Tyranny Ep.16 “The Great Collapse” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

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“There is no profit in peace, only in war.”

The web series Tyranny has moved from YouTube to Koldcast. And I know Koldcast is trying to do their thing and pay the bills, just like everyone else… but I don’t like thier site or their player. There, I said it. Sorry guys. But that’s just me. I like how they are supporting web series, but I find their technology clumsy and hard to use. And, like other ad serving platforms, I hate that I have to watch the ad over in order to rewatch the video to pick up on some detail or other.

Okay, on with the show.

This episode of Tyranny had me confused. I mean, holy crap does it look great. Creator/director/star John Beck Hoffman really pushes the visual envelope, and while having the one visual effect for 11 minutes is a little… intense, there’s creative and artistic reasons for it. And there’s some other things going on with the editing that I really love. As always, the production is incredible.

Now, I’m going to try to talk about the story without giving way too much in terms of spoilers. I was so lost at the start that I double checked to see if I had skipped an episode. Yes, when we get to the end it is all explained, but I think that you have to be careful going into an episode in which your audience (at least I was) spending much of the time trying to connect the dots from the previous episode to this one, instead of just soaking in the story. This is a serialized show, with an evolving narrative, so I found myself trying to fit together what had come before and what was going on now. It made it very difficult to enjoy the story, at it meant that a large chunk of the second half of the episode was Daniel explaining things. This was a sort of bridge episode, keeping the audience up to date, but in the end not at all, really. More of a political/conspiracy theory rant.

I still liked the episode. I mean… seriously – did they really go to Egypt to shoot it? Cause it really freakin’ looks like they did. Besides how well put together this series is, and as I mentioned last time, Tyranny really sets the standards for what it doable in a web series format. This isn’t an urban apartment or guys in steampunk costumes running through the woods. This is going to Egypt (or doing a truly excellent job of making it look like we went to Egypt) street protest scenes, explosions, fight scenes, street chases… I know most of that stuff was in the last couple of episodes, but still. The scope of this series is kinda shocking. Sure, there’s other series, like Broken Toy, that have lots of action and fighting and special effects, but they still feel small in scope – even a little claustrophobic.

From YouTube Description:

Picking up right where we left off on episode 15 – Just as Daniel was catching up with the stranger that was following him, he gets knocked on the head and is left laying at the bottom of a staircase, unconscious. Now he awakens to find himself blindfolded, interrogated and tortured by a foreign man with a oddly familiar voice.

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Tyranny Ep.15 “Who’s Chasing Whom?” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

5 Swirlies

“I feel and see these guys inside my head telling me to do things I don’t want to do.”

Here’s a crazy new episode from conspiracy thriller web series Tyranny.

This episode goes from being a very realistic, domestic argument on the streets (don’t you hate that?) to a tense, action movie, Bourne Identity surveillance scene to a raw, intense foot chase, with a coincidental encounter with the FBI thrown in.

Sometimes, in the past, I haven’t been exactly sure about where this series was, what genre it was trying to be. After this episode, I don’t have to wonder anymore - Daniel’s not crazy. He is being followed and watched.

Both the conversation and the chase scene were beautifully shot. The sound work in the conversational scene is very crisp, so much so, in fact, that I suspect that the original location sound wasn’t useable and what we’re hearing is all ADR and Foley.

The chase scene is shot in such tight close ups, that it starts to feel like an experimental film. I think it is shot with an extreme fish eye lens, with some shots feeling like they are mounted on the body of the actor as they run. Both scenes must have taken for-freakin-ever to shot and to post. And there’s a shot that goes past some cops looking like they’re about to do a serious take down - was that just taken as they drove past some cops?

This episode, for all of its excitement, is short on story but that’s okay. It certainly makes up for it by being giant is scope. There’s a massive protests, helicopters, aerial shots… all of it (I’m assuming) done on a shoestring budget. It just goes to show you the short of thing that web series are capable of; so much for two people sitting in a room talking.

From YouTube Description:

The much anticipated EP: 15 of TYRANNY the web series.
It’s September of the year 2000 and Daniel and Isabelle get caught in a pre-election protest filled with police, which erupts into a chaotic foot chase.

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Tyranny Ep.14 “Out of Ideas” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

5 Swirlies

“It’s my dream.”

Whoa.

This web series always leaves my mind whirling. This one even more so.

To say much about what happens would be to spoil it for you. Rest assured that the way it is presented is nothing short of brilliance, so that when the final twist comes - well, I didn’t see it coming.

Tyranny is back on its thriller A game, after so many episodes that were more… moody and character driven than out and out thrillers. Which only serves to give this episode that much more punch.

