Our iTunes Feed Is Back!

A month ago, I noticed the STBD iTunes Music Store listing was broken. (Did you know we were in the Music Store? Well, now you do. And yes, it's still free.)

I'll spare you the technical details. Suffice it to say that, somewhere along the way, iTunes changed their rules for reading content through RSS and I was late to notice. Thus, everyone who had been subscribed to us from the past year would have been receiving an error message when they tried to update our listing, which is not good. That would make them think we were offline or out of business, which would (usually) be wrong.

After three weeks of troubleshooting, problem-solving and emailing the iTunes support staff, I finally learned what the problem was thanks to Ian Morris of MediaFed, who did a little digging around of his own when I posted a question to the Feedvalidator forums. Armed with that knowledge, iTunes was able to make the necessary correction to my original error (something I did incorrectly MONTHS ago), and now our feed works properly.

What does this mean to you, the STBD fan? It means you can now confidently subscribe to us in iTunes and have every new episode delivered to your hard drive the day it becomes available. Pretty nifty, eh?

Thanks, iTunes.

Even Web Video Directors Need to Eat

This would fall under the "personal" portion of our behind-the-scenes spyglass, but it's amusing nonetheless -- especially if you're not me (STBD creator and occasional parking truant Justin Kownacki):

I had dinner this evening with my aunt and her friend Mary. They'd been sightseeing in Pittsburgh today and happened through the 10th Street Bridge / Duquesne tunnel area where Ben Roethlisberger had his motorcycle accident several weeks ago.

They're also nuns, albeit the rowdy, hard-drinking type of nuns who are quickly becoming extinct in this country.

"Did you say a prayer for Ben Roethlisberger when you went through the intersection?" I asked.

"No," said Mary, "but now that I realize that's where it happened, I will."

My aunt mentioned she'd heard a news report quoting Roethlisberger's mother, which struck her as odd. Then she remembered he's much younger than you might initially realize, considering his stature, which made a comment from his mother more logical.

"He's younger than Justin is," said my aunt.

"Yes," said Mary. "But he's got a little more meat on his bones."

Considering I weigh about 145 when soaking wet, that's the understatement of the week. But it's also the subject of recurring conversation among my family, and is now extending to my friends and coworkers as well.

Evidently, I keep getting thinner.

My aunt noticed it and commented on it at Christmas. And Mother's Day.

Ann's noticed it, and comments on it regularly.

A friend from gradeschool whom I haven't seen in a year IMed me after watching the Season Four Preview below (in which I rant for about 10 minutes) and said, "Dude, you're skinny."

All of this can only mean one thing:

Y'all need to buy some t-shirts so I can buy food.

GET THE NEW STBD T! ONLY $18 + S/H!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW!
(Please indicate SIZE [S-XXL])
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All's Well That Ends Well

What happens when I'm trying to write scripts for a complete season of STBD?

I surf the web.

Good inspiration from Digg, who linked to a blog recounting a (highly subjective) list of The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time.

Some of my personal favorite endings that are missing from the list: It's a Wonderful Life, Trainspotting and The Sweet Hereafter.

Also good: two new trailers for "thinking people's movies":

The Fountain (directed by Pi director Darren Aronofsky)

Children of Men (which, despite its completely pedestrian sci-fi theorem, actually managed to elicit an emotional response from me by the end of the trailer, which is rare)

What films are you looking forward to?

Breaking STBD News!

We've just been added to the (ever-growing) list of musicians and filmmakers who'll be performing at the upcoming RU5 festival in Pittsburgh's South Park on August 18th. Details are fuzzy (we were just added yesterday and aren't even mentioned on the bill yet), but the general gist is this:

+ RU5 stands for Rock United 5, so named because this is the fifth such event sponsored by local music promoters Rock United.

+ It's an all ages, all-day music / film event. You can BYOB for an additional fee.

+ The event will serve as the official premiere of the first episode of STBD Season Four, as well as a brand new STBD music video featuring the band Kingsfoil.

+ STBD will also (probably) be filming part of the event for use on our site.

+ Various STBD cast members will be on-hand for schmoozing purposes.

+ Full-day passes for access to both fest buildings will be on sale shortly.

For more information on the fest, click here. For more information about role in the event, keep checking this blog or sign up for our email list on our homepage.

Scheduling Conflicts? Never Heard of Them

I received a cheery email yesterday from Clare Fogerty (aka Chloe), informing me that she was safely back in the US after a stint in Ireland...

