4 Swirlies

If you can’t see the episode, click here to watch!

“I heard you crying again last night.”

NOTE: How to watch with subtitles.

English subtitles
To watch Out With Dad with subtitles:
1. You must press play first, then the ‘CC’ button will appear.
2. Click ‘CC’, and choose your language.
Note: you may need to click ‘Full Screen’ to reveal all the language selections.

This is one of the Toronto web series Out With Dad’s mini-episodes. It’s about two and a half minutes, and instead of being a full on story – instead it is a bit of a slice of life glimpse into Vanessa’s struggles. Not everyone has a supportive parent like Rose – and it was hard for Rose.

This whole episode is two shots, almost all the dialogue in one. It lets the actors really carry the moment. What I like about this set up is how the family is already dealing with one child who isn’t speaking to them because of how he wants to live his life – he married a Muslim woman – which places extra strain and stakes on Vanessa not to put her family through that all over again.

While some of the dialogue spoken by Vanessa’s parents is quite on the nose, the real emotional anchor for this scene is Vanessa’s brother, Jacob. I got the sense that Vanessa is, more than anything, trying to protect Jacob, which leaves her torn. If she is true to who she is, she’ll make Jacob’s life worse. It is a struggle that many of us go through, I think. I think in everyone’s lives, there comes a time when they are forced to choose between their happiness and the values and choices of their family.

While Lindsey Middleton does all the heavy lifting – dialogue wise – and does a great job, Jacob Ahearn has, in some ways, the harder part. He has to listen and emote in character. Actors sometimes tend to focus on the dialogue, what they are saying, but a good actor knows what to do when the other guy is talking. Anyway, both performers do a remarkable job in an intense scene.

Man, these actors do a lot of crying, don’t they?

Lindsey Middleton as Vanessa
Jacob Ahearn as Jacob

From Out With Dad website:

A difficult time for the LeMay family. Vanessa and her younger brother, Jacob, sit upon the steps as they listen in on their parents fighting. Jacob fears he might loose another sibling to something he doesn’t understand, and Vanessa realizes what is truly important to her.

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Out With Dad S02E04 ”With Jacob and Vanessa” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

If you can’t see the episode, click here to watch!

“We all have to be the victim at some point.”

This is one of the longer episodes of the web series Out With Dad, and one of the most dramatic. The creators of Out With Dad always intended the second season to have longer episodes, intermixed with shorter mini-episodes. I think, at 12 minutes plus, this is the longest episode I’ve watched for the Watch List, of anything.

Dad makes a mistake, and Rose pays the price.

The first half of the episode, I’ll be honest, feels a little more preachy and after school specially than Out With Dad’s usual tone, but the two scenes between Rose, Vanessa and Vanessa’s mother and Rose and her Dad are pretty strong and hit just the right notes. Will Conlon, who plays Nathan (the Dad) has an especially strong moment at the end of the episode. It felt very real (of course, credit for the moment also has to go to Jason Leaver, the writer and director).

I felt like the scene in the bathroom, where Rose has a teary but mostly polite conversation with a stranger, a bit of a misstep. Maybe I’m not teenage girl, but I feel like a moment like that – especially when you’re going through something as private as Rose is going through – would play out differently, much more awkward on both sides. Feel free t disagree. I do think we’ll be seeing more of the new girl.

I always think this series is very well produced, the editing in this episode is very, very strong – all the more so because there’s lots going on that the casual viewer will never notice. There’s so many subtle choices to make in the editing room, like whether this close up includes the other character in the foreground or not, that has a profound emotional impact without drawing attention to itself. You can say the same things about the choice of camera angles during production, or really about any aspect of making a movie, TV show or web series, but it is editing that the final choices have to be made. My buddy said something the other day, about something else, that applies – ‘You control it, or it controls you.’ I think it comes from those struggling with alcohol, but it applies just as much in creative endeavors. You have to be making conscious choices, all the way through, or you’ll be doing things that don’t really work without knowing why they’re not.

