science

Web series

Web series is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Web series rather than just read about it. In short: A web series, also known as a short-form series or web show, is a collection of short scripted or unscripted videos, generally in episodic form, released via the Internet. A typical episode of a web series can be anywhere from 3 to 15 minutes long (though some may run up to 20 minutes).

Key takeaways

Web series belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Web series to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Web series from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A web series, also known as a short-form series or web show, is a collection of short scripted or unscripted videos, generally in episodic form, released via the Internet. A typical episode of a web series can be anywhere from 3 to 15 minutes long (though some may run up to 20 minutes). A single installment of a web series can be called a webisode or an episode. Web series are distributed on 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 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. As a form of new media, web series first emerged in the mid-1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s.

How web series differ from similar media formats Although the design of a web series can be similar to that of a television series, the scale of a web series is smaller and its development and production do not entail the same financial investment required for a television series. The popularity of some web series, however, has led to them being optioned for cable and streaming television. Web series are different from streaming television series. In contrast to web series episodes, which have shorter runtimes, streaming television episodes are usually 30 to 60 minutes (runtimes can also be longer). Although both are accessed through the Internet, streaming television series are designed to be watched on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+. OTT services offer original productions made by and for them as well as licensed content acquired with distribution rights. These streaming television services operate as modern counterparts to traditional television networks. Web series differ from short-form content, such as microdramas, in that the latter are vertical videos specifically designed for smartphone viewing and intended for fast-paced consumption, with runtimes typically ranging from less than one minute to three minutes.

Recognition

Festivals There are film festivals for web series, such as Melbourne WebFest (Australia), Seoul Webfest(South Korea), Webfest Berlin (Germany), NYC Web Fest (United States), LA Web Fest (United States), and Vancouver Web Fest (Canada).

Awards Awards organizations have been established to celebrate excellence in web series and most major award ceremonies have created web series and digital media award categories, including the Emmy Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards. The Webby Awards, established in 1996 by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), and 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 the Streamy Awards in 2009 and 2010. Due to the poor execution and reception of the 2010 awards show, IAWTV decided to halt its production of the ceremony. This decision led to the formation of the IAWTV Awards in 2012, which recognize creators, cast, and crew of short-form digital series from around the world.

History

1990s In April 1995, "Global Village Idiots", an episode of the reality-based program Rox on public access cable television in Bloomington, Indiana, was uploaded to the Internet, making Rox the first show distributed via the web. The same year, Scott Zakarin created The Spot, an episodic online story that 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 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 show premiered simultaneously on Showtime and online. The character occasionally appeared on Showtime, for example, hosting a "Lethal Ladies" programming block, but spent most of her time online, appearing in 100 webisodes.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Web series

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Web series claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Web series before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Web series ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Web series

In research: Web series appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Web series in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Web series is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital media, Internet broadcasting, New media, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Web series outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Web series in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Web series means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Web series out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Web series in simple terms?

Why does Web series matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Web series?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Web series.