Elize Morgan - TV, Transmediation and Web Series

Zen and the Art of Pitching: TV, Web, Film - and they all fall down.

2012-01-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

Pitching.

The Pitch. The throw. The curve ball. The dreaded walk in. The Meeting That Will Dictate The Rest of The Year. (TM)

I hyperbolize, perhaps, but for many writers/producers/actors the time spent in prepping for a pitch meeting is more than you ever spend in time in the pitch itself. For most people, the pitch is just a standard part of the year - a few weeks perhaps. But the prep for it - that's long and meandering.

An article from the LA Times, by TV writer Jesse Lasky hits on these issues. The pitch after all - is a moving target.

Needing advice on how to sell, I turned to my pal Scott, a car salesman. "Smile, make eye contact, and exude confidence," he said. "Make them want you more than you want them."

I then drove to my co-worker Frank's house, in my just-purchased only slightly used 1994 Chevy Silverado (what can I say? Scott's a good salesman). There, Frank said, "Just know what you're talking about." I thought it was sound advice, until I realized perhaps this was his way of telling me I usually don't know what I'm talking about.

Lastly, I was told to "practice over and over while looking in the mirror."

Advice in pitches, is much like that many fabled song that was an essay:
"Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."

Which is to say - when you're pitching, a good bit of advice you'll receive from people won't work pants for you because that's not how you think.

A pitch is, in some ways, a personal thing. A piece of art. A many splendid thing, really. Partially explosive creative dialogue, partially powerpoint presentation minus the powerpoint, and, of course, all brilliance.

In this case, the pitch seems to go great:

I began the pitch. Their excitement built as I talked, in turn getting me excited. I fielded their questions. Made them laugh. My fly wasn't open. This was going well.

The issue with the fly isn't always a game killer, but it'll put you off your game. Simple solution - wear clothing that looks good without a fly. Or button.

Generally, looking TV-writer-hip - i.e. semi-washed in the last twelve hours, fun shirt, nice pants and you're set. A blazer never hurts - but always remember to check the zippers, buttons and etc.

Then came the waiting game. I was prepared for the worst. After all, most pitches don't get sold.

Five days later I got the call — they're buying it!

They asked if I'd be willing to write it as a multi-camera traditional sitcom as opposed to the single camera comedy I originally proposed. Are they kidding? I'd write it in German subtitles if they wanted me to. I was elated. I've made it! I'm going to start wearing expensive sunglasses indoors and eating caviar omelets at every meal.

Amazing pitch! Great job in - from pitch to presentation to buying your goddamned pilot in a week.

Or, in reality, seven years, a chance meeting with the right people and a week. But truly - the week was important. In Lasky's case it didn't turn out so well - a network exec change over meant that the pilot didn't go forward - but the points in place - going balls out and practicing, practicing, practicing before.

Those were in place. And those things did work.

Other than the tried-and-true pitch-yourself-then-your-mom-then-your-boss-then-that-homeless-guy-down-the-street formula, there are some other bits and pieces to the art that can help.

The five (or whatever) bullet point system is fairly simple - if you can distill your concept down to a small number - five points that can fully describe your show. Have these written legibly in a nice and small notebook and refer to them if you run into trouble. This is pretty much the same thing you did when you practiced to tell your parents your girlfriend was pregnant or that you were going to drop out of college - the pitch is more important than either of those things.

F*ck It: I.e. Go in and wing it. I know more people who can salvage this than I care to admit. That said - most of them have a background in improv.

Powerpoint: Business types (not industry specifically) and CEOs love powerpoint. There's a reason for this - it distills concepts down to their component bits - and then puts them into tiny little slides. Please don't actually use a powerpoint presentation to do this - even if your shiny ipad has the ability. That said...

The iPad Pitch: Producers and later stage development for shows with bibles - they often have a shiny pitch that fits snugly on an iPad. Shockingly similar to the powerpoint pitch - it has all the pretty and shiny bits you'd put in your Bible...and on said powerpoint... In pretty and shiny ways on the iPad. It's different. Trust me.

The One Page/Leave Behind: A one page pitch is pretty simple - it's a quick synopsis of your show, your main characters and your show engine. Yeah, okay a one page can be a delightfully difficult write. And leave behinds are great if you like to kill trees.

The Discussion Meeting: Execs ask writers/producers/directors/actors/their sister's brother's kid to come in to chat ideas sometimes. It's usually a good idea to take said meeting - and to come in with some pitches that make sense for the network/production company.

So to review, the handy little acronym:

Idea
Research
Practice
Alcohol*

*Please to keep in mind that not all stages should be followed. Ever. Especially during the pitch.

Why SOPA & PIPA - matter to Canadian Content Creators

2012-01-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Sites like Reddit, wikipedia and then there's the rest of the Internet go dark today - against SOPA and PIPA.

The lowdown from the Reddit site:

FAQ
What is the intent of SOPA/PROTECT IP?
The stated intent of the bills is to provide tools for law enforcement and copyright holders to protect their intellectual property rights.

What’s wrong with protecting copyrights?
Nothing! The devil, as they say, is in the details. PROTECT IP and SOPA will cause too much collateral damage, have a high potential for abuse, and won't even be that effective at stopping the crimes they target. Read alienth's examination of where these bills fail.

I'm not in the U.S. Why does this affect me?
Many of the sites that you may use (e.g. Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, etc.) are all affected by this law and will be required to hide offending domains from you.

If a non-U.S. site is blocked in the U.S., the site could suffer financially or even be bankrupted by the loss of U.S. traffic and revenue.

Are non-US sites necessarily going to die with the lack of US traffic? Maybe not. One might even say probably not.

However, under SOPA and PIPA sites could be tried in America - based on random information - perfect strangers could, say, theoretically dislike something you said on a hot button issue - gay marriage, abortion, breathing correctly - and then claim issues of IP and then you're attempting to protect your site from American rules built in by people that don't understand the Internet.

Indeed, from CIRA:

If a Canadian website is found to infringe on copyright, U.S. search engines may be required to stop indexing the site in their results. If the site is hosted by an American ISP, it could be shut down. A Canadian online business could find itself without a system to collect payments if a U.S. online payment provider is required to not do business with them.

OR: The Oatmeal explains it all with a gif:

To find out more about the Canadian side of things, Michael Geist has ongoing coverage of the issues.

When TV Meets the IntARnets: Mass Participation, Marketing and the Internets (z) (TM)

2012-01-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

KAPLAN: Hillbilly Handfishin' is like the No. 1 title on television!
BERWICK (smiling): Wait a minute. How do you prove that?
KAPLAN: I don't have to. I say it three times and it's true. Title is everything. In a world where people are scrolling through [programming guides] and when you never have enough marketing money, if you can put out a title and people go, "I've got to watch that . . ."

From Female Cable Execs Talk The Future Of TV.

And while I'm not sure Hillbilly Handfishin' is the show that tops out the list of to-watch-shows for me - to say it's the number one title on all TV, and then keep at it?

That, friends, is marketing at its best.

And more in truth - marketing is what can make or break a film - depending, entirely, on how the media interprets something.

And with the numbers not readily apparent (though TV By the Numbers is a great resource) - it's sometimes a little bit easier to claim that in TV. But it doesn't hurt to claim to be the top in web in your demographic. It's possible to use that spin - and that kind of positivity in your brand - to keep pushing it out there.

The other thing that's becoming more and more apparent for the TV types seems to be what has been apparent for the last ten years - the new kids don't like waiting, and if you don't have access to a place to watch the show, then they'll find it some other way.

"Nobody under the age of 16 is scrolling through the cable guide. Their first choice is either VOD, Hulu, Netflix, or DVR."

Because the new audiences are impatient easily - which implies that they're looking to be as interactive as possible in a lot of ways. The ideology behind 'time slots' has died - it died ages back for anyone under 30.

To get on top of that, though, there's other things that can be done.

BERWICK: We'll constantly ask, How do you get people to go from one platform to another and back? We want them to go TV, online, and back to the TV. With the new season of Top Chef, we launched this thing where you don't know why some people come back on the show unless you watch a web piece.
KAPLAN: You're stretching the brand in a way that doesn't damage it.
GANELESS: There has to be more innovation. It can't just be, Here's a clip, pass it on to your friends. It has to be, How do we reward them for participating? A lot of our viewers grew up in that generation where everybody got a soccer trophy.
KAPLAN: Our viewers and employees.
GANELESS: Exactly. So how do we develop this conversation? TV has been a one-way medium. We've been successful in a few of our shows, Tosh notably and Colbert notably, where he can get the Colbert Nation to do things like sponsor a speed-skating team. How do we evolve that process not just for singular talent-driven shows like those, but for scripted shows?

And this is the key - it's all about creating real ways to integrate that are beyond the show, but still let people interact with the original show.

It's always a bit of a question of what works - but there seems to be some really strong placement in the cable industry for reality shows.

Which begs the question - is Mass Participation the best way to get involvement from scripted content and audiences?

Motivation, Transmedia and Getting INnovative.

2011-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

The video relates in a lot of ways to some great understandings of human behaviour - that, perhaps, the carrot and the stick model aren't working for a number of reasons.

This is a huge step in how we look at the development of, say, a game or writing a script for an online source, or a web series - or even looking to incentivizing for fundraising. The consistent and ongoing thought with regard to, say, a game is that if you offer a huge reward ($10,000) people will show up - sure they will. But maybe they won't.

For something basic - for a basic physical task, as the video shows: "As long as the task used only mechanical skill, bonuses worked as expected" - the higher the pay, the better the performance. Thus, for someone working primarily on something not cognitive based - a repetitive action, per se, the ideal goal is thus - higher pay. Or a bigger reward - or a nicer farm in farmville.

That said, "once the task called for rudimentary cognitive skill, a larger reward lead to poorer performance."

This is definitely an interesting way to look at building online properties - to understand that at the end of the day should the task require, say, more than simply madly clicking the actual monetary reward doesn't matter (so much), and that using that understanding should thus lead to the idea of building a paradigm that people can work in - small rewards, but having greater buy in (and more complex problems) isn't a bad thing.

Especially since, as they continue to discuss, a lot of people that could easily be involved with more complex transmedia projects - like an ARG or similar - are often the ones that will spend 20-30 hours working on something like wikipedia or Linux... for free.

Pitch Notes: Digital Launch Pad

2011-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

The Digital Launch Pad is a staple of NextMedia - at both Banff Media Festival and NextMedia Toronto - and is an interesting look at a variety of the ongoing tech developments.

It also speaks to a growing disparity in the tech world where things like web series and new web sites are compared and contrasted as if they're exactly the same thing.

Up at the Digital Launch Pad on the web series side was Out With Dad, Clutch the Series, and White Collar Poet.

In hot web site it was Social Game Universe, She Takes on the World and Mobile Artist.

She Takes on the World won, which is interesting because on paper it's the least innovative among the entire lot of them. Not bad, at all - it's a great site and does exactly what the intention of the site should do very well.

However, her pitch, is something Natalie MacNeil has nailed - and that's exactly where things can be taken to the next level.

Natalie lives and breaths media and marketing - most of the folk in the audience (and the entire team on the panel) were in advertising and marketing - and her entire presentation was one that defined the numbers, her audience and exactly what she could do for them.

Pitching is an art, and beyond that a practiced aspect around a cool show, a great premise, but being able to give a great elevator pitch is a science in and of itself.

The Art of Pitching on Forbes defines a great pitch as such:

"If you can articulate in two sentences the problem and the solution, you've nailed it."

Advice for anyone, really, going up to the Digital Launch Pad - or even going up to a producer - it's important to always know exactly what you're offering, how you can give that to them and what you can fix... in one or two minutes.

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From the NextMedia blog series.

Jane Espenson and Cheeks, on Husbands, Working in Web and TV

2011-12-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Husbands isn't a new idea per se - there's been great jumps in web content for the queer community through series like Out With Dad and Anyone But Me (to name just a few!) - but it's definitely been a fun ride to watch through. And co-creators Jane Espenson and Brad Bell chatted with me about their process.

Jane Espenson (Firely, Buffy, all around awesome) co-created the show with a great team - including lead Brad Bell (Cheeks) and director Jeff Greenstein - and they shot it all in one big batch.

Thanks so much for taking the time to discuss Husbands with me. It's a fun show, and it's always fantastic to see other series coming out in the web world. It's been fantastic to watch so far!

JE: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it. I'm really proud of how it came out. Jeff Greenstein directed it, and we had an amazing crew, and it really came out looking great. Our cast: Cheeks, Sean Hemeon and Alessandra Torresani blew me away with their performances. And I love the amount of comedy we were able to get into these little bite-sized episodes.

- -

In creating Husbands what was the original inspiration?

JE: This grew out of an idea that Cheeks (writer Brad Bell) had about two LA-based characters to be played by himself and Alessandra Torresani, trying to outgrow their own boozy Hollywood fun. When we started talking about the concept together, we realized that there would be more to say if we built the show around a young gay married couple. Alessandra remained as Haley the best friend, but the character of Brady (played by Sean Hemeon) was added.

What issues have you faced in getting the show out to an audience - with both Jane Espenson and Cheeks having established fan bases already, has it been difficult in any ways to access media sources?

JE: We've had some really high-level exposure, but I think that web series are still seen as a sort of second-tier of entertainment, which is a shame. I don't care about the media exposure as an end in itself, but I hope that everyone who would love this series gets to hear about it. We're getting lots of views, but of course we always want more. I'd love to be able to get the kinds of numbers that make it really clear to the powers that be that there is an audience eager for this content.

What's been the best part of the process for you and your team?

JE: I loved writing the scripts with Cheeks, and shooting was cool. Jeff Greenstein is a great director – calm and hilarious at the same time. I loved how open and creative the shoot was. And now watching the reaction is so gratifying. I think the only hard part of the process was the week before we put the first episode up on line. We were all overworked and worried and stressed.

Conversely, what was the most difficult part of working on a web series as opposed to working in TV?

JE: On TV, there is (metaphorical) moving machinery that pulls each episode along; each stage of the process triggers the next stage. Our amazing line producer M. Elizabeth Hughes kept things moving, but even on a blissfully smooth web series process, there just isn't that big machine, and each step takes a little more thought and initiative.

Having talent who work traditionally in TV and film is obviously a great way to establish and move forward - have you had any resistance in working in digital series from those quarters?

JE: Not at all. We got Nathan Fillion for a cameo appearance and he was delighted to be involved. And Jeff and I both come from very traditional TV backgrounds. I think everyone who came from TV to this web project really enjoyed the speed and maneuverability of the smaller scale project. That sense that we could be purely creative without having to second guess people above us – that was great.

In developing the season arc, what was the best part of the process?

JE: It's really more of a pilot than a season. The eleven two-minute "episodes" go together to tell one pilot story, but with developments that hint at the sort of stories we would tell in a longer season. The best part of developing the arc was discovering the richness and variety of the stories we could tell with these characters in this situation. Almost anything the actors talked about between shooting would spur discussions about how this could become an episode.

The show itself has a really unique structure - in that they are such short pieces and they all lead, in some ways, to great outs. Was it written in an episodic format or more, say, like a film?

JE: It was a combination. They were written (at least in the early drafts) mostly in sequence, with attention to how the story lay out overall, but they were also written with that purposeful episode break every two pages.

What's been the best way to move through the process with all the episodes?

JE: We'll let you know when we find the "best way" – we've sort of been blundering through a way that works for us. With the three of us all sharing executive producer credit, we find ourselves having to reach a consensus that doesn't always come easily. But so far there haven't been any stand offs.

Was the release schedule - every Tuesday and Thursday - decided in advance? Has it been difficult to keep up with?

JE: We did set that in advance, and we haven't had trouble making those dates. Again, I'll credit the crew including our director of photography Ben Kantor and editor Nate Atcheson with keeping us on time.

You've been lucky to have your entire cast, and writer and director directly engaged on twitter - and all talking about the show - how has this shaped your experience?

JE: Well, that's been a great help with PR, of course – we're all working hard to make sure people are aware of the show and that they know to go to http://husbandstheseries.com to see the episodes. But Twitter has also been great for keeping us all looped in with each other – we know when the others are busy or distracted or excited about the next step in the process.

Husbands seems, in some ways, a launching point for the WeYuMe site - has that given you any opportunity to build bridges across both fan bases?

Cheeks: Husbands is somewhat of a flagship presentation from my site, WeYuMe, which is an online entertainment portal. I'm in the process of building and branding it as an independent source for original web content that is both forward thinking and lifestyle focused.

The blog that has been the primary feature of the beta version caters to creatives, geeks, fashionista, foodies, and entertainment lovers. In that sense, I think it does capture a demographic wide enough to build bridges while maintaining a unique flavor of specificity

Using Cheeks as a base for the character is not only fantastic to watch - how much of that related to him and how much really pushed out beyond that?

Cheeks: I think outlining the distinctions would take the fun out of it. If I were being like, all ferrealzies, I'd say to attempt explanation would limit the freedom from judgement that exists in all of my art. Guess you'll just have to watch and see for yourself or whatevs.

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This will be part of an ebook being released in 2012 on making web series and working in transmedia spaces.

A Plague, A Spot, oh, and what exactly is a Strong Female Character?

2011-11-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

While walking idly down the street I happened to overhear some folks chatting in the financial district. It wasn't intentional (okay, the truth is that I may have picked up the conversation because my phone is dead and therefore not actually offering me music)

EXT. FINANCIAL DISTRICT - DAY
Guy

You know she's one of those women. She flirts with all the men.

Woman

She's a bitch to other women.

Pregnant pause, obvious tension.

Guy

I'd say, like, 90% of women just don't like other women. It's weird, it's like they just don't have role models that they see on TV.

Alright, maybe that last bit was mostly made up, but it's kind of valid. Also, I've learned how to just make up statistics on the fly - thank you Random-Business-Guy.

The NY Times posted this article on defining "strong" female characters.

Strong Women are ‘Tough, Cold, Terse, Taciturn and Prone to Not Saying Goodbye When They Hang Up the Phone’

To be fair no one ever says goodbye on TV - if they do it's dead air, and as a writer you don't add that in (unless, of course, you can make it a strong character beat) - but the question is still valid - what does make a strong female character?

All of the actresses I've worked with have been fantastic - if it's for Pretty in Geek, The Gate or TV work I've done - and they all have the same complaint. They go into auditions and the parts have nothing to offer - they're the character who is seen having sex, giving information or, you know, that girl that the guy wants to date. The characters don't have depth or they're too "perfect" - finding female characters that are as conflicted as their male counterparts can often be terribly difficult.

Sure there's exceptions to this - but in my admittedly non-scientific study of Mandy casting calls I found (for five different shoots) - there were 10 male parts, and 3 female parts. All of the female parts - the breakdowns were either "innocent and naive" or "ball-buster".

Or, if they're in tween, they're the girl-next-door-who-likes-pretty-dresses:

One of the reasons I write is to and get more of that out there. There's a lot of crappy female parts out there - in every part of screen from film to TV to web. While web seems a bit more egalitarian in the gender ratio, I've never actually done a full study, and I think it might break out in a similar way to TV and film - there are still less female characters in general on the screen.

And the question still remains - what is a "strong" character - female or otherwise.

“Strong female character” is one of those shorthand memes that has leached into the cultural groundwater and spawned all kinds of cinematic clichés: alpha professionals whose laserlike focus on career advancement has turned them into grim, celibate automatons; robotic, lone-wolf, ascetic action heroines whose monomaniacal devotion to their crime-fighting makes them lean and cranky and very impatient; murderous 20-something comic-book salesgirls who dream of one day sidekicking for a superhero; avenging brides; poker-faced assassins; and gloomy ninjas with commitment issues. It has resulted in characters like Natalie Portman’s in “No Strings Attached,” who does everything in her power to avoid commitment, even with a guy she’s actually in love with; or Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy; or pretty much every character Jodie Foster has played since “Nell” or, possibly, “Freaky Friday.”

The point that Chocano eventually makes in the article relates to a more or less recent film - with Bridesmaids and why the lead is, in fact, someone we can call a strong female character.

We don’t relate to her despite the fact that she is weak, we relate to her because she is weak.

We relate to interesting and strong characters because they're interesting - not because they're actually physically strong, or stoic. It's because they're nuanced, because there's interest there.

The argument in the above video - that boys (or men) won't associate with female characters, but women will (and can) do the same for male characters is drilled through - but the question of whether or not that's actually true still is, seemingly, up in the air. Guys, after all, play Tomb Raider.

