http://seriesimpossible.tumblr.com/

Been waiting a long time to release this one…

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:15:14 -0700

Been waiting a long time to release this one…

Photo

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:12:20 -0700

Megasode

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:49:45 -0700

It’s running over 30-minutes, so we’re breaking it up into parts. First couple pieces will be released mid April.

The Vault - Episode 12 Update

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:07:28 -0800

Episode 12 will be our final episode. It will be 30 minutes long. We’re in production right now, aiming to release in April.

We’ll post more info and thoughts soon, but just wanted to get you that information for now.

The Future

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:17:00 -0800

Something interesting happened a few months ago.

It starts on a random Friday night. I went to see a movie called “Safety Not Guaranteed” with my brother and another friend. I loved it. It’s a film made for only $750,000, a very modest budget by typical movie standards.

Now, my personal dream is to make a feature film and see it in a movie theater, and I definitely don’t need a million bucks to do it. Whenever I walk out of a great movie, I get inspired. It fires me up to keep doing what I do. What I do is make “The Vault,” a micro-budget web series on YouTube. Not exactly a million dollar feature film, but very fulfilling for me nonetheless, and the closest I could get to that dream.

A day or two before this particular day, my Vault partner Mario and I had a big argument. I was frustrated by the lack of results our show was having. I felt we weren’t on the same page as far as how we were going about our business. It’s hard enough for two people part-time to make an entire show, but I felt as though we still had to do more. Just because it was a ton of work doesn’t mean it was a guarantee of any sort of success or progress. Things just don’t happen magically. That’s my philosophy. You have to make things happen.

I get home and I check our YouTube channel to see if we gained 6 or 7 new subscribers, which was a typical day. We were up 500 subscribers. Confused, I hit refresh, It jumped 20 more. What the hell is going on, I thought.

It took me 30 minutes, but I eventually traced the traffic surge to a simple post on reddit. It wasn’t anything magic. Somebody simply posted a link to the show there. People were seeing our web series and liking it. Of course, I always hoped that would be the reason we’d get traffic, meaning the episodes being good, but it was still a pleasant surprise to see it actually happening that way.

After a few days we had gained 10,000+ subscribers and had half a million new views. It felt good. It was good to see some tangible results. Suddenly it wasn’t just a good web series, it was a good web series that had a respectable amount of views.

However, from the start of this project I knew that all we really needed was the right single viewer. If the right person saw “The Vault,” it could mean everything. To me, that was more likely than us getting 50 million views. Amazingly we had that happen early on. Billionaire Mark Cuban saw the first episode only days after it was released and invested in our production company. A high-risk investment, which although relatively small, is not one most people would have made, especially in two young guys so early on in their careers.

It had always surprised me up until this point that people in the entertainment industry hadn’t taken any interest in what we were doing. Not that I thought people were scouring YouTube for up and coming filmmakers, but when Mark Cuban invested I thought someone out there would say “hey, maybe I should look into this.” Maybe these guys are onto something. If he believes in them, maybe there is a reason. Didn’t happen.

I look at “The Vault” very simply. This is a show made by two guys, part-time, in a living room with very little money. I thought people in the entertainment industry would respect that. I thought they’d say, “damn, that’s pretty impressive.” I thought they might ask “imagine if those guys had anything to work with.” They didn’t. It was depressing. It made me feel like people didn’t respect what we do, or they simply didn’t care. I felt like what we were doing was important, and it was really hard to learn that maybe I was alone in that feeling.

Fortunately, one person in the industry did see the show through that reddit post. Suddenly we had our first entertainment industry meeting. We were in a door. That’s all we wanted. Just let us in the door. The meeting went great, and suddenly we had a 2nd meeting. This time with a management company. When they told us who their big name client was, we were sold. I won’t say who, but if I gave you 3 guesses based on what you’ve seen from us so far you could figure it out.

At the time I didn’t really know what having a manager or an agent meant other than it sounded impressive and it seemed to be what everyone in the business did, but I learned very quickly what a difference it made. Suddenly we had five meetings. Then 10. Then 15. Meetings with big name people and companies. It was a bit shocking. These people were being shown “The Vault” and other information about us for the first time, and they liked what they saw. I was relieved. I felt like there was hope.

