The first ever Streamy Awards took place on Saturday, March 28, bringing together the directors, actors, producers, writers, editors, cinematographers, music and production talent responsible for creating some of the best original content on the web.
125 individuals and web series were recognized during the live event, bringing more buzz and awareness to the emerging genre of digital entertainment. I had a chance to chat about the event with a friend of mine Mark Stewart Iverson, director, writer, and co-creator of Dorm Life, one of the nominees recognized at the Streamys.
So how did Mark describe the event?
“[Everyone was] very aware that it was a first annual awards and [the awards were] very aware of itself…a lot of talking straight to the camera.” This made up some of the humorous aspects of the show, Mark told me, like when Lisa Kudrow couldn’t help but laugh, along with the audience, during the very unfunny bit she was given to present. That proved to be a common theme of the night - a direct awareness and acknowledgment of the audience. Mark took this one step further by likening being in the audience at the show to watching a mockumentary–style webisode (aka Dorm Life):
“Mockumentary is great for [the] Internet…the webcam, blogging and talking straight to you [the audience] through the Internet.” Looks like Mark understands the importance of the Internet as a key tool for connecting and interacting directly with fans, which is what the Streamys are all about. Take the Audience Choice Award for Best Web Television Series, which was selected and voted by the public. While Dorm Life didn’t take home the award, the popular webisode was nominated, and that’s HUGE. (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog took home the coveted award, along with a handful of others.)
So how do these webisodes gain a big enough online presence to get nominated?
Mark said of spreading the word about Dorm Life: “Our production company, Attention Span Media, has definitely gone out and gotten us some press and done a little outside marketing. But it really comes down to grass roots and driving people to our web site. Doing the work and writing, blogging, posting like crazy and getting people excited about the show.”
And it seems to be working. They’ve got a Facebook Group with more that 4700 members, a @dormlife Twitter account, plus several Twitter profiles where you can follow the cast members (@gopherreed, @marshalladams, @attentionspan) .
Plus you can find Dorm Life on Hulu.com (where it’s the most viewed webisode), Veoh.com, YouTube.com, MetaCafe.com, Blip.tv, and dorm-life.com to name a few.
Oh and if you are interested, new episodes of Dorm Life air Mondays @ http://dorm-life.com And trust me, the show is HILARIOUS. But Mark’s my friend so don’t take my word for it. (Instead, take the raving reviews of their 4700 member-strong Facebook group.)
