The Streamy Awards – An unmitigated disaster

The Second Annual Streamy Awards happened on Sunday night, and it was a train wreck from beginning to end. So bad, in fact, that the vast majority of people involved should have nothing to do with the show in the future. Does that sound a little extreme? Perhaps you didn’t see the show.

The disaster really happened in two parts. First, the “technical difficulties” — that’s the polite way people are trying to describe what happened. I’ve seen some people say they can give the show a pass on those difficulties, but I suspect they were in attendance and didn’t get the full effect of watching the show’s broadcast. In truth, there wasn’t so much technical difficulties as there was incompetence at every turn. Seriously. It was cringe-inducing.

Every last aspect of the production was horrible. The audio was all over the place. A clip would show and the volume would jump up. Cut back to the presenter and their mic was off. Then it was quiet, or loud. It was like every switch of audio involved a spin of the random volume generator. That wasn’t the worst of the audio problems though. Viewers were also treated to a low — just loud enough to be annoying — audio track coming from somewhere in the production. Through presentations, acceptance speeches, and clips, there was always this other conversation going on, and on, for the whole show.

The video was no better. There were cuts to cameras that weren’t where they were supposed to be, and strange shots of the back of the speakers’ heads. One video clip stopped in the middle. Another just didn’t play, handing viewers a black screen instead … and one was for a completely different category. It was, at every opportunity, as bad as it could be. And that wasn’t the worst part.

Things actually get worse when you consider the content. In my Streamy reminder post I quoted the site. This line is particularly relevant in looking back at what happened Sunday night:

“The Streamy Awards is the first and most prestigious awards ceremony devoted to honoring excellence in original web television programming and those who create it.”

How anyone involved with the show can look back on what we saw and think they were anywhere near living up to that statement is beyond me. And really, that’s too bad. Because that statement does encapsulate what the Streamy Awards should be about. It’s a chance for the still-getting-started industry to shine, and to put their best foot forward with potential new viewers and sponsors.

This was not putting the best foot forward. It was a constant stream of vulgar and offensive bad comedy that did nothing to shine a favorable light on the industry as a whole. Believe me, I’m no prude. And I get that the fact that no holds are barred is one of the strengths of moving to the web. But I also understand that there are horses for courses. And this was not the place for any of that.

One had only to look at the live chat going on next to the show to know that there were a lot of viewers that had no idea about most of these shows. They happened on it because one of their favorite YouTube personalities invited them, or because they watch one show and it was nominated. These are the exact people you want to put a new show in front of. And instead of inviting them in, the show often felt like it was trying to chase them away. You want proof? Even the audience in attendance started leaving early, and some of the web’s brightest stars are apologizing to fans for asking them to watch. Those are not good signs!

Just as bad, how does any of that look to potential sponsors? It’s no secret that getting the scratch together to produce a web show is hard. Nothing that the Streamy Awards presented did anything to help that. In fact, it most likely made it worse. It’s not a big jump to think someone would come away with the reaction that, “I don’t want my brand anywhere near that mess.”

And it’s sad. Because there were some genuinely great stories to be had in there. I love that Bernie Su won for writing in a drama. Compulsions was good enough to earn that award, but the bonus is that Bernie really gets the web series. And he works hard to promote not only his stuff, but that of others. You also had a fantastic moment when Mark Gantt stopped to thank Jesse Warren for believing in him. Sony or not, Mark and Jesse’s story is a great one. And Felicia Day, winning for the second year in a row, was just perfect. In the midst of everything coming apart, she was lovely, classy, and proved that she is the best spokesperson the medium could ever hope for.

These are very talented people doing great work, and that deserves to be respected. Every bit as much as what their peers in television and movies are doing. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case on Sunday night. The longer the night wore on, it didn’t feel like the Streamys were honoring anything about web television. Rather, it felt like a long cruel joke at the expense of web television. The people behind the show should be embarrassed, and they should be stepping away. In their actions on Sunday, they’ve proven that they don’t understand what’s going on, or what their part in the conversation is supposed to be.

Alas, that’s probably not going to happen. Executive producer Brady Brim-Deforest did issue an apology … kind of. I find it curious that none of that appears on the tubefilter or Streamy sites. (Update: An open letter apology posted to the Streamys site.) That aside, the apology isn’t one that offers up a lot of confidence going forward. Brim-Deforest says, “In the writing process, we were focused on individual bits and so we lost track of the show as a cohesive experience. If we had looked at the script as one whole instead of individual bits, I think we would have had a different outcome.” And I have to call bullshit.

Seriously. Anyone that couldn’t read the porn guy sketch and see the giant red flags that said “THIS IS A BAD IDEA” flat out doesn’t get it. And I question if they ever will. Looking at it as a whole has nothing to do with it. On their own, these sketches were horribly conceived and should have never made it to paper, let alone the broadcast. Or maybe someone would like to enlighten me as to how telling the shining star of the medium that you have an ocean of semen waiting for her honors excellence in web television? Come on….

If there is a silver lining, Brim-Deforest did add that they are looking for a line-producer to manage the show next year, but that he and the other tubefilter principles will still be involved. Here’s hoping that the new producer has a lot of control over content. He also promises that next year will be a real celebration of the community. But then, that’s what they said this year too, right?

Honestly, I came away from the whole thing just terribly disappointed. It was such a great opportunity and it was just wasted. I write the Webisode column here because I love web television and I’m excited about its future. It’s so fun to fire up the browser and see something as beautiful as Lumina pop up, laugh with the Safety Geeks and Seeking Simone, or watch something like The Bannen Way and realize just how far it’s all come. And the people that create it are just amazing. I want them all to have their moment in the sun so the industry as a whole can grow, and we can all enjoy what they’ll do next.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Apr 13, 2010 @ 11:30 EST5EDT