I got an interesting email last night from David Hissami, CEO of The Whoa Show, who wanted to clarify a TechCrunch Article comparing the service to an Exquisite Corpse, which he felt was inaccurate.

I guess TC author Erick Schonfield is sticking to his guns, so armed with some new info, StartupEarth sets the record straight.

The Whoa Show is a media company based in Orange County CA, whose aim is to make exciting video shows, called Whoa Shows, that star the audience.

The site will go live on New Years Day, with the first Whoa Show, “First in Action”, followed by “The Count Drop” and “Opposite Line”.

First in Action is set up as a never-ending chain of videos. At the end of every clip, someone gives a direction. The first person to follow it makes it on the show, and gets to direct the next person. So Billy says “I want you to scare someone”, Timmy scares his gran, then says “I want you to confess something on tape”.. Johnny does so, and directs the next clip likewise until the end of time.

David says..

“The Whoa Show is the first company to gain control over user-generated video content by providing structure to it. This allows our shows to become more valuable than professional content, especially given the high level of audience involvement and participation, and lack of production costs. “

There are multiple revenue models planned, including advertising, corporate branded shows, licencing and merchandising, using each shows unique attributes to take advantage of these models in a different way.

As for the TechCrunch Article, David makes the following points to clarify…

“First In Action was inaccurately compared to the Exquisite corpse and misleadingly labeled as “collaborative art”. This was the basis for the concerns laid out in the last paragraph of the article.

Unlike the Exquisite corpse projects, First In Action has no finality. There is no buildup with each clip, and there will be no “completed” work.

First In Action is not a movie, and there will not be a single “scene”, at least in the film sense.

Although a certain collaboration takes place when someone gives a direction and other people (in response) race to follow it, First In Action can’t be described as collaborative, since each video clip in the chain is created separately and individually.

And while it can be considered art in some regards, First In Action is all about entertainment. The show will have low-quality and high-quality videos, but this won’t affect its mainstream youth appeal. Like MySpace, it will be judged on viewership and participation by the target audience, not artistic quality.”

So there you have it. The Whoa Show is not collaborative art, nor is it an unfortunately named parlour game. This could be one to watch, and with any luck - star in yourself, so keep an eye on this startup.

It’s just a shame it launches on New Years Day, as I’ll be recovering from an almighty hangover.