(From Romow.com)
Disney is imagining just such a scenario, and has produced the first ultra-short form sitcom: called “Squeegees.”
Squeegees is being produced by Stage Nine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Disney Corporation which is dedicated to integrating online and television content. Stage Nine’s mission is to exploit the popularity of Web video sites such as YouTube and Myspace, and develop original programming designed to bridge the gap between online and television entertainment.
The new mini sitcoms are approximately 5 minutes long — and that’s including commercials! They will be debuted on both YouTube and ABC.com. Squeegees is a comedy about four characters who wash windows for living, clinging to the edges of high-rise buildings in Manhattan.
The article voices a familiar question: "Is it possible to grow to love and empathize with characters they see only briefly in five minute intervals?" It's a standard question, but people seem to forget two key points.1) People like to return to fun characters. Lorne Michaels has made fortunes based on this fact.
2) Brevity limits the scope of storytelling, but doesn't hurt the immediacy. Five minute shows live or die on how well the characters are set up.
Apparently SQUEEGEES hasn't hit the sweet spot, but that's just a matter of cracking the formula. I always liken it to comic strips - vivid characters live and breathe in four panels a day, but it took decades to figure out the format for the modern strip:
Modern comic strip:
Early comic strip:
If Disney wants to succeed with the five-minute online sitcom, it will need to take lessons from many of the most popular contributors on YouTube: keep it simple and keep it real.
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