WebShowCentral Issue 11

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WebShowCentral No.11

indie web TV down under

(formerly Viewfinder mag)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

NZ Web Fest with highlights & winners

PLUS: INTERVIEWS WITH CREATORS OF END OF TERM, SIDES, SHOWGIRLS, AUCKWARD LOVE and POT LUCK



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:

advertising@WebShowCentral.TV

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Print - NZ$65. Digital – Free. Subscribe at www.WebShowCentral.TV/subscribe subscriptions@WebShowCentral.TV

OUR WEBSITE: www.WebShowCentral.TV

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ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS: We welcome article submissions to WebShowCentral.TV. Email Fiona at fiona@WebShowCentral.TV ISSN 2423-0391 (Print) ISSN 2423-0405 (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.

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 11 (SUMMER 2015)

4 WHAT TO WATCH

There are loads of local new web series, web shows and short films to discover and watch for free at Web Series Channel; including The Aroha Project, AFK, End of Term, Auckward Love, Jiwi’s Machines and more!

6 NZ WEB FEST The inaugural NZ Web Fest was a hit with attendees and presenters alike. A day of inspiration, learning and entertainment (and pizza and cola!) including different aspects of digital content from monetisation to building an audience.

10 NZ WEB FEST AWARDS Check out the finalists and winners of the inaugural NZ Web Fest Awards held in November.

12 WEB SERIES: END OF TERM With creator Chaz Harris: I think we’ve lost sight of creating fear and suspense as a storytelling skill because we can create anything on screen now with visual effects -­as filmmakers we need to remember to stop and think if we should show something or not.

16 WEB SERIES: SIDES With director Grae Burton: I’d rather make awesome shows with awesome people and if “big guns” want to take notice that’s great.

20 WEB SERIES: SHOWGIRLS With director and producer Ben Legg: The more time and thought you can put into pre-production, the smoother the shoot is going to go. Visualise being on set, and identify issues before they happen.

22 WEB SERIES: AUCKWARD LOVE: With creator Holly Shervey: Working with such a small crew on such a fast timeline meant the challenges were great and the roles each person played were pushed, but that also gave us a real sense of ownership over our work.

26 WEB SERIES: DROPPED PIE With co-creator Nat Boltt: Rodrigo Films prides itself on making fresh, funky content in a fast-paced guerrilla filmmaking style.

28 CROWDFUNDING: POT LUCK New Zealand’s first lesbian web series is coming to the internet soon! Currently crowdfunding to make a further five episodes, Pot Luck is a fresh, fun, and sexy narrative web-series that explores the lives of three Wellington friends. webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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FROM THE EDITOR NZ WEB FEST; CELEBRATING AND INSPIRING NEW ZEALAND’S TALENTED DIGITAL CREATORS The inaugural NZ Web Fest has been and gone – and was by all accounts a huge hit with attendees and participants. If you missed out on attending this year, we’ll be holding another event next year in July/August, with dates to be announced shortly. Make sure to save the date! Creating and delivering such an event takes a huge amount of effort and hard work – and we couldn’t have done it without the help from our volunteers on the day; the generosity of our sponsors; the involvement of our presenters and the support of those of you who bought a ticket and came along. Thank you everybody! A common piece of feedback was that everyone “learned lots” – and on top of that got to meet other creators they may not have had the opportunity to meet in person before. There was also lots of ‘discovering’ going on - during the screenings of the NZ Web Fest Award Finalists’ shows throughout the day, creators had the opportunity to watch web series, web shows and YouTubers they weren’t aware of. Plus the phenomenal success stories of YouTuber Jamie Curry of Jamie’s World; and Claris Jacobs, (representing The Candle Wasters) story of the

extraordinary international popularity of their Shakespearean inspired series ‘Nothing Much To Do’ absolutely astounded and inspired the audience. In this issue we share more creator stories of web series (End of Term, Sides, ShowGirls, Auckward Love) to inspire you some more. All the shows are available to watch on Web Series Channel. Enjoy!

Fiona FIONA POWELL Editor/Publisher, WebShowCentral.TV www.WebShowCentral.TV email: fiona@WebShowCentral.TV Ph: 021 1712 301

WebShowCentral.TV

Join our Digital & Web Series Creator Groups (NZ and AU) to share in discussions, ask burning questions, and to support and encourage one another, in all things digital and video content online.

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DISCOVER

BE ENTERTAINED

WATCH (for free)

WEB SERIES CREATED BY KIWIS

www.WebSeriesChannel.co.nz


WHAT TO WATCH ON ...

WebSeriesChannel.co.nz (FOR FREE)

THE AROHA PROJECT Created by Mika Haka and directed by Ramon Te Wake, the six part webseries is part of a multifaceted initiative responding to bullying, alienation and suicide risk amongst young Māori and Pacific LGBT youth. »» Watch here: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/the-aroha-project/

ANAMATA FUTURE NEWS A NZ On Air funded web series of breaking news bulletins from Aotearoa’s future. An original Maori webseries, Anamata delivers breaking news, sport, technology, weather and entertainment from the year 2018 until the year 2499. »» Watch here: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/anamata-future-news/ 

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WHAT TO WATCH ON ...