The list of the best 100 characters of the last twenty years totalled as such:
MALE: 68 (63%)
FEMALE:40 (37%) (math from here).

After looking at that list, though, the thing that pops out

So how do you write a strong female character?

Write one with flaws, write someone interesting, and for god's sake remember that writing a strong female character doesn't mean she has to be The Most Awesome Ever. Be revolutionary - she can even, maybe, have some female friends.

Rich People Like TV? Other Facts that Are Mostly Relevant

2011-11-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

While most of the states in the Which TV Show Rich People Hate the Most, and 27 Other Unexpected Ratings Facts from Vulture are basically expected numbers in the long run, but it's generally a good read.

Beyond the expected:

"Teens have virtually no idea NBC exists: The network has only one non-sports show in the top 50 in this age group: The Office. Meanwhile, Fox has the teen demo cornered, with the top two shows with male teens (Family Guy, American Dad) and female teens (Glee and New Girl)

There are some interesting trends across networks - and, some rather unshocking wins from the cables (that FX was leading comedy should be of no surprise to anyone).

The ways that demos are being read are shifting a little bit - the generally "uninteresting" post-49 demo being one that has become highly lucrative, and enough so that networks seem to be aiming towards it anyways.

Sell, Sell, Sell: How To Up Interest in Films, Series and More

2011-11-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

According to a variety of sources right now - film is hot. Not only is it hot, but it's doing gangbusters in spec sales.

Nice news for writers after a fairly epic slam on purchasing.

The interesting sale that has been kicked around is, of course, for Grim Night.

Grim Night isn't an especially crazy concept (though it seems fun) - but it does have a brilliant little teaser trailer that went into the loop.

Which you can also, coincidentally, watch:

The script was written by Brandon Bestenheider and Allen Bey - who both just made their first sale on this project at a (theoretically) higher range than most first time sales.

While it may have sold even without the added bonus of eye candy in an admittedly strong trailer - the hype around the film definitely has something to do with the film.

So the question now - would you make a teaser for a film pitch?

Truly... It's not so different than making a web series or short film. And there's more than one story about the show that wouldn't go until a full pitch was made with a sizzle reel attached.

The Gate, The Geek, and the Pot Smokin' Saviour

2011-10-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

We've been working (secretly... semi secretly. Okay, not secretly) on a new sketch series called The Gate.

The Gate is a sketch series about none other than St. Peter, the one and only rock, and Jesus, the one and only pot-smokin' saviour.

We expect hate mail.

We'll be shooting the Gate next month, and the team includes the director of Out With Dad and the loverly folks at Cancel Proof.

We're still in post-production on Pretty in Geek but right now we are scheduled to have both shows coming out in late January.

Expect more teasers and behind-the-scenes for Geek in the next couple of months!

I've also been working on a book about web series creation that will be given away right here.

Digital Launch Pad - for Web Series

2011-10-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

For those looking for brand integration opportunities - the Digital Launch Pad at NextMedia Toronto is looking for web series submissions.

You can submit on their site for free, or get more information there.

For those who aren't aware - Bitchin' Kitchen got the award in '09, and it's now a show on the Cooking Channel.

Opportunity Knocks: But Not in A Recession

2011-09-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

The DGC just released a report that indicates even fewer percentages of non-white non-dudes are getting directoral jobs in TV. The article can be seen in Deadline Hollywood.

This, right on the heels of the many reports on the lack of diversity in writer's rooms currently. It's funny that there hasn't been the comment made on the extensively large amount of female producers and studio executives (those numbers, conversely, have gone up).

That said, the ongoing nature that the number of positions have been - for writers - going down. The same can be said for directors. And the amount of shows that mark the only-white-dude directors in the last year still peaks out at nine (though, of course, the amount that didn't hire many is still high, with the precentage of directors at 77% there):

9 SHOWS HIRED NO WOMEN AND NO MINORITY DIRECTORS:
Title (Production Company) – Percentage of Episodes by Women or Minority Directors:
· Bored to Death (HBO) – 0%
· Burn Notice (TVM Productions/Fox) – 0%
· Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – 0%
· Fringe (Warner Bros.) – 0%
· iCarly (Uptown Productions/MTV/Viacom) – 0%
· Justified (Woodridge Productions/CPT Holdings/Sony) – 0%
· Leverage (Leverage Productions) – 0%
· Victorious (Uptown Productions/MTV/Viacom) – 0%
· Weeds (Weeds Productions) – 0%

What's most interesting is the utter breadth of shows in that 0% genre (iCarly one might expect more than, say, a Justified).

The annual list of shows that have female writers on them tops out at 15% for this year according to this study, and the percentages have only come down since the strike.

The ever-lovely Jane Espenson shared her thoughts in the article:

"I had certainly perceived the situation as getting better and better for women -- I am rarely the only woman in the writers room anymore, and I encounter more women at the higher levels," Espenson recently told AOL TV's Maureen Ryan. "I remember what it was like 20 years ago, and this is not that."

Which is yet another way of saying "oh hey, at least it isn't as bad as back then" - which, while valid, doesn't really say much. The issue is, of course, that no one wants to try someone out in a room that hasn't been tested (new writers/directors - whatever creed, fall into this category) - which is great for those select few working right now, but is, as ever, a terrible long term plan.

As well, it's not to say that there aren't shows that break this sudden downturn in figures - there are more female showrunners and creators with shows than say - as Espenson pointed out - twenty years ago.

It's just that there are definite figures to say that it's been getting to that not-as-easy-to-break-in stage. This isn't really news - every industry is facing downturns and more. What's surprising is just how quickly the percentages plummeted.

Which may be why the web series answer seems to be cropping up again and again - with newer directors and writers underemployed, what had been an actors medium seems to be shifting again and again (as seen in the original post on female writer's not getting in the creative seat) - as an answer to just about everyone.

From Jane Espenson with Husbands to Felicia Day's The Guild - there's also the Canadian series like Ruby Skye PI or Out With Dad (Tights And Fights, Cancel Proof, or Pretty in Geek) - that can keep going. That said, it does seem to offer something, even if it's not always a fully sponsored endeavour - it's got people doing them from working writer/producers down to the ground level. Which kind of means that opportunity is going to be you knocking. Yourself. Sometimes.

South Park, Drama and Character Building

2011-09-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

One of the things that new writers (old writers, writers in between) - often forgot is covered, in one pithy little video, with none other than the writers of South Park:

Trey Parker and Matt Stone discuss the elements of story.

In beating out your story the work is often.

Jeff went to the store.

AND THEN

The store was robbed

It could read in a few ways, and it could be interesting. But try again this way.

Jeff went to the store after screwing some guys out of twenty bucks.

THEREFORE

The guys who were screwed out of money needed some drinks. So they went to the same store to rob it - and get another $20.

Yes, you can easily put "therefore" and "but" between the same sequences as "and then", but there's different meanings all the way through.

Remember - don't spend 10 years learning that like the guys from South Park. Then you might have a ridiculously successful show or something.

Yahoo Gets Back on the Horse: Series VS Web Series

2011-08-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

From Cynopsis:

Yahoo is at it again. The search giant plans to launch several original Web shows this fall. The Web destination has locked up Morgan Spurlock, Niecy Nash, Judy Greer and others for its lineup of eight Web series premiering in October, per Variety who first reported the story yesterday. Yahoo will sell the shows to advertisers targeting women on a "share of voice" basis using its data and insights tools to measure reach and targeting. Programming partners include Electus and others. Yahoo said its original video programming already reaches 26 million people per month. Yahoo has tried before to build a beachhead in originals, famously hiring TV executive Lloyd Braun to guide the company into online entertainment several years ago, but that effort didn't pan out. The site, however, is still a traffic juggernaut and has been successful with some original series such as its Primetime in No Time recap show.

New web series are always good. With stories this short, there's generally not a lot of information beyond the initial oh hai we have actors, but a lot of the issues that these "failures" have attached to them are the same things:

They hired someone who didn't have a background in Internet.

While TV and film are fantastic mediums, and most of us jump between TV, film and web, hiring someone who applies TV conventions to digital and hopes it'll stick tends to be the ongoing issue.

Also - the definition of success for many of the "traditional" medias may not be defined with web in mind - and this is always something that many fo the bigger companies need to be aware of.

Hitting the right demographic online is great - if you can keep them. Old Spice is fantastic, but did it grab the "right" demo? (Not really), but it's well known and people return... Which is another form of success.

These partners may actually reach that demo, so it will be interesting to see how the series work.

Which comes back to that pesky discussion that has been floating around - is it just a "series" or does one explain it is a "web series"?

TIFF Nexus: Moving Forward with Digital and Traditional

2011-08-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

It's interesting that the preeminent "traditional" media in film is the one that's pushing this forward, but it's also what makes it pretty nifty.

The NEXUS program is hoping to create a bunch of "non-silo" focuses. Check out the press release on it.

TIFF announced today an exciting new initiative designed to equip a new generation of Ontario storytellers with the network, skills and partners that they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving and growing digital media landscape. Launching this fall, TIFF Nexus will support Canada’s film, game, digital and new media communities as well as foster integrations between academics, industry members and enthusiasts. Complementing such other TIFF programmes as Future Projections, Talent Lab and the Student Film Showcase that are dedicated to supporting filmmakers and visual artists, TIFF Nexus will encourage relationships between the existing and emerging sectors of film, gaming and interactive media and utilize the cinema, educational and exhibition spaces of TIFF Bell Lightbox as an opportune home for its activities.

All the best to everyone that is (and will be) involved!

How To Make a Hit Web Series

2011-08-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

AKA - the questions you need to ask yourself before you start.

The ever fantastic Jason Leaver linked to this article from Felicia Day and I felt it should be linked to again - as most of what she says is still incredibly pertinent.

A lot of people are making web series now a days - they've replaced the short film as the attainable Thing To Do (TM).

But you often get the very common question banging out about - what will make a hit show?

Felicia pointed out four major questions to ask yourself.

1. How is My Project Unique to the Web?
2. How is My Web Series Unique to ME?
3. Who is My Audience and How Will I Reach Them?
4. Do I Know What I’m Getting Into?

I'm going to add two more questions to ask yourself.

5. Do I have an understanding of what success means to me?
6. Who is My Circle?

The first four Felicia covers on her blog, so I'm not going to tackle them here - other than to really hammer home the fact that you need to know who your audience is and where they live.

Unlike TV we're doing all the marketing ourselves when it comes to web - so if you don't know where your audience plays (beyond say, twitter and facebook) it's going to be almost impossible to find them and get them to come to you.

5. Do I have an understanding of what success means to me?

The extra questions I have here are important for a number of reasons - know what SUCCESS is to you. We all want a "hit" web series, but barring million view numbers what does success mean. Is success getting people to see your video in the industry. Is success getting a sponsorship deal? Or is it just making it and sharing it.

Knowing what success means allows you to have specific goals after you release it - which is incredibly important when you get stuck in the giant headspace that is marketing, interviewing, releasing and other billions of things that have to be done to release the show.

6. Who is My Circle?

Your Circle (hey, it's like Google+) of people - from family to friends - is your lifeline in web series. They can not only help you get the project off the ground - from donating to food, to other things (also, huge shout out to all the people that made Pretty In Geek possible - all of you Amazing People who donated cash, food or time) like time, you get a way to get things moving and continuing.

Each web series is a beast unto itself in making a show work - but, you're lucky. Because you have friends (right? Right!) that can help you, or make lasagna, or even, if you're really lucky, get you an interview to market things. Use your connections, and don't be afraid to ask. Chances are you'll get an opportunity to pay that person back in the future soon enough!

So, in answer to what makes a hit - anything, everything - but mostly perseverance . But to know if you have a hit, you need to know what "hit" actually means - because sometimes even if only five people watch something... if it's the right five people, that's all you need.

Pretty in Geek! At FanExpo!

2011-08-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two years since I was originally working on Pretty in Geek. The concept was a little messier, the execution a pipe dream. But the team has been amazing, and we've got show that looks amazing!

For now, we still do have the fun teaser from our one male character...

And we'll be releasing a few more in the months following Fan Expo.

But for now - know that things are moving in amazing directions! We've even heard a really wicked song from our theme song band: Nerds With Guitars (shockingly, these fantastic cats are nerds! with guitars!).

So, keep us in mind, check us on Twitter, on YouTube and even on our very own web site.

But most importantly - come and meet our fantastic team at FanExpo. August 26th, Room 707 at 2 pm!

Brand Or Original: Web Series Chat with Carter Mason

2011-08-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Carter Mason is an actor/writer working down in LA. He's been working around there for a while, and he's got two projects on the go - one of which is a "racy" comedy focused toward the adult set - called "Threesome" appropriately enough.

Another project that is a branded entertainment application for - of all things - a bikini company (let's... combine? Or. Maybe not).

So Carter was kind enough to chat about the process he's gone through with his projects, and where he's hoping to go with them.

Carter is also one of the many you can catch on the Slebisode web series chat often - this chat found here - is a great way to discuss the common (and sometimes not so common) problems afflicting web series creators.

When developing your original project, as opposed to brand-focused projects what are the main differences?

With the brand, you have tighter parameters. There are things a filmmaker simply cannot do when working with a brand. For example, you have to keep in mind their target market and make sure your content would not be offensive. If the brand asks you to develop the web series, the entire creative process is influenced by what the brand wants or needs from the series. This is actually exciting for me, as it is a challenge to make a quality show which basically serves as a narrative advertisement. It would be difficult for me to develop a series for a brand which I did not believe in the company and the leadership/ownership.

- What's the most important part of making the series - for you? Is it marketing, writing, directing, etc.

Production! The best plans in the world mean nothing if you do not execute the plan well. I love writing, but directing and producing is where the final product is made or broken. It is difficult for me to not rush into production, but I force myself to plan and let the creative process blossom in its own time. So while I say production is the most important part of making the series, a good production happens with very good planning.

- How far along in the process are you and what are some of the snags you've found?

I'm in a 60-day period on my original series where if I do not find a sponsor or investor, I will be shooting the pilot with my own funds. I'm optimistic about getting a sponsor and have several good leads. But if it doesn't happen in my time frame, I'm going to make the pilot and take that as my pitch material to sponsors. For the branded series, we are months away from production. We are developing the parameters of the project now, and I probably won't even have the pilot script finished until the end of September.

- How have you been focused on raising funds to make the series?

Sponsorship. I love my series and will do it with my own money if necessary, but I'm a huge advocate of the business side of show business. I'm treating my production company as a business in addition to being a creative endeavor. That means a business plan prior to production! It's asinine to make a series then expect to figure out how to monetize it after the fact. If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.

- What are the edges of "how far" you can go with a racy comedy as you've described it?

Well, I won't have nudity in the project, but it will be very close. I'm the lead actor, and most likely I will just have the sock on for the big sex scene. While the show is focused very much on the comedy, it is a sexy, racy comedy. People will watch for the humor and the hot people on-camera both. I'm talking about the actresses, of course. ;)

- Why web series as opposed to developing pitches for networks?

It's almost impossible to sell a series before you've made something. My idea for Threesome was originally going to be a Showtime spec. I realized I could showcase both my writing and acting by developing a web series, and I set the ball in motion. Now with picking up the development deal for the brand, I'm seeing more and more possibilities for earning real dollars in the new media market.

- How did you get involved with the brand you're working with to make their web series?

They were an old client with another business I owned at one time, and they contacted me for help with their entire online marketing portfolio. They were offered a deal for an animated show, but they turned it down as it would not model their product effectively. Based on my experience with marketing as well as the legal and business side of filmmaking, they were comfortable with me putting together an experienced team to develop a high quality series they could be proud of.

- What kind of advice would you give for someone developing their own series currently?

Prepare a business plan and have a strategy for monetizing your show before production. If you look at making money off of your show from the beginning, the directions it takes you in the development process can actually enhance rather than hinder your creativity. You will make a better show and have a better shot at paying back investors and/or making a profit from your show.

Key ways of working for success you've used with your own business models.

There are options for filmmakers to get their legal done affordably, but most don't know and think it is too cost prohibitive. My business with filmmakers is to help them use a product developed for a typical small business and works much like insurance or a co-op to get high quality legal work and business consulting at a fraction of the price. It's a different paradigm for law and consulting, and anybody who expects to be successful should have their legal ducks in a row and have the resources to create a winning business plan.

Carter Mason ( http://www.cartermason.com ) is a filmmaker in Redondo Beach, CA who also owns and operates the Carter Mason Group ( http://www.cartermasongroup.com/ ) which specializes in providing high quality legal and business consulting services for filmmakers and business owners.

This Day Sucks. Right?

2011-08-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

This Day Sucks, a web series that may, shockingly, be a dude who's day was worse than yours.

These episodes follow around office workers, day to day, and even goes home with one of them.

Episode two, which starts off with a car crash and ends up with drama, is a fun office comedy.

This Day Sucks Episode 2 - 'The Hot Intern' from This Day Sucks on Vimeo.

Tom Schilz chatted with me about the process a little while back.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?Our biggest issue in the developmental stage was really creating the characters and the concept of the show. We had the idea that we wanted to make a series and we wanted to base it off of some recent misadventures and wild nights out in New York City. Then we faced the challenge of how to mold a few funny stories into a show, with interesting characters, that people would enjoy and truly become invested in. We decided to base the two male lead characters off of ourselves, taking our more quirky traits and really pushing them over the top. It would be much more relatable for us and real life is often the best source of inspiration, so we wanted to keep it close to home.
With that in mind we decided to go with Rudy and Rayzor as our two leads. Rudy is a sensitive, ‘typical’ guy, looking for love and working for the man. His counterpart is Rayzor, a much wilder and freer soul who loves weapons. We didn’t want an Odd Couple of polar opposites, just two diverse friends with different outlooks on love and life, but also a very tight friendship.We knew the show would have to take place in New York City and really wanted to make the city a character in itself. So much can and only does happen in the Big Apple. Of course we wanted to create female leads as well and wanted to bring a female perspective to the series. Since women find us creepy and we have few female friends we created 2 characters from scratch. We created Brooke and Devon to mirror the virgin and the whore dichotomy, just not as extreme. We wanted Devon to be a close friend of Rudy’s and have some conflict with Rayzor. We also wanted Brooke, literally the “girl next door”, to become Rudy’s love interest. Next, we wanted an antagonist. A comical, yet irritating fellow who could rival the good natured Rudy- so we created Nigel from our own imagination. We blended in real life traits from our own friends and enemies into a Frankenstein of oddball traits. We had the main cast!We also took into account how the real world works and chose to not introduce many of these characters until down the line. As if the viewer is a ‘friend’ in this world and you don’t meet everyone all at once in the same day.
The fact that we’re in our mid-20s, playing people in their mid-20s and dealing with the dating, working, and the social scene was a real hook for us and something we thought hadn’t been done before. Plus, we wanted to bring the spin to it that a lot of the time, things just don’t work out. You’re not where you want to be, with who you want, or have the job you want. A lot of people are unhappy with their current status. We figured it’s relatable to everyone at some point in their lives and what better way to deal with it than by turning these circumstances into comedy.
With everything in place we thought we had developed a unique show, with a unique voice, and comedic style that would really appeal to a vast audience. If nothing else at least I had finally found a hobby.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?
Almost everything is scripted out in advance. Initially, we wrote out a loose arc of season one consisting of 10 episodes and a quick break down of what would happen in each episode. We then started with episode one, obviously, and wrote out a full script. The script for episode one was done (so we thought) about three months prior to the first day of shooting. As we began to really produce the initial episode we realized we may have been a bit lofty with our ideas and what we could realistically accomplish. Tracking down certain props, permission to shoot in locations, and a limited budget really hit us when we wanted to turn our first script into an actual shoot. We took it in stride and re-wrote a majority of the episode so it would be easier and more efficient to shoot.
We took what we learned and applied it to writing the script for episode two, The Hot Intern, which went much smoother and was a lot more realistic as to what we could do. This episode was written only about a week before filming began and made for a much quicker and concise shoot. We also were able to do it with only three locations.
Even though we invest so much time on scripts we don’t always stick to them word-for-word and always leave room for improv. Some of our best moments from the series come from on-the-fly adlibs or impromptu reactions during a scene. If things stay loose and actors can get a genuine rise out of each other, the audience can sense it and the fun we’re having will translate on screen. As long as it’s funny we’re all about it, so even though we spend a lot of time writing and nailing down ideal scripts, once the cameras are rolling we don’t lock ourselves into them.
Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?
It became a combination of the two. We started developing the concept, tone, and characters for the series almost a year before we ever started filming. We sat down and arc-ed out all the major events and storylines we wanted to happen in season one. As mentioned, we hit a lot of snags when it came to actually shooting exactly what we had written, so we had to make a lot of changes and tweaks. Now we do have a general arc for the main thread and driving storyline for season one, but a very loose episode-to-episode structure when it comes to sub-plots. We have notes for each episode, but will write out an individual script and make sure we stay true to where we want the series to be.
What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?
The main thing we’ve learned is to embrace the challenges of shooting with a low-budget or no budget. We based a majority of the series off our own real life events and our love of alcohol has a lot of these scenes taking place in packed bars and restaurants. When it comes time to shoot we need permission from these bars and then have to try and fill the place with extras-mainly friends who can come out and drink at 8am while the bar is closed. Although our ideal scenarios may include a car chase or a scene on top of the empire state building we’ve learned that our “vision” may not come to fruition, but it doesn’t have to negatively impact the show. In the end it’s the characters and story that will hook viewers, not grandiose effects or car chases. Everything is out of pocket for us from equipment, to props, travel, tape stock, hard drives, etc.
In the end it’s not really about the money – it’s about the funny. We have good laughs making the show and others enjoy watching the series just as much. It’s even become fun to figure out ways we can get the same point across or make the same joke, just on a much smaller scale. We’ve learned to be able to work with our limited funds and still put out a quality series that we can be proud of and makes people laugh.
Another thing we learned was how critical the run time of an episode is. 20 minutes might be great for television, but it won’t fly on the internet. People want to watch and laugh, get in and get out. Sure people can and do watch full episodes of their favorite shows on different websites, but that’s because they already like them and know they’re guaranteed entertainment. Being a brand new web series we don’t have that luxury and need to keep our shows quick and jam-packed with funny. The script for episode one was about 12 pages, but after assembling everything we shot it ran almost 20 minutes. Way too long to keep our viewers’ attention- so we had to do a lot of editing and cut out any unnecessary scenes. We’ve already taken this into account when writing episode two and now try to always aim for a target run time of 8-12 minutes. Enough time to get into some detail in the episode and allow character and plot development, but also ensure we keep our viewers glued to their monitor.
What was the production schedule like?

