"TRENCHES" (X-ile Pictures) is finally releasing 2/16 on Crackle

You didn't think it was going to happen but on Tuesday February 16, 2010, "TRENCHES", the X-Ile Pictures and Disney/Stage 9 original web series is going to debut on Crackle!!

It's been a long time coming and I can't thank the cast, crew, studio, and fans for their hard work, belief, and patience. TFN has been there for me starting with "Revelations" and then "Pitching Lucas". In fact, "Trenches", got its start while I was filming "Pitching Lucas" with a call from the studio. From an all volunteer, non-profit fan film to an actual paid studio flick -- who says fan films can't lead to more opportunities??

I've learned a lot and I have to say that it was the TFN boards that really kept me going as I was learning while making "Revelations". This is a great place for filmmakers, whether new or just looking to hone their craft, to get feedback and help.

So because this is where it all started for me I wanted to share the excitement as well as follow up on my old posts from, sheesh, way back in '07! So please, head on over to Crackle on Feb. 16 to check out the first three episodes. Each episode runs about 5-7 minutes and the follow-up episodes will be released during the weekdays until March 5.

And of course, tell everyone please! Originally there were mumblings that if it generated enough widespread interest the show could go further so let's see if that's true. Thanks again everyone for your support, past and present. Because of a place like this not only did I begin to live a dream but it certainly has sparked others to pursue their dreams as well. How fantastic is that??

For more write-ups: PR Newswire,LA Times, Crackle, and Tubefilter

 

Whoah, I've been waiting for this! Coolness!

/Z

 

Sweet! I remember the trailer for this. Looking forward to it again.

... I didn't...

 

Really wanting to see this!

 

Congratulations on your release! I'm looking forward to finally seeing this.

 

wow I am on the front page of starwars.com.. holy cow!
check it out: http://starwars.com/

Thanks for the support guys.

 

Can you tell me how Iron Man 2 ends?

(This joke will not make sense after they change the home page content.)

 

Cool!

But I am also intrigued why on earth you are suddenly "Solorogue" registered in April 00??!

/Z

 

Maybe he was "solorogue" before going "panicstruck", much like "panicstruck" was "panicstruck" before it became "x-ile".

In any event, props to Shane. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the final product. As with Revelations, I did a number of F/X shots with little to no exposure to the rest of the film. From what I can tell, the actors did an outstanding job.

 

And so it begins ...

• http://crackle.com/c/Trenches/

 

Oh yes, solorogue was me back in the day. panicstruck, xilepictures, solorgue.. it's all me please help spread the word check out trenches. It just released today/ Let me know what you guys think. --
http://crackle.com/c/Trenches

 

I think

/Z

 

Worse than that, I can get to the videos - sort of. No matter what I do, it plays the full trailer and then starts at the beginning. I can only actually see the first episode. When I click on the second episode, it plays the trailer, and then the first episode. I haven't managed to see episode two yet, but I'm sort of getting frustrated with the website and losing interest. These guys have serious work to do on their player.

What I saw looked nice, though.

 

Zap and fellow non-us fellows - I am sorry to say that due to foreign right sand all that jazz you can not see trenches at Crackle till after it airs and goes to youtube, which should be in March or so. I hate it as well and think they are missing a huge audience, I am on your side, but one can a guy in his VA basement do?

As for the Crackle player. I have issues with it as well. I simply select Ep1 and then don't do anything as it will then go and play ep 2 automatically.
Hope you guys (who can see it) enjoy. Let me know.

- shane

 

All three episodes worked great for me. Not bad so far. Must have been fun going back to your old fanfilm stomping grounds to shoot this. Looking forward to more.

 

Saw all three eps and have bookmarked the page to keep watching new ones. Great work!

 

Bouncing the packets off my hidden space station on the far side of the moon, I was able to watch this.

Shane, NICE STUFF!!

Great f/x work for that budget. Surely it beats Starship Troopers II (where they have blinking bulbs as muzzle flashes)

Can't wait to see the continuation....!

/Z

 

As always .. you are very sneaky and brilliant my Swedish monkey! I am glad you liked what you had to see and appreciate the support Zap. We missed you on this one .. as you know all to well
- shane

 

Episode 4 released today. Every Tuesday and Thursday Crackle will show more Trenches till they show all 10.
http://crackle.com/c/Trenches/4_Dead_Reckoning/2480725/

 

Just got around to watching the first 4 episodes. These are utterly fantastic. Very nice work!

 

Really digging these episodic quickies and I think the fourth episode was my favorite so far. I'll be back on Tuesday for more.

-TheMcGuffin (after all, I'm only here to advance the story)

 

Actually they are posting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

5: http://crackle.com/c/Trenches/5_Shallow_Grave/2480728

 

As a european I can´t watch it. When I hit it, they only say it is not available where I am. So frustrating, ever since Reveleations and the announcment I waited for this Webseries . . .

I even did my oral exam about Webisodes and the future of Web-TV. And mentioned Trenches in my outlook

Maybe one day there will be a DVD or something . . .

 

7: http://crackle.com/c/Trenches/7_The_Suck/2480720

... in which it is revealed that the planet's resident critters emerge from underground after rainfall. (The next Riddick movie reportedly uses a similar idea.)

 

It's interesting to see how my views have changed. I thought "Trenches" was very well done.

A few years ago, I'd thought about doing a webseries and had decided that it should consist of very short episodes of 3-5 minutes "because no one wants to download anything longer." But lo and behold, in the interim along comes Hulu and others, and Internet connectivity becomes faster and more reliable, and streaming two-hour movies is now done without a second thought.

"Trenches" was done back when my previous thoughts were considered a viable business model, and made sense at the time, but I did find myself irritated at the shortness of episodes. I finally just waited until they were all up (now) so I could watch the whole thing.

I believe that my reaction is going to be fairly typical, and that webseries episodes in the current internet will need to be half-hour episodes or longer to even be taken seriously. Sucks for the low-cost business model, but the whole medium is changing rapidly. I found "Trenches" eye-opening in that regard as well.

Was also curious -- did you run the episodes through Magic Bullet for color correction? There seemed to be a "bloom" effect that I've noticed is common with that software.