WebShowCentral.TV FROM MEDIA DESIGN SCHOOL

ESCARGORE

This snail horror comedy is so scary, it’ll shock your shell off! Claude and his friends are out of their element and in a whole lot of trouble when they choose the wrong lettuce for lunch. They must now find their way out of this world of horrors before they end up on the menu! Escargore is the latest third year production from Media Design School’s Bachelor of Art and Design (3D Animation and VFX). The project took around four months of intensive work to complete by a group of 22 students. »»

Watch the films and find out more here: http://webshowcentral.tv/watch/escargore/

SHELVED

MUST SEE animated short film starring a couple of total losers created by Auckland’s Media Design School. The comedy is a nod towards the early films of directors Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats) and Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused). Directed by James Cunningham with visual effects by eleven Media Design School students. »» Watch the films here: http://webshowcentral.tv/watch/shelved/ webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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NZ Web Fest 7TH NOVEMBER 2015

www.NZwebfest.com

#nzwf2015

Great event the other week. Thanks for inviting me to be a judge and for organising the whole thing. The whole day was very impressive.” - Robbie Spargo, Content Strategist for Shorts at TVNZ (NZ Web Fest Judge)

Close caption your videos – it’s not difficult to do; and opens your show up to wider audiences; and helps search engines find your content. -Peter Haynes, AFK

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Play your content without any sound; is it engaging visually? Then play only the sound; is it still engaging? -Peter Haynes, AFK

Crowdfunding is hard work; a full-time job. Be aware of the cost and time involved in fulfilling the rewards for pledgers. - The AFK team


NZ WEB FEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Fiona Powell

Keith Barclay

www.NZwebfest.com www.facebook.com/nzwebfest

www.twitter.com/nzwebfest #nzwf2015

Links to all the web series, web shows, YouTube channels and presenters from NZ Web Fest: http://nzwebfest.com/nz-web-fest-links

We just wanted to say thank you for your time and efforts in coordinating the first NZ WebFest! It was a very successful event and we look forward to next years. – Johnson & Laird Management.

NZ WEB FEST SUPPORTERS Thanks to the supporters of the inaugural event for making it possible:

www.NZwebfest.com

#nzwf2015

I spent the day at the first ever NZ Webfest! Such an awesome day, can’t wait for next year! Epic day at @NZWebFest! Met so many cool people, and I’m feeling very inspired and motivated now! #nzwf2015 – Jason Ellis

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www.NZwebfest.com 

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I admired them all (the finalists) for creating something and putting it out there. I suggest watching at least a couple of the nominated shows. Because the funny thing is these YouTuber personalities aren’t the future mainstream star of tomorrow. In a very real sense they’re the stars of right now. -Karl Puschmann, NZ Herald (NZ Web Fest Judge)

Go to Vid Con! Seriously, if you’re making online content – go! -Roseanne Liang, Flat3 and Friday Night Bites

#nzwf2015

Loads of ideas/inspiration at yesterday’s @NZWebFest. Look forward to seeing more online content out there in the next few years! - SONZA

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NZ WEB FEST PRESENTERS & MC’S MC’s: Caito Potatoe; Ollie Langdon & JJ Fong A YOUTUBE CHANNEL STORY - Jamie Curry (Jamie’s World) TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS IN DIGITAL STORYTELLING: - Laurent Antonzak (MINA) - Joseph Herscher (Jiwi’s Machines) - Anna Jackson (Loading Docs) MAKING SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL CONTENT -Brenda Leeuwenberg – (NZ On Air) A WEB SERIES STORY -Peter Haynes (AFK) -Roseanne Liang (Friday Night Bites)

#nzwf2015

THE BUSINESS OF DIGITAL CONTENT -Julie Cooper and Imogen Johnson (Johnson & Laird Management) -Brent Kennedy (Camaraderie) WORLD PREMIERE OF WEB SERIES: END OF TERM -End of Term: (with Chaz Harris) BUILDING AND SUSTAINING AN AUDIENCE -Roberto Nascimento, creator of The Adventures of Suzy Boon -Chaz Harris, director/writer of End of Term Web Series -Claris Jacobs for the Candle Wasters, creators of Nothing Much To Do and Lovely Little Losers

www.NZwebfest.com

Top things I learnt at NZ Web Fest: 1. Young people have the advantage for creating digital content because they don’t have formal film & TV training to follow, they create their own unique style. 2. If you’re not ‘authentic’ and honest you’ll see it in your stats. 3. The Adventures of Suzy Boon is the best web-series ever!! haha 4. There’s more respect (I reckon) for webseries producers and crews because everyone knows what they had to pull off with little budget. 5. You really don’t need to be flash when shooting webseries, just need to tell a story well. -Vicki Makutu, Director of Hahana

-Emily Jane,YouTuber -Benny McNugget,YouTuber

VOLUNTEERS & HELPERS Thanks to the volunteers for their invaluable help on the day: Sigrid Klein, Taylor Evans, Vicky Powell, Lexie Brothers, Felix Griffin, Matt Earle and Jocelyn Bunch. Special thanks to Andrew Strugnell was his assistance, enthusiasm and support. webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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NZ Web Fest 2015

AWARDS

The inaugural NZ Web Fest Awards were held as part of NZ Web Fest on 7th November 2015 at Media Design School, Auckland. A panel of seven high profile and influential judges from the media, entertainment and screen industries judged the awards, and the winners were announced by MC JJ Fong at the NZ Web Fest.

Congratulations to the following NZ Web Fest nominees:

»»BEST WEB SERIES »» The Adventures of Suzy Boon, created/produced by Roberto Nascimento

»» Capital Culture, created by Virginia and Miriam O’Connor, Isobelle Walton and Martine Harding Our definition of a Web series is an episodic »» Flat 3 (season 3), co-written and directed by Roseanne Liang narrative, or scripted videos. »» High Road (season 2), written and directed by Justin Harwood »» Nothing Much To Do, created by the Candle Wasters

#nzwf2015

»»BEST WEB SHOW »» Hahana, directed and written by Vicki Makutu

Our definition of a web show is a non-fiction or documentary or magazine style series.

»» »» »» »»

Human Postcards, created by Nora Jaccaud and Arie Van Der Poel If These Walls Could Talk, produced and directed by Ross Liew NZ Off Air, produced by the NZ YouTube Community / Andrew Strugnell White Man Behind A Desk, written and presented by Robbie Nicol.

