Can Web Series Destabilise Traditional Notions of Script Development?
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Australian Screen Production Education & Research Association “It’s the Wild West out there”: Can web series destabilise traditional notions of script development? Annual Conference Refereed Paper ASPERA Annual Conference 2015: “What’s This Space? Screen Practice, Audiences and Education for the Future Decade” Stayci Taylor RMIT University [email protected] Abstract This paper proposes that the concept of ‘script development’—already an ambiguous and arguably unexamined term—is further complicated by the rise of the ‘webisode’, drawing from existing discourse and scholarship on web series, much of which focuses upon (and/or problematises) an assumed amateur/professional binary that would cast online media as ‘other’. But, as this paper argues, while this distinction is being debated, a space opens up within which web series creators are making their own rules. In other words, ‘the Wild West’ landscape of web series, where ‘both the newbie and the veteran can create their own shows without permission from, or the approval of, traditional electronic media networks and studios which historically served as gatekeepers’ (LA Web Fest Founder Michael Ajakwe, quoted in Liang 2013), might be facilitating new practices of script development which, given the crossover success of many web series creatives, might be infiltrating those of the mainstream. Acknowledging the multiple meanings attached to the notion of ‘web series’, this paper wonders how previous ideas of script development are challenged when ‘Audiences can now watch what they want, when they want, which, in turn, means that [television] shows no longer have to be packaged in 30- or 60-minute instalments’ (Brown 2011). Ultimately this paper takes an optimistic view of the potential of web series to destabilise established script development practices towards new and more useful processes for screenwriters and their collaborators, even perhaps facilitating more diversity of characters and stories. Refereed Proceedings: Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association Annual Conference (2015) 1 What’s This Space? Screen Practice, Audiences and Education for the Future Decade 15-17 July. Introduction Discussing the rise of web series on the morning news show of a mainstream television network, Roseanne Liang, writer/ director of the New Zealand web series Flat3 (2013-14), describes the online landscape thusly: ‘It’s the Wild West out there’ (2014). Anna Kerrigan, creator of the award winning web series The Impossibilities (2015), would appear to agree, revealing: ‘Though I’ve learned a lot about making narrative for the web, I am probably just scratching the surface. It is an ever-changing landscape, a Wild West for content that is both exciting and intimidating’ (Kerrigan 2015). It is a pervasive analogy, not only among creators but also those contributing to the literature. Marx Pyle asks: ‘Are you ready to become a pioneer, blazing your own trail through the future of entertainment?’ (Pyle 2014, xvi). Ross Brown makes a similar claim, noting: ‘Webisodes are the Wild West of Hollywood, a vast expanse of territory with unlimited potential just begging to be explored and mined’ (Brown 2011, xii). Regardless of the metaphors employed, running through the discourse on web series appears to be the agreement that there are no regulations; Dan Williams describes the phenomenon as ‘an evolving, ever-changing medium. It is a young industry with few templates and even fewer rules’ (Williams 2012, 16). This paper proposes that the concept of ‘script development’—already an ambiguous and arguably under-examined term—is further troubled by this apparently lawless landscape that has emerged with the rise of the web series. However, this paper must also first acknowledge that its central proposition is already complicated by the question of what defines a web series, given that the sheer range of online narrative content would suggest the same breadth again of attendant script development practices, especially given the increasing involvement of national government funding bodies, major studios, and platforms like Netflix (more on that to come). It is probably useful to note, however, that although web series with big budgets or mainstream backers have writers that may be required to develop their scripts within the same traditional models that will soon be discussed, these series still share the space with those who are working outside the rules, that is to say, mainstream script development practices do not have a monopoly on the online space as they do, arguably, elsewhere. Moreover, scripts developed within or outside the mainstream structures have the same access to such behemoth distribution platforms as YouTube and thus, theoretically, to an audience. With that in mind, it is from the perspective of screen writing practice that this paper functions as a review of the emerging literature and discourse around web series, particularly as it might pertain to new and evolving cultures of script development. Existing scholarship