The production schedule can be pretty crazy for us. We shoot everything on location in New York City, usually without permission. On average we will have long shooting days anywhere from 8-12 hours. We also find ourselves at the whim of anyone willing to help us out. In episode one we shot at a local watering hole we love and the owners said we could get in from 7am until 10 am. We were up late the previous night shooting some babysitting scenes, but were still there early to shoot Rudy and The Girl on the date. In those cases whenever we get permission to use a place, regardless of how inconvenient the hours might be, we’re always thankful and make sure to make the best use of our time there.
What were some of the snags that were found?
One big snag for us was scheduling. We all work full time jobs leaving only nights and weekends to film. We’re a small crew of five guys with Pat and me usually on camera as Rudy and Rayzor. We need one of us behind the camera and another to operate the boom mic, so it get’s tough if two or more of us are unavailable. Mind you we have had to multi-task, booming a scene and running camera simultaneously, but we try to get the core group together to facilitate production.Another major snag we’ve hit is using our friends in the cast. As stated we don’t have much dough for the show so we usually hit up our friends for various roles and pay them in pizza and beer. It works great a lot of the time and usually we have a good idea of who would fit what role. On the flipside, we find it’s a lot easier for a friend to bail on you at the last minute or go M.I.A., where a real actor would be more committed and professional. It gets tough because although we take the show seriously and now have two episodes out, a lot of our friends thought it was just a “funny movie” we were making and no big deal if they show up later and can’t do it today. A lot goes into getting all the gear, setting up lighting, etc., and nothing was a bigger pain then when we all locked up a date, time, and place, got the gear and then had a friend tell us they couldn’t shoot.
This often made me want to shoot my friend.
What kind of crew do you use to make a webisode?
As mentioned we’re a small, tight crew. The core group of This Day Sucks is made up of myself, Pat, Tim, Kyle L. and Kyle B. Pat and I are usually the main writers and portray the main characters. We then have three other friends, Tim and the Kyles, who will rotate between camera operator, boom mic operator, etc. We all have our say and input on everything taking place in front of and behind the camera and all have a lot of production experience. It comes in handy that we’re all versatile in what crew roles we can film. Similarly we all take turns when it comes to editing the show and will usually take shifts or break up the episodes to expedite the process before coming together for a group ‘final master mix’ of an episode.
We also have our own musical composer who creates all the original music for This Day Sucks.

What does the web exist as for you?
To us it’s our medium to get our content to the world. We’ve gotten great feedback from fans and even met people and made new friends who have seen the series. We have fans from many different countries and of all different ages and a large part of that is thanks to the internet. We just launched and are only two episodes in, yet are already entering some festivals and creating a loyal following. The good thing about the internet is that anyone can use it, and we have no real barriers or censorship. We get to call all the shots and have complete control over every part of the series. Nothing is better than creative freedom and the web gives us that. We don’t need to answer to anyone or have outside pressures on when the show is due, what is acceptable, etc.

Monetization? How does it work for you?
We’re a brand new series, so thus far we haven’t had the chance to really make any cash. We’re hoping that as we continue to enter festivals, produce episodes, and generate more and more buss for the show, that we’ll have more opportunities to partner up with sponsors and begin to generate revenue. It seems to me that internet series’ and web television is the wave of the future and more and more TV/Film producers and production companies are starting to take notice of that. Hopefully, one day This Day Sucks will be able to get some financial backing to ease some of the burden on our side or maybe even get picked up and become something bigger.

18A Barbie Has Something To Say To You

2011-07-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes. A web series is all about making it with dolls.

A huge thanks to Claire-Dee Lim for sharing some of the problems, trials and tribulations of making web series for adults... With dolls.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?

This series didn’t start out being a doll puppet show but a Flash cartoon with super limited animation. Along the lines of a comic book with eye blinks and mouth flaps. I had made something similar and very crude years ago called GAMEGIRL, and I thought I could do it again with a bit more movement. My drawing skills were always a concern because they are limited. And sure enough, after I had recorded the voice talent and edited all the audio tracks, and began the drawing, I knew I was in way over my head. At that point, I put the project aside for almost two years because I was at a loss how to proceed, and I had to focus on other screenwriting projects.

Jumping to summer 2010 when I was determined to finish this project after so many people had already given their talent to it, I had to figure out how to make it work. Art Director and illustrator Jean Kang was brought in to help with the art part and she gave the sobering news that with both of us drawing and animating, it would take forever to finish. So we kicked around ideas, how to produce this thing as simply as possible. At one point, I suggested using sock puppets. We eventually arrived at using doll puppets. Once we locked on that concept, production fell into place.

What was the [pre-production] process like?Even though the project was small and on a shoe-string budget, it was important to plan everything out properly. I also have a production background so I treated the planning like I would any bigger budget and professional project, and made pre-, production and post schedules. Pre-production took several months. Jean and I went all over the Toy District in Los Angeles looking for generic dolls and toys to use in the series. Then we customized the dolls, which required chemically stripping all the paint and dying their hair. Jean did an incredible job repainting their faces. We also made new wardrobes and I made the clay vibrator props and furniture pieces. While all that was going on, I performed camera, lighting and technical tests. It was my first time shooting HD footage, so I needed to see how the footage would look on a computer, TV, mobile phone; how it would look compressed; what the final delivery system would be; and what codec to use when converting the footage—all those variables needed to be resolved before shooting. The last thing I wanted was to go down a particular technical path then discover that what I shot looked terrible when uploaded to YouTube. The horror!

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?The screenplay from which the series is based was written about 2003. It was during the WGA strike of 06-07 that I was inspired to make my own web content. It was a big mantra on the picket line that writers were going to take charge, create their own projects and distribute on the web. The possibilities were naturally exciting. And having had a taste of that years before with GAMEGIRL, I was ready to dive in again. I plucked out an old screenplay which had some brief Hollywood heat, and in fact, got me the gig writing the family movie FIREHOUSE DOG (shot in Toronto, btw) and adapted it into the series.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?The screenplay provided the roadmap for the entire series.  Adapting required cutting out some extra subplots and breaking the remaining 45 minutes into about 5-6 minute episodes.  Each episode ended on a cliffhanger so audiences would come back for more.  Narration was added to bridge the scenes.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?There’s no official pilot; however, it was crucial for the first episode to hook an audience in the first thirty seconds.  The web can be so unforgiving in that way.  If interest isn’t piqued, the next site, blog or cat video is a nano-click away.  Episode one has some sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll and the overall weirdness of the doll puppets.  Fortunately, those elements worked organically with the story, and seem to have kept viewers watching and coming back.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snagsthat were found?Pre-production took about two months, a month for production and about five months for me to edit, sound mix and music score the nine episodes.  The biggest snag was revealed during pre-production.  Initially, I wanted to place the dolls about the house among full-sized objects, e.g., on the couch, lying on the bed or sitting on the toilet.  A funny idea but difficult to execute. Plenty of lighting and camera tests quickly revealed that the dolls needed to be blasted with light because their small size reflected less of it. And the camera used (Kodak Zi8) was designed for shooting people. So using different rooms was scrapped and my dining table became the primary location.  In the end, everything worked out because one location and one lighting set up made everything so much easier to shoot.

How long are your shooting days?When two dolls were in the scene, I’d puppeteer and shoot the scenes myself--camera was on a tripod, a computer nearby for the actor’s audio playback and a handy remote control.  Days would range from 2 – 4 hours then I’d download footage to my computer and start assembling the edit to make sure I got the needed shots.  Fortunately, all of this occurred in my house so the frig and a couch were close when I needed a break and I could work in attire that slightly resembled pajamas.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?A few friends were enlisted to help puppeteer when more than two dolls were in the scene.  Again, we’d operate the camera with the remote.  The main set was my dining table and we’d be crammed underneath manipulating the dolls.  I was elbowed in the face a few times and many heads were bumped.  Us grown-ups had a lot of fun unapologetically “playing” with the dolls.  Those same friends are encouraging season two so they can come over and play some more.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?The past year there’s been an explosion of web series.  And the challenge is how to find one’s audience.  Will your show appeal to moms, gamer geeks or the sought after 18-35-year-old male demo?  Once that’s figured out, hit that group hard.  Research where that group hangs out on the web—blogs, Facebook, Twitter--and definitely corral a supportive group of friends and fans to help get the word out, as well as make friends with other web creators so you can reciprocally promote each others series.

What platforms are you using to release your show?YouTube is the series primary host, and is now being released on Blip.tv and Funny or Die.

Have you looked at the blip.tvs or Koldcasts of the world? Have you tried them/are they working for you?I just started releasing on Blip.tv so it’s too early to tell if the series is getting any viewership.  I’ve discovered that it’s ultimately the creator’s responsibility to promote the hell out of the show no matter where it is.  Ironically, the more viewership builds on those webTV-oriented sites, the more inclined the hoster will be to put ones series on its front page.

When developing/implementing a series like this, you're obviously focusing to an older-than-18 crowd by its nature - has that been difficult for you?The only issue that’s arisen is that some of my friends aren’t sharing the series on Facebook because they have so many underaged “friends.”  One huge fan is a teacher and she’s reluctantly had to Facebook “friend” her entire 2^nd grade class.  Can you imagine the wrath of parents if she shared one of the series raunchier episodes?

When Working... you're Working. When you're not...

2011-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

"In Canada when you're working, you're working. When you're not. You're not."

This, more than anything else is a truism the industry often neglects to share. It seems to be something that people get - that yes, if you're in high demand, you're in high demand. But unlike the US and the UK in some ways in Canada the faucet is either beating you around and kicking you, or it's off.

There ain't no middle ground, kids.

Improv. [v] [n] [Getting Your Sht Together] Improv is just part of Improve.

2011-07-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of Second City. Yeah. You have. Don't deny it. Don't even pretend you can say - yeah, fine. John Candy. There. We're set. The joke's been made. Thanks.

I've been taking improv with the SecondCity Toronto - I'm winding down on a course with Marjorie Malpass right. this second.

I'm winding down on an intensive Improv For Regular Folk (Level. A.) - an intensive course you can take (if you're a little insane and anti-sleep) over a week, or over a few months if you'd rather not be cooped up with the same group of people for 20 hours on end.

Fill disclosure, as of three years ago - before I went to the CFC and they threw me in front of executives without more than "oh it's fine, you'll be okay" (... there may have been some more training than that) - I was petrified of public speaking. To a certain extent I still am.

But in a pitch - a skill any writer, producer, actor, er, gerbil, in said Canadian industry needs to be able to do - you need to be able to not only go in with a solid show, but be able to roll with it.

One really big thing that I've been taking from improv, other than "don't stare at people like a creepy person, they might think you've got the crazy eyes", is that the yes, and applies to more than just acting.

"In improv it's all about saying yes. Yes, And. I want you to Yes and the shit out of this."

The yes most writers get. We all get "Yes I shall Walk Out This Door of the Blowing Up Building".

Yes, sure, that makes sense that your one-night stand with a prison convict turned into getting a baby handed to you. Yes. Yes. Yes. (Also, everyone likes hearing yes. It's a lovely feeling. Say yes to someone and check it out.

That said - we're trained to say no. We're trained to block offers because it doesn't fit with X and Y. Which is why Yes, And is harder.

In improv, the "Yes, And" is all about moving the scene forward. It's about taking your basic narrative, and making things happen. It's also about including everyone in the narrative.

Person A: "I went to the Park"
Person B: "Yes and we should steal a dog when we're there."

Scene. Set.

We got a bomb! In the middle of a mall! Oh no. Yes, and then we diffuse it. Which is what we see every day in procedurals. But if someone comes up to you and says "There's a bomb in the middle of the mall", you're running like a kid from Santa Claus. (I reiterate: Santa Claus is the creepy).

More importantly, from an acting and writing and producing standpoint it's a fast way into a scene that gives you lot about character. It also gives you a way to get a producer/executive back on track with your pitch.

Executive: I know what you need in your family comedy! More killing! Possibly an apocalypse!
The Writer: Yes, and then we can have a bunker instead of a house with weirdly locked doors, and it'll be great.

Yeah. That one's for free. Feel free to polish up the bunker pitch.

While most notes and jumps aren't that random, they can be - and when you "yes, and" on top of that you end up including everyone in the pitch.

Try it. See if it works.

The Apes... Are Coming: Viral Films

2011-07-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well. Here we go into the blockbuster viral ad.

The rise of Planet of the Apes - found on twitter, is all about the viral almost alternate reality in which the Ape - Man has been ongoing.

And research has been done - by none other than 20th Century Fox Research of course.

I think - well, it's a bit obvious which videos hit the most (Ape with Machete! Ape with AK47!), and there's some fun splicing and filtering actions going on there, so it's obviously working really, really well.

Screenwriting and You: Hollywood and Canada

2011-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Elan Mastai, who is amazing, awesome, and lots of other all-positive a words you can throw together in a row, and is also a Black List writer, amazing film guy, and all around supportive-to-the-creatives dude.

Elan recently did a fantastic interview over here about being a writer in Hollywood from Canada... and how all that process started.

Full disclosure - Elan was the first person I ever met in this fantastic industry, and he's an amazingly nice and positive force for amazing...ness (see, lots of great words).

His responses are thoughtful, and more than anything else, useful.

SS: What's your number 1 tip for aspiring screenwriters? How do you break in?
EM: I wish I had some magical secret insight to offer. But all I have is the usual advice that’s so easy to give but so tough to actually take: write your ass off until you find your voice as a writer, and then choose a story to tell that will highlight that voice in the clearest possible way. Because your voice, your unique storytelling point of view, is the thing that creates a market for your work. If anyone else can write a script the way you do, why should anyone hire you instead of them?
SS: Your dialogue is great. Any tips you can give us to write better dialogue?
EM: Well, something to remember is that your dialogue will be read many times in script-form before it’s ever spoken by actors. So I use a lot of simple modifiers to make the dialogue read better.

Off the top of my head, here’s a flat line of dialogue: “She’s not coming back.”
Or you could write it like: “Look, I mean, you know she’s not coming back, right?
The two versions contain the same essential information. And I’m sure a great actor could make the former version sound awesome. But the latter version imbeds a lot of implied character information into the dialogue itself, the written-equivalent of all the nonverbal nuances an actor will eventually bring to the delivery.
Of course, you can overdo it with the “likes” and “you knows” and “wells” and “I means”. That’s why I read and re-read every line of dialogue out loud until the balance is there.
I also do live script-readings with actors. I did five full readings of “The F Word”, each with a completely different cast, so I could hear every line of dialogue in a different actor’s voice, hear what each line sounds like with varying intonations, pauses, verbal tics, emphases, and so on.

SS: The relationship comedy genre is a crowded one. It seems like every 20-something writer is trying to break in with one of these specs. What do you think the key is to writing this kind of script successfully?
EM: The thing I really like about relationship comedies is that it’s the one genre you can’t hide in. You can hide inside horror flicks and family comedies and crime thrillers and sci-fi epics. But everyone is an expert in attraction. Everyone has intimate personal experience with falling in love and heartbreak and unrequited feelings and romantic longing and sexual tension and flirtatious banter and unforgettable first encounters. So what you have to say about those things exposes you in a very personal way to whoever happens to read your script.
Of course, many relationship comedies are bad. And the bad ones tell you a lot about the person who wrote them. Maybe it’s telling you they’ve got really screwed up ideas of what’s attractive to another person. Maybe it’s telling you they’ve had their ass kicked by love and still can’t stand up. Maybe it’s telling you they can’t open themselves up to a genuine human connection. Or maybe it’s telling you they’re not funny.
If there’s a key to writing a relationship comedy, it’s taking a good long look in the mirror and asking yourself if what you might accidentally show people is something you’re okay with them seeing.

Now. Go read the whole thing.

Interview with Sexy Nerd Girl. Developing a Fan Base: Then Releasing?

2011-07-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

Sexy Nerd Girl for the initiated looks, on the surface, to be a VLOG series.

It's got quite a following so far - and their process to develop and create character and interaction is highly unique.

But, you know. Don't believe me. Check out their videos, but also their interview below.

Simon Fraser, Mike Fly and Steph Kaliner all got together on these responses, and it's been an amazing read.

Mike: First off, it's important to note that Sexy Nerd Girl, as it exists now, is really only half of what the project will be this fall. Though we have much more elaborate ways of describing this, I'll be quick about it...
We wanted to create a character, and have our audience interact with her, shaping who she is, and bringing her fictional life into the real world. So we presented Val, the vlogger, she's telling her own story through her vlogs, her facebook interactions, twitter, her blog... And she's grown a fan base, because she's engaging, fun, positive and smart. We're 8 months into that story, and will have soon released 70 vlogs.
That's only half of the project though. In the fall, we are launching Season One of Sexy Nerd Girl web series - a 10 episode, 3rd person look at the life of Valerie Lapomme that slides right into the narrative we (and our audience) have built over the last 10 months. This approach is unique, we've spent so much time developing her character in advance of the actual web series that I feel we have an unparalleled opportunity to create something that instantly connects with our audience.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?
Simon: Deciding how to position the perception of the show - i.e. do we let the audience know that it's fictional?
Mike: Well, we all come from production backgrounds and have a high standard for quality, so we wanted to make sure everything we put out was purposeful and representative of the brand. That's not easy, because we don't have the cash to do it quickly, so it all takes time. That's always going to be an issue.
Steph: Time. There never feels like there's enough hours in the day to carry out all the ideas that we'd love to try on the series - and balance that with a paying job and a social life. Days need to be longer!

