Viral Video Showdown
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Creativity and edgy themes get airtime in video contests.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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What's the Story?
VIRAL VIDEO SHOWDOWN is a reality competition that features talented viral video creators competing for a cash prize of $5,000. Hosted by Kevin Pereira, each episode features two teams of video creators producing high-end Internet videos that contain content that is well-written, well-produced, and entertaining. The twist? They only have four days and a tiny budget to do it. After a non-stop schedule of writing scripts, acting, filming, editing, scoring, and incorporating special effects, the teams show their final videos to the panel of judges: Adam Sessler, the editor-in-chief of games content for the G4 Network, notable viral video producer Brittani Taylor, and Sandeep Parikh, creator and director of Comedy Central's online series, The Legend of Neil. The team they believe produced the most creative and all-around impressive video wins the cash and gets to brag about their success. Meanwhile, audiences can vote for their favorite team video via Twitter to help them win a $2,500 cash prize.
Is It Any Good?
Viral Video Showdown underscores how, like television and film, creating and producing quality Internet content requires talent, money, skill, and time. It also showcases the process by which this content gets made, beginning from brainstorming sessions to coming up with a good story idea to inserting last-minute special effects with the use of computer software to create a visual masterpiece.
Teens interested in what goes into creating film, TV, and online content will definitely be drawn to what is being done here. Some may even be inspired to begin creating their own videos, especially when they see some of the familiar home computer equipment being used to do the work. Overall, the show demonstrates that the Internet may be a wild place, but it has the potential to feature some smart and creative work, too.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about online videos. What are the differences between producing online videos vs. movies or TV shows? What characteristics do online videos have to have to be considered "good"? Do you think sites like YouTube feature high-quality content?
Do you think Internet videos creators should limit the amount of sexual, violent, and/or other mature content they put in their work? Parents: What are some of the ways you can protect kids from seeing this material before they are ready?
TV Details
- Premiere date: November 30, 2012
- Cast: Adam Sessler, Kevin Pereira, Sandeep Parikh
- Network: Syfy
- Genre: Game Shows
- Topics: Arts and Dance
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: October 23, 2022
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