I think we all dream of being the type of casting director that’s open and imaginative enough to find that diamond in the rough. We want to believe we have the vision to recognize the next star when they walk through the door (or at least, the next web star). Maybe it’s just my naiveté, but my mentality about casting is the last bit of “you can break the system” thinking I’ve managed to cling to.  But here’s the deal, for as much as we all want to keep an open mind and be creative in the casting room, we don’t have the time or resources to dilly dally. During yesterday’s session I kept thinking a few things to myself over and over. Things I wish I could’ve told all the talented young hopefuls that came in.

So I reached out to two friends of mine, Stephanie Thorpe and Jenni Powell, experts who I knew had a thing or two to say about casting…

Keep in mind, these guidelines are mostly true for independent films, student projects, local theater — anything where time and money are strapped and the people in the casting session are also the producers/writers/director/whatevers. This by no means holds true for every CD out there, or every project. Really, these are the things I’m looking for, guidelines I recommend, and the circumstances I’m casting under.

1.  Look Like Your Headshot

This is a general rule that applies to all auditions, but it’s so commonly broken, and so important, it’s worth reiterating. There’s not a single casting director out there with too much time on their hands. Don’t pick the shot that’s the coolest or prettiest from your headshot session, pick the shot that looks like you. When I call in an actor, it’s because I saw something in your headshot that I thought could work for this specific role. If you don’t deliver on that, then you’re wasting both our time.

When Jenni isn’t writing for the web trade blog Tubefilter, she’s working for shows like “The Guild, Streamy Award-nominated With the Angels, Poor Paul, The Crew and Comedy Central’s Atom.com standout The Legend of Neil.” When asked, this was the number one thing Jenni brought up…

This may seem like such a small thing but it’s so important: make sure your headshots really look like you.  There have been so many times I’ve loved an actors look based on their headshot but they come in the door and it’s a completely different person and I’m immediately thrown off.  Especially if you don’t have a reel yet (which sadly, some casting directors won’t even look at), your headshot is the casting directors first exposure to you, so make it an honest one!

2. Be Friendly  The Second You Walk In The Door

I’m not just looking for a great actor, I’m looking for someone I can work on a series with for a long while, so It’s really helpful if that person has a good attitude. If I’m building the show as a sustainable business and you’re going to be the lead, then you need to be a good business partner and embassador. It’s going to be yours too. You’ll be making comments, tweeting, facebooking, making appearances and behind the scenes videos. You have to have a great personality.   Exude that in the few seconds we have together, and that will make an impression.

3. Be Social Media Savvy

I may not have found my leads yet, but as I start to narrow things down, I’m going to be doing some serious google research. Remember, your website, facebook, twitter — that’s all public information, and frankly, it’s now part of your job. In web series, social media pull is the same as star power. You don’t have to have a huge number of followers or friends to start with — but I need to know that when the show takes off, you’ll be capable of engaging with people on that level.

4. Do Some Online Research

If you really want this part, go ahead and do a little research. If you googled my name, or the name of the series I’m casting (Squaresville), for instance, you’ll find this very blog* (which I’m overtly trying to imbue with useful information). This is a very special circumstance, but that doesn’t mean what you’ll regularly find isn’t helpful. Sometimes you’re going in for a show that’s already running. Often times shows have websites up before they launch. On my breakdown, for instance, you can see that we’re casting multiple characters for roles in the scene. In reading those breakdowns you’ll know more about who you’re acting against. I’m not saying go overboard, but doing a little homework never hurt.

5. Take Web Series Auditions Seriously

Stephanie somehow manages to split her time between acting, producing hit shows (Apocalypse Wow, Asylum, After Judgment & Hurtling through Space) and as a Casting Director for films, tv, and yes, webseries. As an actor, Stephanie’s “had the opportunity to tackle roles that mainstream media would over look me for, and now I’ve built a name for myself”. She cautions actors to remember what a huge opportunity a web show can be.

