by Tim Goessling on November 2nd, 2009
Sometimes in sports, an event occurs that seems to be straight of a movie. A buzzer beater to win the championships, a walk off homerun for the series, or an impossible catch to keep a drive alive all qualify in this case. ESPN The Magazine has seized on the human and sometimes amazing drama of sports for their web series: NFL Writers Room.
Right from the kickoff, you must realize that this is a web series for football FANS, not just people who like one team, but people who are familiar with every game, player, coach, and throwback uniform design. You know the type: four different fantasy teams going at once, obsessively tracking player data to predict game winners, and knowing detailed data on every single major player. This is a web series for them.
Created by NY-based production team 12 Angry Mascots, the series is a behind the scenes look of the fictional NFL “writer’s room.” Each week before Sunday’s game the team previews upcoming games and the “dramatic ways” each of them could play out. For example, last Saturday’s episode featured the many different ways that the Minnesota-Green Bay game could have played, with a special focus on the Brett Favre story line. The writers debated how many touchdowns he should score and included a funny debate if Favre should go for a “Lambeau Leap”. In a funny twist, the writers also bicker about if the game’s storyline gels with the theme for the season: “despair & disparity.”
by Tim Goessling on October 25th, 2009
With its pseudo historical storyline, vicious combat, free world parkour roaming, and just massive cool factor, 2007’s Assassin’s Creed was a massive hit, selling over eight million copies and launching a new entertainment franchise. While the game was very repetitive (how many viewpoints can there be in one city) and ended with a massive cliffhanger, the anticipation for the sequel is massive. To prepare for its November 17th release, publisher Ubisoft has taken a cue from what publishers have done before: prepare some juicy web series content.
Earlier in the summer we wrote about how the feature film Terminator: Salvation used its video game engine to produce a machinima prequel series to the events of the film. Perhaps Ubisoft took notice of February’s Escape from City 17 live action Half Life 2 short, because the opposite has occurred, the web series for the launch of Assassin’s Creed 2 titled Assassin’s Creed: Lineage is all live action. Well, technically it’s 21st century live action, which means, like 300, it’s real life actors in front of a green screen.
Focusing on Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, the father of the sequel’s protagonist Ezio, the episodes are being directed by Yves Simoneau (who’s also directing the first few eps of upcoming V for ABC. Written by William Raymond, with close supervision by game writer Corey May, the series looks to really strengthen not only the background on the game’s ultra-violent hero, but also the seedy culture that surrounds the game’s Florentine Renaissance setting. Based off the trailer (above), viewers can expect plenty of violence, torture, and certainly lots of fly Renaissance costumes.
by Tim Goessling on September 9th, 2009
Bullets fly through the air like pestering gnats, our hero, armed to the teeth, lies pinned down behind a pillar, he stays cool, panic is not in his blood, never has been. He grabs a propane tank and tosses it around the wall. It lands in front of the henchman who look at is quizzically, the hero comes from behind in the pillar with a smile. The camera swirls around him in slow mo as he blasts the canister, the explosion sending bodies flying. The hero opens his mouth and says, “Damn, I love PS3-based machinima game play.”
Of course, he wouldn’t say that, he’d probably say something like “smells like a BBQ.” However, the truth is, with the cinematic tools in the upcoming PS3 game “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” the hero can say anything you want. Any concoction of events that you can dream up in the dream world can be created cinema mode included in the game, which is nothing short of revolutionary for machinima design and filmmaking. So in this situation instead of throwing that canister, he could just sit there and quote Shakespeare, not that exciting, but hey mixing genres can be thrilling.
by Tim Goessling on June 3rd, 2009
Across the nation people are watching a touching animated story on the screen. The story is hilarious, full of memorable characters that are instantly quotable. The visuals are astounding, unique yet also warmly familiar. In the spirit of adventure, the story is action packed, full of dastardly villains and heroes fighting to the death. But surprise surprise, I’m not talking about “Up” the recent Disney Pixar film, I’m talking about the blood drenched online series, Meet the Team, that accompany the video game Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress 2, or TF2 as it is in know in geek circles is a squad based online shooter created by the video game company Valve Software. The best way to describe the game would be HALO in the animated style of The Incredibles with the pitch-black comedy of Tarantino film. Two teams fight to achieve different objectives while shooting off as many wisecracks as missiles and blowing each other in majestically animated globules of meat and bone. Where other games have let the fans create their own machinima series around their games, TF2 publisher Valve has embraced machinima culture by creating their own episodic series.
by Tim Goessling on May 20th, 2009
In one of the many conspiracy theories in my crazy mind, the scenario where Google and Apple merge to form Skynet is probably the most realistic. The new film Terminator Salvation will no doubt re-assure me that in the future, evil robots with the glowing eyes will not only have machine guns for arms, but also know my search history from when I was in 11th grade. As for my place in the future, I’ll be in the cave, telling the youngsters how I should have paid more attention to the Terminator franchise back in the day.
In particular I might tell them about Machinima.com’s Terminator Salvation Machinima Series of summer 2009. I’d point out that since it was the first machinima series to be produced with a major studio (Warner Brothers) and one of the first to feature ultra high production values, it was a potential turning point in the rise of robots as master enslavers. Was it a coincidence that it had “Machinima” in the title? We’ll see if this becomes the series to start the ball rolling towards judgment day.
The series may or may not be the breakaway series the genre needs, but it certainly could be. Focusing on resistance fighter Blair Williams, voiced by the gorgeous (and coolly named) actress Moon Bloodgood.
by Tim Goessling on April 7th, 2009
As long as there have been sports, there have been hecklers. By definition, heckling is interrupting with derisive comments or abuse. You know what I’m talking about— these salty lots can be found at any sporting event ripping on the referee, the opposing team, or even the opposing team’s family members. With Heckle U, CBS has taken this aspect of sports and created a hilarious new web series that follows the rise and fall of two ‘pro’ hecklers.
Starring comedians Owen Benjamin as Chance Stevens and Kirk Fox as Darrell Downing, the show traces the two hecklers on their path to glory. The first episode show’s their humble (and hilarious) beginnings as hecklers. I won’t say how they got their start, but I will offer this tidbit, it involves purple nurples. The show is presented like a documentary with different interviews with personalities including Heckler historians, newscasters, and athletes all connected to the heckler duo supreme.
by Tim Goessling on April 2nd, 2009
ON Networks has launched a second season of it’s web series City by City. Each five minute episode focuses on the highlights of a particular global city. Unlike the first season of the show which focused on Europe, this season will feature 12 episodes on Asian cities. So far, Japan and Seoul have been featured.
With City by City, Austin, Texas-based ON Networks has added another strong show to their growing list of original online series. The network features shows in a variety of different genres including sports, video games, most notably last fall’s Amy Poehler-created kids talk show Smart Girls at the Party and even an upcoming series on consciousness and creativity with surrealistic artist and filmmaker David Lynch. City by City is similar to ON Networks Beautiful Places in HD, except it doesn’t focus on natural beauty.
by Tim Goessling on February 21st, 2009
If you think a female news reporters named “Anita Balzac” is funny, there is an animated web series for you. Flash Sports Tonight, is, well, a flash (animation) based sports web series where two anchors host a quick recap of recent sporting news, complete with dirty jokes, cleverly named field reporters, and some brief sports commentary. There’s no question the audience for the show skews towards men who well like sports and women…and lowbrow humor.
The format of the FST eps are the essentially the same as the ESPN flagship Sportscenter that it so cleverly mocks.
