WebShowCentral/Viewfinder Issue 8 by WebShowCentral / ViewfinderNZ

WebShowCentral No. 8

indie web TV down under (formerly Viewfinder mag)

INTERVIEWS »» GAME OVER

REVIEWS »» THE KATERING SHOW

CREATORS’ »» YOUTUBE INSIDER TIPS

»» $1 RESERVE

»» CAPTIONING VIDEOS

»» VAJAZZLE

»» WEBFESTS

»» TROPFEST

»» WEB SERIES THAT WORK

»» LOADING DOCS »» JAMIE’S WORLD

FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to our revamped magazine – in name only.

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Down under we’re making some brilliant indie digital content that’s being noticed worldwide – yet flying under the radar here.

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We’ve renamed Viewfinder magazine to align with our new site WebShowCentral.TV; where we’re pulling together the articles from Viewfinder magazine and the web series and shows from Web Series Channel into one central hub. We’ll still continue to include tips for indie creatives as well as interviews; mainly with web series creators, YouTubers and short filmmakers. Going forward we’re looking to include more reviews of short form digital content – the web series, YouTube channels and short films you’ll be able to find on our site and elsewhere, with a particular focus on content produced ‘down under’. How and where we watch video, TV and film is changing and evolving and there’s some exciting stuff happening; both for audiences and creatives. As creatives, the internet gives us a platform for our digital content, particularly YouTube with its one billion users. Now anyone can load up video to be watched and enjoyed by audiences around the world. There are no gatekeepers, no bureaucracy, and no interminable waiting periods. And there’s money to be made; through crowdfunding, through brand sponsorships and through YouTube partnerships. Overseas, many digital creators are finding their web series or YouTube channel has given them a springboard into broadcast TV, or a commission from an online media organisation or brand – many of whom are searching for original series to meet the demand from their audiences. Exciting times! Down under we’re making some brilliant indie digital content that’s being noticed worldwide – yet flying under the radar here. New Zealand web series like Flat3, High Road, Walter, The Adventures of Suzy Boon have all been Official Selections for various web fests around the world. From Australia, there’s Bleak, Wasteland Panda, Lost in LA, Stories of Bike, SYD2030 and more. To help you navigate your way through them all we’ll be including reviews on our site and in our newsletter and magazine. Or you can just jump right in and head to WebShowCentral.TV – and watch them there on our web series channel. This issue we review the comedy web series The Katering Show, we talk to creators of the pilot of web series Game Over, the short film Vajazzle, the web series $1 Reserve as well as YouTuber Jamie Curry. We investigate the benefits of closed captioning your videos (and how to do it); the benefits and

logistics involved in submitting to web fests and we share what we learned about making successful web series, from a Digital Creators UK and Raindance Web Fest panel of web series creators and YouTube Networks. As always, we welcome your feedback, ideas and contributions. Enjoy!

Fiona FIONA POWELL Editor/Publisher WebShowCentral.TV www.WebShowCentral.TV email: fiona@WebShowCentral.TV Ph: 021 1712 301 PS. We’re changing our subscription model slightly as well – now you can receive our quarterly digital magazine and monthly newsletters via email by simply subscribing with your email address; or if you still prefer a printed version of the magazine delivered to your door there is a cost to cover printing and delivery. You can also receive our content via RSS feeds (email or feed); follow us on Flipboard, or Facebook and Twitter. Check out the options here: www.WebShowCentral.TV/subscribe - so you don’t miss out on what’s hot and happening in the digital creative space down under.

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WebShowCentral is the official

magazine of WebShowCentral.TV and WebSeriesChannel.co.nz. The home of indie web TV down under. WebShowCentral magazine (formerly Viewfinder magazine) is published four times a year by Ferb Media.

EDITOR/ PUBLISHER: Fiona Powell fiona@WebShowCentral.TV PO Box 96 100, Balmoral, Auckland 1342. Phone 021 1712 301

OPERATIONS, DESIGN & WEBSITE MANAGER: Vicky Powell ADVERTISING:

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 8 (AUTUMN 2015)

2 NEWS: KIWI YOUTUBERS LIVE STREAMING FOR CHARITY 3 WHAT TO WATCH 4 REVIEW: THE KATERING SHOW The journey of a food intolerant and an intolerable foodie.

6 INTERVIEW: TROPFEST NZ 2015 Finalists share the challenges and inspirations behind their short films.

10 INTERVIEW: GAME OVER Web series Director Trish Phelan: Don’t make a show reel, tell a story like any TV writer or short film Director would.

12 INTERVIEW: VAJAZZLE Short film Director Nathalie Boltt: Crowdfunding is the answer for filmmakers who can’t navigate or wait for Film Commission funding.

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14 INTERVIEW: YOUTUBE – THE NEWEST CAREER IN NEW ZEALAND

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS:

YouTuber Jamie Curry: New Zealanders don’t understand YouTube is a job, a career path and an advertising platform.

We welcome article submissions to WebShowCentral.TV. Email Fiona at fiona@WebShowCentral.TV ISSN 2324-4941 (Print) ISSN 2230-4738 (Online) WebShowCentral (formerly Viewfinder) is a magazine for creators and fans of web shows down under, and the official magazine of WebShowCentral.TV and WebSeriesChannel. The views expressed in WebShowCentral are not necessarily those of WebShowCentral and Ferb Media, nor does the advertisement of any product or service in this magazine imply endorsement of it by WebShowCentral or Ferb Media. © Copyright WebShowCentral. All material appearing in WebShowCentral magazine is copyright and may not be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher.

16 INTERVIEW: $1 RESERVE Producer Anna Duckworth: Showcasing new acting talent through a web series.

18 INTERVIEW: LOADING DOCS IS BACK! Ten doco makers share the inspiration for the short films they’re about to make.

20 CREATORS’ CORNER: YOUTUBE: THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS As a YouTube creator, how do you stand out, how do you get seen?

22 CREATORS’ CORNER: THE ADDED VALUE OF CLOSED CAPTIONING YouTubers and web series creators around the world are joining the closed captioning movement and bringing words to the internet.

24 CREATORS’ CORNER: WEBFESTS AROUND THE WORLD Web festival directors and web series creators share insights into the benefits and logistics of submitting to web fests.

26 CREATORS’ CORNER: MAKING WEB SERIES THAT WORK Web series creators discuss how to build and engage with audiences: The first five seconds of your video is the time you have to grab someone’s attention. webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(news)

KIWI YOUTUBERS LIVE STREAMING

FOR CHARITY

A group of Kiwi YouTubers are fundraising for Rebuild Christchurch with a gaming live stream fundraiser – called Kiwi-Cast, building on its success with a similar event held last year. Eighteen YouTubers from around the country will be in front of the camera between the 11th of April 11am to 12th April 6pm entertaining audiences with challenges and dares. You can watch the live stream, and donate, on the website www.kiwi-cast.co.nz. We asked event organiser and YouTuber Mili Goswami about KiwiCast:

equipment is working well; last time we set up on the day and encountered a lot of issues. We have a wider range of sponsors so we can cater to both gaming and non-gaming audiences and have exciting competitions that our audiences would enjoy. We have a few fun and exciting challenges and dares that we will be doing as we hit our donation goals, as well as during the stream.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THE LIVE STREAM? Gaming, Gaming challenges, dares, and other challenges. We will be skype calling Deon Swiggs the Director of Rebuild Christchurch during the stream and if anyone has any questions for him they should send it to us through our social media and we’ll be sure to ask him.

HOW CAN AUDIENCES PARTICIPATE (COMMENT, SEND DARES IN ETC?)

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LIVE STREAM EVENTS OVERSEAS THAT HAVE INSPIRED THE KIWICAST TEAM?

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR AUDIENCES FROM LAST YEAR?

The team is made up of YouTubers and Gamers and a lot of the Gamers follow Rooster Teeth who do similar live streams and theirs is quite big, so was our biggest inspiration.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MOTIVATION GOING FOR 30 HOURS?

The team have worked hard to make this event come to life. So on the day of the event, no doubt everyone will be pumped which acts as a natural motivator as the event unfolds. Also when people interact with us, participate by doing our challenges or sending us dares, challenges etc it keeps us motivated to keep going. Last time a lot of our audience watched us till the early hours of the morning regardless of the fact they had 

Throughout the duration of the event we will keep an eye on our social media - Facebook, Twitter and of course the YouTube live stream event so any of those channels are fine.

work the next day and that definitely works as a big motivator. In fact they are the reason we increased the duration of our event from 24 hours to 30 hours.

WHAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGY IS BEHIND THE LIVE STREAM?

We are using TV broadcast equipment and live streaming technology. Some of our key gear/equipment include BlackMagic ATEM Mixer, SDI Cabling and adapters, HDMI Capture cards.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM RUNNING LAST YEAR’S EVENT THAT YOU’VE IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR?

Set up the day before to ensure all

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Last year we ran a competition during the live stream which we like to call the famous person shout out. Basically all the audiences had to do was to tweet or Facebook any public figure (didn’t have to be a celebrity) to try and get them to tweet or message us on Facebook. Within an hour we received two amazing images - one from Joel Tobeck and another from Jemaine Clement, both holding a sign for Kiwi-Cast, followed by tweets from the Rooster Teeth Crew. We will definitely be running this competition again this year. Donations are open already and can be made on the website. www.facebook.com/kiwicast www.Twitter.com/kiwi_cast W

www.kiwi-cast.co.nz

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WHAT TO WATCH ON

WebSeriesChannel.co.nz

(FOR FREE)

web series

WALTER WANTS A WOMAN – SEASON TWO: 9 EPISODES Walter is embarking on a quest to find his one true love. In Season Two he’s got himself a girlfriend – Gertie. Or has he? This awkward comedy series uses a mixture of ‘vlog’ style episodes and ‘film’ style date episodes to tell Walter’s hilarious story! (Rated 4 out of 5 stars on Web Series Channel and official selection at LA Web Fest 2015)

short film THE ADVENTURES OF SUZY BOON – SEASON ONE: 6 EPISODES The show follows the (mis)adventures of our hero, Suzy, who is half Chinese/ half Maori (just like Bic and Boh) and is trying to find where she belongs in this world – and by world she means New Zealand. She is at the last week of her trial period at the Immigration Service of New Zealand and stakes are high – there’s a lot to prove if she wants to stay on the job. Thing is, Suzy has a lot on her mind right now. Love, happiness, her own identity; you know, the works. Accepted into a heap of web fests around the world including: Melbourne Web Fest, Miami Web Fest, NYC WebFest, Seattle Web Fest, Buenos Aires Web Fest and Hollyweb Festival this show is a must watch. (Rated 4 out of 5 stars on Web Series Channel) 

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EVERY MOMENT Winner of Tropfest 2015, this short is a charming story following two hotel staff as they ‘walk and talk’ – Anne with a broken heart and Josh trying to cheer her up as they imagine a lifetime of ups and downs.