»»BEST YOUTUBE

»» »» »» »» »»

Shaaanxo https://www.youtube.com/user/shaaanxo Azz Man https://www.youtube.com/user/AnAzzMan Ela Gale https://www.youtube.com/user/ElsBeautyxx Jamie’s World https://www.youtube.com/user/theJamiesWorld/ Shaaanxo vlogs: https://www.youtube.com/user/shaaanxovlogs

»» »» »» »» »»

Corey Lupton https://www.youtube.com/user/coreyfrominhale Sally Jo https://www.youtube.com/user/peachyteaful Sam’s Life https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6oWld92SRND06WovXtE-g Scurb https://www.youtube.com/user/pentamagic The Sheep That Went Moo (Ollie Langdon) https://www.youtube.com/user/thesheepthatwentmooo

www.NZwebfest.com

CHANNEL

»»YOUTUBE ONE TO WATCH

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NZ Web Fest 2015

AWARD WINNERS HIGH ROAD

This comedy tells the story of Terry Huffer, a burntout ex-Rocker who has setup a local radio station in Piha. In Season Two Terry is back with a new Radio DJ gig, his daughter comes to live with him, and he re-joins his old band for ‘that’ tour – but can he finally win (recently divorced) Shona’s heart? »» Watch the series at: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/ webseries/high-road/

WHITE MAN BEHIND A DESK

In the style of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Robbie Nicol is providing New Zealand with its own unique commentary on the social and political climate. »» Watch the show at: www.webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/ white-man-behind-a-desk/

JAMIE’S WORLD

#nzwf2015

Jamie Curry popular channel started in 2012 and today boasts almost 1.4 million subscribers and over 56 million views of her 75 videos. Jamie’s videos are a mixture of vlogs and skits and as Jamie says “I attempt to make weekly video’s but fail every time.” »» Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/ theJamiesWorld/

www.NZwebfest.com

THE SHEEP THAT WENT MOO (OLLIE LANGDON) Ollie’s channel started at the end of 2012 and boasts over 84k subscribers and over 7 million views of his 120 videos. Ollie’s videos are a mixture of stand-up comedy, skits, challenges, lists, rants, vlogs and short films. »» Channel link: https://www.youtube.com/user/ thesheepthatwentmooo For updates on NZ Web Fest follow: www.Facebook.com/nzwebfest and www.Twitter.com/nzwebfest webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(interview: web series)

END OF TERM

End of Term is a young adult Sci-Fi/Thriller web series that premiered at NZ Web Fest. From Wellington-based filmmaker Chaz Harris, End of Term is about a disparate group of High School teens who are caught up in a viral outbreak forcing them to confront their differences and band together to survive. Chaz also created the award winning web series 101 Dates four years ago, so we talked to him about his latest web series and the changing web series landscape.

HOW DID END OF TERM COME ABOUT? WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION? I’d been developing a feature film project called Endurance and while working through rewrites of that, I decided I wanted to spend some more time in that story universe. I wanted to get a greater understanding of the world, and you don’t always have time to explore that in a feature film story, so I thought about telling a story about the same event from a different perspective. Instead of focusing on just one teen protagonist, what would happen in a conflicting ensemble? I gave myself the brief of mashing up films like Goonies with series like The Walking Dead and The 100 which I more recently discovered. I wrote a pilot episode, developed a series bible for a six-­part miniseries and that was what formed the narrative foundation for developing our web series episodes.

WHAT WAS THE BUDGET? HOW DID YOU FUND THE WEB SERIES? I took a loan out and self­-funded the essential material costs of it all myself. The budget all up has probably been a cash cost of $5,000 to $6,000. However, the material cost of my own time, other people’s time as well as donated services is easily $50k and likely double that in terms of the production value on screen. I might have funded it myself, but I certainly didn’t do it by myself!

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A SHOW TO SUIT A LOW BUDGET APPROACH? I think keeping it simple helps. We did some pretty complex things requiring costume duplicates and jumping around the continuity of our timeline, but we shot the majority of it over one weekend in a single location. Being able to shoot at Avalon Studios for our 1-­11 continuous take episodes over Labour Weekend was invaluable, they’ve been amazing supporters of the project and I don’t think it could have been made so fast and for such a low amount otherwise. With 101 Dates, we also used a single apartment location and quite often were using the least amount of coverage or angles required. For the most part, the angle used was the webcam, but we often cheated by adding close up coverage to blend in. With End of Term, episodes 1-­11 are all continuous take one­-shots to sell the found­-footage approach. It makes for a bigger technical, performance and directing challenge, but it speeds up some of the post-­production effort and means less time had to be spent on coverage/setups (a lower number of camera angles).

HOW DO YOU USE THE POWER OF WHAT YOU DON’T SEE TO CREATE FEAR AND SUSPENSE? I think we’ve lost sight of this as a storytelling skill because we can create anything on screen now with visual effects -­as filmmakers we need to remember to stop and think if we should show something or not. In horror, showing a lot of blood and guts might be horrific, but it’s not really scary, definitely not as much as what your imagination comes up with. With films like Jaws and Alien you rarely saw the ‘monster’, and what you don’t see on screen becomes far more terrifying. It can create suspense, mystery and terror...tension is everything in my opinion, even in comedy. 

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TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU USED SOUND AND MUSIC, FRAGMENTING THEM TO BUILD A BIGGER PICTURE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE VISUALS? We designed the score to be a mutating piece of music that eventually comes together with our finale episode. My brief to our composer and sound designer Tane Upjohn­-Beatson was that it should feel like different pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in a similar way to how our episodes combine and come together to give an idea of the bigger picture.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF WORKING WITHIN THE FOUND FOOTAGE GENRE AND CONTINUOUS TAKE APPROACH? I’d say both a pro and a con is that sound design becomes your score because you can’t use music to aid the audience’s emotional experience. You also can’t choose everyone’s best performance moments in a single take as you have no way of cutting between them, so you have to try and pack as many good moments into the takes you select (and often do more takes to try and get everything in the same one on the day). It only makes sense to cut to multiple angles in found footage if there’s more than one camera like in Shyamalan’s The Visit, and even then it makes you wonder who assembled the footage so it

To create suspense, as filmmakers we need to remember to stop and think if we should show something or not.

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A brand sponsoring the cost of making a web series as a unique way to get in front of customers seems likely to replace TVCs.

