Top 20 Video Podcasts, w/e 5/27 -
As we've now split off the “adult” podcasts into our sister site, Forbidden Podcasts, this week's chart looks a bit different. It'll probably take a couple of weeks for this to stabilize as virtually EVERYTHING has moved up the chart or is showing up as a new entry. Hopefully this will allow you to rediscover some podcasts we reviewed a while ago.
Pixar's Cars Video Podcast
My Life in Advertising- Beer.com
- The Traveling Morans
- KnoxKast
- Over The Hedge Video Podcast
- Adicolor
- Flick'd
- Tiki Bar TV
- Mad Money with Jim Cramer
- Making Fiends
- The Real People Network
- Archived Classic Movies
- French Maid TV
Soup of the Day- AdultSwim
- Vintage Tooncast
- 88SLIDE: The Daily One Minute Trivia Challenge
- Happy Tree Friends
- West Wingers
(Key: = Moving Up, = Moving Down, = New Entry)
From the Beatbox Productions, the creators of Ask A Ninja, comes Hope is Emo, a similarly acerbic monologue that skewers high school melodrama and emotional turmoil in a very personal "i just need to talk about this" kind of way.
And that's about all I can say, because I've never really understood the whole EMO thing. Maybe I'm too old, but I think this is going to be the problem with this video podcast - I didn't have to be a hardcore Ninja fanatic to laugh at Ask A Ninja. But the jokes from Hope are subtle enough that they risk flying over your head. Plus, the frantic, in-your-face editing and camerawork that works so well with the similarly frantic Ninja seem oddly out of place.
But hell - what do I know? If you think differently, leave your review in the comments below.
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make -
I'm sorry to tell regular readers that I have decided to suspend updates to PodGuide.TV indefinitely. I'll be leaving the archives online for people to search through, but will no longer be making updates.
This was a hard decision to make, and I want to thank everyone who supported me over the months. I started writing reviews soon after the video iPod became available last year, and have devoted 15-20 hrs a week of my life to it since then. But it became increasingly clear that the effort involved was not going to bring the rewards, either personally or financially, to make it preferable to spending that extra 2 hrs a day with friends and family. Despite my best efforts, traffic has stayed flat, potential investors have pulled me in multiple directions but leaving me with only thousands of dollars in legal fees, and it just became too much to carry on with alone.
I had big plans - a regular video podcast (for which Cali Lewis generously recorded a pilot for free) that I was ultimately unable to get off the ground, a video podcast awards show, a magazine-style set of interviews with podcast personalities, a Web 2.0 style voting system - ahhh, what could have been :). I'd like to thank everyone who helped me get this far, especially Cali, Noah, Frank, JF, Steve, et al, so thanks guys.
I still think the video podcast, as an emerging medium is one of the most exciting forms of entertainment currently being created, and I'll remain a viewer, if not a reviewer :)
Bye for now - if you've enjoyed my writing, catch my contributions over on YesButNoButYes.
I just wanted to let regular readers know that I'm extending my blogging vacation a bit longer, I have a lot going on at this end, including starting a new job soon, and want to spend the interim time offline in the sun with my family. Happy podcast watching - be back soon.
Drive -
From North West Cable News come Drive, an ongoing series of car reviews. The few I watched were well put together, and definitely went beyond the repackaging of manufacturer's press kit material that some of the car podcasts are doing. Nice to see a review of the Smart car, even though Americans have no hope in the near future of buying one.
Wondering what happened to BJ & Tyler after The Amazing Race ended? Want to catch up with Randall, The Apprentice winner who ungraciously refused to share his prize? Want to bring Reality TV direct to your iPod? Now, Fox Reality (who else?) brings Reality Remix, the show ABOUT reality TV to your iPod. Short interviews with the stars of your favorite reality shows from across all networks.
Do I think it's appallingly trashy? Of course. Am I currently loving Hell's Kitchen? Hell, yeh. And Celebrity Big Brother is already on my TiVo list :)
There have been a few updates to the iTunes Store for the last three days, most notably a whole batch of factual programming from NBC News - it'll be interesting to see how well those sell. Much more of a sure bet, I would imagine are Star Wars: Clone Wars, Volume I available now, with Volume II to follow next month.
Also added - conference finals from the NHL, Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, and Disney's Little Einsteins,
Podcaster's Choice: PodGuide.TV -
While I try and get back into the swing of things after a few weeks on hiatus, I realized that Wednesday is Podcaster's Choice day, and I had nothing prepared. So, while I can't claim to be a podcaster (even though I did go as far as to create a pilot once - thanks, Cali - that never got off the ground), here are the five video podcasts I've enjoyed most while I've been on hiatus. It was a stressful time for me, and not coincidentally, the ones I enjoyed most were the ones that made me laugh.