Photo Credit: The Katering Show

Review:

THE KATERING SHOW

The Katering Show is a six episode web series about the ‘journey of a food intolerant, and an intolerable foodie’ by Australian comedy duo Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney. is perfect, the production quality is slick and the attention to detail is meticulous (check out the colon logo). Chances are you’ll binge watch the whole six episodes and still be wanting more. The duo are even happy to mock their vocation as “web series creators” with McLennan consoling McCartney on her TV acting career; “But you’re doing well, you know. You’re doing a web series.” With many Australian centric references (PM Tony Abbott, actor Chris Lilley, blogger Sarah Wilson) it will be interesting to see if the show translates onto a global stage. The YouTube comments are complimentary – noting the “chirpy Australian accents” as an asset. McLennan and McCartney who’ve been “making TV for the Internet since 2013” are also creators of the web series Bleak (“the web series based on the TV series that doesn’t exist yet”), which

“

Sugar – it’s been really bad since the internet began.

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The talented pair wrote, directed and star in the show that received funding support from Screen Australia and a number of sponsors. With one episode (Thermomix) clocking up over 1.3 million views in three weeks, The Katering Show has become a web show hit on “everyone’s favourite TV channel, YouTube.” Our obsession with TV cooking shows is ripe for mockery – and this show covers topics like food porn; “decanting some soft drink into a mustard jar wrapped in weeds and shoelaces”, quitting sugar; “sugar – it’s been really bad since the internet began,” ethical eating; “ethically speaking wallabies and opossums are very cute, so I’m not going to eat them.” Risotto is described as “hot wet rice” that’s “f*king dinner porridge.” McLennan’s smug saccharine-ness and McCartney’s nonchalance make for hilarious chemistry; the comedic timing

has enjoyed official selection at many web fests around the world. It’s worth checking out if you want more from these creators. Best of all, The Katering Show has put comedy web shows firmly into the mainstream down under. Watch The Katering Show: www.facebook.com/thekateringshow www.twitter.com/thekateringshow www.thekateringshow.com

webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv



(Interview: short film)

TROPFEST NZ 2015 THE FILMMAKERS INSPIRATION AND CHALLENGES

Tropfest New Zealand screened live in February at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth where 16 New Zealand short films vied for the first prize of a fiveday film immersion trip to LA, sponsored by the New Zealand Screen Association and Motion Picture Association and a $10,000 cash prize from Tropfest NZ. Auckland short film writer and director Gabriel Reid earned the top spot with his seven-minute film ‘Every Moment.’ We asked the filmmakers what the inspiration was for their films – and what challenges they had along the way in making their seven minute (maximum) films.

FILM: EVERY MOMENT

Life is full of ups and downs – but every moment counts. GABRIEL: “Tropfest is itself an inspiration. It’s just such a wonderful platform for filmmakers and getting into the festival was our target from the get-go. The whole team is tremendously happy to have achieved that aim. “Being a fan of rom-coms, I was keen to produce something in that genre and, given that Tropfest 2015 took place on Valentine’s Day, it felt like an apt choice. Our short is set in a hotel. In my teens I worked in one and I’ve always been intrigued by the ways in which hotels are akin to theatres. You have backstage areas, a front of house, an ensemble of regular cast members (staff ) and an endless parade of stars (guests). “Years ago, I enjoyed reading a play called ‘Hotel’ by the very witty, very subversive Thomas Sainsbury. He embraced the idea of reworking a portion of that material into a short film and (at the suggestion of my producer’s mother) we came up with a pretty nifty way of incorporating this year’s Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), wire, by using the wire of a champagne cork as a wedding ring. The film is essentially a walk-and-talk in which two staff members imagine an entire lifetime of ups and downs. 

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“I knew we had a viable project when the owners of Hotel DeBrett agreed to let us shoot there. The location was a major source of inspiration, informing everything from staging to costuming. It was a favourite haunt during my misspent youth and it’s been lovingly restored by the owners, husband and wife John Courtney and Michelle Deery. It’s an absolute gem of a building and it was my first choice as a setting for this story. I am so grateful and happy that John and Michelle made it possible to shoot there. “The biggest challenge we faced was that we were shooting for one night only in a busy, fully operational boutique hotel and that our characters traverse every inch of it in what appears to be real time. We needed to ensure that our shoot didn’t compromise the experience of paying guests. My first thought had been to shoot the entire film as a single, unbroken, sixminute take. Of course, that wasn’t really feasible in a location that we weren’t able to lock down, so we ended up shooting the film in just a handful of set-ups. Todd Bilton was both director of photography and camera operator. We shot with the Arri Alexa mounted on a Steadicam rig. The action was carefully choreographed and rehearsed. I think our cast (led by Bree Peters and Aaron McGregor) really enjoyed the latitude afforded by these fairly lengthy takes. Ultimately, we managed to capture the gently unfolding, ambling, occasionally balletic quality I desired. It was a huge night for Todd and he really did a masterful job. Indeed, the entire cast and crew managed to pull off a challenging but hugely satisfying shoot.” - Director: Gabriel Reid – Auckland, Producer: Gabriel Reid & Maile Daugherty

THIS SIDE UP REMOVALS

RED ON THE GREEN

SCHOOL OF FOOLS

FILM: THIS SIDE UP REMOVALS

A bittersweet mockumentary about an eager young furniture removal man, trying to gain respect by lifting increasingly heavy objects. LUKE AND KIRK: “The inspiration for our film was that we really wanted to get into the Tropfest finals and so we just kept writing ideas until we came up with a strong idea. “One challenge on our film was working with a piano. It was so heavy that we had to dismantle it prior to filming so we could remove the heavy steal harp and then remake it ready for filming. Even then it was still heavy.” - Director & Producer: Luke Bremner & Kirk Bremner - Auckland

FILM: RED ON THE GREEN

A wronged lawn bowls champion returns to his club to claim back his rightful trophy from the crooked committee. ADAM: “My producer, cinematographer and I were inspired to make our film by seeing a Q and A by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement about their film ‘What We Do In The Shadows’. As we travelled home from Auckland we threw around ideas and by the time we reached Hamilton we had the basic idea of a western set in a bowling club, of the lone stranger returning to a club taken over by bad guys. “One memorable filming moment was having persuaded all the cast and crew to stay late one day to finish a scene, I was called away by my son’s babysitter, leaving the producer and cinematographer to direct the scene. Not exactly leading by example!” - Director: Adam Harvey – Ohaupo. Producer: Chris Hanlon

Tropfest 2015 Award

Winners FIRST PLACE

Gabriel Reid for ‘Every Moment’

SECOND PLACE

Kirk & Luke Bremner for ‘This Side Up Removals’

THIRD PLACE

Ben Hobbs for ‘Slabbed’

TROPFEST BEST ACTRESS

Bree Peters in ‘Every Moment’

TROPFEST BEST MALE ACTOR Preston O’Brien in ‘Slabbed’

YOOBEE SCHOOL OF DESIGN BEST VFX

Emma Schranz for ‘Charlie Floyd’s Visionarium’

FILM: SCHOOL OF FOOLS

When motivational speaker Clive Doring is confronted with his epic delusion at the ‘School of Cool’, he finds himself lonely, without hope or a muffin. ALLAN: “My inspiration for the film was that I had what you could call a ‘storytelling goal’. That goal was to tell an emotional story with a flawed character combined with my (limited) experience in comedy. I wanted to step away from the completely gag based style of comedy, to more of an emotional incarnation of it. I believe this is a style of storytelling with universal appeal. “My challenge was that writing comedy is incredibly difficult as it is, and it’s very difficult to time out this kind of comedy script. So for this film I overwrote it by about four minutes (or more...). A lot of the performances also ran longer than they were written, and at one point in post production I had 21 minutes of a rough edit in my timeline.” - Director: Allan George – Auckland, Producer: Ben Fowler, Lisa Fothergill & Allan George

FILM: LIFE THROUGH A WIRE

LIFE THROUGH A WIRE

A short animated romance about the ever increasing gap in day to day communication. JAMES: “The inspiration for my film came when I started to deconstruct the concept of ‘wire’. For me the first two things that came to mind were fences and telephone wires or power lines. 

