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Saturday, January 17, 2015
Democracy Now,: Did Gitmo "Suicides" Cover Up Murder? US Sgt. Speaks Out on Deaths & Prison's Secret CIA Site
In a month marking its 13th anniversary, we look at one of the great mysteries of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay: what happened the night of June 9, 2006, when three prisoners died. The Pentagon said the three — Yasser Talal al-Zahrani, Salah Ahmed al-Salami and Mani Shaman al-Utaybi — all committed suicide. But were they actually actually tortured to death at a secret CIA black site? In a broadcast exclusive, we are joined by Joseph Hickman, a Guantánamo staff sergeant and author of the new book, "Murder at Camp Delta: A Staff Sergeant's Pursuit of the Truth About Guantánamo Bay." We are also joined by professor Mark Denbeaux, director of Seton Hall University School of Law's Center for Policy and Research, which has just published the new report, "Guantánamo: America's Battle Lab."
Cheerhab Season 2 Premieres on 1/24!
If you thought last season they were tough, you ain't seen nothin'! Eddie and Orby, coaches of the 3 time world champions California All Stars SMOED are headed to Salem, Oregon to try and Cheerhab another struggling all-star team. Invasion Athletix has reached out for help, but are they really up for the challenge? Watch and see what’s in store for the squad in the trailer for Season 2 of AwesomenessTV's Cheerhab!
L.A. Nites: Episode 3
L.A. Nites: Episode 03
Your Work Comes to Life
Once you've done three it becomes real. One cigarette doesn't necessarily make you a smoker but three, well...
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| ...you may as well. |
Since this was the third episode, we knew we had a series on our hands. Previous to writing and filming this episode we only had a set which is a small difference but different none the less.
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| In order to accomplish things you've got to trick the brain into believing that it's done more than it has |
This episode was as far as Lawrence and imagined in his original concept. When we started, L.A. Nites was this: a guy meets this mysterious girl and she's killed because of a new drug on the streets of Los Angeles. The opening shot, seen below, is the fulfillment of Le's original vision.
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| Howie under the pier |
This shot was nabbed under the Santa Monica pier with our good friend Krysten Jorgensen, who played Howie. Web series fun fact: you're going to be lucky to be getting people to fill roles for you so a stand-in is probably out of the question. When we wrote that we found Howie's body on the beach, we had to tell the actress that we killed her character and then get her to agree to film her body on the beach.
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| She's going to wake up, right Mommy? |
This was the second time where I was officially creeped out by what we had written. Since Howie's death was the only part of the show that Lawrence had created, we opened the episode with it and then asked, "What now?" Again it's funny how these things come about. Our friend Tim was going to have a Hallowe'en party that week....
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| Tim Leavon, Actor/Comedian |
At the time he lived up in Burbank and had access to this fantastic roof view. He was throwing the party because he was moving out. If we didn't shoot that weekend, we would never be able to use it as a location. So we wrote the roof jumping scene, a monologue which I knew Tim could knock out of the park.
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| The monkey mask was his idea |
There were a number of optional cut aways that were written into the script but in the end it turned out that we didn't need them. The skyline of the Valley and Tim's delivery was more than enough to carry the shots. Every angle from that roof is gorgeous.
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| Emmett (actor/writer Caleb D. Manci) |
It was at this party that we met Carolyn Vasko who ended up playing Jewel in episodes 5, 8 and 9. Actually it was on this very same roof. She and Nate had driven out a couple of days previously to see if L.A. was something they wanted to do. Nate is the character standing to the right of Emmett in the roof scene.
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| Fascinating, yes, tell me about all the minor characters.... |
The most interesting part of the shoot for me was getting to hear Tim deliver the monologue that we had written earlier that week. He's an incredibly good actor so was able to breathe a ton of life into it. I'm grateful to him personally because Tim took so much care with his performance.
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| Going up to the roof |
We wrapped this shoot fairly quickly. Tim was the one that suggested the monkey mask and subsequently it was the reason that costume-y costumes became part of the show and why we ultimately ended up at the costume shop in episode 7. At the end of this episode we used the device I created to zoom out into the larger world which brought us to the detective and his follow-up investigation in episode 4.
