If you've been wanting make your own web series, you no doubt have been wondering about production logistics, storytelling, and crowdfunding, among other things. Luckily, Seattle-based filmmakers Tyler Hill and Brendan Davis have just been through this process in completing the first season of their web series Glitch. I sat down with them to discuss what roles they took on during production of the series, how they ran their Kickstarter campaign, various aspects of storytelling, and more (Full Disclosure: I'm friends with writer/producer Brendan Davis).
(NOTE: Contains some NSFW for language)
To me, Glitch is a great example of the principles laid out in the No Film School Manifesto, in that they set off to make a web series that's genuine, original, and of high quality. And they started off as novices, but through their own hard work and willingness to learn from mistakes --to do it themselves-- they made a great looking pilot, which in turn they were able to use to help obtain funding for the rest of the first season.
I also have to tip my hat to them on their writing, not just because they provide the right mixture of comedic and serious moments in the pilot, but because as they mention in the video, their main character (and ostensibly the other characters as well) is going to be developing during the course of the series. The lack of character development in sitcoms has been a big pet peeve of mine over the years. A bunch of wacky things happen to a group of characters and at the end of each scenario, they're still largely the same static people. Instead of treading down this same path, they disregarded established formulas and wrote the show the way they wanted, and as Tyler said, "let the show dictate its own rhythm"; good advice for anyone writing episodic content.
Brendan and Tyler have just started to release the first season of Glitch. You can check out their first episode here:
Link: Glitch – The Webseries
