Teach Me Tuesday: End Goals

[Bri_Castellini]

Welcome to Teach Me Tuesday! Today’s topic:

What is your personal end goal for making a web series or web pilot?

Did you feel it was the best form for your story? Are you using it as a proof of concept for a larger piece? Do you need more material for a reel or portfolio? Discuss!

[Bri_Castellini]

For me it’s because I love how free and experimental you can be in a web series in ways you couldn’t if you were writing scripts or developing shows for a more traditional space, but also for a portfolio piece. It’s good for me professionally to have festival-included indie work to prove I’ve worked on sets before and can competently lead a project from start to finish. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if there was a chance I could just make digital stuff as a legit, sustainable career, I would jump at it and ignore TV altogether.

[gmcalpin]

The Multiplex 10 short/pilot was kind of all of the above. Proof of concept for a series, more material for my reel… I do think the 12 minute format was a good way to do the part of the story that revolved around Jason and Kurt (the main characters). I’d have liked to do a longer episode with a B-story so that it wasn’t ALL about the boys, but it did keep things thematically tighter to do it that way.

[hermdelica]

For me, it was the easiest way to just get something done without having to deal with gatekeepers. And it’s a way to build my portfolio. Honestly, I’m just not happy unless I’m creating something.

[kmd]

for me it started as a lot of things and turned into a lot of things. it started as a creative outlet and an exercise in screenwriting (which I hadn’t ever done before). then when I realized I could produce it and it could actually happen, it became a way to learn more about filmmaking, a way to have diverse media, a way to have a teen show with actual teenagers instead of 28 year olds pretending they’re high school sophomores (coughRIVERDALEcough), a way to offer teenagers acting experience and roles for their own theatre resumes, and material for my portfolio. and throughout the process, it’s become a masterclass in both organization/flexibility/leadership, and it’s helped me narrow down what I’m passionate about as I look at university programs. it’s also become a way for me to make some really great connections with people, both in the webseries world and in my cast/crew (I’ve made some good friends/become closer with people and that’s the best bonus). the end goal continues to fluctuate but right now for me it remains as a creative outlet, a learning experience, and material for my portfolio.

[hermdelica]

Yeah, we kind of do the adults-as-teens thing, but I don’t think we’re nearly as bad

[Bri_Castellini]

Hey at least Riverdale is better than Glee was. I think KJ Apa was 19 when the series started (Archie) so that’s alright. Better than 35 year old Cory Monteith damn

[kmd]

yeah like I see how it’s easier to cast adults as teens legally, especially when doing webseries, but with actual tv shows it’s hard to have that suspension of disbelief sometimes!

[kmd]

yeah riverdale is wayyyy better than glee, I just picked riverdale as that example because I was fifteen when it came out, and the characters are supposed to be fifteen, and it was the weirdest thing watching it because I’d be torn between “my friends and I don’t look like that” and “damn I wish guys at my school looked like that”!

[ghettonerdgirl]

Same sentiments!

[ghettonerdgirl]

WHAAAAT? Damn. Ok I def don’t feel bad about my actors’ ages now.

[ghettonerdgirl]

I decided to make a web series because I was working in freelance and noticed that my bosses were using their resources to create uninspiring stories. It was a face palm experience most of the time. So I thought to myself, “I can do this better.”

When the gigs stopped coming I made it happen by telling my own story and teaching myself what I needed to know along the way. Because I was working a day job not related to film, it was my way to stay creative in the meantime.

I see it as my portfolio and a way to stay relevant in the industry while I’m not taking freelance jobs. But that is about to change very soon!

[travisgrossi]

I was tired of auditioning for angry dad or angry cop or angry dad-who’s-also-a-cop roles, and I also wanted to make a gay romantic comedy, which there aren’t enough of. I learn by doing, and so I was excited to jump in and figure out all the things I didn’t know, as the end goal is to be a showrunner.

I love that we live in a time where we can create things relatively easily and I’m continually inspired by everyone’s drive and output!

[jonathankyall]

My goal for all my artistic pursuits is for them to help me change the course of my life. I want a life creating the ‘work of my dreams’ and I don’t know how or what opportunities may come, but I want to be persistent and seek excellence in my work. Our goal for the next season of Killing it! is to express our vision boldly and fearlessly, and make the best thing we’ve ever made in our lives.

[Marina_Tait]

My partner/husband Stephen and I have made a bunch of stuff together over a number of years. Weird short films and documentaries, mostly. Underground stuff that not many people see. But last year we got the urge to try a web series. Which became The Wonderful World of Hunter Wood.
As with most things we do, we wanted to do it our own way, on our own terms. The independence is really important to us, and the chance to control our own distribution. And we wanted to make it look really, really good. We wanted to see how far we could go in the direction of making something seem really professional, yet still weird and singularly unique.
We liked the idea of a web series in particular because the short episode format is easily digestible, and we want to reach more people than we have in the past. It just seemed easier to pull off.
And we just really enjoy the process, the creativity, doing most of the work ourselves. I can’t imagine not doing this!

[Deliver_Me_show]

After years of having good ideas that no one wanted to pursue with me, I decided to just do it myself. Once the money issue was resolved, the rest so far has been fun and worthwhile.
My goal is mostly portfolio building to get investors interested in other projects that are complete and on the backburner for now - a short film on Abe Lincoln’s lost duel, and an adaptation of an award-winning noir novel.

[RDRICCI]

My goal with my web series is simply to develop a story that allows me to reach very high levels of animation. Each episode will increase the degree of difficulty. If this allows opening other doors, it would be fantastic, but for the moment, the series will be part of my résumé and projection to see if the series will be selected at a festival this year or next. (Depending on the results, I’ll see if I focus the animation on show business or advertising)

After this series, with what I have learned, I can do a second season or develop another series, completely different and with another target audience better defined.

So far, the animated series has given me opportunities to grow professionally that I had not had before. It has been an excellent experience and I can not wait to see what surprises the rest of the year will bring.

[w-e-spear]

To a certain extent, my end goal is to keep a commitment to tell a friend’s story. Also, it’s a desire to tell a story that might not get told elsewhere. Third, and less noble, it is to build skills and attract resources for future projects.