We don't see a lot of web series in French around, but when I searched for one I stumbled upon Le Rodri Show and was immediately intrigued. This animated comedy web series is about a late night chat show with Rodrigo Tortillas as host. His guests include famous Canadians such as Céline Dion.
I have already mentioned transmedia production company BeActive a couple of times before. They are very innovative when it comes to online series and this time they have decided to use picture-sharing
social network Pinterest to extend its most recent drama series.
Beat Girl The Web Diaries debuted on YouTube earlier this month.
Here is the 1st episode "Music is Everything":
What's interesting about this 18-35
female-skewing web series is that BeActive decided to launch a string of prequel photos and short videos on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/beatgirlworld/
Furthermore, they are hoping to secure broadcast partners in order to transfer Beat Girl from the web to TV, like one of their first web series Sofia’s Diary was transferred from
Bebo to Channel 5 in the UK.
Nowadays it's so easy to create your own web series. All you need is an idea and a camera phone. Laps, for example,is a new, original series which was shot entirely with an iPhone. It's created and produced by Chad Diez and distributed by 20/20 Productions that also distributes the very successful web series Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden.
Laps is about Nathan who is desperate for a change in his life and therefore, returns to his high
school track to get back in shape. He's ready to kick his bad habits,
but the cigar smoking over-eater's eyes are bigger than his stomach. Check out the trailer:
Laps was selected for the L.A.Web Series Festival in 2012 and won Best Web Series at New York International Film Festival in 2011. So, this is definitely one not to miss.
Are you tech savvy and do you like to keep up with the latest trends in mobile
phones? Do you have an interesting life
that is enhanced in some way by using mobile apps or features? Are you between
18 and 40? Then I want to hear
from you!
A market-leading mobile manufacturer is looking for ‚real’ people (no
acting) to try out their new handset.We
want you to integrate it into your daily routine – use it, take it with you
whereever you go, experience the new features it has and tell us about how it
made your mobile user experience better in some way.
We would need you to be available for a couple of days of filming,
between the 9th and 21st July.
We are looking for people from7
different territories:
UK
France
Germany
Benelux
Middle East
Nordics
Russia
To find out more and about the
incentives on offer please get in touch with me asap!
Euro Cup 2012, the Olympics, Wimbledon - it's THE sports summer, so why not introduce a web series which is about sports, well a sports talk radio.
Sports Talk Radio goes behind the scenes of JOCK 700 AM - a station
devoted to sports in British Columbia. The comedy web series delves into the lives
of the on-air personalities. From Bunt and Frank, the two polar-opposites who host the
popular drive-home show, to the sexy-traffic-and-weather-together-girl to
the station manager who's trying to keep everything running smoothly.
Have a look here:
Writer and producer of Sports
Talk Radio, Jason Bryden plays also Frank, the
sports talk guy who has a
desire to make his Vancouver sports show more than interviews with sportsmen
and obscene references to chicks.
Jason's other two web series are The Staff Room and The Acting Class.
Each of those are 12 episodes while Sports Talk Radio is only six. Episodes run from 5-7 minutes, geared for the speedy nature
of the internet. If you wanna see more go to Jason's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJasonBryden
Do you have a unique idea for a web series? But no money to actually produce it?
Well, here could be your solution:
Make my Series are looking to fund cool new web series.
Just submit a pilot episode for a series you would like to make. The team with the pilot that gets the most likes on http://makemyseries.com will win a prize of at least $10,000 to go off and make their series.
Entries close on October, 1st. So take advantage of the summer holidays and produce a pilot!
Julia Stiles is known for playing difficult characters and having a go at different genres. This time it is a web series called Blue.
Blue just premiered on the YouTube Channel WIGS, which is a digital channel producing high-end, original, scripted
drama series and short films about the lives of women. In the series, Julia Stiles stars as the title character, a single mom who is trying
to protect her son from the consequences of her secret career as an escort. It is written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia.
Check out the first episode in which Blue’s client,
Cooper, turns out to be a friend from her youth and her
carefully separated worlds begin to collide:
The first 12 episodes of the series will become available over the
next weeks, with new episodes premiering on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays. Episodes are available in English and Spanish.
Blue is the third piece of original, scripted
content on WIGS. The
first series Jan which was written and directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Caitlin
Gerard, Virginia Madsen, and Stephen Moyer, and the first short film called Serena, written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, and starring Jennifer
Garner and Alfred Molina, premiered both in May.
Be sure
to catch new WIGS episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6am
PT / 9am ET on watchwigs.com
Here is a bloody, brilliant web series from Germany!
Zombie - web series Viva Berlin! is produced by German students as their final project at
"Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg" (film academy). Directed by Moritz Mohr and produced by Benjamin Munz, it's Germany's first serious attempt at a zombie project - and I would say a successful one.