Even though it’s considered an action movie, in Aliens you don’t even see a single Xenomorph for the first hour! It’s all suspense. Episode 4 of End of Term is a good example of how I used that technique. We used framing to very carefully hide things that could be implied with sound design and from the other characters reactions on screen. It’s quite gruesome, and yet you only hear it, you don’t see a thing. The imagination does the rest.

can lose the visceral feel of realism you’re trying to portray.

HOW ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR AUDIENCE AND PROMOTING THE SERIES? We’ve experimented with Facebook ads, mostly through Facebook sharing and other ways of leveraging the content of each episode and the characters themselves. We had a great article from DNA Magazine in Australia when we revealed an LGBT character, for instance. We also made our world premiere at NZ Web Fest a key part of our launch activity, you have to find ways to make these things newsworthy I think given the noise they’re up against online. Having a couple of high-­profile cast with their own followings helps a lot too.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELEASE SCHEDULE – RELEASING TWICE WEEKLY VS ALL AT ONCE FOR BINGE VIEWING? We’ve been releasing new episodes on Wednesdays and Sundays allowing us to stretch out our release and promotional plan for the series to build initial awareness. However, when we launch on TVNZ On Demand audiences will be able to binge watch them all in one go.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE WEB SERIES FORMAT? I like that it allows you to showcase storytelling in shorter and more manageable bursts than the commitment of making a full feature film. If you shot a feature film across multiple weekends, you’d have continuity issues to look out for and all kinds of other challenges like holding on to your cast and crew for that long. I think you can play and experiment in the web series realm in a way that TV and film can’t offer and at a much lower risk and price point.


It’s more sensible to self­-fund a web series to showcase your storytelling skills than mortgage your house to fund a feature film.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR END OF TERM? We’re holding a series finale premiere fundraiser event at The Roxy Cinema in Wellington on 13th December supported by the Miramar Events Trust, it’ll be great to see it on the big screen. It’s also on the eve of our TVNZ On Demand launch on Monday 14 December, perfect to give bored teens something to watch over the Christmas holidays. We’ll be working on pitching the miniseries version early next year using the web series as material to sell the concept, characters and continue building an audience for it.

OVER THE PAST 4­-5 YEARS SINCE YOU CREATED 101 DATES; WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU NOTICED IN WEB SERIES? There are certainly a lot more platforms out there looking for content along with many more web series festivals. When we did 101 Dates, the only festival was LA WebFest which we got into and won awards at, and even then they were only in their second year of existence. The perception of value on short­form content has yet to trickle down. Short­form content like a web series is worth paying the creators for, but that will likely evolve in time and I think brands will be key in terms of where the money needs to come from. A brand sponsoring the cost of making a web series as a unique way to get in front of customers seems likely to replace TVCs as we move to an On Demand model. Why spend $200k or more to produce a 30 second TV commercial and then thousands more buying slots to play them when you could be creating 30 minutes or more of content that’s directly associated with your brand? If you do it right, you’re not just selling your product, you’re creating entertainment that people will associate with the brand. Connecting an audience with emotive content is the key to

great advertising I think; don’t make them think things about your product, make them feel things about your brand.

AND ADVICE FOR OTHER WEB SERIES CREATORS? Just do it. And, in the interests of full disclosure, this interview is not sponsored by Nike. If you have an idea that is ‘doable’ with very little upfront cash required then find other collaborators who want to make cool shit and go make it. It’s a far more sensible thing to self-­fund (or approach brands to help you fund) a web series to showcase your storytelling skills than it is to mortgage your house and fund a feature film. There’s also Crowdfunding to consider as an option if you can’t fund it on your own. None of that existed when we made 101 Dates which we made for a cash cost of about $2k. It’s easier than ever to go around the gatekeepers who might be telling you it won’t work or who simply don’t have a big enough pocket to fund everything they want to. So if you have the intestinal fortitude and that burning desire to tell your story, just make the decision to start and you should be able to find a way.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION? I was having a discussion about short films versus web series the other day. With a short film, you put it in festivals and see if it gets in. It’s a very passive process for filmmakers and often they’re leaving it up to festivals to be the conduit between their content and getting it in front of an audience. As a web series Creator or Showrunner, you’re going directly to the web to find an audience. I think marketing and promotional plans become a major thing you need to be thinking about from an early stage with web content, most likely during development. Most filmmakers go cross­-eyed around this point in a conversation, but I think it’s something they should teach in film school now, something that everyone should be thinking about. Who is the audience? How will you reach that audience? From there, you can approach brands and promotional partners because they are going to want to know that information before they’ll put any money on the table. For the full length article go to: www.WebShowCentral.tv Facebook: www.facebook.com/endoftermtv Website: www.endoftern.co.nz Watch on Web Series Channel: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/ webseries/end-of-term/ webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(interview: web series)

WHERE THE BEHIND THE SCENES

ARE THE SCENES

SIDES is a new web series, with a difference. Improvised and raw, the series pushes the limit on the traditional online series format. The show, directed by Grae Burton and Natalie Beran, features a huge cast of Auckland talent and is a hilarious black comedy about actors auditioning for the role of a lifetime. We asked Grae to tell us more about SIDES.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE WEB SERIES? HOW DID IT ALL COME ABOUT? AND WHY A WEB SERIES FORMAT? Natalie and I had separate ideas about doing a series about auditions and casting and when we initially got together over a Belgian beer in Ponsonby we realised that we both had pretty much the same idea and the whole inspiration for the series grew from there. Very soon we realised that this was a unique prospect that 

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meant we could throw the creative ball entirely into the actors’ court to do with it what they wanted. We only scripted the fake audition piece the actors had to perform and we created character profiles and provocations. The actors were told that as soon as they arrived they were in character and being filmed the entire time. They didn’t know who they were working with and we introduced a few “wild card” characters into the mix to really stir things up. The basic premise is that all the actors are auditioning for the same role of a “Pilot” of a zombie infested airplane about to crash into Houston. Which was misspelt in the script as Huston. It’s all downhill from there... We really always intended to make it for the web. Its accessibility and lack of taboo meant we could really push the limits in terms of content.


