FULL REVIEW

What do you want to watch on TV tonight? No longer do we have only three broadcast channels to choose from. The internet has fundamentally altered the way we engage in a vast array of activities from purchasing, reading, social networking, referencing information, the list goes on... And the internet also has seen the evolution of another notable media format amongst many others – that of television, where any given subject can be viewed (network censorship pending) around the globe. It has allowed the democratisation of the format - a broadcast medium that doesn't require governmental licensing or commercial financing – anyone can get involved. But to be successful, or at least recognised, a wider understanding of the format and processes involved will be hugely beneficial, which is where Web TV Series... How to Make and Market Them comes in. Dan Williams provides the background and information you need to start a Web TV series, whilst encouraging you to develop your own individuality and creative processes. Williams gives examples of successful Web TV formats and then shows how to construct a show (and the hint here is in the title, this is not a quick guide to a one-off viral piece) and, more importantly, get it viewed, appreciated and develop a following for further episodes. The aim is to create a professional looking TV series that is eminently suitable for the digital age. Williams has experience broadcasting online and covers the key elements needed to plan and produce a Web TV project, raising issues that you may not consider to be so important at the initial conception stage but, in fact, prove to be invaluable advice. Williams examines the marketability of ideas, the viability of the concept and then discusses the potentially painful topic of financing. This emerges as a key element - the marketing of your Web TV series requires financing beforehand in order to ensure its realisation and define its success. This places your endeavour, whether it be artistic, humorous or revolutionary in a vital place – that of a business, and one that requires a defined business plan. Williams does not seek to tell you what works and what does not in terms of narrative and visual ideas although he does helpfully provide examples for reference and comparison, including complete scripts of Web TV episodes, such as one from the author's own Asylum. Additionally, the elements of pre-production and production are broken down in detail. The book contains a large number of interviews with people who have been involved in the whole process so a variety of differing perspectives and the experiences of others are also considered. If you have, for whatever reason, wished to be part of the web broadcast media and develop your own TV series, then Web TV Series... How to Make and Market Them really puts the whole process in perspective. You'll decide for sure whether yours is a concept just waiting to happen or awaken to the realities of the work involved to realise it.

Leo White

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