♪♪
>> I think our relationship
is too comfortable.
>> Comfortable?
Isn't comfy good?
>> You just told me you wanted
to take a picture of your poop
and put it on the Internet.
♪♪
>> We are so cute.
>> Mm-hmm.
We are so lame.
>> Have you guys thought about,
like, inviting in a professional
into your boudoir?
>> We're wearing the same thing.
I was the changer!
>> No, we're trying to become,
like, more learned
in the realm of romantic love,
not terrifying kinkiness.
>> Oh, my God.
>> Babies are best, yes,
but lately I've been
feeling like I'm a baby.
>> Agreed.
>> I didn't think we would take
both bulls
by all the balls.
♪♪
You brought only beer?
>> I didn't...know!
>> It's nice when you stop
trying to have an adventure
and just let it happen.
♪♪
>> Konnichiwa!
I don't even know
what we want to watch.
>> I'm also really tired.
>> I'm so gassy.
>> Mm, mm-hmm.
Oh, my God.
Look at this little guy.
>> Look at that little face.
>> Hey, little guy, tiny man.
>> Sir, she's a girl.
>> Sorry.
How's that for keeping it fresh?
>> Manifest destiny.
>> Manifest that destiny.
Here I am, New York.
>> [ Laughing ] What?
>> I might cry.
>> This is going
to be so awesome.
You are going to need so much
more coffee.
♪♪
Three words --
lesbian cheese cave.
>> Three 18-year-old identical
triplet brothers...
>> Are you guys...
>> Identical triplets?
>> ...stranded in a world
that doesn't want them...
>> No, it's too much.
Man, I can't do it.
>> I've made up my mind.
I want to end it all.
>> ...searching for meaning
amidst the chaos of supernatural
evil...
>> Ghosts!
Ghosts feed off of bad juju.
>> I'm not going to be nice!
I'm going to be so mean!
>> I am the bad guy.
>> ...a timeless story of lust
and revenge...
♪♪
...with mystery and intrigue
around every corner.
>> Your dead parents
are very much alive.
♪♪
And that --
[ Coughs ]
Sorry.
And that's the dream
that I had last night.
I should probably cut back on
all that dairy right before bed.
♪♪
Hey, did everyone go home?
I guess I'm the last one
at the office again, huh?
Yeah, it happens sometimes.
♪♪
>> Oh, my God.
The park.
This is a perfect venue for us.
>> Yes.
Isn't it a beautiful park?
>> Yeah.
>> It's a lovely park,
but, actually -- actually,
this is the next venue
in your price range.
It's got parking on-site.
It's right by the train,
and it's perfect
for a ceremony such as yours.
>> Mm, but when I envisioned
an outdoor location...
[ Horns honking ]
...this wasn't quite
what I was thinking.
>> Okay.
>> I don't know.
Do you have anything to say,
Chad?
>> I like the pretty flowers.
>> Sure. Sure.
Well, it's park-adjacent
with a lovely view
of Flatbush Avenue
and the southern entrance to
the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.
Yeah.
And also, the reception location
is literally in the same lot,
and there is a set prepackaged
meal for their quality
world-famous cuisine.
>> Well, Henrietta,
that's very sweet
that they are providing food,
but, um, I believe we discussed
in great detail
that I need an organically
grown, locally sourced,
entirely vegan bill of fare.
>> Got it.
Sure.
>> And cookies.
>> Sure, sure, sure, sure.
Well, lucky for us,
the contact for the venue
is also the franchise owner and
the official marriage officiate,
so I think we're going to make
this work!
We're going to make it work out!
But, um...
oh, well, there is one thing.
Due to the store's contract
with Pandora, it seems that
there's a nonnegotiable clause
that the music will have to be
either Maroon 5
or the U2 radio stations.
>> No.
Alex and Gina have written
a beautiful folk song for us
to walk down the aisle to,
and I just have to have.
I just have to have it.
I have to. I have to.
>> Breathe.
Hey, hey, hey.
Hoo, babe.
>> [ Breathing heavily ]
>> I know this is your
special day.
>> It is.
>> Yes.
And you're going to have it
your way, and I'm not going
to let anything ruin it.
All right?
>> You know I'm all for thinking
outside of the bun.
I just -- I can't stomach
this place for a second longer.
>> This is the only place
that has available
dates all year.
>> I'm loving it.
Can we sign straightaway?
>> Sure. Here.
Let's go this way.
>> Beautiful.
>> We're going to just cross
over here
and then just hop the fence.
♪♪
>> This is so exciting, to have
us all in a room together.
And now that everyone has gotten
a little taste
of what you guys all do,
why don't we just talk a little
bit about what you do,
give yourself
like three professional titles
and how you got
into kind of film --
film worlds.
Why don't we start over here
on the right with Steven?
>> My name is Steven Hajar.
I --
The last clip you saw
was my web series,
"Affordable NYC."
I am a writer, an actor,
director.
I'm going to throw in improviser
just for the hell of it.
I do lots of different things,
and, you know,
I write for online websites
and other capacities
and just generally like
making people happy and laughy,
and so, yeah, that sort of,
like, brought me to this world.
Is that all the question?
>> That's all the question.
That was the whole question.
>> Hi, everybody.
I'm Michael Wolf.
"Triplets of Kings County"
was my series.
I'm also a writer, director,
and a performer.
I produce and host comedy
shows around New York,
including Literatti and OSFUG,
and I professionally write
and produce and direct videos
in a freelance capacity,
working for places
that'll have me.
>> Cool.
>> And I also like
making people happy.
>> I'm Christine.
I also try to make people happy,
I guess.
You know, laughter is important.
I'm a freelance DP.
I was the DP, creator,
producer, editor,
maybe sound person,
not what I do...
>> Sometimes.
>> ...sometimes for
"The Better Half."
I went to NYU Film School.
I've been freelancing
for 10 years now.
Been in the industry
for 15 years.
Oh, my God.
I'm old!
But I work --
Currently, I'm shooting a show
for Vox Media called
"Divided States of Women."
It's actually launching today.
You guys should watch it.
It's with Liz Plank.
I also shoot a lot of
commercials,
documentaries, narratives --
anyone who will have me.
You know, same thing. Yeah.
>> I'm Leyla,
and "The Better Half"
is also mine.