I’ve heard actors say “oh, it’s just a webseries audition” And that’s the wrong attitude. The web still allows actors to break outside their type, and book a role outside their wheelhouse if you rock your audition. We are looking for talent and are less concerned about your resume. And there are so many juicy roles out there…

Treat a web series audition in the same way you would any other audition. Be professional. Be prepared. Often the writer and creator of the show are in the room so have respect for the material. We want to see you bring the character to life. Strong choices are always appreciated and the ability to take direction is a must. We also want to know that you’re going to be a friendly pro on set and tend to steer clear of difficult or high-maintenance actors.

7. Remember, We Want You To Succeed

No matter how someone ends up a casting director, it’s always at least partially because we love film, TV and web.  We’re all in that little room for the same reason. Everyone wants to have that “aha” moment, we all want to cast you. There’s no antagonism in the room, so relax and do your best work. If you’ve come prepared, and do a good job, we’ll remember, even if you aren’t right for the part you’re reading for.

* I wouldn’t recommend this for other casting directors, but if you’re reading this, and you come in for an audition, go ahead and let me know. It’ll score you points. Again — that’s not necessarily the case for other people. Not everyone is so open about these things.

Early on I realized that the show’s social and interactive elements were going to be too big for the web solutions I’ve had before. Though in many ways I’m approaching Squaresville’s story as primarily a passive, traditional experience, it’s a much bigger project than I’ve tackled before. Sure, I could try and do all this junk myself, but with all the pointing and talking and lifting I tend to do on shoot days, I knew I wouldn’t have the mindshare to make sure everything gets done the way it needs to.

Here’s what my wed producer will be doing while I’m off pointing cameras and shouting action:

- Conceptualizing site structure and wire frames with me

- Sourcing and hiring a web designer (e-mail me up if you’re interested in helping out)

- Coordinating with our web developer to wire up the back end

- Mapping out the social media and marketing strategy for the series with me (and then executing it with me)

- Coordinating with the set photographer to grab both on set and publicity photos of each cast member while they’re together and in costume.

- Shooting behind the scenes set footage

- Shooting behind the scenes interview footage for multiple behind the scenes vignettes (both pre-planned and improvised)

You’ll notice that most of these tasks are limited pre-production and actual production. Once all the assets are gathered, tagged, uploaded and implemented, the web producer’s job is far from done, but most of the heavy lifting will be taken care of. At that point we’ll reassess what it is the Producer is getting out of the gig (it’s that old money vs. time thing). At that point, we’ll see whether it makes more sense for me to take things over or not.

As the medium grows (or should I say, as I grow up in this medium), the specialty aspects of a showsite are going to grow ever more complex. I hope that in the near future, just directing a URL to your show’s youtube channel doesn’t cut it anymore. Moreover, I hope that we find the cash and resources for our filmmakers to specialize more. Yes, I could  write the show, produce it, shoot it, and then build it’s web-site  (I know many of my uber-talented peers do) but I’d rather leave the coding to the pro’s and try and become a better filmmaker and producer.

What about you? I know there a ton of great shows that use out-of-the-box templates that look and work great. Is a specialty site necessary? Is it over kill?

That’s plenty for now.

For the immediate term, I’ll be blogging more from the perspective of a second term web creator. Certainly there are a number of great blogs that track the production of a first time series creator, but not too many of us are blogging about our second spin. What did I learn on Mountain Man, Engaged and at Atom? What mistakes did we make last time, and what am I repeating? How do you transfer corporate experience into the independent world? It should be fun, informative, and probably too self indulgent (this is my blog, right?). So stay tuned.

Have you guys seen A.V. Club’s Undercover series? I think it’s probably the best example of branded content I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty obsessed with it right now. As the video states, AV club invites touring bands to cover seminal songs in their studio. Great bands sing great songs, and Budweiser pays to be associated with an awesome project. It’s simple, clean and perfect.

Thankfully, Budweiser had the wisdom to keep themselves out of these videos, trading instead, for a mega-branded site to host them. Sure, the site itself SCREAMS Budweiser, but the videos are pristine. Though it would have been tempting to slap a Budweiser logo on the wall in the background, these videos get to be themselves. As a result, Bud benefits from untouched, effortless videos, and so I forgive them all the branding elsewhere.

