With
TV-sized budgets out of reach, a group of filmmakers, writers, actors
and musicians decided to create live-action comedic and dramatic
series for the web.
West of Denman is the first show planned for wayoutwest.tv, currently
funded entirely by its volunteer artists. Content is free to viewers.
For the creative team, it’s a chance to tell stories of the
urban Vancouver lifestyle.
"Lots of (film) stuff going on [in] this town is telling other
people’s stories, basically lots of American stuff," says
Morris Chapdelaine, also an actor. "We started this as a way
to produce some work that I really believed in, and to tell a story
that I was very interested in telling. This was an opportunity to
showcase Vancouver and the lifestyle we lead."
The show’s synopsis reads like this: Brandon (played by Justin
Stilwell) has left his small farming hometown to find something
better in the big city. Tyler (Clint Wilson) has seen and done everything
Brandon’s never imagined. Amy (Anya MacLeod) has just been
cut off by her wealthy parents, and now, at 23, she must find her
first job. The three become roommates of an apartment located-you
guessed it-west of Denman.
The show’s first episode was shown in its entirety April 22.
Since then, "teaser" clips have appeared for the second
of the series’ 10 episodes, each approximately six minutes
in length.
Due to current technical limitations of the internet as a video
and audio source, there aren’t many lines for the actors to
speak.
"The format is so different, and because of compression rates
we had to test and practice scenes a lot," says Chapdelaine.
"We discovered that it was best to use bright, bold colours
and fast edits. The original script was fairly wordy, but we found
the best way to tell a story is with our camera angles and pictures."
Advertisers and sponsors are being sought to cover costs of operating
the site, which its caretakers hope will screen 10-second full-motion
video and sound commercials.
"With the web it’s mostly just about banner advertisements,
but most people don’t realize there are opportunities for moving
pictures and sound, just like TV."
The plans were drawn up two years ago, when Chapdelaine met website
executive producer Robert-John Farrow while filming a commercial
for the Out on Screen gay film fest. Also on the creative team are
Carol Phiniotis (site producer), Todd Bell (screenplay), Erin Root
and Michael Duprat (web programmers), the actors (including Morgan
Brayton and Trudy Wynans), and musicians Kim Kuzma and Dickie Doo.
"We all have day jobs and are working on other things,"
says Chapdelaine, "but WayOutWest is something we really want
to do. It’s such a great way to keep the creative energy up.
So many (artists) talk about doing something like this, but we decided
to go for it."
For Chapdelaine, it’s a thrill to have West of Denman seen
by people from around the world.
"We’re able to tell stories to people who live in countries
where they might not be able to get Sex and the City or Queer as
Folk on TV. We’ve gotten (email) response from people who live
in China, for example, who were amazed to see two girls kissing
(in the show’s trailer). The response has been very interesting
that way."
