Dangerously Delicious, DRM Free

March 20, 2012 11:12 AM

In the wake of Louis C.K.'s tremendously successful experiment (previously 1, 2), Aziz Ansari of Parks and Recreation fame has released his own self-produced comedy special, "Dangerously Delicious," straight to fans and DRM free.
posted by paradoxflow (54 comments total)

Confirmation Email:

"OH SHIITTTT!!!! Thanks for buying my new comedy special!!! THAT $5 IS MINE SON. Just kidding, but seriously it is."
posted by Ad hominem at 11:16 AM on March 20, 2012 [15 favorites]

And look out for Jim Gaffigan and Joe Rogan who are both releasing comedy specials soon a la Louis... the paradigm has shifted folks.
posted by pwally at 11:20 AM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

What the hell, Aziz? You named your special after a well-known pie shop in Baltimore?
posted by schmod at 11:29 AM on March 20, 2012

Louis C.K.'s breakdown of initial fixed costs seemed high (not outrageous but still high); so I wonder if, as more performers start following with this model and general production costs begin to fall as well what that will mean for the market...
posted by stratastar at 11:30 AM on March 20, 2012

stratastar: "Louis C.K.'s breakdown of initial fixed costs seemed high (not outrageous but still high);"

Louis has really high standards for production quality, and I imagine spent lots of that money on good cameras and talent behind them. Both the $5 special and his previous special Hilarious were the most beautifully produced comedy specials I've seen on film.
posted by Apropos of Something at 11:32 AM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Halfway through reading the FPP I thought Ansari had a pilot for an incredibly sad and dark half hour comedy series, which didn't sound like something he would do. This makes so much more sense.
posted by mellow seas at 11:33 AM on March 20, 2012

If this is the set he did last year (and I'm pretty sure it is), I really, really, recommend it.
posted by sixacross at 11:33 AM on March 20, 2012

I think we should officially name packaging and selling your own performance in order to subvert the traditional distribution channels a "Louis".
posted by carlodio at 11:37 AM on March 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think we should officially name packaging and selling your own performance in order to subvert the traditional distribution channels a "Louis".

Not a "Trent"?
posted by kenko at 11:40 AM on March 20, 2012 [9 favorites]

Louis has really high standards for production quality, and I imagine spent lots of that money on good cameras and talent behind them. Both the $5 special and his previous special Hilarious were the most beautifully produced comedy specials I've seen on film.

Huh. My film friend was pretty annoyed about the quality of the $5 special. The different cameras were exposed totally differently and then not balanced in post, which is a pretty basic mistake, and distracting if you notice that kind of thing. I speculated that maybe Louis did the edit himself and just doesn't have that part figured out yet.

I'm not saying you're wrong, though, just looking at different things -- what did you like about the production?
posted by Honorable John at 11:42 AM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

yes, he edited himself (on final cut pro).
posted by nadawi at 11:46 AM on March 20, 2012

he also edits much of his television show.
posted by nadawi at 11:48 AM on March 20, 2012

I think we should officially name packaging and selling your own performance in order to subvert the traditional distribution channels a "Louis".

Not a "Trent"?

Not a "George Lucas?"
posted by The World Famous at 11:51 AM on March 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

...which is a pretty basic mistake, and distracting if you notice that kind of thing.

Somehow I think this percentage of the audience is really, really, really small.
posted by odinsdream at 11:55 AM on March 20, 2012

I don't have an opinion of Aziz Ansari but for $5 I'll take a shot. I like this model, artists please keep it up!
posted by djeo at 12:04 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

That dude is awesome.
posted by karathrace at 12:12 PM on March 20, 2012

Not a "Trent"?

Not a "George Lucas?"

no because the arbitrary rules of this arbitrary maneuver require that the name ends in an "ee" sound...
posted by carlodio at 12:16 PM on March 20, 2012

I know that you can't judge a comedian by the character he plays in a certain context, but I find Aziz Ansari's character on Parks and Rec so loathsome that I'm having a hard time dissociating him from the role. Is his style of humor Tom Haverford-like? The preview clip really does not inspire me with confidence.
posted by painquale at 12:31 PM on March 20, 2012

Not a "George Lucas?"

