Radiance Ep.12 | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Science Fiction Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

“What if we’re the only ones left?”

These episodes of the horror survival web series Radiance are so short and so good that I find myself with the same thing to say; I’m always surprised by how much tension, story and surprise they pack in in less than two minutes.

This episode has two scenes. In the first, the small band of survivors have a moral dilemma to make, one of the most fundamental decisions a human can make in a survival situation. Should we kill someone else we think is sick or dying to save ourselves?

In the second were lulled into a false sense of calm, before an almost single frame shocker that makes us wonder: is this where it turns to a zombie story?

From YouTube Description:

Ten friends in Los Angeles experience an unusual event together- and try to survive.
Starring:
Brian Gattas
Jade Gordon
Tom Lenk
Chad Lindsey
Alisa Mcronald
Sam Pancake
Jack Plotnick
Christos Prevezanos
Chris Shea
Doug Stockstill
and
Rachel Stolte

Written and directed by Jim Hansen

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Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E08 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 3″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“She loves the spotlight. It’s like food. She lives on it.”

This is the end of the three part episodic mini-trilogy, Midnight, Hunter’s Moon.

Mood wise, this is strange episode of the always emotional engaging Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden. It has more of a literary slice of life to it, rather than a wild party “Weekend at Bernie’s” vibe, which is kinda what I was half expecting. Not to have a dead guy they had to pretend that was alive, but that it was going to a ‘shit hits the fan’ episode. It feel more like a denouement, like the wrap up and cool down after the moment of highest tension.

I am constantly blown away by how simple but still confident and effective this show is. The simple shot in the bathroom, framed both in the mirror and er… not in the mirror, perfectly captured the moment. Of course, a lot of the credit has to go to the actors.

The one misstep, for me, was the scenes with Hunter and her boyfriend. I don’t get Hunter, I’m not sure how we’ve supposed to feel about her. We’ve seen her be mean to Beth many times, but now we get this scene where we’re supposed to identify with her missing her boyfriend? Or her boyfriend missing her? We’ve never really been given a reason to forgive her for her treatment of Beth, but she has this screen time that doesn’t really tell us much new about her as a character. It comes off flat to me.

And to be entirely honest, I’m not sure why the three parter is called Hunter’s Moon.

Still, what really sells this series is the fierce, almost way-too-close, friendship between Sarah and Kris. Kris all but forces Sarah out of her funk about Jake and Maggie. Does that mean that Sarah will go back to Jake? We’ll have to wait and see.

Oh, and the music? Amazing.

From YouTube Description:

And then it really HITS THE FAN. Jake seeks Sarah — he’s all puppy-dog eyes & wants to TALK because he LIKES her. Gulp. And Adrian (secretly) hunts the much younger Rox. So where will Sarah end up, in this Maggie-Jake-Sarah love triangle? And what about Beth and the Beth-Adrian-Rox situation? Who ends up coupled? And who just ends up alone? Something tells me… THIS is one of those nights where all questions gets answered.

—

“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 growing up and getting down in the 90′s.

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

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

Find us on Facebook:
http://facebook.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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Out With Dad S02E04 ”With Jacob and Vanessa” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

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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Radiance Ep.11 | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Science Fiction Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

“I’m going to say this slow. And I’m going to say this once.”

Wow. How much tension can you put in one minute and thirty nine seconds? Clearly a lot.

You can feel the panic spreading as they start to take drastic measures to protect themselves from something they don’t understand.

Radiance is one of those shows that breaks the rules and makes it work. It just goes to show you that everything anyone says to you about how things are supposed to be done is bullshit, even the stuff I say. It is all opinion, and what works for one show may not work for another show.

And then there’s the fact that just a great story - like Radiance - makes everything else null and void.

I saw a thread somewhere the other day where someone was struggling to figure out what sort of web series they wanted to make. Is there a formula? Something that works for the large audience of the internet? There was quite a bit of discussion, but here’s what I think - tell a story, and everything else springs from there. If you’re looking for a formula, or something else to tell you what story to tell, I think what you’re saying is that you’re making a web series for the wrong reasons. You’re making a web series to either make a bunch of money or get famous. Either way, you’ll probably be disappointed. Look at Radiance - a great little web series with a great story, and it is clear that the whole series has been seen by less than 350 people in a year of it being posted. (Part 17 only has 280 some views, at the time we’re going to press on this article.) That’s not great numbers, but it is about average for many, many web series as far as I can tell. And I would say even big web series fans haven’t heard of it. It certainly can’t have made much profit for those who made it. Would you call this show a failure?