I'm a director, a writer,
and during the day,
I'm an assistant direction
supervisor at
a commercial production company.
And I also went
to NYU Film School,
and I guess
just watching
"The Baby-Sitter's Club"
when I was, like, 9.
I was like, "Yeah,
let's do that."
Not babysit.
>> Not babysit
but make the show.
>> But the club.
>> Yeah.
>> Later, for everyone's
benefit,
since I'm assuming there are
a lot of students here,
everyone will go around
and say their ages,
if they feel comfortable,
so we can all know
where we're supposed to be
by a certain age because
there's only one absolute.
I just wanted to throw it
out there now.
>> Competition.
>> Yes.
>> I like it.
>> Sounds good.
>> Okay. So, web series.
I feel like I've heard you all
say that you all do so many
things, and I think it's very
true that there's one moment
where you're laughing with your
friends and you're kind of
spitballing an idea,
and then someone says,
"We should make a web series,"
because I feel like that's how
all good web series start.
So can you guys just share
the stories
of that moment for you?
Was it laughing?
Was it anger at a certain
piece of news that made you want
to write something?
What kind of sparked the idea?
Let's start on this side now.
>> Oh, okay.
>> You want me to start?
>> I'll start.
No, I think it was definitely
this desire to
want to do something on our own,
and I think it was --
I mean, I hadn't known Amy and
Lindsay that long, but Christine
had, and, you know, it was more
of like we never see something
that looks like who we are
and how we live our lives.
So we thought that'd be
a really good place to start.
>> Yeah.
>> How 'bout you take over?
>> Cool.
So Lindsay is a writer-actress,
and she's amazing.
She's hilarious.
I met her on another web series
that I shot
where she was the actor in it,
and so I kept in touch
with her over the years,
and I've always wanted
to make something of my own,
being a freelancer, and I think
it's important to always work
on stuff that you love,
that you have creative control
over, with people that you love
and people that you want
to collaborate with.
So I always kept in touch
with her, and I was like,
"You're hilarious."
Like, "You are so funny,
and I just want to make
something, anything, with you."
So we had an Easter brunch
and invited Lindsay
and Amy over, and then
we're like, "Oh, my God!
Look! We're both couples!
We're both gay!
Why aren't we on TV?!"
Not that I would be on TV,
but we just had this epiphany.
>> They can be on TV.
>> They wanted to be on TV,
which is great,
and they look great.
So we just, you know --
I think we met up another week,
like, the next week,
and we're like,
"So let's talk about
how to make this a series,"
or how to make this
a narrative arc,
and then we just kind of
started there,
and then they had written
some stuff
that was more, like, an everyday
kind of couple comedy.
So we just took little pieces
of that, and then we kind of
helped them --
helped build this, like,
greater narrative for the season
that added
a little bit more conflict,
and that's kind of
how we did it, so, yeah.
>> Cool.
Who's next?
>> I can go next.
>> We don't have to go in order.
>> I mean, if it's already
started, let's just keep going
down the line.
>> Let's just keep it going.
>> So "Triplets of Kings County"
actually has two seasons
because the first,
as everyone knows,
is wildly successful.
I'm sure you remember seeing it
on TV.
No, we made two, despite,
you know,
it not necessarily blowing up
because we had a lot of fun
characters
and stories we wanted to tell,
and that first one was actually
one of the first
big film projects
I was involved in in New York,
and my friends Colin
and Terrence,
the two other triplets --
We are identical.
They're real-life brothers,
so I'm lucky I got in on that
family at the ground floor.
We were friends, and we were all
in the comedy world
as performers and writers,
and there were a lot of --
I feel like web series
sort of have dips
and peaks where, suddenly,
everybody is making some,
and then, suddenly,
they're no longer cool,
and then they're back
in a big way,
and this was one of those times
where a lot were coming out,
and our friends were putting out
all these things,
and we were like, "We don't see
our humor represented in this."
It was a lot of just, like,
two people having a conversation
in one Brooklyn apartment,
and so we wanted to,
like, make a world.
So we had --
A friend at work had said,
"I have to have
a housewarming party."
He had just moved into a new
apartment.
He said, "I have to have a
housewarming party
because if you don't have
a housewarming party
within the first month,
your apartment gets bad juju,"
which I thought was very funny
and as just a cool, strange
thing, and I talked to a few
people who had also, like, heard
that.
I'd never heard that before,
and so we started from this
end point of these people
who move into a new apartment,
they throw a party,
but they can't get anyone
to come
and thus get haunted and --
just because they weren't
popular enough
to ward off the bad juju,
and then the ghost sticks around
and is their really
boring roommate,
and from there,
the world sort of grew,
and we began scripting out,
"Well, if there are ghosts
in this world,
what else can we have?"
And I always loved kind of
absurd comedy like "Stella"
and "The Mighty Boosh,"
a lot of strange British things,
and so we just thought,
"If we're making this,
we might as well make the world
we want to see," and so we did.
>> Yeah.
I also think that is very much
how I ended up
generating content from,
like, sitting around and joking
about things with my friend
who actually
is one of the people
who pushed me to write
because I had been working,
like, a vaguely
9:00-to-5:00 death job,
like, in a rehearsal studio
in Midtown, like,
opening the door to, like,
successful people, like,
seeing people
get their dream jobs.
Literally, "Hamilton" was
rehearsing before it was even on
Broadway, and I was like,
"Keep the racket down!
I'm trying to sit here
and write my stuff!"
[ Laughter ]
Not knowing, of course,
what was right behind me.
But so my friend Jen Tullock,
who is also a content creator,
amazing performer and writer,
her series,
"Disengaged," is phenomenal.
You should all check it out.
I think it's on Super Deluxe.
She was just, like, telling me,
as she was hearing
all the funny things
I was saying about how awful
working in that environment was,
was like, "Just write about it
and just make something out of
it," and that's how I made my
first web series,
you know, just because my friend
pushed me,
and then she pushed me to go
to the gym with her one day,
and so we had to walk by
the Wendy's on Flatbush Avenue
in Leopard's Gardens,
and we literally were
walking through.
I don't know
if any of you have been there.
There's, like, a triangular park
that's maybe, like, 5
square feet, triangular feet,
and there's, like, a little path
through it,
and there's beautiful flowers,
and she was going
through wedding preparations
and couldn't
afford any of it, right?