What was the process like?
Mike: It's collaborative. We all have an improv and comedy background, so we are very much about working together on the project. We all recognize that we can make this stronger if we build on our strengths together as opposed to carving out niches and getting really protective of them. It takes patience, and it can be frustrating, but we are all relatively on the same page, which makes the process fairly smooth.
Steph: A lot of meetings between the three of us about our vision for the project, sharing ideas, getting really excited about these ideas, and many very open and collaborative emails.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?
Simon: 1 day to 2 weeks. But because the context for our vlog series is that our main character shoots and edits her vlogs within the 24 hours prior to the vlog being released, we still need to take into consideration any current events that occur up to shooting. So even on a shooting day, scripts can be updated. Same with post-production - if the content of a vlog is affected by current events before release, our post-production process also needs to accommodate those.
Mike: Because we try to stay relevant and accurate to our story universe and the real world, it forces us to pivot at the last second, but we are able to sketch things out in advance. The Web Series component of this project will be written (mostly) a couple months in advance, but we'll also leave room for flexibility in those scripts to accomodate anything that may come up in Val's world.
Steph: Sometimes a week, sometimes a day. Some scipts were written 5 minutes before shooting, or were even improvised at the time. We're all improvisors so we're used to changing plans on a dime, and being comfortable with last minutes changes.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?
Simon: A bit of both. Our vlog series is a preface to our TV-style narrative web series. We know how our TV-style web series begins and that's the plot point that our vlog series is leading to. Beyond that, we have arcs that span over multiple vlogs over multiple months. And we also have one-off vlogs.
Mike: When I came to the project, Simon and Steph had strong narrative arcs that had been proposed for the web series portion of the project, but after developing this character with our audience, those plans had to be more or less totally scrapped. We developed a vibrant and exciting narrative for Val that reflects the woman she is 8 months later and the world she has built around her.
Steph: For the vlogs, there are small arc-ing story lines, and plot points we hope to achieve before the actual series begins. However, most of the vlogs are one-offs and not part of a pre-meditated arc. But the content of the vlogs is reflected in Val's world when you read her blog/twitter and facebook. All the pieces connect. So even if a vlog is just about her thoughts on an upcoming movie, in the context of Val's life at the time the vlog comes out it will make sense.
For the actual series (which hasn't been shot or written yet), it will be heavily arc-ing and planned out in advance. We've already sketched out a plot line for the first season of the show.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?
Simon: Networking the brand is what generates audience.
Mike: lol It's hard to say what our pilot episode actually is. We're not following a traditional model with this project. We have learned however, with certainty, that our audience wants to be invested and meeting their expectations and our own in a collaborative way can be challenging and rewarding.
Steph: Since the first vlog came out, I've had to learn to manage my time better and to delegate tasks to other talented writers. It was a lot of work trying to write all the pieces of Val's life (all social media included, plus the vlogs). I found that I was burning out quickly, and didn't have enough energy to even think about the vlogs (or the future of the production) because I was so focused on the day-to-day of the Twitter, Blog, and Facebook. But now I have three great new writers doing the social media, and I can focus on the scripted content and being a better manager for the rest of the writing team when it comes to writing the vlogs.

I've also learned to not take every negative Youtube comment personally. That was an important lesson. Finally, I've learned the characters' voices. And now I feel I can stretch the premise a little more when it comes to the characters - there's more room to play.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snagsthat were found?
Mike: Right now, our schedule is really simple, we plan ahead, and block shoot vlogs on a regular basis. Sometimes we have to pull together a quick shoot because something needs to be addressed. I'd love it if we could have a studio that was always ready at the drop of a dime, or if we had the money to be working on this 100% all the time.
Steph: We usually shoot about 8 vlogs every two weeks if we're able to. The only challenge with this is coordinating with the writers because everyone has very busy schedules. We try to get the scripts edited and sent to the actors at least a couple days before the shoot, but this can be tricky when people have to balance this fun work with their paid work.

How long are your shooting days?
Simon: 7-8 hours.
Mike: They can be long days - the room we shoot in is very cramped and quite hot.
Steph: They can go as long as 12 hours sometimes. But we take snack breaks. :)

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?
Simon: For the vlog series, the 4 principals - 3 producers and the lead actor. For our narrative web series, we'll likely have a crew of 10-15.
Mike: That sounds about right. Pretty much everything we do now is unpaid, so currently our main team of 4 is very dedicated, and we don't want to call in the favours we'll need down the road when we get to the web series - so we work very hard. Our writing team deserves some props for sure - they are amazing and really talented and Steph is great at keeping them organized (without putting too much on their plates) and maintaining Val's voice.
Steph: For the vlogs, just Mike, Simon and myself. Plus Hannah and Adam as the talent. For the actual series, we'll have room for a second camera and a sound recordist as well. We also are lucky to have very helpful production assistants when it comes time for shooting the larger scale shorts.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?
Simon: Determine who the audience is first. Currently on the Internet, there is no separation between artist and audience - there are no middle men or gatekeepers such as you would find in any other medium. So if you're developing a show for the Internet, your audience is going to end up being one of the stars of your show. What your audience will be about will determine a lot of what your web series is going to be about. Every step you take should be strategic. Don't create content because you think it's funny, don't create content because you think it's clever, don't create content because you think it's poignant. Create content that serves a purpose. Look at as many options as possible for every choice you need to make and select the option that's strategically best for your brand. "Why?" is the most important question you can ever ask and answer.And be prepared to spend a lot of time on your brand - successful audio-visual content creation is 10% pre-production, 10% production, 10% post-production and 70% marketing and promotion. So if you're not getting your desired viewcounts, look for inconsistencies in those areas. Three times out of ten, there will be inconsistencies in the delivery of your content; seven times out of ten, there will be inconsistencies in the marketing of your content.
Mike: I agree with Simon, getting the word out is really the most important part of the project. There's nothing worse than putting a lot of effort into something that no one watches, especially if it's good. I'd also add that I believe you should never put anything out that you aren't proud of. Learning to recognize where you are comfortable with the compromises you have had to make technically, and creatively due to your resources is difficult, but once you figure that out, you can set achievable goals - and when you meet or exceed them, you need to feel good about that. There's basically no money in this game (yet) so you really are doing this for you - so make it count.
Steph: Care about the project enough to work hard - then don't make excuses. Surround yourself with people that you respect and want to work with. Choose a project that means something to you, that you'll fight for. Appeal to friends, family, coworkers for money to be able to do your idea justice. Don't rush anything just to get it online - take time and do it the way that you had imagined it.

How much did you change things along the way in developing the show - how much will you change things in the future?
Simon: We left blank certain areas of our narrative because we knew that we'd be integrating our audience in our show. So we don't change things so much as we adapt things to how our brand community is developing.
Mike: We have been very nimble and we roll well with the punches. We aren't afraid to shoot something and say "this isn't relevant anymore even though it's good" and scrap it because it doesn't make sense in the story or for the character. We scrapped most of what we thought the web series was going to be because we realized the story had moved on. It takes a lot of commitment to the narrative to embrace the way the story is growing organically - it's also something a big machine like a TV show can't do.
Steph: The series that we intend to make wasn't initially a show about the life of a vlogger. Now, since vlogging is such a big part of Val's life - we can't ignore it. She posts two, sometimes three, vlogs a week. That takes her a lot of time to conceive the idea, write, shoot and edit it...and we have to incorporate this process into the series when we tell her story from a third person perspective.

You're working with an actress and making it seem very vlog-oriented - what's been the best part of that, and the hardest?
Simon: The best... Our vlog series is the precursor to our web series. So we're able to build our yacht while sailing on our sailboat, and develop the audience for our TV-style web series prior to its actual premiere. Since fiction has no boundaries, working in a fictional universe gives us more freedom to explore different elements of our narrative. The hardest... Because our narrative model is unlike any other, most viewers are completely unaccustomed to how we're creating our universe. So, to continue the metaphor above, sometimes they mistake our sailboat for our yacht. Some viewers have mistaken us for a nerd version of lonelygirl15 and we can be affected by all the baggage that accompanies the lonelygirl15 brand, i.e. the perception of fakery. Most viewers who pick up on that don't understand the difference between "fake" and "fictional". "Fake" has the intent of trying to convince the viewer that the unreal is real, whereas "fictional" is simply content that requires suspension of disbelief. Our show is fictional, but it is not fake.
Mike: The Vlog-oriented part of the story really is character and story-universe development. The web series will build on that foundation, rewarding the audience that has helped shape this character and her world in a way most other series can't. The hardest part really is communicating that to people.
The best part though, will be the day that Season One of Sexy Nerd Girl The Web Series pops up and our audience loses their mind.
Steph: The best part is working with Hannah herself - she's an amazingly talented and hilarious actress. And she's a very gifted improvisor which makes it a lot easier on us because she needs less time with the script, and she finds really great jokes in the moment. The hardest part of the bi-weekly vlogs is the schedule. Putting out two videos a week is a lot to commit to, but we seem to have found a rhythm.

http://sexynerdgirl.com/youtube

http://sexynerdgirl.com/twitter

http://sexynerdgirl.com/blog

http://www.facebook.com/sexynerdgirl

http://blip.tv/sexynerdgirl

Smart Tips For Writers

2011-07-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Law is a good friend.

I'm saying this not because I'm biased, but because her innate awesome is apparent.

Steph has done a lot of work in this industry. Internships. And. More. She's amazingly supportive of everyone's amazing endeavours, and she's a brilliant writer.

She's also just compiled one of a great bunch of things to focus on that should be read.

Right now. Here.

Steph also completed the (now) Bell Media Diverse Writer`s Program. (AKA as the CTV Diverse Writer`s Program)

1. Keep writing.

My goal is to spec the hell out of anything and everything. From half hours to hours, all genres that I can handle, because I want to learn.

2. Get Out There

I plan on outreaching to production companies. And I plan on not being intimidated. Because another thing I took away from the CTV program, is that companies and development peeps need us.

To Vlog Or Something Different

2011-07-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Let's talk key words for a second.

There's hundreds of thousands of vloggers out there. All of which want to get in on some crazy action of the Fred love - or, similar to the Vlog Brothers - makes the world go round.

But to get that love. You sometimes need some great keywords.

We've got an interview with the cats from Sexy Nerd Girl coming out tomorrow.

But for today? We have The Boob Show

Emily Schooler is a Toronto-based actress, and she chatted about getting the series - Vlogs and all - out to the web.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?
With The BOOB Show, the biggest issue was coming up with the initial concept - what I wanted to talk about, how zany I wanted the character to be, what sort of week-to-week tie-ins I wanted to have. I tried some ideas in the first couple of episodes that you'll see did not carry through to later episodes, and it was freeing to drop them when I saw that they weren't working.

For 30 Days of Dice Living, the challenge came several episodes in when I found out that my initial development plan - to do 30 consecutive days in preparation for a speaking event that ultimately got cancelled - was no longer applicable. I also struggled with how much of the neuroscientific background I wanted to bring into and discuss in the show. I feel like what I'm presenting now is a happy medium of information and fun, and using the dice to dictate several larger choices throughout the year rather than coming up with something slightly more mundane for a shorter period of time feels like a more organic and comfortable approach.

What was the process like?
For The BOOB Show, episodes are pretty much improvised week to week. I find a topic that I feel is relevant and spend a couple of hours at most fleshing out a script, then I shoot and edit.

With 30 Days of Dice Living, I came up with a more structured format: each episode consists of a premise, the actual rolling of the dice, and the outcome. The first few topics were ideas I came up with and was working from a list, but now that I am not compacting the series into a month I am waiting for relevant opportunities to present themselves. But again, when I have something I am rolling on, I shoot, edit, and post usually within a day or so.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?
As I've said, a good part of what I do is improvised in both of my current series. It's not an approach I would recommend for everyone, but with my improv background and the general subject matter (for example, I certainly can't script what the dice roll!) I feel that it works well for what I'm doing.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?
For both of my series, I have lists of "topics I could cover" and very rough scripts for several episodes, but I mostly shoot on an episode to episode basis. For example, with 30 Days of Dice Living I still owe the dice a road trip - I plan to roll on where I should go. And with The BOOB Show I have an initial list of topics that The BOOB could rant about, but with the improvised style I'm choosing to follow, I feel like having something too arc-ed out could be confining rather than helpful. Again, that's not advice I would give to a lot of series, especially ones that have a lot of people involved or complex storylines, but because these are both one-woman shows and I am close to the material I can very much work from my head.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?
Mostly, not to take myself too seriously and that not everything can be perfect all the time. :)
Really, though, I've seen people in the business that burn themselves out and are unpleasant to work with because of the way they micromanage everything and everyone and are giant stress-balls. Nobody's happy on those sets. At the end of the day, I'm very much creating these series for me and having fun with them. You really need to hang on to that - especially when creating for the web, which is still a fairly new field - and things will be more tolerable at the very least.

What was the production schedule like?
For The BOOB Show, I shoot one episode consistently weekly - that's writing, filming, editing, and posting.

30 Days of Dice Living is a little more erratic, in that there are some days and weeks where I am not shooting at all; other times I may do several episodes a week. I am about a third through my 30 days at this point and plan to wrap the series towards the end of December.

What were some of the snags that were found?
Mostly, it's the lighting, sound, and editing for me. Everything I'm shooting I film on a Flip camera currently so there's no external mic and often the lighting is either the natural light of a place or it's some of my various Ikea lamps arranged to try and balance what's there. Prior to this I was definitely more used to being solely in front of a camera so it's been a bit of a learning curve for me.

How long are your shooting days?
For The BOOB Show, I try to limit myself to two hours or less to shoot. If I go for much longer things tend to look over-rehearsed (because they often are!) and I have a tendency to spend too long fiddling with the lighting and environment and that takes me away from the performative aspect. With 30 Days of Dice Living, it's roughly a half-hour to shoot. I do only one take of everything, from start to finish. It's meant to be more raw and real and I feel that helps me adhere to that.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?
It's all just me, currently. For what I'm doing, I don't see that changing any time soon but if I was to explore a more fictionalized series, for example, I would definitely want better gear and many more able bodies to work with.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?
Start with an idea. Flesh it out as much as you feel you need to. Then get promoting and building connections and get your product out there. Remember to work for yourself.
I was lucky in that I was initially approached for a Youtube partnership after they'd seen me perform at a staged reading... If you can find someone with this already, it's great to have both those guaranteed hits and the associated revenue, but it's not the way to go for everyone. Really, I say the main thing to do is just work and make it happen. You can't expect success to fall in your lap, you really do have to work to get noticed and meet other web creators and get your work seen.

Microwave What: Comedy for the not so Tween Market

2011-07-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

The cool kids over at Microwave Porn chatted with me about their process for a while.

They can be found on the internet over here as well.

And their show - while targeting the "absurd" in Ryan Keller's own words - also has a great deal of heart. It's a fun show that has a fairly dedicated audience - and a fairly unique schedule of release. They release about once a month (or two months), and build audience around that.

They've also got fantastic key words.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?/What was the process like?

-In our case, the idea of making a web series came before the idea for the web series. James Ross and I had written a few things together in the past and were eager to try our hand at a show for the web. Our taste in writing leans toward absurd comedy and we thought we'd like to come up with a concept that would let us be as outlandish as possible. At the same time I was working with Ash Catherwood on another project and thought he would be great for a lead in a series. So we all got together and started brainstorming ridiculous concepts that would somehow incorporate Ash. After being collectively struck by mystical lightning, we came up with the concept of Microwave Porn and penned the first two episodes which we immediately showed to producer Heather Dahlstrom. She dug the idea and offered to help us get the show up and running. And so we did.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?

We initially went to camera with two episodes written. After that it varied a bit. Sometimes we have three or four scripts ready to go and other times we just write the episode that we plan to shoot.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?

There was no real arc to the first three episodes. Around episode four we started to find the voice for the characters and it led us to plan out some arcs. Our show doesn't really have a long arc in terms of story, but there is certainly progression to the characters. For example. we've known for awhile that Nigel is an air traffic controller and will continue to develop that line.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?

I think the biggest mistake we made initially was thinking that our concept was strong enough to support a lot of episodes and not thinking too much about the nuances of the characters. The show initially was about a talking microwave with a porn addiction helping his socially awkward human roommate score with women. So that's what the first couple episodes were. But as we continued, the concept evolved into Allen and Dave dealing with the fallout of Allen's addiction and tendency to land himself in outlandish situations. It's become character over plot. Most of the positive feedback we get on the show is about the characters "It's great when Nigel pops out of the closet with the video camera" or "I love it when Allen snores". So our writing is focusing more on those little moments between the characters.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags
that were found?

We generally shoot one day per episode. Episodes five and six and eleven and twelve were block shot as two part episodes. There haven't been too many snags. All of our crew work in the industry and bring a lot of professionalism to the shoots. Basically we try to keep it fun so that everybody feels like this is something to look forward to and not just another job.

How long are your shooting days?

Generally about 12 hours.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?

I direct and operate Allen. Bruce is the director of photography and he usually has a gaffer and/or a grip helping him. James, the writer will do script supervision when he's not playing one of his several characters. We've had a sound guy come out a few times, but generally just run mics directly into the camera. Heather, our producer, also does art department and frequently lunch. A lot of the time we'll have a makeup artist, especially if we're doing effects makeup like on the succubus or the grandma. And generally there a few PA's kicking around to give us hand. For post production, I do the picture editing. We have a sound editor, Geoff Raffan, who does complete sound design and a mix on each episode. For the last couple episodes, we've had Tom Morrison, a fantastic visual effects supervisor doing things like making Rusty into a ghost.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?

This seems to be the big question that everybody keeps asking. Personally, I think it depends on what kind of show you're making. Some people approach it like a business. They identify a market, frequently a niche one, and try to create a show that appeal to those consumers. In that case, you aim for the bloggers and sites etc. that fit your niche. For shows like The Guild, this strategy seems to work really well. It is a little trickier with a show like Microwave Porn. I like to think of what we're doing as the web series equivalent of an indie band. We have a fairly unique style that we're going for and it is slowly growing us a core group of loyal fans. Hopefully people will continue to like what we're doing and keep spreading the word. The other thing I'll add is quality. Make a good show. Sometimes there's this attitude that because a show is being made for the web, it's ok to have really low production value. That's a load of crap. Viewers are savvy. If your show looks like garbage and sounds like garbage, people won't watch it. We spend a lot of time making our show look as professional as possible and I think it's something that a lot of web series fail at.

What platforms are you using to release your show?

Right now we're basically using youtube exclusively. Recently, I started doing a little blog of the episodes at microwaveporn.com. As things continue, we'll probably build that blog into a more comprehensive site.

Ruffus the Dog: Childrens Web Series And Content Building in Canada

2011-06-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Rob Mills is a fantastic web series creator up in them Canadian hills. He's been working in TV for a while, was in such little known things like Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock (and, well, almost everything that is amazing with puppets in it).

It stands to reason, then, that his own web series (taken, uniquely, from a TV show concept he made) would be with an awesome puppet. And also slated mostly for kids.

Ruffus the Dog is a fantastic kid-focused (but more of a co-view, really) web series about a dog - in a bunch of classic tales.

Why not... just check it out:

Rob was kind enough to speak to the issues of not only web series releasing and development - but also kids TV work in Canada. He was frank in ways not many are - thanks so much for taking the time Rob!

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?

In the case of "Ruffus The Dog", since it was based on existing episodes created for broadcast, there was little of what I would call "development". The main focus was on making sure we had all the rights issues sorted out and then make a long term plan for the continued exhibition of old shows, production of new shows and ancillary projects for release online. There was never any funding for the online version of Ruffus from outside sources - it was all out of pocket - with the understanding we'd be working to "develop an audience" more than "develop a show".
Having said that, there were certainly different approaches we wanted to take with the characters and material of the existing episodes to make our new work into something more than just additional television shows. The development is ongoing with the production.
In a broader sense I suppose the bigger things to contend with when developing a web series is to understand your audience as best as you can. As a creator you may be driven by a compelling story or characters and the need to share this with your audience - but, like any performer standing on a street corner with a hat full of change, you need to pay attention to drawing an audience. Keeping your audience in mind whilst crafting your stories will provide the best direction for every aspect of your efforts.

What was the process like?

