SXSW Interactive: Comedy on Television and the Web
Anyone expecting a barrage of face-plant videos and dirty jokes from Saturday's South by Southwest Interactive panel "Comedy on Television and the Web" didn't find what they were after.
Instead, moderator Ricky Van Veen of Collegehumor.com led The Office's B.J. Novak and other panelists through a fairly straight-faced discussion of how comedy has led the way for web video and how television is dealing with the impact of the online world.
That's not to say that the panel didn't have its humorous moments. Novak got in a well-timed "That's what she said" (one of his show's catchphrases) and Colbert Report writer Meredith Scardino charmed as she explained that her parents found it easier to brag on her when she was working for David Letterman.
As web video has exploded in popularity over the past few years, most of the clips that people post and share are the ones that make us laugh. Keith Richman, CEO of entertainment site Break Media, explained that the quick payoff of comedy pairs well with short web video clips.
"You don't have to spend time developing characters," Richman said. "You can get to the payoff more quickly."
To illustrate how people are moving away from watching a particular show at a particular time, panelist Avner Ronen, the CEO of media center software firm Boxee, joked with Novak that he "watch(es) The Office religiously. I just don't know what day it's on."
Although the delivery mechanism or the device you watch it on may change, Novak emphasized that nothing beat good writing and audience will inevitably watch what's important to them, in a way that works for them.
"Just picture what you want, and that's what you'll most likely end up with," Novak said. "No one's going to shove anything down your throat. (That's what she said.)"
