Exclusive #CatVidFest Report and Interview With Henri Le Chat Noir’s Will Braden

Denise showed up with a posse of fellow cat-loving friends ready to help her in any way they could. Nikole took notes, Susie managed to tape some of it and all snapped photos. Whenever a group of cat lovers shows up at any event, a good time is guaranteed even when there are glitches.

Q & A With Denise Dibetta and Will Braden

DD: On this tour, I’m interested to know if you feel that the audiences differ from one city to another?

WB: That’s a great question! Absolutely, there’s a huge difference! The best part about this thing is that everybody appreciates the cat videos at some level…I mean, you’d have to be a monster not to laugh at a cat video! Because they are so universally acceptable, you can be in any city, with any number of people, and it’s still going to be fun. But, the cities and the audiences are all different…sometimes is subtle differences, sometimes bigger due to cultural differences. Boise, for instance, it was more family oriented, you know, like a fun thing to take the kids to do. Seattle was more of a cross over of people.. families and a younger partying generation, etc. For instance we had a costume contest and I had a few people up on stage that just were ‘elsewhere’, you know? They stared right through you! It was fun though!

Then like in New York and Minneapolis, the atmosphere is more like pop-culture. What you see, really, is the differences in the levels of enjoyment depending on if the viewers are actually cat owners vs. people who are just there to appreciate cat videos. The cat owners are going to relate totally differently from the people who don’t own a cat because of how they personally relate to what they are seeing on the screen.

Mostly differences in audiences are subtle…for instance in some cities a certain video will invoke a strong response and then in another, the audience is ‘blah’. Sometimes the responses are infectious, people will laugh and get others around them laughing too!

DD: How much of what we see in your films is a true reflection of his personality?

WB: I am enjoying leeching of Henri’s fame, as always.

DD: Tell me about your kitty Nin, and if you are working on any projects that focus on her?

WB: Yes! Nin! She’s a half Bengal, half-whatever kitten that I got from a shelter. She’s very rambunctious and thinks she’s the queen of the castle. She is not used to other cats, but has quickly learned that anything within her 600 square foot environment is safe, so she is not afraid of other people, and not even responsive to discipline! She has tons of energy and is very cute. I am definitely thinking of a project to do with her, but it is on hold right now because of this tour.

What I’m considering is a play on the ‘Mystery Theater 2000’, where the hosts make fun of old science fiction movies. My thought is that Nin would be the first cat host that does a talk show about internet cat videos, you know, she’d review them and make snarky comments…I’m thinking like one episode a week. She would also review cat products, toys, etc. I’ve reached out to some sponsors, and because of the success with the Henri films, response has been really tremendous. It sounds great, but there’s a lot of work that goes into producing weekly, even if it’s a cat against a green screen, there’s all the editing and work you have to put into it. I really want to do it though, and I’m surprised no one else has already thought to do it. Because of the amount of work, its on hold now and won’t happen for a while.

DD: Did you have any new favorites from the videos shown tonight? And based on your observations of how the audiences are reacting, do you foresee any new and upcoming ‘celebricats’ resulting from this tour?

WB:I don’t know about celebracats so much because its hard to gauge what people will respond to, its just really hard to predict. But, I do see things early on sometimes and think to myself, that’s going to be popular. There was a video not too long ago about a dog and cat who are friends… I saw it and thought this is going to be huge. I ‘shared’ it on Henri’s page still thinking that it was going to be big. I was one of the first to share it, and it got a ton of traffic on Henri’s page. It’s now got a ton of hits. I mean, there is no formula for popularity. I do know though, that there are things to avoid when making videos. We all think our cats are the most amazing, and sometimes they are, but you have to take a step back, and ask yourself will the audience perceive the context the way you’ve intended? You have to put yourself in the position of someone who doesn’t know your cat, and make sure that the video is not too long, that the concept is clear, and that it is not too personal.

Our current Cat Wisdom101 favorite Henri le Chat Noir video about the dreaded black box aka suitcase and morons masquerading as cat sitters. And yes, that’s Braden narrating Henri in French.