Finding cheap entertainment in these hard economic times can sometimes be difficult. When the idea of going to the multiplex strikes fear in your wallet and you can’t manage to scrape together some change for the dollar theater, where will you turn? The answer might be closer than you think. All it takes is one simple click on YouTube and the entire world is at your fingertips. You’ll find videos of all sorts, from homemade video blogs to popular music videos. Yet deep inside the vast array, you might stumble upon something familiar. For the past year and a half, YouTube has showcased the talents of Biola students, both past and present.
The writers’ strike of 2007 left countless people with an empty feeling inside. For many, favorite shows were ended, put on hiatus, or simply forgotten. To fill the void, numerous reality programs sprang forth to try to keep us entertained. It was a dark time. However, amidst the confusion, a small, humble company was already shaking things up.
In July of 2007, the Internet welcomed a new media company with a vision. Founded by Biola alumni Joshua Sikora and Kevin Christensen, WebSerials.com came onto the scene as a company dedicated to producing high-quality, low-budget entertainment for online audiences. Their goal was to provide something new and fresh to a market that was stuck in stagnation.
While most film students enter the Hollywood industry upon graduation, Sikora and Christensen felt they’d have better success as independent filmmakers.
“The Internet has changed the way many of us consume media,” said Sikora. “There’s a democratic quality to it. Anyone can be heard and the audience will rally behind quality content.”
Wanting to be ahead of the curve, Sikora and Christensen brought their filmmaking directly to the audience with their forward-thinking Web site. Seeing a trend in shorter content online, they focused on bite-sized entertainment — five to six-minute episodes, each part of a larger story, just like the early movie serials from the 1930s and 1940s.
The response to WebSerials has been nothing short of outstanding. In its first year, their shows were watched over two million times, with an average of 30,000 viewers per week. The filmmakers continually receive high praise for their work, and are frequently featured by YouTube or recommended by the Los Angeles Times. YouTube called their work “some of the best dramas the web has to offer.”
WebSerials’ content isn’t overtly Christian, but Sikora and Christensen say that their faith still informs their work.
“We’re not interested in preaching,” Christensen said. “Our goal is to entertain our audience every week with something fun or dramatic.”
“I think our worldview permeates everything we do and that’s especially clear in the stories we tell,” Sikora added.
Biola viewers who tune in should expect to see a few familiar elements. The highly popular serial “Cataclysmo” features current senior Chris Hartwell and recent graduate Brian Walton as time traveling heroes on a mission to stop the destruction of Earth by an army of evil gorillas. In January, the site will premiere a new dramatic series, shot on and around Biola’s campus. Nearly all of the talent behind the camera comes from Biola graduates or current students. Sikora’s production company provides internships to film students who often take on significant roles in each series.
Despite the return of network television, WebSerials continues to provide quality entertainment. Since their initial launch, they have aired five individual series with a sixth debuting in early 2009. They continue to see success on YouTube and on their Web site, www.webserials.com, where the content can be viewed at a higher quality.