I’ll cut to the chase. Several opportunities are in play. That’s where we’re at right now. We feel very good that one or several of these things will happen in some form. Some of these are Vault-related, some aren’t. The future is definitely bright.

We will update you with specifics as soon as we know. We just wanted you to know that good stuff is happening for us, and if you like “The Vault” and you like what we do, you should be happy.

VAULT MEGASODE UPDATE: The Vault Megasode fundraiser is still going on right now at http://www.indiegogo.com/vaultshow, so please check that out if you haven’t. Thanks!

30-Minute Megasode Fundraiser!

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:56:36 -0800

Help us make our 30-minute Megasode.

Check out our Indiegogo fundraiser below. You can buy “The Vault” DVD set, props from the show, and more. Thanks!

www.indiegogo.com/vaultshow

“Barry,” by Ann Phung

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:01:50 -0700

“Barry,” by Ann Phung

The Vault at LA Indie Film Fest!

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 03:49:48 -0700

Milestone Stats

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:28:50 -0700

So we’ve either hit or are nearing some major milestone stats for the project. I figured these numbers would pretty much get to these goals at around the same time:

Facebook Fans: Goal: 5,000, Current: 4,681
YouTube Subscribers: Goal: 10,000, Current: 11,845
Episode 1 Views: Goal: 100,000, Current: 96,066
YouTube Views: Goal: 500,000, Current: 463,418

I don’t know what the ceiling is. It only goes up one at a time.

We’ll see I guess…

epic4chan: The Vault - Possibly best web series I have ever...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 12:15:39 -0700

epic4chan:

The Vault - Possibly best web series I have ever seen. Do your follows a favor and reblog this - and help get this gem the attention that it deserves.

withoutadoubtiwillsaveyou: Operator. What’s in your...

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:43:26 -0700

withoutadoubtiwillsaveyou:

Operator. What’s in your room?

x

The Vault is an awesome web series, and you should totally check it out.

Traffic Explosion

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:06:15 -0700

I’m going to write more about this soon, but I just wanted to record this moment in the history of the project.

Thanks to a Reddit post by a fan, ledhead0501, we’ve seen our traffic explode in a very short amount of time.

In less than 48 hours we’ve had almost 150,000 views on YouTube. Just to put this into context for you, we had 115,000 views TOTAL before this. We’ve climbed from 2,700 YouTube subscribers to over 7,000 now.

It’s still going strong. I have no idea how long it will last, but it’s a great feeling to see so many people getting into the show.

I’ll post more later, but for now I’m going to go back to clicking refresh over and over again.

Sad news about Barry

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:42:27 -0700

We’re sad to report that Barry Warrick has passed away. As many of you know, Barry was involved with The Vault from the very beginning and to say he made the project better would be an understatement. In truth, we can not imagine it without him.

He was a great guy - hilarious, kind, dedicated - and he is missed, not just by us, but by the many, many people he touched throughout the course of his life.

Also, why isn't every person in the world ever watching The Vault?

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:31:46 -0700

idolikemytoothpaste:

Doooo it.

Seriously you won’t regret it if you enjoy thinking.

Please note: watch every video - everything contains clues!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig05s_rB39o&list=PLC4D2F8A427AB8B85&feature=plcp

Second Hour Preview

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:04:00 -0700

Our second hour is about to start coming out. The wait has been long, yes, but it’s how it had to be done. There are a dozen reasons for that, but they don’t matter now. What matters now is the episodes start coming out in July. Here are some things you can expect:

1.) New characters - New people in new rooms. After this hour you’ll have seen about 50 people. FIFTY. FIFTY! It feels like a blur now, but we’ve worked with that many people. That means fifty different rooms. Well, maybe 49 if you saw one of our teasers.

2.) Major plot point - One of the most interesting aspects of this show so far is that people find it interesting and compelling WITHOUT knowing what the show is really about. That’s a great sign, because if you liked the show already you’ll definitely like it now. After the first few minutes of Episode 6 it will start to become clear, and we think the show will take on an entirely new meaning.

