My good friend, Matt Fox, and I began filming a web-series, Judith and Judis: Life is Fabulous After 50 in December of 2008.  Our characters were developed in the advanced improv class of the fabulous Donovan Scott and we had such a great time working together that we thought it would be fun to take “Judith and Judis” to the next level – a webshow. 

What began as a simple idea with a video camera has evolved into something much more -  -  a web-series that gets better with each episode and a friendship between two good friends who happen to be actors.  I have heard that the best way to learn is to ”do” and much learning has happened under the guise of J&J.  We’ve learned the importance of good equipment, sound, editing and effienciency of movement.  Thanks to a good friend who happens to work at “E”, we’ve been fortunate to have solid editing and she managed to do an excellent job despite our poor quality of filming.  We now understand what we are looking for and what shots we need to make a good episode (close-ups, wide angle, reaction shots, Point of View shots, etc…) 

We also are beginning the process of editing our own footage (we can’t exactly keep asking our friend to take hours of footage and put together a coherent webisode for a measly bottle of wine).  Plus, it’s fun to learn and Matt just bought a brand new MAC (holla).

Producing this show has been educational on many fronts.  I have a much greater appreciation for the other aspects of “the industry” and while we aren’t exactly a “Saturday Night Life” sketch, we have greater understand as to what goes into making sketch characters funny and how to construct a successful episode (i.e. an arc, character development, conflict, backstory etc…)  For the record though, I think we could def. be a sketch on SNL.

This past weekend, we filmed our fifth episode and I think it is the best one yet.  It is entitled “Girlfriends Getaway” and well…let’s just say “girlfriends” is a different definition than J & J were prepared for.  We had the support of many of our acting friends and “friends of friends” as goes the industry.  Our fellow DuckTape Improv actor/friend, Tommy, who is also in the works to produce a feature film volunteered to film this episode.  Despite the bare bones camera and only one working body microphone, I think he captured some hysterical footage. 

I’ve heard some in the upper-echelons of the industry say, “don’t just put together a web-series” because you don’t have the expertise to do it well.  While I recognize the sentiment here (only put stuff out that is reflective of you and is high quality), I believe that the benefits of producing ones own series outweigh the slight possiblity that some hot shot director will see J & J and decide NOT to hire me because it’s not fancy enough.  I also do it because because actors (i.e. “me”) don’t like to wait around for some imaginary person to offer me a “job”.  I believe that the process of creating J&J has been one of the most educational and enlightening things I have done since moving to Los Angeles.  I have “learned by doing”.  Another cliche I have heard is that “90% of life is showing up” so I guess I’m wondering what will happen if I “show up AND write AND perform AND edit AND….”  You get the gist.

Judith and Judis isnt’ just about two fabulous older women experiencing Hollywood, it’s also about two actors who are anxious to learn and grow and experience success in Hollywood whether or not anyone pays us.  I’ll definitely let you know when this last episode is edited and up for viewing. 

Over and out~ Ang

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