PHOBIA - web series

Scarecrow · 08-25-2013, 04:20 PM

Hey guys, my group and I are doing a web series. We have two episodes so far and hope to do another 4 this year. I directed the most recent one:

Here's the first episode which was made by my brother:

Compcat · 08-26-2013, 07:21 AM

These are pretty fun for casual sort of flicks (and the cinematography is pretty damn good by my judgment), but I think they both need a stronger ideas. Like episode one, a creepy masked murderer is hinted at and suddenly pops out! Episode two, a creepy masked murderer is hinted at and suddenly pops out! But it was just a dream... But no wait it wasn't he popped out again! I feel like for horror to meet its potential, like not just jump-out scares and mood/pacing, there needs to be really novel ideas, ones which give the person a feeling like they're having a brush with the unknown. The stuff here is entirely familiar.

Scarecrow · 08-26-2013, 01:58 PM

I think the ones we're doing next possibly fall in line with what you're saying. We hope to have another 6 or so done by January including one we're filming this weekend. (These take about 2 weeks to make)

Scarecrow · 09-07-2013, 05:00 PM

Here's the newest episode. Directed by one of my associates. Filming another one tomorrow.

Just a little context on how this works. Members of our group, Open Sign Productions, each take turns making an episode with the exception of my brother who will be making most of them in the end. My brother runs the project itself as it was his idea and he approves of and decides which order the episodes are produced. The whole thing is mostly a filmmaking exercise that we can do during weeks we aren't filming for any of our larger projects. The plan is to do 13 of these or a 'first season' if you will.

Scarecrow · 09-22-2013, 05:11 PM

Episode 4 is up. First non-supernatural one.

Scarecrow · 10-20-2013, 09:22 PM

Newest episode released! We're quite happy with how this turned out.

Nixon · 10-20-2013, 10:09 PM

enjoyed the first three when i watched them the other week, will check these out now!

Phil Williamson · 10-20-2013, 11:38 PM

I agree with Compcat, though I think #4 and #5 were big improvements in terms of the things he criticized. All the episodes are technically well done, but yeah, there wasn't much to the first few content-wise, and while #4 and #5 were steps in the right direction I feel like they still could have been a little more substantial even with this kind of running time.

The acting is kind of hit and miss - I thought Spencer Howell did a great job in #2, and the actors in #3 and #4 were fine, but I didn't think much of the girl in #1 or the guy in #5.

The music definitely is getting better as the series goes on, which is good, because it's of course very important in such a low-dialogue, highly atmospheric format. It was distractingly bad in #1 but has steadily improved since.

And one very important thing: get rid of the directors begging for subscribers in the credits! Not only is it an obnoxious thing to do to begin with, but it totally destroys the spooky atmosphere you've been building in the video, which is bad even in the credits - ideally the viewer should be left with some kind of feeling for a while after it's over.

On the whole though, I'm enjoying these and they're definitely improving, so I'll keep watching

Scarecrow · 10-21-2013, 01:37 AM

Yeah, we have a "always try to improve on previous efforts" mentality. We've already shot 6 and its more of a straight horror, but the planned 7 and 8 are exciting to us content wise. (those will be shot in a couple weeks) We're gonna do 13 at about this pacing of release and see where it takes us from beginning to end. It originally started out as a way to fill our time after we finished working on the feature and kinda has involved into something we're putting increasingly more thought into as we go along.

Scarecrow · 11-01-2013, 02:20 PM

Episode 6 uploaded. Its essentially supposed to be a scene from the horror movie that was being watched at the beginning of episode 2. The director wanted to make an 80's style horror movie which is exactly what you should expect with this one. lol

Scarecrow · 02-20-2014, 11:11 PM

Two new episodes. The first was made by my brother. The second by myself. We're planning on releasing one every 3 weeks or so for the next few months. The next episode is half finished and the next 2 after that are in the planning stages.

Scarecrow · 03-20-2014, 10:34 PM

Anyone here like Aliens?

Scarecrow · 04-10-2014, 10:43 PM

New episode up. This one wasn't originally planned but we came across this creepy location at the Film Festival we attended and came up with something on the spot. Unlike the others which we've shot using a DSLR we made this one using just the camera on an iPhone 5. Not half bad for something shot on a phone.

In other news we're getting a Blackmagic Cinema Camera next month and have secured some basic funding for these so we hope to up the overall production value for future episodes.