From Blip.tv Description:

Sometimes people say things they don’t realize are mean or hurtful. According to numerous sources, the average teenager hears 26 homophobic slurs in a day. Often, these things are said by our friends, classmates, family members. To Rose, comments like these ring louder than ever now that she’s out to herself and to a select few. What if coming out all the way out makes it even worse? What if she’s singled out because she’s gay? Is this what Vanessa is so afraid of? Is that why she’s behaving the way she has been? Questions like these can be overwhelming. Meanwhile, at home, Nathan has an unexpected encounter – which might have devastating consequences. Please comment! We really appreciate your feedback. The next episode, a minisode, debuts August 18th, 2011. Kate Conway as Rose Lindsey Middleton as Vanessa Will Conlon as Nathan Wendy Glazier as Theresa LeMay Caitlynne Medrek as the girl in the washroom Music Composed, Produced and Performed by: Adrian Ellis Created, Written and Directed by: Jason Leaver

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Out With Dad S02E03 ”Having it Out” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

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.

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

4 Swirlies

NOTE: Probably won’t work on iOS devices.

“Maybe we are.”

Okay, here we go. Fresh from Blip.tv is the world premiere of Out With Dad, Season 2!

I don’t want to spend too much time talking, you should watch it yourself, but this episode transitions from season one to season two without a bump. The moment we’ve been waiting for happens, and it goes more or less as we knew it would – Dad was cool. Nathan had a nice little speech about the stages as he went through them, but the big problem in Rose’s life – even know that she’s out – is still Vanessa.

There’s lots of nice touches, and more awesome special effects as imaginary Rose and Nathan’s serve to let us in our their thoughts and emotions, a nice visual device. And really well done – the real Rose and the imaginary Rose have some great timing, which could not have been easy to achieve in the editing. Other than that, director Jason Leaver is smart enough to get out of the actors’ ways as they have this pivotal moment in their lives – the shooting, while strong, doesn’t stray too far from the standard close ups, allowing the conversation to be what we’re focused on. Although, I must admit that I spent part of their time in the car watching the scenery pass by, trying to figure out where they were when it was being shot.

I find myself wondering what’s coming next? The central question of season one – can Rose come out to her Dad – has been answered. Will her troubles with Vanessa take up the full second season? Now that Rose is out, will she be open about it to everyone? Either way, public or private, that’s gotta have a big impact on Rose’s life.

And what about Dad? In a show called Out With Dad, Nathan will surely have a big role in what comes next, but his worry about his daughter’s orientation is behind him and he doesn’t have a Vanessa in his life to take up the dramatic slack. Will his romantic life get in the way of helping his daughter navigate her early “out” days?

One of the things I wanted to talk about is the length – at 13 minutes, it is long by web series standards. Now, this is very popular show, with around 1.5 million views, I don’t think the length of it will be a barrier to hitting 2 million and beyond. And web series and general will get longer. But I do hope that longer episodes doesn’t mean more drawn out episodes. I hope that Out With Dad continues to pack the episodes full of story. And there’s no reason why this episode couldn’t have been two episodes – either way it would have been just as strong. So the choice is: longer episodes or more of them? Which would you choose?

I feel like this episode is more of an end to season one, leading us into season two. With so much resolved, I’m looking forward to the new conflicts that season two will bring.

Congrats to the cast, crew and creators of Out With Dad! I know you guys are celebrating your launch tonight, as celebrate you should. You guys make one hell of a web series. Can’t wait to see that rest of them!

From Blip.tv Description:

When we last saw Rose, she was practising coming out to dad ? but will she? Does she have the courage? Inside she knows it?s time. But how will dad react if she does? Coming out can be the scariest thing a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning teen will ever go through.

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Out With Dad S02E01 ”Out With Dad” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRLWtXPiuNQ

“You know how Vanessa and I have been getting really close lately…?”

In honour of the start of the second season of Out With Dad on July 7th, we on the Watch List are running back to back postings of the last episodes of season one of this popular webseries.

This episode leaves anything dealing with Vanessa to season two, and instead leaves us on a cliffhanger - will Rose come out to her dad, Nathan? I mean, coming out to her friend is one thing, coming out to her dad, even though we as the audience know that he’d be more than cool to know the truth… well, it’s still something else all together.

The shot where Rose tells Kenny is particularly incredible; time stops behind Kenny. Was that done with green screen? Or was it simply time consuming aftereffects? If anyone involved with the production knows the answer, leave a comment and let us know!