I did a lot of research into what other companies and individuals were up to in creating video works for internet release. This wasn't purely for application to the Ruffus project - I have a general interest in the whole web series phenomenon (if "phenomenon" is the right word - seems more inevitable than anything else) and in evangelizing for the wider pursuit of web production - so I was searching and digging a lot wider and deeper for insights as to how the larger established television industry was crumbling in upon and devouring itself while at the same time witnessing emerging opportunities for smaller players.
The specifics for Ruffus was to collect the likely opportunities we'd have to reach our core audience - which is young kids just starting to read and their parents. We were never in any rush to get everything set up and fully operational before "launch". We didn't really plan for or instigate a "launch". We just sort of crawled out into the middle of the road and set up shop. It has always been much more experimental and playful for us - we weren't scrambling for production funding since we already had a library of 26 shows to work with. Instead we chose to try different things while at the same time continuing to check out what was working for other people - building slowly - but always building. In it for the long haul.
I knew from the beginning there was not - nor will there be - any singular path to follow. Business models for different web projects will not be the same - the opportunities to exhibit work, engage with an audience, build a community and create a revenue stream will be as wildly varied as the projects themselves. So we had the freedom to explore all sorts of opportunities like: on-demand book publishing, ebooks, audio books, plush toys, clothing, mobile apps/games as well as further video production.
Ruffus is certainly going to continue beyond just posting old episodes online for people to watch. We're currently scripting new episodes - that are shorter than the original 15 minute episode length - and planning on how best to integrate these with the release of our ancillary products.
The best part of the "development" for this - and other projects (more on them later) - was the lack of pressing deadlines and interference from gatekeepers. Having worked in broadcast for 30 years I'm well versed in the "industry standards" of how shows are put together, pitched, developed, financed, produced and released. It has always been a constant series of compromises, hoops to jump through and the struggle to retain a creative vision in the face of satisfying the often contradictory goals of financial, broadcast and distribution partners. Screw that - we can make our choices based on what the audience wants - and prepare ourselves to respond to that audience directly as the work continue to "develop" throughout its life online.
Not having scads of cash to play with was/is always a drag but the freedom we have in making our choices more than makes up for this.
Not having a strict schedule to adhere to can be a blessing but given my propensity to procrastinate it would probably help if I had a ticking clock on my shoulder somewhere. I may work more slowly now - but it does get done. The nice thing about releasing material online is that (for some genres) there is less pressure to meet specific dates - there's no Fall Season - and once the material is online ... it's there forever ... so (at least in our case) there is little to no pressure to race against a clock or calendar.
Maintaining a community - through consistent releases - is important. Community building, outreach and other efforts to gather an audience becomes an ongoing effort instead of a carefully timed PR push. This has its own pressures since its such a relentless process. Consistent release of material and continual engagement with the audience is paramount.
One element of the Ruffus project that IS time dependent is our holiday special - it's an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and, unlike the other parts of the Ruffus work, will have a specific release - for the holidays, duh - where audiences will be able to watch online, buy the DVD with extras and so forth - but once it's been posted online it will remain there (no going back into the Disney vaults for us). As a seasonal production it will have opportunities to be re-discovered each year - during which time we'll re-engage with our audience (old and new) to promote the show and any new ancillary products we may come up with.
The Ruffus Xmas Carol was partly funded through IndieGoGo. We only managed to raise about 25% of the monies we needed but the generosity of people who did participate convinced us to go forward with the shoot anyway. More on that later.
In addition to Ruffus we're working on a number of projects that are specific to online (ie. not based on an existing broadcast production) and, as with Ruffus, these are all being financed out of pocket. These include:
"My Kitteh!" - which could be described as a storytelling art project for very young viewers using video, puppets and animation - should be coming out in the fall.
"Rubber Chicken Players" - a very funny and very stupid exercise in rubber chicken silliness - we start shooting next month
"In Teh Toobs" - an older project that will be ressurected - it needs to be re-tooled - or re-toobed - someday
"The Professor's Hideaway" - is a darker, satirical series that will play in multiple venues
Some other productions are also in the works - all are very different from each other - most are web series - a couple are feature length - some will be crowdfunded for production - every single one has a very different approach to presentation on the web and opportunities to generate revenue.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?

I always prefer to have everything scripted well before production begins. It was always essential for our work in children's television where the budgets were too low to afford the production staff necessary to multi-task that way. We always wore several hats and there's only so much one person can do at a time - so if our producers were also writing, and directing and designing it was necessary to get the writing done so we could all focus on the next step of production.
I suspect the same would be true for most other producers of web series. Low or no funding means there is little or no opportunity to be chasing stories while trying to prep and shoot episodes. Figure out what you want to say - script it. Figure out how you are going to say it - my Dad's got a barn, my friend has a camera - shoot it. Figure out how you're going to show it - actually, this part you should get a handle on sooner rather than later and it will be a continuing concern throughout the entire life of the project.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?

In the case of Ruffus it was never an arc-ed storyline. Each episode always stood alone. Probably still will.

Only one of our other projects - "The Porfessor's Hideaway" - has an arc-ed story that would require that kind of attention - and the plan is to figure out most of the arc first but to leave ourselves the flexibility of responding to audience input to make changes as we proceed since there will be a lot of other "transmedia" branches extending from the main storyline. Again - it's always going to be different for every project.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?

Don't be shy about begging for what you need.
It's okay to be ambitious - but also be realistic in what can be achieved. Investigate the alternatives you can pursue to get the final result you desire.
If anyone says you're crazy to try something - it probably means you should do it --- unless it involves explosives, poisonous snakes or rooftop efforts to take your pants off over your head. Somethings are best left alone.
And lastly:
It's hard - but it's not as hard as it seems. Don't be scared.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags that were found?

The ongoing Ruffus project is great for schedule because I can do what I want when I want. Set up and lighting for green screen with puppets is dead simple. It's such a small operation there is no big wind up for production. I just decide to do something and then I do it.
The exception to that was the Ruffus Xmas Carol. We shot that in 4 days - a half hour production. The "snags" were few and almost all were due to limited funding. We couldn't afford to use a proper studio - so we shot in my house. My living room became the green screen studio, my dining room was the puppet, prop and wardrobe department. The kitchen was for meetings and lunch. Despite the small space we had crammed ourselves into we made the shoot work incredibly well - everyone lent a hand in the various "departments" and we just had a great time playing together and shooting everything we needed. We had less than 4 weeks of prep - mostly devoted to assembling wardrobe and props - and then 4 days of shooting. Post production is still continuing - any delays with that are my own fault since I'm alone in a room doing all the fiddly bits by myself.
One of the nice things about the Xmas Carol was our use of CG for the virtual sets - as opposed to the miniatures we used in production of the series. That has given us a resource we can go back to and use for further production of Ruffus episodes and apps - our own virtual backlot.

How long are your shooting days?

I'm lazy. I like starting late and finishing early. Even when we were shooting for broadcast television I always insisted on a reasonable schedule - not slack, just human - because often in the effort to make the best use of resources producers often make the mistake of burning through the energy and (most important of all) the goodwill of their cast and crew. You don't get best work from a harried and exhausted team - you get mistakes - and the cost of fixing those far outweigh the minimal costs of adding some extra time to your schedule. 8:00 am call - 5:00 or 6:00 pm wrap. Lots of breaks - with snacks. And always a nice long lunch.
Most important thing for ANY shoot: Feed your team. An army travels on its stomach.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?

I like small crews - a small team of ninjas is best. Ninjas with cameras - yeah! If you've ever seen the film "Living In Oblivion" you'll get a good idea of the kind of stupidity that goes on with small shoots - with people strutting about with their walkie-talkies pretending they're the next Spielberg or something. It should never be like that. At its best a smaller team means less bullshit. Most important is to have a group of people who are not just technically proficient but also dedicated to the task at hand - their focus is on the work, not on their cell phone hustling for the next gig. Inexperience is okay - and sometimes desired - if it is matched with the desire to learn and a commitment to devote their time and attention to the project.
With most of the stuff I've been doing for online the crew is ridiculously small - with all of us wearing a lot hats. Too many sometimes but I'm prone to heaping those kinds of perverse challenges on our shoulders.
I had the opportunity recently to direct a couple of episode for someone's broadcast series - live action, all location - with a very small crew of maybe 10 people who handled EVERYTHING. They were awesome and I'd work with them again, on anything, in a heartbeat.
Make sure you have some key people who can deliver the technical quality you require - picture and sound.
When I shoot my short Ruffus spots the cast and crew is me. Sometimes my son helps with the camera.
When we shot the Xmas Carol I had a cast of 7 (including myself) and a crew of 5 (including myself & other cast members) - 10 total.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?

Do it.
Seriously. I agree with Seth Godin when he takes about taking initiative and not waiting to be picked. No one is going to give you permission to do the show(s) you want to do. That's the whole point about democratized media - fuck the gatekeepers - you don't have to ask for permission. You just have to stand up and do it. Thinking about it is entertaining - for yourself - but who gives a shit what wonderful things may be dancing in your skull? Talking about it is entertaining - for those willing to listen - but everyone gets tired of hearing about the great shit that never seems to get done. Francis Coppola famously said the best way to get a film made is to start doing it - once you do that, everyone sees you are serious and then they want to get involved - and that's how you get it done.
Start it. Finish it.
Do it.

Rufus has other sources - what was it like working on a project that works directly for kids?

As a television series Ruffus The Dog was targeted to a pre-school audience but always skewed slightly older. The content of the show was always derived from classic fairy tales and other notable works of literature. The underlying agenda of the show was to instill a love of reading while entertaining young viewers with goofy puppets and sweet songs. The continuing work for making new episode for online release will follow the same agenda albeit in a slightly altered form. The Ruffus Xmas Carol was targeted more the broader Family audience, as befits a holiday special based on Dickens. Whether its Ruffus or any of our other childrens projects we will always be facing the same concerns and constraints.
Kids television has always been a bit of ghetto for the smaller independent producers in Canada. I've been lucky to have been working through a window of time where funding and broadcasters were available. There was never enough money to do the best work and there were always forces looking to twist the vision for purposes of finance, ignorance or just petty boneheadedness - but we did manage to shepherd a few good shows through the pipes. It's even harder now. And I have very little patience to put up with that bullshit.
I've always been looking to the web as an opportunity to release my work directly to an audience. At first it was hard because of the technological limitations of bandwidth, compression and access - we're talking the early days of the web here - but even as those things got inevitably sorted out there was another barrier between my work and its intended audience: the computer itself. Parents just don't let their 5 year olds go roaming through the interwebs on the family PC. If they did want their kids to see something online it was usually with the child sitting on the lap of the parent as they navigated to the site to show the episodes. Even those web sites set up as adjuncts to broadcast shows - things with nicely contained Flash environments with games and other stuff for kids - were still being directly mediated by the parents and not something the child on their own would be able (or allowed to) navigate to.
The emerging ubiquity of the web is changing this. As television becomes the content of the new media of the internet, the way we access the net is changing - what used to be the household TV is becoming the portal to the web. The ability of parents to allow their children access to web content is changing - and this allows producers like me to reach them more easily. That is still in process but when I saw it happening I knew the time had come to work at bringing more kids material online.
As with any content for web series, the way it is produced and distributed will vary wildly from project to project. Parents have always relied on the gatekeepers to be content authorities for the shows they let their kids watch. If it's on CBC or TVO or PBS you would know it had been carefully vetted for content and educational quality. Private broadcasters with brands to protect, like YTV, TReehouse, Disney, Family etc, would also be able to provide a cushion of comfort for parents who could be sure anything presented would be, if not educational, then at least non-offensive. The perception of "safe" content for kids will still be a pre-eminent feature parents look for. There's a lot of parents who want to see higher quality, less derivative, less overtly commercial material for their kids to watch - and this is more likely to be provided by independent creators who are less concerned with protecting a brand or adhering to limiting cirriculum guidelines. But, as with all things, this freedom offered to creators is a double edged sword - they will need to be responsible for providing the "safe zones" parents seek. This, as with all projects, will vary wildly with some going overboard and providing the same empty bland content already being broadcast - and with others going too far and encountering a backlash from angry caregivers. The gatekeepers of broadcast also acted as a buffer between the producers and the audience - taking the brunt of any criticism - but with the producers now having direct access to the audience they have to assume the role of "gatekeeper" of their own content.
Interaction with the audience is also very different when working towards an audience of young people. Issues of privacy become paramount. In protecting the kids from being exploited in any way - and being able to assure parents this is so - the producer immediately starts limiting the opportunities producers for older audiences have to build a community for the show. A 5 year old is not going to subscribe to an email newsletter, or participate in a forum or wiki, or impulse buy a special offer limited edition product.
For producers of childrens material for the web it's best to remember: The Audience is the kids - the Community is the parents.
I'd rather deal directly with the Audience and the attendant Community as I pursue my own creative vision than to wrestle with the filter of financial and content gatekeepers. It may be harder in many respects but its eminently more satisfying.

Glee Hires... Writers

2011-06-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well now, obviously things get shaken up from time to time, but one of the top rated shows just decided to go all crazy-like and hire writers.

Glee Gets Writers!

That's not to say that there weren't writers before - the three co-creators wrote every episode. Add to a crazy directorial based schedule with songs and choreography.

Well. You get the picture.

The room has a grand total of nine folk, and can be seen with loving day-one chipperness.

On How To Get Staffed

2011-06-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

John Rogers, who is a pretty cool cat, who also happened to co-create Leverage, made a post a couple of years back when they were putting together the room for Leverage the first time around.

Rogers has some (slightly dated on the spec front) incredibly valid points for baby writers right on over here.

Here are some of the best points from that how they found their room article, and also writing points in the how to find a room together article.

1.) Wow. There are a lot of really goddam great writers out there. I am seriously concerned, in a straight-on script shoot-out, I could not get hired on my own show. The general increase in the quality of television in recent years has led to an exponential increase in talented young writers choosing it as their medium of expression.

2.) Definitely want the double-team when submitting. One on-air show/one pilot. On-air to see how you adapt your voice to another show, a pilot to show what sort of tone and structure you dig when cut loose. I personally don't mind reading movies, but when facing a mountain of scripts they are generally wince-inducing. If submitting a movie, make sure it's got a helluva first act. A screamingly funny one-act play isn't bad either, and may even be preferable to the pilot when doing half-hour submissions.

Having now plowed through a ridiculous number of on-air specs, for what it's worth (and this is purely personal) I'd recommend writing a House. It's one of the few one-hours where you can show off your research and plotting skills, AND the characters are both joke-funny and engage the emotional issues presented by the case-of-the-week. Without a Trace is a fine show, for example, and we interviewed a couple writers of WaT specs, but the characters do not lend themselves to banter.

If you've been on staff, that second original work is important. We've been on staff, we know how the rewriting process goes. It's very hard to break out what's yours and what's derived from the mandatory template of the sow and your own particular show-runner's idiosyncracies.

If your on-air spec show has been off the air for two years, time for a new spec.

3.) If you are submitting a play: take your first play, the one where the protagonist is a thinly veiled version of you, and the antagonist is a thinly veiled version of your ex, and the "comedy" is you showing how shitty they were and how wronged you were for 90 pages -- and put that one down. Send the second one.

4.) Size of agency does not matter. Our first and so far only baby-writer hire came from an agency so small we have affectionately named it "the Yarn Barn". The agent was aggressive as hell, got the scripts in front of our face, and got the job done. Do not fixate on the big agencies -- not only do they have a ton of other clients to work through, some of them are less nimble when dealing with the new model/economics of television. Speaking of which --

5.) Your network quotes? Heh. You're adorable. It's the writer apocalypse out there, folks. The days of 12 person rooms, each person clocking in between $10-50k an episode for 22 episodes a year are GONE.

6.) Sexy descriptions. I have read a disturbing number of character descriptions, particularly those of women, which go on for a full damn paragraph about how sexy they are, or describe how the camera lingers over them, or even explicit complements about their ass (I am not kidding) ... Okay. Listen. We are all in the Television Business. The Business of Televising. Are you somehow worried that without some Maxim-style adjectives ladled in, some misguided Network Exec is going to forget and cast ugly people in your show?

7.) The "As you know ...": Indeed, it's fucking miserable to lay pipe in the tiny amount of page space you have in a TV script. That said -- NO. The only thing worse is --
8.) The Sibling Tag: "C'mon sis, don't be like that."
There was even one script with the double-whammy ...
9.) "As you know" with a Sibling Tag: "You know as well as I do, bro ..." Hey, I've written some crap. Some steeeeeaming crap. But this is an auto-fail.

Murdoch Mysteries: Web Series, CMF Times, and More Steampunk.

2011-06-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

There's some folk that might say a Victorian detective drama doesn't exactly match a web series style.

There's some that might even say that Murdoch Mysteries primarily focuses on an older demo (primarily, say, of women who grew up watching one Yannick Bisson).

Those folks would be wrong. (The later folks are wrong anyways. Murdoch has always been a grand lot of Victorian fun).

Murdoch has a new web series. Called Curse of the Lost Pharaohs. Made by Smokebomb Entertainment and Shaftesbury Films (prodco behind Murdoch), the series received CMF convergent stream funding that they - smartly - used to make a fantastic web series.

Smokebomb is a company that makes "convergence" media - like the web experiences for The Listener, Baxter, Overruled (and more). As well as creating multiplatform series - the forthcoming URL and Big Break (a tween girl focused series) that are web series that extend to a bunch of app-based experiences.

According to Jarrett Sherman, a producer a Smokebomb, these projects are "multiplatform entertainment".

"I'd describe URL and Big Break as multiplatform entertainment. I don't think either Big Break or URL actually qualifies as transmedia by my understanding of the definition. The series within each App we're calling digital series instead of web series, so they aren't pigeonholed as 'web' only, but rather series that can live in mobile, online or on TV. To us, a series is a series, and the platform is becoming less and less relevant. Its becoming more – are you in the mood for something that's 5 minutes long / 22 minutes long / an hour long on whatever device you're on at the moment?"

In making Curse of the Lost Pharaohs, though, they've done a bit more than create a show to extend the Murdoch series. This extends the brand of Murdoch to people who might have the show on their radar, but for aren't fully tuned in.

Jarrett Sherman, a producer a Smokebomb, chatted with me about it. The series hits those fans that haven't quite seen the show - the Steampunk kids, the fans of Victorian lit, and really targets them. It's an "attempt to put something in front of all audiences" - from their core fans who will like the 'well produced rip-roaring yarn', to those who perhaps haven't quite jumped on board to watching the show itself.

And the biggest problem they had? "Was deciding what idea to do." Deciding who to focus the series on - Murdoch or Crabtree, or others. The focus of the web series is on Crabtree's pulpy novel, both indicative of the time period and obviously a lot of fun. It also incorporates comic art, and was directed by past-showrunner Cal Coons and written by Patrick Tarr (a writer in the room). In this way, of course, they're luckier than some other shows - they're working in already created sets, and they don't have to, say cast.

On the other hand they shot the entire series in two days, and were doing about 17 pages a day according to Sherman. "They were troopers." But - on watching - you can also tell they had a grand lot of fun with the more irreverent take on the series.

So far, if tracking on google search is any indication, they really have made headway into the comic/Victorian/Steampunk fan groups (the later, of course, has been a huge supporter of series like Riese, so are a huge marketable web series group).

You can also find an interview with the artist over this away if you want more information.

Pretty in Geek: The first Teaser

2011-06-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

You asked for it.

And now you have it. The very first teaser for Pretty In Geek, the fun times only web series about girl gamers (and their token male LARPer)

Webseries and Independent Fantasy: Process, Process, Process

2011-06-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to speak with a group of web creators who have been working on their own fantasy web series recently.

Paul Best and his team worked on a key fantasy web series - which anyone will tell you isn't easy.

Border Guards of Ackernon is available both online and in their store, and was independently produced.

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?

Probably three issues.

First of course, budget. No matter where the pot gets filled from it’s only just so big. We try and pay everyone, not SAG scale, but more than just gas money. Budget always limits the number of extras and helper bees you have on set. While we try not to let it affect what you see on the screen in costumes, sets, and props, I would have to say it can’t help but affect it. And lastly, equipment acquisition, upgrading and repair always must to be factored in.

Second, this part of the web series is located in the capital of Ackernon and that meant lots of urban shots. Problem is, while this may be a fantasy, Ackernon it’s self is loosely based around Cossack Russia from an architectural and costuming point of view. One of the major locations in the web series is a 2 story tavern. We anticipated a problem finding the right building materials. We were very lucky when our art director stumbled on to a saw mill that could produce custom resawn timber and planking for the set at a very reasonable rate. Custom saw mills in California are some what of an oddity. The third issue was fabric. Even though we wound up ordering over 200 yards of fabric on line to add to what was purchased locally, we still were unable to find exactly the fabric we were looking for in some cases.

What was the process like?

I have been involved in film or stage for over 40 years and Wolf’s Head Productions has been in business working in some capacity with stage or film since 1992. Despite advancing technology that allows people like us to produce viable products for public consumption, the process has remained remarkably unchanged. First comes the concept meeting and story development. Well actually, I suppose first comes the getting up one morning and deciding to do another film, or in this case a web series. I blame it on something I ate. Next comes the scripting, more story development, more scripting, research, design renderings… more scripting. For us this is usually about a 4 month process. Then the talent search and auditions. We have about 200 names on file but didn’t have a match for one of our critical lead characters and a couple of supporting cast members. We were fortunate to have a good working relationship with one of our local talent agencies who sent us daily PDF files with faces. All of our costumes are custom made so we hold auditions months before filming. Between auditions and shooting, the tasks include costume and set construction, story boarding, crew and cast meetings, more script rewrites, location mapping, props and an occasional rehearsal. Then it’s on to shooting and post and the rest is history.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?

