Some more notes from DIY Day Boston

David Tamés posts some of his photos and notes from last weekend's DIY Day event in Boston. It includes coverage of the opening chat with digital media investor (and indie film producer) Todd Dagres...a presentation on virality called 'If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead'...and a talk by Slava Rubin on crowd-funding of indie film.

From DIY Days Boston: Todd Dagres on Indie Film and Internet Video

To kick off DIY Days in Boston on Saturday, Lance Weiler and I interviewed Todd Dagres on stage.

Todd has produced several independent films (including the Sundance entry 'TransSiberian' this year), but he is best known as a venture capitalist who funds start-up companies like Veoh, EQAL, Twitter, and Next New Networks. Our conversation focused on how TV is changing... the as-yet-unproven business models of Internet video... financing and making independent films... how distribution is evolving... and why the word "community" ought to replace the word "audience" in your vocabulary.

Here it is in MP3 form (41 minutes long.)

Lance, Arin Crumley, David Tamés, and all the volunteers did a great job putting on the event -- and the audience was amazing.

$5 Million to Lonelygirl15 creators: What it means

People who invest in digital media and Internet video content have one belief: that creatives are gonna find a way to produce really compelling content that attracts big audiences much more cheaply than the studios. When you've attracted a big audience, advertising dollars will follow.

That has been the thinking behind Vuguru, 60Frames, MyDamnChannel, FunnyOrDie, and now, EQAL, a micro-studio formed by the guys behind the lonelygirl15 series and KateModern.

EQAL just raised $5 million from Spark Capital in Boston; Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape; and Ron Conway, one of the original investors behind Google. Here's the Wall Street Journal coverage ... the NewTeeVee story .... and TechCrunch.

From Rebecca Buckman's piece in the Journal:

Todd Dagres, a partner at Spark Capital, the Boston-based firm that led EQAL's round of financing, said the studio understands that "the Web is not TV, and you can't advertise like you do on TV."

Instead, EQAL, formerly known as LG15 Studios and led by Chief Executive Miles Beckett and President Greg Goodfried, plans to weave advertising into the content of their shows, Mr. Dagres said, and also to interact with its community of viewers.