Claymation Sketches - Together or Individual?

[mad_hatter]

So, I'm planning on returning to something I started doing quite some time ago... Making claymations!

The sketches I plan to make would vary in length, perhaps 1-4 minutes long. I've got a number of sketches written and a number of ideas semi-fleshed out. They'd all be horror/comedy; some featuring established horror characters (you know, Jason, Freddy, et al), some parodying popular TV shows, some completely original.

What I'm trying to decide is whether to release each sketch individually, or to group 3 or 4 sketches together into an episode. If I did this, I expect I'd produce 6 or 8 episodes.

Are there any thoughts as to why one should go one way rather than the other? More individual videos must translate into more views for the channel, right? Any thoughts as to which would entice the most subscribers?

The episode format would (hopefully) end up something like Robot Chicken, although I'd hate to seem like I were ripping them off (I think my crappy claymations will be different enough to their action figure stop motion)! However, I'd also like to differentiate myself from the likes of Lee Hardcastle, whose work I love and would love to emulate, but don't want to be accused of copying.

Any thoughts on my above ramblings?

Cheers guys!

 

[JoshL]

This is extremely relevant to my interests and I'm very excited to see what you come up with!

I'm not an expert, but it is my understanding that one of the best ways to keep an audience engaged is regular updates, it might be good to do the shorter videos and post them once a week. Get yourself a buffer of a few weeks so you don't drop the schedule. And you can always put the videos together into longer episodes later.

In fact, just rolling with your idea for a minute, it might be neat to release the sketches, and then release an episode with new content tying them together. Maybe cryptkeeper style hosting, or maybe a unique story for each episode that runs through them all. If you REALLY want to go all out, you could layer the jokes so they stand alone, but when put together, they form a larger joke.

Man, so many places you could go with this one! Keep us updated!

 

[samwagner1000]

i think Josh makes some good points, definitely give yourself a buffer! (i need to do this with my photography) dry post spells means lost interest, the internet has no attention span.

also, yeah, post 'em up here! it's the kind of work i've admired, but never focused on, so i can't wait to see what you come up with

 

[mad_hatter]

Thanks for the input, both.

I've decided to go with posting each one individually. I'm fully aware that with a "proper" web series you need to keep your weekly release schedule, which is something that I'm not sure I could really keep up with. I think one short sketch a week is doable on my part, but even if I go eight or nine days without a post, the fact that they don't really run as a consecutive series would mean that the potential audience wouldn't even notice.

Anyway, I made myself a Jason Vorhees figure last night for my first sketch...