Just being a person in New York,
it's impossible
to afford anything,
and I literally was like,
"Imagine
if this was your wedding venue,"
and she was like, "That's funny.
You should write it,"
and that, like,
spurred something, you know?
And so, literally, the funny
conversations you have,
even the sad conversations
you have with people can, like,
be a treasure mine of,
like, content to be made.
>> Yeah.
Absolutely.
I find --
I'm really just asking you
questions
that I want to ask,
that I want to know.
That's how being a moderator
works, so I'm taking the space.
But I think that one of my
challenges in thinking
about all these wild ideas
is that moment
when it goes from the funny idea
with friends
to the serious production.
I mean, that's when I crumble,
personally.
So, what was that transition
like for each of your series?
Because I'm sure everyone
in this room has had 101
kind of little blips, sparks,
but what is it like
when you actually
have to sit down,
write the spec script, you know,
just start kind of spidering out
with the idea?
>> Me? Okay.
>> We're in order.
>> Going in order again.
Yeah, sure.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, it was difficult.
I'm kind of the same way,
where I'm like,
"Yeah, this is a great idea,"
and then I'm like,
"Wait. I don't feel like doing
anything about it."
>> Yeah.
>> So, I mean,
thankfully, Amy and Lindsay
were very collaborative.
I mean, the writing process
was very loose,
but we were all really involved,
which was great.
Production was a little tough
just because we --
You know, we're very leery
of asking people
to do things for free,
so then we just don't,
and we end up doing everything
on our own, and it's
terrible for a lot of it,
but I think once
we had the first one in,
and we were looking at it
and putting it together
and then it was like, "Oh, wow."
Like, "This is cool.
I could do this again."
And then you go through it all.
I think it's like having a baby
where
you forget how much it hurts,
and then you just have
another one, because, yeah.
>> It's an analogy we can
all relate to.
>> Have you had a baby
that I don't know about?
>> No, that's just
what I've heard.
That's what I've heard.
>> Cool.
>> No, but, yeah, there's
definitely ups and downs,
and I think that,
at the end of the day,
it helps to have the people
around you who are just like,
"No, no. It's worth it.
It's worth it just to keep
going a little bit."
So...
And then once it was out there,
that was kind of the best part,
just to see
and then have people watch it,
but, yeah,
it's a struggle sometimes,
I think, to find time.
We all had jobs.
You know, to say no to some jobs
because this is really
the only day you could do it,
and, yeah,
that's the kind of stuff
that no one really likes to talk
about or tell you about.
But it makes it that much more
satisfying in the end.
>> Yeah. So, I also --
I guess I produced a little bit
in school,
a little bit after school,
so I was always,
like, the realist
in the collaboration.
They'd send me a script,
and I'd be like, "No."
You know?
Like, "No.
This is too complicated."
I'm like, "We only have 2 hours.
How are we going to do this?"
You know? And we --
It was really great because
we all kind of improvised,
and I think that is
really important in creating
in general because production,
as much as you can plan,
it's never going to be
exactly how you want it
to be or envision it.
Things always go wrong,
but it's important
to keep a positive attitude
and to talk to each other
about it and to workshop
what can be done immediately,
but I owned
a camera at the time.
It was, like, a 5D Mark III,
I think.
So we always had a camera
just available,
and I was the DP,
so that was easy.
We had Final Cut
on our computers,
so that was easy.
So, I mean, it's really amazing
that we all just have
these tools at our fingertips.
I mean, you can shoot anything
on anything.
Like, it doesn't matter
what you have as long
as you're creating
and making stuff, so...
>> Yeah.
I definitely agree
about improvising on set
in terms of production.
No matter how --
Even the most high-budget things
I've worked on,
everything goes wrong.
Not even something,
everything goes wrong,
and you spend
2 hours getting a shot right,
and then the sun moves,
or some producer
comes over and is like, "Oh,
you can't shoot that direction.
We're not allowed
to shoot the golf course,"
and that's everything,
so you have to suddenly shift
and redo all of that work.
So, that being said,
that also will happen
in the small projects, as well,
and sometimes in bigger ways.
We found that to be one of
the best parts
was that our scripts
were really ambitious,
and we had really strange
things, especially season 1,
where we didn't have --
We hadn't done it before.
I'd done some --
I did a little bit of film
work in school,
but it was very amateur,
and we had sort of worked in
production,
but it was, like, taking
those skills and then learning
while you do it
and allowing yourself
to mess up.
One thing that we had to do was
start turning over more control.
We had a props and costume
designer, Ruby Hannan,
and she's incredibly talented,
and we'd be going
through everything we needed,
and we'd be like,
"Okay, and we've got this
fake spider costume.
I can go home and, like, throw
something together,"
and she'd be like, "I --
Well, I was
really excited to do that."
So all the times that we'd be
taking things
off of someone's plate,
that's their job,
and that's their passion,
and so when you bring on people
who are excited about
their niche skill,
then let them do it, I think,
is a big thing
because we were always like,
"Oh, we don't want to burden it.
We don't want to make it
too crazy for you,"
and especially when
you're at an entry-level thing,
you have friends
who are building a skill
and don't have that outlet.
So I'm sure everyone here
has a friend who is like,
"Oh, I would love
to be a production designer,"
or "I would love to do makeup
on one of these shoots,"
and if you give them the shot,
they'll do an amazing job,
or they'll screw them up and
you'll fire them in front of
everybody,
having a huge power trip.
That's not true.
Don't do that.
And, yeah, so just being able
to roll with the punches.
>> Cool.
>> Yeah, I'd say
a piece of advice
that I try to tell myself
all the time
is work with your cheerleaders.
Like, my producer, when I,
like, mentioned,
while we were casually
having tea, the idea that I had
for the project was like,
"Okay. How can I help?"
You know?
And it's just like, "Okay.
Someone is interested in this
and, you know,
holding me accountable."
You know, find those people
in your life who are like,
"I like what you do.
Do you like what I do?"
And I, you know, my friend
Addie Cahill,
who is the producer
of "Affordable NYC,"
we would go, you know,
share one entrée
and, like, sit for hours in,
like, a restaurant
and just, like, talk
about our different projects
and what we had to do.
We would meet every week.
Every week.
