Story posted Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Internet TV Show Springs Up In Glenview Garage
By TOM ROBB Journal & Topics Reporter
Maybe Hip, an online television network with five weekly shows, was started last December by three Glenview residents in their early 20's. Here, the show is shot on a green screen set in Patrick Lothian's Glenview Road garage. Backdrops for the various shows are computer generated.
Three Glenview residents all in their early 20's launched the Internet-based television network MaybeHip.com last December.
After three months on the web and an investment of about $10,000 in equipment, Maybe Hip is producing five programs a week and has had 12,000 views of their original programs to date.
Last year three unemployed 2004 Glenbrook South High School graduates, Rob Silver, Patrick Lathian and Lexi Scherr, found themselves graduated from college and unemployed with few prospects.
"We decided that if we were going to be unemployed, we might as well try our hand at something creative and entertaining that could turn into something more," said Silver.
"We need to go big or go home," said Scherr about their decision to spend as many as 18-hours each day on the project that has netted little to no returns yet. The group now has seven or eight regular contributors working on the show.
Silver said the group is making inroads into the Chicago music scene by interviewing artists and co-sponsoring concerts, aligning with Chicago Convergence, a group of 2,800 digital media professionals for their "Chicago Rocks" live music performance program, and the "My Indie Life" program that introduces viewers to "the best bands you've never heard of."
In addition to Chicago Rocks and My Indie Life, the group produces several other programs.
"Your News" is a lighthearted commentary on the week's news events, some submitted by viewers and some found by the group.
"For or Against" takes on pop culture. Commentators debate "for or against" various pop culture icons and everyday things. The most recent For or Against took on elementary school lunches.
"OK, Good Stuff" features reviews of web-based programs and the "Instant Movie Review" takes a closer look at movies in local theaters.
Visiting the team on a recent day of filming, the Journal did not find any elaborate sets in the converted garage that serves as a studio, but rather a bare space with walls painted green.
The "green screen" set allows several different sets to be constructed digitally and added to the show after taping.
Silver said the group is looking for advertisers in the long term and is hoping to develop the best programming they can right now.
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