More like a Drunken Debacle.

The real test of history in this webisode series is "can the narrator make it through with out vomiting?" Drunk History is an online video series that features inebriated people sharing their version of a specific event in history. The recounted stories are then re-enacted, by professional actors while the drunken commentary plays in the background. This webisode series is the brainchild of comedian and actor Derek Waters. An idea that stemmed from an evening of drinking and chit chat about music. Derek Waters, the genius behind it all, listened to close friend Jake Johnson babble on about legendary Otis Redding. “Otis Redding before he got on that plane knew he was going to die man,” said Jhonson. All Waters could imagine was Otis Redding sitting next to Johnson saying “man shut the f*@& up.” On the spot Derek knew he had something. The concept is drunk people talking about something they are passionate about (particularly history), but the comedy lies in how the story and celebrity reenactment occur. Derek Waters pitched the idea to long time friend and director Jeremy Konner, who loved it and immediately jumped on broad.

The intention behind these crazy drunken narratives was not to create a World Wide Web phenomenon, but to have some fun. Drunk History is a YouTube series, also appearing on Funnyordie.com. Within its first six months of being posted on Youtube, episode one, which is titled Hamilton vs. Burr; featuring Mark Gagliardi, a second city alum, as the narrator and Michael Cera, Arrested Development star, as Alexander Hamilton received 1.5 million views. The opening clips of each episode introduce the narrator as well as the amount of alcohol they have consumed before their story begins; “On August 6th, 2007 Mark Gagliardi drank a bottle of scotch and then discussed a famous historical event.” This is then followed by a smooth dissolve into our inebriated storyteller. Each episode, the narrator does the voiceover, as the viewers see flashbacks involving well-known actors, in full costume, mouthing the impromptu dialogue described by the narrator, including all expletives and sound effects.

As of the now there are only four episodes posted to YouTube, there have been rumors of a fifth episode coming soon, but with the fame this video short has brought Derek Waters his attention has been directed towards other projects. With each new episode the stories become more historically outlandish and farfetched, while the narrators consume more alcohol then the previous one. Additionally, better known actors are hoping aboard the reenactment train and the narrators are coming from the “common” circle of intelligent people. Episode two, narrated by Eric Falconer, tells the story of how Benjamin Franklin, played by Black Jack, discovered electricity highlighting that Franklin’s fame and fortune should be credited to his son William Franklin, played by Clark Duke. Episode three, features Jen Kirkman recapping the story of George Washington’s slave Oney Judge. George Washington is played by Danny McBride, Oney Judge is played by Tymberlee Hill. Episode four narrated by J.D. Ryznar depicts the story of William Henry Harrison, played by Paul Schneider.

One wonders where the humor can be found in this webisode series. First, who doesn’t enjoy being the sober one while a drunken idiot goes off on a tangent about something they are passionate and knowledgeable about. Second, since episode one, not many of the narrators have made it through an entire story without getting sick, or hiccupping. Eric Falconer, who appears in episode two, makes a dive into the bottom of the toilet bowl at least three times, but folks don’t worry if the sounds don’t gross you out the imagine just might. Jen Kirkman, from episode three, gets the hiccups the moment she opens her mouth, while setting the new world record for most minuets to hold ones breathe, but at the same time “honoring her (Oney Judge).” J.D Ryznar, episode four, is sure to wish his mother a happy mother’s day, after for mentioning he has “had a lot of booze.”; followed by a pause in the reenactment as Mr Ryznar up heaves his insides. The comedy behind Drunk History is found within an immature and yet, just take it as these people are idiots, thought process.

The style and medium of Drunk History is that of a homemade video, but with studio production quality. For this reason, there is no homepage site to visit. It is a YouTube series, and the fan base is all word of mouth and blog postings.

Drunk History is by no means going to replace American History taught in our school systems. Nor should the contents of the historical event, being told and reenacted visually, be taken as the only truth. The creativity behind Derek Waters Drunk History is the play on the narrator. Derek Waters, takes someone who is emotionally invested into a historical event, gives them an enormous amount of alcohol (which EVERYONE knows only intensifies emotions) and waits for the mix to explode. The real creative credit should be directed toward the actors, who word for word, as well as, action for action (hiccupping in Episode 3) is what seals the deal. Additionally, credit should go to Jeffrey Konner who edits and shoots this series in such a way to capture the “oops” and “hahah’s” of the narrator. Derek Waters is the genius behind the talent, but that’s as far as his name should go with in this webisode series.