The show is improvised and during the shooting, when I saw that an actor was willing to go that extra mile, I could call a time out and invite them to jump off the edge with me. They always did :)

WHAT CAN AUDIENCES EXPECT FROM THE SHOW; AND HOW MANY EPISODES IN TOTAL AND WHAT’S THE RELEASE SCHEDULE? It’s a black comedy, it’s entirely set in one location, a film casting office in central Auckland, it’s improvised, it looks and sounds raw and it’s off the wall. All these things were intended. Think of it as Flight of the Conchords meets The Office and they get on the piss together with a film crew, THEN start filming... It is eight episodes in total (the first four released November 20, the last four release March 20 in 2016). Episodes are

Think of it as Flight of the Conchords meets The Office and they get on the piss together with a film crew, THEN start filming...

between 12 and 14 minutes generally. The first four eps have an additional 16 “In_Sides” episodes, which are the uncut auditions of each actor in Eps 1 – 4. These are hilarious and it’s amazing to watch an uncut video and see the “reality” of these actors (who are playing the characters we gave them) desperately trying to win the role with their auditions. They are interactive and audiences can vote and comment on who they think should get the role. Those who do will go in the draw for SIDES merchandise and the like. Those eps are linked into the main eps at the end of each.

WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF CREATING THE SHOW? The goal from the outset was to really push the limit of the process for actors. No script, not even knowing who you are working with or what their provocation is and all competing for the same part. Also we wanted to experiment with how much we could strip out of the usually required elements for film production. There is no crew. No one manning cameras. No one on a boom mic (we probably should have had a person on boom mic :)). There were no rehearsals. There were no additional takes. Everything you see is captured in one take. It was exciting and it wasted not a second of time in its process. The whole shoot took two days and we have ended up with a whole series and about 32 additional episodes.  webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT TIMELINES; FROM WHEN THE CONCEPT EVOLVED THROUGH TO RELEASING ONLINE? The initial brief came together at the end of 2013, we shot over two days in May 2014 and editing began immediately. The first three eps took about eight months to complete and the fourth episode proved really problematic so that has meant delays in the process and release. What happened was that we realised the story time was set over one day so we had to intercut a character from the previous end of shoot day one with the characters at the beginning of shoot day two and make it feel like it was lunchtime in the story. On top of that there was some equipment failure, so sound fell over a bit. We needed to do a couple of pick ups for the overall arc of the story too and scheduling that, with the team’s hectic schedules was also an issue. Now that we are over that major hurdle we are set for release in two parts on either side of summer.

HOW DID YOU GET CAST/CREW INVOLVED? We knew we needed a third party to be involved and be “the hero” of the show, so we invited Simon Ward to join us in a creative capacity and take charge of the audition floor as our shows casting director Sam Freck. I was assigned the casting assistant role of “Sideshow” Bob Gilliam. My character appears in voice only and one of the cameras is his POV which gave me some freedom to monitor the equipment while

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HOW WAS THE PROJECT FUNDED? We funded it ourselves. It cost us about $80 in booze for various bribes.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT USED FOR CAMERA, SOUND, EDITING ETC? All sorts. We had a Canon 5D, 650D and a XL1 (?) and a few Panasonic handycams. The Master Wide in the waiting room is filmed on a Sanyo Xacti. Bloody brilliant little camera that. At one stage I didn’t have a camera handy and filmed a bit on my phone. That’s how we roll...

HOW ARE YOU PROMOTING THE SHOW AND FINDING AN AUDIENCE? Social Media. The cheapest way possible. I tweeted Ricky Gervais to take a look. He hasn’t responded ;) Share share share...

I’d rather make awesome shows with awesome people and if “big guns” want to take notice that’s great.

interacting with the characters. Natalie played Jessica Jones, the manager of Sideshow Casting, the fictional casting agency in which the story takes place, and she was able to set up a lot of the story arc that happens for the casting team in series one. Everyone else came on through an open call for participation. We had limited spots available so it was first come, first served. There were no auditions. Everyone who signed on was made aware that they may or may not be used in the final edit. Total contact time for performers was generally about an hour so that there could be cross character interaction always flowing through the waiting room and the rest was what they brought with them. All in all about 36 participants on camera.

ANY FUNNY INCIDENTS WHILE FILMING YOU CAN SHARE? Lots, and they are all on camera. Our behind the scenes ARE the scenes...


WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MAKING SIDES? AND THE CHALLENGES?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE WEB SERIES FORMAT?

Working with so many highly talented and mostly undiscovered talents in the acting world in Auckland. More actors should be more famous in this town. They deliver! Challenges. Having babies. Web series are easy to make compared to those.

It’s the wild wild west. You can do and say anything and the audience decide if it’s the shit or just shit.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR SIDES? Season Two is something I’ll be looking to do next. And some more very experimental, cutting edge immersive and top secret squirrel stuff that we have in the works. I don’t know about making money. Maybe someone will teach me. We have tried to squeeze a bit of coin out of the show and it may still happen, but honestly, we are making shows in ways that people aren’t used to and have no experience of and that tends to make investors a little scared. Hell, I’m scared making them half the time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s the juice! An on demand platform can have my work when they turn up on my doorstep with a big brief case of cash. And I mean big, I’d be sharing it out with every person who got on board with the show! I’ve never been good at chasing people. I’d rather make awesome shows with awesome people and if “big guns” want to take notice that’s great. Either way, the next season is just around the corner...

Web and TV will all just be original and online or it won’t be watched.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE FUTURE FOR CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT? Well, I’m moving into fully immersive and augmented reality storytelling. Like Forest Gump said, “that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” Watch this space...

WERE YOU INSPIRED BY OTHER WEB SERIES? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WEB SERIES? Not really, I don’t get much time to watch anything except my indulgence YouTube shows like sourcefed and nerdist news and the SciChannel and reading comic books. H+ was the original show to really get me excited about the platform. AFK is my favourite Kiwi webseries after SIDES. But I’m biased (and in it).