Rebels Seem Like Nice Guys - Space Janitors: Episode Seven
This IS the episode you're looking for. Darby gets some unexpected news from a rebel spy that could change his life.
STUCK ON A: Episode 5
Stuck on A Episode 5 from David Johnson on Vimeo.
Will infiltrating a silent film benefit dressed as mimes, be the key to finally getting Elliot's script to John Stamos
Friday, January 16, 2015
LARPs: The Series | Episode 00 - LARPs
In a LARP, or live action-roleplaying game, players assume the identity of their chosen character and physically perform their actions (as opposed to simply describing them). LARPs: The Series follows a group of friends and their journey through both their imaginary and real lives.
A Shout Out to the Best - {The Kloons}
The Way of Web Series
As I scroll around this web of ours, I have seen many a series. I know that you have too. If not you would probably not be on a site called Web Series Today. I was then surprised to see that the Kloons have not really been mentioned on this blog. If there ever was a channel that deserves loads of respect from the community, this is it. If you haven't seen this channel then you really haven't seen the best the internet has to offer. Here is a gem from December 2011 which has garnered 5.1 million views.
Whoa, did he just blow your mind and make you feel okay about checking out women? Alright, I'm in! The thing I love about these guys is that they hold themselves to a very high standard of film making. They treat their medium, the web series, with respect and it looks really good on them. A couple of key things that stand out:
1) Episodes are only as long as necessary
(:59)
(1:22)
(1:22)
(1:22)
2) Every premise is simple
2) Every premise is simple
Badasses take off their sunglasses
What if the laundromat was fun?
Men and women deal with the world differently
3) Paying off the joke
"I told you to get a glass of water!"
"And breathe in..."
[I'm not going to tell you what happens but I will tell you it's epic]
Before you think that it's all dick and fart jokes, I would also like to highlight my favorites.
High Art
Interpretive dance
Who is the "I"?
"A modern day rhyming triplet of visual poetry"
SFX
They say they don't do drugs but this video begs to differ
Also, if this isn't a drug reference then I guess I don't get it
Where film meets the local color
Collabs
Yes, I'm okay with this.
This looks like a pretty funny show.
Trifecta of all things Kloon: Good filmwork, interesting premise & collaboration
Attention YOU, maker of web series(es)!
Who is the "I"?
"A modern day rhyming triplet of visual poetry"
SFX
They say they don't do drugs but this video begs to differ
Also, if this isn't a drug reference then I guess I don't get it
Where film meets the local color
Collabs
Yes, I'm okay with this.
This looks like a pretty funny show.
Trifecta of all things Kloon: Good filmwork, interesting premise & collaboration
So now you've watched or scrolled your way through enough of a sampling of their work to see why I am so impressed with them as filmmakers. Impressed, yes, and shocked when I finally watched the following video.
Attention YOU, maker of web series(es)!
As it turns out, being smart, funny, talented, long-running and recognizable isn't enough to pay the bills. Sit back and think about that for a second. These guys have everything in place. So why hasn't it paid off for them? Why don't they have a creative studio with their friends? And one bigger question to highlight the absurdity of it all, why does this exist instead?
In the case of the Grumpy Cat, she has handlers to take her to events, think up merchandise and broker movie deals. I'm sure Tardar Sauce's owners know how quickly internet sensations come and go so there's a limited time to cash in. Obviously it's not the case with the Kloons since they've proven that they're more than just a pouty face but I can't help but to compare. Why aren't studios beating down their doors? Why aren't they being handed the hundred thousand it would take for them to make a decent feature, sitcom or sketch show?
Their Solution
"Popsicles"
Butts
You get to the end and you don't even mind that it's an ad
The Kloons have learned a valuable lesson for all of us that are making web content. It doesn't matter how pretty or smart or talented your are; in order to be making money, you need to be making product.
It's not good enough to just be making content - each of the Kloons videos has several thousand views and are generally well liked - it's about making something to sell. This is America, we live in a system that is based on exchanging currency. The Kloons know this but they also know that you can't have one without the other. So they started using their quality content to make a product. I don't see this as selling out, I see it as survival. Since the State of the Kloonian the boys have turned out this series which is darling.
I wish them much success in their endeavors this year and hope that their budget continues to propel them into the mainstream.
