WEB SERIES MAGAZINE

July/August/September 2011 ISSUE #2

Visit us on the web at: webseriesmag.com
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WEBSERIESNETWORK.COM
I
WEB SERIES
MAG
ISSUE #2
SUMMER
2011
GONE
GLOBAL
Q&A interview with Ben Ross, Jason W. Ellis, Jew-
elle Colwell, Daniel Woods, Rob York and Chad Diez.
Editorials from Canada, UK and USA. Hotness:
Volcanic. Its the summer issue, folks. Lets Move!
NSIDE: SIX PRODUCERS DISCUSS THEIR
WEB SERIES. EDITORIAL ON HORROR
GENRE. INSIDE CANADAS WEB SERIES
SCENE. WEB SERIES IN THE UK. EMBRAC-
ING WEB SERIES AS THE NEW FRONTIER.
+ INTERVIEW WITH CALGARYS JEWELLE
COLWELL. ENJOY! :) - Rich Mbariket, Editor-in-Chief
I
SSUE #2
July/August/September 2011
PUBLISHER
/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Rich Mbariket
richmbariket@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Terra King \S, Casia CAALA, Alicia
CargaroMagana \S, Lave Chapman \K
CONTACT US
richmbariket@gmail.com
,o 6o,o,
ADVERTISING
Rich Mbariket
,o 6o,o,
richmbariket@gmail.com
6 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE
CHAD DIEZ
CREATOR of LAPS
THE STORY: Laps is about an overweight slub deciding to make a change in his
life by getting in shape for the hrst time, but like most over-eaters; his eyes are be
bigger than his stomach.
FAVORITE SCENE: The scene where Nathan (played by Art Hall) gets kneed in
the privates by Stephanie (played by Rachae Thomas).
FAVORITE OFF-CAMERA MOMENT ON SET? When Art kneed Rachae in her pri-
vates.
EXPECTATIONS: Its hard getting in shape! I hope viewers relate to it.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE: Getting to meet the amazing people whove
helped this project along for the past year and a half.
PERSONAL CONTACT/WEBSITES: Facebook.com/lapswebseries, Twitter.com/
lapswebseries, Youtube.com/lapswebseries. Laps is an Ofhcial Selection of the 2011
New York International Film Festival, screening info @ www.lapswebseries.com!
Q&A
By RICH MBARIKET
8 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 9
ROB YORK
CREATOR
of AFTER
THE BEAST
THE STORY: `After The Beast follows a post-
apocalyptic wanderer with nothing but a rife
in hand who is forced into an epic struggle
when a woman and a boy request his help.
FAVORITE SCENE: The refugee attack scene
in episode 9 was one of our favorite scenes.
It involved a lot of action with a lot of people
on set and required a lot of high energy,
which thankfully everyone was able to keep
up through multiple takes.
FAVORITE OFF-CAMERA MOMENT ON
SET? Being on location in the Uinta Moun-
tain range in Utah near Sundance. The si-
lence and beauty of the area made the story
come alive, especially watching our lead tread
across the open meadows at dawn, rife in
hand.
EXPECTATIONS: The series as a whole has a
message of hope in difhcult times and choos-
ing between what is right and what is easy,
but we wanted to tell it in an entertaining way
and let viewers interpret it how they will.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE: Watch-
ing it all come together. After screening the
rough cut, our producer Scott Baird turned to
me and said, "...um...Thats pretty awesome.
Our hard work had paid off!
PERSONAL CONTACT/WEBSITES: Rob York
or Scott Baird at hrespireproductions@gmail.
com. Afterthebeast.com. Youtube.com/hre-
spireproductions. Twitter.com/AfterTheBeast
Facebook.com/AfterTheBeast
WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 9
JASON W. ELLIS
CREATOR of
CHILIN AT LEROYS
EXPECTATIONS: I just want everyone
to be entertained and to enjoy a few
laughs from watching one of my webi-
sodes.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE:
Filming one of the "First Ever 3D web-
isodes on the internet. It was a chal-
lenge hlming and editing but Im happy
how it turned out and that it was one
of the hrst, if not the hrst to be done!
PERSONAL CONTACTS/WEBSITES:
ChillinatLeroys.com & Youtube.com/
user/mryorkielover.
