61-507: Death Battle (stylized as DEATH BATTLE! ) is an American animated web series about battleboarding . Originally published by the website ScrewAttack in 2010, the show has changed considerably over its history. It is the oldest running web series in the battleboarding genre, and has gained a cult following. The show is narrated by fictional hosts named Wiz and Boomstick, respectively voiced by series creators Ben Singer and Chad James. These characters were originally disembodied voices, but as
122-718: A "Lethal Ladies" programming block, but spent most of her time online, appearing in 100 webisodes. As broadband bandwidth began to increase in speed and availability, delivering high-quality video over the Internet became a reality. In the early 2000s, the Japanese anime industry began broadcasting original net animation (ONA), a type of original video animation (OVA) series, on the Internet. Early examples of ONA series include Infinite Ryvius: Illusion (2000), Ajimu (2001), and Mahou Yuugi (2001). In 2003, The Spot executive producer and head writer Stewart St. John revived
183-614: A certain format. Visual or cinematographic cues may be given, as well as scene descriptions and scene changes. In the early silent era , before the turn of the 20th century, "scripts" for films in the United States were usually a synopsis of a film of around one paragraph and sometimes as short as one sentence. Shortly thereafter, as films grew in length and complexity, film scenarios (also called "treatments" or "synopses" ) were written to provide narrative coherence that had previously been improvised. Films such as A Trip to
244-730: A fully-animated battle scene that decides the winner of the matchup, taking into account the prior analysis. The show's formula is inspired by shows such as Animal Face-Off and Deadliest Warrior , but uses fictional characters in place of animals or historical warriors. Notable episodes of Death Battle include " Goku VS Superman ", " Galactus VS Unicron ", and " Gojo VS Makima ". Death Battle has featured multiple styles of animation across different episodes, including 2D pixelated animations and 3D animations integrating motion capture technology. The show's battle animations typically feature high levels of graphic violence . Death Battle has had multiple spin-off series. ScrewAttack created
305-401: A list of master shots. However, screenwriters soon began to add the shot-by-shot details that characterized continuities of the films of the later silent era. Casablanca (1942), is written in this style, with detailed technical instructions interwoven with dialogue. The first use of the term "screenplay" dates to this era; the term "screen play" (two words) was used as early as 1916 in
366-516: A new Internet studio, EQAL, and produced a spin-off from lonelygirl15 entitled " LG15: The Resistance ". Mainstream press began to provide coverage. In the UK, KateModern ended its run on Bebo . That site also hosted a six-month-long reality/travel show, The Gap Year , produced by Endemol UK, who also made Kirill , a drama for MSN . During MipCom, in October 2008, MySpace announced plans for
427-478: A new original series created by Craig Brewer that brought together the indie music world and new media expansion. Joss Whedon created, produced and self-financed Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starring Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day . Big Fantastic wrote and produced Foreign Body , a mystery web series that served as a prequel to Robin Cook 's novel of the same name. Beckett and Goodfried founded
488-404: A poll among fans rather than research or debate. Death Battle debuted in 2010 as a web series published by the website ScrewAttack; Death Battle became ScrewAttack's most popular show. The website began to shift its focus towards the show, and in 2019 ScrewAttack rebranded to focus exclusively on Death Battle . The show was acquired by Rooster Teeth , and all of ScrewAttack's existing content
549-535: A second series and indicated that it was in talks with cable network Foxtel to distribute their first series on network television. Additionally MySpace spoke of their plans to produce versions of the MySpace Road Tour in other countries. The emerging potential for success in web video caught the attention of top entertainment executives in America, including former Disney executive and current head of
610-401: A series of video interviews featuring actors and directors like Guillermo del Toro , Santiago Segura , Álex de la Iglesia , and Keanu Reeves , which were distributed through his own website. lonelygirl15 , California Heaven , " The Burg ", and SamHas7Friends also gained popularity during this time, acquiring audiences in the millions. lonelygirl15 was so successful that it secured
671-405: A single brad at the top left-hand side of the page, making flicking through the paper easier during script meetings. Screenplays are usually bound with a light card stock cover and back page, often showing the logo of the production company or agency submitting the script, covers are there to protect the script during handling which can reduce the strength of the paper. This is especially important if
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#1732800815448732-441: A spin-off of the syndicated television series Weird TV . The web series featured dozens of shorts, comedy sketches, and mini-documentaries produced exclusively for MSN video. The video-sharing site YouTube was launched in early 2005, allowing users to share television programs. YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim said the inspiration for YouTube first came from Janet Jackson 's role in the 2004 Super Bowl incident , when her breast
