You Suck at Photoshop – Ep.2 “Covering Your Mistakes”

MORE: http://www.MyDamnChannel.com/BigFatBrain

4 Swirlies

This is an old one, but this episode made me laugh each time I’ve seen it.  I came across it like most people, looking for tutorials on how to use Photoshop.  What I like about it most is the smoothness of the screen performance.  Anyone who’s tried to used those screen capture tools like Camtasia, will tell you that it isn’t easy to do a lot of cuts.

The story about his marriage falling apart continues throughout the other episodes, descending into a police standoff and a train ride to nowhere.  But I’ll let you watch those on MyDamChannel.

We Need Girlfriends – Ep 2. The Blue Party

In the 2nd episode of Ragtag Productions new web-series “We Need Girlfriends,” Tom, Henry and Rod get invited to a party with a very confusing title.

1 Swirly

“How else are people supposed to know that I’m a Rodney Piper fan?”

The fellows go to a ‘Blue Party’ which, it turns out, is no a sex party. And apparently the most humiliating thing in the world is to take your top off at a party.

The first episode was way funnier. I suggest you skip this one and I’ll let you know when you can check back in.

Black Dawn – Ep 2.

Adam finds other survivors, but as they gather together it is clear that no one knows what has happened.

2 Swirlies

“We don’t know what tonight is going to bring. Or tomorrow.”

In true movie fashion, the beautiful girl in distress is the second character we meet. Will they get together?

This is the second episode of the series, and we see that there are, indeed, some survivors from whatever it is that killed almost everyone in L.A. The survivors huddle in a basement and get what surely must be the worst pep talk ever – a real downer followed by, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I’m still waiting for this series to get going. I’m a sucker for science fiction, so I guess we’ll see what picks up next…

Captain Blasto – Ep 2. A Comic Caper

Series continues at http://www.youtube.com/blastoseries

3 Swirlies

“You can’t take a baby! That’s kidnapping, not a theft!”

I really like the visual design of the opening titles. Colourful and graphic.

So, here’s where things get moving. A crazy plot is hatched… and suddenly our hero’s life isn’t so boring.

There’s a number of funny bits. What tickles me is that they are staging a fake mugging and because they are inspired by the comics, the “mugger” is dressed up like the bad guys in Scrooge McDuck.

The fake fighting is fun, even if there’s some moments that feel like outtakes that were left in. I still like the comic book split screens, especially where they are used to juxtapose the comic book moments with the reality. What stands to be improved most is the acting. (Something to be said for almost every web series.)

All in all, a fun episode, albeit with an abrupt ending.

The Challenge with Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart, the beloved “everyman” who has been honoured with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, tests his mettle in “The Challenge.” In it, he will attempt to do “what many people think is one of the most difficult tasks in modern society” – opening a new DVD.

4 Swirlies

“I stabbed myself.”

“The Challenge,” like “With the Angels,” which we’ve also reviewed on here was made for Strike.TV, which provided ad revenue to the Writers Guild of America members who were suffering from the 2007 writers strike in Hollywood.

The site actually led to quite a number of web series, all with a reasonably slick look. Unfortunately, most of them, at least most of the ones I saw, weren’t very good.

Even at only one episode, “The Challenge” stood above the rest for one reason and one reason only – Bob Newhart. Although the script is “written” by someone else, the part is clearly Newhart’s – as he rambles on into old paper cut war stories from his days as a clerk typist during the Korean War after stabbing himself with a paper clip.

The video isn’t a bust-a-gut laugh riot, but you feel at ease watching Newhart struggle with the DVD package for his copy of Barefoot in the Park. And his trademark stuttering delivery makes the show charming.

Newhart is, after all, one of the funniest comedians of all time.

Disagree? Bite me. – er I mean tell us who you think the funniest comedians are – living or dead.

The Website is Down – Ep. 2: Excel Hell

The Website is Down episode number two! Chip takes us on a wild ride into the life of a master salesman. How many sales can he make in a single video? One? Maybe?

4 Swirlies

“I’ve used up all the rows in my Excel spreadsheet.”

Mirroring the first episode, the visuals of “Excel Hell” are of Chip, the Sales Guy’s computer screen. It begins with him playing Wolfenstein 3-D, just as Derrick, the Web Dude was playing Halo in the first episode. Apparently, not much ever gets done at PlasTrolTech.

Then after installing software promising him MILF on MILF action, infesting his computer with spyware, he goes on a salescall and has problem entering the information in his Excel spreadsheet – so naturally, he calls tech support.

