This has to be absolutely our favorite interweb video find of all time. Ya gotta see it! Ya gotta!
Category: Indie Film & Video
Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie
Chapter 33 – The Pep Talk Part 1
by Leesa Dean
So, one evening a few weeks ago, freshly back from ATL, I found myself walking throughBellevue Hospital. If you’ve never been to Bellevue, and this was my first time, here’s the visual: It’s HUGE. There’s a big relatively new glass structure that takes up a full city block in front of the old building and you have to walk for, what feels like, miles through bleak linoleum hallways that have piped in smooth jazz playing to just get where you’re going. Kinda like Vegas. Without the carpeting and fake boobs.
No, I wasn’t admitting myself, though, sometimes the process of putting out/promoting aweb series has made feel like I was going crazy. Johnny, the brother of one of my oldest friends had been riding his bicycle over the Brooklyn Bridge, got in an accident and was/is in a coma in the Neuro ICU. Yes, avid bikers, he was wearing a helmet and riding in the pedestrian lane and yes, I am officially crossing riding a bike off my list of things I’m planning on ever doing.
I was there to visit him, the family and lend some support. Is he gonna make it? I sure hope so! And hope he makes a complete recovery. But it’s too soon to tell. One thing it’s done is definitely put things in perspective. Which brings me to Rollo.
Angelo J. Bell: Guayabera Shirts and Finely Tuned TV Pitches
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve gotten some emails asking, “Hey, you guys, what’s up with Angelo J. Bell? How come we haven’t seen him on TVWriter™ for awhile?”
So here’s the latest:
by Angelo J. Bell
Today was a good day.
Becoming Ricardo: Workshopping Your Project
by Jenni Ruiza & Jesenia
In the beginning:
A concept comes to you. You put pen to paper and are on a roll. Now, you’ve got a complete script full of story lines and characters and ups and downs and twists and turns! You feel confident that it’s ready to be filmed right away! A writers’ biggest mistake (and often those who are new to the industry) is to immediately cast actors and start filming, just to see their work come to fruition. Why not, right? That’s all it takes, right?
NOPE – WRONG! You’re missing one of the MOST IMPORTANT steps to the writing process, and that is – WORKSHOPPING YOUR SCRIPT! Creating the product is the first step – but developing that product into something that speaks to the audience(s) that you’re trying to reach is one of THE MOST important steps!
Why? Because workshopping your script will allow you to hear what all artists fear most – criticism! Albeit constructive, in order to better your work and to further develop your product for maximum grown and the utmost quality possible. Criticism is often the easiest and most helpful way to achieve a strong, solid project worth distribution, branding, and the attention of those hard-to-reach executives who could possibly offer sponsorship and perhaps, a production deal. After all, the entertainment industry is BUILT on criticism – so get used to it – because you’re going to get it A LOT!
Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie
Chapter 22 – Fear is a Liar
by Leesa Dean
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned during the process of teaching myself how to animate, getting Chilltown off the ground and promoting it has been: Fear is a Liar.
I was so worried, initially, that nothing would turn out right. That everything would be a fiasco, it literally kept me up at night, at times. But, ultimately, the believe that people would respond to what I did prevailed. And, people did. As they say in the Lottery, “Gotta be in it, to win it.”
I know a lot of people who are writers or, even, wannabe writers who are wracked with fear of failure. And it prevents them from ever completing anything. I used to be friendly with someone who ran around telling everyone he was a writer. The truth is, he never really wrote anything. He was too scared of being judged and failing. So he’s wasted years of his life in a type of limbo. Too scared to fail and too scared to try.