That would be a variant where what you're selling is reheated crap.
posted by entropicamericana at 12:34 PM on March 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

painquale - there are lots of clips on youtube.
posted by nadawi at 12:45 PM on March 20, 2012

Produced by Entertainment 720?
posted by holdkris99 at 12:45 PM on March 20, 2012 [4 favorites]

I know that you can't judge a comedian by the character he plays in a certain context, but I find Aziz Ansari's character on Parks and Rec so loathsome that I'm having a hard time dissociating him from the role. Is his style of humor Tom Haverford-like? The preview clip really does not inspire me with confidence.

Not really. He's mostly just a nerd comic. He has an alter-ego that he occasionally plays (RAAAAAAAANDY, his character in "Funny People") which is basically where all the superdouchey jokes go, but it's made pretty apparent that that is Aziz making fun of superdouchey comics.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:47 PM on March 20, 2012

From what I can tell, there is no essential difference between Tom Haverford the character on Parks and Recreation and Aziz Ansari, except Aziz is a little louder and definitely feels like a college comedian: sample.
posted by mecran01 at 12:53 PM on March 20, 2012

That guy is the sole reason I cannot stand to watch Parks & Recreation. Which means he is single-handedly responsible for me not being able to enjoy Ron Swanson. Which means there's no way in hell he's getting any money from me.

Patton Oswalt needs to do a special like this.
posted by jbickers at 12:58 PM on March 20, 2012

I try to keep a list of what I consider the "best bang for my buck" and that Louie CK $5 special is still on top. Even though I can sometimes find Surly Furious for $2 a glass.

Seriously, the middlemen are committed to destroying us just so they can make another hundred bucks.
posted by Sphinx at 1:27 PM on March 20, 2012

this special is indietastic
posted by Yowser at 1:35 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was semi-amused that on the previous threads about Louis C.K.'s gambit, some commenters seemed to think the point was that this would prevent free downloading. I think Louie's intent was to show you could make a good profit while essentially ignoring the free downloading.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:36 PM on March 20, 2012

In the UK, Richard Herring and Stewart Lee (previously) also have £5 downloads made available recently. "90s Comedian" in particular has one of my favourite endings of any piece of comedy in the last decade.
posted by rollick at 1:37 PM on March 20, 2012 [5 favorites]

I want this model to succeed so, so hard.
posted by Space_Lady at 1:38 PM on March 20, 2012

Mental Wimp: I was semi-amused that on the previous threads about Louis C.K.'s gambit, some commenters seemed to think the point was that this would prevent free downloading. I think Louie's intent was to show you could make a good profit while essentially ignoring the free downloading.

There is a lot of peer pressure in the pirating community to not pirate these sorts of projects, actually. They still get pirated, of course, but it's very much "not cool", even amongst people for whom casual piracy is second nature most of the time.

Now, that would likely stop if this distribution method became the standard. For now, though, while it's still novel? There will likely be less piracy of the project, and a not insignificant number of purchases made just to show support for the model.

If I were an entertainer, I'd be jumping on the bandwagon before the novelty wears out.
posted by gilrain at 1:57 PM on March 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

my prediction is that someone will do this and have it be massively successful (I could see Dave Chappelle doing huge numbers self-releasing like this) and then the networks and middlemen will find some way to co-opt it.
posted by billyfleetwood at 2:27 PM on March 20, 2012

From today's New York Times:

Comics Are Now Selling Laughs by the Download -- "Louis C. K.’s pay-per-download experiment has shown other comedians that Internet performances might be a way to avoid middlemen and censors."

posted by ericb at 2:27 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

prepare your mind
FOR A MIND EXPLOSION
posted by fetamelter at 3:21 PM on March 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

Honorable John: "what did you like about the production?"

I'm mostly thinking of Hilarious here, because I feel like that's the place where Louis established his visual tone, but sitting down with it in the theater, I remember being absolutely captivated by how low key it was. When Chris Rock (to grab a handy example) does a stand up special, the first three to five minutes are all about how great Chris Rock is and how excited people are to see him - when he walks out, it's like you're watching a rock star. Louie's entrances, in both specials, aren't like that: they're a very introspective man climbing out of an ordinary car, sitting in a green room and walking on stage. I felt like that tone continued throughout the entirety of the specials: very rarely do you see a typical head on close up of Louis performing; you're as likely to see a cross stage shot, and you never (to my memory) see someone laughing. When I saw it, I remember thinking that this was the first time I'd ever seen a stand up film so clued into capturing an act for posterity.
posted by Apropos of Something at 3:47 PM on March 20, 2012 [4 favorites]

Thanks for pointing this out! Just like the Louis CK video, it was a cinch to buy and to copy to my iPad for in-flight viewing at a later date.
posted by w0mbat at 3:56 PM on March 20, 2012

How could you not like Tommy Haverford? Look at his little smile in the opening credits! It makes me laugh everytime.