We both knew our work schedule,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
She moved to L.A., so I lost my
accountability partner,
and it's literally, like,
trying to find that person is,
like, part of why it's taken me
a long time to get
another season off the ground,
but my DP was someone who had
DP'd a shoot
I'd been on and was like,
"I like you. You're funny.
Let me help you.
Are you going to shoot something
soon?
Do you have ideas?
Let me help you make it,"
and then they helped me make it.
I wouldn't have been able
to have something
that looked as good as it did
if I didn't have someone who was
a cheerleader for me,
and I think, like, sometimes
we think we maybe aren't that
talented person in the room,
and it's, like, that's just,
like, the negative noise,
and, like, if you can filter
that out
and listen to the people
who are really, like,
giving you positive energy
and even if
they don't have the skill set
that is necessary for this,
like, like you're saying,
there are people
who can rise to the occasion.
My friend hadn't really produced
things before,
but we made it happen.
You know what I mean?
The other thing I wanted to say
was, like, use your big favors.
Like, ask people who...
Your friend of a friend knows,
you know, Miley Cyrus, get her
on the project.
You know what I mean?
Just call in.
Send the e-mail.
Be the annoying person.
I mean, we're all annoying
to someone, you know?
So why not be the annoying
person
in your e-mail communication?
It gets things done.
So, like, use those favors.
I mean, that's how I --
Literally,
if I didn't ask for huge favors
from every single person,
it wouldn't have happened,
but then, also,
like, create realistically.
Like, my DP was like, "Okay.
Well, what are you thinking?"
Like, "What are the general
concepts of the episodes?"
And I had all these highfalutin
ideas, and they were like,
"Well, you know, we can shoot
for free on the street.
Why don't you take everything
and put it on the street?"
And I was like, "Mm."
And then I was like, "Duh."
Like, "Do you have the money
to pay anyone anything?"
No.
I worked, like, doubles
and triples and quadruples and,
like, saved up to fund my stuff.
So, like, from that perspective,
it's, like, no, you write
for the people you know who are
going to come help you out
who are talented.
You write for the situations
you have.
You write for the camera.
Like, just be
realistic, you know?
>> That is a great segue
into talking about money
and use of a team
because I think, you know,
especially when you're getting
out of college or when you're
post-graduate and learning
how to work with the friends
that you do improv with,
that you went to college with,
there is that really nuanced --
What's the difference between a
friend that you collaborate with
and someone
that you pay for their services?
And so in that very
fragile space,
how do you navigate knowing
what is fair compensation
for someone?
What's fair to ask of someone
else's time
when it's not their baby,
it's your baby, you know, and
figuring out what is respectful,
fair, and also, off that,
how do you know that --
How can you kind of feel
confident enough in your vision
to take someone else's time
to keep working on your project
when they say, "Hey, I'm working
on something else right now.
It's going to take me
an extra month."
You know, how do you deal
with that?
Yeah.
>> Right.
>> I think that there are lots
of ways to compensate
people for their time.
If you can't pay them, you know,
we're all working at some point.
So it's like, "Yeah, maybe
I can't pay you for this,
but I've got
this thing coming up,
and it does have money,
and I will recommend you.
I'll bring you on," you know?
There's also -- I mean, I think
we were basically like,
"The minimum we can do
is have hot coffee
in the morning,
have a really good lunch,
and we promise,
like, a good time," you know?
And I think that everybody
has at least that to offer
and to bring to the table,
and, yeah, I mean,
I remember we had to do
sort of a --
With Amy and Lindsay,
with "The Better Half" girls,
we were briefly on Pivot,
and we had to do
some promos for that.
>> Yep.
>> And they actually gave us
money to do them, so we were
like, "Well, this is fun."
And so we brought on our
sound guy,
Boris, who I think did, like,
the last episode, maybe, or --
anyway.
And we were like, "We can
actually pay you for this,
so would you want to come
and do it?"
And he was happy to do it.
So I think it's just maybe,
like, getting people to say,
it doesn't happen today,
it'll happen at the some point
because I won't forget
the help that you gave me,
and I think
that that's really important.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Yeah.
For this, we self-funded,
and I think --
You know, we probably
spent $2,000?
Which really is nothing because
we shot over, like, 2 months,
and luckily
the girls were bartenders,
so it was very --
It was very easy
to just be like, "Oh, hey.
You're in at, like, 6:00
tonight?
Want to shoot a quick scene?"
So we'll shoot for, like, an
hour, and we had all the
resources, so that was easy,
but as a freelance DP,
a lot of people ask me,
"Hey, do you want to work
on this?"
And for me,
I get paid for my professional
work a lot, and I love
to take time to work on things
that are meaningful and are good
and I know can be good.
So you should never
be afraid to ask someone
who is a working professional
who gets paid to work on stuff.
It's always their choice to say
no, but you should never be
afraid to ask, and, for me,
when I bring my crew on, I make
sure they get compensated.
I make sure they get treated
well.
I make sure --
Like, I take care of my crew,
but then I also know, if they're
working for less today,
I'm going to hire them for my
next three jobs that pay more.
So there's always a balance that
can happen and a lot of favors
that you can call in,
but I'm always there
to help someone, and
they're always there to help me.
So it's more of a community
and less of, like, a really,
like, payment thing, too,
you know?
There's more to it than just the
money, I would say.
>> Yeah. The New York film scene
is small, and you get to know a
lot of people, and you get to
meet a lot of people.
And you'll be recommended
for stuff and vice versa,
and that's huge.
Yeah, and I think "don't be
afraid to ask" is great advice.
I think, also, try and be as
upfront as possible.
If you have no money,
don't get 2 weeks
into planning and then be like,
"Oh, also, this is unpaid."
Let them know and see if they'll
be into that, or if you're like,
"Hey, we can only pay you $250,"
or ask them what they're
comfortable doing and see
if you can make that work
because maybe the producer
does it for free
but the DP,
you spend $500 to get the DP
for the full weekend
or something.
My biggest thing is,
respect their time.
You're not going to be able
to pay them what they're worth,
most likely, for a while when
you're doing it at this level.
Respect their time, and I think
that goes for actors and crew.
