Somebody captured video our panel sci-fi panel at SXSW.  If you weren't able to attend, here ya go!

I (Chris) was recently on a panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival, discussing the creation of online science fiction experiences.  Panelists included Felicia Day, Craig Engler of Syfy, Ryan Copple of Riese the Series, and George Ruiz.  While I'm unable to embed the audio from the panel, SXSW has posted it on the panel description page, which you can listen to HERE.

The panel provided some good insight into creating and promoting digital sci-fi stories, especially on incredibly limited budgets.

Overall, SXSW is a FANTASTIC festival.  I'd been meaning to attend for years and the panel invitation gave me the perfect excuse to spend the week in Austin.  If you're a content creator or digital storyteller, I highly suggest you consider attending in 2012 (if the world hasn't ended of course).  Great networking, ridiculous amounts of amazing food, and a really nice city.

Photo via George Ruiz

A few days ago I was part of the web series industry podcast New Mediacracy discussing the future of storytelling, along with the talented group of Mark Gantt, Bernie Su, Nicholas J. Robinson, and series regulars Steve Woolf, Zadi Diaz, and Chris McCaleb. We discussed the possibilities and limitations of storytelling on the web. While much of the conversation was aimed at the untapped potential of the medium, there was one advantage I personally feel very passionate about: the story and people behind the story. New media, more so than say TV or film, fosters both a greater look behind-the-scenes and a deeper relationship between creator and viewer. I'll elaborate on the example I used on the podcast.

Click to read more ...

Two great sites posted some great coverage of The Mercury Men today. First up, The Sci-fi Block, which I did a lengthy interview for (5 pages!). Lots of info about the series in there. And lastly, Celtx, the software company I mentioned in our storyboard production journal, did a quick write-up of the video on their blog. If you're an indie filmmaker and don't already know about Celtx, you should give their site a visit.

Sci-fi Block Interview
Celtx Blog Post

There's a great article by Jacob Nahin about The Mercury Men over on Tubefilter, which features a NEW exclusive extended trailer. Go check it out!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE NEW EXCLUSIVE TRAILER

Here's a short snippet of the article:

"Preksta gave us a private viewing of the first episode, and while it would be premature to give a full-blown review, I can say that what I have seen blows my mind. The production quality, the acting, the music, the directing, everything presented in this first episode should have mainstream studios take notice."

All the guys over at Tubefilter have been incredibly supportive, not only of our shows, but of the web series industry in general. Between their site, the monthly meet-ups, and the Streamy's they've all done a lot to help creators like us. We were thrilled to be able to offer them an exclusive trailer to premiere.

I did an "Almost 20 Questions" interview this past week for Bill Cunningham's great Pulp 2.0 blog.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW

Many thanks to Bill the "mad pulp bastard." If your a fan of pulp or retro sci-fi, I suggest checking out the blog.

If you would like to have an interview with any of the cast or crew for your site or blog, feel free to let us know and we'll gladly schedule the time.

Recently did a short interview for the ScyFi Love blog about the development of Mercury Men.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW

Update: The Sci Fi Scoop blog picked up the interview as well.