Anyone familiar with Excel, or really anyone with a pair of working eyes, will be able to tell straight off what his problem is, but what follows is an extremely entertaining exchange between Sales Guy and Web Dude, peppered with hilarious fake pop up ads for everything from ads for used Real Dolls to software from his own company, PlasTrolTech.

Being from Chip’s point-of-view, we see how much of a bullshitter he truly is (even of his Minesweeper abilities) and realize he is a bigger idiot than we previously assumed – so much so that he can’t understand the simplest things about computers – such as even what program he is using.

What should we do with the useless Chips of the world?

With the Angels – EP 2 “Sunset Sunrise”

Things look better in the morning.

3 Swirlies

“I thought I’d watch the sun rise over the ocean for the first time. Only the sun doesn’t rise over this ocean.”

We learn we a little more about Taffy, and get to see her try to bond with her roommate.

This one has a little less pathos than the first one, and little less in the way of overwrought voice over.

This is the real pilot – a lot of exposition (which is mostly well delivered) and a good grounding in what the characters are looking for. Taffy came to L.A. looking for a new life, and while she feels disconnected from the big city life all around her her trust in God allows her to have faith that she’ll figure it out.

Any series that can make me feel sympathetic to a character that talks about God and Jesus is pretty well done.

Still not sure about that accent, though.

This is still the only series I’ve come across that’s all drama. Does anyone have any recommendations?

The Vetala – The Sydicate

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

4 Swirlies

This opens nice and suspenseful. A guy packing a crate with guns. A student tacking down a story. Her boyfriend looking for her. Something’s gotta happen… right?

And then it does.

While this first installment doesn’t give us much insight into what’s going on, it does give us one thrill ride of a five minute episode – honestly I was a little surprised it was so long, it felt much shorter.

The only reason it missed five Swirlies is the acting is little stilted, and it was essentially all set up. Also the series seems to be about supernatural stuff, at least according to their Youtube tags, and there’s not even a hint of that in this episode. But those are trivial complaints, perhaps, and I’m quite excited to see where this series is going.

The closing tag (thankfully, there’s not 2 minutes of end credits pumping up the length) reads, “No longer a myth.” Count me intrigued.

Does the title make anyone else think of cheese? No? So it’s just me, then.

EAT GHEE – Ep 1 – Part 1

READ FIRST: THIS IS A SATIRE ON INDIAN SOAP OPERAS

2 Swirlies… no, okay. 3

“No, Buddha. That’s ignorance. We also eat paneer.”

The good is pretty good, but the bad is really bad.

Talk about your slow start. But if you give it time, like past the 3/4 mark, things start to get nicely weird. There’s all kind of weird shots and camera usage. A fight. And then Jesus appears (I shit you not) and eventually, turns into Jerry, the cartoon mouse from Tom and Jerry and walks away.

It’s long. And often out of focus and the sound is pretty bad, sometimes it is hard to hear what’s being said. If you want to give it a change, skip to around the 4:50 mark. It’s loooooong. Of course, if you do that, you’ll miss the guy who speaks only in vocoder (“You sound like T-Pain or some shit”) at around 2:30. If it hadn’t been for that, I might bailed.

The music’s awesome, too. Really, the weakest parts are when they are just sitting talking – even with the excessive dolly movements. Almost unwatchable. But they hooked me enough to give the second part of Episode 1 a chance (yes, it is so long they had to split it two.) I’m told (via annotations on screen) that it pwns this one.

I’m curious to know what you guys think. Does the good stuff outweigh the bad?

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising – Ep. 1

[No official description. After a total party wipe out, a group of gamers decide to try the Dungeons and Dragons campaign again... only with a girl this time!]

3 Swirlies

“I haven’t gamed since… the incident.”

Yes, this is what it is like to game.

Okay, so a bit of a confession, this is a movie chopped up and placed on Youtube. (Yes, legally.) And I really enjoyed watching this as a movie, so I’m excited to include it here.

It seems that this is sequel to “The Gamers,” a movie I’ve never seen. Rest assured, I’ll get it on here sooner or later. But for now we gotta dance with the one what brung us.

Despite being chopped up and having an abrupt ending just before the ten minute mark, it’s a good first episode in that it sets up everything and tells a little story. This story is satisfying on its own but fits into a larger narrative. Sure, ten minutes is on the long side but there are two minute videos that had me looking at the timeline at the 1:00 mark, while I didn’t look down once.

Where this production could have been improved is the craft of it all. Lighting, camera, acting… it very much shows it amateur nature. But the story rises above all that to make on enjoyable watch. And it does a good job of capturing the feel of a tabletop role playing session.

And it is a snapshot of an era. I mean, how many of you have played a table top role-playing game? In another 20 years it’ll be deader than M. J.