The Gregory Brothers Auto-Tune the World of Online Comedy
“The Oscar producers sent us Academy screeners for us to review and see which movie scenes are going to produce the greatest unintentional singers,” says Evan. In order for them to produce edited work, the studios had to trust them with unencrypted digital files. “They were the ones coming to us, so they had to work all that out,” he says.
The Gregories worked with the producers on how the segments would fit into the show. They also had to produce clearer, cleaner work to meet broadcast standards. For their YouTube work, there are no quality control measures, for better or worse, says Evan. “It’s just us saying, ‘It’s good enough and I’m sick of working on it. Let’s put it out.’”
So were there a million back-and-forth comments and revisions with the producers? “We didn’t quite make it to a million, but, you know, maybe 900,000,” laughs Evan. Mostly they dealt with writers who already loved their work, which made the process easier.
“They only reached out to us because they already respected our music and our comedy. When you start from that point, they weren’t really looking down on us or using us as a farm team or anything like that,” says Evan.
When Feb. 27, 2011, came, the foursome wasn’t seated in the Kodak Theatre, but in Evan and Sarah’s apartment. When the end credits scrolled by and their names appeared, they all cheered and took pictures.
So What’s Next?
Where does a viral video sensation go after getting that kind of attention? On to even bigger things. At the moment, they have a development deal with Comedy Central to create their own series, so they’re writing and producing a pilot for their own 30-minute comedy show.
Their idea has them all living together and will incorporate some of the character of their music videos, although the show won’t be news-based. It will be more of a situation comedy with music embedded in it.
“In our wildest dreams, maybe we would shoot the pilot this summer, and then, if they approve it, maybe we would shoot some more episodes and maybe it would go to air this fall,” says Evan, stressing that it’s impossible to know at this point. Fans of the group’s videos will have to hope that Comedy Central greenlights the project.
Online video has taken them far in 2 years, so does that mean online video is a stepping stone to greater projects? Or is it an important medium on its own? Both, says Evan.
“There’s a wonderful production freedom in being able to just think of an idea and make it and then release it,” he says, noting that many online video creators are making a good living and aren’t beholden to anyone else.
“It’s also a means to become more known,” he continues. “If you want to spread out, if you want to take on other types of projects, it’s a great way to become known in an industry that used to be bound by conventional methods of networking and auditioning.”
That old system now has chinks in its armor, he says, and that’s thanks to online video.
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2011 Streaming Media under the title "The Gregory Brothers Are Blowing Up."
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