YOU CALL THE SERIES AN ‘ONLINE ORIGINAL’ SERIES – RATHER THAN A WEB SERIES? I think all series will go that way. Very soon I think there will be no distinction between platforms. Web and TV will all just be original and online or it won’t be watched.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION? The show is black and white, and we used a YouTube stabalisation filter in the final processing because we liked the way it shifted the frame between cuts and it makes you feel trippy watching it. Enjoy, like and share. Our shows survival depends on it! www.facebook.com/AuditionSides/ www.sidestv.com/ webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(interview: web series)

Summer Gribble & Lisa Sorensen

SHOWGIRLS SHOWGIRLS (coming ‘soon’) is a five part comedy web series that takes audiences on a hilarious rollercoaster ride with two girls and their not-so-average boss, in an eccentric luxury cinema.

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Visualise being on set, and identify issues before they happen. Summer Gribble & Ben Legg

We talked to SHOWGIRLS web series director and producer Ben Legg.

WHERE DID YOU GET THE INSPIRATION FROM? The writers (Alex Casey, Summer Gribble and Lisa Sorensen) came to me with the script. At the time, they were all working as projectionists in a beautiful art house cinema in Auckland (The Lido - www.lido.co.nz ). They wanted to share some of the unbelievable stories and characters that they were experiencing, so they had put pen to paper and SHOWGIRLS was born! They had gone through an immense writing process (I think they were up to eleven drafts?) which had really sharpened the stories. I’ll leave it up to you to work out what bits are true!

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE? A couple of things. We started - and finished - as a zero budget project. So we really had to make do and be creative with what we had...not to mention begging, borrowing, and stealing. We had a DSLR Camera, a shaky tripod and a microphone gaffa-taped to the end of a broom handle! Necessity truly is the mother of all invention though - and with enough thought and creativity and you can solve almost any problem.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED? Prep, prep, and prep some more. The more time and thought you can put into pre production, the smoother the shoot is going to go. Visualise being on set, and identify issues before they happen. We kept communication open with production meetings, and had test shoots on location to iron out anything unexpected...and it meant that we could really work like a well oiled machine. There was a lot less stress on set and we were able enjoy ourselves a lot more!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? Because we had to do everything with literally NO cash, we had to request a massive favour in securing our main location,

the cinema. That meant we had to film entirely outside business hours... hello, night shoots! That was really tough for everyone; because most people had day jobs they still had to go to work every day. Even though we may have been filming till 4am that morning, and starting again at 10pm that night! We were utterly shattered. Next time we’ll have the budget to be able to pay the location, and actors and crew for their time and talent.

FUNNIEST MOMENT ON SET? You know that time of night when you hit the wall and you just become drunk on tiredness? We were constantly living like that, and had so many giggles on set – not least because Brian Gibb (who plays Willie Johnson) is a total crack up. Half the time we’d just let him improvise while the camera was rolling. I remember one particularly difficult take with Summer and Lisa and we were halfway through the scene before I realised Sophie (Sound Recordist) was there, holding the boom, plain as day, directly between them. Right in the middle of the shot. We were all just too tired to notice. I’ve saved it for the blooper reel.

BEST ADVICE FOR YOUNG FILMMAKERS? Don’t let a single excuse stop you from making your project. If you have an idea and you’re willing to put the time and energy in, you can make it happen. Constantly ask yourself - How could I make this better? Surround yourself with your best and brightest and put everything you have into your project, everything else will follow.

WHAT’S NEXT? At the moment we’re working on taking SHOWGIRLS to various web festivals around the world, but beyond that, we are working on a bringing out a feature film, which I can’t say too much about yet - secret squirrel! >> Watch the trailer here: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/ webseries/showgirls/

webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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(interview: web series)

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Auckward Love is a new comedy web series that shines a light on what it’s like to be a single 20-something-female in today’s dating game.

The series was created by Holly Shervey, who also plays the main character, and was written by Jess Sayer (also an actor in the show) and Emmett Skilton, who also directed and produced the series. The main cast includes Holly Shervey, Luci Hare, Jess Holly Bates and Jess Sayer with appearances from a range of local talent. We asked Holly about the series that was her brainchild.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE WEB SERIES? HOW DID IT ALL COME ABOUT? The inspiration came from true stories that had happened to me in my teens and early adulthood as I took on the dating scene. The situations were certainly embarrassing, but also entertaining every time I shared them with people, and so putting them out into the world seemed like a strangely logical step.

WHY A WEB SERIES FORMAT? I think the web series format allows for simpler viewing each episode can be about one thing at a time, which in our case was one experience in the dating scene. So in that way we are learning about each character and their world in a simple format - which when put together creates a whole.

WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF CREATING THE SHOW FOR THE MAIN TEAM PERSONALLY? The main goal of Auckward Love was to create a stepping stone to create feature films. As most creatives in New Zealand know, it is difficult to get funding without a track record, so with Auckward Love we had the opportunity to not only create some work for ourselves and give exposure to the actors and crew but start a reputation within the industry as creators.

WHAT IT’S LIKE WRITING AND ALSO STARRING IN YOUR OWN SHOW? AND FOR EMMETT WITH AN ACTING BACKGROUND BEING DIRECTOR? Being the creator, writer and actor meant I was so much more informed when it came to shooting - I think actors can often be restricted as they question what the writer meant by a line or a situation, but for me I knew these stories from my own life, as well as knew the dynamic between characters and situations that I could enter a scene very prepared. I know for Emmett, working so extensively in front of the camera prepared him well as the director. He is a person who asks a lot of questions of other crew members in order to understand their role and how he can better serve the story telling, so his direction for us onset was heavily informed by his desire to tell our story clearly.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT TIMELINES; FROM WHEN THE CONCEPT EVOLVED THROUGH TO RELEASING ONLINE? From the first story being put on paper to it being released online was five months. When I gave Jess Sayer the briefs for each episode, within about six weeks we had first draft scripts, which Emmett then prepared as shooting scripts. Then after preparation and rehearsals we had a 10 day shoot, then just over five weeks of editing and onlining.

