IN THE DEEP
In The Deep is a classic example of how a web series requires funds to grow legs. Since premiering online earlier this year, only two of the proposed six episodes have been made. With strong scripts and great production values, the show has much potential. In The Deep follows four fun-loving friends in East London. Rene is a lovable guy who describes himself as a whore – with standards. Ade is still in the closet. People know he’s gay, but he also perpetrates the idea that he’s straight. Emilia is a lesbian who has fallen for her bestie (who has a boyfriend) and Wesley is torn between fighting for his rocky relationship and being swept off his feet by a sexy new flame.
Unlike the low-budget feel of so many other web series, In The Deep looks as though it belongs on television. Created by Joseph Adesunloye and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, it boasts a production team with credits
If it’s produced and it’s written and it’s acted like it’s television, then it is television.
that include Prometheus, World War Z and X-Men: First Class. While the impressive cinematography is beautiful, In The Deep may have set their standards too high – seeing as though only two episodes have been made thus far.
Initial funds were raised through Indiegogo and continue on the official website. Similar to many crowd funded projects, various incentives are on offer, depending on how much you donate. For example, a £10 donation will get you a shout out on Facebook, £35 gets you the DVD when the series is complete and £500 gets you a speaking part in the series. dating and booze. In contrast to In The Deep, which hasn’t generated the buzz it deserves, The Outs has exceeded expectations. Entirely crowdfunded by two hugely successful Kickstarter campaigns, the first aimed to raise $1,000 and raised $1,685. The second campaign’s target was $8,000 and raised $22,339 – enough to complete the season and add a bonus seventh episode. It also allowed the creators to produce a season with excellent production values.
Creator Adam Goldman says he wasn’t waiting around for someone else to make a show he wanted to watch. “We’re making the show because we want to watch the show, and it’s not out there,” he says. “Sometimes when you want something and it doesn’t exist, you have to make it.”
The first episode premiered last March with the final bonus episode debuting in April this year. While it took some time for new episodes to be created and uploaded, Goldman says that worked to their advantage. “We’d try and release them every six or seven weeks, and that was as fast as we could do it because everyone had a day job. But it helped because over the course of the year, other shows, that had weekly schedules, came and went and we were still there gathering fans and generating steam.”
While people were initially hesitant about short episodes made specifically for the web, Goldman says production quality influences audiences. “People are now going, ‘Yeah, if it’s produced and it’s written and it’s acted like it’s television, then it’s television, and I will watch it on my laptop’.”
In addition to The Outs, Goldman successfully crowd funded $170,000 for a full first season of his new web series, Whatever This Is, which went online in July.
The Horizon: Thehorizon.tv My Best Gay Friends: Youtube.com/dangkhoadeptrai (English subtitles available) In The Deep: inthedeepuk.com The Outs: theouts.squarespace.com Where The Bears Are: wherethebearsare.tv