I've been on a lot of other
shoots where you show up
and you're either an actor,
you're part of the --
you know, you're holding
the boom for a friend
when you don't do sound,
and you show up,
and they ask you
to get there at 7:00 a.m.,
and the first shot
isn't until noon,
and that sucks, and it --
and when you run the set,
it gets crazy, and you have to
ask favors and tell people that
they're going to be staying
late, but put that extra time
into your preproduction,
plan out
what it's going to look like,
and know,
"Okay, we need to be there at
7:00.
Our actors don't need to show up
until 11:00,"
and then always have
a little bit of food for people
to munch on even if it's just,
yeah, coffee and pizza.
It makes a world of a
difference, because when you get
hungry, you get grumpy.
>> I feel the same way
that all of you feel,
and I think the truth
of the matter is, like,
a little bit goes a long way.
I've asked a lot of really great
people who are making a lot of
money doing other things to show
up and given them, like,
a pitiful, like --
One time I Venmo'd someone $5
for showing up, and, you know,
like,
that was what I had that day.
You know what I mean?
And they understood,
and, literally,
if you ask someone
to show up and do a good job,
I think the least you can do
is clearly communicate to them
what you're offering in return.
You know what I mean?
And even if it's like,
"I'm going to work with you
in the future,"
like, saying that upfront.
If you give them something,
you're going to get a lot
back in return.
So I've just never not paid
someone something,
but I also have no money.
My series is called
"Affordable NYC"
because I'm constantly trying
to pay for things,
and so I think there's, like,
a big reality of it
not being easy to do,
and I think that is the biggest
fear a lot of people have,
and I will tell you
that it took me a year
to save up enough money
to make my first project.
Do you know what I mean?
And, like, if you're broke,
no joke, it doesn't matter.
[ Music playing faintly ]
Like, don't worry about that.
Like, just do it.
Just, honestly, like, get a
penny jar and, like,
put it away.
Don't let money be the thing
that stops you.
Use your crappy phone,
whatever you have, your phone,
whatever you have, and just,
like, take that little video,
you know?
Like, make it grungy.
Use what you have, and use it
to your advantage.
>> That was so great
that the music just kind of
jazzed us out with that bit
of advice.
>> Yeah. It's in my contract
that there must be music,
a soundtrack to everything I do.
>> Audience plant.
That's what I thought.
So we are about to get to
audience
questions, but before we do,
I just want to ask two quick,
like, one-liner questions.
One is, if someone in this
audience, like, wrote you an
e-mail after this and said,
"Hi, I loved it.
I want to make a web series.
What's the first thing?
Like, how do I start?,"
how would your response
to them start?
>> I'll go first since I'm stuck
in the middle.
It would be,
start with a script.
It always comes down to that,
and you can have your big idea,
but, at the end of the day,
you need to have
something written
that you're excited about,
and the more you put into that,
in my experience, it's the
foundation of everything, and
it's easier to send that to a
director, send that to a
producer, send it to a film
festival, get it on
"The Blacklist" or whatever --
the TV show with James Spader.
If you have a script
that gets people excited,
you can build from that,
and then you can get creative
and say, "Okay.
Maybe we can do this all
as one take, one camera
direction,
and be super weird with it."
But if the script's not there,
nothing else will get made
because that's the real thing,
and if you've written a script,
you're going to be passionate
about it
because it hurts to write.
>> [ Laughs ]
>> Oh, God.
>> Okay.
>> Good e-mail. I love it.
>> That was a really good
e-mail.
>> That was a good e-mail.
Yeah. I mean, I would definitely
say story, same thing.
I mean, you know, go into it
knowing what you want to do
and have a loose idea
of how you're going to do it.
It might not work out that way,
but at least you have a vision
that you can communicate
to people directly.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> So, yeah.
>> Yeah.
I mean, along with the
script idea, I would say, like,
be sure a lot of people read it.
Get any feedback, good or bad.
Actually, bad feedback is better
because then you make it
better, you know,
and then resend it to them
once you've done a new draft
because then you're workshopping
it together,
and then, ultimately,
you get to a better spot
with your story, I think.
>> Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
>> Yeah.
And to that end, like, I think
one of the things
that's the hardest for me
is to show up and write.
And I think that's a struggle
lots of people have,
and I did --
I am in lots of debt
from art school, so I have done
"The Artist's Way."
I don't know if you know this
book, but two of the main tenets
are to write, you know,
journal three pages every day
first thing when you wake up,
the morning pages,
and the second tenet
is taking yourself
on an artist date once a week,
and I swear by these two things.
I haven't finished the book
because I don't complete
everything I start.
[ Laughter ]
But, literally, I can also,
like, go back to these pages,
which is literally just
stream-of-consciousness stuff,
and it's like, "No. I do write.
Like, I write every day,"
and I tell myself, like,
"I can't call myself a writer
because I don't have..."
you know, blah, blah
or whatever.
But, seriously, like,
just start writing
every day, every day.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Just wake up.
Write.
If it's two words on a piece
of paper,
that is A-okay by me,
and it just fosters that idea
that you are creating something.
You are capable of doing it,
and the second
that you are doing that, like,
you can make a whole thing.
>> Yeah. Okay.
Very last question, then we'll
get to other people's questions.
Wow.
Okay.
So if you had to write a memoir,
you're, like, a
super-experienced web-series
maker, what would it be called?
>> Oh.
>> Just name your book.
Name your memoir
about the making of web series.
>> Oh, that's hard.
I'm not a writer.
I work with writers, you know?
>> All you need is two words,
like Steven said.
>> I'd say, "Wish It Had Been
on TV."
[ Laughter ]
>> [ Laughs ]
[ Laughter ]
>> That was a good one.
>> Or "Like and Subscribe."
>> That's even better.
>> "Like and Subscribe,"
that's a good one.
>> "Content with My Content."
>> Beautiful.
[ Microphone thuds ]
I'm so sorry.
[ Laughter ]
>> We were warned about that.
>> That was the one thing
we were told explicitly
not to do, but you made a pun,
and you know that speaks
to my heart,
so that's why it happened.
>> I think just for practical
reasons, I would be like,
"This Will Live Forever"
because it's on the web.
>> Oh, I love those.
>> We already have one.
>> Cool.
>> You can have that one.
>> It's a joint book.
>> Oh, yeah, we made
a web series together,
so whatever she wrote, I can
just put my name on it, right?
>> It's a joint book. Yeah.
>> Love it.