THE STORY: Chillin At Leroys is
about how a cranky, wise boss deals
with his employees at a nutrition store
and all the adventures that take place
there.
FAVORITE SCENE: My favorite scene
to shoot was during the 2nd Xmas
episode. I had Leroy visited by 3 very
sexy female elves that had to set the
big guy straight because he was acting
like a modern day Scrooge.
FAVORITE OFF-CAMERA MOMENT
ON SET: After Leroy nails his lines in 1
take with no practice what so ever, he
usually belts out a few smart ass lines
that gets everyone in the scene RO-
GLMFAO.
DANIEL WOODS
CREATOR of FAULTLINES
Woods (right) on the set of Faultlines.
THE STORY: After a mysterious number of
earthquakes strange things have been hap-
pening around the effected areas. It seems
that the earthquakes have opened cracks in
Hell and are releasing demons upon earth.
A pastor and his assistant have been follow-
ing these events as they are taking place, but
when the demons come to stop them they
are forced to hght. Along the journey they will
join forces with an Angel and a Seer to hght
the demons and return them to Hell where
they belong.
FAVORITE SCENE: We havent started
shooting yet, we are still raising funds at
http://www.indiegogo.com/FaultLines but
there is one scene Im really fond of, its a
scene with one of the main characters where
they have an Rouge Angel send her to hell to
hnd out what the demons are planing. Then
the Angel rips her back out of hell. I just know
its going to be a fun scene to shoot.
FAVORITE OFF-CAMERA MOMENT ON
SET? We have just been location scouting and
we had a producer at this one location stand
in the dark and just scared the crap out of the
location scouting crew.
EXPECTATIONS: I hope we can bring a very
professional web series to our audience that
has them coming back for more every week.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE: I think
making some of the special FX makeup and
costumes has been a blast.
PERSONAL CONTACT/WEBSITES: Email:
Flwebseries@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/faultlinesweb-
series
www.danieltwoods.com
http://www.indiegogo.com/FaultLines
WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 11 10 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE
www.MlngleMedlaTv.com
HDTv - wlreless - Smartphones - Apps - Tablets - AppleTv - GoogleTv- 8oxee - Poku - Llve Streamlng
Stlckam - HTML5 - Adobe Plash - ouTube - lTunes - 8llpTv - Androld - 8lackberry - lPad - lPhone
All trademarks are the property of thelr respectlve companles.
www.MlngleMedlaTvNetwork.com
- Onllne, |nteractlve Tv Network wlth
Orlglnal web Serles, L|vL Streamlng
& Ped Carpet Peport vldeos
- Communlty |nvolvment: Co-host of
weekly #webSerlesChat on Twltter
- Sponsor of the New Medla Pllm
Pestlval Audlence Cholce Awad
Categorles: Trallers, Llve Stream &
Orlglnal web Serles
HDTv - wlreless - Smartphones - Apps - Tablets - AppleTv - GoogleTv- 8oxee - Poku - Llve Streamlng
Stlckam - HTML5 - Adobe Plash - ouTube - lTunes - 8llpTv - Androld - 8lackberry - lPad - lPhone
All trademarks are the property of thelr respectlve companles.
WEB SERIES MAGAZINE
Visit us on the web at: webseriesmag.com
BEN ROSS
CREATOR
of GHOULS
THE STORY: Ghouls
is about hve clas-
sic movie monsters
who are struggling
to make it in modern
times. They hatch
a plan to get back
into the scaring busi-
ness and hnd that its
not quite as easy as
theyd hoped.
FAVORITE SCENE:
There is a scene in
Episode IV where
Dracula and Franken-
stein are at a vampire
convention that was
a blast to shoot. The
actors, Julian Marti-
nez and Dan Merket,
did a tremendous job
and we even tried
some improv stuff
that was hilarious.
Really happy with
how it came out.
FAVORITE OFF-
CAMERA MOMENT
ON SET: I have to
say the cast and crew
were just incred-
ible people not
just very talented
and hard working,
but really genuinely
fun people to be
around. So my favor-
ite off-camera mo-
ments were really
just spending time
with them and talk-
ing, laughing, hearing
stories, and collabo-
rating.