I  really hope we see more series like this one and more brands with this sort of forward thinking. Though brand integration can be a great revenue stream for independent content creators, there’s real value in regular old brand association. Too often, series become encumbered by all the branding a sponsor brings to the table; not so here. It would have been easy to have each band chug a Bud during each interview, but I appreciate that the brand had the presence of mind to recognize that integrating their product into the videos would’ve made the series lose credibility. The power of these clips is in their simplicity, and I’m genuinely entertained and grateful for a series like this.

* I mean that. I kind of scowl naturally, but I’m not unhappy, I just naturally frown and look aloof!

Thanks Streamys!

We’ve sat through screeners, screenings, blog posts, e-mail campaigns, pod casts, and video presentations in preparation for the Streamys.  Now that Streamys voting has started, I thought I’d elaborate a bit with words (rather than beard hair) on why it’s uniquely deserving of the 3 awards (Sound Design, Cinematography, & Art Direction) that it’s nominated for this year. It’s also no secret that we all would love to turn a few more people on to the show, and that the Streamys help do that. Now, I can’t vote for M0untain Man for anything in the Streamys. It may be an unpopular thing to say, but if I could, I would. I love our show, and I love the people who helped make it. And this is why I would vote for us:

Mountain Man was made by a small group of friends, banding together to make something no one else would pay for, but that we all loved and believed in. We knew that the web was the only place for this story. We loved the idea of a strange rebel, haunting the internet, ranting about his lost fame, and preaching his message from a hidden bunker in the woods. He’d upload communiques to YouTube from somewhere deep in the woods. We knew we could make it cheap, and if we invested enough time, make it look good. It was a show made of patience, found objects, and insanity. Jonas was a man gone feral, and we were intending to join him.

SOUND DESIGN:

Our hero Jonas is a hard guy to sympathize with. In an effort to draw the viewer into his world, our sound design is as dense, subjective and immersive as web shows get. The sound designer, Mike Miller, painstakingly plants the viewer smack dab in the middle of Jonas’ consciousness, aided by the fact that our he also happens to star as Jonas. Listening to our show is like being Jonas, it’s otherworldly, bizarre, and even a little scary.

ART DIRECTION:

When building Jonas’ sanctuary set, we knew that it would have to be shootable in a full 360 degrees, cost almost nothing, and act as the fourth member of Jonas’ band of misfits. As a result, it was quite literally built out of chicken wire, paper mache and spray paint. We scrounged through thrift stores all over the county to match the retro/detritus/garbage-punk feel of the Mountain Man world. The vibe, the energy, the mood are all instantly set when an outsider steps foot in that strange hole in the ground. Every piece of super computer technology, mossy overgrowth, or psuedo-herbal-alchemy, was meant to personify Jonas as the mad genius we needed him to be.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

The decision to mix omniscient and first person cameras was especially complicated for our DP. In order to contrast the loose, wild feel of a first person documentarian, we knew that the omniscient (we called it Gaia Cam) view point had to be especially cinematic and polished. Rough is hard to do well, without a budget, but polished is nearly impossible. I like to think we pulled it off.

It may not be apparent, but most of our locations were mere feet from civilization. If one were to pan a few inches more in most of our shots, you’d find a road, or a building, or a car. It’s not something you think about much, but even the wild is filled with man-made objects. It’s that sort of careful framing and execution that makes the cinematography all that much more amazing. Sure, we’re lighting with China balls, and source lights, sure the power grid wouldn’t support more than a few lights at any given time else we’d blow a fuse, and sure, we shooting with a bare bones camera package, but somehow we pulled off a show that (I think) looks pretty great.

So that’s my case. It’s a show that we love, and I hope that you do too, and above all the Streamys will help elevate it to another level.

Go with Gaia!

Is this the point where people realize that chat roulette could actually be used for something cooler than wankin’? There’s something really great about spontaneously being connected to strangers, and I’m sure there’s some hamfisted metaphor I could draw about the nature of online connectivity and isolation and whatever. Maybe we’ll look back on this moment as Chatroulette’s tipping point, the moment it’s destiny was set as the new standard in online cam chat. Or it could just be another funny video we watch in between checking facebook updates at work. Either way, these videos are a thumbs up situation, and reason enough for Chatroulette to stay relevant for at least a few weeks longer.