793-430: A sponsorship deal with Neutrogena . In 2007, the creators of lonelygirl15 followed up the series' success with KateModern , a series which debuted on social network Bebo , and took place in the same fictional universe as their previous show. Big Fantastic created and produced Prom Queen , which was financed and distributed by Vuguru , and debuted on MySpace . These web serials highlighted interactivity with
854-404: A wider range of creators to develop web series. As well, since web series are made available online, instead of being aired at a single preset time to specific regions, they enable producers to reach a potentially global audience who can access the shows 24 hours a day and seven days a week, at the time of their choosing. Moreover, in the 2010s, the rising affordability of tablets and smartphones and
915-494: A year. Rogers Media will help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, solidifying a connection between traditional media and new media such as web series. Web series can be distributed directly from the producers' websites, through streaming services or via online video sharing websites . The Webby Awards , established in 1996 by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), and
976-413: Is a written work produced for a film , television show , or video game (as opposed to a stage play ) by screenwriters . A screenplay written for television is also known as a teleplay . Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A screenplay is a form of narration in which the movements, actions, expressions and dialogue of the characters are described in
1037-413: Is available as a mobile application and a website. The first screenwriting software was SmartKey , a macro program that sent strings of commands to existing word processing programs, such as WordStar , WordPerfect and Microsoft Word . SmartKey was popular with screenwriters from 1982 to 1987, after which word processing programs had their own macro features. Script coverage is a filmmaking term for
1098-446: Is convenient to read or put in a pocket; this is generally for use by the director or production crew during shooting. Although most writing contracts continue to stipulate physical delivery of three or more copies of a finished script, it is common for scripts to be delivered electronically via email. Electronic copies allow easier copyright registration and also documenting "authorship on a given date". Authors can register works with
1159-415: Is double-spaced, action lines are capitalized, and scene headings, character entrances and exits, and sound effects are capitalized and underlined. Drama series and sitcoms are no longer the only formats that require the skills of a writer. With reality-based programming crossing genres to create various hybrid programs, many of the so-called "reality" programs are in a large part scripted in format. That is,
1220-460: Is usually invented solely by the screenwriter, though spec screenplays can also be based on established works or real people and events. For American TV shows, the format rules for hour-long dramas and single-camera sitcoms are essentially the same as for motion pictures. The main difference is that TV scripts have act breaks. Multi-camera sitcoms use a different, specialized format that derives from stage plays and radio. In this format, dialogue
1281-475: The Indie Series Awards , established in 2009 by We Love Soaps, recognize independently produced comedy, drama, and reality TV entertainment created for the web. In 2009, the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) was founded with the mission to support and recognize artistic and technological achievements in the digital entertainment industry. It administered the selection of winners for
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#17328008154481342-635: The Internet (i.e. World Wide Web ), which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single instance of a web series program can be called an episode or a webisode . The scale of a web series is small and a typical episode can be anywhere from three to fifteen minutes in length. Web series are distributed online on video sharing websites and apps , such as YouTube , Vimeo and TikTok , and can be watched on devices such as smartphones , tablets , desktops , laptops, and Smart TVs (or television sets connected to
1403-545: The Streamy Awards , (which awards web series content) in 2009 and 2010. Due to the poor reception and execution of the 2010 Streamy Awards, IAWTV decided to halt its production of the award ceremony. The IAWTV followed this decision by forming the IAWTV Awards (which recognize creators, cast, and crew of short form digital series from around the world) in 2012. Screenplay A screenplay , or script ,
1464-599: The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) Registry, and even television formats using the FRAPA 's system. Screenplays and teleplays use a set of standardizations, beginning with proper formatting. These rules are in part to serve the practical purpose of making scripts uniformly readable blueprints of movies, and also to serve as a way of distinguishing a professional from an amateur. Motion picture screenplays intended for submission to mainstream studios, whether in
1525-432: The Internet with a media streaming device ). They can also be released on social media platforms. Because of the nature of the Internet, a web series may be interactive and immersive. Web series are classified as new media . Web series are different from streaming television series, as the latter is purposed to be watched on streaming platforms such as Netflix , Amazon Prime Video , and Hotstar . Although
