STBD Season Four: Episode 26 "Family / Values"

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Jack Boyd pays his sister Caroline a visit, while Liz and Gloria guide Brent in the ways of human sexuality... Sort of... (9:40)

Music by Chris Mosley Trio and Mofessor

Filmed at Affogato

Pittsburgh Is America's Most Livable City

If you haven't heard, the rest of America just validated what we here in Pittsburgh have known all along: Pittsburgh is America's most livable city.

(Okay, that's partially a lie -- we here in Pittsburgh tend to nitpick every little aspect of life in the 'burgh, so we had NO IDEA we were the most livable. But, when compared to other cities, it makes sense: for as much as we'd like to see improved around here, nearly everything about Pittsburgh is pretty good as-is.)

How did Pittsburgh make it to the top? From the article (bolded text is ours):

"There are nine categories: housing affordability (cost of living); transportation; jobs; education; climate; crime; health care; recreation; and ambience (museums, performing arts, restaurants and historical districts).

The seven-county area that makes up Pittsburgh failed to finish in the top 20 in any of the categories, ranging from a competitive 21st in recreation and 29th in education to a less-than-stellar 111th in housing and 135th in climate. But when the numbers are added up, the one that counts is the final total."

Hmm. So we won by being NOT PARTICULARLY BAD in any area?

We can live with that. After all...

"This is the seventh edition of the "Places Rated Almanac," and Pittsburgh hasn't always finished first, dropping as low as 14th in 1997 and 12th in 1999, the last year that the listings were done. But the city is the only one to finish in the top 20 every time."

New possible Allegheny County slogan -- "Pittsburgh: we're always decent."

Doughnuts and Art

STBD has been invited to take part in Doughnuts and Art, an art show / mini-concert / celebration of sweet round things on Saturday, April 28th.

Since this is hosted at the Creative Treehouse, and we're big supporters of the folks making things happen in the borough of Bellevue, we'll be there. Perhaps we'll be filming a scene or two for an upcoming STBD episode. Perhaps you can be IN the scene, if you're ON the scene (get it?)...

STBD as Case Study

I met Kfir Pravda, a bright young guy from Israel (who happens to also be a huge STBD fan), at Video on the Net last month. He has a lot of great ideas about the future of web video. As a marketer, he also understands that ensuring content creators get paid for their efforts is integral to the sustainability and growth of the field.

He references STBD in his most recent blog post regarding the differences in production and cost between old media and new media. Is the ability to create sustainable content on the fly a positive or a negative? Definitely worth a read, even from a non-STBD point of view.

On the Fly

Rick Hertzig (Glenn) wonders if Courtney Jenkins (Tabitha) and Ann Turiano (Caroline) are making it all up...
Wondering how much of an average STBD episode is improvised?

Let's look at the three most recent episodes:

Episode #23: "Lonely Boy"

Scene One: Rich asks Dierdre about "the guy who's always writing in the corner"
Source: Scripted (except for Rich's opening and closing lines, "Hey, Stretch..." / "Whatcha Twittering?")

Scene Two: Alexxxis and Caroline (almost) discuss Lloyd
Source: Scripted

Scene Three: Tim tells Dierdre about his online dating ploy
Source: Scripted

Scene Four: Tim introduces himself to "LonelyGirl69"
Source: Improvised

Scene Five: Alexxxis and Caroline give Chloe sex advice
Source: Scripted

Scene Six: Tim and "LonelyGirl69" stay late after Dierdre closes up
Source: Improvised

TOTAL: 4 scripted scenes, 2 improvised scenes

Episode #24: "The Notebook"

Scene One: Caroline lobbies to borrow the notebook from Dierdre
Source: Scripted

Scene Two: Caroline reads Glenn's writing
Source: Scripted

Scene Three: Caroline and Leo argue about... Leo
Source: Improvised

Scene Four: Tim rambles to Dierdre about his "date"
Source: Scripted

Scene Five: Caroline and Leo conclude their argument
Source: Improvised

Scene Six: Glenn enters, Dierdre stalls him, Caroline arrives w/ the notebook
Source: Scripted

TOTAL: 4 scripted scenes, 2 improvised scenes (actually filmed as one large scene)

Episode #25: "Further Review"

Scene One: Tabitha reveals the "bad news" to Caroline and Dierdre
Source: Scripted

Scene Two: Leo and Liz read the book reviews
Source: Improvised

Scene Three: Rich states his case against the RIAA
Source: Improvised

Scene Four: Leo fails to get more money from Liz / Vanity Press
Source: Improvised

Scene Five: Caroline and Todd lament their lives
Source: Improvised

Scene Six: Caroline and Todd come home to find...
Source: Scripted

TOTAL: 2 scripted scenes, 4 improvised scenes

What Have You Learned?

