Original online video is a producer’s playground. Unlike in television, where they hand you a four-inch-thick manual on regulations and format, on the web the only rule is “don’t suck.”

But you can’t just slap any old thing into an embed-window, either. I write, interview, produce, and direct, plus develop treatments (for series, segments, or one-offs), establish production timelines, and hire crew (if necessary). I can also edit and shoot. Whatever the project, the end result is the same: original video content that doesn’t suck.

The Monitor: Scientific American wanted a regular news-roundup vodcast with short turnaround time and a minimum of production-related “moving parts” (camera, lights, etc). I created an original format called an inscreen, which combines screencasting and vlogging techniques with a familiar multi-segment newscast format. The result is a nimble workflow with a concise turnaround time, and a final product that plays on the actual experience of consuming news on the web — namely, using the computer desktop as one’s own personal “Situation Room.”

The series made a strong debut on iTunes and was featured on Blip.tv’s homepage. After the first episode, Scientific American promoted the series from biweekly to weekly for an open-ended run.

Instant Egghead: Scientific American wanted a regular video counterpart to its popular 60-Second Science audio podcast, which would have broad appeal on iTunes, covering “big ideas” in science such as dark matter & quantum computing. I developed a how-to format, in which the on-camera expert (culled from SciAm’s staff) “explains how to explain” a complicated scientific topic quickly, using everyday office objects. I directed the non-professional talent in a hybrid of scripted lines and interview-driven improvisation.

The series debuted in iTunes’ Top Ten Podcasts, rising above National Geographic, The Onion, and NPR’s Talk of the Nation. Science teachers have also responded that they are using the segments as class material. The full 8-episode run will extend through summer ‘08.

NPR’s Bryant Park Project: Correspondent/Producer Win Rosenfeld hired me to develop a pilot segment for NPR’s new web-video initiative. To appeal to NPR’s web-savvy online audience, I researched, wrote and produced a magazine-format minidocumentary about social behavior in Second Life, with YouTube-style standups, simultaneous split-screen links between the correspondent and expert (who was on the opposite coast), and a real-time “virtual field shoot” in Second Life itself.

The segment generated major traffic and commenting, and was quickly featured on BoingBoing.net and Slashdot.

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