1586-529: The Moon (1902) and The Great Train Robbery (1903) had scenarios consisting respectively of a list of scene headings or scene headings with a detailed explication of the action in each scene. At this time, scripts had yet to include individual shots or dialogue. These scenario scripts evolved into continuity scripts , which listed a number of shots within each scene, thus providing continuity to streamline
1647-537: The Rooster Teeth website, acquiring over 100 million social media views during its run. Rooster Teeth would eventually create RWBY in 2013. In 2004, Salad Fingers was created, which amassed a cult following. Sam Has 7 Friends , which ran in the summer and fall of 2006, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award , and was temporarily removed from the Internet when it was acquired by Michael Eisner . In 2004–2005, Spanish producer Pedro Alonso Pablos recorded
1708-747: The Streamys and IAWTV also cover programs on streaming platforms. Most major award ceremonies have also created web series and digital media award categories, including the Emmy Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards . There are also several web series festivals , most notably in Los Angeles and Vancouver . In April 1995, "Global Village Idiots", an episode of the Bloomington, Indiana -based public access program Rox ,
1769-541: The Tornante Company, Michael Eisner. Torante's Vuguru subdivision partnered with Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Media on October 26, securing plans to produce upwards of 30 new web shows a year. Rogers Media agreed to help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, thereby solidifying a connection between old and new media. The rise in popularity of mobile Internet video, along with technological improvements to storage, bandwidth, and bitrates, led to
1830-499: The US or elsewhere in the world, are expected to conform to a standard typographical style known widely as the studio format which stipulates how elements of the screenplay such as scene headings, action, transitions, dialogue, character names, shots and parenthetical matter should be presented on the page, as well as font size and line spacing. One reason for this is that, when rendered in studio format, most screenplays will transfer onto
1891-451: The analysis and grading of screenplays, often within the script-development department of a production company. While coverage may remain entirely verbal, it usually takes the form of a written report, guided by a rubric that varies from company to company. The original idea behind coverage was that a producer's assistant could read a script and then give their producer a breakdown of the project and suggest whether they should consider producing
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1952-417: The audience in addition to the narrative on relatively low budgets. In contrast, the web series Sanctuary , starring actor/producer Amanda Tapping , cost $ 4.3 Million to produce. Both Sanctuary and Prom Queen were nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award . Award-winning producer/director Marshall Herskovitz created Quarterlife , which debuted on MySpace and was later distributed on NBC . In 2009,
2013-420: The brand for online audiences with a new cast, and created a separate mobile series to air on Sprint PCS Vision-enabled phones. St. John and partner Todd Fisher produced over 2,500 daily videos of the first American mobile phone soap, driving story lines across platforms to the web counterpart, The Spot (2.0). The same year, Microsoft launched MSN Video, which featured the original web series Weird TV 2000 ,
2074-404: The closure of Rooster Teeth, fans of Death Battle speculated about the show's future, and the hashtag "#SaveDeathBattle" trended on Twitter . The rights to the show were acquired by series creator Ben Singer, making it an independent series . In July 2024, the staff of the show announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund future episodes. The campaign surpassed its original goal of $ 75,000 within
2135-514: The designing of a web series can be similar to that of a television series their development and production does not entail the same financial investment required for a television series. The popularity of some web series, however, have led to them being optioned for television. As of 2021, a number of awards have been established to celebrate excellence in web series, like the Streamys , Webbys , IAWTV , and Indie Series Awards , although
2196-427: The erasure of accessibility and affordability barriers. This meant that high-speed broadband and streaming video capabilities for producing and distributing a web series became a feasible alternative to "traditional" series production, which was formerly mostly done for broadcast and cable television. In comparison with traditional TV series production, web series are typically less expensive to produce. This has allowed
2257-464: The explicit visual continuity and strict adherence to a budget that continuity scripts afforded, the master-scene script was more readable, which is of importance to an independent producer seeking financing for a project. By the production of Chinatown (1974), this change was complete. Andrew Kenneth Gay argues that this shift has raised the status of directors as auteurs and lowered the profile of screenwriters. However, he also notes that since
