addition to editing, he would be responsible
for encoding video for the different media
players that viewers use to watch Net enter
tainment. Smith had no previous experi
ence with encoding, but his employers
knew he had a good video background and
they trusted him enough to learn.
Since the HitPlay launch, Smith has had
the opportunity to help produce new
footage, work on site design, and outfit
HitPlay’s new production studio—and his
salary is nearly double what he was earning
a year ago in traditional film. Smith is very
cognizant of the opportunity Net entertain
ment has afforded him. “[Without the
Internet], I would have been an assistant for
at least another year, and I’d much rather be
working for an Internet company doing
something new than working on a late
night cable show,” he says.
Above the learning experience, beyond
the better pay, Smith cares most about the
opportunity to create new visual art
through editing, and he believes the web is
much more conducive to creativity than
traditional media are. “We aren’t limited to
100 television channels owned by the same
five companies. If you don’t have to create
something with a broad market in mind,
there are fewer limitations. I can have my
own voice,” he says.
For the future, Smith is seeking new chal
lenges in editing and producing Internet
entertainment. No one has yet figured out
how to successfully apply the interactive
potential of the web to video (nonlinear,
interactive storytelling, for example), and
Smith recognizes his opportunity. “Right
now everything looks a lot like TV, very
simple and very digestible and appealing to
the broadest number of people possible. I’d
really like to be one of the first people to do
Internet video successfully,” he says.
By 2004 the number of individuals habit
ually viewing entertainment on the web will
exceed 100 million, according to estimates
by the Carmel Group, which tracks the
ongoing convergence of the telecommuni
cations, computer, and entertainment
industries. By 2007, 85 percent of all U.S.
Internet users will enjoy streaming visual
media, contributing to a worldwide audi
ence close to 500 million. As we climb
toward these numbers, the traditional heavy
hitters of the entertainment industry will
likely join the throngs, buying out numer
ous upstarts while forcing others out of
▼ experience.com
For a list of Internet companies you can
contact in Hollywood, visit www.experi
ence.com/tinseltown.
business. For any individual dot-com, the
future is anything but guaranteed. But for
people working at these upstarts, that
doesn’t really matter. Whichever players win
out, large or small, old or new, they’ll surely
be scrambling for the talent—and
experience—of the individuals who surfed
the first waves of virtual Hollywood. Cl
Billy Hulkower is a writer and filmmaker
based in Los Angeles. He has written for The
Hollywood Reporter, DigitalMediaNet, and
Umogul.com.
At Hitplay.com, Matt Smith
(bottom left) has been trusted
with real responsibility—and his
salary is nearly double what he
was earning in traditional film.