08-25-2013, 04:20 PM	#1
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	PHOBIA - web series Hey guys, my group and I are doing a web series. We have two episodes so far and hope to do another 4 this year. I directed the most recent one: Here's the first episode which was made by my brother:
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

10-20-2013, 09:22 PM	#6
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Newest episode released! We're quite happy with how this turned out.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

10-20-2013, 10:09 PM	#7
Nixon Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4,293	enjoyed the first three when i watched them the other week, will check these out now!
Nixon Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4,293

10-21-2013, 01:37 AM	#9
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Yeah, we have a "always try to improve on previous efforts" mentality. We've already shot 6 and its more of a straight horror, but the planned 7 and 8 are exciting to us content wise. (those will be shot in a couple weeks) We're gonna do 13 at about this pacing of release and see where it takes us from beginning to end. It originally started out as a way to fill our time after we finished working on the feature and kinda has involved into something we're putting increasingly more thought into as we go along.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

11-01-2013, 02:20 PM	#10
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Episode 6 uploaded. Its essentially supposed to be a scene from the horror movie that was being watched at the beginning of episode 2. The director wanted to make an 80's style horror movie which is exactly what you should expect with this one. lol
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

08-26-2013, 07:21 AM	#2
Compcat Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 8,810	These are pretty fun for casual sort of flicks (and the cinematography is pretty damn good by my judgment), but I think they both need a stronger ideas. Like episode one, a creepy masked murderer is hinted at and suddenly pops out! Episode two, a creepy masked murderer is hinted at and suddenly pops out! But it was just a dream... But no wait it wasn't he popped out again! I feel like for horror to meet its potential, like not just jump-out scares and mood/pacing, there needs to be really novel ideas, ones which give the person a feeling like they're having a brush with the unknown. The stuff here is entirely familiar.
Compcat Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 8,810

08-26-2013, 01:58 PM	#3
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	I think the ones we're doing next possibly fall in line with what you're saying. We hope to have another 6 or so done by January including one we're filming this weekend. (These take about 2 weeks to make)
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

09-07-2013, 05:00 PM	#4
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Here's the newest episode. Directed by one of my associates. Filming another one tomorrow. Just a little context on how this works. Members of our group, Open Sign Productions, each take turns making an episode with the exception of my brother who will be making most of them in the end. My brother runs the project itself as it was his idea and he approves of and decides which order the episodes are produced. The whole thing is mostly a filmmaking exercise that we can do during weeks we aren't filming for any of our larger projects. The plan is to do 13 of these or a 'first season' if you will.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

09-22-2013, 05:11 PM	#5
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Episode 4 is up. First non-supernatural one.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

10-20-2013, 11:38 PM	#8
Phil Williamson Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 16,900	I agree with Compcat, though I think #4 and #5 were big improvements in terms of the things he criticized. All the episodes are technically well done, but yeah, there wasn't much to the first few content-wise, and while #4 and #5 were steps in the right direction I feel like they still could have been a little more substantial even with this kind of running time. The acting is kind of hit and miss - I thought Spencer Howell did a great job in #2, and the actors in #3 and #4 were fine, but I didn't think much of the girl in #1 or the guy in #5. The music definitely is getting better as the series goes on, which is good, because it's of course very important in such a low-dialogue, highly atmospheric format. It was distractingly bad in #1 but has steadily improved since. And one very important thing: get rid of the directors begging for subscribers in the credits! Not only is it an obnoxious thing to do to begin with, but it totally destroys the spooky atmosphere you've been building in the video, which is bad even in the credits - ideally the viewer should be left with some kind of feeling for a while after it's over. On the whole though, I'm enjoying these and they're definitely improving, so I'll keep watching

02-20-2014, 11:11 PM	#11
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Two new episodes. The first was made by my brother. The second by myself. We're planning on releasing one every 3 weeks or so for the next few months. The next episode is half finished and the next 2 after that are in the planning stages.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

03-20-2014, 10:34 PM	#12
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	Anyone here like Aliens?
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217

04-10-2014, 10:43 PM	#13
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217	New episode up. This one wasn't originally planned but we came across this creepy location at the Film Festival we attended and came up with something on the spot. Unlike the others which we've shot using a DSLR we made this one using just the camera on an iPhone 5. Not half bad for something shot on a phone. In other news we're getting a Blackmagic Cinema Camera next month and have secured some basic funding for these so we hope to up the overall production value for future episodes.
Scarecrow Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 4,217