'Newfront' Weighs Web Video Gains, Goals

NEW YORK The number of high-quality original video projects created for the Web has accelerated exponentially this year, particularly since the TV season was disrupted by the three-month Writer's Guild of America strike, according to several digital media producers.Yet, the jury is still out on whether online video has seen its first hit.Those were among several hot topics discussed by group of panelists at Thursday's Digital Newfront event hosted by Digitas. That inaugural gathering, held at the cavernous Eyebeam Studio in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, brought together a host of digital media buyers, content distributors, producers and advertisers, all seeking to gain and share insights on the rapidly evolving online video media business.Seated on a packed stage in a hanger-like gallery space, six prominent figures from the digital production world were asked whether they thought the TV work stoppage gave a boost to online video."What it did was it pushed a lot of great creative people who were already on their way," said longtime Viacom executive Albie Hecht, now president of entertainment production firm Worldwide Biggies. Due partly to the strike, "more people are going to get experiences that they never had before," he said, with new writers teaching veterans how to produce content that both entertains and creates conversations.But getting more 'old' writers with strong credentials appears key to helping legitimize the medium. "It's given us more access to talent," said Greg Goodfried, co-founder, president and COO of EQAL, the firm behind "lonelygirl15," one of online video's first breakout clips.Not everyone is sure the Web's really had anything close to a hit just yet.Barry Jossen, general manager, Stage 9 Digital Media, a digital media production subsidiary of ABC-Disney, stirred debate when he said the Web needs mainstream hits to increase its stature. "We would love to create a massive new media hit," he said. "That would be great for the industry." Jossen added that while some video series have come close, "There's been nothing on the scale that transcends pop culture."Miles Beckett, Goodfried's partner at EQAL, cautioned that it might be a mistake to seek mainstream hits on the Internet. "The truth is, it's a completely different medium," he said. "The definition of a hit online is different."Not that producers aren't shooting for their own viral phenomenon. For example, Jon Vlassopulos, vp, business development, strategic planning and new media at Endemol USA, talked up the success of his company's recently launched travel/reality series "The Gap Year," which he said has already surpassed the audience drawn by "lonelygirl15" on the social networking site Bebo. The studio has several new projects in the works, including the user-directs-the-plot show "Phil Blanks," along with an upcoming sitcom dubbed "New York/LA."Speaking of distribution partners, Vlassopulos said he's still waiting to hear what will happen to the elaborate competition series Endemol was set to produce for AOL -- "iLand" -- which would have seen contestants compete to win their own island. "That is still sitting on AOL's shelf," he said.

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'Newfront' Weighs Web Video Gains, Goals

Mike Shields

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