Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Blog Retro: Four years ago - Felicia Day Interview


Felicia Day four years ago, on my laptop.
Fugit! It's been Four Years!

It's hard to believe, but it's been four years since I stopped freaking out long enough to interview Felicia Day. Back then she had just managed to negotiate a ground-breaking deal with Xbox after sticking to her guns over ownership of her work, and Season 2 of The Guild was just airing. Who could have predicted that Season 6 of The Guild would be airing four years later?





Since that interview I've kept tabs on Felicia and watched her develop her career with aplomb. She has worked hard to make her future her own, and her successes have been many. I hope one day we meet up and have a nice cup of tea and a scone. That would do very nicely.

Cheers!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

It's Triple Felicia Day...Day!

Felicia Day in S6, Ep 2 of The Guild

It's a red-letter Tuesday!

Not only is Episode 2 of The Guild Season 6 released today, but Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog is airing on TV tonight for the very first time on The CW at 9:00 PM. AND a new interview with Felicia is now out on The Hollywood Reporter.

It's been over four years since Dr Horrible first took the interwebs by storm, and Felicia puts this into perspective in terms of the advances webseries have made in that time:
..."It's a big victory as far as mainstream Hollywood acknowledgement of web series as a legitimate format," web series creator/producer/star Day tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I really hope that it's not just a singular thing anymore, that it becomes a trend. That's my biggest hope." And Day should know: she not only starred in the series but it was her work on The Guild that inspired Joss Whedon to explore opportunities that existed outside of the traditional Hollywood studio system, where creators could have complete control over their content from budget to casting and everything in between...
From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/felicia-day-dr-horrible-joss-whedon-neil-patrick-harris-nathan-fillion-376972

Start your Felicia Day with a brand new episode of The Guild:


Who knows? Now Dr Horrible has been on TV, I might be able to write Part 3 of Future Entertainment!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The Guild Season 6 - Episode 1 out NOW!

The Guild Season 6 is going to blow our minds. Like this.

The writing, acting and delivery of The Guild has always been consistently good, and the team has done a great job of expanding and developing the universe each season.

But this season? That whole office warehouse is amazing. Watch the behind-the-scenes video and see all the people involved, the level of detail, the graphics, drawing, models...the fully-developed and immersive nature of the space. How many Codex-hours did it take? Just astounding.

And yes, the stage is set for another season of mayhem for our Guildies as everything changes for them once again. Enjoy:



Kim Evey opens the BTS of Ep 1 video talking about the reveal of the gaming company office:
..The epitome of what The Guild Always is...a lot of hard work, a lot of different people contributing...We always want our fans to say "How did they do that? I thought they were an indie webseries! That's impossible!"..


The steadycam work is beautifully done, and I recommend you watch it fullscreen for maximum impact. They have a freaking animatronic !!!! 

It seem unreal that it was four years since I first interviewed Felicia Day, just after the deal with Microsoft/Xbox had been announced for Season 2. Felicia made the decision to keep ownership of her show and has steered it, and her career, into uncharted waters and come out firmly on top of the world. And now Season 6 is exclusive to their own 'Geek & Sundry' channel on YouTube - part of a stable of quality programming.

So much has changed in that time, but one thing is certain.

Our little webseries is all grown up.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Guild. Season 6. Trailer. NOW! Roll on Oct 2nd!



Gone for so long....and so has The Guild! But Felicia and crew have been hard at work on Season 6 and now it's only DAYS AWAY!

The trailer has just been released:


Season 6 is going to be EXCLUSIVE to the Geek and Sundry channel on YouTube and premieres on OCTOBER 2nd, so make sure you are subscribed to Geek and Sundry.

I'm not sure what I'm more excited about after watching the trailer - but I can't WAIT for the return of Bruiser! I can only hope that we see more of J Teddy Garces dancing - maybe Gangnam Style? Who knows....?

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Behind The Scenes on Standard Action Webseries

Joanna Gaskell as Edda, in Standard Action




Standard Action BTS, a set on Flickr.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of being background actors for Season 2 of the webseries 'Standard Action'.

Many thanks to Joanna, Ron, Vanessa and all the cast and crew for a great day out :)

Go and watch Standard Action Season 1 now at http://watchstandardaction.com/

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Defending Felicia? No need, she's got it covered.