From YouTube Description:

Ten friends in Los Angeles experience an unusual event together- and try to survive.
Starring:
Brian Gattas
Jade Gordon
Tom Lenk
Chad Lindsey
Alisa Mcronald
Sam Pancake
Jack Plotnick
Christos Prevezanos
Chris Shea
Doug Stockstill
and
Rachel Stolte

Written and directed by Jim Hansen

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Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E07 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 2″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“These are the hands of Morgan Freeman”

Awesomeness.

This is part two of a three parter from the ‘growing up is hard’ webseries Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden.

There’s a lot of fun stuff going on - maybe favorite bits is the girls tittering over cute boys, and the simmering, quiet jealousy of Beth, played by Sarah Spencer. I think it is amazing because the whole storyline rests almost exclusively on the actor’s ability to emote. It can be risky, as a writer and director, to rely on your actor to communicate something that will make or break a moment. You’ll notice that pretty much all TV and movies have the characters telling us what’s going on at all times. Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden has some great acting and some not so great acting, but Beth’s role in the drama is to give longing glances out of the corner of her eye. A strong, subtle performance.

Then there’s the bizarre freestyle chant of “These are the hands of Morgan Freeman.” Is that a thing? Is that a reference to something? Or is it just something that Otessa Ghadar cameup with for this scene? It is kind of brilliant and deeply confusing at the same time. The delight the party goers have in joining in makes me think that there’s something going on here that I don’t know about. But then, much of the series gives me a voyeuristic sense, it is so believable and so specific.

My only complaint is that the YouTube description promises craziness, and except for the Morgan Freeman stuff, there’s not much craziness. I could have used more craziness. The episode is more about relationships - and while it works very well on that level I was hoping for a little more in the way of antics.

From YouTube Description:

Watch the craziness unfold as Beth and her friends tag along at Hunter’s house party. Hunter’s party has it all- indie bands, hot musicians, booze, and the objects of much teen girl idolatry: Adrian and Jake…? That’s right — JAKE shows up and things get super rocky for Sarah, who’s already had a pretty rough summer what with the Sarah-Jake-Maggie love triangle from hell. And poor Beth isn’t faring too well on her side of the Beth-Adrian-Rox love triangle either. Oh yea, and “The Hands Of Morgan Freeman” make an appearance too!

—

“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 growing up and getting down in the 90′s.

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

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

Find us on Facebook:
http://facebook.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/

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

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

A Family Drama Web Series

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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Heather’s Vlog “Heather checks out getfanged.com and Grampires?” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Vampire Comedy Web Series

4 Swirlies

“I got this new leather jacket. The guy who was wearing it was delicious.”

This is the second episode in a row from the web series Heather’s Vlog that is Heather and her Dad talking about internet stuff.

There’s about half or three quarters of a minute at the end that’s vintage Heather’s Vlog, and is hilarious. The first half, they’re checking out getfanged.com, which, it turns out, is a real thing. And it is more a chance to rehash jokes about Facebook than anything really fresh. Once they start getting rolling on confusing Tony Danza for Billy Crystal, it takes off into the types of laughs that this series is capable of.

I think both the previous video and this are designed to bring in new views by connecting with other popular stuff. It can be a smart of promoting yourself online, but I don’t think it makes the best fodder from story or comedy.

From YouTube Description:

Heather shows her dad some more stuff online. Should you friend your dad on Facebook?

Please, nothing too creepy. She is deadly

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Radiance Ep.10 | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Science Fiction Drama Web Series

5 Swirlies

“You’re dying, we’re not dying!”

Another suspenseful episode of the creepy “what if” web series, Radiance.

As the body count rises, We are finally left with few enough characters that I can tell who is who while only watching a single minute a week.