YOOBEE SCHOOL OF DESIGN BEST ANIMATED FILM Steven McNicholl for ‘Egg’

NGA AHO WHAKAARI & TE PUNI KOKIRI TE TOHU AUAHATANGA MAORI AWARD Bree Peters in ‘Every Moment’

ZM VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD ‘Every Moment’

To watch all the short films visit: http://www.youtube.com/tropfestnz

Viewfinder magazine is a proud supporter of Tropfest NZ.

webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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HIRE-A-MUM

BOTTLEBRUSH

“So I started thinking about what fences are and I guess there main function is either to keep something in or to keep something out. Then I thought about what if the same function was applied to telecommunication. “We’ve used telephone wires and modern telecommunications over the years to both let people into our life, but at the same time I feel more than ever we use it to also distance or even keep people out of our lives. “And so with this moral in mind I decided to play with an animation technique I’d been wanting to try for a while, which was replicating papermation digitally. And so I decided to try and pan back and forth through the history of telecommunications, with the greater distances physically being overcome with each technological advance, leading to a greater distance of emotional detachment. “For me the main challenge was time, I made the decision pretty late to enter Tropfest, (two weeks before the deadline). And the style I was trying to achieve ended up being a lot more consuming than I first estimated. But I got it finished and handed in on time and we made the finals! So I’m extremely ecstatic to be honoured amongst what look like a fantastic bunch of films.” - Director & Producer: James Wilkinson - Invercargill

FILM: HIRE-A-MUM

Hopeless? Helpless? Hire a Mum! LOUISE: “The inspiration for my film was my mum, who also stars in it. I wanted to highlight, albeit humorously, how much work mothers do for free, often un-thanked and underappreciated. My mum had been unemployed for over a year and was living with me and my boyfriend - we joked with her one day that she should be a professional mum, because she does a really good job of it! “My film is based around putting a price on all the stuff mums do for free and writing it made me realise all the little stuff my mum does for me. It was quite a humbling experience really, because I’m finishing my Masters and since my mum been living with us my grade point average has gone up! She also acted in this, something she’s never done before, and knowing how much this was out of her comfort zone also made me realise how far she’s willing to go for me.” - Director & Producer: Louise Hutt – Hamilton

FILM: BOTTLEBRUSH

A story about dental hygiene, violence and friendship. HAYLEY: “The entire story of Bottlebrush came to me in a dream. The setting, the characters, the events, everything was made up and put in a nice box for me by my subconscious. The morning I woke from the dream, I scrabbled out of bed and drew an extremely rough storyboard before the dream slipped away. I know for sure that the play ‘Waiting for Godot’ 

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SLABBED

CHARLIE FLOYD’S VISIONARIUM

by Samuel Beckett had a huge influence on Bottlebrush, having been the most memorable play I performed in high school. I played Estragon, one of two male charters in a dull setting where very little of importance happens, and yet, you’re glued to your seat desperate to know what’s going to happen next!” -Director & Producer: Hayley Marjorie Robertson – Auckland

FILM: SLABBED

A man has a lot to think about when he wakes up dead. BEN: “I’d say that the inspiration for the film was the way people communicate. It seems people can be rather closed off and not take the opportunity to say the things they need to, often leaving it until it is too late. This message has been told time and time again but I thought it would be interesting to create a film where the characters involved actually got to hear those final words people can be reluctant to say. “The highlight of the whole process had to be seeing the amount of effort everyone was willing to put into the project. I was able to recruit an excellent team and they all bought skills and a passion that took the film to the next level. I’m sure I would not be in the finals without them.” -Director: Ben Hobbs – Auckland, Producer: Mike Banks

FILM: CHARLIE FLOYD’S VISIONARIUM

In a 1920s black and white world, Charlie Floyd must chose a life of riches and fame…or love? JAIMEE: “’Charlie Floyd’s Visionarium’ was created by Electric Shoelace Productions which is a Film and Animation collaborative team. This was the first film we made as a collective and we wanted to create something that would highlight the talents of both our crews. We felt this idea was not only visually stunning but provided a challenge for the film makers (as it’s a 1920s period piece) and also a challenge for the animators (being a live action animated black and white film). It’s a beautiful, classic love story set in a very romantic era. We felt we hadn’t seen much of that on the big screen and wanted to bring it back. “This lil film was a huge learning experience for all the crew on every level. It was the first film where 20 of us moved to another town for over a week to make it. We were fortunate to have the wonderful people of Mataura, Southland give us the keys to the town. As it’s a period piece we were fortunate that Mataura set the perfect backdrop for our film. The biggest highlight was at Tropfest. It’s been almost two years since we came up with the concept to finally completing the edit so it’s amazing to see it have its day on the big screen. We hope everyone will enjoy it.” -Director: Emma Schranz – Invercargill, Producer: Jaimee Poipoi

BARRIERS

CHILD PROOF

FOREIGN FIELDS

CONVERSATIONS OF K-ROAD

FILM: BARRIERS

A silent portrayal of two women caught in the ruins of their relationship. PETRA: “I wanted to make a short film that felt more like poetry than narrative - something that captured a mood, emotion or moment that isn’t easily expressed through spoken language. I am very interested in exploring the scope of short form. “The highlight for me throughout the process was being fortunate enough to work with an amazingly talented team of people.” -Director: Petra Kate Cibilich – Auckland, Producer: Angela da Silva

other actor in the film Cohen Holloway saying that he wasn’t feeling well but that I shouldn’t worry he’d still make the shoot for sure… but then at 5am I got another text and he apologised saying he was sorry he wasn’t going to make it because he was on his way to hospital with appendicitis!!! And this was all in the tone as if it was just a normal day for him! “I spent the next couple of hours worrying about him till he said he was going to be fine, and I’d basically decided to pull the pin on the shoot, but then - on the off chance - I texted Emma Draper to see if she could randomly make a day’s shooting with us - thankfully she could make the time and we got to make the film.” - Director: Charlie Bleakley, Wgtn, Producer: Alex Clarke

FILM: FOREIGN FIELDS

FILM: CONVERSATIONS OF KARANGAHAPE ROAD

In the middle of ‘No Mans Land’, soldiers bring a wounded man home. DAVID: “After seeing a picture of a stretcher party in the First World War, I thought how did these men come together to carry a man across the battlefield. My original plan was to show how the men one by one came to the aid of assisting the wounded man across the battlefield. I couldn’t afford a large ‘no mans land’ nor show them returning him to a field hospital. So instead of taking him there, what if they carried him ‘home’ and what if the men dropped away so as to increase the burden and raise the tension. Every man in the front line dreams of returning home, I hoped to capture this in a symbolic and spiritual way. “Our biggest challenge in making the film was that we began our key shooting day with the easiest shots and those closest to our base, and we were still left with the vital battle sequence at the end of the day. Originally we had planned to do this in three hours but with fading light and everyone cold, tired and eager to begin the two hour journey home we got out a marker pen and storyboards so that the battle was scaled down and made in an hour.” -Director & Producer: David Gunson – Auckland

FILM: CHILD PROOF

A lime dressed idiot helps a woman break into her locked car with a baby inside only to be surprised by the consequences. CHARLIE: “One challenge in making the film was at 3am of the morning of the shoot I was awoken by a text from the

In search of her true path, Karla converses with the characters that make up Auckland’s most unique road. MELISSA: “Coming home to New Zealand was inspiration for the short film. I had only just decided to officially move back to Auckland after having lived in Paris for about three years. A week before the Tropfest deadline, I was in Melbourne on another shoot and when I was at the Melbourne airport before hopping on the plane ride to Auckland I had a clear sense for the first time that going back to New Zealand was home. Having a French mother and a Kiwi father, I’ve always felt in-between the two countries - so I was inspired by finally knowing where I needed to be at this time in my life. “My learning experience was that everything is always possible, even when pressed for time. I contacted my film partner Bertrand just before stepping on that plane and asked him if he thought it would be possible for him to film and edit the film within five days in time for the deadline. He said yes! Just write. The highlight for us was that it felt like the entire Karangahape Road spirit came to life the night we shot. Our talent were really willing to be part of the project, people loaned us their offices, cafes and even the Auckland skies cleared up. Our actress Eirin Forsberg was standing by in Paris by the Eiffel Tower (8am her time/8pm our time - she had organised a babysitter for her kids). It was a perfectly orchestrated production where everyone came together in five short filming hours. The energy within the cast and crew was spectacular.” -Director: Melissa Bamford & Bertrand Remaut – Auckland, Producer: Melissa Bamford

FILM: LUNCH BREAK

FILM: DIVINITY

FILM: EGG

What people get up to on their lunch breaks. -Director & Producer: Matt Gibson – Auckland

The future is the past and something needs to change. -Director/Producer: David Jurakovich – Akld

An overactive imagination leads to trouble. -Director: Steven Aroha McNicholl – Auckland Producer: Kennedy Faimanifo

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

(interview: web series)

“When I grow up, I want to marry a grown man addicted to playing video games,” said nobody ever. Game Over is an eight part New Zealand web series following the lives of four odd ball girls who bond together from their shared hate of computer games. In a quest to stop their addicted boyfriends from gaming their lives away, the four girls start up a secret club. What follows, say the creators, is a comedic and trivial journey into four very different lives. “It is silly, unpredictable, sad and a little bit wacky.” The cast and crew behind Game Over are a mix of multi-talented females. With their skills in Directing, Writing, Improv and Comedy, expect to see good things from such a talented and fresh group of women. Director Trish Phelan has been working in the film, television and theatre industry for the past six years. Actresses/Writers Loren Mason, Susannah Smith-Roy, Lana Walters and Laura Daniel all have diverse acting experience.

and the actors love acting! It’s also great experience for us to practice our skills.

We talked to Director Trish Phelan about creating the pilot for the web series Game Over.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MAKING THE PILOT?

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE IDEA BEHIND GAME OVER?

The idea for the series came from a friend’s personal experience. At first the idea was quite foreign to me (a grown man playing computer games for ten hours straight every night, why?) but after researching gaming addictions it became clear that her personal experience could be turned in to powerful fiction.

WHY MAKE A WEB SERIES?

The motivation to make a web series is simple really, I love directing actors 

THE WEB SERIES HAS BEEN IN THE PIPELINE FOR EIGHTEEN MONTHS – WERE YOU APPLYING FOR NZ ON AIR FUNDING DURING THAT TIME? No, we haven’t approached NZ On Air for any web series funding yet, the main reason being that we have all been so busy working in the industry that we haven’t had the time to approach a production house to back us. However we will definitely apply for funding for season two once we have our first series under our belt.

Working with four actors who had developed such strong characters. Each actor spent a lot of time prior to filming polishing their character so when it came to filming the dynamics on screen was gold for me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL WEB SERIES?