2318-617: The filmmaking process. While some productions, notably D. W. Griffith 's The Birth of a Nation (1915), were made without a script, preapproved " continuities " allowed the increasingly powerful studio executives to more accurately budget for film productions. Movie industry revolutionary Thomas H. Ince , a screenwriter himself, invented movie production by introducing an " assembly line " system of filmmaking that utilized far more detailed written materials, clearly dedicated to "separating conception from execution". Film researcher Andrew Kenneth Gay posits that, "The process of scripting for
2379-466: The first twenty-one minutes of launching. Death Battle is one of the most popular web series dedicated to battleboarding , and the show's YouTube channel has been described as a "central hub" for fans of the genre. The show has a cult following, and several online communities exist both for discussing the show and writing fan-made episodes . It also inspired similar shows such as Super Power Beat Down and Grudge Match . Death Battle helped popularize
2440-733: The first web series festival was established, called the Los Angeles Web Series Festival . In 2008, major television studios began releasing web series, such as the ABC show "Squeegies", the NBC show Gemini Division , and the Bravo show The Malan Show . Warner Bros. relaunched The WB as an online network beginning with their first original web series, " Sorority Forever ", created and produced by Big Fantastic and executive produced by McG . Meanwhile, MTV announced
2501-406: The left to accommodate hole punches ). The major components are action (sometimes called "screen direction") and dialogue . The action is written in the present tense and is limited to what can be heard or seen by the audience, for example descriptions of settings, character movements, or sound effects. The dialogue is the words the characters speak, and is written in a center column. Unique to
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2562-512: The overall concept and story. The script format for documentaries and audio-visual presentations which consist largely of voice-over matched to still or moving pictures is different again and uses a two-column format which can be particularly difficult to achieve in standard word processors, at least when it comes to editing or rewriting. Many script-editing software programs include templates for documentary formats. Various screenwriting software packages are available to help screenwriters adhere to
2623-494: The overall skeleton of the show and its episodes are written to dictate the content and direction of the program. The Writers Guild of America has identified this as a legitimate writer's medium, so much so that they have lobbied to impose jurisdiction over writers and producers who "format" reality-based productions. Creating reality show formats involves storytelling structure similar to screenwriting, but much more condensed and boiled down to specific plot points or actions related to
2684-526: The required format written into the rubric of their writer's contract. The Nicholl Fellowship , a screenwriting competition run under the auspices of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , has a guide to screenplay format. A more detailed reference is The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats . A speculative screenplay or "spec script" is a script written to be sold on the open market with no upfront payment, or promise of payment. The content
2745-669: The rising ownership rates of these devices in industrialized nations means that web series are available to a wider range of potential viewers, including commuters, travelers, and other people who are on the go. The emerging potential for success in web video has caught the eye of some of the top entertainment executives in America, including former Disney executive and current head of the Tornante Company, Michael Eisner . Eisner's Vuguru subdivision of Tornante partnered with Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Media on October 26, 2009, securing plans to produce over 30 new web shows
2806-405: The screen at the rate of approximately one page per minute. This rule of thumb is widely contested — a page of dialogue usually occupies less screen time than a page of action, for example, and it depends enormously on the literary style of the writer — and yet it continues to hold sway in modern Hollywood . There is no single standard for studio format. Some studios have definitions of
2867-400: The screen did not so much emerge naturally from other literary forms such as the play script, the novel, or poetry nor to meet the artistic needs of filmmakers but developed primarily to address the manufacturing needs of industrial production." With the advent of sound film , dialogue quickly dominated scripts, with what had been specific instructions for the filmmaker initially regressed to
2928-545: The screenplay (as opposed to a stage play ) is the use of slug lines . A slug line , also called a master scene heading , occurs at the start of each scene and typically contains three pieces of information: whether the scene is set inside or outside (INT. or EXT.; interior or exterior), the specific location, and the time of day. Each slug line begins a new scene. In a " shooting script " the slug lines are numbered consecutively for ease of reference. American screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using
2989-438: The screenplay is no longer a technical document, screenwriting is more of a literary endeavour. The format is structured so that (as a ballpark estimate ) one page equates to roughly one minute of screen time, though this often bears little resemblance to the runtime of the final production. The standard font is 12 point , 10 pitch Courier typeface . Wide margins of at least one inch are employed (usually larger for
