Santa Catalina Film Festival

This is the week of last minute surprises.  Earlier in the week, I was asked to moderate a panel at the Digital Hollywood Content Summit sponsored by SAG New Media on "Commerce and Communication".  I had literally just stepped off of the plane from two weeks in NY, when I got the call.  Even though I was ready for a day off, I couldn't say "no" when SAG New Media called because the panel was on a strong topic and filled with people I know and respect.  While the panel was going on, I received a text asking if I could fill in and sit on a panel about  "Social Media Behaving Badly:  Campaigns That Miss The Mark" at the Santa Catalina Film Festival on Sunday.

The Digital Hollywood Content Summit Panel sponsored by SAG New Media.  

I haven't been to Catalina in about a decade, but it is a small scenic island off of the coast of Southern California.  You get to take a ferry in and most of the island is filled with golf carts versus cars.  It's charming and lovely, so I cannot wait to enjoy the day in Catalina and share the photos with you on Monday.  If you happen to be in the Southern California area and are looking for a great excursion for the weekend, check out the Santa Catalina Film Festival and the panel information here.

Thank you to Canyon Prince and Hayden Black for making my panel appearance at the film festival possible.  I appreciate it.

Pre-panel pose at Digital Hollywood with ElfQuest producers, Paula Rhodes and Stephanie Thorpe.

Now, share your big plans for the weekend!

Photo 2:  Courtesy of SAG New Media
Photo 3:  Courtesy of Stephanie Thorpe

Behind the Scenes of The Cabonauts

This had to be the hottest day in LA in September and of course, we shot in the Valley. I thought I was being clever when I dressed in my Cabonauts-like sweater for the shoot, but I was regretting the sweater choice the second I walked on set. Remember, no AC on set, so we were all rather cozy and warm. It is one of the few times we have had to stop shooting for sweat breaks. It was that hot.

Despite the heat, nothing was going to damper my excitement for this shoot. I was lucky enough to watch the pilot in its entirety before the interview. I wish I could tell you all about it, but Hayden would squish me like a grape. I can tell you that it is colorful, absurd, fantastic, funny, and everything you would expect from a sci-fi musical comedy romp.

To me, the best part is that it is the 80's all over again. The Solid Gold dancers and spandex are back and you will enjoy every moment of it. Even after interviewing Hayden, I am still amazed that he had never written a musical before. It is no small feat and Hayden seamlessly moves from the musical elements to the story throughout the pilot. Hayden is also surrounded by a talented cast including Monica Young, Norm Thoeming, and Nichelle Nichols, who has some pretty impressive moves.
The other element to this story is the cab which is all created by green screen. We were fortunate enough to shoot in the cab for the interview. You can see the basic structure of the cab which includes the walkie, gear shift, and a steering wheel. Everything else is created in post from the doors, walls, and ceiling of the cab. Pretty incredible, right? I was so excited to see the final version because there was a whole world around us created after we shot the show.
I know there is a lot of buzz around this show and Hayden's fans are eager to see the first show. Trust me, your patience will be rewarded. The response has been huge to The Web Files interview, so I hope this gave you a little taste of what is to come. In fact, the interview gives you a taste of The Cabonauts with highlights from the dancers, Nichelle, the colors, the music, and all of the hilarious cab shenanigans.

Finally, I always love the absurd and I found it at the studio that day:
I guess the former owner was one of the few Republicans in liberal LA County back in the 1960's. He was so closeted, he put the bumper sticker on the wall, not on his car.

If you missed The Cabonauts interview, check it out below: The Cabonauts.

Behind the Scenes of eGuiders

Phew, so behind on my blog because of my travels with other host gigs. I will update you on those later because it is time we feature this week's guest, Marc Ostrick, of eGuiders. I was thrilled to interview Marc, not only because of his savvy web series work with 24, John from Cincinnati, and eGuiders, but because he is a fellow NYU/TSOA grad. Since we graduated around the same time and only oh, say two or three years ago, we had a lot to share about our time in the Big Apple. So, if you hear a lot of "Go, Violets!" noise on Twitter this week, you can blame us, but please blame NYU for choosing the wimpiest mascot ever.

