I got an interesting email last night from David Hissami, CEO of WhoaShow.com, who wanted to clarify a TechCrunch Article that compared the service to an Exquisite Corpse, which he felt was unfair.
I guess TC author Erick Schonfield is sticking to his …

The Whoa Show makes video shows that star the audience while Kaltura allows users to create videos together. Two very different companies.

Indeed, The Whoa Show and Kaltura complement and benefit each other.

For example, let’s say someone wants to submit a video to one of our shows but wants to first collaborate on it with a friend or group of friends. Kaltura makes this possible.

And since our shows will make the video camera more exciting, more people will adopt it. This increases Kaltura’s potential market.

Janet & CARversation - Think of First In Action as a game with many players. It is a show you participate in, not just watch. It will be a public race, not a public display of art.

Filmmakers will join in on the fun, but First In Action is not a film festival. (It just might be the perfect break for your son, Janet, when he wants time off from his film projects & college studies.)

People don’t have to keep checking back on our site because we will provide a widget that updates with the latest clip from First In Action.

If you love the idea of a “time limit”, then you’ll just have to wait and see what we have in store with our second show, The Count Drop.

Thanks for the feedback!

David Hissami - hopefully you’ve read CARversation’s idea and will take it under consideration. Good luck with your venture.

Someone like you probably understands that. People who don’t care much and just want to be FIRST would just throw it together and submit. Possible result … a lot of crappy clips. Then they could change the name to crappyclips.com
I guess it would be good practice trying to create quality clips in record time! I just think your idea for a time limit for video submissions and then voting is a much better idea!

My son wants to go to SVA in NYC or the New York Film Academy (Steven Spielberg’s son went there!). Which schools are you looking into?

I’m wondering who would have the time to be constantly checking the site.
No one with a 9 to 5 job, no one seriously interested in their college studies … in other words, mostly people who have a lot of time on their hands.

My final thought is that I have an 18 yr old son aiming to get into film school and I would never want him to become “addicted” to this site as it would take his time and focus away from his classes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that to me, rather than pressuring people to be FIRST, it would be much better if videos were submitted and then VOTED UPON to be used! You’d get much better quality video clips that way. Get the audience to VOTE on the next clip to be used. I think you’d get much more audience participation and interest that way.

To answer your question — there is no limit. As long as a viewer is the first to follow the latest direction, his or her video will be the next one on the show. Some viewers might have several videos on First In Action while others will have none (no matter how many times they try to make it).

Hope this clarifies things a bit, stranger!

-Myra
Co-Founder, The Whoa Show

Video Guy - I hope my follow-up clears things up for you.

First In Action clips are titled numerically. The first clip will be “#1 by [insert username]“, the second will be “#2 by [insert username]“, and so on.

brett - The Whoa Show will keep releasing video shows, called Whoa Shows, that star the audience.

The web will serve as our only broadcast platform for now, but we will soon release mobile-specific Whoa Shows, and eventually expand beyond that (as technology allows).

I am confident that I can explain or address any issues or criticisms anyone might have, and will appreciate the opportunity to do so.

(We all know that negative comments posted anonymously and without substance are from spammers, and like most of you, I simply ignore them.)

The Whoa Show makes video shows that star the audience. First In Action, our first show, is set up as a never-ending chain of video clips. Every clip has two parts: at the beginning, someone follows the direction that was given in the previous video. At the end, he or she directs the next video.

The only way to make it on the show, and give a direction, is to be the first to follow the latest direction.

For example, one person says, “I want you to scare someone.” The first person to scare someone might then say, “I want you to confess something on tape for all the world to hear.” The first person to do this might then say, “I want to see a guy introduce his mom to everyone and kiss her!” On and on, the spontaneous fun keeps going.

Unlike the Exquisite corpse projects, First In Action has no finality. There is no buildup with each clip, and there will be no “completed” work.

First In Action is not a movie, and there will not be a single “scene”, at least in the film sense.

Although a certain collaboration takes place when someone gives a direction and other people (in response) race to follow it, First In Action can’t be described as collaborative, since each video clip in the chain is created separately and individually.

And while it can be considered art in some regards, First In Action is all about entertainment. The show will have low-quality and high-quality videos, but this won’t affect its mainstream youth appeal. Like MySpace, it will be judged on viewership and participation by the target audience, not artistic quality.