Meaningless Pretentious Thoughts on Storytelling
I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling lately. Probably in my frantic rush to complete scripts for about fifty different videos recently, a little circuit was closed in my brain that told me to start thinking about what I was doing.
As you know if you read this blog, I happen to have a full website dedicated to storytelling. It’s called Inside The Monster’s Dollhouse: The Depravity of Innocence and I post little bits, things I write, every once in awhile. None of it is really particularly exciting. Everything short and ends before it seems to even start, which is what she said. But it’s not about that, really, honestly. It’s about a human need to tell stories. I think we all have it and just express it in different ways.
I write narratives that have allegories and subtexts that no one picks up on, and I try to force-feed them to people. Other people write things and hide them away, never wanting the world to see what they have created. Some people gossip at every turn, whenever they have a chance. Some people write poetry about how they’re feeling. Some people have their bodies tattooed to the point where you can’t tell what fleshtone they’d naturally have.
Everything we do is a form of storytelling. We sing, we dance, we sit motionless at the bottom of a pool. We tell stories. We listen to stories.
What makes a good story?
Well, the truth of the matter, just like the question “what is love” and “where do babies come from”, can never be explained. Because it changes from person to person. And that is what makes stories, and love, and fertilization so amazing. They are constants that are variable.
A story can be fantastic to me but shitty to you, etc. Love can mean one thing to somebody but another to somebody else. Babies can come from any variety of containers and substances put together in mad scientist ways and implanted in any avian found on the beach (dead or alive! although, dead’s more likely anymore considering the gulf coast disaster).
I never really payed attention in health class.
Who knows the point I’m trying to make…
Storytelling is humans trying to share something that they can see in their mind with somebody who can’t, but hopefully will. If it’s a good story.
Stories are the most important thing in the world, and we will never stop telling them. Humans or me.
Filed under Stories, Web Seriesae | Comment (0)Getting to the Streamys
(THE SHORT VERSION: CLICK HERE.)
So, because of this post I happened to win two tickets to the first ever Streamy Awards. Frickin sweet is what that is. I was super shocked and super excited.
And then I looked at how much it would cost to get there. The Streamy Awards are in LA. I am not in LA. LA is south. LA is accessed by plane. Planes cost money to ride. Hotels cost money to stay in. Transportation around LA costs money to.. use? Food costs money to buy. To spend money you must have money.
Boom.h
So, it’s too expensive for me to get down there and.. survive.
Before I continue, let me tell you all about the Streamys. The Streamys are like the Oscars for web video.
And now I’m done telling you about the Streamys.
No. The Streamys are like the Oscars for web series. There are all sorts of categories and all sorts of web series and web series actors and actresses and other assorted web series people who are nominated. Dr. Horrible and the Guild are both nominated, among others. And the awards ceremony is on March 28th at the Wadsworth Theater in LA. All sorts of people are gonna be there.
Now, why is it important to me?
I am an aspiring director. That is without a doubt what I want to do with my life. I want to make movies. More than anything. I have for awhile. Due to the amazingness of MetroEast, as well as the amazing support from my family and friends, I’ve been working to get to a point where I can actually be considered good at directing.
Hereabouts, at the present time, what I’m doing is creating a web series. Because the way things are done is changing and this is an accessible format at the moment. I can do this. The web series is called [censored, hehe]. Check it out.
Anyway, since we’ve been working on this series, web video became more than just an accessible format. It became an amazing opportunity. Not only is it a rather simple way to work on the craft of video production, but also a freaking awesome way to tell a story. And not just that. The world of web video is currently a community of likeminded folk who are all trying to be original and creative in this relatively new format, and, as of late, likeminded folk who are all trying to figure out how to produce web video and find the funds to continue producing web video.
So, think. If you had the desire to become a content producer good enough to be noticed by.. anyone, why might the Streamys be something that, if you had the opportunity and invitation to attend, would be important to you to attend?
I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s the type of thing I dream about going to. It’s the type of thing that seems inclusive. Y’know? Like, you watch the Oscars and stuff, and you see all these people and you know that if you were there you’d just feel like you didn’t belong. This is the type of place that seems the complete opposite. I dunno.
So anyway, I just won two tickets and was incredibly excited until I realized there was no way I could possibly afford the trip.
And I was pissed. I started talking to Sam Kowash, of Kowashian fame, and he expressed that he too thought that it sucked. He suggested I open up a donation form and grab a corporate sponsorship. So!
CLICK HERE
…if you would like to donate to the amazing cause of getting me to LA for the Streamy Awards! Please. I would love you forever.
As for the corporate sponsorship.. well, I’m gonna be sending off this letter soon:
Dear Wal-mart, please send me to the streamy awards in LA to meet Joss Whedon and Felicia Day and take into consideration that I have cancer. And am a puppy. Thanks, Ben Shult
P.S. I may have some insider info on a nearby oil reserve. *wink wink, nudge nudge*
So, that might help.
Give it a thought. Please. I love you.
-Ben
Filed under Web Seriesae | Comments (3)The Streamys Audience Choice…
Hey, Timmy here with my predictions for the audience choice nominees at the 1st Annual Streamy Awards.
- Dr. Horrible
- The Guild
- Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy
- 2009: A True Story
- Sorority Forever
- The Shatner Project
- Rocketboom
- The Legend of Neil
- Epic Fu
- The Hayley Project
Probably waaaayy off.
-Timmy
Filed under Web Seriesae | Comments (3)