As YouTube continues to encourage creators across genres to continue honing their craft, it seems as though the homegrown cooking star genre is very ripe in fact it’s really heating up for some break out stars… (Please no tomato hurling.)

We’ve seen cover song artists, vloggers of course, and make up tutors really pop in terms of popularity… (among other genres) but the next YouTube bred cook has yet to be discovered.  Unless of course we’re missing somebody great, please let us know.

There are Vegan Zombies, Vegan Black Metal Chefs, girls who booze and cook, dudes that booze and cook… And more copycats who jump on the same schtick.  But who’s really compelling and makes great stuff???  That’s TBD IMHO.

While we’re not the first to scoop this trend, there are several ‘traditional’ media outlets covering this simmering story, including the LA Times and Time… Consider us first to cover the fact that it’s getting covered.

Epic Meal Time’s popularity is a little lost on me to be honest.  After the novelty of the ridiculous heart attack inducing recipe joke is had, seems to be a one trick pony.

After I mentioned this trend to my dad, he thought he’d take matters into his own hands and hired a high school student with a camera to help bring his vision to life.  He’s actually an incredible cook… And his iniativie has inspired me to help support his cause.  We’re gonna build his YouTube channel… so keep your eyes peeled, as we get SERIOUS!

Barry Good Food Tumblr / Barry Good Food YouTube Channel

I first met our friend and one-time collaborator, Nathan Marshall, at an independent TV conference when web video was really just budding.  Fast forward 4 or so years, and Nathan has co-written and directed an ambitious TV 1/2 hour pilot, “about a couple in LA who are so underwater on their mortgage that they can’t afford to break up.”

The teaser is funny, and looks nothing short of broadcast quality (though they’re seeking finishing funds on their kickstarter, where you can gain more info.)  The cast is impressive, (includes Rachel Nichols (Criminal Minds, GI Joe), Brooke Nevin (Breakout Kings, The 4400) and Barry Bostwick (Spin City, Cougartown). We can’t wait to see a full series, fingers crossed, and definitely check out their KS page.

We sat with Nathan to ask a few questions as they relate to his self-produced pilot and the broader world of video.

UC: Producing your own pilot is a bold, ambitious, and really gangster move… Have their been any past examples of people funding and shooting their own pilot, and it resulting in being picked up, produced, financed? What prompted this?

NM:  That’s me—totally gangster! No, you know, it was a choice that came out of my background as a commercial director and before that as a film student. In both cases, I’ve learned how to make sure that dollars spent show up on screen. With a great script and great actors we’re in a time now when professional quality TV production is truly within reach at a lower cost than it’s ever been before… My writing partner Michael Traynor and I came up with an idea that felt doable—and with the right cast we knew we could create a competitive show. They’re still the exception, but indy pilots have been shot and sold and aired before, including Party Down, Louie, Partners, Greg & Donny and the kid’s show Imagination Movers. There’s also a rich history of spec pilots being sold then re-shot, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—and of course South Park.

UC: Understand if you can’t speak to this, but you have some big name working actors featured… are they contractually attached to the show should it get picked up?

NM: Michael and I spent a lot of time crafting roles that we thought actors would enjoy playing. Every character has laugh lines and story arcs… Every character spends a fair amount of time on screen. Just to be blunt about it—we knew the only way we were gonna get the show made was to first attach actors who would mean something to investors. We essentially adapted the indy film model to a TV pilot, then went out to our dream cast and managed to attach almost all of them, including Rachel Nichols, Brooke Nevin, Barry Bostwick, Jude Angelini, Chris Wylde and Jacory Gums. Everyone essentially donated their time because they loved the writing—but no, we were not able to contractually attach them to the series should it be picked up. Everyone’s behind the show, though, and knows we’d be producing it at a lower-than-average budget. If we can’t work out terms with these folks, I suppose their character might experience an untimely death?! In seriousness, that’s a hurdle yet to cross—but this cast will get our pilot seen by everyone in town and we’ve all talked about taking this group with us into series.

UC: What cameras did you shoot on?

NM: Canon 5Ds with spectacular lenses… Except for our underwater title sequence which we shot on a GoPro.

UC: Do you think you’ve proven that network television should and could be produced for a fraction of the cost (save for talent fees of course)?

Yes and no. Most of the cost of network shows (beyond talent fees) come with the speed of their production… We definitely could not have written, shot, edited, scored and screened Underwater in a few weeks or even a couple months on this budget—which is the normal schedule for most network and cable shows. I do think, however, that in the hands of a good director and producer, talking-heavy shows like comedies can be made for much, much less than they are now. And that wave is coming…

UC: What has been your biggest learning thus far on Underwater?

NM: A TV pilot is not a movie! That sounds obvious, but particularly in editing, there’s a whole extra batch of choices to be made about tone, character backgrounds and story reveals that you don’t have to consider in a film. You’re not only creatingthis episode—you’re setting up a potential season of episodes, and the choices you make now are things you could still be dealing with narratively a year from now. The tone is particularly important in a pilot. In our show, we’ve had to be very specific in choosing the right balance between comedy and drama.

