other goodies) at Blip.tv, who has kindly offered to co-sponsor the event. If you are Tweeting during or about the event, please use the hashtag #celebratetheweb.

If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and we will address them! We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow night and we thank you in advance for your understanding.

Very Sincerely,
Jenni and Kim

This is not about airing out grievences about the Streamy Awards ceremony, it is about celebrating those who were chosen by their peers as the best representations of web video in a variety of categories.

With opening remarks from Sandeep Parikh (The Legend of Neil, The Guild, and multiple Streamy nominee), those confirmed to be attending in person thus far include:

Best Comedy Web Series
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
Dan Strange (Director)

Best Drama Web Series, Best Directing for a Drama Web Series, Best Male Actor in a Drama Web Series
The Bannen Way
Mark Gantt (Creator, Actor) Jesse Warren (Creator, Director)

Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series
The Guild
Sean Becker

Best Writing for a Drama Web Series
Compulsions
Bernie Su

Best Foreign Web Series
OzGirl

Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series
Felicia Day (The Guild)

Best Interactive Experience in a Web Series, Best Mobile Experience in a Web Series
Valemont

Best Visual Effects in a Web Series
Fear Clinic

With video submissions by:

Best Hosted Web Series
Diggnation
Alex Albrecht

Best New Web Series
Odd Jobs
Jeremy Redleaf

Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series
Wainy Days
David Wain

Best Female Actor in a Drama Web Series
Anyone But Me
Rachael Hip-Flores

Best Vlogger
Shane Dawson

Best Live Production in a Web Series
Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show
Michael Rotman (producer/director)

Best Animated Web Series
How It Should Have Ended

Best News or Politics Web Series, Best Experimental Web Series, Best Original Music in a Web Series
Auto-Tune the News

We want to invite members of the community who are located in Los Angeles to join us at this event. Meet the winners, hear what they have to say, and then have a drink or two in a relaxed atmosphere of celebration. We will also be streaming the event to the public and web community at large on Acme Comedy’s website at http://www.acmecomedy.com/livebroadcast.shtml.

Details:
Thursday, April 15th at 8 PM PST (7:30 drinks at Amalfi next door)
Acme Comedy Theater
135 S. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036-2911

We would like to thank Jinx.com for generously donating the funds to pay for the space.

Please respond in the comments if you plan on attending live, so we can get a basic headcount.

Very Sincerely,
Kim Evey and Jenni Powell

(Please note that though Kim works on The Guild and I write for Tubefilter, we are producing this event completely independently as members of the web community)

Yes, I am talking about the dreaded FOR YOUR CONISDERATION CAMPAIGN.

Instead of reiterating comments made by people I admire and love and who are much more eloquent with words than I, I thought I’d share the comment I made on Ms. Casey McKinnon’s blog…I think it’s going to wrap this entire issue up in a nice little kidding-around package with a fucking-with-you bow…

I have the ultimate solution to this problem: each web series nominated should select a representative who will fight in a battle royale. Last one left alive wins.

Of course, this is ultimately a flawed solution in itself and will then spawn a series of blog debates such as “how should series select their representative? If they send their strongest and they die, what does that mean for the next session of the show? If they send their most expendable crew member, they’re just shooting themselves in the foot. Or wait, will there be guns?”

But beyond my sick sense of humor: there is some really fantastic discussion going on here. I think it really boils down to this: we are a web-based community predominately made up of indie-spirited creators who enjoy the thrill of being able to do things our own way because the conventions of other forms of media have not satisfied us. So hopefully we can channel that energy into new and creative ways to showcase the fruit of our labors. And maybe that don’t have to involve bloody murder.

That is my challenge to you all: get your shows out there creatively. I’m thinking of maybe organizing an online live screening where the characters of the show are in the room interacting with the viewers as they watch.”

Smile everyone.

There is nothing quite like a sexually suggestive title, is there? I assure you, for the most part, this entry with stay PG…or at the most PG-13.

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of picking up producing duties on the web series Bumps in the Night, which on our Facebook Page is listed as a “Supernatural Procedural Comedy”. What’s not to love about that?

The series started out on StrikeTV but we’re going to brave it on our own and go independent this time around. I met the guys who created it; Emmett Furey, John Reha, and Greg Benevent; a while back through my old roommate Adam Daroff, who went to Drexel University with them (though he didn’t know Emmett until they were both in LA). It seemed like a natural fit to take my web experience as well as being a fan of the show and have me jump on board for the new season. Story of my life: “hey, I like your show…can I work on it?” “Sure!” As my buddy Sam Proof pointed out recently…it never hurts to just ask.

Incidentally, Sam will be directing our first full episode of the season, which is going to be released on February 17th. Because…he asked.

In the meantime, check out the first of our Live Tips. They will be airing on the Wednesdays between our main episodes. Also check out our kickass blog and subscribe to our Twitter feed.

Happy Haunting!