Crackle

Six of the best sites about Crackle, the Sony Pictures company billing itself as a site seeking and supporting talented video producers. Know of another site that should be listed here? Leave your suggestion at the bottom of this page.

1. Crackle - Post your video and see if you can catch Sony Pictures’ interest in your talent as a producer/director/writer, as Sony will use the site as a way to discover and fund new talent. Or, just watch videos uploaded by aspiring storytellers. (www.crackle.com)

2. Grouper Uses Sony Assets for Crackle - July 15, 2007 article on Crackle gives the site a good chance of gaining market share thanks to its strong backing by Sony, its distribution deals with other high-traffic Web sites, and the fact that aspiring filmmakers can see it as a faster path to a real career versus the more one-shot nature of many user-generated video sites. (newteevee.com)

3. Sony’s Grouper Reborn as Talent Agency - July 16, 2007 article on Sony changing both the name and focus of its Web site Grouper—changing the name to Crackle, and changing the focus from general user-generated videos in the YouTube style to user-submitted short films and videos that may catch the eyes and money of Sony Pictures. (www.usatoday.com)

4. Grouper Goes Hollywood - July 16, 2007 article on Grouper “completely scrapping their old site,” and emerging as Crackle. Discusses Cracle’s “branded channels,” how video producers can use the site to chase fame, and how Crackle’s new offering compares to other video sharing sites. (www.techcrunch.com)

5. The Next Kubrick? Sony Aims to Find Him - July 15, 2007 article on Crackle.com showing films of aspiring filmmakers and the fact that Sony will actually pay the cost to produce some of them. Describes how the service will work, with Crackle films also getting distribution on other platforms such as AOL, MySpace and Facebook, and talks with Grouper/Crackle founder Josh Feltzer about the new direction of the site. (www.iht.com)

6. Sony Pictures’ Crackle Bursts onto Scene and Screen with Pioneering Studio Model - July 16th press release from Crackle, Inc. announcing the launch (or re-launch) of its “streaming entertainment network” as a “launch pad for the best emerging video talent.” (www.broadcastnewsroom.com)