Episode 6 - "Nazi Pets"

Lots of great feedback on episode 6 already! Lots of folks saying it's their favorite already. They're ALL our babies, so we're not partial. Well, maybe a little. We've revamped "The Videomakers" homepage, too. There's a bonus features section, a new Comments section where it only takes a few seconds to leave a comment, news feed, and more! (Thanks to Lynne Venart of the Art Monkey for the re-design.) Kudos to Cyrus Dowlatshahi and Cameron King for editing this episode. Also, thanks to Jimmy Cooney for contributing the bits about hip-hop, and to my friend Jose for the "Goering's boots" line. The cast is awesome, as usual. I love the Facebook scene, featuring Cheri and Amanda, which probably rings true to a lot of people who are still discovering Facebook.

"The Videomakers" at Silverdocs

We've just released our first official bonus feature: "The Videomakers at Silverdocs," where we hit the famous documentary festival to find out how filmmakers and fans feel about Lowball Productions, The Hysteria Channel, the prison makeover show, "Chefs Behind Bars," and "Pets of the Third Reich." Our co-producer/assistant director Jimmy Cooney shot this during the Silverdocs festival in June of 2009. We'll also be adding this and other bonus features to our Videomakers website. Next up: An interview with actress Gia Mora, who plays Cheri on the show.

Videomakers on Funny or Die

Episode 1 and the Trailer of "The Videomakers" is now on Funny or Die, the site founded by Will Ferrell and his comedian friends. Viewers can vote whether the Video is Funny or whether it should Die. So far, we're doing pretty well. Feel free to go on the site and vote. We're hoping you'll vote "Funny." But if you should vote, "Die," we don't wanna know about it.

More coverage from Just Up the Pike

Just Up the Pike blog has released their 3rd in a series of posts about "The Videomakers." Like I said before, Dan writes well and really gets what we're about. He also embedded episode 3 - the famous "medication" or "pills on the table" episode, where the Lowball Productions crew competes to see who's on the most meds!

Videomakers featured in Just Up The Pike blog

Just Up the Pike, a great blog published by Dan Reed, has posted a serialized interview with me and featuring an embed of episode 2. Dan is a fascinating local guy and writes really well. Check it out! He highlighted, among other things, the bare skin and sexual intrigue on the show. I mean, there really isn't THAT much bare skin outside of episodes 1 and 2, but still, we'll take it.

Episode 2 on Silver Spring Penguin

Thanks to Jennifer Deseo of The Silver Spring Penguin for embedding Episode 2 "Tased and Confused," of "The Videomakers" web series along with a nifty summary and her favorite quote from the show: "These hamsters had no idea they part of the machinery of death." She wisely leaves it to the viewer to discover the infamous coffin sex scene - but, I digress... no more spoilers, I promise! The Penguin intends to embed a new episode every week. I've always thought this was Silver Spring's coolest blog, which has now been confirmed. PS - the Penguin elected to use the uncut, R-rated version of the show.

Episode 5 Released!

Episode 5 of The Videomakers, "Hard Time," has just been posted on our site! It's streaming through Blip TV. We're trying that as an experiment to see how we do. Blip runs short "pre-roll" ads before the show starts, but they're quick and not unpleasant - and they help us to earn back some of our investment a few pennies at a time! Let us know how you find the Blip experience vs. YouTube. The show still will be on YouTube, but this episode will be directly linked to our site thru Blip. Tell us what you think of the episode! It's the one where Spark and Doug go into the state prison to shoot a "prison makeover" show, and to engage in some nefarious activity of their own. You'll have to watch to find out more.

Episode 5

Psyched for release of Episode 5 on Thursday. We sneak previewed it at the wrap party over the weekend and got a lotta laughs. Just tweaking audio, trying to make the prison sound a little livelier. We shot at Maryland Correctional Institute in Jessup in an empty wing and it was super quiet! Thank God for sfx.

Silver Spring Penguin posts about trailer and Episode 1!

The Silver Spring Penguin, downtown Silver Spring's premier blog, posted the trailer and episode 1 of The Videomakers and will be posting a new episode each week! The Penguin says,"The show oozes downtown Silver Spring, from the scenery to the soundtrack" and claims the best line of the episode is, "That’s for wearing my bikini bottom, Bitch!” Check out their site and leave your comments!

Interview with Cheri (Gia Mora)

Today we shot the first on-camera interview with a member of our cast to be offered as bonus material for "The Videomakers." We interviewed the lovely and talented Gia Mora, who plays "Cheri" on the show, both in character and as herself. Gia, a professional actress, singer, dancer, and leader of her own jazz ensemble, was terrific - not surprising, since she's accustomed to improvising and did it very well. We'll edit her interviews and put them online soon. Suffice it to say, in the meantime, that "Cheri" took some swipes at Doug and Kevin, while lavishing compliments on Amanda and Spark. We asked "Cheri" about her sexual orientation (rumors around the office are that Cheri is bisexual). You'll have to tune in to find out whether she, in fact,
"plays for both teams."

feedback on episode 4

A colleague in the postproduction business in DC sent me the following feedback on Episode 4, which I thought was really funny and complimentary at the same time:

"Very nice work, Walter. So clever of you to place surveillance cameras at a local production company and their apartment. Then simply change the names to protect the innocent. Fortunately their banter back and forth was chock full of tension, humor and drama. This saved you all of the time and hassle of actually writing a script, finding locations, hiring actors and then trying to direct them."

