Poke Fun But “Homeless Real World” Not a Joke

Thanks to now-defunct web video site ManiaTV, there are over 160 hours of footage featuring six homeless people living in Denver.  The show’s creators were never able to convince Mania to go to series and were able to get the footage back.

They have released a “sizzle reel” that gives a very good taste of what they were able to capture.  Since the produccers were independent and not bound by conventional TV approaches the result is quite unusual:

The approach that the producers took to shooting the series is unlike anything on TV. The producers bonded closely with the subjects, at times breaking the fourth wall in the footage. Interviews are more conversation than Q&A and feature nothing like the typical “confessionals” adopted by so many reality shows.

“The cast and crew became so close that they’re still very much in touch with each other,” Ayoub says. “So we can tell you what everyone is doing today.”

This is apparent in the video below.  This is the sort of unique programming that could only happen in the new world of independent web video producers.  Whether or not a major distributor will take on such controversial material is uncertain.  This would be a tough sell to advertisers.  At the same time, one has to wonder if a smart distributor would be able to use the controversy to build the level of attention that advertisers simply cannot ignore.

Homeless Real World (sizzle reel) from Broadcasting & Cable on Vimeo.

Check out the video:

Lonely Without LonelyGirl15

There is a send-off piece over on NTV about the end of LonelyGirl15, a true pioneer of the webseries and one of the few honest success stories out there.

The question is, will we ever see anything like it again?

“There was an innocence and an excitement to the shows of this era that can never be replicated. It’s like the first season of The Real World: It was genuinely interesting because no one knew what was going to happen. The participants of every subsequent season (and every reality show that followed) knew they could get famous from it, so it became fake. Everyone knows that there is money, or a Hollywood deal, to be made on the web now, so there’s no sense of danger. The thrill is gone, replaced by a careful eye on playcounts, CPMs and creating a brand.”

I’m not quite as pessimistic as NTV.  I think there will always be kids out there excited by the chance to just get their vision out there, to be thrilled by the sheer fact that they are being seen and heard.  Will some of them be dreaming of Hollywood contracts?  Sure.  But plenty of others will just be dreaming up the next insane scene they can shoot and post with their buddies.

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