Post by Terryfic on Dec 2, 2006 9:47:26 GMT -5
A new post by Miles
” I would like to clarify a few things:
1) Greg's statement was incorrect and based on an estimate of processor load. He didn't have the full information. We did not know the exact numbers at the time and since analyzing our webstats we have determined that we were wrong. The number was closer to 30,000 unique visitors. I apologize for our mis-statement. It was merely an error... everyone makes mistakes.”
I’m glad they are finally admitting to this very clear mistake. I can only wonder if they would have done so if people hadn’t called them on it and I am curious as to what number they give to potential advertisers. I guess lying is a big part of how business and Hollywood works, but that doesn’t mean I like it and I hope that internet media can avoid these same treacherous pitfalls. Perhaps I am just naïve, but I would like IMS to have a very different culture than that of Hollywood.
”2) Revver has their own opinion and own agenda. "Substantial money" is a subjective statement that has very little bearing on the actual dollar amount we are making. I would definitely not have used the word "substantial." We are making a small amount of money from Revver that only covers a miniscule fraction of our operating expenses.”
This is a more than fair statement. I have always agreed with Vanilla that Revver’s click though plan would never let people make substantial green.
” 3) Wired likes to make things sound rosy because it sells more magazines. The dollar figure they quoted is exaggerated... and it's revenue... not profit. It costs us a lot more than $10,000 a month to produce this show. Bear in mind that one episode of "Lost" costs several million dollars. Entertainment is not cheap. The fact that we are able to do this so inexpensively is because our team (Miles, Mesh, Greg, Amanda, Kevin) works CONSTANTLY and each of us is doing the job of five people. This is truly a labor of love. Miles, Mesh, Greg and Amanda are currently unpaid and draining their savings. We are paying the actors and Kevin so they can make their rent.”
I don’t really understand why claiming that M&M make more revenue than they do would help sell more copies of Wired, but I will take their word on that. The Lost comparison is absurd. A better comparison would be with an indie film like Clerks (27,575) or Blair Witch (25,000) and that is for about 80-90 min of film (or 27-30 LG episodes at 3 min at piece). So from those estimates it would cost about 25,000 to make a month’s worth of LG if they released an episode almost everyday. I think that number is inflated since it would assume they had to buy all the equipment again each month, when clearly they can keep using the same camera and props. It is hard to disagree with the statement that this is a “labour of love” as it is clearly not a source of income, but that doesn’t really make them unique in the world of internet video. I think everyone producing work for YouTube/LiveVideo/Revver is doing it because they love to and not for a living.
” 4) Your contributions help. We are in the process of working with advertisers. We have multiple revenue streams in the works including banner ads, sponsorships, product integration, premium accounts, mobile content deals, DVD's, merchandise, etc. We want to continue producing lonelygirl15 as long as their is an audience but we need to make money to survive. We hope you will continue with us in this journey. We promise that we will let you know when we start deciding how to make money... tell you about product integration, talk about our sponsors, etc. We hope you will support us.
Thanks
Miles/The Creators”
banner ads are ok, firefox blocks them for me , but when I am using IE they tend to make the site lag.
I think sponsorships and product integration are some of the better ideas for making money, it is a direction that I have heard television is going. You could very easily have something where after an episode you tell the audience where to buy the props seen in that episode. The WB use to do this with an ad for the music featured in that episode. As long as you were able to do it seamlessly, like just having a link to the store that sells the dress that Jess wore in that episode or something and not forced like the Wayne’s World fake ad placement.
Premium accounts sound pretty sketchy to me. I don’t really like the idea of exclusivity and that only people willing to pay enough are allowed to truly enjoy the series. I think I would have to hear more about this idea before I pass judgement on it.
Mobile content deals, this is what Vanilla has been hyping for sometime. I have used a cell phone maybe once or twice in my life so I don’t have too much to say on this topic. I can imagine subscribing to a service that let you watch these videos along with many others, but I can’t see people paying to watch each individual episode.
DVD & merchandise are pretty classic ways to make money.
Overall, I’m glad they are finally talking with their fans a lot more. Although it seems they are often still talking at their fans rather than with them.