1) On average, half of any STBD episode is improvised...

2) Most scenes involving Leo (at least recently) have been improvised...

3) Most scenes in which we felt a natural conversation would work best were improvised....

4) Most scenes in which we... um... didn't have time to write a script... were improvised...

5) You can do that when you have a talented cast that know how to think on their feet.

STBD Season Four: Episode 25 "Further Review"

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Rich has trouble with the RIAA, Caroline has trouble with Leo, plus a special cameo appearance. (10:00)

Music by Chris Mosley and Mofessor

Filmed at Affogato

STBD on About.com

John C Havens, the podcasting guru of About.com, interviewed STBD creator and BootCamp Pittsburgh co-organizer Justin Kownacki. Topics of the 50 minute interview include:

- What IS BootCamp PGH?
- The future of STBD
- How to collaborate with your audience
- The pros and cons of HOW to monetize your content

Lots of interesting questions in this conversation, including some great points about the ways in which monetization can (or should) occur.

The STBD Cast Comes Alive!

Our cast is gigantic. They all do lots of things besides STBD. Every so often, we like to let you know what's up.

* On Saturday, April 21st, STBD creator Justin Kownacki co-hosts BootCamp Pittsburgh, a one-day "bare basics" guide to blogging, podcasting and social media. The event is FREE to attend, and will occur at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh from 9 AM - 5 PM.

To register, and see the packed schedule of sessions, visit the BCPGH website.

(In addition, STBD cast members Erik Schark (aka Rich) and Ann Turiano (aka Caroline) will take part in a session focused on "Finding Your Voice.")

* Also on April 21st, Ryan Ben (aka Tim) and Clare Fogerty (aka Chloe) will be performing in a One Act Play Festival for the University of Pittsburgh from 10AM until 1PM.

Josh Hansen (aka Brent) will direct one of the plays. And it's also free.

* ALSO running April 19-21st: The final weekend of Run for Your Wife, directed by Teresa Trich (aka Gloria) and performed at Stage Right of Fox Chapel.

(Everyone else in the cast has something going on, too, but we don't want to overstimulate you all at once...)

No Sex in the Champagne Room

Brent and Chloe have some 'splaining to do...
Here at STBD, we like to think we make it look easy.

The truth is, creating this series is consistently one of the most UNsexy -- and sometimes unintentionally hysterical -- processes in modern media.

To wit, these recent behind-the-scenes tidbits:

April Showers Bring Sub-Zero Wind Chill

The opening scene in this week's episode, featuring Caroline and Dierdre taking a leisurely walk around the Cathedral of Learning on the Pitt campus? Filmed in 7 extremely speedy takes because it was approximately 30 degrees out. Ann (Caroline) and Lacey (Dierdre) battled runny noses and numb limbs to nail the script before hypothermia set in.

Is That a Lamp Neck in Your Hand, Or... ?

The orgasm Alexxxis enjoys at the end of Episode 23, while Caroline and Dierdre view her webcam? Recorded while Lindsay (Alexxxis) was standing beside the camera, holding a flourescent light for the scene and moaning. (Three takes.)

Dex May Not Be Home, But...

While filming Episode 22's Chloe-Brent pseudo-sex scene at "Dex's place," production had to break for 45 minutes. While director Justin Kownacki was away from the location, the actual owners of the house -- who had no idea we were filming there -- came home. Meanwhile, Clare (Chloe) and Josh (Brent) were lounging upstairs in "wardrobe" (or lack thereof), and had to re-make the bed and bolt from the room while ensuring everything was in its proper place and no condoms were left behind.

Ironically, that scene was originally supposed to be interrupted when Dex returned home, but was changed at the last minute. Sometimes, life imitates art in real time...

Head Games

The entire episode in which Dierdre counsels Tim as he meets his "online penfriend"? Filmed while Lacey (Dierdre) was recovering from a splitting migraine that caused her to skip work. (This likely helped her react properly to most of Tim's dialogue...)