Accidentally the Dark Lord - Space Janitors: Episode Six
Don't mess around in Dark Lord's holochamber. A pending visit from the Emperor leads to an accidental promotion.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
L.A. Nites - Episode 02
L.A. Nites
Continuing a Series
Having a great idea is only the first step. Writing that idea down, getting people together, having equipment, finding locations, double-checking props and costumes, making sure there is someone watching for safety and taking notes for the camera... all of these things become obvious and necessary needs when you go into production. On any production there are always a lot of things for a few people to do at once and can often make your head feel like it's going to explode.
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| What it feels like mid-production |
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| Le onset with PA, Jeff Pollard |
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| You know the feels |
Additionally our actors were gracious enough to volunteer for all of the shoots. It doesn't seem like a whole lot since we only added D. Wolf for one sequence in this episode but as the series went on, we added more and more people to flesh out the story. By the time we got to episode 10 (to be released Thursday, 1.22.15) we had 15 people on set.
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| This is what 15 people feel like when crammed into a one-bedroom apartment |
Which brings up another point that I'm sure you're familiar with ff you've shot a web series for any amount of time: you have filmed every corner of your apartment, every corner of your friends' apartments, stolen a bunch of shots and are thinking about moving so that you'll have new location options. A small budget means limited shooting options. But as we found out from filming episode 5 and 7 part 1 and part 2 framing changes everything. Believe it or not, Jewel's house and the costume shop are in the same apartment.
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| TA-DAAAAAH.... |
That we made it to the second episode is pretty amazing. I know, I know in the grand scheme of things it's nothing to really be proud of but you know how mommies are about their babies learning to walk. They're stupid about it. People walk all the time. From this point forward, the baby will be forever walking and in the future they will be infinitely relieved on a daily basis that they no longer have to be up on their feet. Mommies are just excited that they're not the only ones that have to suffer that fate any more, I guess.
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| I don't want to start walking!!! |
Episode 2
Getting to the second episode meant that it was becoming more than it was. It was becoming a "thing" whatever that was and it started gaining more momentum. Lawrence wanted to make sure that this episode got some very pretty shots in it as a way to show off his skills. I don't think anyone was disappointed with the results:
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| Doing drops |
Although it looks like stock footage, the dropper shot that opens the drug tripping sequence was filmed in studio in front of an open window. LA is great for its weather and its lighting. If you look closely at the above shot you can see the reflected camera. Fun fact: the room where this was shot is also in the same room where we filmed the hospital scene from in episode 10 (to be released on Thursday, 1.22.15).
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| I want what they're having |
Even after filming the first series, this is still one of my favorite scenes. I mean how could it not be? We're standing on the corner of Sunset and Vine, laughing our asses off and having a good time for two hours and I didn't have to wear a shirt! It's hard to improve on this experience although, filming episode 9 (to be released Thursday 1.15.15) came close.
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| Drops |
Fun fact: At this point in the series we didn't really have a name for the drug, its users or what it did. It was only during this scene and through our own communication about them during the writing process that we started calling the drug, "Drops" and its users "Droppies". The whole giddy, giggling effect was suggested by Lawrence and then interpreted by the actors in different ways which can be seen in episode 4 and episode 5.
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| Riff-raff! |
 |
| Caught |
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| An early morning puke |
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| School kids watch our hero puke |
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| Getting ready for work |
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| You were supposed to be here 20 MINUTES AGO!!! |
 |
| Yeah, I kinda see your point there. |
The following driving sequence is one that Lawrence was really gung-ho about as a part of the whole, "going for a series of cool shots" look this episode. It was difficult to find the right shots to edit together but we eventually pieced together what became this montage. I'm a pretty big fan. We were also tying in a subtle joke that is sprinkled throughout the show about how much you have to constantly be driving in LA.
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| Driving in LA = constant |
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| Pretty graffiti |
My feeling is that it was an ugly building before. Solid blue or an advertisement or whatever. God, gag me. Why is it okay for corporations to evade our space with ads but its not okay for a tagger to put up his name? It's the same thing in my book. Just the business paid for the space from whoever owned it. Question mark, though... who paid you to take up your brain space? Think about all the logos, jingles and slogans you can remember. Who's paying you for retaining that knowledge?
