Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/394837
www.postmagazine.com 34 POST SEPTEMBER 2014 WEB SERIES ciation Web series, Solid Dudes Kitchen, Derek Swanson and Dave Graw took some time off to revitalize the fran- chise, which is unpaid and unsponsored. The result is, This F***ing Place, a new restaurant series focusing on Detroit-ar- ea eateries. "If Solid Dudes Kitchen was The Gap, then This F***ing Place is Baby Gap," says Graw. The irrepressible pair co-own Gen- tlemen (www.gntlmn.tv), a creative collective based at Detroit's Hudson Edit (www.hudsonedit.com), where Swanson is the editor and Graw the designer. The two friends, who have played in bands together since their early 20's, decided to launch Solid Dudes Kitchen based "on the paradigm of cooking television although neither of us is a chef," says Swanson. "But each of us thinks the other is f***ing hilarious, so we decided to make something that was fun for us to watch." Internet viewers apparently like the combination of comedy and cooking, too; they're tuning in on YouTube, Vimeo, and the Solid Dudes Kitchen Website (www.soliddudeskitchen.com), and keep- ing up with the duo on Facebook. The series debuted with a 25-minute pilot. But that was a lot to ask of guys with day jobs and families — and a signif- icant viewing commitment for Web audi- ences — so the rest of Season 1 and all of Season 2 switched to six- to nine-minute episodes. They reverted to the longer format again for the "Germany" episode, then "Sausage Party" and "Home Brew Home Team." Graw describes the longer shows as "a bit of Mr. Rogers, some Insomnia and some travelogue. We like this format very much, but it is very time consuming. That's why we ended up taking a break for a year. We wanted to rethink the series." This F****ing Place episodes will be under three minutes, which he thinks is the optimum digestible bite. "We will eventually go back and do at least one more longer-format episode but we really want to explore the new series for a bit." Cinematographers C.J. Benninger and Aaron Jones have shot the shows with Canon EOS 5D MK III and now Red Digital Cinema cameras. Graw uses Adobe After Eff ects, Photoshop and Illustrator, and Maxon Cinema 4D, plus hand animated techniques for the show's cool graphics. Swanson edits with Adobe Premiere, cutting the jokes fi rst then "putting enough content around them to make sense narratively," he explains. "Content aside," Swanson continues, "we've always made sure the fi nal prod- uct looks great with color correction by Chuck Klatt at Cathel Color Com- pany, location sound and 5.1 mixing by Andrew Smetek of Hiss Snarl, and all the music for Dudes by Blair French (aka Dial 81). If, at some point, somebody thinks we can be the new House of Cards, it would be a pain to have to re- do it all. So we did it right the fi rst time." The fi rst two seasons of Solid Dudes Kitchen are available on DVD. The "bite-sized, easily-digestible" epi- sodes of This F***ing Place will focus on Detroit-area restaurants that do "interest- ing and creative stuff ," says Graw. "It wasn't our intent to promote Detroit's rebirth with the series, but our love and support of the city come through in our work." VERY MALLORY Very Mallory is an animated series from LA's Stun Creative (www.stuncreative. com), which screens on CW Seed, The CW network's platform for original digital series. Now in its second season, each three-minute episode features Mallory, an acerbic, fashionable "gallerista" who is unimpressed by the celebrities who drop by, such as actors Justin Hartley and Misha Collins, fashion designer Whitney Port, the NBA's Chris Bosh and more. In the new season, almost every episode has a cameo by talent appear- ing on The CW, such as Candice Patton, Torrance Coombs, Emily Bett Rickards, and Milo Ventimiglia. "It shows The CW using social media in a strong way," says Brad Roth. He and Mark Feldstein are the partners and founders of Stun Creative and executive Gentlemen, creators of This F***ing Place, rely on Adobe After Eff ects, Photoshop and Illus- trator, as well as Maxon Cinema 4D, to create the show's graphics. Stun Creative's Mark Feldstein (left) and Brad Roth (right) are now in season two with Very Mallory.