Can't wait to get home and download this.
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 4:16 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, Lewis Black's special was released and, as a Canadian, I don't think they've made it available to me. Is EpixHD a thing up here? Count me in as someone who really hopes the Louis CK distribution model becomes the new standard.
posted by Gary at 4:53 PM on March 20, 2012

I'm curious if less well known comics can get together to release package deals that still bypass the industry, maybe $5 for short 20 sets by six different guys, who's combined fan bases represent the critical mass necessary to promote such a deal.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:54 PM on March 20, 2012

umm short 20 min sets
posted by jeffburdges at 5:56 PM on March 20, 2012

Somehow I think this percentage of the audience is really, really, really small.

Probably, but I honestly have to say -- I pulled up the Louis CK bit first thinking "Oh yeah, I was supposed to check that out.." and viewing the sample had me going "AGGH! Why aren't these cameras color corrected, if not at least white balanced?!"

Still -- $5. But he could at least post it after the fact. Yay for new models!
posted by cavalier at 6:17 PM on March 20, 2012

Purchased on principle.
posted by device55 at 7:03 PM on March 20, 2012

After purchasing I realize that he's got basically the same purchase/login/redownload workflow and terms and whatnot.

I wonder if there's not a canny developer who is selling the Indie Download Solution to Louis and company.
posted by device55 at 7:05 PM on March 20, 2012

This might be my dumb head, but when I see Aziz Ansari do stand-up, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm reminded of a faster-talking Mitch Hedberg. Obviously not in terms of content or joke-format, but... delivery, maybe? I feel like there's something about the way Ansari says words that makes me think of Mitch Hedberg, but I can't quite place it. Little help?
posted by scottjacksonx at 8:14 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ansari's gotten a lot of Hedberg comparisons. He talks about it in his WTF interview; basically he went through a period where he was listening to a lot of Hedberg and he started to mimic his delivery a bit.
posted by mr_roboto at 8:49 PM on March 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

I watched it. It was pretty good. Def worth $5.
posted by dobie at 9:13 PM on March 20, 2012

Not a "Trent"?

Not an "Aimee"?
posted by dhartung at 11:49 PM on March 20, 2012

I think of these more as brand loyalty experiments than anything else. I love Louis CK, so I bought his $5 special pretty much on the spot. I don't love Aziz that much, but still, $5 is a pretty good price for this sort of thing...

The one thing the Louis CK special proved is that people are willing to pay for something if they think the price is right. $5 pretty much registers as a non-expense for most, and I'm happy to support this model.
posted by alvarete at 5:03 AM on March 21, 2012

(This post brought to you by the word "pretty" and the letter "h")
posted by alvarete at 5:04 AM on March 21, 2012

Aziz Ansari is so adorable!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 8:03 AM on March 21, 2012

$5 pretty much registers as a non-expense for most, and I'm happy to support this model.

On top of this, it really was just buying a video for $5. He wasn't trying sell you a premium upgrade, be your facebook friend, or even try to show you an ad. Even the opt-in for the newsletter defaulted to no.

To paraphrase Marco Arment (the Instapaper guy), only on the internet is selling a product for money considered revolutionary.
posted by Gary at 3:24 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

Paid the $5 and I'm downloading the bonus material as well. Seems like a good deal.
posted by dragonplayer at 5:21 PM on March 21, 2012

Totally in favor of this model, and will purchase. But... I've had this problem before: what is it about standup as a form, that turns me off so much? I love skit comedy, and have learned to appreciate improv. But standup just irritates me and registers as almost completely non-humorous. When people are in character I'm totally captivated... when they're just telling jokes I just want to leave the room. This is especially clear to me here. Tom Haverford can make me laugh just by being onscreen. And the promo itself here is hilarious. The onstage routine... boring. I must be genetically deficient because it happens even with verifiably great humorists. If they're not in character I'm just not amused somehow.
posted by Erroneous at 7:35 AM on March 22, 2012

Jim Gaffigan's special has just been released for $5 as well.
posted by Gary at 10:07 PM on April 10, 2012

If they're not in character I'm just not amused somehow.

I realize its late in the game here erroneous, but stand-up comedians are always - always - in character. try to think of it that way
posted by holdkris99 at 12:45 PM on April 11, 2012