Below are the 14 most recent journal entries recorded in geekstheseries' LiveJournal:

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005
2:32 pm	Episode Two Well it's been forever but production has started on episode two, with two scenes having been shot last night. We're still trying to work out shooting at Newbury but that should be worked out soon so we can film the rest of the episode and get it in the can. And maybe someday Dan will actually finish editing the pilot. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 15th, 2005
11:58 am	Progress Well a few things have happened. We can add Aaron Williams (writer of Nodwick and Full Frontal Nerdity) to the list of very cool people who's allowing us to show and reference his material. Also Newbury Comics is fine with us shooting at one of their stores... but first we have to get insured. This is our first run in with insurance and it will certainly not be the last, so we might as well get the hang of it now. As soon as we can get the production insured and the background actors cast we're good to go. Nathaniel has also finished a script for the first Geeks short and will hopefully have it shot this week. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 9th, 2005
11:25 pm	Minor Update As Dan keeps hacking away at the pilot there's been a few bits of progress on episode two (being directed by Nathaniel this time around). The first read through was held and went well. Also permission was given by the respective creators to have images from "Dork Tower" and "Sluggy Freelance" appear in shot so expect more visual geek references in the next few episodes. Thanks to John Kovalic and Pete Abrams. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 7th, 2005
1:32 am	The pilot is SHOT! Dan here with a brief update. We need a little bit of audio recording to fully complete the episode, but visually everything the pilot needs is in the can! Shooting was quick; not even two full days. Now I need to cut it together into something resembling a polished product...then we need to get a musician on board...then we need to unleash it on the 'Net. Update as cutting progresses. (Comment on this)
Friday, February 4th, 2005
6:09 pm	Filming tomorrow Hi everybody, Dan here. Just writing a quick musing on shooting tomorrow. First of all, just speaking as an inexperienced actor here, I'm a little worried about being able to remember my goddamn lines. Usually I'm fine but sleep deprivation is taking its toll on my memory. Second, assembling the shot list was the easiest thing in the world. It flowed smoothly and naturally. Which is a good sign for my getting back in the saddle as director. Wish us broken legs tomorrow, as we have two actresses to shoot out by Sunday. More as it comes. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 18th, 2005
5:34 pm	Meet the Cast Dan Seitz who will be playing Dave: Nathaniel Wayne who will be playing Matt: Bethany Davis has taken on the role of Kathy: Chris Germaine will be portraying Saffie: And Laura Stumm will be performing as Jenny: (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 12th, 2005
4:32 pm	Casting Complete After a rather exausting search the casting is now complete.</p> Chist Germaine will be playing the role of Saffie. And Bethany Davis will take on the role of Kathy. With the cast finally in place we can hopefully film the pilot before the month is over. Not much else to report at this point but the ball is now well rolling. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 29th, 2004
7:11 pm	Casting update Hey everybody, Dan here. Just updatin' the ol' LJ. Well, the auditions went well, although the ad got spammed to all hell on the Internet and Nathaniel had to field FAR too many entries from people in New York and LA. Now we're into the callbacks. Writing-wise, I have no idea where Nathaniel is with the fifth episode. If, er, WHEN he finishes it, episode six is pretty much cracked. The auditions have actually influenced writing, but I'll explain that later. And it will probably a joke about how X-Men Legends is eating Dave's life, because it's sure consuming mine. With ketchup and a side of fries. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 15th, 2004
11:18 pm	The Hunt Is On We've begun the formal hunt for actresses to fill the roles of Kathy and Saffie. What this means basically is that we've posted another casting call on Craig's List. Considering how few responses there were the first time we tried this expectations were low. Well this is going to be hard but not in the way we thought. Within hours we had a dozen responses. It now falls on the narrow shoulders of poor Nathaniel to actually call these people, explain the project to them, find out which of them are still interested and then set up auditions. In short it's going to be a busy week. With any luck we may actually have a cast together and be able to shoot the pilot by early January. Then it's the simple matter of finding webhosting and scrounging around to see who'll show this thing. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 10th, 2004
