User-generated online entertainment (a la YouTube) is often dismissed as having a less professional and creative caliber than more traditional media, such as film and television.
Award-winning producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (“Blood Diamond,” “The Last Samurai” and “Shakespeare in Love”) hope to change that as they dare to embrace the expansion of technology and the creative freedom of the World Wide Web with their new Internet series and social network “quarterlife,” aimed at people in their 20s.
Herskovitz, who also directed a portion of the series, will be coming to Melnitz Hall tonight for a screening of the series’ pilot. After the show he will answer questions and introduce the budding social network on the “quarterlife” Web site.
“When I speak to film students, in particular today, they’re very interested in making films and doing television, and they’re not very interested in the Internet,” said Herskovitz. “One of my messages is that the professional world needs to live in the Internet because that’s where you can be independent and free. So I’m going to be encouraging them to stick with the Internet and to believe in it.”
The “quarterlife” series will debut on Nov. 11 on MySpace, then on the Web site quarterlife.com on Nov. 12. After that, two eight-minute episodes will air every week.
The series will focus on a dynamic group of twentysomethings and their challenges during what Herskovitz views as a defining stage of life.
“We were just talking one day about all the inherently dramatic issues that you face in your 20s that we remember ourselves,” Herskovitz stated.
“You’re trying to have a career, you’re trying to figure out if you have what it takes to have a career, you’re trying to form relationships. In many ways, people determine the paths for the rest of their lives when they’re in their 20s. It just became quite fascinating to us as a subject of drama.”
Herskovitz and Zwick’s fascination with different age groups is nothing new. Their ability to poignantly represent the voice of different generations and to connect with their issues was seen in groundbreaking television shows “thirtysomething” and “My So-Called Life.”
In addition to 36 “webisodes,” quarterlife.com will provide users with a creative outlet and social network. Features of the site include a “Portfolio” area (where users can post videos, artwork, written work, photography and more) and various forums with discussion topics ranging from activism to art to the series itself.
The network will even give users a chance to influence the development of the series.
“Let’s say we get a video about a dancer in Cleveland and what she’s going through in her life and what she’s trying to overcome, and we find that a fascinating story ““ we’re going to incorporate that into the series,” said Herskovitz. “Over time, your concerns and the things that you find interesting, or the stories we learn from you, will influence us.”
There will be additional opportunities for exposure and career development for aspiring filmmakers specifically.
“We’re going to be looking for writers and actors and directors and composers and editors, so there will be real opportunities for some people through the site to find work,” said Herskovitz.
Barbara Boyle, who is the head of the film, television and digital media department, booked the Melnitz event. She sees the series as an advancement of filmmaking that may encourage students to consider a career in the ever-growing Internet industry.
“There’s evolution going on, and evolution will always be going on depending on the technology,” Boyle said. “If “˜quarterlife’ works, it will be like a factory for the episodes that need to come out … and it will need talent.”
The main reason Herskovitz will be coming to UCLA is to invite those with artistic interests to help build the foundation of the “quarterlife” Web site.
“I’m trying to get the core group of artists and users who will help us build out the site and be exactly the kind of people I want on this site: people who want to pursue a career in the arts and want to create a community with other artists, who want to show their work and be seen for their work,” he said.
After a year of hard work, both creators hope to provide something that has yet to be offered on the Internet.
“We can only succeed if we have something to offer that goes deeper than what those sites (MySpace and Facebook) have to offer,” Herskovitz said.
“There will be self-promotion on our site, but we’re more interested in a deeper experience having to do with what are your ideals, what are your dreams, what are things you really want to do … or want to learn more about what that life is like.”
In providing quality entertainment, harboring talent and assisting artists with connection as well as exposure, quarterlife.com is one of the first sites to seek a fusion of film, television and the Internet as a professional medium of artistic expression.
As a filmmaker, part of the job is to adapt to the emerging outlets of artistic expression. Boyle feels that the Internet may very well be the palette of an upcoming generation of artists and film students.
“To me, anything intellectual and theoretical is interesting in a mind-exploding way,” she said. “I like to see how it’s going to be done, how we are going to use this new concept of film.”