Casual S02E03 “Elephants” | A Web Series Review on the Watch List

A Romance Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

Casual 2.3: Elephants from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

“I think if you don’t start taking chances you’re gonna regret it.”

Out of the 9 episodes I’ve watched so far, two were rated at 4, the rest were 5s. Every time I go to watch one of these episodes, I think that they just can’t keep being a 5 swirly episode every episode. That there will be some misstep, some tiny wrong note that will make me think “It was good, but it was no previous episode of Casual.”

And then, I watch the episode, in the short length of time that I’m allowed with each one, I’m transported. And it’s not like a whole heck of a lot happens. In fact, almost nothing happens in this episode. You get no closer to knowing why they broke up, or whether they are going to get back together, but you do get some rich, perfectly executed character moments.

I hope this series goes on forever.

From Vimeo Description:

Casual Episode 2.3: Elephants
Starring Lauren Marini & Brian Thomas Smith
Featuring Janna VanHeertum, Jessica Rich, Derek “D-Bone” Reckley and Michael Hobert
casualseries.com
facebook.com/​casualseries

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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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Casual S02E02 “Reflection” | A Web Series Review on the Watch List

A Romance Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

Casual 2.2: Reflection from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

“I just might break yours.”

Happy Fourth of July to all our American friends!

I feel like with every episode, Casual just keeps getting better and better. The confidence and subtleties of the writing and acting amaze me.

This season does tend to take huge risks with its timeline, as did the first season but in a different way. The first half of this episode confused me, as much as I was enjoying it. I wasn’t sure what I was watching, even though I suspected the truth. I’m not sure if it would have been better with a little more hand holding, or if it made it better because, as a viewer, it increased the tension by making me wonder. Did anyone else find this? Or am I over-thinking it?

As always, I’m stunned by the lighting, camera and sound. I sometimes hear people talk about a webseries “look,” which means no lighting, no colour timing, little in the way of art direction – and it’s okay because that’s how webseries look. Like putting effort into it is somehow not webseries. Those people should be forced to sit down and watch this series. In fact, anyone setting out to make film or TV or whatever should watch this. It should be required viewing in film schools. Which is not to say it is flashy, or calls attention to itself. Completely the opposite. It allows the story to be what it is, and allows the little moments to come through.

I can’t wait to see what happens next – and find out why The Guy and The Girl didn’t end up happily ever after.

From Vimeo Description:

Casual Episode 2.2: Reflection
Starring Lauren Marini & Brian Thomas Smith
Featuring: Janna Vanheertum, Jessica Rich, Jamie Stout, Michael Hobert, Derek “D-Bone” Reckley and Jonathan Mariande
casualseries.com
facebook.com/​casualseries

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Friday Night Playlist | The Best Web Series from The Watch List – May 20, 2011

Hola, my good web series peeps! It’s time for a new Friday Night Playlist!

Playlist Run Time: 64 minutes

Casual 1.6: A Door/Window from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Casual 2.1: Transition from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Take Me Back - Chapter 5 from Joe and Seth on Vimeo.

Total runtime of all videos: about 90 minutes

Welcome!

This is the longest playlist I’ve done for two reasons. One, it is two weeks worth of videos, and two… let me explain.

You may have noticed that for the last couple of weeks, the posting has been a bit sporadic. And this week, I decided that instead of trying to keep up with the volume as I fall behind, just to post one new episode a day and focus on getting them out on time. So that means that the only episodes I posted this week are ones that will end up on this list.

I’ve also been focused lately with following up all the series I have started watching. That means that I kinda know going in which ones will get into the Friday Playlist. One of the reasons I started doing the Friday Playlist was for people who didn’t want to follow every episode we put up. But now most of the episodes end up going in this list. Plus, not a lot of people are using it, which makes me kinda sad.

So, I have decided to put The Friday Playlists on hold for a while until I get back on a regular posting schedule, and I figure out what I want to do with them. They’ll be back, but maybe in a different form.

Until then, this one may be a long one, but it is kick ass. So many great episodes - from dramatic to sweet to bust-a-gut laughing. Enjoy!

Out With Dad Ep.6 ”Tea with Dad” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

“How come you always make such good tea?”

A sharp, smart little episode. The description calls it a minisode, but I don’t think there’s anything about it that makes it any lesser than the other episodes.

What’s funny is the amount of comments in YouTube that focuses on two things - strong reactions to how tea should be made, to the fact that the milk comes in a bag in Canada. It just goes to show you that sometimes it the little things in our lives that we take for granted, things we don’t even realize that other people do it differently.

From YouTube Description:

A bonus minisode. Nothing like a spot of tea to make everything better. The conclusion of Rose & Nathan’s nights out.

Our regular schedule is to debut new episodes every other Thursday. This being such as short one, we decided the wait for it should be short too. We’ll now return to our regular schedule of ever-other-Thursday. The next episode (a regular length) will debut September 26, 2010.

Please tell us what you think! Your comments will be appreciated!

Visit: http://www.outwithdad.com
Join: http://www.facebook.com/OutWithDad
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/OutWithDad

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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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Casual S02E01 “Transitions” | A Web Series Review on the Watch List

A Romance Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

Casual 2.1: Transition from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

“I haven’t a drink with you in four months!”

