FremantleMedia's "comedy vlog drama"

On the 5th April, FremantleMedia launched Project V. Project V is a 12 week comedy told through six vloggers. They are real world performers (mainly comedians) from the UK and US who can vlog about anything. And they do. So, it has the realism aesthetic of ‘LonelyGirl15’ but without the deception; sometimes well executed comedy mixed in with casual (and sometimes boring) rantings; with a plot that is slowly emerging between them. Here is some info from the press release:

Project V showcases the lives and observations of six up and coming young performers from Britain and the US. The site features short-form video postings of each of the six performers – artists, actors and comedians –  talking to each other and to the audience. Audiences can post comments on the performers’ homepages and follow the clues to the unfolding story linking the site’s stars.

What is fun, as with all fictionalised realisms (!), is waiting for the veneer to break. When will we see the real person emerge behind the performance? When will they turn on each other? When will they turn on their producers? When will they turn on us? I’ve found an example of them turning of each other so far: Ruth Pickett’s mashup of her co-vlogger Chris Wydle. This project isn’t perfect, but it is a different approach to many web dramas. FremantleMedia got in performers and comedians for a reason.  Gary Carter, Chief Creative Officer for FMX is quoted as saying:

“As television audiences continue to fragment, it will become essential for producers to understand how to apply their skills to new platforms, learning from television without copying it. We created FMX to explore, create and produce non-linear entertainment brands and experiences for new media. Project V work is I think, a world first and a fantastic learning experience for FremantleMedia, as we exercise our industrial production expertise in this new space.   One of the areas which interests me most is the collaborative possibility opening up:  Project V allows us to collaborate with new talent in a completely different way from most of our work.”

It is an experiment, which is good to see.

Check out: www.project-v.net