Looking at Doing Webseries - Advice?

I'm working on production for a web-series right now, so I may be of some assistance.

what specific advice are you looking for?

BTS and filmmaker talk about the process and how it differs from short/feature filmmaking.

It differs primarily because you need to think about pacing it differently. The wheel can't stop rolling the entire story, otherwise you'll lose an audience that is already hard to capture in the first place, let alone isn't very attentive.

My understanding is that pacing is a lot faster in Webseries... Very few down beats or silences except for extreme dramatic effects.

Exactly! But treat it like shooting a feature film as well.

I've had some experience with web series. Here's a few thoughts...

1. A series implies a weekly or monthly deadline, so everything needs to happen quickly. This is more closely associated with TV than film.

2. Have four "in the can" and the scripts for the rest of your "season" ready before you release episode #1.

3. Keep it short, five to seven minutes max. It's something you watch on the bus, train, etc. on the way to or from work, or during lunch, or while the boss is in a meeting, or while you're waiting for your significant other to finish up in the bathroom. You can "waste" five minutes; ten minutes is an "investment."

4. Keep in mind that it will be viewed on small screens- laptops, smart phones, tablets, etc. Alter your framing accordingly.

5. Get solid production sound, and it's even more important here than for "film" narrative work (see #1 above). Clear intelligible dialog is very important as your audience will probably be listening in a noisy environment to begin with; don't make their job harder by having lots of extraneous noise in the dialog tracks.

I am shooting and editing an entire season before even uploading episode 1. That way nothing can delay the weekly release.

Also, write and shoot more than you need. You'll never know if you need to cut a scene that isn't working, but have nothing to replace it with to keep the story moving.

Cool,

Yeah I'm working on ideas I'll pitch to local filmmakers (I have worked over the years to build up a network of film friends who help me on projects and visa versa - we made 6 shorts in the last 2 months for Digi60.org plus finished off a feature [6months]). So from my research it looks to be the best way is will be following the route: shoot a 'season' over 1 or two weekends; then edit & release them over 3-4 months. This way we can work on other projects (webseries, shorts, features) without requiring a significant continual commitment. Then 3-4 months down the line we can shoot season 2 if there is enough interest.