The camera work is gorgeous - the choice of colours and tint for the exteriors is amazing. Even the simple shot of a tape being put in a handicam is beautiful, with rich colours and a full contrast range. (That’s my camera geek side coming out.) The sound is great, the tense music is exactly what the scene needs.

In short, wow.

From YouTube Description:

episode 14 of Tyranny the Web Series-
“Out of Ideas”
Daniel has been frustratingly conducting sensory deprivation experiments in his loft, failing to make any headway into revealing anything hidden deep within his subconscious. He is ready to give up when a mysterious man, Dr. Ethan Chambers, enters center stage.

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Tyranny Ep.13 “Y2K” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

“The love of money is the root of all tyranny.”

This is one of those episodes that leaves you with a real sense of… huh.

Huh. It’s not exactly a cliffhanger, but it did leave me wondering what would happen next. There’s a weird effect at the end, but we know that the world doesn’t end, cause we have seen scenes from the future. It’s a sweet episode, that feels like we’re taking a breather before the fit hits the shan.

From YouTube Description:

Episode 13 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Y2K”
As the clock ticks down to the end of the millennium, Daniel realizes he must know for certain whether Isabelle can accept not only his eccentric view on life, but his possible hallucinations.

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Tyranny Ep.12 “Losing It” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

“Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve?”

A frenetic, intense episode that really puts you inside the emotional state of a guy coming apart at the seams.

There’s a cool montage in the middle, some found footage (at least it feels that way) and some original material, all mashed together as Daniel’s thoughts spiral out of control.

I really enjoyed the clash of source images through out - grainy video, sharp film looking shots, some somewhere in between.

And then a moment of normalcy, a phone call, makes it all seem like a weird fantasy. Is Daniel really losing his mind? Or is Isabella calling a lifeline that he’s clinging to for a lucid moment? And what happens New Years Eve?

With some shows, you feel like they’re coming to the end of their run or their season and the writer or creators are like, “Oh yeah, I need to get the plot going.” And instead of focusing on the characters that have lead you to stick around, they throw in plot twists that feel artificial. And you end up feeling like the end just sucked all the life and fun from the series. I’m not feeling that with Tyranny. There’s only three episodes after this one, so yes, granted we’re not at the end yet, but I feel like each episode is keeping the focus on Daniel but still ramping up the tension.

From YouTube Description:

Episode 12 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Losing it”
After having been called into the FBI, Daniel McCarthy turns the camera on himself, as he documents his now heightened paranoia in a video journal.

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Tyranny Ep.11 “Aversion” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

5 Swirlies

“Do you have an aversion to the government?”

Chilling.

There’s so many things to like about this new episode of the webseries, Tyranny. The tension is intense. The acting is top notch. I love the art design of the FBI offices - all boxes and paperwork. They could have done so many other things for the look of the offices, but this busy, slightly claustrophobic approach complimented the intent of the scene perfectly.

While the story didn’t really move forward, this scene gives us a sharp insight into Daniel’s increasing paranoia and emotional trauma. We could have seen him ranting or crying or writing cryptic messages on the walls, but this is a taut, honest, subtle way to get across just how frayed Daniel is becoming.

It also sets up a lot questions. Is Daniel being followed? Was he called in to speak to the FBI for some other reason than he’s being told? Is he paranoid? As much as we totally identify with Daniel, and feel what he’s feeling… I think we can’t help but question his mental state when he’s up against the complete assured calmness of the FBi agent, another testament to the strength of the acting in this series.

I like this series because it makes choices, bold choices. It doesn’t just say, we need an FBI office and this is what FBI offices on TV look like, cause I don’t think they would ended up with the set that they did. And I don’t know for certain all this - maybe this messy room was the only location they could get and so they made it work. But I don’t think so. Everything about this show is deliberate, so well thought out, that I don’t think it happened by chance.

And the character of the FBI agent? So creepy, all the more so because of the banality of much of his dialogue. Is he really just asking about the loft cause he wants to live in one? Or is he probing Daniel for some reason all together?

4 episodes left…

From YouTube Description:

Episode 11 of Tyranny the Web Series:
Aversion”
Daniel McCarthy gets called in for questioning by the FBI.

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Tyranny Ep.10 “Deja Vu” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

5 Swirlies

“Nothing is random.”

Cool!

Each episode, I am more impressed by the look of it. Midway through the episode there’s some amazing shots of San Francisco, with split focus and a super long lens that makes it look like we’re seeing the city in miniature. So much cooler and interesting than, say, random shots outside a car window. And not only that, but those first shots of Daniel welding are really nice.

This episode starts with Daniel getting back to his life, but ends with some really cool, tense moments that make it clear that the mysterious happenings aren’t over. Either that or he has severe brain trauma.