The Man Who Wasn't There

When Caroline is reading Glenn's notebook in Episode 24, only to be interrupted by Leo, she carries a conversation with him from the couch until he sits down. Except, in real life, Will (Leo) overslept and had to rush across town to complete the shoot on Ann (Caroline)'s lunch break... which meant Caroline started her conversation by interacting with no one.

Although, in retrospect, that's not unlike most conversations with Leo...

STBD Season Four: Episode 24 "The Notebook"

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"What's the deal with the guy who's always writing in the corner of the cafe?" Caroline and Dierdre find out... (9:20)

Music by Cagey House and Mofessor.

Filmed at

What "story" of Caroline's is Glenn referring to? Watch STBD3-27 for a refresher!

What STBD and Einstein Have in Common

Tonight I saw Absolute Wilson, a documentary about theatrical genius Robert Wilson. Perhaps best-known in America for the play / opera Einstein on the Beach, which he created with composer Philip Glass, Wilson is renowned throughout Europe for his groundbreaking (and mind-blowing) concepts.

However, here in America, he's largely an unknown quantity, even after 40 years in theatre.

I won't compare our audience -- which is tiny -- with Wilson's audiences, which are, by comparison, quite large (especially internationally).

I also won't lay claim to any kind of artistic genius, since what we're doing isn't the kind of life-altering artistic rocket science that Wilson traffics in.

Where I will draw a comparison is between our respective determinations to succeed.

Wilson took a circuitous path to success, including long stretches of financial hardship, creative frustration and a complete lack of public appreciation.

At the height of his fame, in 1982, he was commissioned to create a theatrical work for the Olympics -- and the money men were so confused by his proposal that they withheld the final $1.2 million he needed to complete the project, even though it was later stated that the Olympic committee had a $150 million surplus of funding.

Temporarily crushed, Wilson bounced back. In 1990, he had a massive commercial success in a stage collaboration with Tom Waits called The Black Rider, which played to sold-out audiences around the world.

Meanwhile, STBD continues to travel a circuitous path to success, including long stretches of financial hardship, creative frustration and a complete lack of public appreciation.

At the height of our "fame," we still serve a smaller collective audience than some local stage productions manage in a week. Despite creating some of the best content on the web -- as referenced by numerous instances of viewer feedback -- we continue to toil in relative obscurity.

Temporarily crushed, STBD will bounce back. Our future plans involve massive amounts of commercial success and attendant drug addictions and prostitute scandals.

Mostly, we just want to be seen.

When it comes to art, business or love, the only extremes are failure or perseverance. Everything else is just middle ground.

Speaking of iJustine...

Favorite Twitter of the day, from Jason Calcanis:

"Is ijustine a real person or a lonelygirl type thing?"

(Thanks to Jeff Persch for that heads-up...)

iJustine on STBD

Here in Pittsburgh, STBD isn't the only web video game in town. One of our talented contemporaries is iJustine, whom -- you may recall -- was a finalist in the Yahoo Talent competition a few months back.

Since then, she and her partner in comedy, Desiree, have been creating regular web video treats at Mommy, Pack My Lunch. iJustine also has a blog, where her legions of devoted followers can come to crush.

This week, iJustine makes a guest appearance on STBD, and holds her own against Rich and Tim. Not an easy task.

(iJustine will also be hosting a few sessions at BootCamp PGH on April 21st. Living in Pittsburgh and need to learn about new media from the people creating it? Come down and get smart!)

The Peril of Background Music

I was up til 2 AM yesterday re-encoding and re-uploading our most recent episode of STBD because Ann pointed out something I hadn't noticed (but have been told before): the background music was too loud to hear the dialogue.

Very often, I don't notice that because, while I'm editing, I'm paying attention to the dialogue. I block out the music in my head. But to someone who's never heard that dialogue before, it might get trampled by the backing track. (I made that mistake a lot in our first two seasons.)

The other side of the coin is audio compression. I've noticed a LOT of background noise coming through in our final mixes that I don't pick up in Final Cut Pro. If the entire mix is going to be leveled up during compression, figure that your background music will get a bump as well, and might interfere with your dialogue.