I don’t think writing is ever really finished until you have released the DVD and even then

sometimes it gets changed. We try to have a finished script, assuming rewrites, in hand several months before auditions. We send out sides for key roles we are casting generally 1 month before auditions and screen tests. So to answer your questions, about 4 to 6 months before shooting begins.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?

Border Guardians of Ackernon is really not an Episodic show like the vast majority of TV shows. In some respects it is more like “Lost” in that it has a definite beginning and an end and the two need to meet up at some point. To keep from getting lost or some of the pitfalls such as have been leveled at “Lost” for example, the entire story was mapped out in 2009. The TV pilot “Border Guardians of Ackernon – This Ain’t Kansas” released in 2010 will be cut down into 6 episodes and the web series we just finished is the 6 episode prequel to the pilot. The rest of the story is outlined but we won’t start writing the script for episode 13 and beyond for a while. This doesn’t mean we are set in concrete on every episode. Characters will come and go depending on the story needs and audience reactions. We are doing this for an audience after all.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?

In an attempt to make life easier on actors with day jobs or students, we decided to film only

on Saturdays instead of contiguous shooting days. I think this was a mistake. It was harder

for people to focus, both crew and cast. Also, for some people, there was a very long time lag between casting and shooting. We had to recast some extras that either lost interest or found something more interesting to do. I think in the future we will go back to a more condensed 5 day a week shooting schedule.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags that were found?

Other than mentioned above, no snags really. You always have the occasional change in the weather, someone gets sick or hurt, equipment doesn’t work when it is supposed to. We do an awful lot of preproduction work so we don’t often get surprised. I once had someone try to strong arm us into paying 3 times the agreed upon price for a location a week before filming but you just roll with things like that. And as always, the new location turned out better anyway. I once had someone ask if a film we had just completed turned out like I thought it would. I said “Sure. I already watched it a dozen times before our first day of shooting.”

How long are your shooting days?

We try and keep our shooting days to under 10 hours. The typical schedule is 2 hours for makeup and wardrobe, 30 minutes of rehearsal, translation letting the cast have a little fun, shoot, meal break and then finish it up. We probably average 9 hours days of which 5 hours or so is actual shooting time. Any more and I think you start loosing creativity, energy and fun.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?

For preproduction we use an art director, costume designer, and builder bees. For all shooting we have a basic minimum number of crew positions we fill, usually with the same people from one production to another. They are, Master Electrician, Makeup Lead, 1st AD, 2nd AD, field sound engineer, sound boom operator, EMT, camera operator, wardrobe, and at least one utility infielder. Our 2nd AD usually doubles on either script supervisor or props so one of those positions needs to be filled. Depending on the location, time of day, jibs or dollies, and number of actors, we add in craft service, a couple more PA’s, additional makeup people, grips and gaffers. Having said all that, we are a very small, under funded Production Company that relies on duct tape and the dedication of a small group of very experienced, very underpaid, and very over worked technicians and actors.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?

I am a much better film maker than a social media guru. I would like to believe in the old Latin phrase “Res ipsa loquitur”, “the thing speaks for its self”. If you provide a good product to a market, they will respond. The pilot episode won awards at 2 of the 5 festivals it entered and was named as the editors pick on Filmbaby.com but DVD sales have been underwhelming so obviously either this isn’t the case or more likely the market still doesn’t know. There are a lot of good, starving web series out there. So to answer your question, I have to honestly say I haven’t a clue which is why we have entered into an agreement with a consultancy firm. If she tells me to tweet, I tweet. If she tells me to do UStream or interviews I’m all over it. I just keep waiting for the day when she tells me to sit in the corner and go back to film making.

Would you look to sponsors for your series?

We had no sponsors and never have had. To be honest, we have never looked for any but we are going to have to. Everything we have done since 2005 in the way of narrative fiction has been self funded and a huge money loser. Combine that with the pro bono work we do and I figure the only way we will turn a profit is quantity. Just kidding. But, a reliable business model has to be found to provide funding for more than just a very few web series. No one can continue to pour money into a project to achieve the kind of production quality I would want to watch, without at least an occasional payout. Perhaps that means looking at the old Hollywood standard of prerelease funding and a revenue stream on the back end from distribution. Film makers passing the hat to their faithful is all fine and well, but doesn’t come close to covering the costs of a production like ours. As a community we have the potential to offer something more than the standard reality programming and carbon copy fair of most of the TV networks. Because of lower production costs we also have the ability to offer niche entertainment as an alternative to the “it worked before, let’s do it again bigger but with less story” Hollywood mentality. In the future I think we will see more and more sponsors crossing over to the web and spreading the ad dollars our way. I don’t think they truly know how to value this new medium any more than most of us do so it will be a learning curve all the way around but we will hang in there as long as possible. (The preceding is my yearly pep talk to my accountant.) I look at it as a modern day financial equivalent to a good old fashion Medieval bleeding to cure what ails you. And with today’s interest rates, what good is money anyway.

The team can be found here:
www.Facebook.com/Ackernonweb
www.ackernon.com

How to Build The Guild: Authentic Communities for Teh Win

2011-06-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Developing a web series seems to be the newest craze sweeping the kids now a days. Developing a web series and shooting takes just as long as shooting a short film and seems to be so much easier to market than a film.

It also seems more likely to spring into a fully fleshed out and hugely successful property that way.

At the Banff Media Festival, the web series focus was pretty epic. Felicia Day was on hand to discuss some of what works best in community building - and what worked for The Guild. Funny or Die was there to talk channel building, along with Vuguru, My Damn Channel, Break Media and Content.

Felicia Day was amazingly frank in her discussion of what makes a web series gain an audience, and how much actual work that entails.

Mark Gantt (of the Bannen Way) was there to moderate as well - and while the two obviously have a huge following from previous acting roles - and having the boost from Dr. Horrible probably didn't hurt The Guild, to build an audience for a stand-alone-show it took two years.

But to make The Guild profitable there's been more than a few years of behind the scenes community building - and of course, they weren't competing (initially) with the 48 hours of content that is uploaded to youtube per the second (including not a small amount of other web series).

The community building, according to Felicia, is the most important part. Staying true to your audience, engaging with them, saying hello. Not just pimping your series but actually talking to these people.

A web series is a commitment to your fan base on the long haul. Even when you're not releasing things - Felicia Day at #Banff2011

And the stages of community building should comprise the following - and, probably, a whole bunch of other stuff - focus on the following people:

Knowing where your audience hangs out (i.e. know who your audience is)
Find bloggers in your community (or niche)
Engage on twitter - being sure to be alway authentic with your community
Start a facebook page - again, being authentic, and giving them something to play with

These can be pictures
Videos
Exclusive shots
News

Other social networks

On top of that, focus on releasing videos and communicating with your community - and letting them be a part of the process. If things are taking longer than expected - you can tell them. Getting people to 'like' you or follow you is the hardest part - people don't unfriend or unlike unless people are posting too much, or too little content that relates to them.

The focus on knowing who your community is before you begin the process is also key to the development of community.

But beyond engaging in the community, building the show is key.

For Felicia Day, the structure of the Guild is more akin to a film than, say, a TV show.

All of the Guild is structured as a movie - 11 pages is 7 min.

Shorter is better - especially for web pilots. Keep it short, and offer cliffhangers

The biggest benefit that can be seen in web series creation belongs not only to ownership of contents, but the fact that it really is engaging and developing a new system.

"You can create a new network, and break down the system that there is. You just need savvy, persistence and vision"

FunnyOrDie's Tradigital Success: Traditional Pay, but Digital Thinking

2011-06-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

FunnyOrDie makes money. We know that. They know that. But the question of following that money is less exciting than it might appear on the surface. It's fairly traditional. It might even be fairly similar to what TV does.

The advertising and TV sales mix make them a really unique place - a sort of network-production-company hybrid.

But their turn around time? That's the beautiful thing.

Vandermemes from James Van Der Beek

That’s not to say they don’t exist on TV – they do. They also have a huge TV following. And a huge branded entertainment existence. And, on top of that, they still consider themselves a startup.

So many of the things that came together make FunnyOrDie unique – it was funded by Will Farrell and uses a lot of those contacts to make "star" shows off the top - has changed since they initially launched. The site now exists as its own entity – with Farrell doing things every so often – often with fellow star Zach Galafinakis on Between Two Ferns.

But FunnyOrDie has its own brand in the industry now – and does something that none of the major networks can ever do... It’s fast.
Following the mainstay message of the internet the sketch comedy that comes out of FunnyOrDie is turned around quickly – sometimes from concept to live within two days.
And sometimes a short chat with an actor or personality will turn around and give them weeks of content – like the “Vandermemes” phenomena.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Bradley Cooper from Between Two Ferns

But at the end of the day, while all the content is sketch and amazing because of its ingenuity (much like SNL, FunnyOrDie has both topical and celebrity “enhanced” sketches) – the money really still lives in the world of advertising and TV sales.

Which highlights the issues that independent producers may face most in the web – unless you have a destination site and can give a certain amount of dedicated eyeballs (similar to TV) – it’s hard to sell ads. Which is where channels (at least established ones) become the order of the day.

The end of the day, though, is that FunnyOrDie is creating content that is moving forward, turns around fast, and can be sold across the board with both recognizable faces and a proven user group.

So is the answer to make your channel with a focus – perhaps – but the biggest name of the game right now is just content creation. The group that is making the most quality (defined by “interesting to the Internet” here and not always production value) and quantity and gaining traffic that sticks around.

Why The Killing Still Deserves Respect

2011-06-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

"I realized I didn't want to spend the rest of my life babysitting drunk twenty-two year olds" - Veena Sud on directing reality

This is where every writer eventually gets their start. Realizing that those kids yelling random things across the road and knowing that you have to care about them.

Or maybe it's different when you're trying to coral the people of Jersey Shore (let's all take a moment and think good thoughts for those people).

For Veena Sud, the showrunner of the hotly contested AMC show The Killing it was about the research.

Long before she was on The Killing, she was on Cold Case - a show that ran on for years. But how did she get there?

One of the coveted Disney Fellowships.

When she was on Cold Case, one of the best parts for her was ""This great murder happened and I'd get to jump into research right away" - which is of course, what we all think of when we think of research.

Definitely.

Veena didn't seem to dislike being on Cold Case - if the discussion I saw had anything to do with it - but she did seem to want something a little different. A little darker in a lot of ways. Which is where the Killing came in.

But at the end of the day being the showrunner is different than being the writer. Veena described it as ""It's like being on a bullet train and trying to hang on" - apt, as most showrunners end up falling into a weird world of catch up that requires both scripts, casting and more.

There's been a lot of contention over The Killing lately. People upset about the season finale. People not upset about the season finale. Some people may be upset over the change from what the Danish show did. A lot of it may feel like a cop out.

But there's also some navigating involved. The room involved took a show and made minute changes that will arc beyond season one. Perhaps that's not exactly what people expected, wanted, what the set up dictated.

Perhaps season two will make that even better.

Maybe it won't. Here's the thing - the source material and The Killing right now have been very close to date - but the intention was never to remake the shows that closely. This has angered a lot of purists.

Veena seemed focused more on bringing a solid character arc to things - and neatly dodged questions outside of that realm. Part of it may be experimental. Part of it may be asking the audience to take a leap of faith. But sometimes it's not that bad to take it and let it breath.

"There's no room for error in network - it's like a boot camp. In cable there's more breathing room."

This is part of the Banff2011 series of posts.

The NFB: Pitching Innovation, and Content Curation

2011-06-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

"The ideal pitch is not to come in with pitch. About a conversation - the NFB is about creating prototypes. (and) What works is something that blows our mind." - Tom Perlmutter, NFB Chairperson

When you're looking to find new platforms and new technology in Canada - you go to the NFB. It's a huge resource for creators right now. Sometimes even when it's just at a basic stage, a concept stage. And that, at its core, may be exactly what they're looking for.

Highrise, a project that has more awards that you can shake an Internet yardstick at, is an amazing example of this. Director of the project, Katerina Cizek, was also on hand to discuss. Cizek is an amazingly down to earth documentary filmmaker, passionate about what options these projects are given in an interactive space - the content curation, for her, becomes a huge part of the process of developing the project.

These ideas are ones that, ideally, "explore a new narrative, with interactivatity inherent to the project. These are auteur driven projects. And they're about how artists embrace technology."

Somehow that is innovative - a "gestural creation" is part of the newest slew of content creation that the NFB has been integrating into the current crop of projects.

Navigation itself has become part of the flow of content creation. Much like HuffPost is a curated content site, the NFB is developing innovative ways to curate as part of the developed projects, and using UGC as the content that is being curated.

"Spatialization of story - we used to have time, audio - now we have space. (And the) ability to manipulate and create an integrated experience."

And the projects can be interactive, or installation - sometimes within the same project. The Highrise "installation" of Out My Window does not have UGC. That said, the Participate side of that project is all UGC.

The goal from the Interactive side of the NFB is to release a project almost monthly - but the entire process from beginning to end can sometimes take up to five years.

A lot of the work is closer to installation art in some cases. The NFB is creating works that work with users and collaborates to make, and break, the industry standard and keep going forward in developing new and amazingly innovative projects.

- -

This is from the Banff Media Festival 2011 series.

Comedy in LA? Say Whut?

2011-06-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

For all you comedy kids hanging out in the LA area, I was contacted by a screenwriter out there with a writing group they're looking to expand on.

It is invite only, but if you're looking to meet new folks, it may be a good way to say hello.

You can check out Mostly Comedy at their site - and, if you believe everything you read on the Internet (which I do), this is a group made up of a bunch of kid with them there comedic chops.

Web Series Marketing: Learning from the H-Wood

2011-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Via Mashable.

The discussion of what makes something truly "social" - and how to do this, seems pretty set by the web community. Hollywood is getting on board - for the more mainstream or younger-demo focused films and more.

These points are important to keep in mind from a ohHeyWe'reMarketingOurShow perspective:

1. Think Content, Not Ads
Getting people to watch and share your content requires some fundamental shifts in how marketers think about video advertising. Sharing has to be the starting point when developing content. Hollywood gets it: Great content is their currency. This is one reason why movie trailers were shared 184% more than the industry average for brand video content over the last quarter, as measured by Sharethrough’s distribution network.
For example, to promote the new Muppets movie, Disney released a short original video called “Green With Envy,” a parody of the Rom-Com genre. It has more than 1.4 million views on YouTube.
2. Mix It Up
While television and much of online video advertising inventory is limited to 15- or 30-second videos, social video advertising allows for distribution of video content of varied lengths and styles. Hollywood is taking full advantage of the flexibility of this medium to mix in “red band” (read: racy or R-rated) trailers, long-form trailers, interactive videos and viral videos along with their standard trailers to keep things interesting.
For example, a recent red-band trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo did a fantastic job of stirring up buzz. The shaky camera — evoking a sense that the video is a bootleg — added to the intrigue and exclusivity. Many in the marketing and film worlds have expressed their belief that this “bootleg” was created by Sony as part of a campaign intended to go viral. If that’s the case, they’ve even gone so far as to remove it from YouTube on copyright grounds.
Another great example of non-standard content is an amazing interactive YouTube video page for Kung Fu Panda 2, featuring a mix of fun videos of Jack Black and the animated main character, Po. The page’s videos have generated millions of views and nearly 4 million Likes on their Facebook page.
Brands should look to mirror this approach and come up with different versions of the same themed content to reach different audiences and prevent fatigue.
3. Look for Social Distribution
In the old model of TV advertising, demographics ruled. Now, film marketers are going one step further in search of an audience with social influence that is most likely to watch and share their content. For example, Hollywood was early to experiment with the distribution of movie trailers in social games on Facebook, and they are trailblazing the emerging trans-media distribution world. Integrating brand video content into social media is critical to maximize sharing.
With the launch of Facebook’s recent program that enables brands to distribute their videos into more than 300 social games (and provides Facebook Credits to users who watch them), any brand marketer can take a page from Hollywood’s play book and get their content in front of hundreds of millions of socially active consumers.
Another good example of cross-media promotion was the addition of an ad for the film Super 8 as a playable level inside the hit video game Portal 2. Game review site Kotaku released a YouTube video about the trailer, which has generated hundreds of thousands of views to go along with the millions of people who played the game.
4. Use Social Analytics to Test Content
Movie marketers were some of the first to embrace social metrics such as “sharethrough rate” — the rate at which a video is shared — in order to quantify success. Data collected from sharethrough rates now help movie studios make informed decisions about which trailers to use for online advertising campaigns, which demographics to include in campaign targeting and even potential markets for film releases. Brands are also beginning to use social metrics as a proxy for the overall success of their campaigns. They should look to further use sharing data to optimize their creative assets and distribution strategies, as well as test new markets for their products.

Of course, the question of how to get people to share isn't always science. Some things that should really not get shared (Charlie Bit My Finger, anyone?) and stuff that seems perfectly set to go viral... doesn't.

It's a mix of authenticity with innovation. Fun mixed with uniqueness. It's got that je ne sais quois that makes things interesting.

And the one thing that makes the Internet interesting is that you can change things on the fly (not easily per se, but it can be done), so if a trailer or teaser isn't working for you there's an ability to try again. To find something that will or can be shared more easily. Innovation and fun. Uniqueness and humour. And - most importantly - getting in touch with people to share things.

After all - the Youtube metrics have changed - and there's 48 hours of content uploaded every second.

The signal to noise ration is getting worse. So you have to find people to champion your project.

100 Episodes? I think so.

2011-05-31T11:36:00.001-07:00

Props to the great people at Tights and Fights who are amazing and just released their hundredth video.

An Actor's View: Web Series Interview from Vampire Mob

2011-05-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

I recently had a chance to chat with the lovely John Colella about the experience of working on, and getting the word out about, Vampire Mob, as well as working on the free full-length (if you live in the US) film Girl Walks into a Bar.

The difference between working for the big screen, the small screen and the, basically, tiny screen is both great and small.

With working in web what are the biggest differences from your TV or film (or theatre) work?
The biggest difference from film and TV is budget and crew size. It actually resembles Equity Waiver Theatre because that too has a very small budget and most of the time you do more than just act in the production, Theatre and web can be very do it yourself.

What's the best advice for an actor working on the (very small) screen?
You need to wear more than one hat. As an actor, I've never been more involved in getting the word out about our show. When you do it yourself, your work doesn't end when filming is done. What good is your series if no one sees it? Build your audience. From an acting stand point, do what excites you in terms of content and character. Make the most of this opportunity for artistic freedom. Also, enjoy the ride.

What was the process like with getting cast in Vampire Mob? What about Girl Walks into a Bar?
Vampire Mob was offered to me by Joe Wilson. Joe and I used to be neighbors in Hollywood, became friends, and gave working with each other a shot on his short The Swear Police (www.swearpolice.com). We won The LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival's Under 5 minute category with it. Joe then came up with Vampire Mob and pitched the idea to me. My job was simply to say, "yes" Girl Walks Into A Bar was offered to me also. Writer/Director Sebastian Gutierrez saw me in a couple of plays with his wife, actress, Carla Gugino. They were shooting their film Elektra Luxx which Carla also stars in, and had an actor fall out of a small role and asked if I would jump in. I did and had a blast. When Girl Walks Into A Bar came around, I was fortunate enough to be invited back to join them again.

How much in advance to shooting are you getting all your materials? How is it different (or is it) than your other work?
No difference really. Once cast in anything, you get your script a minimum of a few days before filming. With Vampire Mob, I had the entire script from the outset. Joe would work out scheduling actors and nail down shoot dates. In that sense, I always had at least a week's notice about what scenes we'd be filming.

Why work in web? Has this been a boon for your career?
Actor's need to act. The web offers a wide open playing field. "Build it and they will come" is the hope. Even if you don't make a big splash at first, it lives "out there" and you can always direct eyes to your site to see your work. This gives you an opportunity to reach a broad audience on a very tight budget.