1. I Found Flying Kebab

Have you guys seen this show? It’s so great! How come nobody told me about this show? In a period where people are really starting to voice some negative opinions about each other’s shows (which is ultimately a good thing, thought it may not feel so hot right now) it’s great to discover a show that I have only good things to say about. Sure, the Streamys still have a ton of high profile shows on the list, but Flying Kebab is but one of MANY awesome, independent, starless, innovative, fresh shows reminding us why we’re in this space in the first place. What’s your Flying Kebab?

2. Conversation Was Sparked

Do you guys remember last year? You know what was sparked? Arguments. It was a mess!

This year, despite disagreements and complaints about the way the IAWTV has handled entry into the group, nominations, and the FYC campaign debacle, I’ve seen a predominantly constructive attitude prevail in this community. Things may have gotten heated, and people have the right to express dissatisfaction, but ultimately, these ideas have resulted in a positive discourse that’s been very encouraging. That’s going to lead to more transparency, a more active member base, and more progress.

3. Galvanized Interest In The IAWTV

This is the year we see the IAWTV emerge as an actual political body, an entity with an agenda beyond voting on a few web shows and partying. As that membership solidifies in the coming months, we’re going to see some actual, honest to goodness progress from this group through peer mentorship, support groups, outreach and education.

4. Level Playing Field

Yeah, at first blush, it’s kind of a bummer for us indie-folk that so many high profile, star-studded shows are on the nomination list. But, if the Streamys are an avenue for smaller series to become better known and acknowledged by traditional media companies, then we have to accept the idea that the studios are going to want to play in the sandbox. Though studios might not like the idea that their content could be considered on par -or even less deserving than- an independent, is cause for them to reconsider the way they’ve been doing things. The mixture of budgets and backers is less a story of underdogs, and more a reinvention of what it means to be a dog in the first place.  If a show like Mountain Man, which I can say first hand spent more money on spray paint and paper mache than it did on… well, anything else, can be up for a Streamy against the big dogs, then anything is possible*.

____

*That being said, our ambition may have gotten the best of us. It may not be the best idea to send some of the most powerful people in the industry baggies of hair like we did. Sorry George Ruiz, I didn’t mean to gross you out (I mean, I did a little, but not that much).

After a few long nights of envelope stuffing, paper cuts and some likely harmful spray paint inhalation, here it is. Unintentionally controversial Mountain Man For Your Consideration Communique is ready to ship! When it came time to conceptualize our FYC campaign, we knew we wanted to make a mark on the IAWTV. Sure, we made a web show, and it would make sense to stick with a web campaign, but so much of what makes Mountain Man special is the real world, tactility of everything in Jonas’ world.* We decided to play to our strengths, and do some Mountain Man style DIY packaging. As I said before, this packet is from the Mountain Man world, and should exemplify why we deserve your Streamy nominations. For the uninitiated, the packet serves as an introduction to the world of Jonas. Fans will be pleased to find unique, as-yet-unrevealed external details about Jonas’ story. Overall, the packet should leave you with a sense of detail and the fleshed out world that makes Mountain Man so special.

The Communique includes:

• A hand stamped communique from the (fictionalized) bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, documenting all of Jonas Hawkinus’ (the Mountain Man) exploits.
• A hand stenciled FYC screener DVD with a sizzle reel, the first four episodes of the series, and a slideshow (backed by the hit single “The Duffel Bag Shuffle”)
• A dossier containing:
• A mug shot (in case you’re tracking the Mountain Man on your own)
• A FYC post card and photos of the man himself (illustrating our design and Jonas’ lair, the Sanctuary)
• A piece of the alarm system Jonas has rigged in the forest.
• A DNA specimen from Jonas – a clump of his beard!
• A vintage newspaper clipping chronicling the initial disappearance of our hero.
• A hand written note from Producer (Matt Enlow) and Director (Matt Mangs) to you!

If you would like to make sure you get a copy of a screener, please e-mail your address to Contact@watchMountainMan.com and be sure to remember us during your nominations.

________

* If the set hadn’t burnt down, we were intending to give people tours! Maybe next season?