Phew! Quick turnaround on this episode. We usually have more episodes banked, so I often have to think really hard about all of the details of what went on behind the scenes. Not here though! It was only a week ago that we sat with the creators of Coma, Period, Rick Castañeda and Asa Shumskas-Tait. It was one of the hottest days in LA since the city was recovering from a weekend of fires in the San Gabriel Valley. The tough thing about any set is not being able to run the air conditioner, add the high temperatures, and you have an on set oven. So, temperature aside, I was really curious to find out about a web series that had tremendous buzz beginning back in April 2009 thanks to Tubefilter.
What's behind the door at Psychic Bunny? A lot of creativity. The four founders of Psychic Bunny met at USC and they do it all from start to finish, pre to post-production. Recently launched within the production company is their creative content banner, Lead Balloon. Lead Balloon is also the division that launched the web series, Coma, Period, and after looking at their production board, there is a lot more to come. You can actually catch a glimpse of that board in the interview. We didn't zoom in on in too closely....lots of secrets up there. Sssshhhhhh.......
I think the one thing that stands out in my mind with this episode is how methodical they were in creating this series. From the inception of the idea to the execution of the series to the distribution deal, Rick and Asa really made careful and smart decisions. Even when creating that stark, white background look for the series, they researched other shows that had done something similar. They knew what worked and they what didn't work. They knew they wanted to shoot it on green screen and create the stark, white look versus shooting on a white background which created more of a glowing background. I really enjoyed hearing how they went through this process because it is a call to web content creators to plan with the same detail that you would with a film or TV series. Web series may be a more affordable format, but it requires the same attention to production values. This won't be the last time I mention attention to detail. The quality of writing a web series comes up in my interview with Hayden Black/The Cabonauts and he also has some strong (and helpful) opinions on this topic. Finally, those little go-karts (I have no idea what they are really called) are a blast! They are used in Coma, Period, but I was thrilled I was able to race Rick down the hallway despite my poor wardrobe choice. A dress and a go-kart are not the best idea. He did let me win, but if I had worn something more appropriate, I would have won anyway. Ha! I think that is a challenge for a rematch, I like the competitive spirit.
So keep your eye on Psychic Bunny, we will be hearing more from this talented group in the future....web series, movies, and more! Check out Coma, Period here: Strike.tv
PS Thank you to Rick for having a Tilde on his last name. It gave me a new computer skill, I know how to work the Tilde on a Mac now!
Check out the Psychic Bunny episode here: Coma, Period.
Shhh....What's behind the Psychic Bunny door? You'll find out on Wednesday!