It's a bit too soon to say whether playing on the web will lead to a boon for my career, but I can say that Vampire Mob has fans all over the world with thousands of hits. Girl Walks Into A Bar has now topped over a half million views for the entire film and 50,000 views on my chapter of the film alone. That many eye balls seeing your work can't hurt.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode? How much more involved in the marketing of the show and the show in general than other work?
Biggest thing I've learned since the pilot wasn't a shocker, but was driven home for me, and that is how back breaking production is for your crew. We've been blessed with such a wonderful, hard working crew, it's humbling. Joe, himself, does the work of at least 3 people. I've always respected the hard work of all around me on a set, and now have a much deeper appreciation for all that goes into a project. As I mentioned earlier, this is the most involved I've ever been in promoting a project. Joe leads the technological way, but I'm tweeting, jumping on FB, hitting web events, doing interviews, etc...

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags that were found?
Our schedule is loose in order to try to accommodate our actors. We deeply appreciate the level of talent we've been fortunate enough to attract to the show, and do our best to shoot when it's most convenient for them with in reason. Didn't really hit any snags other than a couple of rained out nights. Organizational skills are key. Joe and I have those in spades.

How long are your shooting days?
4 hours. Once or twice a 6 hour day. Again, shot this way to ease the demands of our talented cast and crew that we are so grateful to be working with on this.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?
We're a skeleton crew as small as me and Joe in some of the driving scenes. Joe's always operating a camera. We add 2 more camera operators on some shoot nights who double up helping with lighting. Plus, we are so lucky to have Melissa Street and Cathy Singh working with us in Make-Up. Last season we did our own. This season, new camera equipment and not one, but two make-up artists. Look out! Sound usually consists of one/two boom operators. On a few occasions when we've had a large cast called, we also added a script supervisor. That's it. When we do it ourselves, we do it ourselves.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs? (If you do have an opinion on that)
You work with a guy named Joe Wilson, whom I believe is part machine. He's my Robot Joe, a former private investigator of intellectual property that has known the ins and outs of the world of the web while I was still contemplating dial up. He understands how to get our little show "found" in the great sea of the internet. I defer to him and follow his lead.

Can you speak to the issues of Girl Walks into a Bar as opposed to the webseries?
From an actor's perspective, GWIAB was a regular low budget film shoot. What makes it unique is how it was put together for a "first major motion picture made exclusively for web distribution," including such a star studded cast. It shot in 11 days on the Cannon 7d which over heated a couple of times by the way. It was written in chapters since ads would have to be factored in. In that sense, the chapters which are viewable individually also could seem like episodes of a webseries about a girl that ends up in bar after bar.

NXNE-i. Yeah, It's awesome.

2011-05-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

Moving off from a thrilling bunch of chats -

Well, who are we all kidding, it's a web series hash tag extravaganza. Come check us all out at NXNE-i on June 17 at 9:30 am.

I know most of you kids don't get up that early, but I'll sweeten the pot. If you come, you get a button. A shiny new Pretty in Geek button.

Yeah I'm not opposed to bribing people.

But not only that, but you get the fantastic Jill Golick, Scott Albert, Rob Mills, and Mike Schaus.

Tights and Fights... on Space!

2011-05-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Tights and Fights was on InnerSpace last night. A huge shout out to the team of InnerSpace who made this possible, and you can check out the video on their site.

You can check it out here:
SPACE Blogs: As Seen on InnerSPACE: Tights and Fights

The "Digital Age": the End of TV?

2011-05-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

I see an article like this, a dramatic decline for network dramas, ping up almost every year around this time. Favourite shows get cancelled, and we're hurting for those don't worry, but blaming the sudden decline in viewership to the "digital" is irrational. Before this it was network fracturing, and to a certain extent brand dilution, and before that I'm not sure what was blamed - it may have been the stork in grand euphemisms.

Part of the problem, explain producers, is that digital-age audiences don't just focus solely on their screens these days. Like traffic cops dealing with distracted drivers who text and blab on the phone while sailing down the freeway, networks executives are facing viewers who are often fiddling with their computers, phones or iPads.

The article continues to discuss how "most people" are watching TV with other things going on. Then gives us the brilliant statistic of 20% of people are also playing games, eating chips and staring discontentedly into the bag, etc. I know writers aren't supposed to be good at math and all, but let's break this down:

If 20% of 100% of people is "most people", the liberals would be running Canada and the tea party movement would tea bag their way through senate.

Serialized shows are living and breathing in hugely successful ways on cable where, to be fair metrics are completely different. AMC plays Walking Dead back-to-back with no drag in numbers. Game of Thrones is so serialized to be incomprehensible if you're not paying very close attention to everything... or have read the books. But the issue of audiences being unable to keep up seems to be made moot here. Audiences can and will keep up.

Cable is a different beast altogether. But then we have the idea the Internet is somehow taking away your audience is more and more prevalent with fears of cat videos making the first cut.

If a computer or iPad is on, the television quickly becomes "the second most important screen in the room" Holmes said. "The Internet is a very engaging, interactive medium, so your attention is on that and the television recedes into the background."

If the concern is that the Internet is stealing your eyeballs away from the screen - what's being done to get them back?

And, if the attention span is the issue make it possible for people to catch up. While I adore The Chicago Code this may have been where they lost viewers:

Shawn Ryan, the creator of Fox's drama "The Chicago Code" about police and politics, made it a point to avoid having recaps of episodes at the start of every show.

And finally, the biggest issue that networks keep finding is that advertisers aren't keen on counting DVR'd episodes or Hulu eps. And yet, research finds that many are not actually fast forwarding through ads. While advertisers are still leery of the online world the issue is that things have changed and if advertisers were so uncertain about the web, there wouldn't be huge campaigns made for the web.

The digital age just made it more possible to hook your audience on more than one platform, which is strange, and it's changing fast. But that just means there's more opportunity to change with it and get viewers hooked on more than one level.

The Cost of Canadian Film

2011-05-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

An interesting article that covers the issues in making Canadian film - and the spin on the economics of it. There's some huge points in the article, and while I don't concur with everything that director Chaz Thorne says - this is the Article To Read on making Canadian film.

Notes like this to "insiders" seem to be a case-in-point:

But the financing of Canadian film remains baffling, even to professionals like Thorne. "Canadian film is a challenge," he says. "If you just purely look at the economics of it, it makes no sense. There are a lot of individuals who feel that art should be able to support itself, which is actually complete bullshit. I mean, the oil industry has a heavy government subsidization, for f!ck's sake. It's an ignorant argument. And it's well- documented that cultural investment has such a high return-on-investment, it's almost unprecedented, there's almost nothing you can invest in that's better. Those of us in the cultural industries are getting much better at making that argument."

However, there's a lot of spin as to what is considered a success or not a success, he says, using Paul Gross's Passchendaele as an example of how a Canadian film "hit" is spun. It made $4.5 million in Canadian box office, which Thorne calls "really, really good," but the budget for advertising was probably close to that. "So you spend almost dollar-for-dollar to get people in...none of that money would have made it back to investors on this $20 million Canadian film."

What does make something 'Canadian' enough is an ongoing debate. What makes it funny is that culture, and art, are the blank wall oh the government subsidizes too much industries.

The issues in bridging the last 80% of financing after getting Telefilm financing - or if you don't get it at all - is that there are few options in financing, in some ways because people aren't used to being asked to fund these things, and because there's an ongoing negative view of art in the media.

Of course there's this point as well:

Thorne identifies another problem, using Trailer Park Boys, Men With Brooms and One Week. "They won't travel," he says, pointing out the limited international market for films deemed so outwardly Canadian. "So, the economics are, unless you get---as Sarah Polley did amazingly in Away From Her---unless you get some sort of significant release in the US the film won't make anywhere near its money back.

Which is interesting because Trailer Park Boys is one of the most successful Canadian exports - along with Kenny VS Spenny.

But while these are all valid points, the article itself is fantastic for other reasons as well - the focus on the actual timelines when you look at film pre-to-post production and then
release options.

Writer's Resources: Insults R Us

2011-05-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

You always need a good, and hopefully somewhat original, insult kicking about.

There is on that makes it for you now:

Insult Generator.

And even if Mushroom Burping Wood Spammer sounds a bit like a grade five insult if the Simpsons gave up on taking on Family Guy... Hey. I'm not going to complain. Cuz I'm not the Leg Chewing Horse Vendor.

Movie Cliches You've Seen Again. And Again. And Again.

2011-04-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to this handy article over at Mashable there's a pile of fun compilations of lines we've seen again. And again. And again.

And once more for good measure.

While we all use the lines from time to time they - like "Stop or I'll shoot!" - should probably find a quick grave sometime soon.

Here are some of my favourites:

I could tell you but I'd have to kill you

Get out of there!

And the ever popular...

Let's Enhance

So, while the lines may have a good measure of background to them.

Sometimes it's worth that extra shake to find a new line.

It May Take an Army: But This is Why It's Worthwhile

2011-04-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to imagine a world where twelve hour days aren't common, and where the work isn't fighting tooth and nail over imaginary characters.

Especially when you live in a world where notes don't always make sense.

But sometimes, there's a project where it all comes together and it makes it worthwhile to get things going for years in advance. And let me say, Mr. Jackson, thank you for putting years of your life into yet more Tolkien.

alsoifyallneedpeopleonsetImmawranglesheepforyouIgotsyourback.

So You Wanna Go To Filmschool?

2011-04-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Well, kid there's only one game in town.

Actually, there's a couple. But the CFC is an awesome game to play. I attended the fantastic CBC Prime Time Television program, and the experience is, by far, the best I've seen.

So if you're wanting more info on the fantabulous program, check out these Toronto dates - lead by fantastic writer Denis McGrath (in the flesh!).

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
6:00PM-10:00PM
Comedy Writing Workshop with Denis McGrath and
Prime Time Program Info Session

Thursday, May 5th, 2011
6:00PM-10:00PM
Drama Writing Workshop with Denis McGrath and
Prime Time Program Info Session

To RSVP check out the information on the CFC site.

Periodic Table of Story

2011-04-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Excuse me as I go work on my 3as-X-Dx-Etw film.

For everyone who always wanted to get their chemistry nerd on every time they write?

The Periodic Table of Story Telling.

Found here.

Calling Creators: Far and Wide

2011-04-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Mostly near, but far and wide also welcome.

The Toronto Webseries Community is meeting again next Tuesday for drinks, chats and all things web.

Roads Less Traveled: Launching in Toronto

2011-03-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

The web series Roads Less Traveled is launching this Thursday evening at the Gladstone Hotel, at 7:30 pm.

A thirteen-part series about unconventional lifestyles across the globe, creator Natalia Kantor has been sharing her experience for the last year to create this engaging series.

For the last five years I have been fascinated by and researching alternative lifestyles. Alternative to what I know life to be in the western culture. I myself am looking for an alternative and this thirst has lead me places that inspired and showed me a wide range of possibilities I could have never imagined. ~ Natchi

The Eco-Warrior - Wood Spirit from Roads Less Traveled on Vimeo.

Fans, media and those who are curious about the series are welcome to join them this Thursday March 24 at the Gladstone Hotel at 7:30 pm!

The Sky is Falling. Right now.

2011-03-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12665443

Take a look at the article. And think on these stats:

According to the most recent UK Film Council report, women directed just 17% of British films in 2009 and female screenwriters are credited on just over 16% of them.

And after that think about this:

Festival director Rachel Millward said: “If you end up without strong female characters on screen in mainstream movies, then that affects the way women see themselves."

Which, great, let’s take a moment to look at that. Basically we’re saying that only women can write “strong” female characters. And while I’d look at the words “strong female characters” and question that, I have to call BS. As soon as you say men can’t (or won’t) write strong female characters you also get that fun (parallelism thing) where women can’t write strong male characters.

The issue, more often than not, isn’t really that we don’t female writers. It’s that there a lot less of them around.

"The pool of film writers in the UK is tiny and the vast majority are male so one of the biggest things that needs to be done is bring women writers through and connect them to everybody, to make producers and commissioners aware of them," says Millward.

It’s the ongoing complaint, really. The issues of “connecting” them up – I, personally, know more female writers than male and that apparently makes me a shiny unicorn of specialness if all these articles are to be believed, but the issues ongoing is that, perhaps with dwindling film marketplaces (most markets are doing less film, the UK itself is doing 11% less since last year, Hollywood is doing almost 171.29% less original work [that is non-adaptation] than last year, yeah you figure out if that stat is right), people aren’t getting as many chances to go forward with films.

That said, all the sky is falling post-Oscar malaise about the lack of nominated women directors seems to be the inciting incident for these articles, and this one, at least, had a continuation to it – why not make a bunch of horror films?

Though, that said, the film numbers are going down, but I'd be curious to know how many of those women switched into TV or webseries (where there has been more of them pesky womenfolks anyways)

Webseries Wanders: Ragged Isle

2011-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to discuss with the Ragged Isle team about their series.

In the following, head writer Greg Tulonen and director Barry Dodd answer the webseries questions that everyone has on their minds.

Check out the site at Ragged Isle.

Check out their trailer here:

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you faced?

BD: Development is always one of my favorite parts of the process. I absolutely love finding just the right group of talented individuals to help bring an idea to life. We really nailed it with this group.

GT: There were five writers on the project. Whenever you get five creative minds in one room, there's going to be some push and pull to start off. I think we gelled as a group remarkably quickly. But the biggest issue we had to keep in mind was to not let our ambitions exceed our resources. Our first writers' meeting took a "blue sky"
approach, with anything and everything on the table. The next meeting, we started scaling things back, but even then we were talking seriously about shooting 30 episodes over the summer. During the writing process, the question would often come up: "How in the world are we going to shoot that?" But more often than not, rather than rewriting, we tried to figure out how to creatively shoot it as scripted.

What was the process like?

GT: We had one side of a giant cardboard box that a door had come in, and we kept that hung up in Barry and Karen's house. Whenever one of the writers described a character of plot point we envisioned, we wrote it on a card and stuck it to the cardboard. Every once in a while, we would look at the cards and try to group them in to "episodes." Meanwhile, scripts were being written and discussed and revised and
read aloud in the writers meeting and revised some more.

BD: It was a long process as I recall. Seems like forever ago! We met as often as we could. All of us had "real life" commitments outside of Ragged Isle. Most times we would get together once a week. But that is the price you pay for working as a writers group vs. just writing it alone. It has it's pluses and minus's because you want to make sure everyone is getting their ideas included in the story. At the end of every meeting I would type up notes on what we discussed and we'd give each other assignments. For a project of this scope, I believe doing it as a group was a really smart move. Almost like a television series has different writers, it's fun to get different angles/interpretations on an idea.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?

GT: Every script for seasons one and two was written before we shot a single frame – though there will be some revisions made to season two based on things we learned during the first season shoot.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-episode basis?

GT: Everything was arced out beforehand. Even those changes to season two I just mentioned won't affect the larger arc. We've known the end of the series for a long time.

BD: For this particular project it was crucial that very early on we knew how it would end. That way, every decision we made story-wise had a reason and meaning to it. This also gave me a good place to launch from when making directorial decisions.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?

GT: The pilot just aired, but we've definitely learned a lot since we started shooting season one last summer. We've learned how to do things we weren't sure we'd be able to do. We learned a bunch from our actors, who brought much more to their characters than what could be found on the page. Some of those actors were so good, we realized we needed to write bigger roles for them in season two.

BD: We're still really early in the game but I'm already learning tons. It's mostly in how to get the word out. Also, just how important it can be to develop a positive relationship with our audience. Another interesting thing I'm picking up on is that people may have more patience than I had been lead to believe as far as episode length for a web series. This is very good to see as it takes a while to tell the story of Ragged Isle and I am hopeful that our audience enjoys the slow burn. I'm so happy that fans of dramatic web series' are patient and willing to go with us on the scenic route to the island.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags that were found?

GT: Season one had more than 20 characters and dozens of locations. Coordinating the schedules of that many actors (who all have day jobs, of course) and securing that many locations was a logistical nightmare. Fortunately, our producer/assistant director/writer Karen Dodd is extremely organized, and wrangled what would otherwise have been an impossibly ambitious production into a schedule that worked for everyone.

BD: For the most part Karen, (bless her heart) kept that off my plate. She is a mad genius when it comes to scheduling. Everyone needs a Karen Dodd on their team. I would add that on top of locations, and actors she also kept track of costumes, props, and set decorating! I'm starting to wonder what the heck I did on Ragged Isle.

How long are your shooting days?

BD: That all depends on the day. The longest days were the ones with lots of extras. I'd say on those days we shot for close to 8 hours. Not too bad really. Again, thanks Karen! All in all it took us 2.5 months to shoot 10 episodes.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?

BD: It was mixed. At the very least it was me and a camera. Sometimes it was just Karen and I. Most days it was me on camera, Karen producing and script supervising and Greg on Boom and script.

GT: The crew was usually very small. Actors always helped lugging equipment and props. When we were very lucky, director Barry Dodd could hand off camera duty to someone (usually local filmmaker Derek Kimball) else so he could take in the big picture.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?

BD: Even before we shot, I built a teaser trailer and got that out there for folks to get interested in. Sort of get a feel for the tone I was aiming for. I had used existing footage from a commercial I had worked on the year before for the Maine Lobster Council. That worked out great for us. Really got the cast and crew excited, and once you have a cast as bug as ours excited, that tends to spread very quickly to all of their people.

GT: We built the web site almost a year in advance, released a teaser before we'd shot any footage, and a longer preview after shooting ended. We created a Facebook page and a blog, which we tried to keep updated in the months and weeks leading up to the premiere. In addition, a number of local musicians were cast in the project. All of those musicians have fans and followers of their own, so we were almost guaranteed a built-in audience from the start.

BD: It was important to me to bring in folks from different artistic backgrounds to Ragged Isle. It just seemed like such a great way to showcase some of the many talented artists I have come in contact with in Maine and to have our project associated with them truly is a blessing.

What was it like working with a variety of sponsors on this project? With sponsors from Photographers to Maine tourism it seems like a bit of a disconnect - did it take away from creative control? Or did it add in your experience?

BD: When you look at our sponsor page basically what you are seeing is people who have by the kindness of their hearts and/or an interest in our idea, either given us deep discounts on their products or services or allowed us to shoot in places that would normally cost us money. That's the way we are handling sponsors. Initially I had gone after some bigger fish as far as trying to get us free food or costumes etc. but when you haven't really established anything it's tough especially outside of LA and NY to make people understand what the project is and how they might benefit from attaching themselves to it. Plus, not one of us is really all that business savvy. I keep hoping the right person will come along and be that guy or girl that can show us the way! In the meantime, I'll keep reading your blog and hopefully someone will have the answers!

As well - from there, many people struggle to find key sponsors for their projects: how did you find getting them to help you?

BD: It basically came down to whether or not they knew us first or not. If they did, they were pretty much in from the moment we asked. I think it's important especially if you're from a less film active state to not just stick to traditional methods of funding projects. You have to get creative sometimes and find other ways to raise funds but if you're attempting to make a web series, chances are you are already creative so that's at least a good place to start! Hold an event, sell shirts or stickers. Chat up your dentist the next time your in for a cleaning! They always ask what you're up to don't they? And always, ALWAYS believe in your project. Otherwise, don't even get started.

Thanks guys! That's fantastic, and always great advice - use local musicians, especially, as it always helps in building audience - and it's always great fun to include.

Picture from Judy Beedle Photography.

"Lonely And Bitter" and Why Late Night Has Less Women

2011-03-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

A fantastic article was published last week on witstream, oh-so-simply entitled "Let's Solve this women-in-comedy "problem" once and for all - with twitter"

It's been said. Once, twice, possibly with an extra shot to the face and a menstrual joke to the side (blood makes things funny. Right? Right?)

Not really. Once, when Conan O’Brien was asked why late night writing staffs were so male-dominated, he said 95% of their submissions came from men. He couldn’t exactly go out on the street and beg more women to submit. Kinda the same argument SXSW used. But what he said next really stuck: he said that when he was growing up, his parents laughed at his jokes, but when his sister did the same thing at the dinner table, she was discouraged. It just wasn’t what girls did.

For the same reason TV rooms are filled, for the most part, with dudes. More guys apply - and with that, the talent appears at the top. What to do, in that case? And then, there is the comedy equation. Oh women don't do that. It isn't proper, they just don't vote (oh wait, wrong era. Back on track.) They just aren't quite there, is the question of how the room will change.

And the room is a sacred place. That is, definitely a truism. It has to be a place for the best creative to come out. And it has to be place where people can say things in that cone-of-silence way - those fisting jokes need to be able to be pitched for Rainbow Brite if they're needed. If they're needed.