STBD Season Four: Episode 23 "Lonely Boy"

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Tim has a very important meeting (that may never happen). Chloe needs advice about certain kinds of men. (10:00)

Music by ZOX and Mofessor

Filmed at Affogato

Birthday Girl

With a cast as large as STBD's, there's a birthday to be celebrated every couple weeks. But Ann Turiano (aka Caroline) celebrates hers this weekend -- which also happens to be Easter / Passover, which means it's easy to get lost in the meta-holiday shuffle.

So, if you dig Ann's work on STBD, drop her a comment -- or a birthday video link!

(Note to self: perhaps we need a public STBD calendar, so everyone can follow our cast's various stage performances, independent films, charity work and, yes, birthdays...)

Rich in a Tux?

Tony Bingham and Erik Schark in "The Best Man"
Erik Schark (aka Rich on STBD) recently co-starred in a short film here in Pittsburgh called "The Best Man," in which he plays the... well...

The film will be included in a student film festival in Denver, CO, on April 20th. If you dig STBD and you're in Denver, check it out.

(And if you're not in Denver, Erik will probably update this announcement whenever the film plays in other necks of the woods.)

Cameo City

Natalie Nicolian reprises her role as Alison on this week's STBD.
On this week's episode of STBD, we had cameo appearances by Dean and Alison, neither of whom are regular cast members anymore but each of whom was available to pop in for a quick scene.

That's the beauty of having a cast that's forever growing larger: the world these characters live in keeps getting larger as well. Characters who haven't been part of the story for months or years can still bump up against the current focus of the series and, in some cases, still have an impact on the characters we still follow.

It's kind of like life.

Speaking of which, we have at least one more major cameo appearance on the horizon this season, as well as a whole new breed of cameo: the local Pittsburgh "celebrity" cameo -- or, more accurately, "weblebrity."

Ever since PodCamp Pittsburgh, we've been far more aware of the growing internet culture around here than we had been previously. With this many bloggers, podcasters and artists in town, it's only natural that some of them start making appearances on STBD. That trend kicks off in next Monday's episode, so keep your eyes open...

Oh, and if YOU happen to be a personality (Pittsburgh or otherwise) who'd like to make a cameo appearance on the show, drop us a line and let us know. We're always looking for people who have a sense of humor, especially about themselves...

Bizarre Google Search Return

While checking our stats, I noticed we were suddenly getting hits based upon the phrase "web series."

"That's odd," I thought. "How many web series ARE there out there now? Hundreds? I wonder where we are in that food chain."

So I did a Google search for 'web series' (no quotes).

We're the #1 return.


Really?

I searched with quotes. Same thing. #1.

This is odd, until I realized no one really uses the phrase "web series" except me. Everyone else calls it "videoblogging" or "podcasting," etc. So who else is using the phrase these days?

Evidently, VH-1. Good company to be in, if you like that sort of thing.

This is certainly preferable to that upswing in traffic we got a year ago when people were searching for Rachel Holt, which happens to be the name of both a tabloid schoolteacher / seduction / murder suspect AND the character portrayed by Samee Nann in the second season of STBD...

Caroline's Wild Lesbian Adventure. (Sort Of...)

Lindsay Parrotta (Alexxxis) and Ann Turiano (Caroline) teach California how to party...
This is the part of the show where we hand the reins to Ann Turiano, aka Caroline on STBD. She and Lindsay Parrotta (aka Alexxxis) spent the weekend in Palm Springs at the Dinah Shore charity event. There, they were among 8 groups of finalists competing in a live "re-enactment" competition of scenes from the Showtime hit The L Word.

On the line? A visit to the set of The L Word in LA or Vancouver and a chance to schmooze with the stars of the show. Equally intriguing? Spending your first trip to California with Lindsay Parrotta, who's clearly a rock star in training...

******
Landing in the Palm Springs airport is a little like flying into Disneyland. The place is not an airport so much as it is a patio, with the open desert air and view of palm trees greeting you as you leave your gate.

Traveling with Lindsay is a little like traveling with a very sexy good luck charm. We get pushed to the faster lines in security. We make our connecting flight with seconds to spare--after a barefoot sprint through the Minneapolis airport. She drinks three gin and tonics on our morning flight, and our luggage miraculously makes it with us on the plane we almost missed.

It was destined to be a good weekend.

