Category: Peer Production

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

Have You Visited “Cartoon Hangover” Recently?

You should.

Visit, we mean. 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

Peer Production: ROOMIESS

What can we say? This new web series is just so darn cute that we can’t help but wish it the best.

And the theme song – whoa, it’s perfect ’60s TV. Or contemporary Disney Channel. They’re the same thing after all. read article

Peer Production: I DID NOTHING THIS WEEKEND

Don’t you hate it when a co-worker constantly one-ups you? We’re actually feeling a bit better about the situation now that we’ve seen this little gem:

from Buzzfeed