” I would like to clarify a few things:
1) Greg's statement was incorrect and based on an estimate of processor load. He didn't have the full information. We did not know the exact numbers at the time and since analyzing our webstats we have determined that we were wrong. The number was closer to 30,000 unique visitors. I apologize for our mis-statement. It was merely an error... everyone makes mistakes.”
I’m glad they are finally admitting to this very clear mistake. I can only wonder if they would have done so if people hadn’t called them on it and I am curious as to what number they give to potential advertisers. I guess lying is a big part of how business and Hollywood works, but that doesn’t mean I like it and I hope that internet media can avoid these same treacherous pitfalls. Perhaps I am just naïve, but I would like IMS to have a very different culture than that of Hollywood.
”2) Revver has their own opinion and own agenda. "Substantial money" is a subjective statement that has very little bearing on the actual dollar amount we are making. I would definitely not have used the word "substantial." We are making a small amount of money from Revver that only covers a miniscule fraction of our operating expenses.”
This is a more than fair statement. I have always agreed with Vanilla that Revver’s click though plan would never let people make substantial green.
” 3) Wired likes to make things sound rosy because it sells more magazines. The dollar figure they quoted is exaggerated... and it's revenue... not profit. It costs us a lot more than $10,000 a month to produce this show. Bear in mind that one episode of "Lost" costs several million dollars. Entertainment is not cheap. The fact that we are able to do this so inexpensively is because our team (Miles, Mesh, Greg, Amanda, Kevin) works CONSTANTLY and each of us is doing the job of five people. This is truly a labor of love. Miles, Mesh, Greg and Amanda are currently unpaid and draining their savings. We are paying the actors and Kevin so they can make their rent.”
I don’t really understand why claiming that M&M make more revenue than they do would help sell more copies of Wired, but I will take their word on that. The Lost comparison is absurd. A better comparison would be with an indie film like Clerks (27,575) or Blair Witch (25,000) and that is for about 80-90 min of film (or 27-30 LG episodes at 3 min at piece). So from those estimates it would cost about 25,000 to make a month’s worth of LG if they released an episode almost everyday. I think that number is inflated since it would assume they had to buy all the equipment again each month, when clearly they can keep using the same camera and props. It is hard to disagree with the statement that this is a “labour of love” as it is clearly not a source of income, but that doesn’t really make them unique in the world of internet video. I think everyone producing work for YouTube/LiveVideo/Revver is doing it because they love to and not for a living.
” 4) Your contributions help. We are in the process of working with advertisers. We have multiple revenue streams in the works including banner ads, sponsorships, product integration, premium accounts, mobile content deals, DVD's, merchandise, etc. We want to continue producing lonelygirl15 as long as their is an audience but we need to make money to survive. We hope you will continue with us in this journey. We promise that we will let you know when we start deciding how to make money... tell you about product integration, talk about our sponsors, etc. We hope you will support us.
Thanks
Miles/The Creators”
banner ads are ok, firefox blocks them for me , but when I am using IE they tend to make the site lag.
I think sponsorships and product integration are some of the better ideas for making money, it is a direction that I have heard television is going. You could very easily have something where after an episode you tell the audience where to buy the props seen in that episode. The WB use to do this with an ad for the music featured in that episode. As long as you were able to do it seamlessly, like just having a link to the store that sells the dress that Jess wore in that episode or something and not forced like the Wayne’s World fake ad placement.
Premium accounts sound pretty sketchy to me. I don’t really like the idea of exclusivity and that only people willing to pay enough are allowed to truly enjoy the series. I think I would have to hear more about this idea before I pass judgement on it.
Mobile content deals, this is what Vanilla has been hyping for sometime. I have used a cell phone maybe once or twice in my life so I don’t have too much to say on this topic. I can imagine subscribing to a service that let you watch these videos along with many others, but I can’t see people paying to watch each individual episode.
DVD & merchandise are pretty classic ways to make money.
Overall, I’m glad they are finally talking with their fans a lot more. Although it seems they are often still talking at their fans rather than with them.