So here we were at the Dinah Shore weekend, surrounded by thousands of lesbians. Well, not really surrounded yet. First we were off to check into our resort hotel, admire the real live Mexican gardeners (!), and walk to the nearby mountain.

After much sunning and swimming, we were off to our first Dinah Shore weekend event, a party at Oasis. (But first a late evening trip to IHop. Indeed, we are classy.) I'm dressed like a skank, but paranoid that I look too traditionally girly. In line to get in, we see the the first of many charter busloads of eager women; I'm in over my head.

Negotiating this social experiment is a daunting task. We stood off to the side for the better part of an hour, gauging the situation and what we should do about it. One thing about lesbians, though--they put on a good party. Always complete with hot go-go dancers.


I feel like they can smell my straightness. I have no idea who wants to be my friend and who wants to fuck me, or both...It's a strange new world to encounter.

The next day we relaxed poolside at the Doral Pool Party. Random male hotel guests peered down from their balconies, looks of wonder and joy on their faces as they observed the pussy party down below. Gotta love it.

Next was Thai food with Dusty, a cute airline mechanic from Tucson. You can see a picture of her boobs, along with all the other photos from the weekend, here.

She really dug Lindsay, and was nice enough to let me tag along. Being in an exclusive (male) relationship sort of limited my options, but hey... Her friends were a prime example of the beautiful hedonism of the weekend. The first time I met them was when we opened the door to their hotel (which they had trashed the night before) and they were bouncing around naked, yelling that they had just fucked. I love it.

So, Thai food, and a visit to one of surprisingly few bars in Downtown Palm Springs. It's far too chill and relaxed to be a party place. Anyway, we ended up dancing to a great cheesy house band while Gary, the World's Awkwardest White Man, and his protege , Leo embarrassed themselves by trying to dance. [Editor's Note: This generally applies to all men, so Gary and Leo should not feel ashamed...]

Lindsay got yelled at for dancing with her drink in her hand and for taking off her shoes. We ended up down the street, ducking into a Karaoke bar where LP used me as a live prop for her intoxicated rendition of Prince's "Darling Nikki."

Saturday was the day of the competition, where we finally started to panic and actually rehearsed our scene. Talk about nerve-wracking: we get there and are forced to stand around in the green room for two hours. Once the celebs peek in, we know it's for real: Ilene Chaiken, Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey, Jane Lynch (slightly less intimidating, since we had sat next to her at Starbucks that morning while she described her asthma to an elderly couple who had no earthly idea that she's a star). LP is practically crying from seeing Kate (even hotter in person).


We're one of 8 groups, and somehow get the raw deal of performing 2nd overall. The judges table is onstage, and when you look out downstage there are 1,200 screaming women. So we're miked (with mine sliding around uncomfortably as it is clipped to my flimsy thing underwear), and before we know it we're onstage. We do our scene, "Alice and Dana in the Bathroom". We look hot, feel hot, and the kiss at the end of the scene is even hotter. It was something we waited purposely to rehearse; when we finally did it, it lasted a good loooooooooong while. The MC (Alexandra Hedison) asks how that felt, and LP reveals that she's been waiting 3 years to kiss me (we went to Point Park University together). What a great way to do it.

We're jazzed. And we get great feedback, the judges telling us how cute we look, how committed we were. High scores, too.

Unfortunately, not high enough. They pull out the 10s later on, for a silly version of a scene with New York accents, and a cutesy recast of main (femme) roles with butch girls. So we end up in 3rd place. A huge disappointment, all things considered. Afterwards, Jane even told us she wished we would have gone later as it would have changed things, AND she complemented our subtext. Booya.

LP took a turn around the catwalk as our consolation prize of sorts. She had also lost her cell phone, so we taxied across town to pick it up. Later that evening was the big party, super extravagant...but I was pretty much all lesbianed out. We met back up with Kellie, a sweet and very funny filmmaker with a raging crush on LP (get in line).

Home the next day to rainy Pittsburgh, but I kind of have a tan, which is a coup for me. I only kissed one girl, but at least I made it count. ;)

STBD Season Four: Episode 22 "FYI"

Click to Play

Chloe and Brent. Liz and Lloyd. Secrets, lies and the truth - in some order... (10:00)

Music by Edie Marshall, Mofessor and Jeremiah Fleming

Filmed at Affogato