• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, July 16, 2007

Sony is re-inventing video-sharing site Grouper as a vehicle for new talent.

The site, now dubbed "Crackle," will solicit video from online filmmakers in a variety of categories including animated shorts, comedy and the like. Producers of the clips deemed the best will get cash prizes and the opportunity for contracts with Sony.

The move comes as the explosion of affordable video cameras and platforms that enable the easy uploading of clips have triggered an avalanche of new video content online. But figuring out which of the growing assortment of clips have commercial potential is proving a daunting task -- though one that's attracted some of Hollywood's top talent-finders.

"There is so much video on the Internet now that it's crying out for a step up in quality," Van Baker, research vice president of Gartner, told the Los Angeles Times. "That's just media companies doing what they do best, which is finding and distributing good content."

Consider, former Disney chief Michael Eisner also has taken to scouring the Internet for talent. Currently, around half a dozen interns work at his production company, where they seek out online clips and post the best at Vuguru.com's "The Cream."

Also, United Talent Agency earlier this year struck a deal with video site Veoh, with the goal of linking up-and-coming producers to established industry players.