This week on #WebSeriesWednesday I watched yet another British comedy (seems like they all are)! “The Vessel” might be a perfect example of how to structure a web series.
The Vessel is the story of a gay couple’s journey into parenthood – or perhaps more importantly, the tale of a surrogate mother’s inability to say “no” and the dire consequences!
The show has some pretty funny scenes and moments but I will remember the series for two significant production decisions made long before those jokes were echoed out of the actors mouths and recorded by a microphone!
Most strikingly The Vessel is told entirely from a first person perspective – mostly that of the vessel herself. This is obviously a non-standard storytelling style – something you are unlikely to see on tv or film, at least not for the entirety of a program.
This is one of the cool things about web production – making a non-standard choice is fine, you can do as you like. There is not going to be some suite from a studio telling you that you can’t take that risk.
Of course there is a reason why these choices might be frowned upon in main stream productions. First person perspectives are weird, they break the fourth wall, and they put a lot of limitations on the storytelling.
In the case of ‘The Vessel’ I commented during the live tweet that the unseen main character was too easily convinced of just about everything. This is caused by the inability to really edit with this style.
The style has its merits. The emphasis is put heavily on the woman carrying the child which certainly helps the audience to feel the pressure of the situation. That said I cannot seem to decide if going 100% first person was the best choice.
The Vessel has a ‘made for the web’ structure. Each episode is one scene. I’m sure I have discussed this before, because The Vessel is not the first to employ this style by any stretch. Still I believe it is important to discuss why this structure works so well.
A scene, by its very nature, has a beginning, middle and an end. One of the keys to telling an engaging story is giving your audience at least close to three acts every time out. The more complex your structure the more difficult it is to follow this rule of beginning, middle, end.
Consider your show from your audience’s perspective. A web series with a week to week release schedule forces the viewer to leave and come back. If your first video contains only one act (the beginning) at best you leave the viewer wanting more (generally a good thing) but you NEVER leave your viewer satisfied.
Generally speaking the more time you have to tell a story the easier it becomes to have a beginning, middle and end. Of course on the web we are generally trying to make content shorter and more easily consumed, so it makes sense to pair things back.
Both ideas considered, the best web series structure should be at the intersection of “complete” and “succinct.” One scene per episode just might be that sweet spot.
The Vessel succeeds because it’s structure and silly charm made each episode enjoyable on its own. It’s the type of show you can enjoy one at a time, all at once, and maybe over again (rewatches and a season 2?).
You can find The Vessel on their web site http://thevesselseries.com