1:33 pm	It's done, it's done, episode four is finally done! Hey, all, Dan here. In a burst of creativity, I finished off Ep 4 last night. Literally, we now have half of series one on paper in some form. I think Eps 2 and 3 still need more editing, and obviously 4 is a first draft, but it's still nice to realize. The ending is actually a bit of a downer; lots of yelling. Now I get to jab Nathaniel in the ass about getting an episode written! Finally! Okay, not until he reads episode four, to keep the arc consistent. Still, and this is annoying, we're WAY behind on casting. Seriously, flyers should have gone up last week. Essentially "Geeks" is going to be a rolling casting call, but Nathaniel and I need to get up flyers on college campuses. Or maybe just Nathaniel, now that he doesn't have to worry about getting a job for a while (bastard.) I guess my next step is starting to outline the next couple of episodes I'm writing. Still, some of these write themselves, so it's not too strenuous... (Comment on this)
Monday, November 8th, 2004
12:47 pm	Stand Up Comedy Featuring Co-Creator In addition to keeping you up to date with the latest happenings of "Geeks" itself we also plan to let you know what the various people connected to the project are up to. In that spirit we're here to tell you that co-creator and actor Nathaniel Wayne will be doing a 5 minute set of stand up comedy at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge (738 Massachusetts Avenue, near the Central Square stop on the Red Line) on the 18th. The show starts at 8 and there is a $5 charge to get in but it's an evening of comedy that should be worth it (even if Nathaniel bombs, there should be at least one comedian worth watching at some point in the night). If you're in the area please feel free to show your support and come to the show. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 6th, 2004
12:34 pm	Writing update... Hey everybody, Dan here with an update on episode four and beyond. The first three came fairly quickly but the fourth I was a little stalled on. Thankfully I'm up to page fourteen, and once I finish this off, Nathaniel's stuck writing episode five and I get to bug HIM about if the episode's done yet. The main problem is that episode four kicks off the main dramatic event; stuff in this episode provides reasons for what happens in episode eight. Then comes Ep 6, which promises to be a lot of fun. Basically, I bash the resident Trekkie (Dave) and the resident Warsie (Kathy) together and see the sparks go flying. This episode will actually be a turning point in a few ways. Ep 7 is where we discover Dave is almost as hardcore about comic books as he is about movies (yes, there will be comics jokes out the ass, and I plan to make Rob Liefield my bitch.) Here I come to a quandry, because I want to explore a little why Dave is, well, Dave. To do that properly, I need a child actor. Not a particularly good one, just a kid who can look angry while reading a comic book. But a free child actor? That's a pain in the ass. Also, Dave's history is decidedly not funny; these are going to be allusions just so the episode doesn't die on the slab. And now we're at Ep 8. The main problem with this episode, speaking as a writer, is, well, it's probably not going to be particularly funny. I don't really have a feel for it yet. I know what's going to happen, but how and the rythyms aren't there yet. Oh well, burn that bridge when we come to it. I just realized...I'll be writing most of these, acting in all of them (most likely), directing probably half, and editing all of them. Okay, that's it, I get 75% of the royalties! Oh, here are plot summaries: 1.1: Saturday: Dave and Matt strive valiantly, with the help of Kathy, to leave their apartment on a Saturday. 1.2: Disc Location Welcome to the mind of Dave as he deals with Kathy's girlfriend, the trigger-happy clerks at Newbury Comics, and action-movie-obssessed morons who think "Singin' In The Rain" is a gay musical about sexual watersports. 1.3: Consolation Dave and Kathy make the tragic, tragic mistake of introducing Saffie and Matt to "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4." 1.4: The Lonely Grave of the Third Level Elf What happens when you combine our geeky trio and their two significant others...with Dungeons and Dragons. Hint: it involves being THACO'ed. 1.5: Crazy Like a Malkavian Dave goes to Matt's LARP group to score with hot Goth chicks. (and that's all the plot you get, Nathaniel! MUHUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!) 1.6: Franchise Wars Kathy and Dave defend their love of Star Wars and Star Trek, respectively, in a calm and respectful manner. And if you believe that, I've got two droids to sell you. 1.7: Until the End of the World Concerning a man whose principle interests are movies, comic books, and fistfights. 1.8: My Baby Shot Me Down One of the trio takes a emotional hit. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 26th, 2004