This was the end of a long, hot week of shooting before the Labor Day weekend. We decided on a simple Barbara Walters-type of sit-down interview and while I didn't make him cry, he did threaten a Cruise couch jump. Fortunately, I didn't go all Mike Wallace on him and he avoided any Cruise PR moves. Seriously though, it is important to understand that Marc has worked in the web industry way before many of us thought it was a viable place to watch series and content. His work on 24: Conspiracy was one of the leaders in paving the way for what eGuiders calls "TV Web Extensions". While the 24: Conspiracy content was created for Verizon's VCast for mobile phones, I doubt we would be seeing extensions of Entourage, The Office, or Ugly Betty today without the pioneers of the mobisodes from a few years back. These shows create an even larger universe for fans to explore and it allows the writers to breathe more life into the supporting characters. What I find most impressive though is that Marc and I went to college during a time when computers were used for word processing only. So, computers were not a part of our daily life, but he has created a fascinating and pioneering career with creative content on the web.

What really appeals to me about eGuiders is that it cuts through all of the clutter on the internet. It gives us a one-stop shopping place to find new web series, viral videos, and learn from industry experts. With Core eGuiders like Tim Street, Gennefer Snowfield, and Jeremy Redleaf and Guest eGuiders like one of my favorites, Hayden Black, you are sure to watch some hilarious and informative videos they have selected as their Pick of the Day. So, make sure to bookmark this site because Marc has been ahead of the game with internet content every step of the way. So, is eGuiders the next TV Guide? I am putting my money on it.

If you haven't watched the episode yet, check it out here: eGuiders Episode
We have had a lot of comments and feedback about this episode and Marc's comment about "humanizing the internet", so make sure to let us know what you think.

And Marc kindly wrote his feedback on the episode here: eGuiders Exclusive.

If you missed the eGuiders episode, you can find it here: eGuiders.

The Web Files: Psychic Bunny

Phew! Quick turnaround on this episode. We usually have more episodes banked, so I often have to think really hard about all of the details of what went on behind the scenes. Not here though! It was only a week ago that we sat with the creators of Coma, Period, Rick Castañeda and Asa Shumskas-Tait. It was one of the hottest days in LA since the city was recovering from a weekend of fires in the San Gabriel Valley. The tough thing about any set is not being able to run the air conditioner, add the high temperatures, and you have an on set oven. So, temperature aside, I was really curious to find out about a web series that had tremendous buzz beginning back in April 2009 thanks to Tubefilter.
What's behind the door at Psychic Bunny? A lot of creativity. The four founders of Psychic Bunny met at USC and they do it all from start to finish, pre to post-production. Recently launched within the production company is their creative content banner, Lead Balloon. Lead Balloon is also the division that launched the web series, Coma, Period, and after looking at their production board, there is a lot more to come. You can actually catch a glimpse of that board in the interview. We didn't zoom in on in too closely....lots of secrets up there. Sssshhhhhh.......

I think the one thing that stands out in my mind with this episode is how methodical they were in creating this series. From the inception of the idea to the execution of the series to the distribution deal, Rick and Asa really made careful and smart decisions. Even when creating that stark, white background look for the series, they researched other shows that had done something similar. They knew what worked and they what didn't work. They knew they wanted to shoot it on green screen and create the stark, white look versus shooting on a white background which created more of a glowing background. I really enjoyed hearing how they went through this process because it is a call to web content creators to plan with the same detail that you would with a film or TV series. Web series may be a more affordable format, but it requires the same attention to production values. This won't be the last time I mention attention to detail. The quality of writing a web series comes up in my interview with Hayden Black/The Cabonauts and he also has some strong (and helpful) opinions on this topic.

Finally, those little go-karts (I have no idea what they are really called) are a blast! They are used in Coma, Period, but I was thrilled I was able to race Rick down the hallway despite my poor wardrobe choice. A dress and a go-kart are not the best idea. He did let me win, but if I had worn something more appropriate, I would have won anyway. Ha! I think that is a challenge for a rematch, I like the competitive spirit.

So keep your eye on Psychic Bunny, we will be hearing more from this talented group in the future....web series, movies, and more! Check out Coma, Period here: Strike.tv

PS Thank you to Rick for having a Tilde on his last name. It gave me a new computer skill, I know how to work the Tilde on a Mac now!

Check out the Psychic Bunny episode here: Coma, Period.