''Epic Fu'' (formerly known as ''JETSET'') was a
web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...
created by producers Steve Woolf and
Zadi Diaz. The show premiered on June 1, 2006 with
Zadi Diaz as the host and ended in 2011.
Airing weekly on the ''Epic Fu'' web site and various online distribution channels, the show draws its content from current news stories centered on art, music, technology and web culture.
Format
![EPICFU Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/EPICFU_Logo.png)
Compared to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' and
MTV by ''
Advertising Age
''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in m ...
'' and described as a hyperfast-paced pop culture newscast by
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
, each episode of ''Epic Fu'' runs an average of 5–10 minutes and is generally divided into four main sections: news, music, interviews, and community.
News
Every episode of ''Epic Fu'' begins with Diaz at her desk introducing the week's top stories. The news section often includes stories highlighting how
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
and the web is affecting culture in art, music, style and politics. News stories are also submitted by audience members.
Music
The show typically includes a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
intermission called "Music Video Spotlight" also known as "Sh!t We Like," which highlights an independent or unsigned band or musician.
Interviews
Interviews appear in the second half of the show and are generally conducted on-location. Guests include web personalities, technologists, artists, musicians, political figures,
inventors
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, authors,
television personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
, and off-beat types.
Community
The Epic Fu community provede news links, correspondent pieces, and response videos to "Campfire" discussions. The central hub for the show's community is called MIX, currently involving over 4,000 of the show's fans, and is located on the Epic Fu website. There, fans upload photos, videos, music, submit ideas, and begin discussions on forum threads.
EPIC FU also uses social networking sites like
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
to connect with fans. The show regularly initiates collaborative projects to involve its community. Some of these have been a collaborative film,
flash game
A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer.
Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...
battles,
Alternate Reality Games
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions.
The form is defined by inten ...
(ARGs), and participation in an eco-challenge called ''Seven Days Without Plastic''. Participating members are incorporated into the show.
History
![Epicfu newmediaexpo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Epicfu_newmediaexpo.jpg)
Epic Fu first premiered as JETSET (also referred to as ''Jet Set Show'') on June 1, 2006.
Amanda Congdon and
Andrew Baron were initially tied to the first few episodes of the production, but the partnership dissolved with the ''
Rocketboom'' split in July 2006.
In April 2007, JETSET was the first established web show to sign with web video studio
Next New Networks (NNN). NNN took the role of selling sponsorship and handling
cross-promotion Cross-promotion is a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing of a brand; for example, Oprah Winfrey's promotion on her televi ...
for the show. In its tenure with NNN, the show grew from 30,000-40,000 views per episode to 3 million views a month.
In October 2007, Smashface Productions decided to change the name of the show from JETSET to Epic Fu, citing a need to protect their
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
with a more original name.
After a year with NNN, Epic Fu was contemplating a move to television, but then signed with West Coast digital studio
Revision3
Revision3 was a San Francisco-based multi-channel television network that created, produced and distributed streaming television shows on niche topics. Founded in 2005, it operated as a subsidiary of Discovery Digital Networks since 2012.
The ...
in June 2008. A the time, EPIC FU was the highest profile web show to switch from one new media studio to another. The partnership ended shortly after in December 2008, when Revision3 laid off nine employees, cancelled three original shows and eliminated two of its distribution deals, citing that the shows didn't fit with their long-term plans.
Currently, Epic Fu is independently run and distributed through
Blip.tv
Blip (formerly blip.tv) was an American media platform for web series content and also offered a dashboard for producers of original web series to distribute and monetize their productions. The company was founded on May 5, 2005, and it was locate ...
.
Production
Episodes of Epic Fu are produced by Smashface Productions and filmed in Los Angeles, California. Production is led by Diaz and Woolf.
The show has had various producers involved throughout its time on-air, including Brian Lerner and Rick Rey. Annie Tsai and Sarah Atwood have also helped in production efforts and occasionally acted as correspondents. Daniel Merlot and Mike Ambs have been credited as editors.
Segments
![Streamyawards02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Streamyawards02.jpg)
Below are past and present segments that have appeared on EPIC FU.
Notable interviews
A partial list of some of the people that have been interviewed on EPIC FU
*
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' Th ...
of The Huffington Post
*
Chuck D of Public Enemy
*
Dan Harmon
Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast '' Harmontow ...
&
Rob Schrab, creators of Channel 101 and The Sarah Silverman Program
* Dr. Horrible writers
Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen () in Los Angeles, California)[Maurissa Tancharoen](_blank)
biographical inf ...
, Jed Whedon,
Zack Whedon
Zachary Adam Whedon (born August 14, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and comic book writer.
Early life
Whedon is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and t ...
*
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
, founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX
*
Fatal1ty
Johnathan Wendel (born February 26, 1981), more commonly known by his online alias Fatal1ty (pronounced "Fatality"), is an entrepreneur and former professional esports player of the first-person shooter titles '' Quake'' and ''Painkiller.'' He ...
, pro gamer
*
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
, actor and star of Dr. Horrible and The Guild
*
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan William Coulton (born December 1, 1970), often called "JoCo" by fans, is an American folk/comedy singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are " Co ...
, singer-songwriter
*
MC Frontalot
Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer.
Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and ...
, nerdcore hip-hop musician
*
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''.
Called the "punk poet ...
, singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician
*
Tim Heidecker
Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
He has also appeared in films, including '' Bridesmai ...
&
Eric Wareheim
Eric Alexander Wareheim (; born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netf ...
of Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job
*
Xeni Jardin
Xeni Jardin (; born Jennifer Hamm, August 5, 1970) is an American weblogger, digital media commentator, and tech culture journalist. She is known as a former co-editor of the collaborative weblog ''Boing Boing'', a former contributor to '' ''Wire ...
of Boing Boing
Awards
References
Further reading
* Alimurung, Gendy. ''LA Weekly'
Some UTA Online All-Stars November 15, 2007.
* ''The Associated Press'
Websites attract striking writers with creative freedom, potential profits November 29, 2007.
* Bell, John. ''Digital Influence Mapping Project'
October 24, 2008.
* Gannes, Liz. ''NewTeeVee'
Epic Fu Creators Back at Next New Networks March 4, 2009.
* Gannes, Liz. ''NewTeeVee'
Whither Epic Fu? Next Steps for the Seminal Web Show September 3, 2009.
* Hart, Hugh. ''Wired'
March 30, 2009.
* Hustvedt, Marc. ''Tubefilter'
'EPIC FU' is Back, Dazzles Web TV Meetup Crowds January 22, 2010.
* Moran, Michael. ''Times Online'
The Web Watcher: PopJunkie TV; homemade television networks April 24, 2008.
* McCarthy, Caroline. ''CNet'
June 5, 2008.
* Miller, Liz. ''NewTeeVee'
Epic Fu’s Return: Same Flavor, Slightly More Focus January 22, 2010.
* Parkins, Cameron. ''Creative Commons'
Featured Commoner: Epic Fu August 4, 2008.
* Whitney, Daisy. ''TV Week'
Leading Digital Agents October 26, 2008.
* Whitney, Daisy. ''TV Week'
Boxee in Deals With Blip, iPhone March 16, 2009.
External links
*
*
''EPIC FU''on Blip
*
''EPIC FU'' Official Myspace page''EPIC FU'' Official Facebook fan page*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epic Fu
2006 web series debuts
2011 web series endings
Creative Commons-licensed podcasts
American non-fiction web series
Internet television channels
American news websites
Video podcasts
2010s YouTube series
Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows
2020s YouTube series