EXPECTATIONS: En-
tertainment. We have
a little bit of a theme
about the watered
down nature of some
of todays mainstream
entertainment, but
our main purpose is
to entertain, tell a fun
story and hope that
people have fun with
the concept and char-
acters.
MOST MEMORABLE
EXPERIENCE: By
far working with my
long-time friend, Kris
Simonian. We co-cre-
ated/wrote the series
together and have
known each other
since we were about
10. This was the larg-
est project wed taken
on to date and it was
a tremendous experi-
ence from that stand-
point. I cant wait for
the next project with
him, whatever that
may be.
PERSONAL CON-
TACT/WEBSITES:
Personal Contact:
btr92080@mac.com
@btr920 (twitter)
Series:
Blip.tv/ghouls
Facebook.com/TheG-
houls
Youtube.com/ragman-
32bc
@ragman32bc (twit-
ter)
14 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 15
By DAVE CHAPMAN
Unlockedtheseries.com
Cheesemint.com
Okay, so before we get started, how many of you have seen
The Guild, or know what a web series is?
The general attitude to web series in the UK became apparent
when myself and the rest of Cheesemint were invited to the local
college to host a couple of seminars, introducing ourselves and
what we do to media students. As our series was about video
gamers, I thought it would be best to judge our audience by ask-
ing who had seen The Guild, one of the most successful web
series produced... Out of about ffty media students, only two
had heard of The Guild and knew what a web series was. De-
spite studying all forms of media, these students had never even
considered creating a series themselves. Most of the students
on the course wanted to get work on television or in flm.
And that seems to be quite prevalent in the UK. There are a lot of
independent flm-makers, and many have been inspired by the
success of low budget horror movies, most notably the success
of what could possibly be the lowest budget movie ever, Colin
(flmed for less than $100). But most have their eyes on the prize
- movie deals and distribution. Few would consider producing
something whose outlet would be primarily online.
When Cheesemint came into being we thought quite the op-
posite. Wed aimed small, making little comedy videos and the
thought of movies seemed well beyond our budget and capabili-
ties. When we began flming "Unlocked, we had been inspired
by American web series such as The Guild and Red vs Blue,
and we were unaware of any other UK web series in production.
Of course, the big TV companies in the UK had tested the wa-
ters with some online content, with tie-in shorts for genre shows
which have proved incredibly successful. Channel 4s superhero
series "Misfts has recently been nominated for a BAFTA for
their online content, and the British supernatural series Being
Human had an online prequel series that was so popular, BBC-
TV had to take note and have announced their plans to screen
the web series on television. But even then, while the more di-
verse of the UK TV channels such as BBCThree and E4 have
experimented with web series and online content, theyre often
produced as an afterthought, a tie-in or to test an audience for a
proposed TV series, and rarely (if ever) is something produced
to be completely independent and online.
The general idea of a web series appears to be incredibly new
on this side of the pond, with only a handful of UK web series
producers continuing to produce content. A cursory look online
can reveal websites that host hundreds of American ongoing
webseries, whereas in the UK their numbers are only just strug-
gling above single digits. While some of these British series have
gained Webby award nominations and other accolades, often
this only increases their recognition in the States while the British
potential audience remains unaware of their existence. Which
begs the question - are there so few British web series because
the British dont know what web series is, let alone realise that
anyone with a camera and some enthusiastic friends can make
one? Are we surfng the net in the UK and failing to realise that
the res an untapped bounty of entertainment, sometimes better
than the stuff we see on TV?
At the moment, the British web series scene reminds me of
my time in independent comic publishing. In the comics scene
of the late 90's, certainly in the UK, there were a handful of
dedicated self publishers who were creating some of the most
exciting and different titles on the market. It was where diversity
ruled, and you could fnd real originality away from the major
studios, and there was that same sense of underground enthu-
siasm in the indie comics scene that can be found now in the
web series being produced. In the UK, there are a handful of
dedicated series producers creating some of the most diverse
and original series on the internet. From polished vampire seri-
als to simple situation comedy and dedicated talk shows, we
certainly have a lot to offer. Hopefully, with our meagre numbers
and relatively close proximity, a similar state of camaraderie
will emerge, as happened with the comic publishers, support-
ing and encouraging each other, and inspiring and encouraging
newcomers to produce their own series.