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| This is how I feel about marketing |
There are too many great shots in the final sequence of Aaren and Howie grappling. This scene was interesting to me because this was the first time during the filming of the series where I was legitimately creeped out by what we had written. When you have an idea of something, it's like a vague concept, flashing images, the impression of a thing. You can write the words, understand their meaning and envision it but it's not until it happens in front of you were you realize that you've written something unsettling and a little fucked up.
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| It may be an ugly baby but it yo' baby |
Nevertheless, we edited it and started working on episode 3.
FIRE GIANT LASER - Space Janitors Episode Five
When rebel plans to blow up the station are discovered, one thing leads to another. Oh, and a planet blows up big time!
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
4 High Profile Creators Fired by Channel Awesome
Channel Awesome, aka The Guy With The Glasses fired 4 high profile and long standing members of their network this week. Lindsay Ellis (The Nostalgia Chick,) Phelous, Allison Pregler (Obscurus Lupa,) and Andrew Dickman (longtime thumbnail artist for Ellis, Phelous and Pregler,) were all removed from Channel Awesome's website entirely in one fell swoop over the weekend.
The parting of ways was a very volatile one and a massive blow to what was considered one of the most successful Multi Channel Networks in the web space.
Phelous's Statement
Obscurus Lupa's Statement
Lindsay Ellis aka the Nostalgia Chick's Statement
Channel Awesome's Official Statement on the matter
This is a complete shock to the system on so many levels but hopefully everyone involved will continue to make great videos and continue to make a living doing it.
*UPDATE* Kyle Kallgren, aka the Oancitizen has also parted ways with Channel Awesome bringing this week's body count up to 5. CA confirmed this but Kyle has yet to release a statement.
This pertains to my interests - Off the Edge
This series is pretty rad if you're into seeing people in different parts of the world running and jumping off things. Parkour's pretty tight and is a growing movement.
Honestly there's too much talking on this show. More jumping people! That's really the only thing that's interesting.
Honestly there's too much talking on this show. More jumping people! That's really the only thing that's interesting.
The Dark Lord: 53% Machine, Total Badass - Space Janitors: Episode Four
An officer is dealt a cruel hand by the Dark Lord. Darby spots his chance to climb the evil corporate ladder, but not everyone is cut out for deck crew.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
L.A. Nites - Episode 1
L.A. Nites
The making of a webseries
The internet is currently saturated with webseries. Everyone with a camera and editing skills can put something together. The making of a webseries isn't unique. So why are so many people doing it? Why are people all over the world, attempting to make their own versions of television. Further, why are people watching it?
The main reason is this: you like to see your friends doing something funny. End of story. If it came down to watching a talented performer do something amazing or watching your friend do something they do well, you're going to spend the time watching your friend. You're already invested in them. TV and movies have been doing that for a long time by using actors that you recognize. You go see a Denzel Washington or Tom Hanks movie because you like these guys and somewhere in your subconscious you believe you're friends.
Even without an audience, per se, webseries are still getting made for the same reasons. It's more about the fact that we as a group made something than what it will eventually become or mean. This is more or less how L.A. Nites came into being. The joy of making something was enough to band people together and work long hours for the satisfaction of having a finished product.
The first season of this show is being released via youTube on a weekly basis until the middle of February. It is 13 episodes all together, episode 7 being split into two parts. Click here to watch everything that has been released so far.
While being less difficult than putting together an entire feature length film or a weekly HBO-type show, the webseries itself does have an unique set of challenges. As we go through each episode, I'm going to talk about some of the hang-ups we had along the way. I encourage people to share their own experiences and thoughts in the comments below.
Your friends are funnier than anything a sitcom could come up with and execs know it because they know that you will sit and watch the above gif longer than you will watch say, "Hannibal".
Episode 1
It's funny how things happen. I met my roommate, Erik Peterson, through a job where we provide entertainment to parties. Kind of like strippers but we use jokes instead of g-strings. Erik, who plays Aaren in this show, is a great guy with a good sense of humor. He also went to film school and knows a number of people who have moved to Los Angeles after getting their degrees.
