What’s more valuable: your brand or your content? I say brand. In the context of web video, building equity in your brand starts with releasing video content for free and finding an audience allows you to eventually capitalize on that brand through a variety of different methods. It is close to impossible to squeeze money out of your video content online – and the producers who are successfully charging consumers for content are the producers with established brands that probably existed in the old media world, like television or film. We’ve had more than 50 years of free video content playing on the tube, it makes sense that consumers expect and to some degree almost have the right to demand free content. This is not a bad thing. In fact I think it’s quite exciting.

More often than not filmmakers and producers ask me how to monetize online video, or how did I make money off of OzGirl. I really think the broader strategy for online producers should be to build equity in their brand and capitalize on it through merchandising, tiered content, licensing, partnerships – the sky is the limit when it comes to what is traditionally known as “ancillary” revenue.

In this new digital landscape, ancillary is the new primary. The internet allows you to be really creative with how you go about making money. Video is an enormously powerful tool to pull an audience and engage consumers in a way that no other medium has the capacity to do (this is why the “audio visual” industry is so strong). We need to stop thinking of ourselves as filmmakers and think of ourselves as entrepreneurs. Video is simply the first block in the long term strategy to build a franchise and a brand. What comes next is up to you, and this is where we are afforded the ability to be truly creative. It could be something as simple as creating a Cafepress T-Shirt shop, or teaming up with a band to sell digital audio downloads with a revenue split. My advice to producers, or should I say online entrepreneurs, is to consider all of this from day 1. Capitalizing on your brand is not an afterthought, it should be part of your long term business strategy.

Web video must be seen as an entry point for consumers to engage with your brand, it is simply a promotional tool to sell t-shirts or MP3s. That’s not to say you can’t tell genuine stories through online video. On the contrary, in fact the more effective your storytelling, the higher your sales will be. There is some serious money to be made on the internet. I’ve stopped calling series like OzGirl web series, or shows. They are ventures and start ups and we, my friend, are entrepreneurs with a powerful platform and marketing tool: web video.

OzGirl, which launched online in February to 25, 000 fans, recently took the top prize, ‘Best Web Series’ at the Independent Television Festival in Los Angeles as well as the ‘Best Acting’ award. The show also made its New York premiere last month at the New York Television Festival.

The feature length web series was produced independently on a shoe-string budget of AUD$7 000, and distributed through its custom social network as well as KoldCast TV (http://koldcast.tv) which syndicated the series across TiVo, iTunes, and Zune. Yesterday Carlton announced that he had signed a deal with V Australia which will see the series distributed as part of its inflight entertainment.

“We’re a disruptive business in a disruptive time. A digital media and entertainment studio that truly understands young people,” said Carlton of the studio. In addition to licensing original content, the studio will work with advertisers to create branded entertainment and work with producers of existing entertainment properties to develop their cross media strategy and content. Carlton is set to speak to the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) at the Fringe Festival (http://fringe.spaa.org.au) this Friday at the Foxtel Centre in Sydney about digital distribution and his experience producing OzGirl for the web.

“There is a real demand for quality youth-oriented content at the moment. As a member of today’s youth and a consumer of all things digital – I believe I am in a unique position to tell relevant stories that connect with young audiences online,” Carlton noted.

He is currently based in Melbourne, Australia and is represented by Hollywood’s United Talent Agency.

Visit http://carltondigital.com

Press Enquiries
press@carltondigital.com
+61-404-071-937

Thanks to Richard Branson and his wonderful team at Virgin.

If you’re in NY don’t miss the screening at New World Stages – 340 West 50th Street (b/w 8th and 9th Aves.) For more info visit http://nytvf.com

OzGirl will be screening on Digital Day at NYTVF. I will be there to answer your questions after!

See you then!

We’ve had a crazy time in LA these past 10 days. We’d like to thank everyone for their support over this past year. It’s been a lot of fun. During this trip we’ve had the opportunity to meet with a multitude of people including agents, studios and networks. It’s been an amazing journey and we couldn’t have done it without you: the fans.

What’s Next for OzGirl?
- Read the latest press coverage of OzGirl on NewTeeVee – http://tinyurl.com/m6hrg5 as well as in last Saturday’s A2 section from The Age (8th of August)

- Creator Nicholas Carlton will appear on a panel about digital distribution at the SPAA Fringe Festival on the 17th of October 2009. Come and hear him talk!

Unlike television the web is yet to see a uniform, consistent format (ie. sitcoms – 23 minutes, dramas – 40 minutes, cable – 60 minutes). In fact we may never see such uniformity as the web is dynamic and caters to countless niches and audiences. Web TV has been slow to catch on – initially it was catered for a small audience. Most web series thus far consistent of “bite-size” episodes – 2 to 5 minutes each. However, it’s been a few years since Web TV started and things are changing more and more rapidly. Mainstream television programs are being delivered over the web at higher CPMs and generating large profits for the network – consider Gossip Girl, the CW’s show which consistently underperforms in the ratings. Season 3 has recently been greenlit. Why? Its iTunes sales are a major factor in its renewal. Digital sales are becoming a viable way to generate income, but more importantly the web is becoming a legitimate place to consume long form content.

For a long time now, people have been willing to watch television episodes on their computer. In fact the impact of a lot of television shows comes from online downloads – consider Heroes, the show was downloaded 10 million times last year in one day. The eyeballs are there. The attention spans are there. It’s time to step up and produce quality content. Content that is not discernibly low-grade in comparison to shows like Heroes. I know what you’re saying – the money isn’t available on the web. But if we want Web TV to be taken seriously we need to be prepared to produce serious content. The consumers won’t care if it originally aired on TV not. Content is content. Good shows are good shows.