You know, I was talking to someone recently about one minute long web series, and I mentioned this one as a great example of what you can do in short episodes. But then I remembered Prom Queen. Remember Prom Queen? It wasn’t a show that we covered, I think it was just before we first started The Watch List many moons and lifetimes ago. Prom Queen was Michael Eisner, of Disney fame. He started a giant company, Vuguru, and this was his attempt to make a big web series splash. A series told in one minute episodes.

I try not to be cruel or reductive when I write these reviews, but in so many words, Prom Queen sucked. It’s been a while since I have seen it, so I won’t get into it’s many shortcomings here, but essentially it didn’t tell stories in one minute intervals, it showed a minute of a scene, and then the next episode was another minute. It wasn’t engaging and it was annoying because everything had the same rhythm, every minute, exactly, the episode ended.

Radiance succeeds where Prom Queen failed, in my opinion, in having most of the episodes feel like they had some sort of narrative arc for them, and by letting each episode find its own length in order to break up the rhythm of the short episodes.

Prom Queen cost a lot to make, maybe even a million or more. Radiance, it would appear, was done for fun. Neither made a profit. But I hope that you would agree with me that Radiance is the better show, and a role model for those looking to make very short episodes.

From YouTube Description:

Ten friends in Los Angeles experience an unusual event together- and try to survive.
Starring:
Brian Gattas
Jade Gordon
Tom Lenk
Chad Lindsey
Alisa Mcronald
Sam Pancake
Jack Plotnick
Christos Prevezanos
Chris Shea
Doug Stockstill
and
Rachel Stolte

Written and directed by Jim Hansen

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Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E06 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 1″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

5 Swirlies

“Water the plants, do the dishes, and no parties.”

What a fun, focused episode of the web series Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden.

I really like the storyline of Beth, her sister and her sister’s too-old boyfriend. I like the other storylines, too, but for the most part, Beth just quietly loathes her sister and crushes in the boyfriend, creating lots of subtle tension. The other storylines are more direct in the characters problems, like Sara being more or less a social outcast for sleeping with the guy that Maggie liked.

This is part one of a two parter three parter, and feels like it. I hope the next one is as fun as this one. (Thanks for the correction, Otessa!)

This series reminds me very much of the UK Skins at its best. As much as the drunken teen antics are played up for laughs and drama, there’s an honesty about it that sets it far, far apart from the almost unconscious moralizing that accompanies teen stories in mainstream fiction.

From YouTube Description:

Sarah is a hot mess after the fallout (ahem, being caught red-handed with Jake). She tries talking to Beth — but Beth’s just useless! However, Beth does have a parental-free house for the weekend. Score! Unfortunately, older-sister Hunter has some serious plans for a party without Beth. And, Hunter-the-Effortlessly-Cool-and-Scary… is used to getting her way. Totally pissed at the prospect of being kicked out of her own house — and the epic party — Beth plots revenge on Hunter (*and hocks something nasty in Hunter’s beloved CK-one perfume*). Then, Sarah and Beth decide to tag along + party-crash regardless and… well, just take a look and see!!

—

“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 growing up and getting down in the 90′s.

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

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

Find us on Facebook:
http://facebook.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/

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

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Heather’s Vlog “Heather and Her Dad Watch Rebecca Black Video” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Vampire Comedy Web Series

3 Swirlies

“Back in the day, you had to work to be famous. Like Aretha Franklin and Pee Wee Herman.”

We’ve been so focused on keeping on top of the current shows that we are following, that I forgot to keep an eye on one of my favourite series, Heather the Vampire! I see there’s been a few posts since Heather’s return, and here’s the first one.

I gotta say, maybe I’m in a bad mood today, because I wasn’t blown away, despite how excited I was to see it. There’s some funny bits, but really they’re just making fund of Rebecca Black and not doing their usual shtick. I think maybe that was the point, I get the feeling this is a micro-episode, not a full on episode. It is kinda of my fault – I’m sure when the video was first posted was much closer to the debut of Rebecca Black’s video than it is today.

Anyway, the world still hasn’t gotten over Rebecca Black, so do yourself a favour and watch Heather and her dad’s take on it. Like I say, there’s some funny bits.

And I look forward to Heather’s next video.

From YouTube Description:

Heather decides to show her dad what all the fuss is about with Rebecca Black’s Friday video. Do you think they’ll like it?

get Heather’s “Bite Me” T-shirt at http://liamshow.com

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