Don’t make a show reel, tell a story like any TV writer or short film Director would. Tell a story that you will enjoy making and most importantly surround yourself with people who want to be part of the project.

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THE ACTING IS REALLY STRONG – HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR CAST AND CREW?

Thank you (we think so too!). The cast and crew, including myself, trained at Unitec School of Performing Arts and have worked together on various projects over the years. Our team also includes actor James Kupa, Caleb Wright, Producer Kali Moss, Assistant Director Phoebe Borwick, Writer Danny Aumua, Director of Photography Venusi Taumoepeau, Sound Operators Cameron Magill, Gabriel Muller and Editors Matt Allison, and Jack Brown.

THERE HAS BEEN LOTS OF TALK RECENTLY ABOUT THE LACK OF WOMEN DIRECTORS IN NEW ZEALAND – BUT WE’RE NOTICING QUITE A FEW WOMEN MAKING AWESOME WEB SERIES.

I have been lucky to work with many different television directors, many of whom have been female so I have not been discouraged in any way. It seems to be different in the Film Industry so perhaps women Directors in New Zealand see this as a platform to be taken seriously, that they do have what it takes to direct great content. I think females also have a knack of multi-tasking so many can direct and produce their web series at the same time.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAV

I really enjoyed the New Zealand Web Series ‘Woodville’ the subtlety in the acting was brilliant. ‘Walter Wants a Woman’ is quite funny and I love the writing in ‘The Adventures of Suzy Boon’.

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Don’t make a show reel, tell a story like any TV writer or short film Director would.

“

WEB SERIES?

CAN YOU SHARE WHAT EQUIPMENT YOU USED?

We shot the pilot on a 5D Mark III and edited on AVID.

that we are worth investing in. We have been approached by a few companies who would like to get behind us and help with post-production costs.

of years ago was 1:30, many are now between four to five minutes. People are viewing these series more and more like a TV show, which is great.

WHAT’S NEXT AFTER THE WEB SERIES IS MADE? WHERE WILL YOU DISTRIBUTE IT? WILL YOU ENTER WEB FESTS? IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REVENUE FROM IT?

I NOTICED THE PILOT WAS LONGER AT AROUND 11 MINS THAN OTHER PILOTS; THERE’S SUCH A DEBATE ABOUT THE LENGTH OF WEB SERIES EPISODES?

NOW YOU’RE FUNDED WHEN DO YOU THINK AUDIENCES WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE WEB SERIES? AND WHAT CAN THEY EXPECT?

Yes we hope to enter the series into as many Web Festivals as possible – probably starting with the Melbourne and LA Web Fest. It will play out on Youtube, Vimeo and through our website gameoverwebseries.com, which is yet to be launched. In terms of revenue, that is something our producer is currently looking in to…maybe a gaming company would like to advertise their game before the show!

WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES SO FAR MAKING THE PILOT AND NOW CROWDFUNDING – DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER WEB SHOW CREATORS?

Our experience making the pilot was a positive yet demanding one, positive in the sense that we had a lot of laughs along the way and I think we nailed the tone of the show, but demanding because we had a limited amount of time in each location and two of the actors flew in for the weekend, so we were on a very tight schedule! Crowdfunding has proved to us

The pilot duration didn’t concern me. I tried to focus on setting up the world, the idea and the characters as opposed to creating a five minute video. Not many series have four main leads in the pilot so I guess the pilot wasn’t going to be the standard length!

ANY TIPS ON SHOOTING ON A BUDGET?

Don’t be afraid to ask people for help, most people understand that it is a labour of love and will be more than happy to assist. The worst thing that can happen is that they say no.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WEB SERIES FORMAT? Short bursts of entertainment seem to suit people’s lifestyles these days and I think the format of a web series will only become stronger and more credible. One component of a web series that has changed over the past few years is the duration. The average webisode a couple

We really hope to have the whole series online by June this year (give or take a few months!) No hopefully June. The audience can definitely expect more unlikely friendships and a myriad of uncomfortable situations. As we are writing I keep referring back to the American sitcom ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ – I love the offbeat scenarios.

I ALSO NOTED THERE’S NO SWEARING/EXPLICIT LANGUAGE (THAT’S COMMON IN MANY WEB SERIES COMEDIES) – WAS THAT A CONSCIOUS DECISION? Not really. In one of the first drafts Sacha had a much sharper tongue but it didn’t suit her when it came to filming. There are however quite a few scenes in the series that may provoke some characters to use explicit language… but that’s all I’m saying!

Follow on Web Series Channel: webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/game/

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(interview: short film)

VAJAZZLE

A NEW AND WICKED CROWDFUNDED SHORT FILM Creators of a new short film says crowdfunding is the answer for filmmakers who can’t penetrate, navigate or wait for Film Commission funding. Vajazzle is the latest short film from writer/director/actor, Nathalie Boltt and Rodrigo Films. It’s an outrageous black comedy with tongue placed firmly in cheek. Nathalie has released online her short film, where “a blinged babe goes below the belt to take revenge on her bingedrinking boyfriend” and it was all paid for by crowd funding and sponsors. As a successful actress, Boltt has had

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It’s a film that makes you spray coffee from your nose and you’ll want to send it on to all your mates.

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lead and support roles in big budget films such as District Nine, the Poseidon Adventure and Doomsday and will reappear as Knocked Up Natalie in SPP’s popular Step Dave series. But despite having worked with top talent like Neill Blomkamp and Bob Hoskins, funding is still a challenge. “There’s a perception that if you’re a successful actor, you’ll have easier access to funding. But this isn’t the case and films aren’t cheap.” Rodrigo Films is focused on making intellectually and visually stimulating films and decided to use crowd funding platform PledgeMe as opposed to the Film Commission. “Applying for funding is a detailed process and it takes time. We got very close to a funding grant for Vajazzle and could have reapplied, but we just wanted to get on and make it. So many

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people were buzzed about this crazy comedy idea that we just went with the momentum.” Rodrigo Films raised the money in just a few short weeks and found the process exciting - and with added benefits. “It’s also been a way to start building a following - that all-important audience - who will support other Rodrigo Film productions.” Boltt says crowd funding can take the financial headache of filmmaking out of the mix, but it takes a lot of effort to reach your goal and you have to structure any funding ventures correctly. “It’s important to show potential investors you have the experience and expertise. With actor Jonathan Brugh from What We Do in the Shadows; Philip Boltt, who was the development supervisor for the motion capture

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We feel that this little crack up film has got the jawdropping clout to go viral and we want everyone to have access to it immediately.

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department at Weta Digital; Ken Saville, the sound recordist from Neill Blomkamp’s latest project, Chappie, and Aline Tran who worked as a stereographer on the Hobbit trilogy, we demonstrated that.” Boltt says crowd funding isn’t necessarily the answer to every creative project, but was a blessing for Vajazzle, building her confidence as a filmmaker. “It’s a fantastic way to find out if people really want to see your film. We had 4000 views of our tongue-in-cheek teaser video in just a few days and raised more than we’d asked for on PledgeMe. Creating the crowdfunding video even helped develop our key characters and the look of the film. It taught me a ton about social media marketing and the generosity of friends and fans who just love the concept. All we had to do was say, ‘have you seen the teaser?’ and people (with a sense of humour) were on board. It’s so much better to show than to tell.” For other filmmakers considering crowdfunding Boltt advises; “Make your teaser videos really engaging and be in direct contact with your network - ask people directly - just putting it out there won’t keep the funds flowing in. Become bold with your social media; Remind, remind, remind. Ask for favours and then THANK THANK THANK. Make sure your supporters feel loved and part of something exciting. And make it exciting!” Vajazzle is about Charrlotte who has everything planned; bubbles, candles, a delectable dinner. She’s even gone through the pain of de-fluffing her nether regions, then vajazzling her vajay-jay, so as to inspire some extra special sexy time with her man on their anniversary. But Dave is oblivious to how good he’s got it. He’s gone on the rampage at the pub and is getting down with the boys. Charrlotte sets her mind on revenge... a dish best served re-heated. This little shocker promises to have anyone with a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s day face-palming with laughter as they watch Charrlotte take the kind of revenge they wish they’d had the ‘cojones’ to pull off themselves. After all there’s not a man or woman among us who doesn’t know the frustration of a lover who lets you down!

Jonathan Brugh

Nathalie Boltt

Gabrielle Stephenson

Watch the short film Vajazzle at: www.rodrigofilms.com/vajazzle/ webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(interview: YouTube)

YOUTUBE

THE NEWEST CAREER IN NEW ZEALAND YouTuber Jamie Curry was the special guest speaker at the Auckland You Tube: Insider’s Guide to Success event in February – doing the ‘rock star’ fly in, fly out to speak to a couple of hundred eager young YouTubers and older film industry veterans.

Jamie is one of New Zealand’s top YouTubers with 1.2 million subscribers and 46 million video views (and 10 million fans on Facebook, another 350k on Twitter, and another 430k on Instagram). Eye-watering follower numbers – envied by most New Zealand brands. And she does that by herself, with authenticity and a “camera – that’s black” – no pretentions, no inflated egos and no extreme production budgets. She’s 18 years old, based in Napier, started her YouTube channel in 2012 and is now a ‘YouTuber’ full-time. That’s right – you can make a career out of making videos for YouTube. She’s multi-talented - she writes,

films, edits and stars in her own YouTube clips – videos about random stuff. Jamie says it all began when her friends bullied her into making vids for them, and it grew from there. She didn’t have a ‘viral hit’ – just steady, and quick, growth. Ultimately, she says she wants to be an actor, and while she rides the YouTube wave, her channel is getting her name out there and she can incorporate skits into her videos to practice and showcase her talent. The Q&A with the down-to-earth and endearing Jamie went something like this:

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HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH IDEAS FOR YOUR VIDEOS?

J: I grab my camera and blab in front of it. I do have a basic idea and then I improvise. And most of it is cut out.

HOW MUCH TIME IS INVOLVED MAKING THE VIDEOS?