One of the few women ever to write for Late Night with David Letterman, Nell Scovell, wrote this in an article for Vanity Fair in October, 2009, after Letterman’s extra-marital affair was revealed:
An executive producer with an all-male writing staff once inadvertently revealed his deep, dark fear. While discussing a full-time position for me, he mused out loud, “I wonder if having a woman in the room will change everything.” Of course, what he really meant was: “I wonder if having a woman in the room will change me.” Male writers don’t want to be judged in the room. They want to be able to scarf an entire bag of potato chips while cracking fart jokes and making lewd comments without fear of feminine disapproval…it’s been my experience that a room with a fairer sampling of humanity will always produce funnier material.

And that funnier material? Is what we're aiming for. And the amount of OMGWTFBBQ women's writers out there making a mark (I'm looking at you, giant list, and hey, Canadian writers who are on wikipedia, please add yourselves to this list. And if you're not on wikipedia, add yourself), in comedy, in sci-fi, in drama, in the middle of a joke about Klingon marital practices right now (oh come on, like you never thought about it), so all you lonely and bitter comedy writers come on out of the woodwork and comedically tweet away.

Just not about Japan. That just gets you in trouble.

Kids Going More Multiplatform

2011-03-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

What may be telling for the next generation of Internet users - a report from the Sesame Workshop and The Joan Ganz Cooney Center.

Nearly 80% of kids (ages 0-5) use the internet at least once a week and just under half of all 6-year-olds play video games.

By the age of 9 video game usage skyrockets, adding in more than 60% of kids use video games

Media multitasking is becoming predominant with about 36 percent of children ages 2 to 11 using television and the internet simultaneously

Texting at the dinner table? Totally seems okay - real life interaction mixes with digital now

Almost nine out of10 kids over age 5 are TV viewers. They are watching at least three hours of TV a day.
Digital divides - a gap remains in access to technologies especially among low income and ethnic minority kids and also notable differences in usage. The current economic climate may be widening this gap.
Parental guidance of kid's media use, research-based guidance that is according to the Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop, has not kept up with the multi-media options for kids and must be further developed
Support of multi-generational co-viewing is an important opportunity for digital media companies and has research on its side showing that it provides important interaction for kids and parents alike.

With kids adopting more and more of the multiplatform viewing (that has spread all the way up to us fun Gen Y kids), it concretizes the ongoing narrative options between platforms that you start to see - and with so many of the optimal demos - the 20-somethings and now 30-somethings doing the same things, it does kill the question of whether or not TV is dying (it's not - it's the highest ranked media aspect for kids currently), and add to the question of knowing just how much - and how effective - the multiplatforms really are.

Webseries to Wonder

2011-03-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

A panel with the creators of five different webseries:

Cancel Prooft
Out With Dad
Ruby Skye PI
Tights and Fights
Pretty in Geek

This includes the super secret, super new Pretty in Geek trailer - which won't be live until May.

Calling All Webcreators!

2011-03-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

I am looking to expand my webseries, webcreation, et. al. interview series, and am looking for you.

I would love to interview you about your series, your online site, your promotion practices, what you find does work, what doesn't work.

One thing that was very clear at PodCamp Toronto with our webseries panel is that there are many questions being asked - mostly about similar projects!

So please email me, and we'll have a chat!

* We're knee deep in developing the site, and post for Pretty in Geek, and while we'll have more content up here soon, things may be quiet on ye olde blog front for a while.

Come One, Come All: PodCamp Toronto

2011-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

There is a very special panel happening tomorrow.

Webseries to Wonder is happening at PodCamp Toronto. It's going to be super exciting... Not only because we're (Pretty in Geek) going to be there. But also because our friends are also going to be there:

Cancel Prooft
Out With Dad
Ruby Skye PI
Tights and Fights

We're all going to be talking social media, webseries and our process at Ryerson tomorrow at RCC 204.

We're looking forward to be there, and would love to share our super secret teaser to everyone!

Webseries Interviews: Pretty in Geek. Director. Producer. Creator.

2011-02-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

Friend of blog Peter Rowley interviewed the director, writer and producer of Pretty in Geek last week!

I'd like to thank him for taking the time to chat with us.

You can find Vivian Lin (director extraordinary - no really, I spilled coffee on her on set, and she was cool with it) right over here.

Amazing, you-need-this-woman-on-everything Producer Courtney Wolfson discusses producing two series at once over here. Courtney is also a producer on IPF funded series Tights and Fights.

And my interview on creating Pretty in Geek can be found here.

Thanks to Peter for the great opportunity to discuss the show, our process and everything else!

For those who are interested - we're currently in post on Pretty in Geek and will be live sometime in late Spring! (Remember: roll a natural 20!)

For those who just want to see what geekery and photoshop together make:

Poor, poor Pikachu kitty.

Webseries Interview: Stones Throw Away

2011-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Ever since we've been done shooting, we've been seeing more and more great series come out!

Today we're looking at the brilliant teen series, Throwing Stones. Thanks so much for taking a moment to chat with us about your horror series, guys!

Co-Creators Bart Van Bemmel and Jason Wheeler sat down with their emails and shared some great thoughts with us!

When developing the series what were some of the biggest issues you
faced?

Throwing Stones the teen horror web series is loosely based on a feature script that was
optioned at one point. The Writer’s Strike hit, we fell through the cracks, and it was
welcome to Hollywood. So we decided to take matters into our hands and no money and
turn Stones into a web series. We thought that there hasn’t really been many teen horror
web series out there yet – so why not.

Adapting a feature to a web series format is the tough part – especially if your feature has
a budget that involves special F/X and when your web series doesn’t! Stones the feature
had three versions: a “Smart” version, the “Slasher” version, and the “PG-13” version.
But none of those three versions are really what we see with the web series version per
say. Some of the original characters from the feature script made it into the series. Some
were added for the web series. The way we started the series is not the way it starts in
the feature. And part of the feature the kids are trapped in a bathroom and not a storage
classroom. We could go on and on about the differences from the feature to the web
series from plot points to characters. The concept is there. But we wanted to design a
teen horror web series for a Season 1 and a Season 2 from the get-go.

Season 1 would be all about the characters coming together and overcoming their
differences in order to survive Saturday School – true to Breakfast Club form and lots of
character development. We have so many talented actors on board; we really wanted to
showcase that talent. When you watch episodes from the first season, you can see that
each episode highlights a different actor. There is a new star that comes forward each
week.

Season 2 would be more about the isolation of the characters, who succeeds, and who
fails. Of course the odds are against us to even get a Season 2, but even if we don’t get
one, we’ve learned so much from this process and it has been a fun ride! We also knew
that the horror community can be tough with a web series. Comedy is king in web series
world and there are many genres of horror from Slasher, B-Horror, Campy, Torture
Porn Horror, PG-13 Teen Horror, etc. We wanted to make a teen horror with a message
without pointless killings. We just hope that our message comes across.

What was the process like?

The process is much like putting together a feature length film. We did months of pre-
production after the script was completed. We did audtions, table reads, rehearsals, and
met with key crewmembers to develop a plan for each day of the shoots.

We knew we were going to have our locations for (3) days with two “units” going at the
same time, so we based much of the series on that. We shot our series at two different

schools. So, we focused on what we thought we could accomplish for Season 1 and then
looked back over our feature script versions to see what “concepts” could make it into the
web series.

Post production was much the same. We spent months making sure everything looked
great with the editing, color grading, and sound mixing. We are very grateful having so
many talented people contributing to our series.

How much in advance to shooting was everything written?

Once we fleshed out Season 1 of Stones, we began to audition cast and then within a
month we were shooting the series. Of course with any production, we analyzed what
was working on set and made any changes to the script we felt necessary. It was an on-
going process with web series. You always have to be thinking about your next move.

Was the season arc-ed out before hand, or was it an episode-to-
episode basis?

The entire season was completely mapped out and shot all together. This was based on
when we could get the locations, as well as us wanting to keep the intensity of the series
going with the acting performances.

What were some of the things you’ve learned since the pilot episode?

A lot of fans wish the episodes were longer. So do we! A lot of time was spent on the
length of the episodes by studying other successful web series and from advice from
people in the industry. And it also came down to dollars. Hopefully we are leaving you
hooked enough to come back and see another episode.

As much as we would love to make the episodes for Season 2 longer – which we promise
to do if Season 2 happens, we still can’t even get some friends and family to take three
minutes out of their day to watch. We can send out a Facebook invite to each episode
saying you can watch from the comforts of your computer at home or as you watch on
your lunch break, the episode is like three minutes long, and we still get people declining
because they are too busy. We have been one of the most watched series on one of our
networks a few times – so we’re glad someone took that three minutes. Ha ha ha.

We think the web series format is such a new medium, people often think it is similar to
television where there is a set time to watch and if you miss that then you are out of luck.
It just takes some time to educate the audience on how things work. Each day we gain
some fans and hopefully that equates to more viewers that enjoy the series.

What was the production schedule like? What were some of the snags that were found?

We shot Stones over three days in the blistering swelter of 107 degree Texas heat. And
the locations we shot didn’t have A/C. God bless our actors and our crew! The heat did
help intensify the scenes though. As with any production there’s going to be snags. As
producers we tried to keep most of these things between us so the other cast and crew
didn’t know so it wouldn’t put anyone into panic mode. For example – one day we found
out that our library scenes would have to be moved to a different location an hour before
shooting. And the library is crucial to our story – like what happens with the kids in the
Breakfast Club during detention. Changing the location to another setting would have
changed so many things. But at the last minute we solved the problem and got to keep
the location.

An hour before shooting the entire series our original steadicam operator bailed. And our
entire shooting schedule was based on the steadicam shots. Luckily our awesome script
supervisor’s (Susan McGill) husband just so happened to be David McGill from Harold
and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay, The Faculty, and the Spy Kids movies. We
so lucked out! We prepped and prepped for this project, but that can all go to wayside
once you take your first steps onto the set.

How long are your shooting days?

Because there was the two of us co-directing, one of us could be with a unit at one part of
the school, and another be another group over the three days so we could cover the video
yearbooks and the scenes from the web series over (3) 8-10 hour days or so.

What kind of crew do you use for each of your webisodes?

We ran a small crew each day with so many people wearing so many different hats. We
basically had our DP, our production manager who also did some co-mic booming, a
boom operator, our first-assistant director, the art director who became our right hand, a
PA, and us as directors covering everything else and in between. As for post-production,
our main team became a colorist, a sound designer, Jason as the editor, and an assistant
editor.

What’s the best way to kick start a webseries into the vast, vast space of the interwebs?

Not sure if we are the right ones to ask! But, our best advice would be to
study up. Why are some web series more successful than others from time length, to
production values, cast and crew, marketing, content, etc. We started with our marketing
campaign before we even starting filming with Facebook, the horror media, and trying
to build hype. We wanted to try and get a fan base before we launched the first episode
launched. Each character from the series got their own facebook page so the fans could
interact with the actors who play the characters. And the actors would only respond as
their character. They would give scoop, secrets about the series, and talk trash about
the other characters. We also made video yearbook diaries about each character so the
viewers could get to know the characters before the series began. You have very little
time to establish characters, plot, etc. in a web series before you lose your audience. We
thought the video yearbooks could really help with this. Plus, we put clues to the series
in the video yearbooks so we could do future trivia contests with the fans and more.

What has it been like working with Mingle Media on this project?

Mingle Media TV Network has been incredible to work with! Their whole concept
of letting the fans interact with the cast of their favorite web series makes it so much
personable for the viewers with the live web shows. Just being able to interact with your
fans is special. They are ahead of the curve. Also, once we signed on with them – before
we even launched they lined up for amazing sponsors for our series. We really feel the
way mingle Media handles their web series is what the future is like. You don’t just want
to build viewers for your show; you want to create a whole experience for your audience.
It makes everyone feel that they belong to the Throwing Stones family…and we feel they
do.

We know MMTVN has other web series to focus on, but they always make us feel like
we are their only client. We love MMTVN!

Check out the trailer:

* Photos by Vlad Meyman and Alex Kinter.

Sites by the team can be checked out here:
Official Site: www.throwingstoneswebseries.com
Production Blog: www.throwingstoneswebseries.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThrowingStoneswebseries
Twitter: twitter.com/stoneswebseries

Leverage This Holiday: Online Social Strategies that Work

2011-02-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Well, they work if you're Ken and Barbie. Who are, it seems, still not together since thier '04 breakup on V-day (kind of cold, Barbie).

Check out the article on Mashable, about the Search for Barbie, Ken-Testants, and more.

This is all about taking a holiday, wrapping a concept that works around it, creating buzzwords and going.

And while these normally cost a tonne of money (like Gillette's So Irritating campaign).

But like most campaigns that work, the social element is key - tying it all back to Valentine's Day, and being "lonely" or not - it's big push that has huge rewards.

Taking from that to push-pull back to a webseries (or a TV-show), seems simple, but you still need that "fun" edge.

Something like what The Guild did for Christmas:

Connect Directly With Readers... I mean Viewers

2011-01-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

A good article on directly targeting audience - important from TV down to web and all the way over to books nowadays, what with specialty taking over.

Directly target your audience.

The most important thing to take from this is that you need to know your audience before you start marketing, and make sure that your plan hits where you need to - i.e. where your audience lives. Think, breath, become your audience if you need be - let's call this "method marketing" for the sake of clarity.

Because you chose that market for a reason, now find where they live.

Prettier Than Thou: Geeks in the Modern Age

2011-01-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Posts have been a little sparse lately, and I thought I might give a couple of reasons to the why.

For the last year and half I've been working (secretly! Like a ninja. Or rather, not so secretly) with the team at GopherX (who bring you great things like Tights and Fights!) on my own webseries.

Pretty in Geek is a comedy about girl gamers (they do exist, I know!) and their LARPer friend that wrecks up all their relationships. It's fun, it's a bit frothy.

And we're in raring into production.

You can find all of our updates over at Pretty in Geek: Facebook or on twitter.

Please join us across our social media platforms throughout production and post to get up to the second (the second!) news about Pretty in Geek!

Do it Now: Why 2011 is the Year to Start

2011-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

Starting the year off "right" is a thousand little things all adding up, slowly, perhaps, or not so slowly. There's hundreds of things making it impossible to get to the actual goals. The things that we all care about, the things that scare us.

Those things are the ones that are worth doing, but often take the most effort to get off the ground, and are the easiest to veto along the way.

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes, had a end of year post that was helpful in targeting the ways to get those goals formulated and working for you:

Should you jump head-first into every big idea that comes to mind? Of course not. Regardless of what you're looking to create (whether a business, a non-profit, or a challenging new hobby, etc), it pays to be analytical, do your research, and have a solid sense of what you're getting yourself into. The problem is, no amount of research or planning can prepare you for the unknown of starting something new. Our bodies are programmed to fear the unknown, and no matter how many times we've succeeded in the past, this fear never goes away.

Says my friend Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week: For all the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn't conspire against you, but it doesn't go out of its way to line up all the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. "Someday" is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it's important to you and you want to do it "eventually," just do it and correct course along the way.

Granted, for those that know the TOMS story, Mycoskie was already famous from the Amazing Race, furnished by a lot of luck and a great idea, he went forward. But that doesn't negate what Mycoskie suggests.

In addition, Felicia Day's recent post brought to life a lot of concerns most creators run into. From the 'it isn't done that way, to this:

5) Just because you feel it, doesn’t mean it’s real.

I can’t tell you how much this simple statement made a huge difference in my life. Until this year, work-wise, I lived with a tremendous amount of anxiety, to the point where, if I DIDN’T feel anxious, I had guilt set in that either I didn’t CARE about something enough, or that relaxing and trusting that plans would happen correctly was sheer hubris, and was inviting disaster. This method of living led to me not being able to enjoy the successes in my life as much as I could, made me kind of a pill to work with sometimes and put me in a depression that led to writer’s block before Season 4 of The Guild.

It was an amazing revelation one day to wake up and say to myself, “Is this anxiety actually HELPING solve anything about my problems?” And when I thought about it, REALLY thought about it, I eventually said to myself, “Actually…no…” And like a mist, the feeling dissipated, and I was left with a clear vision: Those emotions were not necessary to do good work. There was something working against me, inside my own head, that was not reality anywhere else outside it. AND: I had power over it.

Because of that simple realization, my acting and my writing and everything else I do has improved and I’m enjoying everything more. Not to say that anxiety hasn’t reared it’s ugly head again time and time again, but all I do is take a few breaths and ask myself, “Is what I’m feeling necessary, or some kind of reflex? Is this real and justified?” 90% of the time, the answer was no.

I hope this list has inspired you to make your own list, and help you launch into the New Year feeling confident and optimistic, and PROUD of what you’ve accomplished. You deserve to celebrate yourself!

And the important thing to note, of course, is that no one else will celebrate what you've done if you don't.

But to combine the thoughts, and to move it a step further, one of the key things that was pounded into us with the indomitable - and the intensely intelligent - Al Magee while working at the CFC, was to develop a five year plan, and to review that plan wholly every year.

So if the goal is to get into TV, figure out what the steps are to do that, and (here's the most important thing) take those steps. If the goal is to shoot a webseries, figure out your "step ladder" process, and follow through on them. It might take you a year, it might take longer, but celebrate your successes (and your failures) along the way.

Because there's a million reasons to say no, but only you can get yourself off that first step towards the yes. And that is how you start the year off right.

Gamify This: Why ARGs Continue to Work

2010-12-31T08:07:00.000-08:00

Granted the gentle folks at ARGN have vested interest in the proceedings, but their recent state of the union post discusses the great, the working, the ongoing and the ARG of the world.

And why the transmedia story producer credit is making ARGs - and the instant love of gamification - the new "thing", beyond, say, industry giant 42 Entertainment. There are more people getting on board - including, as ever, prominent film and TV scribes, which indicates a growing need for transmedia engagement.

Prominent figures in the entertainment industry includingAnthony Zuiker, Tim Kring, and Guillermo del Toro have all publicly committed themselves to transmedia production. Meanwhile, Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk on gamification as a means of leveraging our penchant for play for social good has reignited interest in serious games.

Jay Bushman does an exemplary job of articulating the industry’s formative state in his article about his time as a Cloudmaker, a name affectionately adopted to describe players of the genre-defining alternate reality game for the film A.I.. Bushman notes that the state of the industry can be analogized to the film industry circa 1926, before the release of The Jazz Singer manifested the argument for talkies. As Bushman explains, The Jazz Singer “was not the first film with sound, but it was the first one to make its benefits obvious and to show that sound was the way forward.”

ARGs as a Promotional Tool

Alternate reality games still earn their proverbial bread and butter as a promotional tool, and this year has seen a number of stand-out projects.

With a few notable exceptions, television networks shied away from alternate reality games as a promotional or storytelling vehicle in 2010. The year started off on a strong note as UK television network LIVING launched a campaign to promote the fifth season of Supernatural with a geo-locative puzzle hunt. The game featured videos from the angel Castiel (played by Misha Collins) asking players to locate Enochian Sigils scattered across the country by solving a series of clues and challenges. Meanwhile, one of the villains in Anthony Zuiker’s transmedia book series Level 26 found his way to the world of CSI for an episode.

As ever, Europe seems bounds ahead of the curve with easier access to mobile and QR engagement (North American audiences, by and large, seem unable to make the jump across the mobile chasm - though this may be because they are charged more for the services).

Making Your 1000 True Fans: How to Live and Work Off Independent Productions

2010-12-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

making a living in the "wild wild web" may seem daunting (okay, let's break it down: it is daunting), and there's lots of rules governing what makes a success.

But generally, at the end of the day, no one knows.

There's a great article over yonder about gaining that needed fanbase - the 1000 true fans - who can

The long tail is a decidedly mixed blessing for creators. Individual artists, producers, inventors and makers are overlooked in the equation. The long tail does not raise the sales of creators much, but it does add massive competition and endless downward pressure on prices. Unless artists become a large aggregator of other artist's works, the long tail offers no path out of the quiet doldrums of minuscule sales.
Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail?
One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
To raise your sales out of the flatline of the long tail you need to connect with your True Fans directly. Another way to state this is, you need to convert a thousand Lesser Fans into a thousand True Fans.
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.
The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love.

Of course, the question is that for $100,000 you aren't keeping all of that - and you have to offer something if you want people to buy things, which (when you're in the middle of production, and, say, paying folks) eats right into that.

But, that said, building an audience that involves the "true" fan is difficult but worthwhile as that little "thrill" of involvement means they will be there for a long, long time.

Food for thought, if nothing else.