The Streamys: Who Knew We’d Be This Angry?
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 | 7 Comments »Okay, we get it. The Streamys sucked this year.
I’ve seen enough “nail in the coffin” and “last Streamys ever” updates on Twitter. They get it. They did a bad job.
There are a lot of people who have meticulously deconstructed why the show went wrong, from the bad opening number to the streakers to the embarrassing technical glitches (in a room full of nerds, no less) the “nobody cares about online video” man-on-the-street video to the way-too-long and obscene “comedy” bits.
As an IAWTV member and someone who knows the show’s executive producers Marc, Drew, Brady, and Josh personally — I’ll add this to the conversation: just one year ago, this didn’t even exist.
This was an event that literally didn’t exist a year ago. And though I think the show was really bad and a detriment to the momentum we all feel about online video, people are calling for heads to roll. Really?
Without the Tubefilter guys, would this even exist? No. Would there be a community as thriving as there is in Los Angeles? No. So let’s back off a little, because these guys aren’t money-grubbing, smarmy used car salesmen. Trust me, they’re taking this seriously and will come forward with a plan. That doesn’t happen in 24 hours.
Do I think this was a bad show that showcased the juvenile nature of the Web against its more established media counterparts? Yes. But the result — the backbiting and negative comments — are proving the other stereotype of the Internet: not unlike the comments on a YouTube video, a lot of people are hating on something they don’t want to do (or couldn’t do) themselves. These guys built this from nothing. Give them a break.
BEHIND THE FRUSTRATION
I wonder if a lot of the frustration with the show is because there feels like something was lost. A naive dream, perhaps. Web series creators, including the majority of people in that theatre, make little money and can’t support themselves doing it like their TV or film counterparts. Surely, a Streamy Awards show debacle doesn’t help them getting closer to “sustainable living,” but surely the big payoff wasn’t so close that the Streamys ruined it.
The sad truth is that, for most online content producers (and offline for that matter), there is very little income to be spread around right now, and for independents who are also “up and comers” — myself included — there is a smaller and smaller pie. Celebrities that you might normally see on TV and movies are taking advantage of online opportunities (such as Kevin Pollak, Tony Hale, Zach Galifianakis, Illeana Douglas) to have more creative control and ownership over their work. Traditional media companies and ad agencies are looking for “sure things” from people with TV/film experience. Sure, there are indies that get funding and/or distribution. But for every Bannen Way, there’s a thousand Web series that won’t make a cent.
It’s tough to be independent. But it’s just tough in general. That’s the entertainment business, regardless of medium. The road for online producers/creators/writers isn’t an easy one. And you can’t blame the Streamy Awards this year for you not getting what you want.
If you want to make Web videos, do it. And keep doing it. Just like the Oscars and Emmys — just do what you do and let the awards take care of themselves.
But don’t look to the Tubefilter guys as scapegoats. If you want things to change, offer to help. I’m sure they’re all ears to real criticism if offered with a helping hand.
[Some updates made above to my rhetoric and logic, after some comments called them out below.]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alec McNayr, Shane Elliott. Shane Elliott said: RT @alecmcnayr: My thoughts on the Streamys: Who knew we'd be this angry? http://bit.ly/9dMcBF [...]
Alec,
I think you’re missing one very big point here. Like other awards shows, the Streamy Awards are the public face of the industry as a whole. Casual viewers don’t find us on Twitter or read our blogs. They see us in our shows, and through events such as the Streamys. And in that way it is damaging for all involved.
Much of the anger is a feeling of betrayal. Many of the nominees and fans of the show told their viewers to watch, told their family and friends back home to watch, and some brought family and friends with them – including children. They were excited and wanted their social circles to share that excitement with them. And they have every right to feel angered, shocked, saddened, humiliated and betrayed by the events of Sunday night.
Don’t deny people’s right to speak out in anger. Rather, let the anger be expressed, let the questions and accusations be raised, and lets deal with them after everyone has had some time to calm down. One way or another the medium and the community will move past this, but we all have a right to share our reactions to the subject.
@Michelle
Thanks for your comment. After sifting through your blog, I agree with you — the IAWTV could use with some additional transparency and the whole thing could be a little less west-coast centric — but then again, most of the video and film industry is out here and online video is, in many ways, symbiotic to those industries.
