My online series 'PINK' has been rather successful for me over the past several years, and now we've just had the good fortune of landing a foreign distribution deal too. This is no small achievment in general, but especially for a "web series".
Generate, our domestic distributor (and primary owner of the show) did the deal with Fireworks International, the TV and digital distribution arm of Content Film (http://www.contentfilm.com/). They also distribute several high profile series like VALEMONT (from MTV), RIESE, GEMINI DIVISION, etc. and loads of feature films and TV shows. So we're in really good company.
What I personally would like to see happen with this deal is it create the opportunity for a Season 4. I'd really like to do (at least) one more season to wrap up the current story line. We REALLY left the fans hanging at the end of Season 3. :)
I'm also excited to see how it plays in more foreign territories. We of course have had lots of our fan base come from Europe, and now - unfortunately - most of the content will be U.S. geoblocked (meaning it is only viewable domestically). But, this will allow Fireworks to sell to the various Internet portals, and mobile providers throughout the world - and ideally build new audiences and create new fans (and the ones who get geoblocked here should be able to find the show in their home country soon).
I can't wait to see how it all works out!
Here are three links to stories about the Fireworks deal:
Tubefilter:
http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/03/23/pink-goes-international-with-fireworks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TubefilterNews+%28Tubefilter+News%29
NewTeeVee:
http://newteevee.com/2010/03/23/generates-pink-to-go-international-with-fireworks/#more-44437
PRWeb Press Release:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/03/prweb3762314.htm
-Blake
ARRI's new ALEXA camera looks really great. It's affordable (within reason, especially for rental houses - but some owner/operators), it has 13 stops of lattitude and uses 35mm lenses...
Here's a link to two videos about the camera. The first one is a demo/preview of the actual prototype (that will be unveiled at NAB soon). And the second one is an interview with the main ARRI guy responsible for the design, etc.
http://www.thefilmbook.com/top/techne/arri-alexa-prototype.php
I keep saying this, and it's very true - it's a GREAT time to be a filmmaker.
-Blake
The final episode of this season's FOX TV show 'House" is to be shot on the Canon 5D.
Let me say that again, a NETWORK TV SHOW is going to shoot a multi-million dollar episode of their series on a $2700 camera (sans lens). This is ground-breaking and I don't say that lightly.
Here's a link to the news:
http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=2818
I believe this to be accurate too as I got it from Rodney Charters on Twitter - the DP for FOX's series '24'.
The other tidbit is that it appears they might shoot the ENTIRE next season on the 5D. This is to me really amazing. I'm not sure I'd want to have invested a lot of money on a RED ONE or similar recently. Especially when/if Canon allows it's DSLR line to record RAW - and this is in the rumor mill now. I'm not an engineer, but it would only make sense that if it did RAW recording then you've be able to do 2K, 4K, etc. just like RED. Even if you can't, the 1080p video is crazy good already, and if it were uncompressed coming out of the HDMI that would be greatness.
Long story short, it's a very cool time to be a filmmaker. Oh, BTW, we shot my new sci-fi series 'Continuum' on the Canon 7D - the little brother to the 5D and I must say the footage really is stellar (pun intended). :)
-Blake
Really nice interview with Matt Nix, the showrunner for "Burn Notice" and the new series "The Good Guys"...
http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/action-comedy-tv-showrunner-matt-nix/
I like what he's doing Out There.
-Blake
Check out the indieWIRE article on Paramount's new venture (spawned after the success of micro-budgeted "Paranormal Activity")...
http://www.indiewire.com/article/hollywood_studio_boosts_micro-budget_movies/
So, this looks like a pretty cool thing on the surface, and I am interested to see how it pans out (might even try to pitch them myself). But with my recent ventures in the studio world I'd be surprised if 1) they can pull off a feature for $100k, and 2) if the filmmakers will live to tell about it. ;)
While we really enjoyed our WB experience on the soon-to-be-released online series "Exposed" (www.thewb.com) - the amount of notes you get from the studio is substanstial and they don't differ from say a mult-million dollar production or a $100k one. So you're like, "Wow, we should be getting paid more to have to deal with all this." (the studios seem to forget that you're not a well-paid staff writer, or perhaps they don't care?).
I also bet that the "$100k budget" is for "production only" - as they'll likely spend a good chunk more on post, score, and of course distribution. Great marketing hook though.
