Steemit Entertainment

Hello Steem World!

So I have had a lot of time to think over the last week or so, and I have drawn some interesting conclusions in my soul-searching about what to really focus on on this platform.

I have always been a music person, so that is what I am automatically drawn to. It is kind of second-nature for me to just throw together a song, and it takes just minutes for me to write the parodies that I make. I used to do studio recording and they would say I was a "one-take wonder" in that I didn't have to record something more than once in order to be able to use it as a good take. This has led me to not step out of my box much and has limited my artistic capacity I think.

(Can you believe I do all my filming in this tiny space? Ahhh movie magic!!)

Then, one day, I moved into a bigger house and it had a little back space that I was able to use as a recording studio. This time not just for songs, but once I purchased a light kit and green screen background, for video recording as well. We started making more and more videos, and I began my journey video editing. Not only that but writing new material. Coming up with short musicals, and short film ideas. I even have an un-produced short film waiting in the queue.

(A short little romance loosely based on my life...it would be great if you supported it at some point. wink. wink.)

What does this have to do with Steemit though? Well I am so glad you asked...

I want to see this platform grow, as naturally as possible. I have stayed away from up-voting bots and bots in general, and it has perhaps diminished some of my capacity for money-making, but with my larger goals, it's important that I have real people behind my ideas, and lots of them.

When you think of other platforms, what are they all competing in right now? Really think. At first I thought it was to be the best social media platform, but then I widened my thoughts, and realized that wasn't it at all.

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, even AMAZON are all scrambling to produce the biggest and best content. That's right. Content. Shows, shorts, movies, whatever they may be, these platforms want them because the world is changing and people are beginning to consume most of what they watch through digital streaming. If your website has something to draw people to visually, they may stay around a while. Amazon has some awesome original shows, and they make me interested enough to check back often for more original content...and maybe to buy some coffee filters or underwear...it is Amazon after all.

(Man in the High Castle is a seriously awesome show, btw. It's pretty mind-blowing. Well done Mr. Bezos, well done.)

When you look at Steemit, what do you see? Or rather, when you look at Steemit, what do you not see? There is an abundance of rich content about cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, stock markets, blockchain, technology, travel photography, food photography and guitar covers. There is a steady stream of memes, and often even ads that somehow get upvoted. What it is deeply lacking however, is rich and stunning visual content, and/or even intriguing and interesting or funny original content. I want to start to make that happen. I want to help bring Steemit into a better visual medium. It is the future as much as anything else, and would be foolish to overlook.

(What do you guys think? Heh? Should I do it? Heh? Ok. I'm doing it. It's done.)

Why Steemit is the perfect medium for entertainment.

Steemit is like crowdsourcing meets social media meets the blockchain meets the future. In the past, artists and producers would have had to use multiple websites (like kickstarter etc. whom, by the way, have been hi-jacked by celebs which completely defeats their original purpose but I digress) and share those websites on additional websites just to give them any kind of traction. Then there is the clause that if they don't raise their whole amount, their project gets abandoned. Now I don't know about you, but I can stretch a damn dollar. Most of my parodies cost under $50 to produce and that includes the props and costumes. My 20 minute musical cost under $500 and included an 8 person cast and a small crew. Even if filmmakers didn't make their goal amount, I am confident they could still produce a quality project, and show Steemians what future productions could look like with even more investment. But can you imagine a filmmaker with a brilliant idea that was able to explain said idea/script on Steemit, have people see it, and then get funded just by fellow Steemians liking that idea? This would completely usurp the system as it stands now, where thousands of brilliant projects never get produced because the risk is too high. When it is one or two people investing the money, it's often just too risky to invest in a project that might flop, but when it is thousands, if not at some point millions of people who only have a cent or two invested, the risk is defrayed, and the opportunity for artistic creativity explodes!

(No, actually my Kickstarter is awesome. Allowing celebrities full reign to stifle small projects is what sucks. Cough George Takei, Bill Nye and LeVar Burton cough)

Why now is the perfect time.

