Out With Dad S02E02 ”Asking Out Alicia” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

“I have to puke. Hold my bag. Watch my board!”

Every now and then we like to have one of the creators behind a series do a sort of guest review of their own show. Actually, we only did it once before, with Tyranny, but I thought it worked out nicely. I asked the creator of Our With Dad, Jason Leaver, if he’d like to do one for the first episode of his second season. He said no. But he did agree to do it for his second episode! And we’re glad he did, because there’s a lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff in here…

The Watch List asked me to post a review of my own episode two weeks ago. A filmmaker reviewing his own work? An interesting concept! I declined however, because felt it would be too presumptuous of myself for 2×01 “Out with Dad”. It’s a different for 2×02 “Asking Out Alicia”, with this one I can sit back and enjoy just like any other audience member. This was true when we were filming and while I was editing. So ya, I can review this episode.

First a bit of background, this one was written after production began for season two. I’d already filmed scenes with Laura Jabalee, which you’ll see later. Often when working with actors I find I’m inspired to write more for them; this was no exception. Plus, I wanted to write more scenes for Corey Lof – this guy is hilarious. I’ve come to know Corey and Kate very well, and I know they understand comedy.

However, our three leads were faced with a challenge: our location.

We filmed this episode entirely in front of The 519 Community Centre on Church Street, who allowed us to use their facility to stand in as our high school. Church Street is the centre of LGBT life, vibrance and pride in Toronto. It’s the friendliest street. There is a fantastic energy. There also happens to be a lot of traffic with heavy trucks! There must have been a construction site nearby. Each time one of those trucks drove by we had to stop recording. It was LOUD. The actors quickly caught on to what audio level was acceptable. Instinctively they would pause their performance when a truck approached, when they got the nod from me they’d continue with the scene. What astounds me is their performances never suffered. They kept their energy up, they stayed in the moment. This is especially remarkable for Corey, whose character is the driving force of this episode. In comedy timing is everything. Yet some how his timing was unaffected! The pauses and restarts by the cast were no challenge for me as the editor to work with. Which reminds me, I was sitting on a train editing this episode, laughing out loud most of the time. I hope my fellow passengers didn’t mind!

You also have to pay attention to “Alicia’s pack of girlfriends”, played by Shailene Garnett, Carolyn Nettleton and Lizzie Stuart-Morris. I love them in every frame they’re on screen, they’re hilarious! I never offered them any direction, which I probably shouldn’t admit… but I didn’t need to! Each of them took it upon themselves to have a different reaction to the conversation unfolding before them. Watch for more of them in Out With Dad.

Next up, is the Adrian Ellis’s score. He went with a highly percussive, almost jungle-inspired track, as if saying Kenny is “on the hunt”. The first draft of the score suggested a 1970’s swagger. It fun, but given that our characters were born in the 90’s, it didn’t fit right. In the version you hear, all Adrian did was modify his bass track making it feel a little more modern – it kind of has a reggae vibe to it. I pushed him to have fun with the score. He included some hilarious hits to certain story beats, my favourite: the ding as the metaphorical light bulb turns on for Kenny at 3:05, and the way the music practically says “ooooh…” as Rose learns Alicia asked about her at 2:46.

I had fun making this episode, I can sit back as part of the audience and I enjoy what the cast and composer give us. I’m sure you will too!

P.S. I love the music! Thanks, Jason!

From Blip.tv Description:

Kenny finally finds the courage to ask out Alicia Van Harren, well, eventually.

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Out With Dad

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Tyranny Ep.8 “Note to Self” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

“Looks like sacred geometry to me.”

So here we are on episode 8 of Tyranny, a cool episode where Daniel, at his lowest point, gets a clue about what happened to him.

I started talking a bit with John Beck Hofman, the star and creator of Tyranny, through YouTube, and he had some interesting stuff to say. So I thought it wold be fun to have him do a little write up to episode 8. So here’s a “guest review” from John.

The webseries thing is really still at the experimental stages. It’s still in its infancy and I think its safe to say at this point that a webisode is not a short movie nor is it a short TV episode. It is it’s own being and for the most part, I believe, doesn’t know how to “be” yet. Formula is a big problem — is an episode 31 seconds, 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 10 minutes, 20? Maybe this year we’ll be figuring that out and maybe next year there will be a winning formula for episode length and story arc. Maybe comedy will have one length and drama will have another and sci-fi/thrillers yet another.

I think the most difficult thing is to try and fit something meaningful, impactful, suspenseful and engaging in roughly 4 minutes or so and then do that every week. Television and movies don’t even have to endure that kind of pressure — except for maybe “24″ -which is probably the only show that could pull off a webseries, as something very big seems to always happen every 4-5 minutes.

But as much as I loved the show “Lost”, I think it would completely fail as a “thriller” web series, as so much of the show was about the personal journeys of not one or two people but 20 or so individuals and how they connected to each other. Yes the ongoing cliff-hanging plot was there every hour, but certainly not every 4 minutes.

Which brings me to Tyranny episode 8. I have difficulty at times with this episode when I see it in the list, because I know many people will find it slow or boring when it stands there on it’s own. But then when I watch it along with the other episodes I’m reminded of why I put it there. In fact, every time I watch it I notice something I like more about it. But it isn’t something that keeps you grasping at your armchairs. Its one of those that works best when your alone — maybe even depressed as we’ve all been there.

I feel this episode is important because Daniel has really lost everything meaningful in his life up to this point: his girlfriend Alex dumped him for someone else, his art show was basically a flop, the new girl Isabelle was something hopeful, but her date showing up made him feel that much more the loser of the evening… and to top it off, he’s had an “episode” — his brain has malfunctioned and he may have lost his mind as well. Now he’s coming home alone, drunk, and watching films of a happy childhood and we don’t even know if they’re films of his childhood.

For me, I needed this episode in the mix. I needed to see Daniel completely emptied of everything that was important to him before we start filling him up with all the “mission to fight the global conspiracy” stuff. We know from the first episode that in the future he’s supposedly leading a revolution, so at this earlier stage in his life I wanted him to look like the last person who could ever achieve that super hero-like position. I wanted a real person with a troubled past to build upon- a failure basically - a character that I personally could relate to emotionally as my own life had been riddled with all kinds of failings to get beyond.

Is this the kind of territory a sci-fi/thriller webseries should get into? The web is either the best place to explore this or the worst. I haven’t decided yet. And as I said earlier, at this stage, it’s all an experiment. The winning formula hasn’t been found. How much struggle, how much relationship building, how much is too much, how little is too little.

There was a bit of difficulty in shooting this one — mainly because we really only got one shot at destroying the room so we had to make it work the first time. I actually really liked that the film reels hit the camera and Garret Baquet, who was shooting this episode, just kept rolling with it.

BTW, I found it so funny that the last review of episode 7 mentioned a couple times that they were waiting for the shoe to drop as this one was all about the shoe being dropped…or thrown rather. Maybe not exactly what they were hoping for… but if this week didn’t work, next week’s episode will. That’s the real beauty of the web series I think. If it didn’t work this week, it didn’t cost much to make, and it certainly didn’t cost the viewer anything, except for maybe 4-5 minutes of their attention.

Some good details about he show and some very thoughtful stuff!

Thanks, John, for agreeing to share your thoughts with us! We’ll be watching Tyranny as long as your willing to make it!

From YouTube Description:

Episode 8 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Note to Self”
Returning home late from his art exhibit, Daniel McCarthy finds himself in the midst of an emotional breakdown. The next morning however brings him a surprise clue as to what happened to him the week he disappeared.

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Tyranny

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page