Why do any of us do anything? Many times we just do something because we want to, but when it comes to something we want that takes a lot of time and thought to make happen it becomes about more than just a simple wanting or longing. Why am I doing what I'm doing, right now? I'm talking about my most recent piece of work that I am jumping into that I will be blogging about quite a bit over the next couple weeks (and have already done some blogging about).
I am currently spending hours a day networking in addition to continuing to organize and make sure the structure of my web series production is solidified in the direction that it will be best to go in. I've spent hours alone organizing segments and sequences and then reorganizing them when it appears that something is a little out of its element. Along with that I am spreading the word and bringing people on-board to actually work on this production. It's definitely not about just raising funds and, as with anyone else, I wish that part was simple. I wish the money could just show up but our world doesn't function that way. The only reason I am networking to the degree that I am is to make the production itself appealing and desired for those who will be working with me on it. I love doing this so I don't need to be paid for my efforts. And after all, I have made the choice to take this production on so any exhaustion or labor I put into it I am putting in by choice to make this work happen. It's another thing all together when others are willing to hop on board with you and give you their time to make a production a reality. And a good many of these people are willing to work for free because they love it that much. But I don't want to be asking people to work for free, unless they're just lending a hand for a couple hours or something brief and courteous such as that.
I have watch web series, I have seen some that have even been produced in Portland and the style of them varies greatly from absurdity to pieces that are based almost exclusively on reality. And I would put my series somewhere right in the middle, which is where I really want it to be. The way I look at it is visual mediums be they film, television, internet-focused production find greatness very much in the common ground of dualisms. By that what I mean is finding a place between two extremes. As far as the feel of a production goes you can be way over the top and playing everything to the extreme to a point that the work's artificiality it blatantly noticeable again and again. One of my favorite examples of this is the film "Armageddon", which was made during a period that a lot of over the top action films were being produced. But "Armageddon" is one of my favorite examples because the levels of absurdity are so high. Every thing that possibly could go wrong does. And about every five minutes there comes another line of dialogue that is just above and beyond what someone would really say. It's obnoxious to the point of being distracting. On the other hand, you can become so focused on making a piece of work based in reality that it becomes far too realistic. The problem of becoming too realistic, and a lot of indie films go this way, is you get lost in the fact that we as people waste a lot of time doing things that aren't very interesting. So when we see our lives being presented overly realistic it gets boring very quickly. And that's why a lot of indie films tend to be boring and drag on when they're too focused on being exclusively realistic. The best place to be is right in between those two somewhere so you have elements of realism to your story and the characters you wish to portray. But at the same time there is a sense of excitement and entertainment infused into the lives of these characters so that we don't get bored with them after five minutes.
I've been drawn back into this particular production that again has been in the works for over three years now. Any of us drawn to a particular art form no matter what it is knows that the ideas come and go. And there are really three types of ideas I've found, and two of them are good. There's the ideas that are so amazing you know immediately that you have to make it happen. Then there's the polar opposite, which is an idea comes and shortly after your intrigue is lost and you let it go. But then, every so often, there are those ideas out there that get a hold of you and even when you start to let them go they always come back because there's something to them. That's what this series has been for me and I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why. Why does this one keep coming back on me?
It's a good question because I discovered there are endless possible answers to that question. First off, the style of dialogue that is used in this piece successfully goes in two different directions. There is ample banter in this series, which is my favorite style of dialogue (and it's the most prevalent type used between Jake and Taylor's characters). But it's not all banter, it doesn't all go in one direction. And that's something I love in seeing the works of others is when circumstances can change through a particular piece of work and yet the style with which the characters speak in doesn't realistically collapse through that transition. And that's been very important in my organizing the ways in which these main characters speak because the circumstances of their lives change frequently. At the same time, being a comedy, this is not a comedy without soul. By that I mean that this is not one of those freak shows where everyone is just too kooky to be taken seriously as a person. I think of when I see interviews with actors and actresses in films and even in being interviewed independent of the character they play they still take on a fictional persona. Sometimes it's funny but other times it makes one feel like they aren't even really a person, but just a constantly altering artificial personality. In making a cinematic-based piece of work characters like that don't work when you want the comedy to be real and identifiable, even if the circumstances aren't even close to anything the viewer has personally experienced.
I love the story as well, and I'm just glad that me and my friend managed to come together to come up with such an interesting idea that I've been allowed to run with. There have been endless interjections from a variety of different places inserted into this series. Some are things I have personally witnessed or considered. Some parts of it are based from stories others have told me. Some of the material is fresh, things I wrote specifically for this production, and then there are sequences within it that were originally intended for different productions all together but somehow found their way into this series where they fit in so well. There really is a possible beauty in simplicity, and I feel that is being bore out through this production. The overall plot line is simple and can be explained in only a sentence or two. But because of that simplicity there are few restrictions on what can happen in this piece of work. That's enough to get a creative mind going. My eyes went wide when I realized where this production can go. I'm doing my best to hold back from revealing too many aspects of the series because if someone stumbles onto this and wants to see the series a few months from now when it begins posting obviously I don't want you to know everything before you see it. Therefore, in the various blogs I will be posting on here that discuss this new web series will mostly focus on the beginning of the series where all the pieces come together. But yeah, that's something else that really excites me about this production is the simplistic plot and story that allows me to go in a variety of different directions.
