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Archive for the ‘Web Series’ Category

Byte-Sized Television

Posted in Books, Web Series on November 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Or perhaps you are already involved in the industry and looking for a new outlet. Well, the forthcoming new book Byte-Sized Television: Create Your Own TV Series on The Internet by Ross Brown just might be able to help you with your creative vision.

Inside the pages of this book Brown “demystifies the exciting world of Web TV, reveals the best Internet TV programs and shows you how to create your own series”.

“Gone are the days when you had to scramble for the rare chance to pitch your show to a studio exec; and no longer do you need studio backing for distribution. On the Internet, with dozens of hosting sites open to all, there are no gatekeepers to tell you why you can’t do what you know you can and virtually no limits to the size of the audience. Maybe that’s why The Cohen Brothers, Jerry Zucker and other respected filmmakers are now creating content for the Web. In Byte-Sized Television you will learn how to join their ranks.”

Here are some of the areas of discussion:

* The Internet TV series’ that you should be watching and learning from;

* How writing for Internet TV differs from writing for broadcast TV;

* How Internet TV is removing the gatekeepers to creative expression and why this is great for both amateurs and professional writers and filmmakers;

* How to write a series character that will make people want to return to your show;

* The pilot and beyond: Everything you need to know to write and produce Webisodes;

* What you need to know about marketing and publicizing your Internet TV series;

* A primer on the best Web sites to host your series;

* The lowdown on what equipment you’ll need.

Ross Brown began his writing career on NBC’s award-winning comedy series The Cosby Show. He went on to write and produce such hit TV shows as The Facts of Life, Who’s the Boss? and Step by Step. He has created prime time series for ABC, CBS, and the WB. His play Hindsight received two staged readings at the Pasadena Playhouse in July 2007. He is an Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange, CA, where he developed a series of cutting-edge courses on creating TV series for the Internet.

You can visit his website here.

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Riese: Kingdom Falling at Syfy.com

Posted in Web Series on October 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Syfy.com will premiere the award-winning, steampunk digital series Riese: Kingdom Falling beginning October 26. It will air every Tuesday and Thursday here. Each episode runs approximately seven to eight minutes and will be narrated by Amanda Tapping (Stargate SG1 and Sanctuary).

The synopsis for this 10-part series follows:

 

Riese: Kingdom Falling

 

Eleysia is a dying kingdom where resources are dwindling and compassion is fading. Distrust and anxiety have clouded people’s minds, causing a regression into primitive ways of thinking. People have grown restless, almost feral. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself. Riese (Christine Chatelain from Sanctuary and The Bone Collector), a wanderer, travels across the decaying lands of Eleysia with her wolf, Fenrir. Marked as a heretic by religious group The Sect and the new Empress, Amara (Sharon Taylor from Stargate Universe), Riese must evade their assassins and discover their true intentions for Eleysia. Riese is the Crown Princess of Eleysia, forced to flee into the wilds after her family was slaughtered. She will soon serve as a catalyst for a disparate group of supposed heretics, the Resistance, launching them into civil war.

The rest of the cast includes Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary and Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica and Smallville) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).

NOTE: Thanks to The Futon Critic for the details.

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Charity Screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and The Guild

Posted in Appearances, Charity Event, Web Series on October 13, 2010| 1 Comment »

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

In just a little over two weeks, Halloween will arrive with all its gore and horror; its tricks and treats. One specific treat for which I am anticipating is the Third Annual Halloween Screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and The Guild (Season Three) Charity Event conducted by Whedonopolis.

What is Whedonopolis, you ask? They are a subsidiary of Fandom Charities (more on them below) dedicated to promoting the Whedonverse (yes, Joss Whedon of Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse fame – just to name a few) and everyone involved in it, whether it is cast, crew, writers, directors, producers, what have you. The folks behind Whedonopolis feel it is their job to help fans keep track of all that is going on with the people who made the fictional universes created by Joss and loved by people the world over.

One of the ways they “spread the love” (so to speak) is by holding the aforementioned charity screening each Halloween. They have been holding these events for the past few years in honor of the internet phenomenon known as Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog for which Joss created along with his brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s (then fiancée now wife) Maurissa Tancharoen as well as the popular comedy web series known as The Guild, which comes from the talented mind of actress Felicia Day.

For those unfamiliar with either of these internet series, here is a synopsis on each (thanks to IMDB and the websites for each web series for the details):

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is, of course, about Dr. Horrible aka Billy (Neil Patrick Harris), an aspiring super villain with his own video blog who is attempting to join the prestigious Evil League of Evil, which is led by the legendary “thoroughbred of sin”, Bad Horse, but his plans are usually foiled by the egotistical superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion).

Billy’s life, er rather Dr. Horrible’s life is thrown for a loop when he falls in love with Penny (Felicia Day), a beautiful and optimistic advocate for the homeless who he meets at the laudromat. Unfortunately, his life is complicated even further when Penny begins to date Captain Hammer after he seemingly saves her life.

Faced with the task of impressing the League while desperately trying to win back the girl of his dream and overcome his own incompetence, Dr. Horrible sets out to ruin the day, kill the hero and get the girl.

You can visit both the official Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog website here and you can also visit the official fan site here.

The Guild Cast (in Costume)

Meanwhile, The Guild is an independent sitcom web series about a group of online gamers. Each season has followed the members of The Knights of Good in their lives both online and offline. The series stars Felicia Day as Codex, Jeff Lewis as Vork, Sandeep Parikh as Zaboo, Vincent Caso as Bladezz, Amy Okuda as Tinkerballa and Robin Thorsen as Clara. Each episode has a running time of between 3 to 8 minutes in length with approximately 10 to 12 episodes each season.

You can learn more about The Guild here.

NOTE: For some quick fun, you can see the music video that was done by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild called Do You Want to Date My Avatar here.

As for this year’s charity event, it has moved a new location: the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Studio City (California) but is still being held on Halloween, well, actually this year on Halloween Eve – October 30 at 8 PM. The doors, however, open at 6 PM and tickets are $25.00 per person. Buttons, raffle tickets (for what are always great prizes) and posters can be purchased at this event and sodas and popcorn will be provided. Attendees are welcome to dress as their favorite character from Dr. Horrible, The Guild or any superhero or character of their choice. It is also acceptable to simply dress comfortably in jeans and a t-shirt.

You can learn all about the event and how to purchase your tickets (if you haven’t done so already) here.

Fandom Charities is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of raising funds for charitable organizations through fandom events, conventions, special appearances and media events, and to serve as a hub for the latest news and happenings in the creative universe of selected fandoms and to provide related educational activities. You can learn more about Fandom Charities here.

If you are attending, look for one of the many Captain Hammer fans, wearing his face emblazoned on red or blue t-shirts, sporting pigtails with a rowdy group of vampire-loving fans, as that will be me and my group of friends. Hope to see you there!

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