Digital Chick TV
{SEPTEMBER 20, 2010}
When my producing partner / roommate, Allie Smith, and I decided to create a mini TV series for the web we knew we wanted to reach out to what many feel is an under-served female audience (if men like it too…bonus!). We also wanted our stories to appeal to women of all ages (thus, an attempt at clean-ish comedy—see next weeks blog post for more about this).
We recently started releasing episodes on a weekly basis on Koldcast TV. We brainstormed about how awesome it would be if there was one place on the web women knew to visit in order to discover web content and entertainment that was specifically geared towards them. In our research, we stumbled upon a site that has the potential to be this very thing we hoped for.
The site…http://digitalchicktv.com/
DIGITAL CHICK TV
Your Guide to the Best Online Shows for Women
Writer/Actress/Producer/Director Daryn Strauss is the mastermind behind Digital Chick TV. The site not only makes it quick and easy to find shows for women, it also provides more in depth information about the women who are a part of women-centered programming on screen and off.
We asked Daryn — so, what was your inspiration for putting what is obviously tons of work into this fabulous resource site?
Her answer:
“All of my female friends are very active on the internet, but none of them knew where to go to watch online content geared for women. They knew where to go to watch a funny viral video, and that was pretty much it. But there are so many online shows that women would love! I wanted to create a site where women [or men] could go to find all of this great female-centric content. I am very excited to feature The Best Friend, because not only is it a hilarious, smart comedy about female friendship, but these ladies also managed to produce it with a largely female crew, which is very rare and very cool!”
DigitalChickTV includes show listings, interviews, advice/tips for creating, and a column called “In Her Words” where Daryn invites women to be ‘guest bloggers’ and chat about different topics regarding their female dominated series. And lucky us—
She invited us to be a part of it this week! Check it out — we chat about what it was like to work with a mostly female crew on The Best Friend!
The next step is — we need to create a database of female directors, writers, producers, gaffers, cinematographers, composers, sound mixers etc etc that are not only champions of new media but also looking for new media projects to be a part of! We were frustrated at times – there has to be more women out there that are interested in new media! We contacted Women in Film and they were wonderful but our timeline for getting a listing out to their members didn’t match up with our production schedule. And of course – the women who are known already for supporting new media were already knee deep in their own fantastic projects.
And below, we break it down — how did we snag these amazing women for our project?
Through Referrals
Cat Deakins (DP), Sylvia Terry (AD), Alize Emme (AD), Jacki Moonves (AC), Taryn Roraback (Gaffer), Chris Carrea (Gaffer), Amanda Sammarco (Script Supervisor), Sarah Horton (Script Supervisor), April Heather (AD)
Through Existing Friendships
Lydia Blanco (Producer), Wednesday Standley (Director), Anne Bielby (Animator)
Though Mandy.com
Donna Mathewson (Editor), Krystel Schley (Writer), Katrina Bolletta (Teaser Editor)
And even though they weren’t on our crew, it was astounding how many women were our contact people and an essential part of the process of getting season one off the ground: Emma L. Stashin, Tamara Krinsky and Elizabeth Flack (WGA), Joanna D. Mamey (SAG), Marti Resteghini (Koldcast TV), the ladies at OPI, Dove & Ole Henricksen, Tammy Lynn (Spotlight PR), Gennette Todino (Casting Consultant), April Carter Grant (Online Marketing Consultant), Amy Marshall (Attorney) – not to mention all of the generous women who let us borrow their wedding dresses and Judith Weston (Teacher), Bonnie Gillespie ( “The Actors Voice”), and Stephanie Thorpe & Helenna Santos (Producers/Actresses) for their inspiration and empowerment.
Disclaimer: Focusing on the women involved with The Best Friend is in no way meant to discount the invaluable contributions and talent of the male members of our team. Please, find out more about these men at http://thebestfriend.tv/crew.html.
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