Author: ChilltownTV

I'm primarily a writer. Sold a few series to tv networks and production companies but never had anything get on the air. So I taught myself how to animate and completed 3 digital series, launching two. The first, Chilltown has been named one of "Five Web Series That Should Be on Your Radar" by ABCNews/Univision and a "Show to Watch" by Tubefilter. The second, Lele's Ratchet Advice Show, garnered a fanatic cult following. As a result, I now do Lele's 60 Second Wrap Up, a weekly comedic entertainment report (which I write & perform) that airs on urban radio stations Rhythm 105.9fm and the Just Wake Up Morning Show on WWRNfm.

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie 74

First Steps First
by Leesa Dean

I’ve been insanely busy, prepping for a few big meetings.  Animating, writing, ideating.  But I took a small break to meet an old friend for coffee.  He’s a wannabe tv writer who’s been thinking about writing/filming a film short and wanted to pick my brain about ultimately (meaning after he’s finished his short and, hopefully, made a little noise with it) doing a digital project. I’m thinking the sale of Twitch to Amazon for $1.1 billion made him suddenly and seriously pay attention to the digital world. He’s a  gamer (as a hobby) and I think, for whatever reason, it legitimized the digital realm for him. He never really took it seriously.  And truthfully, why it took him this long to drink the digital kool-aid is a mystery to me.

I told him I thought he had it backwards.

He should first start putting a few shorts online and see if they get any traction. Preferably do a web series. Then, ultimately, do a film short and submit it to film festivals. No, it’s not easy-particularly promoting them-but the one thing I’ve been observing over the past few months is exactly how much everything is bleeding together.  Yes, you have to still write a ton of scripts (it’s the only way anyone will consider really working with you professionally and the only way you’ll grow as a writer.)  Yes, it’s also a good idea to do a film short (or two) and submit it/them to film festivals.  But I really don’t think that anybody’s going to take you seriously if you don’t have a real web presence.  This is 2014.  That’s what it is. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

Chapter 73 – Back in it in High Def
by Leesa Dean

hdI’m back from a much-needed mini-vacation. Yes, I really needed a real vacation, but I take it where I can.

Went upstate for a long weekend, hung out with friends, relaxed, played some tennis and (gasp!) might even have gotten one step closer to a less embarrassing serve! (My serve is, um, a work-in-progress.) Even though it was a few days, I felt like I was gone for year and was itching to get back into it.

I hit the ground running Monday morning. Meetings, production and more. Had a long conversation with my production partner and we’re booking some meetings (not heavy duty pitch ones, but some exploratory stuff with people who might be helpful to us with the projects we’re working on) in the next month or so. I work really well under pressure and respond well to deadlines so….it’s on! read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

Chapter 72 – Guerilla Filmmaking
by Leesa Dean

This week I had planned to attend two YouTube workshops and ended up blowing both of them off. Why? Instead, I took a 3 day, 21 hour online course with Ryan Connolly called Guerilla Filmmaking held by Creative Live. It was intense. And GREAT!guerilla

Ryan, for those who don’t know, is the guy behind the wildly successful web show Film Riot. He gives indie filmmakers tips, tools, strategies and opinions. It’s been going on since 2007 and it’s terrific.

The class covered everything from scripts, to coverage, cameras, motion, lighting, direction, SFX, tips, tricks and more. Hands down, it was the best camera/directing class I’ve taken and I bought it after so I could watch it over and over when I finally get my camera. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

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Chapter 71: Four Bad Things
by Leesa Dean

This week has been nuts. Insanely busy writing, planning, setting stuff up. Had three meetings scheduled. Two were cancelled/postponed. And the third was a bust. This summer has been interesting…and challenging.

The third meeting wasn’t for the TOP SECRET big project I’ve been working on this past year. It was with a small level agent who reached out through a friend. We chatted via email and I agreed to meet for drinks. Full disclosure: While I am hoping to connect with an agent, in general, I’ve found that small level ones–meaning ones not connected with a large agency, or formerly from a large agency and starting their own–are normally a waste of time. So why’d I take the meeting? Two reasons: 1) My friend asked me to (this agent is trying to build a cool client roster) and 2) bigger agents aren’t exactly banging down my door right now.

The signs that the meeting was gonna be a bust were all over the place. Here are Four Bad Things that were tip-offs that this was not meant to be: read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

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Chapter 70 – Outlining Your Web Series Saves the Day
by Leesa Dean

This has been a crazy week. My cat Lamont suddenly got very sick so I stopped working for a few days–running back and forth to the vet, buying medicine, etc. Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon when he seemed be better, I went out to play tennis and blow off some steam and BAM, the guy I was hitting with accidentally (I’m hoping accidentally anyway) bashed in my finger when he mistakenly hit a ball towards me at about 70 mph. Luckily, the finger didn’t break, wasn’t on my right hand or a thumb (which would’ve really freaked me out for drawing) but was swollen, bruised and I was NOT a happy camper. I also was forced to take a few extra days off while my finger and the cat healed.

Meanwhile, a friend who has an idea for a web series but hasn’t written anything yet asked me about the best way to proceed. I told her to outline everything. She’d never done it before (she’s written one movie script using the “I’m just winging it” method) and was a little intimidating by getting right in a short format. She also wants to ultimately break into tv writing.

Since I was laid up, I had the time to help break down what’s involved for her and realized, ok, these tips might also be useful for other web creators/aspiring web creators…if (high drama), I can ever type again. I’ll cut to the chase: I can type again. And since outlining is an important part of being a tv writer, it’s also a crucial skill to develop if you’re attempting to go that route. Creating/writing/outlining a web series is a great place to start. So, hobbled finger and all, here are four tips to get started: read article