12:12 pm	Geeks Legal Stuff This isn't written by a lawyer, it's written by Dan Seitz. That said, these are the rules and they ARE language you have to agree to, so it's technically legally binding. This is the framework for putting "Geeks" out there; i.e. on peer-to-peer filesharing systems and on free public sites for display. To do this and make it possible for us to make money off of things like DVDs and merchandising (you know, beach towels, sex toys, Happy Meals, things like that) is a little tricky but I think I've pulled off something that's only Shelob's Web to untangle, not a Gordian knot. As far as this goes: we're not jerks. If you run a public access station in Omaha, and want to put the show on the air, ask us. If you want to show an episode at your tiny college film festival, ask us. Barring some horrible disaster, we'll probably send you a nice letter thanking you and giving you permission, and a couple of tapes. On the other hand, there are a lot of thieving bastards out there and unfortunately, they make stuff like this necessary. Let me say it right up front: making money off of other people's work, and not paying them for it, is a really evil and stupid thing to do. I don't care if it's CD-Rs on sale at a convention booth or an entire bootlegging operation, if you do it, you suck, and we'll take your ass to court. Here are the legal rules for putting "Geeks" up on your website: The first series of "Geeks", on the Internet, shall always and ever be free to put up on on any personal or free public content site, once permission to do so has been requested from and given by the copyright holder, Nathicana Productions. The copyright is not surrendered, however; GEEKS IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN MATERIAL. Translation: Yes, you can post it, but you have to ask us first and you're obligated to do stuff. Keep reading. The rights granted are the right to post the full episode or episodes that were the subject of the request for public viewing on the permissee's internet space, and the right to place the episode file for free distribution on peer-to-peer networks such as Morpheus, KaZaa and BitTorrent. Nathicana Productions accepts NO liability for any damages caused by the episode posted on space not the permissee's, nor for any actions the permissee may take to post it. Translation: If you ask to post an episode, and then hack the Pentagon to put it next to their launch codes, or simply put it on your hard drive at work when you're not supposed to, we're not responsible for your dumb ass. The permissee is also obligated to post the copyright information and to not alter the given file in terms of editing the information contained therein. If these obligations are not met, the permission is revoked. Translation: You have to tell people it's ours (just stick Copyright Nathicana Productions 2005 next to the link and you're all set), and you can't cut anything out of the episode or alter the episode itself in any way. You could COMPRESS the episode if you needed a smaller filesize, use Zip on it, convert it into another video format, no problem, because that's all stuff you do to the file itself. But you couldn't cut out a scene you don't like, speed up the credits, etc. Paysites MUST consult with the copyright holder. Nathicana Productions reserves the right to inform such sites as to whether or not sites that charge for viewing may show "Geeks." Paysite administrators and owners may not construe the above as permission to post any copyrighted Nathicana material WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF NATHICANA PRODUCTIONS. Nor shall they assume, on the basis of one agreement reached with one paysite, that such agreement also applies to them. Translation: If you want to charge for it, you have to talk to us first. We really do take this on a case by case basis, so I can't offer any examples. I can't emphasize this enough, we may be small, but Dan's mother and two of his aunts are lawyers, and a close family friend does copyright law. Use our work to make yourself cash and we will SUE YOUR ASS ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION. Let me repeat that: SUE YOUR ASS ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION. Rights that Nathicana does NOT surrender in granting permission include hard copy rights, including all DVDs, CD-Rs, video-tapes, and other audiovisual recording media, or ANY broadcast rights beyond the ones discussed above, nor any other rights, implicit or explicit, whether connected with the ones discussed above or not. These rights must be requested separately and discussed with Nathicana Productions. Translation: Anything we didn't discuss here, you have to ask about (Good rule of thumb: if we didn't say you could do it, DON'T DO IT.) And just because we didn't mention a right here doesn't mean you can exploit that right without permission. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 25th, 2004