tends to focus upon and/or problematise an assumed amateur/professional binary that would cast online content as ‘other’. But, as this paper argues, while this distinction is being debated, a space opens up within which web series screenwriters are making their own rules. This discussion will first attempt to define the concepts of ‘web series’ and ‘script development’ (if only for the purposes of our discussion), before arguing that through practices involving risk taking, audience engagement and subversion of familiar forms, web series writers are contributing to a new culture of script development and creating not only a diversity of practice, but also, perhaps, an accompanying diversity of content. Refereed Proceedings: Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association Annual Conference (2015) 2 What’s This Space? Screen Practice, Audiences and Education for the Future Decade 15-17 July. Web Series – TV or not TV? Tracking the genesis of what we now call web series is certainly beyond the scope of this paper, but the rise of the web series is variously attributed to the Hollywood writers’ strike of 2007 or the hoax-come-phenomenon of fictitious vlogger LonelyGirl15 (2006-08) . More useful, perhaps, is to review how those writing about and/or creating web series delineate the term. Brown defines the concept of ‘web series’ by breaking it down to its component parts: ‘A webisode (or web episode) is an individual instalment of an ongoing premise with recurring characters’ (Brown 2011, 1). Brown’s how-to guide, Byte-sized Television: Create Your Own TV Series for the Internet (2011), appears to assume the online component of web series begins and ends with its distribution method. Although acknowledging differences in episode length and audience engagement, and referencing some web series in the first two chapters, the guide otherwise charts a course through developing a traditional television series, using examples of the same. Pyle likewise subsumes television into his definition, but not because of its seriality, which he suggests has evolved separately. ‘Web television’ he writes, is ‘Original television content produced for broadcast via the Internet. Part of this recently emerging medium are web series, a series of videos often in episodic form’ (Pyle 2014, xvi). Williams has a different view, and disputes the use of the term web television: ‘…what is ‘television’ if it is not being watched on a TV? These new online programmes are broken into episodes and feel relatively like abbreviated versions of traditional television shows. However, many of them feature subject matter, use production techniques, and are uniquely structured in ways that differ greatly from their TV equivalents. Watching ‘web television’ is a very different viewing experience than simply watching a TV show on your computer’ (Williams 2012, 12). Others believe the web series is still evolving into its medium. Liang acknowledges the potential of this sort of online content but believes it is not yet being fully realised, telling an interviewer: ‘I think the web series is still trying to find its form; namely the modes of storytelling that can only be done in a web series. There’s already been lots of innovation, but for example Flat3 is still a little like short episodic TV. I wonder if there’s something we can be doing that can only be done in a web series?’ (Laing 2013). Pioneer One (2010) web series co-creator Josh Bernard has likewise said, ‘I think there’s an attitude that web content is a “less- than” form, and people limit their thinking’ (Williams 2012, 66). By contrast, Williams elaborates that: ‘Many web series find success because of how different they are from traditional TV shows. They can feature choppy editing and over-the-top acting, deal with topical subjects almost instantaneously, and are usually forgiven for mediocre production quality - aspects that usually are not acceptable in traditional media’ (Williams 2012, 25-6). This notion of low production value in web series is one that is disputed by other commentators, including Mike Jones who, in his web log, argues against assumptions that online content falls easily within the categories of ‘short, comic, amateur and simple’, and disputes hard distinctions made between computer and television screens (Jones 2011). Dee Majek agrees, noting: Refereed Proceedings: Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association Annual Conference (2015) 3 What’s This Space? Screen Practice, Audiences and Education for the Future Decade 15-17 July. “much of the discussion surrounding online video production is based on vague or weakly defined notions of ‘amateur’ and ‘professional.’ This amateur/professional dichotomy tends to hinge on the unfortunate assumption that content produced for online viewing is by nature ‘amateur,’ because ‘professional’ content is produced for the television set and movie theatre” (Majek 2012, 2). These assumptions are unfounded according to Marseille Web Fest founder and president Jean Michel Albert who points out that ‘a web series has much more of a chance to be seen by [an international audience] than a classic TV series.