Thankfully, initiatives such as the Web Series Network goes
some way to getting the message that theres a whole wealth of
quality comedy, informative documentaries and exciting drama
out there on the internet. Luckily, the media is expanding, and
many more people can watch videos on their phones, iPads,
laptops, internet ready televisions, blu-ray players and con-
soles, rather than being forced to watch internet content on a
PC tucked away in the corner of the room or in the study. All of
these quality web series can be viewed not only while commut-
ing or out and about, but also through our televisions - the heart
of our home entertainment. Soon these series will be as easily
viewable as watching any other channel on television.
The UK just needs something thatll kick the concept of web
series out of obscurity and into a more recognisable light. If
the success of Steve Coogans recent web series featuring his
much loved comedy character Alan Partridge, or TV comedian
David Mitchells web series of soap-box rants isnt enough to
shake the British audience into realising the amount of content
out there, maybe the up and coming surge of big American
web series involving big names like Kiefer Sutherland and Vin
Diesel will?
Maybe one of these series will suddenly launch us all into the
spotlight, though any press regarding web series production
would help the public to discover the quality entertainment that
is available at the click of a button. And maybe that discovery
will inspire someone, somewhere, to pick up a camera and to
create something of their own.
WEB SERIES IN THE UK
WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 17
Canada walked away with several awards this year at the LA
Web Series Festival held March 25-27 in Los Angelas, Califor-
nia. Congratulations to everyone involved in the following web
series: Ruby Skye P.I., The Minds Eye: The Fantasy Web
Series, Out With Dad, In The Rough, The Jim, Naomi: The
Show, and Hard Drive 13. The Canadian web series The Jim
has been selected amongst the award winners from the La
Web Series Festival to be screened at the Marseille Webfest in
France on October 11-16, 2011. Well keep you updated on their
successes. 'Poker Girls,' created and flmed in Calgary by actor-
producer, Jewelle Colwell, has been nominated for the D Media
Chrysalis Award 2011 out of the U.K. after having their season
two trailer up for only a week. On Saturday April 9, 2011, the
ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto presented a panel of web se-
ries producers to discuss Are Webisodes A Lucrative Business,
How Do We Make Money Off Of Them, discussing crowdsourc-
ing, merchandising, subscriptions, grants and sponsorships.
The panels members were Kerry Young (Ruby Skye, P.I.), Scott
Albert (Tights & Fights), Ashton Catherwood (Microwave Porn),
and Jason Leaver (Out With Dad).
The Canadian Independent Production Fund (IPF) has renewed
their Web Series Pilot Program of 2010 in which they invest-
ed $1.2M in the production of 11 drama series in English and
French, targeted at audiences from preschoolers to adults. Thir-
ty-one projects have been selected by the pre-selection commit-
tee out of 160 English and French submissions with fnal funding
decisions to be announced in mid June 2011. The Independent
Production Fund in partnership with Film Nova Scotia and In-
novation PE, assists independent producers/creators to fnance
the production of original drama series created initially for the
web.

The Ottawa-based comedy web series, Sweet Tarts Takeaway,
is a fnalist for the Audience Choice Award at the New Media
Film Festival in Los Angeles, May 20-21, 2011. Congratulations
to Bonnie Robinson who is the Writer, Director and Producer of
this series and her hard-working crew at: http://sweettartstake-
away.com
The fnal submission deadline for the 'Just For Laughs Comedy
Conference was May 13, 2011. The Just For Laughs Comedy
Conference event is offering a pitch of a multi-platform web
series in collaboration with My Damn Channel open to applicants
worldwide. The conference is being held at the Hyatt Regen-
cy, Montreal, July 28-30, 2011. Three projects will be selected.
Learn more at: http://comedyconference.hahaha.com/info

For those webbers interested in pitching their ideas to become
more than a webisode or are interested in connecting or attend-
ing workshops on honing your pitching skills, the 4th annual I
Can Pitch event takes place over two days and will be held this
year at Liberty Village, Studio City in Toronto - date to be con-
frmed but keep October open. The workshops will be led by
respected members of the TV and Film community. Learn more
http://2010.icanpitch.com/event/index.php
Inside
The Canadian
Scene
By CASIA
16 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 17
Crossing Over
18 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 19
Embracing web series
as the new frontier.
ars. I love the seats, the wide screen,
the laughter I share with the audience.