4:39 pm	Geeks The Series FAQ 1.1 1. What is "Geeks"? It's an online TV series (which will hopefully also find play on local channels). 2. And this makes you unique how? We're not stuck on any one site. Plus, we're about, well, the only people who watch online TV shows with any regularity, geeks. 3. Sorta like "Dork Tower." Well, yeah. Only live. And with a different sense of humor. And not updated as regularly. And without John Kovalic. 4. Who are the poor bastards involved? The show was co-created by Dan Seitz and Nathaniel Wayne. So far, the writing staff consists of Dan Seitz with occasional input by Nathaniel Wayne (i.e. "Are you done with the fourth episode yet?") 5. How many episodes are there? In total, there will be eight in the first series. There are currently three scripts in a state resembling a shooting script. 6. You guys have a website yet? You're looking at it. 7. What's the purpose of this blog? Aside from keeping from wasting space on our future website? Just an outlet for myself, Nathaniel, and various cast and crew to post thoughts and respond to fan comments (should there be any.) 8. So you guys are casting/crewing? You bet your ass. If you live in the Boston area and want a resume credit, reply to this journal. 9. Sorry, incompetent. What's this series about, beyond the obvious? It's about days in the life of three Boston-area geeks; Dave, Matt and Kathy. They've all been friends since grade school and know each other almost disturbingly well. Dave is a hardcore movie geek with some residual Trekkie in his system (he calls himself a Trekkie; watch the series.) Dave is the kind of guy who takes two things seriously, movies and sex, with an occasional slide into comics. Unfortunately, he gets none of the latter, so all his energies go into the former. This manifests itself in, er, well, fistfights. Dave also has the distinction of not being allowed in Newbury Comics except under direct supervision. Matt is generally a more laid-back guy, although he can be roused to a great state of agitation over some geek subjects. He's also a part of the rich textured pageant of "Vampire: The Masquerade"...which Dave and Kathy give him endless crap for, especially after meeting their storyteller, which Dave refers to as "Lestat of the fashionably doomed Goth tribe." He's also the best console gamer in the group and loves his RPGs, especially "Secret of Mana." Kathy is the closest female friend either of them have. Normally, this would make her the love interest, except she's a lesbian with a girlfriend that both Matt and Dave love like a sister. Kathy is a pen-and-paper roleplayer, and collectibles-obssessed. She has a master's degree she needs to complete, more action figures than a Toys R' Us, and a girlfriend who doesn't get this craziness at all, which brings us to Saffie. Saffie is Kathy's girlfriend. She's very politically-correct and exceptionally serious...which puts her at constant loggerheads with Kathy's best friends, especially Dave. Still, Kathy puts in the effort to be in Saffie's world, so Saffie will do the same for her. Jenny is Matt's... well it's hard to say exactly what they are to each other. But they do have lots of vigorous sex (much to the frustration of Dave). Jenny is pretty easy going and while not really a geek herself she isn't bothered by the other characters "quirks". 10. Sounds pretty good! When's the series premiere? Well, that depends on a number of things, namely how fast the shoot goes, and how quickly we (meaning Dan) can edit. At a conservative guess say the first episode will hit the Web February 2005, with more to follow every two weeks until all eight episodes are out for public consumption. 11. How long will each episode be? Twenty pages per script, so about twenty minutes or so, about the length of your typical sitcom. None of this fifteen minute crap! It helps that nobody's making a nickel off of this and we're basically shooting most of it in an apartment. 12. Where will it be showing? Unlike most Web TV shows, we don't believe in site exclusivity. So it'll be available in a variety of ways: Morpheus/KaZaa/BitTorrent Professional short film sites, such as AtomFilms Fan sites or video sites willing to donate space If you want to donate space, just drop us a line and we'll send you a CD with an episode on it. We might be able to accomodate requests, but sometimes we need more mirrors on some episodes than others. 13. What are the episode titles? 1.1 Saturday 1.2 Disc Location 1.3 Consolation 1.4 The Lonely Grave of the Third Level Elf 1.5 Crazy Like a Malkavian 1.6 Franchise Wars 1.7 Until the End of the World 1.8 My Baby Shot Me Down (2 Comments |Comment on this)