From the Reel NM section of The Albuquerque Journal 3/10/13:
Alejandro Montoya Marin has the magic touch. And so do Leonard Harris and Ryan Halsey.
Last year, the trio of friends managed to pull off the impossible – they made an entire web series for less than $100.
“It all happened by mistake,” Montoya Marin explains. “What’s funny is that we didn’t intend for any of this to happen.”
In fact, Montoya Marin says the trio’s series – “Film Students” – came about because each person had too much free time.
“I had just broken up with an ex-girlfriend and time was in abundance,” he says. “We had just graduated from college and started working on this place and decided to take a chance. I actually think we had been drinking that night.”
With that time, the trio was able to put together a 14-episode season.
Each episode runs less than 10 minutes and the series has had more than 300,000 views on its YouTube channel.
Each episode averages about 5,000 to 20,000 views, depending on the episode.
The series follows the adventures or misadventures of three slacker film school graduates – Montoya Marin, Harris and Hasley – whose lives begin to take a similar resemblance to the movies they watch and love.
It is filmed at Serious Grippage & Light, a grip and lighting rental company located in the Northeast Heights.
During each episode, the characters have conversations about life and movies.
“We wanted to do a series that was like the movie ‘Clerks.’ We wanted to follow each one of us in our daily life,” he explains. “I don’t like to act. I’m more a writer and director, but we all stepped out of our element and tried to make it work.”
For the trio, every episode is a surprise.
“We don’t work with any scripts at all,” Montoya Marin says. “It’s easier for us to go improv on each episode. It makes sense to us and also gives us the chance to push ourselves to become better actors.”
With the first season well behind them, the trio have begun to tease their second season, which is slated to air late spring or early summer.
In the teaser, the trio are fighting zombies.
“We wanted to have some fun with this,” he says. “It was about being funny and paying homage to ‘The Walking Dead.’”
Montoya Marin says the pressure is on the group for the second season.
He says the trio is trying to make fewer episodes and make the series cohesive.
“There have been some very successful web series to come from Albuquerque,” he says. “We are aiming to be the next one. We have the potential and think a lot of people really like the comedy. We’re trying to get the word out to local actors to be a part of this and see how far we can take it.”
Montoya Marin also wants to expand the following in New Mexico.
“We have a lot of people watching the series from around the world,” he says. “But in New Mexico, it hasn’t quite caught on yet.”
The trio’s goal is to get the series picked up and they are planning to pitch it to production companies.
“We’ve had a lot of success without too much backing,” he explains.
“If we had all of the tools in place, who knows how far this can go. We get people comparing the series to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and that’s a huge compliment. To even be mentioned in the same company of TV shows and movies that we love, it’s humbling and makes us want to push harder and get a bigger audience.”
*The main actor has already been cast, the supporting cast is being built around his look, so a headshot is required to greenlight an audition appointment.
Magic Salad Productions is casting for a television show host for a weekly episodic interview show called New Mexico Media Makers. Host should have strong foundation and knowledge of the film, television and new media industry in New Mexico. Journalism background a plus. Host will be responsible for creating, directing and carrying an interview conversation within a precisely timed half hour television format using teleprompter, three cameras with tricaster and floor director cues.
Casting Call
When: Monday, August 13, 2012
Time: Afternoon by appointment
Where: UPublic Studio, 519 Central Ave NW, Albuquerque
“New Mexico Media Makers”
Genre – Television Interview/Profile Show
Host: A non-union person with excellent interview and conversational skills who can write and improvise intelligent, thought-provoking questions and possesses confidence and a friendly attitude. Good foundation and knowledge of film/media industry in New Mexico preferred and journalism or television background a plus. Ability to use teleprompter, three camera set and floor director cues will be assessed.
Produced by Magic Salad Productions
Casting: Shelley Carney
Producers: Shelley Carney & Mark Cormack
No anticipated pay for first season. Credit, craft service and bonus upon completion of filming first season of 13 episodes. This show will provide exposure and promotion through distribution on public access television in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe markets as well as across the state and country.
Please contact Shelley Carney at shelleycarney@yahoo.com with headshot and resume for audition appointment.
“Attention Actresses: We are looking for two Female Actors, Age Range 35-55. One character is intelligent, empathetic and strong, while the other is also secretly manipulative.
Attention actors: We are looking for a Male Actor, Age Range 35-55. The actor needs to be intimidating, comedic, suave, and be able to pull off an Irish or other UK dialect.
