Web TV Producer Sib Law In Search of His Audience

J. Sibley Law, known as Sib to most people, is busy making a name for his Stratford-based business, Saxon Mills, as a provider for original entertainment programming on the Internet.

His war horse in the battle for eyeballs is TangoDango.com, Saxon Mills' Internet channel, which recently was showing a light-heartedly gruesome retelling of Hansel and Gretel that reinterpreted what "Grimm Fairy Tale" meant.

Law says he is an active member of the International Academy of Web Television, the direction that he feels entertainment programming, and advertising, is headed on the Internet.

He got his start producing as part of a small team that produced the United Nations Commemoration in 1995 in San Francisco. Law said CNN produced all the video and he was grateful for their live coverage.

He is the former chairman of the Stratford Arts Commission who from 2005 to 2010 co-founded on the Shakespeare Theatre grounds, and co-founded , which showcased new works by over 100 Connecticut playwrights.

He also wrote and directed live theater for the stage, and his play "A Standing Date" was well received when it was staged at the Thomaston in 2010.

Playing a 'long game'

Law said he is playing "a long game" with his Internet venture, so its modest start-up success isn't daunting. WebTV, as it is called, is slowly but steadily building an audience.

An earlier attempt, "News for Blondes," featured newscasts by blonde host Bonnie Borst. "It was our attempt for a very female-friendly take on the news," he said.

He thinks it didn't catch on because the program wasn't clear what it was about. Law said the only way to avoid reinforcing the stereotype about ditsy blondes was to constantly explain the difference, which he didn't want to do. That created a problem with the brand.

"People didn't get why it was called 'News for Blondes,'" he said.

More on TangoDango

TangoDango tries to avoid that problem by presenting programming that is self-explanatory. Law said. There's a cooking show hosted by a fictional Mafia wise guy, an off-beat comedy series by Milford resident Mike Field about employees of a multiplex movie theater, and the Wonder Project, featuring short films by independent filmmakers from New York and Connecticut.

Advances in digital video and Internet technology make it easy and affordable to produce video content and feature it over the Web for subscribers and advertisers.

"I pretty much office out of the house," said Law, and he converted his garage into a studio complete with a green screen for adding visual backgrounds.

Stratford's location an hour from New York City allows him and his crew to use New York actors and locations, and to partner up with Big Apple-based Web TV production companies.

What's new for 2012?

"I'm very excited about an animation series," he said, though he didn't want to talk about the details because it is still under development.

Law did say the new program would demonstrate the possibilities for digital animation for political comedy programming. And it so happens that this is a presidential election year.

"Our goal is to lampoon the process of running for president," he said.