Really study what types of formats have been working online that you resonate with: get a feel for what works in the current ecosystem of online video. Sometimes, that passion-project you really want to do is not the way to start.
Benny Fine
A mockumentary is supposed to be real, and we were frustrated with mockumentaries on TV, which are so rampant because of the success of 'The Office.' It's not real. You watch and ask why is there even a crew there. They never set it up in the narrative. You have a documentary crew following families for reasons we don't understand.
As a creator, I want my content to be where people can watch it.
Being web video 'experts'/'pioneers,' whatever you may want to call us, has us always thinking about content that is outside the box, inherently viral in itself and good for web video audiences, as you can't just put out a good piece of content and expect it to be seen.
We are always taking a hard look at how life was in the past in coming up with interesting subject matter for our various series, and remembering how much I used to want an encyclopedia as a kid made me realize wanting a set is very unlikely for teens today, and that conversation would be interesting.
The whole upbringing was interesting because we grew up Orthodox Jews all the way until we were teenagers.
The parallel we like to make.... is the idea of becoming the next Warner Brothers, which is a company that creates the content, but they also produce the content. They also distribute; they also market. So we say that because Fine Bros. and Warner Brothers is fun to say.
That's part of the 'MyMusic' idea: things that work online are the things that don't stop. If you go off the air for a long time, there's a concern about losing certain fans and momentum.
We have a full writers' room, and with something like 'MyMusic,' we've scripted it out with professional writers. There is some very basic improv from the actors, but everything is very to the letter, so it's easy to edit down to an episode. There are fun little things an actor might throw in there.
When you create series and products, sometimes there's specific situations where your content is being infringed... in very rare cases, somebody produces a beat-by-beat version of your exact series, which has happened to us.
In a pre-YouTube world, and in the beginning of the YouTube world, it was more personality-based and centered around very simple content.
There's a new success model, and us and some of our peers are now starting to prove that TV and very traditional content also works on the Internet, specifically on YouTube, and it can rival television audiences and television production value. 'MyMusic' is proof of that, having a successful run and now coming back for a second season.
'MyMusic' is a great showcase of what we can do as creators on a modest budget when we're given the opportunity to put together a television-sized project, and hopefully, whether it's 'MyMusic' making that transition to television or having something sprout off from it, it's an exciting time to be a creator.
Windows 95 had its 20th anniversary last year, so we got our hands on an old system and showed it to teenagers who were not even alive in 1995. The results were pretty great and also makes you feel quite old.
From early on... we really looked at the Internet as a whole new way to provide storytelling and entertainment.
There will be four ancillary shows on the MyMusic channel, and we'll be updating an entire blog with up-to-the-minute music news. You can visit it like BuzzFeed or Pitchfork and get album reviews. It's all as part of the sitcom experience, written by the characters.
We look at 'MyMusic' as the future of the sitcom.
We'll be reporting music news every week and have real bands coming and performing on 'MyMusic,' interacting with the fictional cast as though they were real.
It's very rare for the Internet to have a successful narrative show like 'MyMusic.' It's really a case study for what is the future of the sitcom.