WHAT’S BETTER; QUANTITY OR QUALITY?

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J: With TV you have to wait to watch programmes. I don’t watch TV; I watch everything on the internet, on YouTube. I want to watch now, so I can’t be bothered with TV.

J: A four minute clip takes four hours to edit (I’m a slow editor), from 20 mins footage, usually shot between 1am and 4am.

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New Zealanders don’t understand YouTube is a job, a career path, and an advertising platform.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TV AND YOUTUBE?

J: For me quality. I could put up rubbish every day but I don’t. People do get upset about the lack in quantity though. I don’t have a schedule (posting

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Brands struggle to relate to teenagers, they bounce ideas around, say it’s cool and hip and I’m like; no it’s not!

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every Tuesday etc) because if people subscribe they get a notification anyway.

WHAT ARE THE TOP THINGS YOU’VE LEARNED?

- Be relatable; eg if Valentine’s Day is coming up, I’ll do a V-day post on it - Be authentic; Audiences can tell if you’re fake; I’m an exaggerated version of myself but I’m still me. Audiences have high bullshit detectors!

WHEN SHOULD YOU HIRE A MANAGER?

J: I wasn’t making money before I had a manager. You need someone to deal with big brands, someone to squeeze the most money out of them! I have to focus on content – the business side would be distracting.

MOST OF YOUR VIDEO VIEWS COME FROM OUTSIDE NEW ZEALAND – SO HOW DO YOU MANAGE THAT?

J: People would ask what is Weetbix? So I stopped making Kiwi jokes; and

besides, people find our Kiwi humour odd. Also I don’t say it’s summer, because it’s winter somewhere else. As for accents, the Germans say ‘we can’t understand you but we love you’.

HOW ABOUT FANDOM?

J: I’ve had people come to my house – and we live on a private road. I did a meet and greet in Sydney; there were 400 or 500 people; and some of them wanted to smell me. They’re really odd but really cool.

AND KEEPING THEM HAPPY?

J: When I started I was 15 and did stuff I wouldn’t do now. I’m way more self-conscious now; more careful; audiences can attack me right there on YouTube, with TV you can’t do that. People ask for longer videos, or shorter videos. I do what I think is cool, because I can’t please everyone.

WHAT ABOUT WORKING WITH BRANDS? (LIKE RECENTLY WITH COCA-COLA? AND PETER

ALEXANDER?)

J: I won’t endorse something I don’t like, I won’t be a sell-out. Brands, because they’re older, struggle to relate to teenagers, they bounce ideas around, say it’s cool and hip and I’m like; no it’s not!

AUDIENCE Q: WHAT CAMERA DO YOU USE? AND OTHER EQUIPMENT?

J: My camera; it’s a black one….. [audience applause and self-deprecating laughter from the film industry veterans] I’m bad with technology; 60d? Sometimes I knock a button on my camera and have to get my photography teacher to help fix it. And Final Cut Pro on my Mac. www.youtube.com/user/theJamiesWorld www.facebook.com/itsjamiesworld www.twitter.com/jaamiecurry www.instagram.com/jaamiecurry

webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv



(Interview: web series)

$1 RESERVE

SHOWCASING NEW ACTING TALENT $1 Reserve is an original New Zealand web series created to showcase the talents of The Actors’ Program 2014 graduates. $1 Reserve is a look at the connections we make with strangers through Trade Me transactions. When Jocelyn finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, she sells his prized possessions on Trade Me. But when she realises she’s got it terribly wrong, Jocelyn has to track down his stuff from the buyers to win him back. Awkwardly intimate and domestic, $1 Reserve is a gentle comedy with natural humour and a tone which feels inspired by the likes of US web series’ High Maintenance or Broad City; and features the sparkly tunes of spacepop royalty and local musician Princess Chelsea. $1 Reserve is directed by Curtis Vowell and written specifically for 16 distinct Actors’ Program students by Sophie Henderson. The series was inspired by the duo’s extraordinary encounters with all walks of life when buying and selling on Trade Me. The show is Produced by Anna Duckworth at Candlelit Pictures and Executive Produced by Michele Hine and Alix Whittaker, and Zoe 

Robbins stars as Jocelyn. The web series is made up of ten episodes, with each episode featuring two or three characters. The episodes are between two and five minutes in length so the run time of the whole series is 38 minutes. All the episodes were released on the same date, at the end of March 2015, – so audiences can binge watch to find out Jocelyn’s fate. Each episode is named after how Jocelyn listed the item on Trade Me such as 9ft Longboard near new; Antique diamond ring, 18ct and 2 year old Golden Retriever, Border Collie X. $1 Reserve was commissioned by The Actors’ Program as an original script for what was intended to be a simple showcase for their actors – and became a web series. The Actors’ Program joined forces with dynamic production house Candlelit Pictures to produce $1 Reserve, its first web series. “We really wanted to showcase all 16 actors so that necessitated creating a range of different scenes and interactions,” says Producer Anna Duckworth of Candlelit Pictures. “It can be quite convoluted to try and

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connect 16 characters to each other. US web series like High Maintenance have a great format where each episode is about a different set of characters but all episodes are linked by one reoccurring character. Our writer Sophie Henderson figured out an ingenious way to have one character, Jocelyn, stepping into the lives of a range of different people by having to buy back items she sold on Trade Me. It followed suit to have each interaction to be its own episode, so a web series really felt like the best format.” The project has taken about 18 months from conception to release. “Alix Whittaker originally pitched the idea of making original content as part of The Actors’ Program curriculum at the end of 2013,” says Anna. “The project gestated for a few months, with writer Sophie Henderson and Curtis Vowell being brought on board in early 2014. We spend the first half of 2014 developing the script and working with the actors then went into pre-production and filmed for five days in September 2014 so each episode took half a day to film. The web series then took two

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US web series like High Maintenance have a great format where each episode is about a different set of characters but all episodes are linked by one reoccurring character.

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Photos: Adam Baines

months for post-production, and we had an industry screening at the Capitol Theatre in December. We didn’t want to release the web series during the holiday/ summer madness so we decided to hold off until March to release it.” $1 Reserve was financed by The Actors’ Program and Trade Me, with support from The Wallace Arts Trust. “After our writer Sophie Henderson came up with the idea of doing a web series about the interactions we have through Trade Me transactions we knew we’d have to start a conversation with Trade Me,” says Anna. “Whether it was just to get clearance for their name or for them to have a larger involvement. One of the executive producers, Alix Whittaker, and I made a short video explaining the project and why we thought Trade Me should get on board and help. The Trade Me team were over the moon about the idea, they were happy to support the project financially but wanted to leave all creative choices in our hands - perfect! Trade Me helped us out with some of our marketing planning and helped push the web series on their site on its release.”

With an experienced, professional crew the actors had the best possible experience. “It’s super exciting when everyone in the room is totally on board for what you are trying to achieve, so the atmosphere was really supportive for the actors. I think it was great for the actors to be able to work with Sophie to have a character that was tailored to their strengths. Also the actors got to spend a lot of time with Curtis in pre-production which is a huge blessing,” says Anna. Cast member Andrew Parker says: “Highlights were definitely working with Curtis, Sophie, Miranda... the whole crew really. Such talented, enthusiastic, committed people who worked so hard to give us the space in which to be creative. And of course getting to make something together as a group. We’ll always have that as a record of our year together which is lovely.” Anna says they faced the usual challenges of a low budget production; “but it’s good for the actors to see just what can be achieved on a small budget.” “As for challenges, there’s just the usual pressures of time, nerves, wanting

to put in a performance that measures up to the kind of work everyone else is doing. And the tyranny of having such a short window of time to do the best you can,” says Andrew. As for what’s next for the web series, Anna says web fest appearances around the world could be an option. “We really want to push these actors as hard as we can, they are extremely talented and will go on to many great roles. It would be great for the actors if this web series found an international audience and of course some acting awards at web fests would be a beautiful compliment to any of our actors’ CV!” $1 Reserve is an insightful and enjoyable journey through the suburbs of Auckland. “While the scenarios are quite unique, I think there are many relatable elements and the audience will find many familiar characters throughout the series,” says Anna. “They’ll laugh, they’ll cry and hopefully they’ll be raving to all their friends about it!” www.1dollarreserve.com webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/1-reserve/

www.NZCameraHire.co.nz for all your production needs Ph: 0274 - 747 542, 09 - 815 3273 eMail: rental@nzcamerahire.co.nz webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv



(Interview: short film)

IS BACK! Ten documentary makers are preparing to make their three minute docos – for the world to watch. Following on from the project’s success last year, the Loading Docs initiative will again fund, create and distribute ten local three-minute documentaries online, with support from the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air. The documentary makers each needed to raise $2000 via crowd funding. Once that target was met the Loading Docs fund contributes $4000 worth of production funds plus a postproduction package at Toybox and Sale St Audio. Each Loading Docs project also receives ongoing mentoring and support throughout production. This year Loading Docs partnered with arts funding website Boosted.org.nz for the ten campaigns to all successfully receive crowd funding assistance. The documentaries are being created and will be released in July of this year. Last year’s ten docos, based around a theme of ‘home’ reached audiences all over the world (with over 300,000 views in total). This year’s theme is ‘connect’. The initiative’s executive producers Julia Parnell and Anna Jackson are both passionate about supporting and promoting New Zealand documentaries and hope this new batch of Loading Docs docos will excite New Zealanders. We asked the documentary makers what the inspiration was for their short docos and how they came about.