I lived in Chicago from 2004-2011 and moved to California in 2012 because I had this dream. It was the dream of a device that could be used to structure stories so that the authors and creators don't get lost in their creation. If you've done any sort of longer forms of writing then you know what I mean; it gets to be a jungle in there and cohesive stories are tough to do without a framework. I had been tinkering and measuring this device, finally completing it in the spring of 2014.
Erik and I started hanging out, kicking ideas around and I used the device to show him how it would be possible to create any idea he may have. Erik introduce me to his friend, cameraman and L.A. Nites creator, Lawrence Le. When I showed the device to Lawrence, he began describing to me the plot for L.A. Nites and we wrote the first episode that afternoon. A week later we filmed it with Krysten Jorgensen playing Howie.
In this first episode you get the feeling of how much we just showed up and filmed in the "run and gun" style. We were kicked off the stoop of the blue building where Emmett is sitting and playing the guitar because we had neither permission from the landlord nor proper permits for filming. Also, I'm not wearing a shirt so I'm sure that bothered some people. Fortunately, we had gotten all the shots we needed.
Emmett's dialogue in the transition shots between leaving the stoop and arriving at the gate is also entirely improvised. The directions as written in the script were, "Emmett talks incessantly." It was inspired by a conversation that Erik and I had had about an H.P. Lovecraft story. This While this came out alright, it made it extremely tough to edit because I simply made up new dialogue for every shot, not knowing where it would ultimately end up. This was an important lesson: Repeating specific actions and lines exactly makes the editor's job easier.
The same is true with Emmett's guitar. I played it in literally every shot, instead of miming it and letting the music be put in as an additional track. It forced us to both cut dialogue and shots because the music didn't match and music because the shots didn't match. A real headache. You'll notice I never play the guitar again in the series.
There was a lot of debate back and forth about what the last line of the episode should be. Lawrence wanted it to be intelligent and mysterious. Here it is for those you that missed it, "Because we cannot accept the truth of transience we suffer." - Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. This one line was the basis for the big reveal that happens in Episode 7.
We decided two things after we finished shooting this episode: 1) since we had the device for telling stories, we would continue writing and producing an episode every week until all fourteen episodes were shot and 2) we would only write for actors that were available that week. This was a unique challenge for us because we didn't know quite where the story was going to end up and we couldn't waste our time in getting it together because we had an upcoming shoot date.
And so it began... we editted episode one, wrote and prepared ourselves to shoot Episode 2.
Sweet Home Ketteringa - Episode 4 - Kettering Buccleuch Academy
SWEET HOME KETTERINGA
Episode 4 - Kettering Buccleuch Academy
Comedian James Acaster, star of 8 out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and triple Edinburgh comedy award nominations returns with a new episode of his comedy-documentary series. Originally from Kettering, he has returned to explore some of his old haunts and find out how much the town has missed him in the intervening years. The answer is: not much, they don't even know who he is.
The newly released fourth episode sees James return to his old school, eager to find out how much his old teachers remember about him and excited to walk the old halls - however, there's a shock in store for him.
A Turtle Canyon Comedy Production
Monday, January 12, 2015
The Launderette | Episode One | Web Series Sitcom
Hello Everyone,
I am writing on behalf of Miakoda Productions to share with you our first ever web series creation, in the form of The Launderette.
So far we have finished creation of the first episode and are in the process of writing more (we aim to do a full three episodes in total).
The series revolves around Alex (the owner) and Sam (his assistant) two twenty somethings, who must battle their way through their weird and wonderful customers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysvkloR326E
I really hope you enjoy the first episode and feel free to leave any feedback, as it is in it's early stages, it'll be much appreciated.
Best wishes,
Liam Walsh
www.miakodaproductions.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @Miakoda_
US CENTCOM Twitter and YouTube hacked.
Hackers in name of Islamic State publish details of US personnel after appearing to hack @Centcom & YouTube channel http://t.co/aX8ArSVD56
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 12, 2015
Hackers claiming to be aligned with Islamic State took control of U.S. Central Command Twitter account http://t.co/4euSXR3Agm
— WSJ Breaking News (@WSJbreakingnews) January 12, 2015
“CyberCaliphate” which hacked @CENTCOM, has hacked @wboc, among others in the past http://t.co/iGR1dMKaH2
— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) January 12, 2015
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