In the meantime, check out the Creator Playbook, a streamlined, and very helpful guide to all creators looking to leverage the platform.  The second edition came out last week.

I first met our friend and one-time collaborator, Nathan Marshall, at an independent TV conference when web video was really just budding.  Fast forward 4 or so years, and Nathan has co-written and directed an ambitious TV 1/2 hour pilot, “about a couple in LA who are so underwater on their mortgage that they can’t afford to break up.”

The teaser is funny, and looks nothing short of broadcast quality (though they’re seeking finishing funds on their kickstarter, where you can gain more info.)  The cast is impressive, (includes Rachel Nichols (Criminal Minds, GI Joe), Brooke Nevin (Breakout Kings, The 4400) and Barry Bostwick (Spin City, Cougartown). We can’t wait to see a full series, fingers crossed, and definitely check out their KS page.

We sat with Nathan to ask a few questions as they relate to his self-produced pilot and the broader world of video.

UC: Producing your own pilot is a bold, ambitious, and really gangster move… Have their been any past examples of people funding and shooting their own pilot, and it resulting in being picked up, produced, financed? What prompted this?

NM:  That’s me—totally gangster! No, you know, it was a choice that came out of my background as a commercial director and before that as a film student. In both cases, I’ve learned how to make sure that dollars spent show up on screen. With a great script and great actors we’re in a time now when professional quality TV production is truly within reach at a lower cost than it’s ever been before… My writing partner Michael Traynor and I came up with an idea that felt doable—and with the right cast we knew we could create a competitive show. They’re still the exception, but indy pilots have been shot and sold and aired before, including Party Down, Louie, Partners, Greg & Donny and the kid’s show Imagination Movers. There’s also a rich history of spec pilots being sold then re-shot, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—and of course South Park.

UC: Understand if you can’t speak to this, but you have some big name working actors featured… are they contractually attached to the show should it get picked up?

NM: Michael and I spent a lot of time crafting roles that we thought actors would enjoy playing. Every character has laugh lines and story arcs… Every character spends a fair amount of time on screen. Just to be blunt about it—we knew the only way we were gonna get the show made was to first attach actors who would mean something to investors. We essentially adapted the indy film model to a TV pilot, then went out to our dream cast and managed to attach almost all of them, including Rachel Nichols, Brooke Nevin, Barry Bostwick, Jude Angelini, Chris Wylde and Jacory Gums. Everyone essentially donated their time because they loved the writing—but no, we were not able to contractually attach them to the series should it be picked up. Everyone’s behind the show, though, and knows we’d be producing it at a lower-than-average budget. If we can’t work out terms with these folks, I suppose their character might experience an untimely death?! In seriousness, that’s a hurdle yet to cross—but this cast will get our pilot seen by everyone in town and we’ve all talked about taking this group with us into series.

UC: What cameras did you shoot on?

NM: Canon 5Ds with spectacular lenses… Except for our underwater title sequence which we shot on a GoPro.

UC: Do you think you’ve proven that network television should and could be produced for a fraction of the cost (save for talent fees of course)?

Yes and no. Most of the cost of network shows (beyond talent fees) come with the speed of their production… We definitely could not have written, shot, edited, scored and screened Underwater in a few weeks or even a couple months on this budget—which is the normal schedule for most network and cable shows. I do think, however, that in the hands of a good director and producer, talking-heavy shows like comedies can be made for much, much less than they are now. And that wave is coming…

UC: What has been your biggest learning thus far on Underwater?

NM: A TV pilot is not a movie! That sounds obvious, but particularly in editing, there’s a whole extra batch of choices to be made about tone, character backgrounds and story reveals that you don’t have to consider in a film. You’re not only creatingthis episode—you’re setting up a potential season of episodes, and the choices you make now are things you could still be dealing with narratively a year from now. The tone is particularly important in a pilot. In our show, we’ve had to be very specific in choosing the right balance between comedy and drama.

UC: What are your thoughts on the YouTube Premium Channel strategy?

NM:  I love it. More channels producing more high-end programming mean more opportunities for show creators. We’d be proud to have Underwater picked up by a premium internet channel. The bottom line is getting to make the show we want to make… The internet is obviously the future of TV. The fact that we look on one LCD screen for one service and a second LCD screen for another service already seems antiquated.

UC: Do you think the scripted webisode world will continue to grow? Any thoughts on the landscape there?

NM:  I think people’s attention spans are growing shorter, and that creates opportunity for well-made webisodes. I think serialized webisodes will almost certainly vanish, while the demand for funny, compelling 1-5 minute stand-alone content will probably go way up. Movies will continue to decline, however.

UC: What’s next on your plate?