3.) Different kinds of episodes - There are 6 new episodes, and some of them are very different. Episode 6 is the most unique in the entire show, and it’s a bit risky, but it’s essential to the story. Episodes 7 and 8 couldn’t be more different. I won’t say much more than that, but just know you are in for some variety.

4.) Clues - Please remember this. Nothing happens in this show without a reason. Everything has a purpose. We start with an empty room and we have to fill it with stuff. Nothing goes in there accidentally or without thought. When you watch these episodes, you can figure things out if you want to. I’m not saying it’s easy or obvious, but it’s there.

5.) Fun AND Drama - This is a drama series that we wanted to also be a lot of fun. I think you’ll get the best of both worlds in this next hour. That’s a tough thing to do, and we think we’ve been able to do it. We’re pretty proud of that, and we hope you love it as much as we do.

We’re not going to do a “Previously on The Vault” segment for the next episode. When you see it you’ll realize why, but it will help you to go back and watch some of the previous episodes if you have time.

Thanks!

Barry

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:15:00 -0700

I want to tell you a little about Barry Warrick, one of the actors in our show. You probably know him as the bike guy. Right now he is in a coma fighting for his life.

Barry was one of the first actors we cast in the show. The first thing you should know is that Barry isn’t even an actor. He is Shane’s (Henry in the show) best friend. I was introduced to him at a party at a mutual friend’s house. I felt weird about asking him to be in the show, especially given that he wasn’t an actor, the part was a little silly if not embarrassing, I couldn’t pay him, etc. I was embarrassed to even ask him, but when I did he said to me, “Cool. Sounds fun.”

He was exactly what we had in mind when we thought of the bike room. The character was written to be an extremely like-able guy who maybe needed to lose a few pounds. He had to be a little out of shape for the obvious irony of being put in an exercise room, but he had to be extremely like-able so that when he complained, we didn’t hate him for it. Instead, we sympathized with him a little. The key to the part is that even though he doesn’t want to ride that damn bike, we all know that he will. We can count on him, which is why we like him.

He’s the same way in real life. One of the most like-able guys I know. I don’t know if anyone we’ve worked with, and we’ve worked with 50+ actors, has more friends than Barry. Every time I posted something with him it always had double or triple the feedback. Everyone likes Barry.

Barry was one of the 4 actors in our pilot episode that helped get us a deal with Mark Cuban and HDNet. It was a life-changing thing for me. Without him I don’t think it happens. I think about that a lot these days.

I posted about this on Facebook, but when Barry found out he was sick he asked me if he could come in special to shoot his remaining scenes. At that time we didn’t think it was anything too serious. He told me he wanted to start getting in shape, and he was worried that losing 50 pounds would break some sort of continuity in the show. I told him that his health came first, and that the show doesn’t really matter, but he came in anyway. That’s the kind of guy he is. Most of the actors don’t give a shit. They cut their hair, they go out of town for months without telling us. Barry asked me for permission to get a tattoo. That’s Barry.

I went to the hospital to see him a few days ago. There is a waiting list. When you go to the front desk and say who you are there to see, you don’t have to finish your sentence. He’s the most popular person there.

The other night we had to film some of Shane’s dialogue where he is talking to Barry’s character. He is pushing him to keep pedaling, because the rest of the players can’t go on without him. It’s a painful irony.

I really hope he gets better. This place just isn’t the same without him around.

Movie Star?

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:45:35 -0700

Recently we hit the 50 actor mark in our show. That means 50 different people have been in our little set and under our direction. That’s a lot of people when you take a step back and think about it. It’s been a great learning experience to work with so many people.

Before we started this project I knew that we’d be working with a lot of younger people. I remember thinking, for some of these actors, this might be their first real opportunity, even if it’s a small-time web project. I thought, who knows, maybe one of them will go on to become a movie star and “The Vault” will be their first project.

I was having a conversation with someone recently who asked me, if I had to pick, who did I think would “make it big.” Who could be a movie star someday? I’ll give you my opinion. I put that in bold because it is just an opinion.