HOW DID YOU GET CAST/CREW INVOLVED? AND HOW MANY WERE THERE? Our cast and crew very much grew with us as the idea was conceived and they were very dedicated from the beginning. Some cast had their roles written for them, others were perfect for roles already written, so when it came to casting, we knew how the stories needed to be told and we knew who was best to tell them. The crew came on board after hearing the concept and enjoying how we wanted to create. Many of them had worked in television or film but not in the roles we were suggesting they take. Our DOP is Nina Wells, who is very experienced behind the camera though often an assistant to DOP’s on larger New Zealand productions. Our editor is Enny Benzonelli, who has worked extensively with TVNZ as well as owning website building company Webkea. Our Sound Designer is Amy Barber, who is behind much of the foley for the recent NZ TV shows. And our Publicity Photographer is Sacha Stejko, who works heavily in fashion and promotion. After creating Auckward Love with the limited crew we had, it has become very clear to us how many crew we will need next time in order to create an even stronger result.

HOW WAS THE PROJECT FUNDED? DID YOU APPLY FOR NZ ON AIR FUNDING? The project was partly self-funded and funded through Random Films, with meal support from Burger Fuel NZ and transport from Hyundai NZ. The process happened very fast and we were not wanting to wait for the next public funding round in order to create our work. It can be a little disheartening relying on funding to tell stories, so we ensured our process would be affordable and got straight in to creating the show.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT USED FOR CAMERA, SOUND, EDITING ETC? Our main set up onset was shooting on a 5D Mach 3 with various lenses and often on a Gimbal. This created the smoothness of a steady cam but a bit more freedom.  webshowcentral magazine | webshowcentral.tv

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The main goal of Auckward Love was to create a stepping stone to create feature films.

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Placing the entire series on our website offers a one stop shop for locating and viewing.

Our lighting was simple red heads and led panels, with as much natural light used as possible, and our sound was recorded through a boom mic being mixed through a hand held zoom. In the editing studio we edited fast and simply using Final Cut Pro, which proved the most effective for what we were building.

HOW ARE YOU PROMOTING THE SHOW AND FINDING AN AUDIENCE? Word of mouth on Facebook has been our biggest way of promoting so far, as well as major radio stations and publications. One thing we found useful is placing the entire series on our website - auckwardloveseries.com - because it offers a one stop shop for locating and viewing.

ANY FUNNY INCIDENTS WHILE FILMING YOU CAN SHARE? In general, we were so surprised by how our guest actors interpreted the script. Emmett and I had certain ideas about how something might be said or played but then an actor would come along and make us laugh hysterically with what they had to offer.

WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MAKING AUCKWARD LOVE? AND THE CHALLENGES? I think the highlights and challenges come hand in hand in our case. Working with such a small crew on such a fast timeline meant the challenges were great and the roles each person played were pushed, sometimes to great limits, but that also gave us a real sense of ownership over our work. We have worked extremely hard to make this series what it is, so when it was so well received by the audience, that feeling of great accomplishment was stronger than it ever could have been. I also know that Emmett would sit at home each night watching the rushes/dailies, sometimes in disbelief, at how well the stories were coming across at such an early stage in the process. He knew that when it came to editing, there was some real gold to play with which drove him to get even better the next day on set.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE WEB SERIES FORMAT? Simplicity, and ownership. We can tell simple, short stories with enough bite and fun to entertain and keep an audience watching while simultaneously only answering to ourselves when it comes to the decision making. www.facebook.com/auckwardlove

WHAT’S NEXT FOR AUCKWARD LOVE? Our next direct step is to develop Season two while simultaneously entering Season One into international Web Festivals. Exposure is a big hope for our work, as it brings with it credibility within our audience as well as our future producers.

AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE FUTURE FOR CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT? Digital is the future. Our networks are already losing viewers as our viewing habits are changing as a nation. I think we will see many more makers for digital with much more money available as advertisers and networks begin to shift their investment strategies.

DO YOU THINK THERE IS A DANGER OF GOOD WEB SERIES BEING SNAPPED UP BY BROADCASTERS FOR ‘ON DEMAND’ OR SUBSCRIPTION CHANNELS - AND THEN NOT BEING AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO ENJOY? I think a series, particularly ours, is made for a particular audience and should always be available to them. We as makers would be extremely disappointed if our original intentions were shifted because of a restriction by someone we partnered with. That’s not to say we don’t understand how advertising and exclusivity operates, it just means that subject would be a major part of our decision making.

WAS AUCKWARD LOVE INSPIRED BY ANY OTHER WEB SERIES? It wasn’t inspired by other web series as such, but viewing other web series showed us that our stories were the perfect format for them to be told in.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WEB SERIES? We really enjoy Fragments of Friday, an Australian series which we were introduced to half way through shooting. Hilariously entertaining and a similar vein to ours which gave us even more confidence that our work would find its audience.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION? One of our biggest pieces of learning was to commit fully to it and make without fear, even when it comes to asking an editor or a DOP for advice or help - the worst they can say is no.

www.auckwardloveseries.com/

www.webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/ auckward-love/

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(interview: web series)

Dropped Pie is a new web series from the creators of the revenge comedy short film Vajazzle.

WHAT CAN AUDIENCES EXPECT FROM DROPPED PIE? Audiences can expect satire. We are taking a very plush and wicked poke at food snobs whilst showcasing burlesque dancers and drag queens. It’s colourful and camp - definitely not boring!

Rodrigo Films prides itself on making fresh, funky content in a fast-paced guerrilla filmmaking style.

HOW DID IT ALL COME ABOUT? Phil Boltt of Rodrigo Films and I were discussing someone having a ‘face like a dropped pie’ and through our usual twisted thinking found ourselves discussing pie that has been dropped but is THE thing to eat because some critic has hailed it genius. It’s the Emperor’s New Clothes - set in a Wellington cafe. So the theme of food abuse has reared its ugly head again - those who watched our short film, Vajazzle (www.rodrigofilms.com/ vajazzle) will delight in the continuation of this theme, whilst also recognising the two lead characters, Charrlotte (sic) and Kitty. They are as over the top as they were in the film but in Dropped Pie time has passed and they have gone BFFs to worst enemies and the series will reveal why.

