Melbourne WebFest the Second

Image courtesy of Fan Boy News Network.

The web series: it's a relatively new format of film-making born from the rise of digital technology. Around since the 1990s (remember the bizarreness of early flash animation web series like Pork Chops?), the web series is only just starting to gain recognition.

In the past few years a number of festivals have sprouted up around the world to celebrate this innovative film format. But what is the web series format all about: who is making them and why?

I spoke to Melbourne WebFest co-founder Steiner Ellingsen in an attempt to understand more about the web series, as a format and an industry.

The second annual Melbourne WebFest is fast approaching. Set over three days of screenings, workshops, panel discussions and more: Melbourne WebFest is a forum for both content-creators and fans to mingle and muse over the medium of the web series.

Here come the numbers. From 170 submissions, the eight judges have narrowed it down to 30

finalists and 20 'Second Look' finalists.

The Second Look category is similar to a runner-up prize. These series get screen time and Q&A sessions at the festival, but are not in the running for awards.

The 30 finalists represent 11 different countries, with nine finalists being Aussie productions.

Image courtesy of Melbourne WebFest

Awards are genre-based and in five categories: comedy, drama, sci-fi/fantasy, suspense/thriller, and non-fiction.

The selection process requires that each genre be populated by at least three series. Numbers for each genre are then adjusted to reflect the volume of submissions to each category. Comedy is the clear favourite this year with 11 finalists.

Comedy in a web series format seems an obvious marriage, but I was fascinated to see how this medium had been used within other genres. Why choose a genre like drama where character development is key, or suspense which takes time to convey?

WebFest co-founder, Steiner Ellingsen, believes the web series format is still evolving and the rise of portable digital technology means that people are looking for more long-form media online.

"What we're seeing over the years is that the length of content is growing, even YouTube have noticed that," said Ellingsen, "and that helps people develop deeper storylines and to develop more character. So there is room for a lot more online than just sketch comedy".

It seems web series are becoming a serious rival to broadcast television. In Australia especially we are notorious for our pirated downloading and live streaming preferences.

"Netflix happened, Hulu happened, Crackle happened: all of these new digital delivery platforms, and the web series world is reacting to that" says Ellingsen.

It seems that online video content is only increasing. Cisco stats forecast that, including peer-to-peer file sharing, video content will dominate a whopping 80-90% of online traffic by 2017. On mobile devices, video content dominated 53% of all mobile internet traffic in 2013.

So web series are becoming popular as a format, and they have multiple online distribution platforms, but where does the money come from?

Steiner Ellingsen, co-founder of Melbourne WebFest

Image courtesy of Emerging Writers Festival

My first thought was that web series were likely to be made by film students wanting to showcase their work. However, it seems that grant funding and corporations are finally catching on to the rising popularity of web series.

Ellingsen pointed to the recent multi-platform grants by ScreenAustralia.

"Screen Australia has their multi-platform fund both for dramas and for documentaries. Last year they formed a small grant partnership with YouTube," he said.

"We are really blessed in Australia that there has been some funds developed in the past couple of years. But then, who knows what's going to happen with the new budget. We're bracing ourselves for the future," said Ellingsen.

He is right to worry. Screen Australia has been dealt large funding cuts, with multi-platform funding now under review and may be closing down altogether. But that is a story for another time.

In 2009 Lister et al. wrote of the reluctance for advertising to get on board with online television. These were the days where viral marketing was still king: brands were looking to make just one short video that went viral.

Ellingsen says this is changing, that more brands are realising the value in producing ongoing content.

"More brands are wanting to work with content-creators so we're seeing less of the desire to build a viral video and more of a desire to build ongoing relationships over time" said Elligsen.

"This is great for content creators who are able to pitch the right idea to the right brand." he said.

It looks like the web series is here to stay and it's only becoming more refined as a format and an art.

"The overall quality is going up because people are getting more savvy, they're getting better at what they do," said Ellingsen.

"As other content is getting better, people are learning from each other and we see this exponential development in quality"

The Melbourne WebFest runs from 18-20 July with screenings, workshops, Q&A sessions and more. It's worth checking out, to see what is happening with this exciting mew medium as it continues to develop and grow.

References
Lister, M. Dovey, J. Giddings, S. Grant, I. & Kelly, K. 2009, New Media: a Critical Introduction, 2nd edition, Routledge, New York, USA.