>> Great. Thank you.
>> So now that we're going
to get some questions,
there are two mics
on either side of the stage,
so if you guys have questions,
please just line
up in front of those mics.
>> Can you talk about
differences in making or
starting to make or working on a
web series versus shorts,
features?
I mean, I imagine a lot of it
is a similar kind of process,
the writing, the casting,
the crew, the shooting, pre,
pro, whatever, all that stuff,
but are there any specific
differences you've noticed
that you can share?
>> I'd say a good question
to ask yourself is, "Does this
need to be a web series?"
I think also I've
made pilots before.
I've worked with people who made
full pilots, and it's like,
"Why'd you do that?" You know?
[ Laughter ]
The biggest advice I give when
people ask is write something
and then take your favorite
scene, try and make it stand
alone, and shoot just that.
If people like that one scene,
they'll want to see
30 minutes of it.
If it's a web series,
I think the thing is,
you've got characters.
You've got stories.
We've really prided ourselves
in trying to get as much story
into it as possible,
and we wanted to do a web series
because we wanted to do
"A" plots and "B" plots.
We wanted to have
Billy Corgan's son
having a, you know,
a connection with his father
while the other people
were dealing
with this killer robot,
and so it was like --
It's a form matching
the content sort of thing
where it's great if you love TV
and you want to make
these smaller episodes,
but it's also cool.
There are a lot of great web
series out there
that break the form
and are super short
or super artistic or whatever.
>> Thank you for your question.
>> Thank you.
>> Let's go to this side.
>> Hi.
So, what is your process or
methods of promoting your work
and getting the word out there
and getting people
to know about your series
and watching them?
>> No, that's a good question.
It was one that I had
to ask myself, as well,
because I had no idea.
But, you know, it sounds cliché,
but, you know,
Facebook, Twitter.
I had to, like, get on Twitter
to -- Yeah.
And, oh, Instagram.
I mean, it's basically a job in
and of itself
to promote this web series,
and, thankfully, Lindsay was
like, "Yeah, I'll do it,"
so it was, like, "Great,"
because it's a full-time thing.
If people aren't constantly
reading things
that you put out there,
they forget about you.
>> Yeah.
>> So I would just say
as far as social media goes,
like, more is better, I guess.
>> Yeah.
>> All right.
>> I'm terrible at that.
>> I'm pretty bad at it, too.
I will say, Sam very early
on, wrote
an article about "Triplets."
>> Oh, yeah.
>> And it was like this big,
exciting moment that brought
in a whole new audience
and was really cool,
so if you have friends in media,
you know, be savvy about it,
but try and
have those connections.
Also, if you can find a built-in
audience, then it's easier,
and niche stuff can be cool,
so if you're like,
"Man, I want to make something
for people who love math
and threesomes"...
>> Make "Triplets
of Kings County."
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> Yeah. I'm just --
I'm trying to think back
on the first, kind of, like,
press that we got.
It was AfterEllen,
and that was actually --
Because Leyla read AfterEllen
a lot, and I was like,
"Just e-mail them.
It doesn't matter. Just e-mail."
So then we e-mailed them,
and they were like,
"We love this.
We want to interview you."
That led to BuzzFeed,
IndieWire, Huffington Post.
>> Yeah.
I'd say, like, wherever you
would like to see yourself,
just, like,
just submit to those people.
>> Yeah.
>> I mean, they could
ignore you, or they could not.
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> It's, you know --
Take your chance.
>> Don't be afraid. Do it.
>> Yeah.
>> Beautiful.
Over here?
>> Hello.
I had a question about funding
in terms of things
like Kickstarter,
GoFundMe, or even maybe
like sponsorship from a company.
Basically, how do you do this
and stay afloat
and keep paying your rent?
So, yeah.
>> We didn't crowdfund.
>> We did not crowdfund just
because we, like I said,
I think we should try
to do everything on our own.
If I did it again,
I would probably crowdfund so
we could have a little bit more,
but I think once people start
talking about you, like,
a little bit, it helps to --
You know, we've made, like,
stickers,
and we sent them out at Pride.
That was one of our big things.
You know, find an audience,
I guess, and target for that,
but also getting your campaign
on one of those pages, as well,
would probably
do you really well.
We had it for pay on Vimeo
after it went out on Pivot,
and we made quite a bit,
I think, for a little
while, you know, 99 cents
an episode or whatnot,
and I think that's also
a good way to go, you know?
Maybe make a little on your own,
and then from that,
you can fund the rest.
>> Mm-hmm.
Yup.
>> I have mixed feelings
on crowdfunding.
It's tough, and it's also
really hard to get outside
of your bubble of friends
and family, so it's like,
if you're going to do that,
just ask
your friends and family.
>> Right.
>> I have a friend who works
at Kickstarter, and he's like,
"Don't crowdfund videos there
because it's just
not going to break out."
He says Kickstarter is the best
if you use it like a store
and giving people something
they get back in return.
>> Yeah.
>> And I'm of the mind-set
that video isn't quite enough.
If you're going to do that,
I would just say make sure
you have something to show
for your work
beforehand because just saying,
"I got this great idea,
and me and my funny friends
are going to make it,"
is not going to be
as convincing as being like,
"I made this first episode,
and I'm really proud of it.
Here's a scene.
I want to take it
to this next spot."
>> Yeah. Yeah.
And I forgot to say this at the
beginning,
but if you guys are students,
please say your school
just so we can all
[British accent] hear where
you're coming from.
[ Normal voice ] I don't know
why I pick accents when I --
>> Brand-new graduate
of Allegheny College.
>> Congratulations.
>> Oh, cool.
>> How exciting!
Cool.
Thanks for your question.
>> Bear with me.
I'm going to try to make this
fit within
the one-question schematic,
but for any of you guys
that are not native New Yorkers,
how do you feel coming
to New York
changed the lens through which
you tell your story?
>> I'm not a native New Yorker,
and I think New York changed
the lens entirely, you know?
The whole concept of my series
is about how New York is too --
Like, I can't afford it,
you know what I mean, versus,
like, I shouldn't live here,
but, I mean,
I'm from the Silicon Valley,
which is equally terrible,
you know?
>> Yeah.
>> So, there's, like,
what do you do, right?
