Inspiring Websites/people/programs

I am well aware I have again failed to keep the blog updated and I haven't produced videos of the studio as I think I said I would last time. Iv'e decided not to make videos incase you see all my cool stuff and come and rob me!

Today I am going to talk about website that I find inspiring that I recomend you check out. I find them inspiring for a number of reasons the people who make them and their content. The following is a list and descriptions so please read on.

Angry Video Game Nerd/James Rolf
I cam across the angry video game nerd while at Uni trying to avoid doing some work. The AVGN is a  web series staring and made by the film maker James Rolf. Theres over a hundred AVGN episodes, he has also worked on other web series and produced his own short films. So if you are trying to procrastinate and want something funny check this out.
James Rolf seems like a cool guy and seeing his work is really motivating. He made a joke game review and uploaded it to youtube and the AVGN took off from there. He's currently working on a feature film of the character. I really like the do it you self culture and use of the internet to self publish work and to find an audience. This is what I am working towards making my own films for the internet.

Nostalgia Critic/Doug Walker
While watching the AVGN nostalgia critic kept coming up on the side on youtube and eventually I checked him out as well. The first episode I watched was his review of He-Man and She-Ra christmas special which is so funny definitely worth a look. I again find him inspiring for similar reasons to AVGN as it is a DIY show that he makes a living off. As well as the Nostalgia Critic he does lots of other shows the other most famous is the 5 second movies.

The Guild/Felicia Day
The Guild was a business model I was advised to look after i had finished pitching my project on the Transform@lab last year. I had watched a couple of episodes before but never really got to fussed about it. When I finally sat down and watched it from the beginning I then proceeded to binge watch all 5 seasons. This series is a comedy and follows a group of gamers who play a warcraft clone called the game. The series is created by Felicia Day who is an actress that wanted to expand the parts she played so created the guild. It was originally meant to be a television series but her producer suggested turning it in to a web series. The first episode were self funded until they ran out of money. They then added a pay pal button for donations and managed to fund the rest of the series. Microsoft came in and said they would begin to sponsor the series and the guild has continue since. It is now transferring to the youtube channel Geek and sundry. Felicia Days channel that also hosts lots of other cool programs.

Zero Punctuation
This is a web series I have only recently discovered. A new episode comes out each week and and they are comedy reviews of computer games. The reviews take the format of a high speed commentary with minimalist animation. I don't really find this so much as inspiring more just really funny and great when Im having a quick break from doing some work.

Zak Ryder
Zak Ryder is a professional wrestler with WWE and from that it may sound like he has already made it in his career choice. He was actually a failing wrestler who no one liked and was barely on television. He started producing a you tube show Long Island Iced Z to try to make a connection with the fans and save his career. As it turned out it worked audiences in attendance at show started chanting his name and demanding he come out. Eventually he started being featured on the TV shows, has a DVD and tons of merchandise. He still does his show though it is now featured on WWE's youtube channel. The episode are mostly comedy based and padded out with lots of catch-phrases but its a great example of some one picking up a camera and using the internet to find an audience. Since Zak Ryder has been so successful the WWE has heavily embraced social media and now you can barely see the wrestling as there are so many images of social media logos on the screen.

Well thats all I can be bothered to do at the moment i might do something like this again in the future. I've some cool stuff Im going to be working on in the coming months for now you will just have to wait probably for another 6 month before I update the blog again.

Rich