MADNESS MADE ME

To the psychiatrists, Mary O’Hagan was just another head case. But where they saw illness, she saw a human experience. NIKKI: We have this saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. You hear it over and over again. But for some

MADNESS MADE ME 

TIHEI

KUSUDA

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reason, a mental health diagnosis is treated in our medical system as perpetual weakness. I wanted to tell a story about how we validate some opinions over others, even when they’re opinions of an individual’s highly subjective experience. The film itself is based on a blog post from Mary O’Hagan, which really stuck out as a piece that could translate to something more visual. Director Nikki Castle, Producer Alexander Gandar

TIHEI

As the beat drops can Tihei find his words? Redemption comes unscripted. ORLANDO: When Hamish told me about Tihei Harawira and shared with me his vision for the documentary I knew he’d come across a captivating story. But it was a while later when I headed to Otara Markets with Hamish and met Tihei, that I realised just how special T was. I was astounded by the man, his story and his incredible gifts, and it was apparent just what a special project Hamish was developing. It’s an exciting time and I’m literally counting down the days until we shoot. Director Hamish Bennett, Producer Orlando Stewart

KUSUDA

New Zealand, Japanese and French cultures merge in the vineyards of salaryman turned master winemaker, Hiro Kusuda. AMBER: We were inspired by both Hiro’s journey from a Tokyo salaryman to a winemaker in Martinborough and his extreme dedication to his craft. And once we met him, we knew he’d make a great documentary subject. Directors Amber Easby & Henry Oliver, Producer Amber Easby

PLEASE OPEN

WAIHOROTIU

CONVERSATIONS WITH PETS

WILBUR FORCE

KILLER APP

PLEASE OPEN

Cultural icon and cinematic relic The Crystal Palace fights to hold off the final curtain call. KARL: The Crystal Palace is a unique theatre with a strong connection to the local community. The theatre has always exuded an unquantifiable cool and has been ‘a place to be’ in different roles to different generations. One of our Directors, Robin, watched Rolling Stones films there as a young fella, our Producer Taylor’s uncle ran the dancehall downstairs, and we have been visited by numerous members of the community desperately keen to tell us their own memories of the theatre over its almost 90 year history. But the theatre has seen better days and we hope that in making this documentary we will reconnect the community with the old girl and revitalise some of that cool that has kept her fighting for nearly a century. Directors Karl Sheridan and Robin Gee, Producer Monster Valley

WAIHOROTIU

A watery portrait of our urban landscape reveals that when it comes to our cities there is more than meets the eye. FRANCES: We started asking boring questions about our city’s past and pretty soon we were literally hunting for buried treasure… under Queen Street of all places. The fact that this river is still there? It’s like discovering a ghost in your attic, you can’t just ignore it… There’s this fascinating history that we’ve discovered in our own backyard, an entire ecosystem they tried to cover over... we want to reconnect people with that. Directors Louis Olsen and Frances Haszard Producer: Scott Elder

CONVERSATIONS WITH PETS

Imagine if you could have a conversation with your pet... Faye Rogers can. World renowned animal communicator Faye Rogers can converse with animals telepathically, over the phone, living or even dead. Conversations with Pets explores Faye’s connection with her own pets. Will Faye’s own animals, past and present, open up on camera? Conversations With Pets is Dr Doolittle meets Babe, Turner and Hooch meets Ghost in short documentary form. Directors Justin Hawkes & Ian Hart, Producer Hayley Cunningham

WILBUR FORCE

The former king of New Zealand pro wrestling turned small town recluse is challenged by his best friend to re-connect with his

FANTASY CAVE

NO LIGHTS, NO LYCRA

glory days of battle. J. OLLIE: I want to make Wilbur Force to remind audiences of the importance of holding on to ones best self, and to re-connect the subject of the documentary with his full potential, to help transform his life for the better. Director J.Ollie Lucks, Producer Veronica Stevenson

KILLER APP

Over hot drinks and a potluck afternoon tea, a group of senior Wellingtonians discuss the best ways to die. WENDELL: Inspiration for Killer App comes from many sources across the media landscape, from an Australian documentary about voluntary euthanasia, Mademoiselle And The Doctor (2004), that we both found particularly affecting, along with numerous recent cases around the world that have received high profile coverage. We’re aware that there is a groundswell for change in New Zealand on this issue and would like to see our documentary as helping to stimulate that debate. Director/Producers Wendell Cooke, Jeremy Macey

FANTASY CAVE

A group of cave dwellers beaver away night and day to create an immersive fantasyland, but is it really for the children? MICHELLE & MATT: Fantasy Cave is inspired by Matt’s childhood memories of visiting a mysterious fantasy cave in Dannevirke. Twenty-five years later, the cave still exists and after visiting it last year we were intrigued by the cave dwellers responsible. A documentary was needed to explore the inner workings of the cave and to question why these cave dwellers create and why do we create? Director/Producers Michelle Savill, Matt Henley

NO LIGHTS, NO LYCRA

We all go a little wilder when we think nobody is watching. ROWENA: I was genuinely impressed that a group of random people gather together on a sleepy Monday night without the help of alcohol for an hour of intense dancing in the dark, yet hit the same frenzied state of excitement that is usually reached at the culmination of a major concert or festival... simply because their spirit and body feels so darn emancipated! Director Rowena Baines, Producer Paula Jones

Loading Docs: http://www.loadingdocs.net Boosted: http://www.boosted.org.nz/artist-profile?id=20638

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(creators’ corner: YouTube)

YOUTUBE:

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS (Notes from the recent New Zealand YouTube; The insider’s guide to success roadshow hosted by WIFTNZ)

YouTube gives us thousands of channels to watch – anything from parkour to dance to cooking tutorials; the niche is broad on YouTube. Three days of content is uploaded every minute; it receives

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As a YouTube creator how do you stand out, how do you get seen?

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four billion views per day; with 800 million monthly unique users. As a YouTube creator how do you stand out, how do you get seen? Your first stop should be reading the YouTube Playbook; available to download for free here:

http://www.youtube.com/yt/playbook/ It’s an invaluable resource for any YouTuber – or anyone making videos for YouTube.

10 FUNDAMENTALS OF LOYAL FANS

To be a successful YouTuber you have to be in for the long haul. Forget about making that one viral hit and instead build a sustainable and loyal audience. 1: SHARE ABILITY:

Is your content topical, valuable, relatable? Do think there’s potential for your content to be shared? »» Eg Inspiring: The ice challenge »» Eg Topical: The Air NZ Hobbit safety video »» Eg Relatable: Jamie’s World – talking about her sister

The YouTube life cycle for a creator channel is: get viewers

2: DISCOVERABILITY:

Will your content get found through trending or common searches or related videos? Pay attention to your titles, meta tags and thumb nails! There are two types of content; trending (like a competitive speed skating video) or evergreen (content that lasts forever – like dance or makeup tutorials and cooking tips). Be clear about the type of content you are making. Use your other social media channels as an eco-system to funnel audiences to your channel. Allow your videos to be embeddable (default option) so people can share your video on their web sites.

3: ACCESSIBILITY:

Can every episode be fully appreciated by a brand new viewer without needing prior context? Some good examples include Jono and Ben videos; Brain craft, where complex topics are made engaging, and also locally, Andrew Strugnell includes relevant categories for his content.

4: COLLABORATION

Is there a way to feature guest stars on a regular basis? A guest should have complementary skills; offer you the opportunity to target a new audience, and be someone you’re proud to promote to your audience. An example is the Fine Brothers who build on the same format by inviting creators.

STEPS 1-4 ARE ABOUT GETTING VIEWERS, NEXT IS KEEPING THEM HAPPY BY ENGAGING THEM. 5: CONVERSATIONAL

Is there an element of your videos that directly addresses the audience? YouTubers are more like friends and family to the audience rather than celebrities or idols. »» An example locally is Shaaanxo.

6: INTERACTIVITY

Is there a way to involve the audience in how the show is created? »» Eg Ask Jaime (on Jaime’s World)

keep yourself happy

keep viewers happy

7: CONSISTENCY

Does the show have strong reoccurring elements (like the format, personality or voice) or a recurring schedule? For example do you upload every Tuesday? »» eg Todd’s kitchen – with Wacky Wednesdays

8: TARGETTED

Is your audience clearly defined? Stick at what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about; make it your niche and then grow wider. Think of your channel level, your show level, your video level and grow step by step. »» Eg Peter Jackson; is targeting at a channel level. »» Eg Bondi Hipsters target at a show level.

NEXT IS KEEPING YOURSELF HAPPY. SOME OF THE SUCCESSFUL YOUTUBERS STARTED FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS AGO! 9: SUSTAINABILITY

If the audience love it, can you make more of it? Eg The Fine Bros say if they can’t shoot three episodes in one day then they move on to the next idea.

10: AUTHENTIC

Are you being yourself? Is your idea coming from an area of passion? »» Eg PewDiePie Production quality is not the most important thing if have a connection with your audience.

(AND FINALLY; VIDEO LENGTH? DOESN’T MATTER. SOME POPULAR VIDEOS ARE 20 MINUTES LONG). webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv



(creators’ (profile) corner)

Image: That Katie Project

THE ADDED VALUE OF

CLOSED CAPTIONING YouTubers and web series creators around the world are joining the closed captioning movement and bringing words to the internet.

Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television or video screen, to provide a transcription of the audio portion of a programme as it occurs sometimes including descriptions of nonspeech elements like sound effects.* “Closed” means that the captions are not visible until activated by the viewer, whereas “Open”, “burned-in”, “baked on”, or “hard-coded” captions are visible to all viewers. Online there is a growing movement for YouTubers and web series creators to include closed captions on their YouTube, or any internet, video. Tyler Oakley, an American YouTube personality, has committed to closed captioning his videos (each of his videos typically rake up over a million views). Hard of hearing YouTuber and beauty vlogger Rikki Poynter is campaigning for the YouTube community to include 

closed captioning and there are many action groups campaigning for captions to be added to videos on the internet. In New Zealand, the CaptionItNZ campaign is spread across three national organisations, with members from Deaf Aotearoa, The Hearing Association, and the National Foundation for the Deaf. CaptionitNZ says New Zealand’s rate of public broadcasting captioning is available at less than 25 percent over a 24 hour period, and sits at the level of that seen in third world countries – so there’s a huge room for improvement. Many YouTubers in New Zealand now include closed captioning, having been inspired by expat YouTuber Katie of That Katie Project who created a colab video with Rikki Poynter encouraging the YouTube community to include closed captioning on their videos. So what are closed captions on YouTube? If you’re watching a YouTube

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video, if closed captions are enabled, in the bottom toolbar you’ll see a small rectangle box, called subtitles/cc. Click on it to activate closed captions. There are a raft of benefits for including closed captions on videos, not just the ‘access’ issue of assisting the deaf or hard of hearing to understand your videos; but they also add value. Captions help non-English speakers learn the language, they’re of use to people watching videos in noisy places – like a café – or quiet places – like a library – to still understand the audio. In some cases audiences may prefer to read the transcript of your video than watch the video itself. Closed captioning has been shown to increase viewership, repeat viewership and viewing times and increase retention. “Closed captioning has many great benefits, primarily in reaching out to international viewers and those hard

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Google search integrates deeply with videos that have closed captioning, making even your dialogue searchable.