The story of the 5 mini-episodes-series reads as follows:
An unknown plague is rapidly spreading in Berlin. All its
carriers turn into blood-thirsty zombies who feed off the uninfected.
After a short time, ninety five percent of the population is dead or
undead; Berlin’s face has changed entirely....
This is an ultimate genre experience. If you like horror stories and you are a true zombie fan, you shouldn't miss this delicacy! For further information, please go to: http://www.vivaberlin.net/
The comedy web series Fail is an urban Internet version of Glee.
It depicts a group of co-educational students who are on the verge of academic
probation as a result of the random misadventures they embark on after
class. Contrary to the title, though, Fail is meant to inspire young people to stay in school.
Take a look at Episode #1 in which Alicia discovers that college might be tougher than she thought. But her big
cousin HOPE comes to the rescue with an invitation to her study group:
The second season of Fail began airing exclusively
on AllHipHop.com on May 31. The
show, which is produced by Hip-Hop legend Christopher “Play” Martin,
Vanessa Baden, and James Bland is geared towards an underserved
demographic in Hip-Hop – students in middle, high school, and early
college. The team
behind the online urban comedy has also just released their official first single, "Superficial Girl" by O'Hene Savant, from their
upcoming album Fail Mixtape Vol. 1 which is set to be released in
July.
Don't forget to tune in tonight for Episode #6!
I thought it was about time again to write about a web series that's not from the US or UK and I chose the Argentinian web series Plan V La Serie. Es una comedia romántica protagonizada por chicas.
Plan V (V as in Vagina) is described as the Argentinian L Word, but with gay-straight love triangles on top of that.It explores the life of Ana, a 30-year-old lesbian with a rocky relationship
record. One day on the subway, she stumbles over a cute girl, called Laura, and falls head over heels in love. The
catch? Laura turns out to be Ana’s brother’s girlfriend. Ana is “helped” by her friends: couple Mara and Pato, aka Duck, and party girl
Flor.
Check out the 1st episode:
It does look a bit cheesy, but it's very well done and also funny and with lots of drama. The really interesting part about this web series is, though, that creators and leading actresses Lorena Romanin (Ana) and Sofia Wilhelmi (Laura), are actually in a relationship. And, the
realisation that lesbian visibility is an important step towards equality
was a driving force behind the series.
Films and TV shows are teamwork and networking is very essential in order to become successful in this business. So, winners from the 2011 New York Television Festival teamed up with
some comedy regulars of the "Upright Citizens Brigade" and created this 10-episode web series called Nights in UltraViolet.
It is described as Twin Peaks meets Seinfeld and feels just like a hilarious suspense soap opera. The web series is about a shut-in author of legal thrillers and a
pizza-loving wanderer trying to answer the big question on everyone's
mind: What Does It Mean?
Here is the trailer:
The series was independently produced
by creators of Cafe Bloodbath (Best Animation, NYTVF 2011), The Cheap
Thriller, and Brooklyn-based artist collective, "Goddamn Cobras". It was
shot over a period of 7 months in 20 different locations, and features almost
100 NYC actors.
If you wanna watch the first 8 episodes please go to www.nightsinuv.com and don't miss the 9th episode on Thursday!
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a "documentary in the making" called 350 South - An American Journey. It's produced by crossmedia production company BeActive and this particular company has a new project now.
The story of multi-platform sci-fi adventure Collider is being told through an 8-part web and TV series, but also comic books, a website and a mobile game are involved. A feature film will be filmed this autumn and be released in 2013.
You can watch the web series on YouTube and find out more information on colliderworld.com and Facebook.
The story runs as follows:
Mysteriously transported to a post-apocalyptic future, six people find
themselves involved in a race against time to find a way to get back to
the present and save mankind - and their own lives.
Here is episode #1:
In the world of television, "cancelled"
doesn’t mean what it used to mean. There are other possibilities for cancelled TV shows nowadays.
The four major U.S. networks have just unveiled 31 new
shows for 2012-2013, which means that many won’t be back. For instance, CSI Miami, A Gifted Man, and Desperate Housewives won't return for another season.
But a few shows, like Pan Am may live on, thanks to new outlets
for original programming.Online video platforms such as Netflix and DirecTV which offer studios
a chance to keep shows going. With detailed data
on viewing, they can better tell which programmes can survive on
smaller budgets with fewer, dedicated fans.
As already mentioned, one of these shows will probably be Sony Picture Television's airline drama Pan Am that has been aired on ABC:
Allegedly Netflix is also talking to CBS about
resurrecting the
drama Jericho and to Fox regarding ordering more
episodes of Terra Nova. Platforms like Netflix benefit by picking
up cancelled shows because they already have been heavily
marketed and come with a built-in audience.
Google, Yahoo, Apple and YouTube might also start looking for cancelled TV shows.