... and would not be returning to Pittsburgh until August 20th, instead of August 1st, as I'd been expecting.

Whoops.

Things come up. Stuff happens. We're all real people with families, friends (most of us) and jobs apart from STBD. That's why I can't get upset or panic when my finely-laid plans go awry. Instead, I just adapt.

We've survived the departure of major characters (Jack, Dean), we've survived the extended real-life absence of others (Caroline), and now we'll overcome a season with less Chloe than we'd planned.

That's the beauty of guerrilla filmmaking: when life hands you lemons, throw them and run.

New (Asinine) Preview for STBD Season Four

Check out our season four preview, originally created for an Ambridge / Firefly / Dodging August concert at Pittsburgh's Rex Theatre!

Some fun facts about the preview:

1. It includes footage of over a dozen characters, filmed over 7 different STBD shoots in the past month.
2. It was "written" in about an hour and edited in about 6 hours.
3. Out of habit, creator Justin Kownacki was unable to sit in the same room with the audience as the video was screened. He did, however, find time to buy a beer and call his girlfriend, best friend and mother.

Live screenings are evidently "not his thing." This likely stems from a vicious case of nerves during a sixth grade spelling bee in 1999.

We Don't Actually Have a Stage, But...

... STBD was still written up in the electronic version of Backstage.com! The piece includes excerpts of an interview with creator Justin Kownacki and actor Kevin Koch (Dex), conducted by the estimable Pittsburgh actor and writer Robert Isenberg.

Truth be told, burritos were consumed during the recording of the interview, so its factual accuracy may or may not be 100% kosher. (Bonus points for the lucky reader who spots the minor factual error!)

Photo: Kevin Koch on a stage...

STBD and TROMA Collide!

Remember that video shoot we alluded to with TROMA founder Lloyd Kaufman a few weeks ago? The video is on YouTube! (Or click here to see a high-quality version!)

And here are a few more photos from the event, taken by photographer Jeff Stoll!

The Toxic Avenger strikes a bold pose.

Lloyd Kaufman immerses himself in a Justin Kownacki script.

Toxie and a Chicken Zombie can't make sense of it either.

Lloyd Kaufman and Will (Leo Straub) Guffey. Reunited, and it feels so good.

Lloyd Kaufman is in a hurry to get to a strip club in Braddock. We're not kidding.

The STBD and TROMA crews form Devastator.

We Need Extras!

We have several upcoming location shoots for which we need extras. If you'd be interested in appearing on STBD, email us or leave a message on our MySpace and we'll keep you appraised of our open dates. Future shoots include restaurant, art gallery, cafe and music venue locales.

Criteria:

1. You're responsible for providing your own wardrobe, the specifics of which will be determined by the scene and location.
2. You may be asked to speak on-camera. More likely, you'll be asked to pantomime a conversation in the background.
3. In some circumstances (but not all), food and drink will be provided.
4. The average STBD shoot lasts 2-4 hours.

And, of course:

5. This is not a paying gig. If our cast isn't getting paid, our extras must, sadly, adhere to the same restrictions.

That doesn't mean you won't have a blast, though.

Ask a Ninja Gives Us Hope

STBD webmaster Shawn Smith, our resident tech-head, alerted us to the July 4th Inside the Net interview with Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine of Ask a Ninja fame. Funny stuff if you're a fan, inspiring if you're a content creator. Going from 0 to 350,000 viewers in 6 months is astounding, and reminds us here at STBD that anything's possible.

Now: anyone want to slip Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur a bootleg DVD of STBD episodes?

Hans Rosemond: Photographer, Bartender, Demigod

New STBD cast member Hans Rosemond is a photographer by day. He volunteered to snap some new cast photos at our last rehearsal and the results are typical Hans: great lighting, highly expressive and clear as a bell. (I guess Canon can take credit for that last bit, but we like to credit Hans whenever we can...)

By night, Hans is also a weekend bartender at the Firehouse Lounge in the Strip District. Next time you're in the neighborhood, stop in for a pint and meet STBD's newest multitasker. If you're a local artist, ask him about his upcoming ArtStarved? Project and see how you might be able to score a free portrait.

The demigod part we made up.

Photos above: Courtney Jenkins, John O'Connor, CrystalAnn and Josh Hansen -- all new STBDers for Season Four