A lovely picture of Felicia Day 

UPDATE:*** I just saw this today on Facebook (thanks Anna!), about Anita Sarkeesian's Kickstarter Project "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games"which has also attracted a huge avalanche of hatred. Why is this happening now, and is it a new trend or more of the same thing that has happened throughout the history of the Internet? This is a great project and one that is desperately needed - if you were in any doubt about that you only need to read about what Ms Sarkeesian has had to put up with.***

So then, while I've been busy doing stuff* I've missed out on what can only be described as a avalanche of hate directed at a video posted this week. No, it didn't contain kittens, puppies or any cute animals being injured, and it didn't feature politics, elections or any kind of -ism. It was a light-hearted music video.

It is by a well-known and respected artist, and (apart from a heroic choice of eyeshadow) it is catchy, well-produced, interesting to watch and has some surprises in there, too. Try it, you might like it:




Haters going to hate?
YouTube comments...they can be the absolute pits. Seriously, any video that has more than 100 views is likely to attract a few mean-spirited comments, usually left by bored people wanting to get a rise out of the channel. This video, though, has attracted a massive amount of negative comments, and it seems to come from a variety of types: male gamers who hate the idea of 'girl gamers', female gamers who don't want to be stereotyped, gamers who feel that gamers are just gamers no matter what gender, people who hate country music, Artistic People Against Yellow Eyeshadow - and so on.

Many are just plain nasty, some are truly awful and some are threatening, borderline incitement.

Why do I say Felicia doesn't need defending?
Fans and friends have been quick to defend the video, and the people behind it. That is heartening and not surprising - people on the whole genuinely enjoy what she produces and are open to new directions (even country music). Felicia has done a very good job of setting out her thoughts on the subject, including the ideas behind the song and video.

For me, this sums up a lot of what I've always admired about Felicia:

"In all my years of championing gaming, I have ALWAYS avoided the title “Gamer Girl”. I always just said I’m a gamer, and left the gender unsaid. I don’t mean to disparage anyone who uses that title, to me, you change minds by being who you are, representing, and not pointing out you’re different from anyone else."
After years on YouTube, even she has been surprised at the level of vitriol:


But I don't think Felicia needs to defend her work or herself because the majority of this attack is not really about either of those things. It seems to me that the comments section of this video quickly became a convenient arena to go over arguments that have been raging all over the Internet for years about geeks, fakes, gamers, women, girls, men, boys and what everyone's real place in all this is.

Recent blow-ups have included the 'fake geek' thing, hearing about how Dell conducts their conferences, 'Booth Babes' at CES and Ad:Tech - and then how 'Booth Babes' have had their day. People have very strong views and when there is a perceived target and a venue for venting, all hell breaks loose.

And I'm not even clear who the real haters are here. It's impossible to tell from looking at the commenters. I'm not sure it's even worth worrying about what the truth is because people who are willing to expend so much energy posting vicious comments have already lost the plot.

For my part, I thought the video was innocuous and the song catchy, and I was glad to see that so many people took the time to leave positive comments on YouTube and Twitter.

Take Aways for Creators

  • Sometimes people don't like what we do, and that's ok.
  • Sometimes nasty comments do not reflect the majority response to your work.
  • Even the most popular creators can face a barrage of negativity, the trick is to handle it in a mature and intelligent manner.
  • Read the well thought-out comments and ignore all the rest.
  • Don't use yellow eye shadow if you have a pale complexion. It drives people insane.
  • Xander called country music "...the music of pain..." for a reason.
  • Don't be afraid to support your fellow creators in their endeavours, and if you don't like what they do, find a way to express it that doesn't degenerate into name-calling hatred.
  • Everything happens
Hope you have a great weekend, Felicia, and get to take some time off soon!


*Stuff includes, but is not limited to: writing, editing, plotting, working PLUS preparing for eldest son's High School graduation tomorrow. How time flies...

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Felicia is no April Fool - get your Geek on Tomorrow!