Cooking With Rockstars

Cooking with Rockstars is the side project of Jennifer Robbins, the producer, host, and sometimes editor of the show. Cooking with Rockstars is exactly what it sounds. Every once in a while when Jen gets a chance she will sit down one of her favorite musicians for an interview but unlike any other interview, this conversation is about food. CWR is primarily a music show where the artists get to talk about themselves, and secondly a cooking show where they teach Jen and the viewers how to cook. Every featured guest on the show has to contribute a recipe. Some are as simple as toast, others are intricately detailed recipes that can feed up to 28 people! Some starts are interviewed outside of a venue or in a diner, while others get the opportunity to actually cook in a kitchen in front of a camera.

Since this show is very much content oriented the quality definitely takes a back seat. Like any good web show there aren't any fast movements or weird angels, this show is very straight on. Most of the time it is a two shot of Jen and the featured artist and their respective close-ups. For other shows where the artists get to cook the visuals become much more interesting. For example, the All For Nots episode includes close-ups of the food that is being prepared and cooked. There are also reaction shots and cutaways, all of which makes the show that much more visually interesting. The episodes are edited in Final Cut and posted on her website along with Blip.tv. Along with footage of the host and the guest, the show includes footage of the artist performing Jen's website, www.cookingwithrockstars.com, is a great tool that enhances the web show. Attached to each episode is the recipe information about the artist, links to their music and a discography. There is also some behind the scenes information about the episode that tells who shot and edited the episode along with where the interview took place.

Unlike most other web shows this one does not have a story arc, it doesn't have a narrative. In short, it is not a series. Every episode can stand on it's own with out others. Another interesting part is that this show was started in 2002, earlier then most content for the web, back when the internet was still a baby. As a cooking show and as a music show it definitely accomplishes it's goals. After watching the show I feel more informed about some of my favorite artists and I get the urge to go in the kitchen and start cooking,

As for marketing and advertising for the show I feel that because of the nature of the show it would be very simple. Any one who like indie music or food would love this show. This is especially attractive to young folks who like to try new food and flavors.

Good Web-Series, Now Just Make It For The Web

The web-series Break A Leg – The Sitcom is a good well-written series. The show is about a new writer who gets his show picked up by a network. The only problem is that the producer he gets is a moron who has no funding for the show along with no real set. All of the characters in the show are well developed such as Jennifer, a man hired as an artistic director that is always cutting a piece of fruit but never actually eating it, and Sebastian, the producer who always has a hands-free phone device and an energy drink in his hand. The cast is not just faced with no funding though. There is a threat of a tabloid publishing information about the actors in Break A Leg and the actors threaten to leave the show if the information gets published. Not only does this poor writer have to deal with a moronic producer and director, fundraising, and re-writing scenes because they casted two people who are the same person but the writer is the only one that realizes this, he has to deal with this circus of cast members who are threatening to walk at any moment.
Although Break A Leg – The Sitcom is well written, it is produced for TV not for the web. Each episode of the series is a 13 minutes act of a three act show, for instance there is episode one act one, act two, and act three. With each act being about thirteen minutes long I found myself loosing interest by the end. This show is also shot to be on TV as well. The lighting is nothing great and even worked the lights into the script so we see some lights in the shots and the audio just isn’t great at times. The way it was shot is done in a way of Arrested Development or The Office, which Break A Leg is styled after. I like stuff that is shot like The Office but it does not transfer well into the internet video and compression world. Break A Leg has a lot of wide hand held shots and slam zooms. All the movement in the frame of view does not compress well and you can see a lot of artifacts in the video. The style is there and it would look good on a TV but we are not viewing this show on TV and that is something the director should have taken into account when shooting this series.
Break A Leg – The Sitcom is a worthy mention of a web-series to check out if you want a laugh. The comedy is funny and the gags are pretty good. If you are looking for a show like Arrested Development look no further. The writing is there to make this a good series and the writing is what holds this series up because the production is such low budget. Although the quality of the production is a little lacking and close ups are missing this is a good web series to check out if you want something new and funny.