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of hearing,” says YouTuber Andrew Strugnell, a South African born, New Zealander who loves travel and making short videos for the web. “During my travels abroad in China and Thailand, I was surprised to see how many people watched English-speaking videos with subtitles. They *crave* to learn the English language, and subtitles are a great way to invite them to watch your videos and learn your language. “While Google’s speech-recognition engine is pretty good at creating subtitles automatically, it can also make pretty misinformed captioning. We can ensure that the correct translations are made by spending 3-10 minutes after a video has uploaded, and correcting the automatic captioning Google has suggested.” Andrew famously created The Great Giraffe Challenge videos on YouTube in 2013 which became a viral hit – and he attributes the success of those videos to his use of closed captioning. “Adding closed captioning to The Great Giraffe Challenge videos was a great way to make sure international viewers could read and understand the riddle in the video. Surprisingly, the riddle’s biggest audiences were in Brazil, the Philippines and Thailand! Google Analytics were helpful in determining the primary languages of those visiting my video. That way I could place priority on translating the video into Portuguese, then Thai, then work out whether it was worth translating into other languages like German and Swedish. “Using the riddle’s Facebook page, I asked followers from non-English speaking countries if they’d be willing to put up their hand and offer a full translation of the first video. In one afternoon, I retrieved four translations for Afrikaans, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Thai.” By verifying or adding closed captions to your videos not only are you ensuring that international viewers are welcomed to watch your videos and learn correct English, but Google also uses that verified closed captioning for other uses too says Andrew. “Closed captions can be automatically translated in real-time into the viewer’s native language while they are watching. Someone watching a video that has English closed-captioning can select to have that text translated for their native tongue - such a great feature!

“Closed captions also improve the possibility of your video being discovered too. Google search integrates deeply with videos that have closed captioning, making even your dialogue searchable! Keep that in mind, particularly if your videos cover a broad range of topic that cannot be spelt out in your video’s title, description or meta-tagging.” Subtitles themselves are metadata – and crucial to any YouTube creator. Diana Sanchez on the Ericsson blog says, “Subtitles are essentially timed text and accurate timed text is extremely useful to power things like search, recommendation or targeted advertising. A recent study by Discovery Digital Networks found that adding subtitles to videos increased search traffic, page views, search rank and engagement, documenting a 13 percent increase in views.” While we’ve read reviews on New Zealand films from Americans grumbling that New Zealanders were difficult to understand and needed subtitles, Andrew doesn’t think our accents are an issue. “I don’t think I’ve come across viewers having a problem understanding ‘Kiwi’. I think we have a fun advantage as creators speaking in an accent that is not ‘American’ or ‘British’. I’m sure many of us can share that viewers have commented on how cool it is to have a Kiwi accent,” says Andrew, who is also a community manager for YouTube NZ. “I’d say rock that accent!” Adding closed captions does take time and effort – and is probably the main hurdle for video creators. Andrew says there two great ways for achieving accurate closed captioning on your videos. “Firstly, is to take the easy route by perfecting the automatic closedcaptioning Google’s speech recognition has performed on your video. This can be done by going to your videos’ settings, selecting the ‘Subtitles and CC’ tab along the top, and clicking on ‘English (Automatic)’. Here you can go line by

line through your video, listening to what was said and verifying that against what Google has suggested. For the most part you will be correcting little mistakes on each line,” says Andrew. “Secondly, you can use software to create a subtitles file. I use ‘Subtitles theEditor’ on my Mac. The features are great, but it takes a little getting used to and getting into the flow of listening to what is said, then writing it into bite-sized lines of text. This is definitely more time-consuming than correcting the automatic speech-recognised text as suggested above, but, you can be certain to have excellent timing and formatting of your closed captions this way. Subtitles theEditor then spits out a subtitles file that you can upload to your video’s settings.” Andrew says the effort of adding closed captioning is definitely worth it. “Closed captioning is an ‘extra step’ to add on to your video upload process, but if you have the time to do it, you could be handsomely rewarded with international viewers who return to your videos time and time again. Buena suerte! (Good luck!)”

RESOURCES: CaptionItNZ: www.captionitnz.co.nz Video Captioning (NZ Govt): www.webtoolkit. govt.nz/blog/2014/01/video-captioning-its-notthat-complicated/ Closed Caption blogs and communities: www.iheartsubtitles.wordpress.comwww. captionaction2.blogspot.co.nz From That Katie Project: Closed Captions: Why they’re important! ft. Rikki Poynter www. youtu.be/vgtftUCmyw0 Andrew Strugnell’s YouTube channel: www. youtube.com/user/strugsnotdrugs *Source: Wikipedia

JOIN US ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/NZViewfinder

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

(creators’ corner)

THE WORLD OF WEB FESTS New Zealand created web series are enjoying success on a global stage at web fests around the world.

Over the past few months Kiwi web series’ Flat3, High Road, The Adventures of Suzy Boon, Walter Wants a Woman and If These Walls Could Talk have been officially selected and/or won awards at various global web fests. A huge achievement for our indie creators, cast and crew. Web fests typically screen part of the web series, include workshops and panel discussions and award creators for a variety of awards – for instance the Melbourne WebFest has genre awards, a Grand Jury award and awards for Directing, Editing, Cinematography, Acting and more. “Web series festivals are signs of the times,” says Melbourne Web Festival Director Steinar Ellingsen. “Their purpose is to validate and acknowledge the amazing work of entrepreneurial and innovative digital screen producers, which traditionally have been hugely underappreciated.” “There are many potential benefits of entering your work to festivals,” says Steinar. “Having your series selected in a festival can help you get visibility and recognition, and it could help you grow your audience. It can help you grow your industry network, find people to collaborate with on productions, marketing and distribution. It can help you upskill through attending workshops, keynotes and panels. And it provides a

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Web fests validate and acknowledge the amazing work of entrepreneurial and innovative digital screen producers

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

webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

forum and platform for you to discuss your work in public. “Finally, there’s the chance that you could win an award, of course. Some awards may have particular perks or prizes attached to them. At Melbourne WebFest, for example, we have a Grand Jury Award, where the prize is an all-expenses paid trip to our partner festivals in LA and Marseille the following year, in addition to automatic entry and nominations in other partner festivals, such as Rome WebFest and the newly established KO WebFest in Korea. We’ve also got the iview Award, which offers the winner acquisition onto ABC’s on-demand platform, and we have a People’s Choice Award with a monetary prize attached to it, to mention a few.” Roberto Nascimento, Director of The Adventures of Suzy Boon – a local web series that has been accepted into six web fests already - says the benefits are; “Exposure, people watching our work and making new contacts.” Rachel Choy creator and Producer of Walter Wants a Woman agrees that entering web fests is about the connections. “I’ve met two writers in the UK that I have started developing a new web series with. I think it helps to show them our style of humour and what we can achieve, rather than them diving into it blindly not knowing anything about us.” For web series creators entering web fests it is time consuming – and there’s an expense involved too. “It takes time and patience to search and enter festivals around the world,” says Roberto. “Prices vary, depending on how established the festival is. And the country of origin. Most US web fests range between US$40 to about US$80... ‘Suzy Boon’ has been accepted into six web festivals so far: Melbourne Web Fest, Miami Web Fest, NYC WebFest, Seattle Web Fest, Buenos Aires Web Fest and Hollyweb Festival. That means I got a lot of rejection emails from other festivals too. It’s part of the deal...”

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Keep creating and keep making the web a richer, more meaningful, vibrant and diverse place for us all

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Rachel says entering festivals can be a full-time job; in fact in a past job one of her roles each day was to find festivals to enter a feature film, enter them, package the DVDs and so on. Rachel entered Walter successfully in the LA WebFest because it was one of the original web festivals and it has interesting panels – and admittedly they ran out of time. “We only really entered LA WebFest because by the time we started to think about festivals each year, the majority of festivals had closed. We probably should have tried a little harder but it comes down to time and money which we seem to be short of!” Roberto uses Google to discover web fests. “Some festivals, like Buenos Aires and Seattle had their first edition in 2015, so I got in there early.” His only limitation when entering is the expense – so he chooses wisely. The popularity of web fests and awards shows is mushrooming with about 30 web fests worldwide and three in LA alone; the LA Webfest, Hollyweb Festival and The Indies Series Awards. This year, LA Webfest put in place an exclusivity clause, banning anyone from entering LA Webfest and also the ISAs and/or Hollyweb Festival, causing an uproar in the web series community. Roberto was accepted into both the LA WebFest and Hollyweb Fest and was consequently caught up in the fracas. “The organiser of the LA Web Fest sent a very long email accusing other LA based festivals of poor conduct and dishonesty (it was a very long and strange email). I was completely shocked by the accusations and decided to seek some information, as to form my own opinion on the matter. Long story, there’s a great article about it here*. In the end, I chose to withdraw from LA Web Fest, as I felt they were bullying us into making a decision and were also spreading stories that were not true. It has been the ONLY issue I’ve encountered so far.” Roberto says he’s learned a few lessons about entering web fests along the way; “A strong script is important, no matter what the format. Second - The need to subtitle your show when submitting to non-English speaking festivals. Third ALWAYS check emails and deliver what the festivals request. Some fests don’t give enough time, so you’ve gotta be on the ball at all times.” “As an observation, where series often fall short is in scripting and sound,” says Steinar. “The first is inexcusable. It’s really the only area of production where low budget content can compete with money, so spending time on developing your project in the early stages and fine-tuning your script is really a no-brainer. “Sound is another area that’s often overlooked, and it’s so important for the overall impression of the series. A wise man once said that you can occasionally get away with poor video, but no one will excuse bad sound. I think that’s a reality that the web is slowly coming to terms with. “When you send in your submissions, you should create an