A strong start to season two of the heart breaking drama series, Casual.

Lots of things are hinted at, but we’re not given much in the way of details in this episode, except that “The Guy” has been in Australia for four months. Could it be true that “The Girl” has a new boyfriend?

Just as well produced as the first season. The acting’s still great, the last scene has very little dialogue, but the look between the two leads speaks volumes. I’m as hooked now as ever – what happened between them? What is going to happen?

I was just glancing at the views for this episode, and I noticed that the first week or so accounted for somewheres about 3/4 of the views. I don’t really have much in the way of thoughts on that, beyond that factoid seems interesting to me.

From Vimeo Description:

The Season 2 premiere: Transition
Starring Lauren Marini & Brian Thomas Smith
Featuring: Janna Vanheertum, Jessica Rich, Michael Hobert, Derek “D-Bone” Reckley, Shannon Zielon and Jon Mariande

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Tights and Fights: Ashes – May 9th to May 13th – Super Hero Comedy Web Series

A Watch List Original Web Series

Tights and Fights: Ashes is a comedy web series and transmedia story about super heroes, told over YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. You can jump to the Tights and Fights website, or you just keep watching from here.

Hangovers, benders, and open-mouth kissing…not just a day in the life of Charlie Sheen anymore! Watch as The Plumber reaps the painful rewards of his first AAA ‘Cleaning’, and Trojy finally achieves his heart’s desire…or does he?

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Orange Juice in Bishops Garden S01E01 “Orange Crush” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

“I like you like I like my orange juice.” – Lyric from “Midnight Joyride (Concentrated)

Okay, the song hooked me right from the first scene, but OMG y’all! This is an amazingly fun little series that is really strong on characters and little moments. While there’s one or two scenes where the production is not great, the writing is sharp and clean without taking itself too seriously. This show reminds me of the first season of the U.K. TV show Skins (which I loved) and Juno (which I did not – but those who did should like this series anyway).

There was one commentator on YouTube who ripped into this episode for a number of reasons, but I couldn’t disagree more. Maybe it is the teenage girl inside of me, I think this show creates vivid characters that we instantly understand and brings them to life in ways that feel at once larger than life and totally believable. We very quickly get inside these girls’ heads and know what they’re thinking, which is one of every writer’s goals.

I like the shooting, it doesn’t give it a documentary feel, quite, but the natural lighting and the simple camera angles work with the script and the acting to make it feel real. The sound is good, too, especially given the fact that they claim to have made this episode with no money. They use some music which they clearly did not own, and probably didn’t pay for, but from what I can tell the theme song was written for this show. Now that alone is pretty cool; even cooler is how amazing the song is – I can’t stop playing it. It reminds me of the cereal song written for the movie Ping Pong Playa, not so much in sound or style but in the subject matter and being written for something else.

I kinda stumbled on this series, and I’m so glad I did. There’s four seasons already, and I can’t wait to watch the next one!

From YouTube Description:

See where it all begins… It’s the start of the summer of 1994, and Kris prods best friend Sarah to finally make a move on her long-time crush Jake (before Maggie does it instead). Meanwhile Beth finds herself in a different love triangle with her best friend Rox and the older bike messenger: Adrian. After a trip to the liquor store (where the owner couple puts their 8 y.o. behind the counter), the gang all meets up in Bishop’s Garden, where the fun really starts. But more fun means more drama…

—

“Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden” (OJBG) is a fiercely local and independent web series set in Washington, D.C. about the lives of a group of teenagers in the summer of 1994.

Make sure to visit us at http://www.OJinBG.com/ to check out our episodes, blog, news updates, character bios, and more!

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/OJBishopsGarden/

“The bad things we do. The things we get caught for–and how they are never the same.”

French Subtitles by: http://www.univers-l.com/

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Tea, Biscuits & Incest Ep. 5 “The Incest” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Comedy Parody Web Series

5 Swirlies

“Except for the artificial insemination with your father’s sperm, I did not see that coming.”

How could you see anything coming in this over-the-top, anything goes, button pushing parody of soap opera plots?

This is the last episode of this crazy series guaranteed to offend someone. But they clearly had lots of fun making it. And that fun shows through. That’s not easy - not even from big budget movies.

Sadly Steve Anthopoulos’ next show, The 21 Conspiracy, isn’t as fun even though he seems to take making it more seriously - if that makes any sense.

From YouTube Description:

Please subscribe if you liked this video. More shorts are soon to come.

Visit the official website: http://www.teabiscuitsandincest.spaceboy.com.au
http://www.spaceboy.com.au

The season finale of the web series Tea, Biscuits and Incest. A final confrontation reveals more secrets before a surprise visitor changes their lives forever.

Written, produced and directed by Steve Anthopoulos. Staring Penny Hall, Roger Smith and Vlad Bajovski. Music by Owen James Matthews.

Thankyou to Natalie for helping out: www.youtube.com/communitychannel

Thankyou to all the show’s fans! Soon an outtakes reel including audition tape excerpts will be uploaded as well as a special bonus TBI video and more short films from Spaceboy productions.

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