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Dropped Pie was co-created and co-directed by Phil and Nat Boltt of Rodrigo Films. The series’ first three episodes were crowd funded and are available to watch now. We talked to Nat about their latest project.

WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF MAKING DROPPED PIE? Dropped Pie is an exploration into the wonderful world of the webseries - short, punchy episodes that tell a story in deliciously chewable chunks that leave you wanting more. We wanted to test our efficiency as film makers - we shot three episodes in three half days. That’s fast. Rodrigo Films prides itself on making fresh, funky content in a fast-paced guerrilla film-making style. And we feel we succeeded in that with Dropped Pie - the production quality is high so we didn’t sacrifice anything there - but we gained skills that we can use for any future projects, from web series to feature film.


YOU SUCCESSFULLY CROWDFUNDED TO HELP MAKE THE FIRST THREE EPISODES, EVEN SO THE SHOW LOOKS VERY ‘SUMPTUOUS’ FOR A SMALL BUDGET SERIES! Thanks, yes we are very proud of that ‘sumptuous’ look. We’ve become very good at amassing sumptuous props on the cheap from op shops and art directing each shot so that it feels lush and full. Phil and I also love a really rich look for Dropped Pie and so we chose a colour palette that expresses this. Phil is a post-production genius and puts a huge amount of effort into creating a finish and grade on everything we make that is hugely visually appealing. In terms of the crowdfunding, it’s the second time we’ve been successfully crowdfunded. We went with PledgeMe on Vajazzle and Kickstarter on Dropped Pie. We used the process to raise small amounts of funding - only $2500 for DP - I don’t think raising large amounts of money through crowdfunding is very easy. We also used the crowdfunding to test whether people actually liked the idea. In both cases the answer was yes, but there is always a point where the donations slow down and you think people hate it. But then you continue to post on social media and cajole and ask nicely and ask a bit desperately and in the end we got over-funded on both. It’s tons of work and stressful though it can be fun and obviously very rewarding! My advice on crowdfunding is build your stamina, make your rewards as simple as possible - posting rewards is not ideal as it gets expensive - and get your head around the idea that you have to be strong on social media. Make update videos and make them fun. Comedy sells!

Web series content is so much more relevant and cutting edge than your average broadcast fare.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR DROPPED PIE? THERE ARE NINE MORE EPISODES TO COME? We have nine more eps plotted out and ready to go. Funding is always the big question and NZ On Air was completely overwhelmed with applications this year - so we’d need to see whether they have the backing to deal with the massive increase in applications before we approached them again. If not, we would look for financial partners who benefit from having their products promoted by being part of our mouth-and-eye-watering cult series.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES AND HIGHLIGHTS OF MAKING THE FIRST THREE EPISODES? Challenges: crowdfunding, audience building, and planning the shoot. Highlights: amazing and talented and wonderfully helpful people. From cast to crew to people who helped us with locations and getting the word out; we adore them to pieces.

AS AN ATTENDEE AT NZ WEB FEST – WHAT INSPIRED YOU FROM THE EVENT? I loved Hahana, White Man Behind a Desk, and If These Walls Could Talk. The makers of Nothing Much to Do are just amazing and I loved Claris Jacobs, the speaker, who is clearly such a go-getter. There was so much love and effort put into the work shown. There needs to be more recognition and support of web series and their makers. The content is so much more relevant and cutting edge than your average broadcast fare. It was great for everyone at Web Fest to feel the buzz and know that their efforts are appreciated. More NZ Web Fests for sure! Watch Dropped Pie on Web Series Channel: http://webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/dropped-pie/ www.facebook.com/rodrigofilmsnz www.rodrigofilms.com/

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(Currently Crowdfunding)

New Zealand’s first lesbian web series is coming to the internet soon! Pot Luck is a fresh, fun, and sexy narrative web-series that explores the lives of three Wellington friends when they make a pact which turns their weekly Pot Luck dinners into a search for love. Or not. Ness Simons, the writer and director of the six-episode series, is a graduate of the NZ Film School and Whitirea’s Creative Writing Programme. The series was inspired by many enjoyable nights Ness has had sharing pot luck dinners with her friends, and she says “there’s so much scope for story when you bring a group of women together, so it seemed like a good idea to build a series around friendship and food and the different dynamics around the table”. Set in Wellington, the storyline revolves around the friendship of Mel, Debs and Beth. Mel, played by Nikki Si’ulepa, is charismatic, free and easy. Her mate Debs (Anji Kreft), is a shy butch whose heart was broken six years ago, so there’s a softer, complex side to this staunch woman. Beth, (Tess Jamieson-Karaha), is the third part of the trio, she’s also Mel’s ex-girlfriend. The weekly dinner format allows for a range of guest characters, and Beth’s mother Eileen (Kate Ward) will also make a regular appearance. There are queer characters on screen, but portrayals are still limited, and there’s very little content coming out of New Zealand. Pot Luck’s characters are in their late 30s and early 40s and the challenges they put to each other will test the depth of their friendships. The pilot episode has been funded by the Emerging Artists Trust (http://www.eatwellington.org.nz/) which Ness says has been “a huge vote of support and really helpful in getting the momentum for the series underway”. The pilot episode is now in post production and will be released on line in early December. 

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CROWDFUNDING With the first episode in hand, the Pot Luck team is looking for further funding to complete the series, including running a crowd funding campaign on the Arts Foundation website, Boosted https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/pot-luckwebseries) which runs until the 17th December. www.potluckwebseries.com/potluckstory/ www.facebook.com/PotLuckWebseries www.webserieschannel.co.nz/webseries/pot-luck/


INTRODUCING OUR NEW DRY-HOPPED NZ DOUBLE I.P.A. IT’S A BIT OF A MOUTHFUL.

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