I love the extra large view of Adrien
Brodys nose or Clive Owens eyes, or
the loudness of Daniel Day-Lewis
voice. I love to weep quietly as AIDS
takes another character from our cel-
luloid history or spend two hours in
Paris following historic writers and
artists as they encourage modern day
characters to travel back and forth
through time to follow their dream
at is not to say that these emo-
tions and reactions cannot be played
out in the privacy of my own oce or
workspace at home or on my laptop
sitting up in bed. Or better, provide
the opportunity to put away papers
and alternately watch and listen to the
latest installment of my friends web-
series, like the Selina Ray Show or
Ben Ross Ghouls both are totally
dierent concepts, provide entertain-
ment and use the medium of web-
series to showcase their work, talents
and ability to produce content for a
larger audience.
Just like television, only on a smaller
screen. But I am admittedly, one very
slow to cross over to the idea of web
series as a viable form of time worth
spent to enjoy entertainment or edu-
cation. Being a lover of movies, I am
very dedicated to them. I dont even
watch that much television unless it is
MERLIN or MODERN FAMILY -
to sit in front of the computer - which
to me represents work - is a struggle
mentally. To click on a web-show and
watch it? My mind has not yet crossed
over that this is okay. However, when
I do - when I watch a series that is
worthwhile, that actually shares an
intriguing story or an educational
enlightenment that is new to me - I
am happily surprised and will tune
in again. Like me, it will take time for
some to cross over.
So basically, Im tardy to the party in
terms of enthusiasm. But like any-
thing form of enlightenment, when
youve crossed the golden bridge and
have had the world opened up to
you, you have your Aha! e simple
idea that web-series are so easy to
make and to share with the world in
a space like Web Series Network is
truly, people, lets be real its not an
Aha! Its a Duh! Its a Hello?! its
a Eureka! As a graduate of New
York Universitys Tisch School of the
Arts Department of Film and Televi-
sion in 1989, we would have gone to
any lengths to have the opportunity of
a web-series network open to us. And
today? Anyone can do this. I guaran-
tee you that lm schools today will
be if they are not already going to
require students to create and produce
their own web-series, cast it, shoot
it and most of all, market it before
they get to their Sophomore year. And
moi? Any of my friends will tell you,
Ive always wanted to produce my
very own talk show. I have so much to
say and rant about but which >>
Even before I read Rich Mbarikets
posted discussion topic on web-
seriesnetwork.com titled Why Amer-
ican web series creators are still
struggling to grow their audience?, I
was contemplating this very question
who is going to watch? (I certainly
wont!) I was already choosing it as my
topic for this article.
is has been my initial gut reac-
tion to web series in general. Why?
Because I dont have the innate belief
that I have the time to sit in front of
my computer another half-hour to
watch a show, when I could be do-
ing other things? Getting away from
my email? Cleaning out the trashcans?
Generating more business by being
out in the world using up gas?
Clearly and most apparently to me,
web-series are the new Wild West of
entertainment. Reality TV used to be,
now it is mundane, pass and not re-
ally even reality as we know. Reality
TV series like Jersey Shore are just
as sit-com as Friends only with the
approval to show trashier behavior for
millions of dollars less. Advertising
dollars have not yet translated to high
stakes viewership for web series but
as we know with any form of enter-
tainment, it is just a matter of time.
I am born and raised in Hollywood,
California. Seeing movies in a movie
theatre is still my most favored form
of escape and way to spend my doll-
By ALICIAGARGARO-MAGANA
network would ever put the money up
for that? Now I can be that network
and I have no excuses. e possibili-
ties are endless.
So the question now becomes how
dedicated are you to get your product
out there? How savvy are you to think
outside the box? How willing are you
to use all the resources available to
make your story known? Movies and
television are expensive to produce.
Web-series arent, so whats the probs?