But hey, I like the "indie spirit" of Paramount Studios here (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one). :)
-Blake
Been very busy shooting new series "Continuum" this past week, and we have about one more week to go. This above graphic shows a raw production still and then the same still color corrected. We set the Canon 7D up to have a "flat" look for great latitude during color grading and this side by side comparison shows that (click on image to see larger view).
I'll be posting more tech info about the HDSLR production and post process soon. But right now back to work on the show. :)
-Blake
Kim's new role as Hope on "The Bold & The Beautiful" is getting a lot of great press including this new feature from her hometown paper in Fort Worth, Texas...
Read Star-Telegram Article
Definitely an inspiring story for those actors Out There trying to make it! :)
Btw, some very cool PINK news is coming soon too...
This short film has amazing VFX and a really nice emotional story. Do yourself a favor and watch it now!
Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
And here's a "making of" the short:Making Of Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
Very cool what folks are doing out there today.-Blake
We announced the cast, start date, etc. today in a press release!
Direct link:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/02/prweb3566164.htm
Alternative Fuel, Loud Pictures Prep New Sci-Fi Thriller 'Continuum'
Original Web Series Created and Produced by 'Pink's' Blake Calhoun and Mike Maden Starts Shooting February 22nd
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 4, 2010 -- Director Blake Calhoun and longtime producing partner Mike Maden, the award-winning production team behind some of the Web's most cinematic original series including Pink, 88 Hits and TheWB.com's forthcoming Exposed, today announced principal photography on their next digital project, the sci-fi thriller series Continuum, will begin February 22nd in Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles and will release the first ten episodes this summer.
Created by Calhoun and Maden and produced & directed by Calhoun, Continuum is a futuristic thriller in the noir-ish tradition of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien starring Melanie Merkosky (CBS/EQAL's Harper's Globe) as Raegen, a woman who mysteriously finds herself aboard a space ship with no memory of how she got there and at the mercy of the ship's computer, voiced by actress/producer Taryn O'Neill, best-known for breakout performances in Compulsions (for which she recently won the inaugural Indie Soap Award for Best Supporting Actress) and the post-apocalyptic After Judgment franchise. Brad Hawkins, veteran TV/film actor and costar of Pink, rounds out Continuum’s minimal cast as Tipton.
"I’m really excited about Continuum because I've always loved the darker side of science fiction and this series will allow us to put our own spin on the genre," said Calhoun. "We’ve decided to produce the series as an independent, like we did with the first season of Pink. We’re going to give owning our content a try again and see how it works out."
Continuum is being produced by Calhoun and Maden's Alternative Fuel and Loud Pictures production companies in association with CJP Digital Media, the production/distribution/promotion arm behind successful Web originals including Illeana Douglas's IKEA-branded comedy Easy to Assemble, Spherion-sponsored The Temp Life (which will feature O’Neill in the Feb 8 episode) and dark crime drama The Fall of Kaden. Calhoun and Maden are represented by United Talent Agency and managed by Generate.
About Alternative Fuel
Alternative Fuel was formed in 2008 by filmmakers Blake Calhoun and Mike Maden to produce content for the television, film and new media markets. Currently two feature film projects are being developed, along with a Warner Bros. TV script, and a new online series.
Calhoun and Maden first teamed up to create the Webby nominated and Streamy winning series Pink. That show has now been viewed nearly 8 million times on YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, TheWB.com, Koldcast, Facebook, MySpace, Vuze, Yahoo, MSNBC, Blip.tv and others. So far three seasons have been produced (35 episodes), and more are under consideration, as is a DVD and possible film adaptation.
From the success of Pink, Calhoun and Maden pitched and sold another original web series to Warner Bros., who then partnered them with executive producer McG and his company Wonderland Sound and Vision. That show is called Exposed and will be released in 2010 on TheWB.com.
About CJP Digital Media
CJP Digital Media, a unit of NY-based CJP Communications, specializes in creating, distributing and promoting brand-centric messages and content via digital, social, mobile and traditional media channels for clients across industries. CJP created one of the very first and now longest-running brand-sponsored Web series: The Temp Life as an alternative communications vehicle for recruiting firm client, Spherion Corp. in 2006. Most-recently, CJP Digital worked with IKEA and creator/producer Illeana Douglas to promote and distribute the current season of their branded Web comedy Easy to Assemble, which Advertising Age proclaimed "the most watched branded Web show to date."