The premiere of season two is only a couple of days away, and to wet your appetite, here’s a little taste of what’s to come…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHwWdGd1JEg

From YouTube Description:

In this finale episode of our first season, Rose finds coming out isn’t easy… even when you practice.

http://www.adrianelliscomposer.com/

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Out With Dad Ep.8 ”Out With Kenny” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBDxZ9PnDCo

“Things are really starting to make sense.”

Wow, what a reversal for Rose. Just when things seemed at their worse, Rose seems to catch a break. Or does she?

This episode is one of the plottier episodes of the series, and certainly one of the least nuanced. There’s also some minor rough moments in the editing. But in the plus column, the shooting is amazing and the digital effects of the chalk drawings are really great - in a closer shot, they appear out of focus and closer to the camera, as they would be if they were physically present. Sweet. Plus there’s a surprisingly steamy make out scene. This series has recently hit 1.5 million views, and a steamy make out scene certainly doesn’t hurt on the internet.

I feel like all of a sudden the story has ramped up, and with only one episode to go. Will Rose’s love life be resolved in the last ep? Stay tuned to find out…

You won’t have to wait long! Season 2 of Out With Dad starts in just a few days of this post. In honour of the new season, which writer/director Jason Leaver has been tweeting up a storm over, The Watch List will post the last episode of season one tomorrow and then bring you the premier of Season Two as soon as it comes out. How’s that for exciting?

From YouTube Description:

In this penultimate episode of season one, things are shaping up for Rose.

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

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Out With Dad Ep.7 ”Chemistry with Vanessa” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

5 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc4ulUan424

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

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn9pG8R3jUo

“That must be a lot of weight to carry around.”

One of the intersting things about this episode is that it is sort of the flipside of the previous one - they are happening at the same time.

The locations are nice - a rooftop patio (with a gorgeous background of the city) and a streetcar. I think maybe this si the first time I’ve seen a web series scene shot on a streetcar - or a movie or TV, for that matter. At least in Toronto. Even though the shots on the patio seemed a little out of focus.

What’s nice about this episode is that is talks a little bit about the impact coming out can have in the people around you. Especially what can happen if you spend your life trying not to be gay. It’s a bit of a cautionary tale for Nathan, and it underlines the stakes that both he and Rose face.

From YouTube Description:

Nathan (Will Conlon) is out on a blind date with Angela (Kelly Marie-Murtha).

This episode features the song “Insomnia” by Trio Arjento. Visit their website at:
http://www.trioarjento.com

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

Visit: http://www.outwithdad.com
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Out With Dad Ep.5 “Blind Date with Nathan” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

5 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCdRmZlgISE

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you and Vanessa were-”

I’ll try not to gush, but this is another unbelievably strong episode of Out With Dad.

With almost no dialogue, more character than story, this episode gets us inside Rose’s head like very few other web series manage to do with their characters.

This was all around the slickest of the episodes so far, and while technically there wasn’t anything to compare to the special effects of the previous one, there was still some amazingly sharp and creative editing.

Maybe I’m getting old, but I’m really starting to appreciate character moments like I didn’t before. Sure, there were no surprises or plot twists. And yes, the wall to wall music helped - but at least they were original tracks carefully chosen and acquired for this series, not just a popular song stolen by the series in order to piggy back on its massive mainstream emotional connection.

Writing wise, you’d be tempted to say this episode didn’t have much. No dialogue means no writing, right? I’m not so sure. Having less spoken dialogue does put all the weight on the performance, something which a lot of early career writers, directors and actors try but fail to pull off. If you want a scene to be about what characters are thinking and feeling, instead of what they are saying, it takes too things. One, really great actors who are able to communicate what their character is thinking and feeling without saying it - which is about the hardest thing in the world - and two, a dynamite script. This last one might seem counter intuitive, but without a strong script, how can an actor know the exact right way to play the moment? It also takes a confident director to make sure the two - the acting and the writing - are working together.

Making a web series (or movie and TV show) is such a tough thing; it relies on a large group of people all working together - and if just one of them is off their game, the whole thing doesn’t work. Each person involved with the project, from writer to actor to sound recorder to the person doing the final mastering, they all have to excel at what they do in order for the end result to be any good. That’s the job of the director and the producer.