Its about getting out of your own
way and it is about opening up to
possibilities. Its about letting go of
prejudices and blocks to success. Its
about leaving the old behind and
embracing the new, its about letting
go of fear and if it is about time its
about managing it better. Its about
telling your story in the end. At the
same time, I have clicked on some
pretty awful web-series and have sat
back, pointed and said, See! THATS
BAD. But my part in it? I clicked on
it. I tuned in. e click on the show,
just the like the turn of the dial or the
purchase of the tickets translates to
advertising dollars translates to audie-
nce. Choose and produce wisely.
Have fun and LEARN. Im speaking
to myself here. Be open. I produced
a show development for Sueo Los
Angeles, that can be found on my
production companys website www.
picturesoosangeles.net. My fabulous
cameraman Andres L. Porras who is
also an amazing producer, editor and
dad strongly encouraged me to let
us develop Sueo Los Angeles as a
web-series over a year ago and I just
couldnt let go of the idea of that it
should be a cable program. I believed
it would nd the right audience. But
you know what? It is a web-series.
In a web-series form, it will have the
impact it was meant to and it will
introduce even more real Los Ange-
lenos who are making their dreams
come true to the world. More than
the few we chose to feature. It will still
cost money. We still dont have it but
to quote the gied Mr. Jimmy Cli, we
can get it if we really try.
I have over twenty years in this busi-
ness we call show. From working on
lms like What Dreams May Come
with Robin Williams to working with
an early pioneer of the web-series, fo-
rmat, Deepak Chopra, when we devel-
oped educational videos for his new
website MyPotential.com in 2001, to
working in documentary television
and reality shows like RuPauls Drag
Race. I know whats good and whats
going to work: good stories. A story
that moves someone, a true story, will
enlighten and will do it well. If one
does this with a solid base, then suc-
cess is inevitable.
But you just have to hello do it!
Even if it is a comedy. In comedy there
is truth. We laugh most oen because
it is truth, weve been there before
and we can look back and laugh. If
its drama, weve been there too. And
we are willing to do it again. If its
educational, gratitude! Weve learned
something.
If it sucks, then we know what we
dont want to watch. And the bonus
of a web series? We can do it again
and again. Click and click again, my
friends. Cross over and click to play.
Enjoy the show and watch web-series,
the new frontier. You can make the
dierence.

Onward and upward! AG
Horror Genre
20 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE WEB SERIES MAGAZINE 21
By TERRAKING
Its a whole
new world for
horror lovers
online.
Vampires and Zombies Online.... Oh My! e worlds fa-
vorite genre plays out online 24/7. Its no surprise that hor-
ror lms are very popular at theaters and the most popular
genre on DVD. Some very good horror lms get released
direct to DVD. ese releases oen out sell the major re-
leases from the same release period. If youve exhausted the
movies and DVDs available check out the horror web series
online.
Horror web series featuring zombies or vampires in their
plots are legion. ey are not only plentiful many of them
are quite good. One zombie series was just bought by a
major studio and is now going through pre-production.
Among the vampire series, there are plots about vamps try-
ing to assimilate into the human world while maintaining
a vampires lifestyle and vamps who are involved in major
crime syndicates.
eres even a series in which vampires stop suddenly and
break into song; this aint your grandmothers musical. Ob-
viously, many of these series are tongue in check, or a fang
in the neck, as it were. Horror blends with comedy in many
shows; these are oen the most entertaining shows. Com-
edy in horror entertainment is nothing new. >>
Web series by their very nature lend themselves well to the
horror/comedy mix due to budget constraints. is mix
works so well that the majority of zombie series are com-
edies or so called zombidies. Featured prominently online
are series teaching viewers to defend themselves during the
zombie apocalypse.
However, the guys doing the teaching are usually inept
to say the least, but they are funny. Another series suggests
you just go about your life like nothing is wrong and the
dead arent returning. Scenes from the series through the
oce with dead undead scattered in the aisles makes this
series unique.
e rush home trying to avoid the dead wandering aim-
lessly through the streets is also entertaining. One particu-
larly unusual series shows a character trying to gure out if
zombies can themselves be eaten. But on the serious side.