attention-grabbing, short and snappy synopsis for your series. Actually, this is a more general advice. You should do this early on to capture the imagination of your audience, regardless of whether you’re entering into festivals. “On a more specific note for festivals, don’t get discouraged if your work doesn’t get selected. Keep doing what you do and try again next year. Also, because one festival didn’t select your series doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance with others,” advises Steinar. So what do web fest attendees get to watch – taking into account film festival attendees watch an entire film – but that’s unrealistic with web series spanning many episodes? “In our case we leave it up to the creators to choose what’s screened,” says Steinar. “Having said that, we do encourage creators to consider that the audience may not be familiar with their work and they might need a proper introduction, so often the first episode(s) of the series or the season will have the most impact — particularly with narrative series. Series with stand-alone episodes obviously make different considerations, and may want to showcase something different. It might be an episode(s) with exceptional dramatic qualities or impact, or an episode(s) that stands out for other reasons, which may be thematic, topical, technical or otherwise. “As an aside, have a maximum limit on 20 minutes per episode, and allow selected series with shorter runningtimes to screen more than one episode.” And the final word for web series creators from Steinar: “Keep creating and keep making the web a richer, more meaningful, vibrant and diverse place for us all!” Roberto is doing just that. “I believe in our show and my work, so I am certain it is only a matter of time before more opportunities arise. And, of course, we’ll move on with the times: there’s a Season 2 in the works... more details to come. Keep an eye on our Facebook page: facebook.com/ SuzyBoonTV.”

RESOURCES: Melbourne Web Fest: www.melbournewebfest.com List of Web Fests: www.webserieschannel.co.nz/ webfests/ Rachel Choy is speaking on the panel ‘Women Warriors of the Web Series World’ at LA WebFest in early April 2015. Watch www.WebShowCentral.TV for updates. Watch The Adventures of Suzy Boon and Walter Wants a Woman on www.WebSeriesChannel.co.nz * https://lisagiffordwriter.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/what-thehell-is-going-on-in-la/ webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv



(creators’ corner)

MAKING WEB SERIES

THAT WORK

What we learned from the Digital Creators UK (www.digitalcreatorsuk.com) and Raindance Web Fest panel discussion.

1. YOUR VIDEO HAS JUST SECONDS TO GRAB (AND HOLD) YOUR AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION In the first 15 or so seconds people will decide whether to watch your content or not. Creating short form content for the web means hooking your audience in from the very beginning – and you have to have something to bring them back again. Audiences want to watch the content 

right away, so don’t include traditional opening titles that roll for 30 seconds. Consider your platform as well - and format the content accordingly to make it as engaging as possible, using things like your title and thumbnails and your opening titles.

2. BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE FIRST Many creators making scripted content for the web pour all their time and energy into the production rather

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than building an audience before they roll out their web series. When they release their web series they start building an audience from scratch, and when the web series finally starts to get traction with an audience, all the episodes have been shown, and the creator has nothing else to deliver to their growing audience. Focus instead on making sustainable content over a longer time period and building an audience – and then delivering your premium content, which is your web series.

3. ENROL CAST AND CREW WHO UNDERSTAND THE WEB SERIES JOURNEY Ensure that actors and crew who’ve worked in traditional film and TV are aware of how web series momentum builds. They may need to be doing publicity for the show 18 months after it’s been released, after it’s shown in web fests and finally getting media attention. Lisa: It’s difficult for cast and crew to understand that a web series is quite a long run for them, it’s not going to be the traditional few weeks of publicity, finished, and onto the next thing. That doesn’t work with web series.

4. PITCH TO BRANDS TO FINANCE YOUR WEB SERIES Target specific brands that have the same target market as your audience and tell them what you want to achieve with them. Pitching to a brand (the content director, director of digital or director of online) is different to pitching to

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Just when you’ve started getting traction, your web series finishes and you’ve got nothing else to deliver to your audience and it’s over before it’s started.

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Building your social channels to grow your idea is critical. Brett: YouTubers succeed because they continually deliver content and connect with their audience. Then they’re able to leverage that audience and deliver something bigger like a web series. Rochelle: Six months before our show dropped, we knew where our audience was, we hung out in the forums where they hung out, seeing what people liked, what music they were into, we knew what they may have found funny or not. By the time we came to drop our series we had this massive following already made up of from this particular niche.

someone in film or TV. They’ll want to look at number of views, engagement metrics - and how their brand can engage with your audience or what kind of visibility their brand is going to have. Show you have an audience – even if you have a brand new show certain members of your cast might already have a following, or someone on the crew might be an industry expert in their field. Brands especially like shows that target niches because it’s more effective for them to sell their brand or their image or their values into a specific community or a specific group of people. Creators should be trying to cultivate engagement rather than views. Having five million views on a video with no engagement is worth less than 20k views but 10k engagements. Rochelle: If a brand is not going to be your sole provider or capital for your project they’re more likely to get into a dialogue with you.

5. THINK BEYOND YOUTUBE

The content platform has to suit your

content and the audience. Where are your audience living online and are you able to deliver it? If you’re pioneering a new platform like Snapchat or Instagram with a show that could work in shorter segments it may be a way to get a brand interested. Keep an eye on Facebook videos. While monetising and advertising on Facebook videos has yet to come they’re releasing new features and tools and could be a force to be reckoned with. At the very least use Facebook videos as a promotional tool to get people’s attention and then drive them where you want.

6. KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING

Consider other ‘extra’ content you can add to your channel; like behind the scenes footage or interviews with cast and crew. Populating your channel with this extra content, even 30-40 second videos, gives your audience new and updated content and keeps them engaged. This extra material can be shot inexpensively on an iPhone. 

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The first five seconds is the time you have to grab someone’s attention - when someone decides if they’re going to keep watching your video or not.

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Plan your extra content from the outset, before filming. Rochelle: With our first show we monetised all of those extra videos through exclusive media relationships. They can be repackaged for your sponsor packages going forward in ways that probably weren’t originally intended. But you have to have planned and filmed them in the first place.

7. BUILDING AN AUDIENCE AS A NEWBIE

James: Find the right talent to be in your project, whether that’s behind the camera or in front of it. For example on YouTube, collaborate with somebody who has got a big following, whether that’s an animator if you’re doing a cartoon or an actor or a blogger, someone who can bring an audience to you.

8. WRITE YOUR CONTENT TO SUIT YOUR PLATFORM

Don’t take a script for a film or a short film and think it will work as a web series. Think about the platform and write to suit.

9. DON’T BE PRECIOUS

Be open to new opportunities – collaborations, new people, new platforms. Having total control and ownership is worthless if you’re not building or growing.

10. UNDERSTAND YOUR RELEASE PLATFORM Experience how your end viewer will use your chosen platform to get an understanding of how it’s going to be consumed and what you’re competing with. Understand YouTube as a user, experience watching videos on the site, how you get pulled from video to video, 

how you get recommendations. Don’t take for granted you know all about social media and video platforms – make sure you’re creating content that the audience wants on that platform.

11. MISTAKES ARE OKAY

There is a forgiving factor being online. You can experiment, adapt, change and learn from mistakes. Audiences are willing to be forgiving and go with you as you change and grow and develop.

12. TO SIGN OR NOT SIGN WITH AN MCN WHEN YOU’RE NEW?

Multi-Channel Networks (MCN’s) usually focus on the best talents, though some networks look for new talent to advise. Some provide tools and services and resources for creators to succeed and hints and tips and updates, especially for a platform like YouTube which is constantly changing. Look for the right vibe and fit with an MCN. Brett: Most MCN’s aren’t going to take on small channels because the time and energy involved in promoting that channel doesn’t equate. The YouTube model is about creators being in charge of their own channel, their own destiny and growing with their own audience. It’s about letting the creators create and not about putting a very traditional media layer over the top of it and saying we’re going to take charge of promotion.

13. DETERMINE YOUR END GOAL There are lots of options with your web series. If you really want to write for TV or film, you could invest in web festivals that have great agent markets and try to get signed with one of those. If you’re wanting to make great music you could try and get a syndication

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deal with someone like vice.com or an emerging music network.

14. YOU’VE GOT SOME FUNDING: DO A SIZZLE REEL OR THE ACTUAL SERIES?

If you want to break into TV or do more on the web, a sizzle reel is not going to show your talent as a writer director at all, it’s just going to show scenes, whereas a complete series, even if it’s very short, proves you can tell a story from start to finish.

15. DON’T FORGET ABOUT UNSCRIPTED WEB SERIES

More unscripted (docu-series, reality, non-fiction) web series are being commissioned than scripted series. Unscripted series that address a specific topic can build audiences because audiences often google for information about topics, and google leads to YouTube. Brett: Non-scripted series can be really powerful because they can have quite a long tail – a longer life than scripted series - depending on what the content is. Video available here: www.youtube.com/

watch?v=76JeiR0lg5I

From the Digital Creators UK (www. digitalcreatorsuk.com) and Raindance Web Fest discussion on MAKING WEB SERIES THAT WORK. With: HOST: Elisar Cabrera (Founder, Raindance Web Fest)

PANEL: James Edward Marks (Screenage Renegade)

Lisa Gifford (Creator, 3some)

Rochelle Dancel (Bats In Belfries)

Brett Snelgrove (BuzzMyVideos)

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