I mean, but still, to that end,
there, everybody I know my age
is, like, buying a house
and getting a dog,
and I have mixed feelings
about having dogs in apartments,
and so, I mean, for me,
it's, like, specifically that.
Like, New York is its own
beautiful beast,
and, like, I would be nowhere
without it as an inspiration,
do you know?
>> Thank you.
>> Yeah.
>> Over here?
>> Hi.
I just have a question
about what kind of advice
you would give to someone
like me who does not have
any real experience
writing scripts or --
I mean, I've always written.
Even as a child,
I would like to write stories,
fictional stories,
but I've never done this
in a creative capacity,
and definitely have not done
this for people,
but, yeah,
so I'm just starting out.
I want to get started.
I don't have any
official training,
and I'd love some advice.
[ Chuckles ]
>> I mean, I didn't have any
specific training towards this.
I went to the experimental
theater wing,
and they, like, taught, like,
self-scripting and, like,
writing things down on a paper
and saying it out loud
but not, like, how to do this.
>> Okay.
>> I downloaded Celtx, which is
a free, online script --
>> What is it? Celtx?
>> Celtx, C-E-L-T-X.
>> Thank you.
>> And it just formats
the script for you
so you don't have
to actually think about it.
And, literally, like,
anyone can write.
Write what you know.
I mean, those are tropes,
but it's true,
and I think that should not
stop you from doing it.
I didn't know what I was doing.
>> Okay.
>> People still watched it.
You guys watched it, right?
[ Laughter ]
So, yeah.
>> WriterDuet is another
really good software.
It's online, but you can
collaborate with other people,
and you can save it as a PDF,
a Celtx file, or a Final Draft,
but also use Word.
Use whatever.
Like, nobody is going to care
if the format is right
when they see the final product,
but you can find scripts online,
so download a script
of the pilot of a TV
show you like or whatever it is
because it is useful.
Formatting aside, it's useful
to be like,
"Oh, you need to set up the --
You need to give the actors
this much information,
or you need to do
stage directions like this,"
or whatever
it is that goes into it.
It's just cool to read it,
or, you know, plays are similar.
Grab some playbooks and read
those,
and then the other thing would
be have a table
read with your friends.
For any writing, that's huge,
but cast the people
or force the people in your life
who you love and who love you
to say your words out loud,
and you'll hear them,
and you'll immediately be like,
"Ooh, I don't want to commit
that to celluloid,"
which we all shoot on,
but that's a really great way
to make yourself
also feel like it's like
your doing it because you are.
>> Yeah.
>> I really also
wanted to say --
This was the thought I forgot --
there are so many classes
in this city, and there are
so many scholarship programs.
I took classes at UCD
completely for free through
their diversity programming
as a queer,
genderqueer person of color.
I mean, they --
You know, you can
take writing courses for free.
You can find those avenues.
They are out there.
Look to see if you can get
a discount in a writing course
at the Gotham, you know,
Writers Workshop.
There is lots of places,
you know, when you graduate
from undergrad or grad school,
wherever you're at,
school doesn't stop.
Learning doesn't stop.
There's so many avenues
to teach yourself.
>> Cool.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.
>> Of course.
Over here?
>> Hi.
My question is in reaction
to you
saying that too many web series
were about people just
sitting around
their apartments and talking.
I guess it's just, like,
you know, reality TV came along,
and it satisfied all of our
wandering attention spans
and ADD, and I just feel
like that's happening even
more rapidly with the Internet,
so I liked a lot of your work,
but it's, like, you know,
we're desiring this kind of,
like, strange burst to,
like, blast through our laptops
and show us something
that hasn't been seen
with traditional
narrative storytelling.
Do you agree with that,
and do you have any way
that you can see
that that's going to evolve?
>> So I think part of that, too,
is it's frustrating to be like,
"This is the web.
This is supposed to be
the future.
This is where anything
can happen,"
and people are making
sitcoms that we've seen
with the same tropes
and the same stuff in just
a shorter form with no money
and less experience, right?
So it's, like, we don't need
the Internet to be worse TV,
so maybe I think
that's what I was reacting to,
so I think that's tough.
I think, like, I don't have
any advice on how to make art,
you know, necessarily.
I think push yourself.
Find people who are making
strange things
and steal from them.
I think embrace the medium.
Like, I was never really
on Vine, but --
And people liked to talk poorly
about Vine,
but there were people
doing really amazing things.
My friend Avery Monsen,
he makes magic tricks on Vine,
all these practical effects,
and it's mind-blowing.
So I guess the first place
to start would be,
"What are you lacking that's...
in the cultural media?"
and then fill that hole
yourself.
>> Thank you.
>> Yeah.
Over here?
>> Hi. My name is Stacy.
Nice to meet you guys.
I wanted to see if you all could
talk more about
when you're creating a series
for the Internet
or different platforms,
I know you --
The creator in the red spoke
about, like, situations
with a producer, but, basically,
can you talk about, like,
contracts and rights
and when you're, you know,
when you're putting the final
composition
of everything together,
what are the things that you
have to look out for,
like, what are the logistics
of getting everything done?
>> Well, for me,
for my first web series,
nobody was, like, in the union,
so we had asked one person
who was to come do a one-line,
which was, like the smallest
role that I cast,
and so my producer was like,
"Oh, I've been dying to learn
how to do Taft-Hartley forms,"
and so, like,
researched it and did it,
and I got 24 people
who were not in the union
eligibility
just by making the whole
production a union one.
>> Oh, that's awesome.
>> And the information
is out there.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> It's tedious, but it's not
impossible to do on your own.
Work with people who are
interested
in pursuing that further,
and they'll be excited to, like,
figure that out with you.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
Cool.
>> There's also free, like,
in terms of rights
and stuff you can find, like,
YouTube
has an audio music library.
There are ways around --
If you're trying
to do something like that,
which is really cool and awesome
and takes paperwork, go for it.
If you're trying to just make
something
and not get sued,
there's also ways to do that.
Most stuff you need,
you can find online.
>> Okay.
Thank you.
>> Awesome.
>> Hi.
Thanks for coming
and sharing your experience.
All of your videos had really
great production values,
and I was just wondering
two quick questions about that.
Do you mic all of your actors
and then have a boom mic,
as well?
Everybody does that?
And then did you have lights?
Everybody had a light kit, too?
>> We had, what, two?