Episode 4 insights

I love the interplay between Amanda (Ann Marie Barbour) and Kevin (Lee Ordeman) in this episode. In scene 1, there's all this romantic/sexual tension, and in scene 4, she's like his mom. The two of them were really great, along with Meeka Jackson (who plays the Exculpatory Channel Network Executive) and Mundy Spears (Spark). I love the face that Meeka makes when Kevin falls asleep. These scenes were shot several weeks - if not months - apart but they seem to fit together pretty seamlessly.

Episode 4 is up!

Episode 4 is up! I'm really proud of this one. There isn't as much action, per se, but there are some really nice set pieces with Amanda (Ann Marie Barbour), Kevin (Lee Ordeman) and supporting players. It includes the nighttime second unit footage that we shot with Elliot Klayman of Eye to Eye video only last Thursday! Anyway, it's funny and sexy and what we want this web series to be. Check it out on blip.tv as well!

Kevin tries to "upgrade" his business relationship with Amanda. Later, he pitches two prison lifestyle shows to an executive from the Exculpatory Channel . Amanda takes Kevin to the woodshed, while the fate of Top Shots hangs in the balance.

More Bonus Material!

We are going to be releasing soon some bonus material, "The VideoMakers at SilverDocs". It will include street interviews of fans of Lowball Productions.

BlipTv

We are expanding even more! You can watch the episodes of The VideoMakers on BlipTv. It is the bleeped version of course...

Videomakers now on iTunes!

The VideoMakers is now availabe to viewers on iTunes under Podcasts. It's free, so check it out! Don't forget to comment on here as well, it really helps us build an audience.

Bonus material

We currently have some bonus material in the works for The VideoMakers including video interviews with the cast and crew! Stay tuned. :-)

Keep those comments coming!

Episode 3, "Medicated Self" is now up. We really appreciate your feedback, so keep commenting on youtube and on our facebook page to continue spreading the word!

Get ready for episode 3

Episode 3 of The VideoMakers titled "Medicated Self", debuts Thursday September 17 at 3pm on our website and on blip.tv! Check it out and leave comments! Enjoy!

In the 3rd episode of our new web series, the Lowball Productions team is back at the office, brainstorming ideas to pitch to the Exculpatory Channel, where Kevin used to be an executive. A competition over who's on the most prescription drugs ensues. Kevin and Spark meet with a client who has a bizarre new business idea, and a curiously low budget.

New Trailer!

A trailer for our new satirical web series about the non-fiction tv and video business, featuring highlights from Season One is now available. It runs 2mins and 30secs. Hopefully it will get you excited for what is yet to come with The Video Makers!

Episode 2 "Tased and Confused" is up!

Check out Videomakers Episode 2, "Tased and Confused," just posted on our website. It's also available on blip.tv! In any case, please rate and comment either on the Facebook page or on youtube, but let us know you're out there.

Amanda arrives at the Airsoft Arena where the crew is shooting Top Shots, after one of the contestants takes the competition a little too far. Back at the office, Shawn struggles to edit a demo for the new documentary, Pets of the Third Reich, while Doug maneuvers for some alone time on the set with Spark.

Resuming work on trailer

We have resumed work on the trailer, which seems weird since the show already debuted. But, on the other hand, the trailer will help with promotion and gives a nice cross-section of some of the rest of Season 1. We hope to finish and post soon!

Comments!

Hey guys, once you have watched the episodes, make sure to comment and give us your feed back. We love to hear your thoughts and reactions! You can comment on youtube, facebook or Vimeo.

Episode 1 is up!

Episode 1 is now available on blip.tv, or on our website. We hope you enjoy it!

The crew at Lowball Productions is shooting a pilot for their new elimination show, Top Shots, where young women shoot at each other with Airsoft rifles in the quest to become the best markswoman in America. Spark is smiling, Joel is fretting, and Kevin is fending off inquiries from a hard-ass network exec.

Debut of Episode 1 tomorrow!

Episode 1 of our satirical comedy, "The Videomakers" debuts Thursday, August 20th at 3pm on our website and on youtube! Check it out and comment. We hope you enjoy! Episode 2 premiers Thursday, August 27th.

Thanks to the fans!

Hey folks! Co-producer/Assistant Director Jimmy Cooney here. I just want to say hi to my friends who are becoming new fans of The VideoMakers! And, I suggest that you scroll down and check out the Sneak Previews and anything else you might've missed. You can also find it on Youtube or our website. We appreciate your comments, so keep 'em coming! The Web series debuts this month!

Another Sneak Preview!

Another sneak preview from our new web series is now available! It is from Episode 3, "Medicated Self". In this brief clip, the team at Lowball Productions is arguing over who's on the most prescripton drugs, while toying with the idea of pitching a "medication makeover show." Featuring Ann Marie Barbour, Lee Ordeman, Brandon Dorsey, Charlie Davidson, Gia Mora, and Jake Koenig, and of course, Otto the golden retriever!

Sneak Preview from Episode 2 "Tased and Confused"

Watch our first sneak preview from the VideoMakers web series! It's a clip from Episode 2, "Tased & Confused," where senior producer Amanda arrives on the set of the elimination show "Top Shots" after contestant Tiffany has illegally tased a competitor, Amber.

Check us out on Twitter

You can follow us on twitter now at www.twitter.com/thevideomakers

It's a wrap on our first unit of videography!

We wrapped our first unit of videography Sunday night. Woo hoo! Thanks, everyone, for your time, your work, your passion for the project. On to the second unit, music mix, editing, and release of the first episodes (hopefully) sometime in July.

Trailer underway!

We have begun stringing out a trailer for the web series. It is coming along nicely but still needs some work. Would love to get it out by the beginning of July, if not sooner. We'll see how realistic that is. Meanwhile, we only have one more shoot to go before wrapping 1st unit videography. This one includes Lowball Productions' office being overrun with dogs.