And besides all that blah blah blah I was just spouting off about, I think this episode really works not only because everyone involved is doing a great job, nt the least of which is creators Jason Leaver and Eric Taylor, but Kate Conway (who plays Rose) is simply amazing.

From YouTube Description:

Ingredients for a high school party: a parentless basement, mood lighting, a dancing fool and someone crying in the bathroom.

Read about the making of this, and other episodes here:
http://www.outwithdad.com/Making-Out

This episode features the following music:

“Steady Beating Drum” by Lara Martin
http://www.myspace.com/laramartinsongs

“Side Swept” by Late July
http://www.latejuly.ca, where you may listen and download “Side Swept”, unabridged, plus other songs from her EP by the same name.
Watch the music video produced by the makers of Out With Dad here:
http://www.outwithdad.com/news/side-swept-music-video

“Time is Wasting” by Dan Beausoleil
http://www.youtube.com/DanBeausoleilMusic

French subtitles by/sous-titres français par: http://www.univers-l.com

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

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Out With Dad Ep.4 “Party Out” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

5 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSqK7NYF4Y

“Unless you’re sure. Are you sure?”

An amazing episode on many levels.

There’s two sections to this episode, Rose and Vanessa and Rose and her Dad. The Rose and Venessa pportion ends with a really well done scene on the subway (not as easy as it looks) where Rose sees a woman looking at her flirtatiously. And what really makes it sing is the tiny moment after the woman leaves when Rose smiles - a true and honest smile in the midst of all the anguish and angst she’s going through. It made my heart leap for her. A truely wonderful emotional moment.

From a technical stand point, the scene at the movie theater is a masterpiece. Emotionally and creatively it’s strong, as Rose and her dad, Nathan, wrestle with the thing they both want to say - and their subconscious selves are sitting right there beside them. I gotta say, how ever they did this sequence, the special effects are flawless. Except for the moment when the double Nathan (the subconscious) tries to swat him upside the head - I couldn’t tell that there wasn’t actually two of each actor sitting beside each other. Did they use a green screen? Split screen? Did they go in frame by frame and stitch two images together? However they did it, it wouldn’t be easy if the shots were stationary - but they weren’t. The shots panned back and forth (was the panning done in post?) and there were other angles to the master. A big budget feature would have spent a bucket load on this scene but I don’t think it could have looked any better.

One aspect of this show I don’t think I have mentioned is the editing. And that’s because… I never notice it. The true mark of a great editor (at least in the mainstream Hollywood style) is when it is completely invisible to the audience - the style is even called ‘invisible editing.’ Most web series have fine editing, with a few awkward cuts and some pacing that I think could be tightened up, but Out With Dad I don’t think I would change a single cut.

The sound recording and editing, especially in the noisy school hallway, could be a lot better. That’s probably a scene in a big budget feature where they’d dump the location sound and bring in the actors to re-voice it. (Tangent: That is a challenging skill in and of itself. Many people think actors just walk around saying the lines (or that the actors make up the lines) but a good actor has many skills that people will never know about - like saying a line exactly the same way that it is on screen, in a dark room, months later, and imbuing it with the emotion needed for the scene. That’s hard - and one reason why good actors are worth millions of dollars.) On a web series budget, you’re probably not redubbing a lot of dialogue.

What I thought was funny, interesting and bold about the scene in the movie theatre and when Nathan explained the dramatic potential of gay and lesbian love stories, something I think I wrote about after watching Episode 1. It is almost like the writer is explaining why he choose to tell this story. Someone wiser than me once pointed that the first scene of a John Sayles movie usually has a character telling you the theme. In Lone Star, in the very first scene, one character says to the other, “If you live in a place you should know a thing or two about it.” And that’s what the movie is about - knowing and confronting history.

Out With Dad has been racking up the awards lately, and based on these first three episodes, they are richly deserved.

From YouTube Description:

Vanessa (Lindsey Middleton) tries to force Rose (Kate Conway) into explaining herself, but an encounter on the subway is more clarifying.
Nathan (Will Conlon) continues to try to reach out to Rose in ways even his subconscious finds embarrassing.

http://www.adrianelliscomposer.com/

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Out With Dad Ep.3 “Movie Night With Dad” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List