Streaming is at an all time high. All eyes are on the internet. Not only that, but viewers are hungry for new content and new places to consume it. Hollywood is a hot mess whose foundation is shaking. The multitude of sexual allegations combined with overdone, recycled movie plots, and the complete lack of any originality coming from the great Hollywood machine has disenchanted viewers who admittedly only see the "Blockbusters" now, which will also at some point become tiresome. You can only watch the same group of superheroes defeat the same type of bad guy so many times before developing diabetes. Seriously. I haven't been to a Marvel movie since Dr. Strange, and I admittedly only went because the ticket was free and because it was Benedict Cumberbatch. He could be in a movie about watching paint dry and I would pay to see it.

(My lawd, someone open a window, cuz this flowah is wiltin'!)

Of course I am not saying that Steemit is going to be the next Amazon Prime Video service or Netflix, but it could absolutely compete with Facebook's original video content, and much of YouTube's as well, and believe it or not, people really do watch that stuff.

(Zuck already owns all our information. Will we really stand and let him take over streaming entertainment as well? No. Nein. Nope. )

Ok so d.tube is the platform we would be using to begin distributing great content, and it arguably needs some work in order to be more competitive. The average attention span of most viewers is going to be shorter than the wait necessitated by d.tube's current never ending spinning wheel, but I will help in any way I can.
I don't know how to program, I am not a tech person at all. I am a creative type. I write scripts, and direct and act and sing, but I really want to make this work on Steemit. I think it would bring a whole new level to the website, and right now is a perfect time to start working on it. Myself and other producers could start working on projects while Steemit is still in its Beta stage, and by the time it goes full launch, there will already be some awesome projects for people to view.

(like this low-quality green screen absolute internet gold)

(Or this project I made in just two days after the Vegas shooting to get people to stop whinging about politics!)

Consider this as well: anyone who receives funding from Steemians for their projects could put a credit before their film starts. Imagine that blue and white steem logo before a short film starts. "Powered by Steem". It's a beautiful thought, and an absolute reality if we work toward it. If those films get submitted to film festivals, that is that many more eyeballs that Steem gets in front of as well, and that many more people taking it seriously as a money-making, content-producing medium.

(Can you imagine seeing this before a MOVIE!?! Isn't the prospect exciting?!?)

As I said, I can't code or program, or most likely make d.tube run faster, but I am willing to learn and I am willing to work hard. I am willing to network to different sites that have lots of producers with followers that may not have much money. I will write hundreds of personal emails to fellow artists. I would love to see a #filmideas tag or #filmmakers tag or #artisticprojects tag where Steemians could see a feed of endless ideas and creativity and use their influence to fund these projects. The result would be stupendous for Steemit and would really work to enrich the site in a more artistic way!

I am not sure how to get myself out there with these ideas, but I appreciate any advice on how to spread the word. I would also be happy to help with anything technical to get Steem more visually content-friendly. It is not my wheel house but I am a fast learner. Or whatever other ways I would be needed to make this happen, even if it's just to produce my first short film and blast it on d.tube to show Steemians what we can really do.

It's 2018 and I am locked and loaded to bust ass to make this a thing. I already have a number of directors at my fingertips, and I am going to try to get them to migrate their fanbase. I am also going to continue working on building my presence here.

If you got through all of this, thank you, and I hope that by this time next year, Steemit is brimming with awesome new original visual content, and happy, fulfilled creators that were able to produce said content.

@jamesc - how can I help improve d.tube? I want new users to be able to easily share their content and be excited about bringing it to Steemit. What kind of developing help does it need? I can't do much tech myself, but I know a lot of people with expertise in different areas, and I'm willing to compensate them for their help in areas that I can't.

@trafalgar - Do you have connections to other comedians/satirists? Have you thought about making funny video content? I really enjoy the articles I have read of yours and think you would make great content. Steemit needs more funny content, it's so serious! Halp!

I am open to any and all suggestions about anything. I am so new to this platform that it hurts, but at the same time, newness can also bring new ideas and a new way forward, and I really want to see mine brought to fruition! Halp me Steemians!

Steemit is the future! Happy New Year!