Geek and Sundry Logo from geekandsundry.com

Earlier this week Felicia Day announced that she would be hosting a TEN HOUR GOOGLE+ HANGOUT MARATHON to promote her new programmes on her new YouTube 'Geek and Sundry' channel. With a whole new stable of shows in the pipeline there is bound to be something for everyone. AND it's a fundraiser for charity, too.

Today the schedule has been published for tomorrow's event so you can plan your day accordingly:

10:00am – Welcome to the Hangout!
10:30am – Yoga with Alicia Marie
11:00am – Introducing our charity: Best Friends Animal Society
11:20am – Sword & Laser Show interview with co-host Tom Merritt
11:40am – J!NX Tee-shirt Giveaway with the owners and creators
12:00pm – The Art of Web Series Panel: Featuring Kim Evey (The Guild), Tony V (Black Box TV), Wilson Cleveland (Leap Year), and Tina Cesa Ward (Anyone But Me)
1:00pm – LIVE Fan Art Contest! We want submissions from YOU – draw and win prizes based on chat votes!
1:40pm – Chat with Steve Dengler of MegaCynics (CHARITY SPONSOR)
2:00pm – Novel Writer’s Panel: “Creating Great Characters” with Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind), John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Amber Benson (Death’s Daughter)
3:00pm – YOMYOMF Chat with Kev Jumba
3:30pm – Dark Horse Motion Comics Chat with Erik Bruhwiler, Animator and Producer
4:00pm – Cryptozoic Trading Cards Opening (CHARITY SPONSOR)
4:30pm – LIVE DANCE BREAK and Fan Dance competition to Public domain songs!
5:00pm – “Romance in Video Games” chat with Dragon Age creator David Gaider
5:30pm – “Indie Video Games: How To” with Bastion creator Greg Kasavin
6:00pm - “Casual Games: Designing Good Ones” with PopCap producer Matthew Johnson (Bejeweled, Peggle)
6:30pm – E-Sports! Chat with Day[9]TV’s Sean Plott
7:00pm – Chris Hardwick talks Nerdist YouTube Channel
7:30pm – NASA Astronomers Chat with Carolyn Brinkworth and Robert Hurt
8:00pm – LIVE Crowd Source writing “Geek and Sundry”, the one hour buddy drama.
9:00pm – WORLD PREMIERE: The Guild cast members Sandeep Parikh & Robin Thorsen and more perform to the fan-written “Geek and Sundry”
9:30pm – FIRE SALE; Give away remaining Prizes
9:50pm – GRAND PRIZE Giveaway!!!
10:00pm – ANNOUNCE CHARITY FUNDRAISER TOTAL – GOODBYE!
Yes, it is April Fool's Day tomorrow but no, this isn't a joke. I mean, you can trust Felicia, can't you? She would never try and trick people*. With lots of audience participation built in, so many prizes to be won and a great line up I am curious to see how the Google servers hold up!

It all kicks off tomorrow at 10:00 AM PT on Google + here: www.gplus.to/geekandsundry

See you there!

* You know, I don't keep score or bear a grudge. But Rick Roll. That's all I'm going to say.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Geek And Sundry Horrible Husbands

Hopefully the companion book to Horrible 2 is being prepped even now!

Yes, that headline wrote itself
Wow, it's finally 2012 on this blog - the first post this year?? How does that even happen? It's fitting that this is a summary post designed to bring you up to date on some special projects.

Dr Horrible 2 - out soon?
Wired.com and many other outlets have reported that Joss has hinted that it is possible that the sequel to Dr Horrible might be filming soon. Hopefully. If scheduling can be worked out. That's great news and certainly something to look out for.

Geek and whatnow?
Kim and Felicia revealed all at Wondercon this weekend. Even more than their smooch at the IAWTV Awards this has fired people up into a frenzy of anticipation - revel in the geekiness:



The Flog! Just like the old days! Except in video form! Yay! :)


Husbands 2 Kickstarter off to a great start!
Did I mention I was on a panel with Jane Espenson last year....? Anyway, the hugely successful (and very funny) webseries has just started a funding round on Kickstarter for Season 2 and they are already well on the way to raising the needed $50,000. Good luck to Jane, Cheeks and the team - I'm sure they will raise way beyond the goal in no time at all. But don't leave it to chance. Help fund them now if you can!