I also love the brand of comedy that exists within the piece as a whole. There's lots of crazy things that happen but the style of the series refrains from being just an endless string of dirty jokes (most of those are saved for Jake's best friend - he's a peach). Again, I want there to be a wild a crazy element to the series but I still have the objective of keeping the series grounded. When I think of shows that succeed in that aspect I immediately think of "Arrested Development". Now certainly I'm not calling my still to be shot web series the second coming of "Arrested Development" (that would take a level of conceit that I'm not sure I'd ever be capable of), but anybody who has watched that show will say it's a pretty wild ride. At the same time it's based in reality in so many ways. We have the sometimes plaguing aspects of a once affluent family. We have the frustrations of a son who is working himself to death and going unappreciated for it. There's obviously corporate fraud and corruption, that's a pretty significant aspect of the show. And even the main character, Michael Bluth, is incredibly based on reality. A guy who's so focused on success and being a work horse that he never hears what others around him say and practically drives away any romantic interests he's ever had... that has to sound familiar to at least a few of us. And I just love that aspect of realism that can be taken in so many different directions and be made to look completely absurd. I am hoping to travel in a direction similar to that while producing a series that will be quite different from something like an "Arrested Development".
I do really like the way it all came together as well. It's sometimes a game of "What if?" when you want to create a rather large production and all you have at the start is a shaky plot structure and a few interesting scenes. Sometimes it just goes astray, but this production has really come together. I put together a board, separated into columns to represent the various episodes and then I just made small cards with different scenes and sequences and started organizing them around the board and I was surprised at how quickly everything came together and even segments that I didn't have the slightest clue where to put them in the beginning found themselves into the right place. And even right now there are still ideas coming, which is fun but sometimes stressful, especially when you're trying to find ways to cut other parts down. It's really important when putting together something like a web series, where the episodes alone are incredibly short to make sure what is being expressed is concise without leaving things out or leaving a viewer behind because they can't keep up with how quickly everything is transitions. I think "Scott Pilgrim" is a really good example of a film that moves abruptly and keeps concise without losing anyone. The first time I went to watch it I had no clue what it was going to be about and even with how fast it moves from moment to moment I was able to keep up with everything going on because they had the pacing down. "Arrested Development" works incredibly well that way too (even though I've heard lots of people complain about how they can't keep up with it; but often times those are people who pick up watching the show in the middle of the series).
But most importantly, more than anything, I look at the script, I look at the organization, I visualize the characters and ahead of time I already have a very strong feel as to what this series will look like when it's being shot and how it will look upon completion. In that visualization I see something that will be likeable and entertaining to people of various ages and personality styles. When I finally realized how appealing this series could be and the effect that it could have on others that's when I knew I had to finally make this series a reality. What's the point of making a show if nobody's going to be interested? Why leap into a project and invest so much time in networking for it, shooting it and cutting it all together if throughout the process all you feel is that this is something that, at best, will just be okay? If there's no stimulation and no motivation clear through to the time after the who piece is finished then I have no interest in doing it. I'm sure many artists can identify with that. And that's what really drives me. When I write on it, when I visualize shooting it, I think about how awesome this whole thing is going to look when all is said and done. While it's easy to becoming self-centered and focused in on what you're making being "your" project and "your" art, it's not exactly stimulating, that isolation you feel when it's done because you haven't given anyone else a reason to care about it. And I want people to care. I wouldn't be networking as hard as I am and reaching out for funding if this was something I didn't feel those who are making contributions would be interested in watching when it's all finished up. Regardless of what people may say, creating pieces of art in any medium, they want people to like it when it's done. Every piece of work I've done I think about the response it will receive when it's done, and not will it be positive and ego-boosting, but is what I created something that people will genuinely like and will it spread. There's shows and programs out there that have literally led to the creation of fan clubs and groups where people who never met before have come together and become close friends. Now that may sound a bit lofty coming from a guy who's still seeking out funding for his "little' web series, but that is where much of my drive comes from is inspiring things like that and knowing that my capabilities can be used for creation guided in that direction.
That's why I'm here and that's why I'm doing this. I love it and for the first time in my life I'm in a place that I can't think of doing anything else. And it is my objective in future blogs to not spend quite so much time talking about myself. It gets annoying. :)
Wish me luck and please make a contribution to my series if you can. Any amount is accepted and appreciated! Thank you!
INDIEGOGO LINK: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
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