One series suggests nuking them ala Return of the Living
Dead. Another show asks, What if you planned for the
wrong apocalypse? Yet another series brags that they have
the cure for zombieism. Its a whole new world for horror
lovers online. Quality of production ranges from home-
made to big time movie quality. Your average rst time web
series lmmaker, who may have never even made a short
lm, probably wont have access to high-end equipment >>
Horror is classically known to be a perfect genre for the
low/no budget series. Acting is also a mixed bag for the
most part in web series. ere are some very talented actors
online. Even rst time actors shine if they have the right
material to work with. Other actors could use some acting
lessons or maybe need to learn how to run the camera or
the Kra table instead.
Several web series have bagged name actors. For the
viewer that is only now discovering web series, seeing a fa-
miliar face can make all the dierence. Some projects boast
such names as Doug Jones, Kirsten Vangsness, Gary Gra-
ham, D.B. Sweeney and Kiefer Sutherland (Sutherlands
series is a drama). ere are, of course, comedies, dramas,
documentaries, games shows and musicals series also avail-
able on the web. To nd a series that would interest you
check out webseriesnetwork.com. TK
JEWELLE COLWELL
Calgary
by Casia
Poker Girls is a web series beginning its second season with
phenomenal interest and talks of a third season is already in
the works. Not only was the webisode nominated for the 2011
D-Media Chrysalis Award out of the UK, but the show already
has an audience base of 20 countries. Written and produced by
Calgary Actor-Producer Jewelle Colwell, I managed to grab a
few minutes of time out of her busy schedule to ask her some
questions.
Casia: How did you get involved in writing and produc-
ing a web series?
Jewelle: ! began a one-on-one hlm making apprenticeship in
April, `10, and one of the assignments in August was to hlm
four people around a table with original dialogue. I fell in love
with the characters and invited the interested actors to return
for a weekly shoot.
C: What was your inspiration for the story?
J: Im inspired by the concept of women from various demo-
graphics and social economic status being friends and authenti-
cally supporting each other through the difhcult journeys they
each face. I love that we have mature women in meaningful
relationships with younger women. Its all about the beauty and
truthful journey of each of the characters, no matter their size
or age.
C: Do you see this series continuing on for several
years?
J: Originally I thought we would wrap it up after season 1.
Then the opportunity of having Judy Norton as guest star came
up, and Season 2 was born. With the phenomenal interest and
support we have received within the hrst two episodes, and
some very encouraging developments in regards to the series,
I believe we will continue into a third season for sure. Basically,
as long as the audience wants the story and characters, we will
continue with the series until the time comes to move on to
another project.
C: Now that you have completed season one, have your
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J: So much so! Yes. In fact, we are not sharing season 1 with
the public anymore. Having hired professionals to help with
lighting, cinematography has changed the look and feel of the
show to such an extent the two seasons have only the charac-
ters in common now. Story lines have been expanded, charac-
ters have been added and, to my absolute pleasure, profession-
als have been hired to contribute their expertise to Poker Girls.
C: What are your future plans for the show?
J: I would love the opportunity to take the episodes to at least
a half hour. Because we have such a strong ensemble cast,
there are several stories to tell I cannot wait to share with our
audience. We would love to gain network distribution to allow
us to expand these stories to a greater extent as we move
forward.
C: What advise can you suggest to newcomers in this
arena?
J: This question makes me laugh a little, as I consider myself
to be a newcomer! Seriously, the hrst piece of advice ! give to
anyone I hear is creating a web series is to get on Web Series
Network and begin to see how other, like-minded individuals
are working their concepts and to share their experiences with
each other.
C: How has the time commitment in producing a web-
series impacted your family? Have they been support-
ive? How have you involved them in your show?
J: Good question, Casia! I am very fortunate to have the sup-
port of my husband as well as my two daughters. I think its
good for the girls to see the value of commitment and hard
work. I do my best to be completely available for them when
they return from school in the afternoon. This isnt always pos-
sible, but because evenings away are sporadic, and because
they are 11 and 13, my husband and I have been able to tag
team successfully - so far! I am very blessed and fortunate to
have such a great team on my side, even if the fridge is empty
because no one has had time to grab groceries.
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me, Casia.
I want to extend to you my gratitude and much love from the
Poker Girls!
There we have it, Jewelle Colwell. Make sure you take
the time to stop by when you get a chance and see
what Poker Girls is all about, youll be glad you did:
http://www.pokergirls-series.com/ - Casia
22 WEB SERIES MAGAZINE