3050-405: The script is likely to pass through the hands of several people or through the post. Increasingly, reading copies of screenplays (that is, those distributed by producers and agencies in the hope of attracting finance or talent) are distributed printed on both sides of the paper (often professionally bound) to reduce paper waste. Occasionally they are reduced to half-size to make a small book which
3111-452: The scripts for use in the US letter size, especially when their scripts are to be read by American producers since the pages would otherwise be cropped when printed on US paper. Because each country's standard paper size is difficult to obtain in the other country, British writers often send an electronic copy to American producers, or crop the A4 size to US letter. A British script may be bound by
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#17328008154483172-512: The series Desk of Death Battle , which showcases pop-culture trivia that the ScrewAttack team found interesting while researching and writing the main show, presented by Death Battle supporting character Jocelyn the Intern, who is voiced by Lisa Foiles . Additionally, DBX is a spin-off series that, like Death Battle , features both 2D and 3D animated battles, but with winners decided by
3233-521: The show progressed they became animated characters. Wiz is a genius scientist who presents scientific information and mathematical calculations, while Boomstick is a street-smart redneck that discusses weapons, armor, and feats. Each episode of Death Battle features a matchup between fictional characters from different media that have similar powers, skills, or backstories. The majority of each episode showcases background information about each character while analyzing their abilities and feats, and ends with
3294-412: The silent era to refer to the film itself, i.e. a play shown on a screen. With the end of the studio system in the 1950s and 1960s, these continuities were gradually split into a master-scene script , which includes all dialogue but only rudimentary scene descriptions and a shooting script devised by the director after a film is approved for production. While studio era productions required
3355-560: The standard American letter size (8.5 in × 11 in; 220 mm × 280 mm). They are then held together with two brass brads in the top and bottom hole. The middle hole is left empty as it would otherwise make it harder to quickly read the script. In the United Kingdom, double-hole-punched A4 paper is normally used, which is slightly taller and narrower (210 mm × 297 mm; 8.3 in × 11.7 in) than US letter size. Some UK writers format
3416-513: The strict formatting conventions. Detailed computer programs are designed specifically to format screenplays, teleplays, and stage plays. Such packages include BPC-Screenplay, Celtx , Fade In , Final Draft , FiveSprockets , Montage , Movie Draft SE, Movie Magic Screenwriter , Movie Outline 3.0, Scrivener , and Zhura . Software is also available as web applications , accessible from any computer, and on mobile devices , such as Fade In Mobile Scripts Pro and Studio Binder, and WriterDuet , which
3477-523: The title of Infoseek's "Cool Site of the Year," an award which later became the Webby. In January 1999, Showtime licensed the animated sci-fi web series WhirlGirl , making it the first independently produced web series licensed by a national television network. In February 1999, the series premiered simultaneously on Showtime and online. The character occasionally appeared on Showtime, for example hosting
3538-480: The use of mathematical calculations to determine the strength of fictional characters; in the battleboarding fandom, such calculations are called "calcs". The show has faced occasional controversy and backlash online surrounding the chosen winners of some episodes. Web series A web series (also known as webseries , short-form series , and web show ) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos , generally in episodic form , released on
3599-461: Was exposed during her performance, and later from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami . Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, which led to the idea of a video sharing site. From 2003 to 2006, many independent web series began to garner and achieve significant popularity, most notably the series known as Red vs. Blue by Rooster Teeth . The series was distributed independently using online portals YouTube and Revver , as well as
3660-442: Was moved to the Rooster Teeth website. Death Battle was published by Rooster Teeth from 2019 until 2024, at which point Rooster Teeth was shut down by its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery . In 2020, Amazon Prime Video sponsored a promotional episode of Death Battle to advertise the second season of The Boys . Rooster Teeth created a spin-off card game based on the show, titled Death Battle: The Game . Following
3721-457: Was uploaded to the Internet, making Rox the first series distributed via the web. The same year, Scott Zakarin created The Spot , an episodic online story which integrated photos, videos, and blogs into the storyline. Likened to Melrose Place -on-the-Web , The Spot featured a rotating cast of characters playing trendy twenty-somethings who rented rooms in a fabled Santa Monica, California beach house called "The Spot". The Spot earned
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