PodGuide.TV's Top Five Comedy Video Podcasts
The Traveling Morans
I'm completely addicted to this series that documents a newlywed couple's honeymoon around the world. Very funny, and with a morbid fascination over what will end first - the podcast or the marriage.
Ask A Ninja
There's not much more I can say about one of the most popular video podcasts out there, except that age does not diminish it - the latest episodes are just as funny as the early ones, something I'm realizing is increasingly rare. Beatbox Productions, who make the series, tell me PodGuide.TV was the first site ever to give them a review.
iTod
A perfectly paced series of comedy shorts documenting Tod's stab at creating a reality show around himself. depressing and hilarious at the same time.
Goodnight Burbank
I just received an email telling me that Goodnight Burbank has been featured in the iTunes store, and the exposure is well deserved. The show continues to entertain - it's a great format for a comedy video podcast.
The Chelsea Handler Show
I know these are just segments created for Chelsea's TV show on E!, but they are perfect for iPod viewing, and feature some of the best material from her show. Kudos to E! for stepping up to the plate and showing they're not afraid to give great content away for free. Oh, and they make me laugh like hell.
If you put out your own video podcast, and want to be a part of this feature, email us with your top 5 video podcasts, and why.
For anyone interested, one of the reasons that PodGuide.TV wound down was the long hours I spent working as one of the Creative Directors who created the videoblogging project for Ford - Ford Bold Moves. A lot of the things I learnt while watching all those podcasts and videoblogs already out there informed our thinking when it came to defining the site functionality. Although I've now moved on to other projects (including a very cool video podcast idea for a major newspaper), Ford Bold Moves will continue, at least until he end of 2006, so check it out, and let me know what you think. I believe it's a brave step for Ford, and kudos to the entire team who put it together, including JWT, Radical Media and the guys at GMDStudios.
Did you miss me?
Podgrunt -
A few weeks ago I raved about Videogrunt, a new guide to getting started with digital video. Craig has been a busy guy, and has now launched Podgrunt, which does for podcasting what Videogrunt does for videos.
Of course, it could be argued that if you have you act together enough to subscribe to Podgrunt, you probably already know enough about podcasting not to bother with it, but check it out anyway. The Grunt series is a worthy inheritor of the "geek-made-easy" school pinoeered by Good Eats and Mythbusters.
In an attempt to prove to both his girlfriend and his best friend that he's more than just a lazy, computer game-playing geek, Owen is running 300 miles, from Seattle to LA, and documenting the journey by video.
It's an admirable endeavor, soured by the complete lack of acknowledgment in the video podcast itself that this is an extended shill for the new Nike/Apple collaboration (note the iPod casually placed in the background in the first shot). Quite why they are obscuring the corporate connection (which is obvious when you visit the website) I have no idea, as it doesn't actually hurt the entertainment value - it's a pretty interesting series of videos, even for an latent agoraphobic like myself (ie a couch potato).
What have these two seemingly different video podcasts have in common? Answer after the reviews.
From the Oh! Network comes the Crafty Girls video podcast, a DIY guide to creating “stylish knitware” and “dazzling jewelry”. One suspects the solutions will likely be a knitting machine and a Bedazzler rather than a three year course at the Fashion Institute, plus millions of years of geological pressure on carbon, but I'd hate to spoil the ending for you.
Cranky Geeks is a weekly talk show about technology issues hosted by PC Magazine columnist John C. Dvorak. 30 minutes of roundtable chat, interspersed with numerous sponsor spots, shot in a studio to at least cable TV quality. I have to admit to a healthy irritation with Dvorak due to his ridiculous pronouncements about my beloved mac platform, but these discussions are informed, well produced, and timely.
So, what did these two have in common? Well, apart from giving me a killer headline, they also cleared off the backlog of reviews I wanted to get done before shutting up shop for the holiday. I'll be taking a few days well-earned break, returning on Tuesday. Have a good Memorial Day weekend, everyone - now to fire up that BBQ.
Considering how much time we all spend watering our lawns, I'm surprised how long it took me to locate a decent gardening video podcast. From Channel 5 news out of Seattle comes Gardening with Ciscoe, with weekly gardening advice for your iPod. Host Ciscoe Morris has everything you'd want - just enough information to teach you something, coupled with endless enthusiasm and a slightly off-kilter personality that makes pulling up weed look like much more fun than even smoking it.
Fresh back from an extended vacation, I'll ease in slowly with a few simple reviews of video podcasts I know will be pretty popular. After gaining a following for their Sopranos Video Podcast, HBO have returned to the iTunes store with the free Deadwood Video Podcast. Clips, behind the scenes footage, and interviews with cast and creators. Needles to say, it's f%$&ing great, and - surprisingly - pretty profanity free :)