NM: First up is finishing Underwater! Another miracle of the modern age is Kickstarter, and it’s allowed us to go directly to sponsors and fans as we try to close out our finishing costs for the show. We’ve got some great rewards—including scripts, posters, dinner parties and baby name giveways—so hopefully people will click through our project page and help support the show. After that, I’m directing three comedy webisodes in March, then shooting a smaller-scale film this summer. I’m really looking forward to what’s coming next for Underwater, however—and am thrilled to get a chance to share it with Urgensia!

Our Creative Consigliere Max Joseph helmed this fantastic video we created for TOMS Shoes, which really embodies the spirit of PLAY. We worked with a fantastic choreographer, and dance troop, all genuine TOMS fans, which really brought the whole concept to life.

I remember sitting at Jones on sm blvd, with K$, Hank, and Max, discussing the concept about 6 months ago. Took some time, but here it is.

Ok that’s a really far stretch for a post title. Hear me out though… I recently had privilege of shooting with Puff aka Diddy for our series of Celeb Flip spots on his video shoot for “Coming Home” which took place on a salt flat in the middle of the desert. It wasn’t just the actual shoot experience that made for a cool time, but the journey of getting there was really out of a certain movie (featuring my fellow Xroads alum, Jonah Hill aka Jonah Feldstein. Nice work J!)

It all started back in Las Vegas, where I was on set, for another UC production, that was just as interesting. (Post on that soon to come)

I got the call at 9pm that I if I wanted to shoot with Puff, I had would have to make a call time at 6AM the next day at a Holiday Inn in 29 Palms, CA. WTF!?! I booked it to the airport and rented a car with GPS (thank G_D). And there started my journey. When I looked on Google Maps it seemed simple, 3.5 hours away, no problem. Little did I know, I’d be driving for hours through the Mojave desert on a 2 lane highway. Luckily for me, the entire UC crew was busting ass late night in the office to make deadlines, so I called Henry on the phone to let him know my location. If he didn’t hear from me in 3 hours, then at least he knew where I was and could alert the authorities that I was chopped up to pieces and buried Casino Sam Rothstein style in the desert somewhere.

The Sirius Radio was a serious life saver, specifically BBC Radio 1 (s/o to Gilles P) and Shade45 really pulled me through. I literally drove for 3 hours without seeing one light, not one car passing me in either direction. Fast forward, it’s the next morning, and I’m following a van, driving a half hour on a dirt road to “the location”, where there are 3 helicopters and a full scale production. I must say though, considering how large scale this shoot was for the video, the crew was pretty streamlined. It was blazing hot, and the sun was reflecting off the salt on the ground. But I was ready to get my close up with Diddy.

Diddy could not be more of a professional. and a gentleman. His team, the same way, all pros, all good people, no ego. meanwhile, this is the guy that has really defined an era of music, not to mention, is responsible for shepherding the greatest MC ever to be (B.I.G. RIP). We talked a little bit about the approach to the spot, the length of the final product, how he was going to shoot while in the helicopter (they strapped him in as he hung out the side one leg out of it, no stunt man, WOW!) And he went for it. Puff is a true fan of the product, which really helped. And here you have it ladies and gentleman: the music video in all it’s 3 helicopter splendor!

Friday is supposed to be the fun day at work, so why not spend some of your day watching cool new music videos? Here are some recent favorites.

Twin Sister – “All Around and Away We Go” – Directed by Mike Luciano

Gorillaz – “Melancholy Hill” – Directed by Chateau

Egyptrixx – “Start from the Beginning” – Animated short by Berlin artist A. N. Fischer / Datdatdat

Simian Mobile Disco – “Sweetbread” – Directed by Hans Lo and Jose Otero

Lykke Li – “Get Some” – Directed by Johan Söderberg

Urgent’s friend Alex Gorosh sent us this funny trailer he wrote, directed and edited for Good Magazine. It’s a parody of the Die Hard action films to create awareness about the large number of water-related illnesses in developing countries. The video promotes a product called Life Straw (a portable water filtration device) to be used in places where there is limited access to clean drinking water. Get informed and get humored below:

YouTubers, The Fine Brothers, are attempting an interesting new video series called “Kids React,” where they film kids watching well-known viral videos and then record their feedback. It’s attempting the ultimate combination of cute kids and viral hits. For the first episode, the kids watched “Double Rainbow,” “Two Bunnies Two Cups,” “Snickers Halloween Commercial,” and “Obama Podium Fail.” My initial reaction was that some of the kids they used just aren’t young/cute enough, but after a while I started to appreciate the tween feedback too. Still, younger kids like the girl Morgan are much more hilarious than the older kids, especially the slightly bigoted Jake (watch his part at the end). I don’t think The Fine Brothers nailed it with this video, but it’s still worth checking out.

via Mashable

(via Sean Moller)