For the past couple of months, Andrew Orillion has been posting about all the steps in the creation of ON THE ROCKS, a web series he’s involved in. We at TVWriter™ have been rooting – and sometimes bleeding – for the show all the while, and we’re proud to be able to announce that last weekend ON THE ROCKS passed two big milestones.
The first episode of ON THE ROCKS, “Old Fasioned,” is now on the web and ready for your viewing pleasure.
Welcome back, everyone, to Brewing Up On The Rocks. In this fifth installment of the series, we’ll look at the production of the pilot episode and explore the business side of launching a web series. Do you know how to find the best theater for your needs, or how to handle the taxes for the money raised with a crowd funding campaign? Stay tuned for the answers.
Theaters, Theaters Everywhere
So, the staff is assembled, the pilot is written and the cast is in place now we just have to film the damn thing. You might think shooting a multicam show is simple. After all, there is usually just one location and you don’t have to deal with external factors like weather or street noise. Just find a theater, setup the stage and shoot it. If only it were that easy.
Welcome to part four of the behind the scenes look at the making of On The Rocks. Last time, I wrote about the writing staff and how stories were broken for the series. This time, I’m going to focus on the intricacies of casting.
Web Series Aren’t Just For Friends and Roommates
In the early days of web series, most shows used limited sized casts comprised of friends, family and roommates of the creators. But, as web series have become more and more mainstream, their production has become more professional. Professional productions need professional actors, who aren’t always easy to find, especially when you can’t pay them upfront. Fortunately, the makers of On The Rockshad an ace up their sleeves.
Welcome to part three of the behind the scenes look at the making of On The Rocks. Last time, I wrote about the creation of the pilot episode with showrunner Sam Miller and executive producer Chris Wu. This time, I’m going to take you into the writers’ room to meet the rest of the writing staff and find out how we take a story from concept to script.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Writers
With the pilot episode locked, it was time to outline or “break” episodes 102 through 106. Miller felt that first season should have a six-episode arc ending with a bottle episode where all the issues and tensions that had been brewing since the pilot would come to a head, but what would the bigger plot elements in between look like to lead the characters to that point?
In my first article on the making of On The Rocks, I wrote about the creation of the show and how the staff came together. For this article, I’ll focus on writing the pilot episode.
With the staff, The Grinders, in place and the basic premise of the show agreed upon, executive producer/writer Sam Miller and producer/writer Chris Wu began work on the pilot.
Unlike the rest of the staff, who had never worked together before, Miller and Wu knew each other through industry connections and a pilot writing course they both took at IO West in 2009. Miller worked in comedy development at ABC Studios and Wu was then an assistant at William Morris.