I also agree that people should have the right to fume and express their anger. I give a thumbs-up to the freedom of speech. I actually believe that, thanks to the Web, we physically can’t deny anyone’s right to free speech anymore (at least not in this country).
That said, I guess my point is that just because you CAN say something in anger doesn’t mean it gets anything done.
As I say approximately 140 times in the post — it was indeed a bad show — but there’s no need for a witch hunt. It doesn’t get anything done. Let level heads prevail.
I can assure you I am not,” swooping in in between acting jobs.” I am writer/creator/musician/actor and independent producer for both Easy to Assemble and Sparhusen.
I have been creating entertainment for the web for three years. I have been working in spesifically branded entertainment now for three years and fighting very hard to bring entertainment to the fans that have been turned off by television using the Colgate Comedy Hour as a model.
To assume that creative people like Kevin Pollak(who has a great show) and myself are doing it for some kind of glory is not only ignorant it shows you haven’t done your research.
I encourage everyone to watch Easy to Assemble and Sparhusen. Things will only get better if we support artists like myself that are sacrificing a lot to be independant.
Best,
Illeana Douglas
@Illeana
Thanks for your candor — when I get responses like yours, it does make me go back and double-check the word choice I’ve used.
I found things that I said poorly, so I’ll try to rectify:
I certainly didn’t mean to imply that you’re not independent, nor that things come easy for you just because you’re a recognizable actress. I know your production is not connected to a big media company. And I know the pressure and work necessary to tackle a project like that yourself. I certainly recognize your work as an artist just trying to make something interesting.
I do mean, however, that you, as a “known” or “recognizable” or “working actress” have access to people, resources, and publicity that most do not. I guess, by “independent,” I should have said “up and coming” — because that seems to be the source of a lot of the “over-the-top” anger of the night. And when I said you were “swooping in,” I meant that you were taking advantage of opportunities available to you online — that you can have ownership and control over your own work — that others don’t have. Nothing wrong with that — it’s just a fact of the business. I’d do it if I was in your position.
Again, thanks for your comment — no disrespect meant — just a shift in the world of online media that everyone in it must recognize.
I concur with your call for people to watch your shows Easy to Assemble and Sparhusen. Both are funny and awkward and well, Swedish.
Alec,
I also happen to know Brady (from school days), and had the honor and privilege of seeing him again last Wednesday at the craft awards as a nominee. I really enjoyed the smaller event, actually. It was humbling, to-the-point, and gracefully executed (despite our own party crasher). So when Sunday rolled around, I was taken completely by surprise.
While I haven’t gotten to see him in a long time (and I don’t know the other members of the production team, probably as well as you seem to) – thing is, I respect him enough, even as an acquaintance, that I think you SHOULDN’T need to make excuses for him, or the others, nor should you feel the need to shield them. They’re adults, and can handle it. They already made their apology as of this writing. To say that the community should ‘give them a break’ weakens the accountability that they decided to shoulder for themselves by promising the prestige of the awards so many people looked up to.
I’m a cinematographer. So if my work were to get criticized, I take it, even if it were to be hateful. And I wouldn’t have expected other people to step out in front of me to make excuses when I first got started, telling everybody to “Give him a break, it’s his first time”. I wouldn’t have wanted that. I don’t think Brady needs it either. (at least, I hope not.)
We all “built something from nothing”. Especially the people making the kind of shows the event was there to honor. I think there’d be a reason to call out the witch hunters if the hunt lasted longer, but hell, it’s only been two days.
I respect Brady a great deal, and will continue to even if Sunday lives on in history beyond this week (which I hope it doesn’t). He has pioneered a well intentioned thing, and is probably taking some of the most enormous flak of his life. But I’m afraid I can’t help but see the inevitability of the angry mob on this one. There were a lot of people looking forward to that night (and people who came from far away), spent a lot of money and invited a lot of their peers to watch their community that they stood so proudly for get slapped in the face. There’s a lot of pent-up emotion bound to come out. Even the really scathing, nasty stuff.
What is Streamys, LLC?
http://www.webseriestoday.com/2010/04/what-is-streamys-llc.html