Please send headshots and resumes to superbeerwebseries@gmail.com for consideration for an audition and to be sent sides.
Casting is for speaking roles starting in Episodes 3 & 4 of the SuperBeer Webseries. The pay is deferred, however meals and snacks are provided on set and the series is under a SAG New Media contract. SAG or SAG-E Preferred, however not required for the right actor. Please message me, Amber LeRae Prod if you have any questions. Thanks!”
Check out more local web series here! New Mexico to the WORLD…Get into it!
Blip…Flock…no these are not cutesy euphemisms for profanities.
Flock is the new ABQ web series available now on Blip.
About Flock:
Paul, a Bible School dropout turned con man and his manipulative wife, Beverly, sell door-to-door salvation. When a harmless con leads to a girls suicide, Paul must find a way to pay the impossible debt demanded by her dangerous father.
The “Dark Dramedy” stars OHI fave Alexandra Boylan, Dean Strober, and Meggie Maddock. Like it’s fellow ABQ hit web series Enter the Dojo, we can’t wait to keep up with Flock! Check it out >> here!
UPDATE 12/21/11: Want Exec. Producer credit? Award winning #NM web series, “Enter the Dojo” has a chance to get the legendary Bob Wall to guest star next month!!! Dojo producers must cover the fees to get him to New Mexico. Anyone able to finance for an Executive Producer credit? They’ll even put you in the episode if you’d like :) Contact Enter The Dojo: The Web Series
NM’s Own Riff Raff New Media, headed by Matt Page reaps accolades and acclaim snagging the Judges’ Choice and Audience Favorite awards at NYC’s Iron Mule Comedy Festival earlier this month.
Let us all place palm to palm and bow to “Ameri-Do-Te”. More importantly spread the news of this New Mexico based hit which is open to investors for further development and distribution to reach the masses!
The hit web series centers around a fictional American karate school, in mockumentary style, reminiscent of feature length Christopher Guest greats.
Boasting an all New Mexico cast & crew Dojo stars writer/co-director Matt Page as the too sexy Master Ken, who is the embodiment of all that Napoleon Dynamite’s uncle Rico wishes he could be and the “sweet baby Jesus” loving Ricky Bobby of Talladega nights.
Page and Adam Rottler direct, with music by Kevin MacLeod. The acclaimed cast also includes Alex Knight, Rachel Hroncich, Ben Ziegler, Zach Dulin and Juliet Lopez.
You can Enter the Dojo here to pick-up your series swag and help further the cause! On IndieGoGo and Facebook.
The Santa Fe based web series production Cyphers “weaves a mystery in the style of “Lost”, “Damages”, and “Twin Peaks” — but with an ecological twist. Each episode reveals another piece of the puzzle with the intent to engage the audience in not only solving the mystery, but to influence and change the way they interact with our food, water and environment.”
Friday May 27, 2011 6 p.m.
St. Francis Auditorium, in the New Mexico Museum of Art
On the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM
Enter the future of entertainment with the cast and crew of CYPHERS and be a part of this cultural shift in entertainment.
Featuring Bee Shaman McKelvey Dryden and singer songwriter Sean Healen, Panel Discussion with award-winning Director Peter Kershaw and the cast, moderated by Mary Charlotte – Radio Cafe/KSFR.
In conjunction with the New Mexico Museum of Art show Earth NOW, CYPHERS reaches across the globe from the iconic St. Francis Auditorium. Coining a new phrase in entertainment, calling itself an “eco – drama,” CYPHERS cuts an innovative path involving the audience in the exciting technology of internet entertainment. This event invites the audience to be “the first to socialize the story right from their seats in the St. Francis Auditorium and watch as CYPHERS goes live.”
CYPHERS is a web series that reveals the danger that lies just beneath the surface of an average New Mexican town, where serenity and blissful innocence mask a sinister reality. Based on true life controversial corporate stories, CYPHERS reveals a diverse group of conflicted, predominately female characters. All the characters are drawn together by a series of inexplicable phenomena, and must struggle to decipher and expose a dark corporate conspiracy that reaches far beyond their town. The one certainty is that their lives will never be the same again.
Shot as a series of short episodes and broadcast on the World Wide Web, CYPHERS weaves a mystery in the style of “Lost”, “Damages”, and “Twin Peaks” — but with an ecological twist. Each episode reveals another piece of the puzzle with the intent to engage the audience in not only solving the mystery, but to influence and change the way they interact with our food, water and environment. The action takes place in New Mexico, a land rich in mysticism and seemingly far from the clutches of corporate America.
