BuzzFeed is expanding its brand in the editorial, video, and motion pictures area, the website announced today.
The viral news and video website, known for its listicles, GIFS, and in recent years, original news and reporting, will expand its video division to becomes “BuzzFeed Motion Pictures.” The new film division will focus on producing everything from GIFS to feature films.
Two new teams will be formed; BuzzFeed Live Development will create “mid-form serialized content” that focuses on characters and genres, while the “Future of Fiction” team will “explore the future of long-form, television and trans-media video,” according to the site.
The new motion pictures unit is getting some Hollywood firepower at the onset: producer Michael Shamberg, who produced “Pulp Fiction,” “Get Shorty,” and “Django Unchained,” and actor/comedian Jordan Peele, from Comedy Central’s “Key and Peele,” are joining the unit as advisors.
Ze Frank, who previously ran video for BuzzFeed, has been named president of “BuzzFeed Motion Pictures.”
At the website’s first newfront last year, Frank spoke about how important “social lift” is for BuzzFeed’s video production.