>> We had maybe, at most, two.
>> At most, two, yeah.
And we like to do things
during the day
when it's really easy to light.
>> Yeah.
I also shoot
a lot of documentaries.
>> Yeah.
>> And when you do
documentaries,
you can't, like --
If we were going to shoot here,
I was going to shoot this panel,
I would probably come
30 minutes before and be like,
"Okay. Oh, great.
There are lights up there.
Let's turn those on, you know?"
But I think being resourceful --
Also, if you were going to shoot
at a location
that you've been at before,
go at different times of day.
See what natural light looks
like, and you can save money
that way, too.
>> And it's also know your --
I call it the point
of diminishing returns.
If you're making a video
for the Internet, like,
you can make it look
$1 million, fantastic,
but if somebody's watching it
on their phone, like,
make it look as good as it can
without hindering
the rest of production.
>> Yeah.
>> So it's like, yeah,
a lot of great cameras
right now, if you shoot outside,
you don't need
to do crazy lighting stuff,
but sound is super important.
>> Yeah.
No, definitely lob.
We lobbed each, and then
I mostly held the boom
a lot of the time, but, yeah.
>> Cool.
We have time for one last
question, which is over here.
>> Once you've made your series,
what's
the best way to put it out?
Is it week by week, all at once,
or should you kind of hold it
close to the breast in case
you want to submit it somewhere
or try to sell it to someone?
>> We did every other week.
>> We did -- I don't remember.
I think we did --
We did every other week.
>> We did every other week.
But, yeah, we only had
five episodes, though,
so it was over pretty fast.
>> But we also
cut it so that --
So we ended up being on Pivot,
which was owned
by Participant Media,
which is a network, and --
>> It doesn't exist
anymore, though.
>> Yeah, but when it did,
it was great.
>> It was good.
>> And they needed our content
to be a specific time for the --
I guess to appear on the guide
on cable or something,
so we actually had to recut
our five episodes,
which was 33 minutes
into a 30-minute chunk, so...
>> And then they cut that into,
like, five pieces.
>> And then they cut that up,
so I would say, like,
in terms of length
and all that stuff,
it's great when you're able
to cut little scenes out, too,
to, like, make it an Instagram
video, because we did that.
We shot a bunch of things
that we timed for 15 seconds,
and then we only put that out,
and that led to more
and more and more subscribers,
which was kind of crazy.
>> Yeah, those little Instagram
videos, too, are good
when you don't have time to make
an actual episode and you want
to keep people interested.
>> Yeah.
>> Get together for an hour
and a half and do a little --
>> Yeah.
We made it, like, one shot
and just, like, a quick little,
like, banter scene that was,
like, really funny,
and then we'd put that up,
and that led to more followers,
which then led to more people
watching the actual show.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, we put them
all up online,
but we publicize
them week by week,
so if people wanted
to watch them all,
they could,
but then we treated it as if
it was like a weekly release.
It's going to change
for everything.
I think that's a good
conversation
to have while you're editing
because that process will take
a long time, and then you can
start being like,
"Okay. These are
the film festivals coming up."
I also never think about
that stuff,
so I'm like, "If they need it
to not be released, it's, like,
okay, I'll take it all down."
>> Oh, yeah.
We did that, too.
>> But, yeah, find
what's the goal for you.
>> Yeah.
>> Thank you.
>> So, you talked a little bit
about focusing on your craft,
and, like, a lot of you guys
have, like, multiple titles.
As a writer and going to
writing, like, creative writing,
and they didn't teach us
how to produce and so
with that, and with the web,
how you have to --
It seems like there are a lot of
writers/producers/this/that.
Do you think that us writers,
we should learn how to produce
or really just focus on writing
and finding other people
to do all the other stuff?
>> I think you can never have
too many tools
in your tool belt.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> I think you only will benefit
from researching
and learning those things.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> But I think you also do need
to find those other people
to teach you
and show you the way.
I've learned a lot about
producing
from my friends who do produce,
you know what I mean?
I did not get the skills
to be a writer in school,
but I talked to my friends
who were writers,
and they showed me the way of,
like, where to go to,
like, get that education,
so the world is your oyster.
>> Yeah.
I think a lot of people
pick up skills
out of a necessity,
so it's not necessarily like,
"Okay. I'm also
going to learn how to produce."
It's that you make something,
and since it's yours,
you end up producing it,
and I started as, like, a PA,
and then within a couple months,
because I was working at a crazy
place, I was shooting and then
doing all these other things,
and while I don't do that
anymore, I can now have
a better conversation
with the DPs
and to the camera ops,
and it's so invaluable
because
I can communicate quicker,
and we can be on the same page.
But don't do it if you,
you know --
editors --
I also believe in distinct jobs
and getting
really good at a craft.
So with that being said,
it's great to be able to talk in
all these different languages,
but, at the same point,
it's great to have expertise.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Yeah. I think it's like a
best-of-both-worlds thing.
Meet as many producers
as you can,
and the more time you spend
with them, the more you
will learn, as well, you know?
>> Yeah.
>> So I don't think it has
to be an either-or situation.
>> Yeah.
Or I would just say,
like, just get on more sets.
Like,
just offer to PA for a day.
Like, it doesn't mean
you have to PA forever.
No one does, but if you PA,
and then you're watching
what's happening,
and you see 20 other people
doing stuff, you're like,
"Hey, that's cool.
What's going on over there?"
Go over and be like,
"Hey, what are you doing?
You know, I want
to learn what you're doing."
"Do you need help?"
Normally, it's,
"Can I carry this for you?"
And then you just get
in conversation,
and, like, I was a PA.
I wanted to do camera.
I started camera PAing.
I was an AC, camera operator.
Now I'm a DP, and it's like
the more you learn,
the more people you know,
just, like, learning different
skill sets, and you don't have
to be, like, a master at it,
but, like, to speak the language
or to understand
what someone's doing,
and everyone is very friendly
on set, for the most part,
because if you want to learn,
they're willing to teach you,
and they were you at some point.
>> Yeah.
>> So always ask
and always just take in
as much information as possible.
>> Thank you.
>> Well, thank you all.
That was terrific.
Let's hear a big round
of applause.
[ Applause ]
>> This was so great.
You all spoke so well
about your craft.
[ Indistinct conversations ]