My WB web series has a very small mention in Variety from yesterday. Look at the bottom of the article to see the blurb. Oh, and the actual article is pretty cool too. :)
'Supernatural' Spawns Web Spinoff
Wonderland, WBTV producing 'Ghostfacers'
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014263.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+variety%2Fheadlines+%28Variety+-+Latest+News%29
Wonderland is McG's production company who also produced 'Exposed'. Btw, we don't yet have a release date for the show, but it is supposed to be "soon".
-Blake
Yep, Tiffen now has a Steadicam for, wait for it... the iPhone.
Here's a link to article:
http://www.handheldhollywood.com/latest-news/ces-tiffens-steadicam-smoothee.html
It's called the "Steadicam Smoothee" and it's actually for the iPhone and other small "Flip" style recorders.
And here's a video about it from CES:
CES: Tiffen's Steadicam Smoothee from Hand Held Hollywood on Vimeo.
I actually think it looks really cool. I have a Flip MinoHD and it bounces like crazy so something like this makes a lot of sense for that. I have an iPhone too, but an older one that doesn't shoot video.Of course who knows how much it will cost...
-Blake
If you have a 3G iPhone and use the camera a lot (or the 3Gs and use video) these affordable lenses could come in handy...
http://www.japangadgetshop.com/products/Gizmon-iPhone-3G-2%C3%971-Wide-%26-Macro-Conversion-Lenses.html
I'm not sure if these are available in the U.S. or not though.
-Blake
I downloaded the iTimelapse app for my iPhone and shot these two videos this weekend...
First one in my mom's kitchen:
And then this one driving from Arlington back to Dallas (and home) and 30 seconds:
A few bugs I've found using my version of the iPhone (the original one, not 3G or 3Gs) are it will shoot 25 images and then turn off - but once you turn it back on it will go as long as you set it. The first timelapse was 200 frames shot once every 5 seconds and the second one was 600 frames shot every 5 seconds.
Also, for whatever reason (at least so far) I can only get it to record at 640x480 or lower resolution. I tried 1200x900 to achieve a "720p HD" version, but it only rendered out these white and green flashes. I'll have to do some more experimenting, or perhaps my phone has some limitations.
Overall though this is a pretty cool app and I plan on having some fun with it.
-Blake
I've seen some of these things on TV and never would have known... of course the CGI and matte paintings are a critical part of creating the illusion too:
Direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a21_WMiTAVE
-Blake
Not used to being on this side of the camera, but here's a quick interview I did with Tim Street about "Pink", web series and Hollywood...
http://1timstreet.com/blog/you-dont-have-to-live-in-hollywood-to-get-an-agent/
Video is embedded in link above along with brief story, or you can just watch it here:
-Blake
First one covering studios getting more and more involved in Web TV production:
Hollywood Adds Money, Talent to Made-for-Web Shows
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/dec/17/hollywood-adds-money-talent-made--web-shows/
And the second piece an interview I did with Koldcast TV (an online Web TV network):
Filmmaker Series
http://blog.koldcast.tv/2009/filmmaker-series/kctv-filmmaker-series-blake-calhoun/
Check them out when you have a moment!
-Blake
Really liking the new Canon 7D and so I used it on a commercial shoot I had this week as more or less another "test". The footage turned out great too. Shot it on a small jib and so it added a lot of production value. See for yourself...
Canon 7D Used On Jib from Blake Calhoun on Vimeo.
The footage was color graded, but I play each raw file first to show the difference in looks. Go to my Vimeo page for more details about f-stops, lenses, etc.This camera is really amazing and especially for the price!
-Blake
Really interesting article about MySpace - where it was in 2005 and where it is now.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fd9ffd9c-dee5-11de-adff-00144feab49a.html
I think they'll be okay if they focus on music and film. The social side of things with friends from high school, family stuff, etc. is Facebook's ground now.
I actually never have had a personal MySpace page. I do have one for "Pink" and one for "88 Hits" (that I rarely check anymore).
-Blake
I have a Flip MinoHD camera and really like it. Amazing 720p video in such a small device and for only $200. Flip now has what looks to be a pretty cool new product to easily watch your Flip videos - on your TV.
http://www.amazon.com/Flip-Video-CTV1W-FlipShare-TV/dp/B002WZ4N40/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259795440&sr=8-2
It's $150 and connects wirelessly from your computer to TV. The base has HDMI in too, so it would seem it plays back in HD. I might have just found my first Christmas present. :)
-Blake