Someone who is going to make it big has to have the following traits:

1.) You have to really want to do this. There is too much rejection and disappointment in the entertainment industry, especially for actors, to only sort of want to do this. I think a lot of people we’ve worked with have the desire to do this for a living, but I don’t know if it keeps them up at night. It probably should.

2.) You have to actually be able to ACT. Before we started this I might have said that there isn’t a huge talent difference between most actors. I know there is a difference, but a huge difference? I didn’t think so. Now I see there is a difference between actors, and you can usually tell pretty quickly. Can someone take direction and change the way they are doing something? We for sure have had people that can and can’t. It’s our job to get what we need out of people, but some people are better at it than others. That’s when you realize it’s not a given that anyone can “act.” Maybe people can get a part down, but could they do it five different ways? I think that’s a smaller group of people.

3.) You have to be professional. This sort of kills me. If you can’t show up on time, learn your lines at least somewhat, get back to people in a timely fashion, it’s not a good sign. Personally I’d rather work with someone less talented but went about their business in a professional way than someone who is flaky and unreliable. I’m willing to give people a chance, but there are some people who make a habit of being unprofessional. To them I say good luck, because you better be damn good.

4.) You need a plan. This is where a lot of people screw up. Your plan is to, essentially, buy a lottery ticket and hope someone calls your numbers. What you should be doing is figuring out how you are going to get from A to Z without needing a miracle. I’ll tell you something interesting. There are actors in this show who got in because they figured out how. If you really wanted to, you could get in this show. Maybe not as easily today as you could a few months ago, but it doesn’t take a miracle. I know people have gotten parts in other projects because they were in this show. It all starts somewhere. Figure out how it’s going to happen for you. Give yourself a real chance.

There are a bunch of other things that I think are going to help you, but those four to me are pretty good starting points. Notice I didn’t put things like knowing people or working really hard. You should bust your ass and you should network as much as you can, but I think if you are following the four things I mentioned you’ll find yourself doing that. I could think of a dozen other things, but they probably won’t matter without those four.

So who in “The Vault” do I think is going to make it big someday? Someone. Here, I’ll narrow it down for you:

State of The Vault

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:54:00 -0700

First, some business:

A new HOUR of “The Vault” is currently in production. We decided that the best move going forward was to film as much of the show as we can and eventually release everything closer together. There will be some wait, but when it comes out you won’t have to wait very long between episodes. Thanks for your patience!

With that said, I’ve been meaning to get to this post for a while, but haven’t had the time. There are so many things I want to cover. Let’s get right into it.

There are four groups of people I care about when it comes to making this show. In no particular order:

1.) The two creators (me and Mario)
2.) The actors
3.) Mark Cuban
4.) Fans

All four of these groups have different priorities when it comes to “The Vault.”

1.) Mario and I want the show to be as good possible.
2.) Actors want to work.
3.) Mark wants us to create a revenue-generating business.
4.) Fans want to watch it as soon as possible.

In a nutshell, it is very difficult to balance these four things. We aren’t a big production company. We are two guys doing this part-time. TWO.

We’ve had to get smarter. When we started, we were motivated more by passion than by planning. We did a tremendous amount of planning and strategizing, that’s part of what has made us successful, but looking back we could have done even more. Going forward, we HAVE to be smarter.

With Mark Cuban working with us now, priorities are different. The biggest thing he talks to us about is that we have to look at this like a business, and in business if you don’t create revenue you won’t be in business very long. We really want to be in this business, and for the long run.

Everybody has a dream, right? I’ll share mine with you. My dream is this:

I want to go to a movie theater and buy a ticket to see a movie that I made. I want to sit in a packed theater for two hours and watch it with everyone else. You can come too. And when that last shot cuts to black, I want to see the look on your face. That’s all I want.

For now, I look forward to more of “The Vault.” Working hard on it. We have 20 shoots in two weeks, including tonight. Can’t wait to show you guys.

Episode 5

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:48:00 -0800

Episode 5

Episode 4

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:19:46 -0800

Episode 4