"We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

[kyrathaba]

I listened to the first two episodes this morning. Great stuff!

[kyrathaba]

Make that the first three episodes: oh yeah, I'm hooked!

[40hz]

At the risk of going OT, here's another indy (via KickStarter) work produced for the web that I think is very promising. It's a thriller/scifi movie called Pioneer One.

Here's the first 8 minutes of episode one to whet your appetite:

Pioneer One is an independently produced drama series made for the Internet.  

...

In March 2010, writer Josh Bernhard and director Bracey Smith quit their jobs and set out to produce the pilot episode of Pioneer One as a proof-of-concept for how the series could be produced and released.  Funds were raised through a Kickstarter campaign, favors were called in, and much sleep was lost.  The pilot was finished shooting by the end of April 2010 and was released online on June 15th through VODO.net.

Then something unexpected happened.

Within two weeks, the pilot was downloaded nearly half a million times, and $20,000 was raised from viewer donations alone.  By the end of the summer, we had raised well over $30,000 from people all over the world whose sole interest was seeing the show continue and succeed.  We made plans to produce the next three episodes of our 6-episode first season with that money.

In October 2010, off the heels of the pilot’s win for “Best Drama Pilot” at the 2010 New York Television Festival, production began on episodes 2, 3 and 4.  These episodes continue to be released as we’re raising funds for the final two episodes of season one, with production planned for May, 2011.

They've completed 4 of the 6 episodes for their first season. Episodes 5 and 6 have recently finished shooting and they're asking for contributions to help get them finalized.

Full episodes are available free to either download in HD or watch online.

(I was impressed enough that I bought in.  )

 

[kyrathaba]

Thanks for this link, 40hz. I'm definitely gonna check this out.

[Deozaan]

Yes indeed that does look good.

[40hz]

Quick addenda to Pioneer One: be sure to check out the blog. They have some interesting things to say about the show and how it gets put together. Excellent resource for anyone interested in the process of developing a series like this. Even more valuable for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps with a fan-sourced creative effort of their own.

Considering the generally dismal programming coming out of TV Land, I strongly suspect this approach to doing an independent series is going to become The Way anything that's worth watching gets made in the not too distant future.
 

[kyrathaba]

I've finished the first eight chapters of "We're Alive".  Great stuff!  I have to say, so far my favorite character is Saul, though Burt runs a close second.  Anyone else have a favorite?

[Shades]

Anxiously waiting for the season 2 final! The three military guys and Burt carry this series well.

[mouser]

Well I was just about to post a new thread about PontyPool, a very cool movie and radio drama -- when i did a quick search of the forum and discovered that 40hz mentioned it earlier this year:

If you like We're Alive, check out the indy film Pontypool.

I just saw PontyPool a couple of days ago on Netflix streaming, and I *really* enjoyed it.

I'm happy to say you can also listen to the radio drama (it's actually just the movie's audio track, slightly re-edited), for free online: here.

There's very little to see so I think makes a great radio drama.