Long form content provides a breadth and depth to storytelling that is not always available with short form content. As a passive audience member, I often find it more engaging than short form content (ie. the 5 minute episodes that are in vogue at the moment). I believe consumers are yearning to be engaged for a longer period of time. Most people are willing to sit for hours on end staring at their Facebook. If it’s engaging – why not!

Monetization is of course an important factor. Web series creators and producers need to legitimize the industry by charging for their content. Long form content. You’d have to have some real balls to charge for 5 minute episodes. There are many ways to go about distribution. There are of course existing digital vendors such as Amazon, iTunes and Zune. These are great mainstream outlets to sell content. Why not release the first episode for free on every platform/site and release subseqeunt episodes as paid content? Or why not release the first 5 minutes of each episode for free?

There are many ways to go about monetizing long form content if we be creative. Consumers WILL pay for good quality content from a proven show or brand. It’s just that the opportunity has not yet presented itself from web TV. Now is the time to change that. We must look to create a sustainable business model for web TV NOW before it’s too late and consumer expectations change. Vendors such as iTunes have legitimized subscription based distribution.

We, as web TV producers, are in a position to create shows that can rival TV shows in terms of popularity and quality but the longer we create low-grade, 5 minute episodes the longer web TV will be resisted by mainstream consumers. Let’s show ‘em what we’ve got and don’t be afraid to ask ‘em to pay.

I’m very excited to announce the Season 1 DVD is on sale now! The DVD can be purchased at http://ozgirl.tv and is only AU$19.95

In addition to the 23 episodes (120 minutes) there is 6 hours of bonus features including:
- 2 commentaries
- Cast and Crew Interviews
- Bloopers
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind the Scenes

We need YOUR help. OzGirl has been selected as part of the official selection for the Independent Television Festival in LA (http://itvfest.org). Help us raise funds to attend the festival so that we can be one step closer to bringing you Season 2! We want to sell 200 DVDs!! Follow our progress at http://ozgirl.tv – where you can also donate.

I apologise about the delay we experienced with the broadcast – unfortunetly our website is subject to our host’s (Ning) maintenance schedule which exceeded it’s scheduled maintenance time by an hour. This unfortunately caused a great deal of confusion.

Thanks for a great season of OzGirl, we’ve loved having you as fans. It’s been a pleasure!

Since then it has been a crazy ride, we never envisioned how intense shooting 24 x 4 minute episodes would be. We shot a feature film with a skeleton crew. Being as disorganized as I am I don’t have an exact number of shooting days but it is somewhere between 30 – 40 days of shooting.

The shoot days were intense – some of the days up to 12 hours + of shooting. One of the great things that I love as a filmmaker are the friendships that are formed on set. I have had the privilege of working with the most talented, dedicated and passionate cast and crew. We became a family… it’s going to be weird now that the show has concluded.

I first approached Sophie (Producer, Writer, “Sadie”) in September about the project. Back then it was a vlog style show about a hairdresser. We evolved the concept into what is now OzGirl through a process of trial and error. In October when we started to shoot, it was me and the cast. I was operating the camera, sound equipment, etc myself with the cast running around the city without permission shooting in true guerrilla style. One crew member – Three cast members. To date a bit over 20 people have now worked on OzGirl in some capacity.

In writing this I want to publicly thank those who have helped bring OzGirl to the screen. First and foremost I want to thank Sophie. Without her OzGirl could never be. She is the most talented, enthusiastic and intelligent actress I have ever met. The past 6 months have seen OzGirl take over a large part of her life – she was in the trenches fighting as hard as I was to get this made. Sophie has brought something special to OzGirl. I’m not surprised the world has fallen in love with her Sadie.

Shanrah – without whom the world would never have met the uber-bitch, Megan. Her counsel and help has always been invaluable. In the latter months Shanrah virtually took on Production Managing responsibilities. For that I am truly grateful! It certainly gave me one less headache.

Shaun – his awesome camerawork has given the show a new edge. His counsel too has been greatly appreciated. Shaun is a giant Scotsman.

Neil – for his advice and running ALL the auditions. You’ve been awesome! (even though you’re from Tasmania)

Lisa – for your writing and creative ideas.

My family, particularly my Dad and sisters who have put up with the shoot around the house – running around like crazy. You’ve all been awesome.

To the rest of the cast and crew – this is the most fun I’ve ever had shooting something! You’ve been the best cast and crew I could have possibly asked for. This is just the beginning of awesome things to come…

Thanks to everyone involved:-

• Sophie Tilson
• Shanrah Wakefield
• Lisa Bedwell
• Richard Askin
• Bradley Williams
• Joel Famularo
• Nicola Collie
• Janet Watson Kruse
• Lucy Emmerichs
• Jimmy O’Halloran
• Valerie Duthill
• Shaun Crawford
• Dmitri Golovko
• Regan Wood
• Kirsten
• Dad
• Olga
• My Sisters
• Julian Costanzo
• Stu Heppel
• Andrew Gaul
• Warrick Smythe
• Dylan Watson
• Jacob Brown
• Ben Holmes
• Neil Triffet
• Isaac Longbon
• Eira Joy Aringay
• Alli Parker
• Shaun Herbertson
• Andrew O’Keefe