UC: What are your thoughts on the YouTube Premium Channel strategy?

NM:  I love it. More channels producing more high-end programming mean more opportunities for show creators. We’d be proud to have Underwater picked up by a premium internet channel. The bottom line is getting to make the show we want to make… The internet is obviously the future of TV. The fact that we look on one LCD screen for one service and a second LCD screen for another service already seems antiquated.

UC: Do you think the scripted webisode world will continue to grow? Any thoughts on the landscape there?

NM:  I think people’s attention spans are growing shorter, and that creates opportunity for well-made webisodes. I think serialized webisodes will almost certainly vanish, while the demand for funny, compelling 1-5 minute stand-alone content will probably go way up. Movies will continue to decline, however.

UC: What’s next on your plate?

NM: First up is finishing Underwater! Another miracle of the modern age is Kickstarter, and it’s allowed us to go directly to sponsors and fans as we try to close out our finishing costs for the show. We’ve got some great rewards—including scripts, posters, dinner parties and baby name giveways—so hopefully people will click through our project page and help support the show. After that, I’m directing three comedy webisodes in March, then shooting a smaller-scale film this summer. I’m really looking forward to what’s coming next for Underwater, however—and am thrilled to get a chance to share it with Urgensia!

As content creators ourselves, we understand what a long journey it can be to develop your own original ideas into successful projects. And we know how important it is to have the right forms of support along the way. There are not many organizations out there who are dedicated to helping emerging artists.

The Alliance for Family Entertainment who have been involved with getting such shows as “Gilmore Girls”, “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Friday Night Lights” on the air are sponsoring a FREE contest. (Full Disclosure: UC is involved with this project! YAY!) They’re looking for comedy screenplays having to do with the modern American family.

The winner will receive $5000, guidance and input from John Wells, whose work includes ER, Third Watch and The West Wing.

Dust off that :30 minute screenplay you polished last year or finish up on the one you started a couple weeks ago. THIS IS WIDE OPEN AND READY FOR THE TAKING!!!!

Submit and additional details here: ComedyWriterContest.com

DEADLINE: October 28th at 11:59 am ET.

The photographer has collaborated with his “super tech friend” Craig Swanson to launch creativeLIVE.com, which is hosting the first Live creative instruction on the ‘net.  Offering everything from Watercolor 101 to Adobe CS5, they claim that what keeps the classes free is that after they air you have to pay to download or re-visit them.  While I recall my BFA from NYU costing slightly more than the iTunes .mp3 of RBL Posse’s A Lesson to be Learned, I’m a sucker for making arts education more accessible.

So the next time you write off professional instruction due to budgetary concerns, remember–no more excuses.

mRelease is the dopest app I’ve seen yet, or most relevant to media creators that is:

Once you have entered basic information about your shoot, for each release you just add some quick details about your subject, an image from the built-in camera or photo library, and get a touch-screen signature – it is that easy! The app creates, stores, and emails you a pdf file of the signed release, including the embedded photo of your subject.

We’re currently looking into the legality of the releases and how they hold up, becasue this is a true game changer.

Link via Alison Davis, thanks.

At least designing a card is the fun part, regardless of what it says. I’d love to get this book, MyOwnBusinessCard, a collection of real designers’ own business cards, published by Marc Praquin at Design and Design. There’s something voyeuristic about scoping the intimate details of creative professionals’ cards, but since they’re designers they really know what they’re doing. My favorite is painter/street artist Matt W. Moore‘s (I learned about the book via his blog), which is both a card and a sick sticker.

Sound good? Then check this out– the Open Video Alliance wants you to explain what Open Video means to you in a 60 second video, for the chance to win a free trip and pass to SXSW Interactive this year. Get the details here, and let us know if you enter– we’ll post your entry on Urgensia.

“You’re laughing at me, aren’t you?” she said.
“Err, uh, huh?”
“You’ve seen my video, and you’re laughing…”
“I’m sorry, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”  I really didn’t.
“Goto YouTube, type 3 words… ’3 times platinum’”

I couldn’t wait to get back from my bike ride to see what awesomeness was in store for me.  God was I intrigued.  Only in this day and age can your mail lady be on her way to Internet famous.  I fucking love the internet…. and Sassy Kool.

So, young indie band, someone in your crew is going to have to sit down and take 20-40 hours to program your song for Rock Band. And if people like it, and buy from the Rock Band store to play it, and maybe wind up becoming an actual fan of your music, then maybe, just maybe, your band has a slim chance of being a somewhat viable project in future. If you take the time, however, and the Rock Band version of your lead single generates no traction, I’m not suggesting you have absolutely no shot. I’m just suggesting you may want to take some time to figure out how to suck less.

(via Joystiq)