There’s five episodes to go in this run of Tyranny. I’m dying to know what happens next.

From YouTube Description:

Episode 10 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Deja Vu”
Daniel begins construction on a sensory deprivation tank in his studio - but his work is interrupted by a surprise phone call from Isabelle.

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Tyranny Ep.9 “The Man From Atlantis” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

“HAARP. Mind Control. Beaming images from Alaska. Bouncing them off the ionosphere into our brains. Using microwaves.”

A nice, tense little episode that delivers a fair bit of exposition without feeling like it does.

This episode really highlights the beautiful rich art direction and cinematography. The sound and music is expertly done, too. What really sells this episode is the mood - everything works together to create a mood that both ominous and fun.

I really like the secondary characters in this series. Quite often in a web series, even if your main guys are strong performers, the day player type actors are noticeably less experienced. Here every actor and actress feels both well cast and talented (and charismatic) enough to carry their own series. Even this bookstore guy - his mostly expository lines are delivered with just the right blend of jaded passion; exactly like so many of people I know from that sort of world.

Let’s go back to the lighting and camera for a moment. After you’ve watched this episode (you are watching, aren’t you?) click on any frame at random while Daniel is in that bookstore - each frame would make a remarkable photograph. It is just lit and shot beautifully. Some D.P.’s are afraid to let things go too bright or too dark, but this image uses the whole range, and the shooter, Silas Funk, is willing to let a face go dark, as long as it looks natural and aesthetically pleasing.

From YouTube Description:

Episode 9 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Man from Atlantis”
Taking his friend Kurt’s advice, Daniel ventures to Atlantis Books in downtown San Francisco, where he meets an unusual book store owner who decides to educate Daniel on various conspiracies.

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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.

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Tyranny Ep.7 “Enter Isabella” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Sci-Fi Web Series

4 Swirlies

“No great work of art is finished. Merely abandoned.”

If you have been watching this web series up until now, this is an awesome episode. If this is the first one you’re watching then you probably will be wondering where the sci-fi element is.

After all the craziness of the previous 6 episodes, Daniel tries to get back to his life. Normally, I don’t like it when we are simply waiting for the characters to figure stuff out that we already know. I had a bit of that feeling last episode. But with this one, I don’t. And that’s because it is skillfully done - we learn lots about Daniel that we didn’t know before, and we get to meet Isabella. Clearly, there’s a connection right away, only she has a jerky boyfriend. Every story needs the romantic interest with the jerky boyfriend.

Besides the fact that we’re learning about and meeting characters, the episode (and the whole series) is very well done. Everything about it feels natural, and rings true. So many sci-fi shows get wrapped up in the science fiction plot, as this show might have been accused of during the first episodes, but here we just get to see Daniel being Daniel. The writing is nice and restrained, not getting in its own way, same with the acting. The production is tight - the doctor’s office feels like a doctor’s office, the art opening feels like an art opening (although the crowd wallah did sound a little artificial), even the art seems real. Was it a real exhibit, I wonder?

All of that aside, what really sold it for me was the tension that I feel; knowing what has happened to him, even if Daniel doesn’t get it, makes me question everything that’s going on. Is Isabella in on it? Will the events catch up with Daniel? I watched this whole episode waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Those two things go hand in hand, even if you want your audience to anticipate something that may or may not happen, you still must tell a story. In the recent episode of Casual, I was anticipating where the relationship would hit a snag, but while I was waiting there wasn’t really much story there. What saved it was that I enjoyed being on that date with those two.

I do want this web series to get back to the science fiction stuff, and I do want that other shoe to drop, but at the same time I was very entertained by this simple episode about Daniel getting on with his life. Oh, and it was a nice touch having the missing week impact Daniel’s life immediately - the deadline for his art show was looming and he was now a week behind. And having him talk about that with the doctor was a nice touch, a nice way to get out some exposition in a natural way.

Just before I sign off, I have a bit of an announcement. Next week’s posting of Tyranny Episode 8 will feature a “guest review” by the series creator, John Beck Hofmann! I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say about his series. As a taste, here’s a recent Tweet he sent out…

If I had a nickel for every time I’d been given advice on how to make this show, I’d have enough to make this show. -jbh

How true! I find that often when you do a good job with something, everyone wants to tell you how it should be done.

From YouTube Description:

Episode 7 of Tyranny the Web Series:
“Enter Isabelle”
After having mysteriously disappeared for eight days, Daniel pays a visit to the hospital to have himself checked out. But as his doctor prescribes rest and prescription drugs, Daniel goes ahead with his art show, risking possible relapse.

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