Behind-the-Scenes w/A1 and Letus

[Blake Calhoun]

My new web series "Pink" is getting quite a bit of press (It was shot on an XH-A1 using a Letus 35mm adaptor).

Check out this nice behind-the-scenes story on the series done by "Viral The Show":

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1373050t7GWwNG4

It features several good shots of the A1 and Letus, along with other equipment used on the shoot.

Thanks,
Blake

[Steve Yager]

That's good stuff, Blake. The internet is really blossoming these days. It's actually over saturated with content, but ultimately good programming like Pink gets noticed and rises to the top. What was your funding process like? I noticed you don't really have any adverts on your website. Do you have a deal with myspace or youtube?

Good luck with the next ten episodes.

[Doug Davis]

That's great man... Good publicity for you guys... I still have trouble wrapping my mind around how you guys meet or make a budget for that show...

[Luke Ross]

Congradulations, This is great for you guys! I have intentionally not started watching your series yet after hearing that there is going to be an HD version available. :) Do you know when you will make that available? Have you thought about using Vimeo? They recently started allowing HD content playback through flash at 720p for free and HD downloads and it seems pretty good so far..

[Kyle Prohaska]

Seeing you actually shooting without an adapter comforts me about shooting my feature without one. Yay. :P Nice BTS video, you can tell just from the few clips in there you guys upped the production value like crazy.

- Kyle

[Steve Yager]

Blake, was there a reason why you chose revver over other places like Metacafe?

[Doug Davis]

Originally Posted by Steve Yager

Blake, was there a reason why you chose revver over other places like Metacafe?

Or Veoh? Or Stage6?

[Blake Calhoun]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The truth about web series or video on the web is NO ONE really knows how to monetize it yet. It's the Wild West out there right now. Even bigger shows like "Prom Queen" haven't been that profitable and they've had millions of views.

So, we're working on our business model. :)

For this first "season" we are actually not worried about making money. Show was funded through private equity investors like you would on an indie film (and like I've done on several indie films).

Right now we're trying to build the brand and an audience through sites like Myspace, Revver, YouTube, etc. So everything is up for free.

Season Two will go online in the coming months and with that we hope to have built an audience and have an "Anchor" sponsor on our website and/or through a production deal (with some known companies).

So far we've mainly used Revver as our venue for release and we embed they're videos on our site. For one reason, they really like the show and promote the heck out of it. But also, I've found they really know what they're doing and are passionate about web video and will actually foster projects they like.

We're also on Myspace which I've found to not be the best for viewership, but a good way to get the word out. Seems most folks go to YouTube to watch videos first. And we're on Youtube as well. Fortunately the editors at YouTube have noticed the show (with the help of Revver) and featured us. This happened two days ago and we've since had over 60,000 views. Not too bad.

This season has two more episodes left in it and as soon as it's over I will upload the shows onto other sites like Veoh, Metacafe, BlipTV, etc. We decided to wait until we were done releasing them on Revver (and Myspace and YouTube) to begin promoting elsewhere.

The coolest thing about this distribition model is the "Evergreen" effect. Although the first season will "end" soon, it really won't. Everyday new folks find the show, and thus it is "evergreen" to audiences.

We've only been online for two months and it's wild how fast things move with this stuff (if your show gets some buzz). We've been featured on Revver, had a story run on Freshdv blog, been on the Daily Reel, featured on Propaganda, Viral The Show, now featured on YouTube, just got contacted by the satellite TV show G4TechTV and will be on there soon, did an interview for Markee Magazine, and we also got on the main Podcast Page on iTunes which really helped our viewship (and subscribers). Apple digs the show, which is quite nice.

Our plans do include releasing the show in HD, but not sure when or how. Likely a digital download, but possibly Blu-Ray too. I know I want to make it available on DVD, probably SD first, then HD. Sooner than later, but don't have release dates yet.

So to tie things back to the A1, all I can say is the camera along with the Letus really gave us high-end production value on a very low budget. Will it all work out and be profitable in the end? Not sure. But as I always say, it definitely beats working for a living. ;)

Thanks,
Blake

[Marko Los]

All Letus35 footage with the A1 i have seen has impressed me greatly. I feel the same way about the Brevis35 adapter. The only problem now is which one to get for my A1?? Excellent work though, having good lighting is very important.
All the best.

Marko

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Hey Blake,

Thanks for the link to some behind the scenes stuff about the A1.

I noticed a photo of the A1 + Letus on a tripod without rails.

Did you do much shooting with the A1 + Letus without rails? If so, how did the A1 hold up without rails?

I've read some mixed reports about using the A1 + Letus with/without rails and would be interested in your experience.

Thanks,

Matthew.

p.s. great looking footage too in the series - really inspiring.

[Blake Calhoun]

I don't own rails so I used the Letus on the A1 exclusively without rails. Worked very well. No problems at all. Used it on sticks and a jib arm.

The FE model is light. The new Extreme model is heavier and does require rails (I'm told).

Thanks for checking out the show!

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Cool.

Now I just have to keep saving up for an A1 first :) - and then a Letus or Brevis down the track.

Many thanks for your reply Blake.