Webisode Clack – The Video Makers

Another comedy this week, which I again discovered through the magic of twitter. Allow me to introduce you to The Video Makers. Have you ever been flipping past the History Channel, Discovery, or TLC and thought to yourself, “Who makes all this stuff?” The Video Makers is the bizarro world answer to that question. It takes us behind the scenes of Lowball Productions, which produces just the type of programming you’re used to seeing from those channels.

Well … kind of. And the ‘kind of’ there is really one of the secrets to what really makes the show work. It is, at its core, a parody of the vast array of non-fiction programming that has blown up over the past decade. With that in mind, some of the shows are really out there. Like … Pets of the Third Reich, for example. Still, as silly as that is, it does  make the point that the History Channel is a little crazy for the Hitler. They haven’t stooped to examining his hamsters yet, but….

The line blurs more with some of Lowball’s other productions. They discuss pitching a medical makeover show where people are analyzed based on the drugs they are taking, and then given different drugs to improve their lives. Maybe it’s my inner cynic talking, but if you would have told me that was a real show, perhaps starring Dr. Drew, I would have believed you. Not unlike Prison Chef. Would you really put it past Gordon Ramsey to do that?

And then there is my favorite of the Lowball shows, Top Shots. That one involves girls in bikinis competing in an Airsoft competition in a quest to become the best markswoman in America. Crazy? Yes. Unbelievable? Hardly. I still have a series recording on my DVR set for a show that was nothing but slow motion HD video of girls in bikinis. If it had Airsoft guns, it might still be on the air!

So, from the parody standpoint, the show is a big success. Even better though, it’s also just a really solid sitcom. The huge cast is full of fun, well-drawn, characters. And the Lowball setting quickly provides all manner of dramas for them to explore. Inter-office romance, addictions, sexual orientation, production issues, job complaints … there’s a lot going on.

That backdrop is then supported by some very fun stories. My favorite of those is when Lowball is hired to do a corporate training video for a company that is using Americans to provide customer support to India, in Hindi, with Hindi accents. If you’ve spent any time on the other side of that equation, it plays very well.

Creator Walter J. Gottlieb has written a very clever script, and executed it beautifully. The editing, the music,  and the performances all come together to give it a very comfortable sitcom feel. I hesitate to compare it to TV, because I think the webseries is in a place where it can stand on its own now. But if TV is still the bar, The Video Makers reaches it. This is not only something I could see being on TV, it’s something I would watch.

I should probably add a caveat before I send you off to the site to watch. There is a touch of the blue language in the show. If that’s an issue, you’ve been warned. I, however, welcome it. It’s not used in a “Ha, we can do anything” way at all. Instead, it comes across as characters speaking like normal people speak. It’s kind of refreshing.

With that said, there are eight fun-filled episodes waiting for you at the official Video Makers website. Be sure to check out the bonus videos as well. Especially the one with Gia Mora, which gets right to the heart of what the show is about. You can also keep up with the show on twitter and facebook. Here’s episode one, “Top Shots,” to get you started.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Jun 02, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT