THE NEW MERCURYSERIES.COM

We've got a new site at WWW.MERCURYSERIES.COM!

When you visit you won't notice too drastic a design change, but the site has actually been entirely rebuilt from the ground up. The biggest change is that we've incorporated our blog into the site itself which means we will no longer be using this blog. So make sure to update your links and RSS feeds.

To get future updates and see all our behind-the-scenes stuff, visit WWW.MERCURYSERIES.COM. We've made it MUCH easier to find all our videos, photos, and digital props, so you can easily check to see if you've missed any over the past year.

PAPERCRAFT MERCURY ENGINEER

We can't let Papercraft Edward and Jack just sit there in your cubicle with NOTHING to do! They need something to shoot! Luckily a target has arrived: Papercraft Mercury Engineer. All you need is a pair of scissors and a glue stick (or Scotch tape).

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

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.

When The Bannen Way (created by Mark Gantt and his partner in crime Jesse Warren) hit the web last year, the quality and production value shocked a lot of people, myself included. In an industry filled with low budget fare, a well polished series causes heads to turn. First impressions, once again including my own, incorrectly judged this series as Sony using it's power and money to dominate a space filled with mainly struggling artists by putting a television series online. But just a few months after it's premiere, series creators Mark and Jesse appeared on New Mediacracy to share their story. Little did the greater web world know the long struggle and sacrifice that these two and their crew went through to bring this project first to Sony and then to the web. This was no series by committee, this was the labor of several talented creators. Throughout the course of that podcast I counted myself among their biggest fans. THEIR story was equally as important as the fictional one they were telling and I found myself rooting for them even more so than the colorful characters they created. THAT to me is one of the great advances in storytelling fostered by new media: the creator has become part of the story. HOW has become just as important as WHAT.

It has become woven into the standards of web video that creators communicate directly with their viewers, sharing their inspirations and struggles, answering questions and comments. No more must the storyteller be hidden away behind the gates of Hollywood, they're just a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or blog page away. If you've been following The Mercury Men for any amount of time than you've noticed this is a sentiment we greatly share. We spend just as much time and energy trying to take you along the journey with us as we do creating the story itself.

While this single element is not the definitive future of storytelling, to me it's a pretty important step.

COLLECTOR'S GLASS NOW FOR SALE

You requested it and now they're here! New Mercury Men limited edition collector's glass, just like restaurants used to offer for those nostalgic summer adventure films! A pair of collectable 16oz drinking glasses with retro styled artwork featuring Edward Borman, Jack Yaeger, Mercury Invader, and Mercury Engineer. Glasses are generously sized, thick cut glass, and measure 6" tall (common pint size).

$13.99
set of 2 glasses
plus shipping + handling

COMING THIS MERCURY MONDAY...

We're lining things up to make the collector's glass, and the fun retro commercial we shot for it, available this coming Monday. The commercial was an absolute BLAST to film. It was a quick shoot with some of the supporting cast of The Mercury Men, and the editing has turned it into ridiculous retro goodness. While the actor's and humor are a giveaway, the VHS artifacting, synth soundtrack, and neon graphics will have you swearing this was recorded from TV in the 80's.

As for the glasses themselves, I'm really impressed with their quality and I'm really excited for some of you to see them first hand. (I've been drinking from no other cups or glasses since I got my hands on one!) These glasses really were inspired and motivated by you core viewers/readers. I view these glasses as a fun and memorable item from The Mercury Men world for that core group, and therefore we're trying to price them as low as possible, just enough to cover the cost. Trust me when I say they are VERY limited edition.

So make sure you stop back here Monday morning for a look at our goofy commercial and a chance to pick up some sweet bar ware.

*Photo by/of my agent George Ruiz claiming his glass a week early.

RETRO COMMERCIALS

Since we've got these neato collector's glasses set to arrive at any moment (They've arrived and they're AWESOME), we've decided to shoot a retro commercial for them and want your help. Please point us to one of YOUR favorite retro commercials for inspiration. We're looking for great, and unintentionally funny commercials for old action figures, games, which will gives us a great compass to shoot and edit by. Simply share the link in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook. I've included some favorites below. Question: why is Dad always the villain?

BACKYARD FX

Several months ago we had an incredibly cool piece of fan art sent to us by Zack Finfrock, artist, FX artist, and now the new host of an equally cool show, Backyard FX. Backyard FX is a DIY show for indie filmmakers which shows how to make props and FX on the cheap. Check out Zack's winning submission video below. Best wishes on the show from all of us here at The Mercury Men.

PRODUCTION JOURNAL: SOUND DESIGN/A.D.R.

Director Chris Preksta discusses sound design and A.D.R. along with Damon J. Claus (Sound Engineer) and Curt Wootton (Jack Yaeger.)

What movies do you think have GREAT sound design?

SOUND RESOURCES
Freesound.org
Sound Rangers
Sound Dogs

How bout you other filmmakers, any sites you use for sound resources?

CELEBRATE THE WEB

An impromptu web community event, Celebrate The Web (organized by Jenni Powell and Kim Evey of The Guild), was put together in LA just days ago as a follow-up to this year's Streamy Awards. It was a night to honor the work of the 2010 Streamy Award winners and nominees by providing a bit more time for them to share thanks and insight into their award winning projects. Being that this community has been both incredibly gracious and supportive of my own work, I felt strongly compelled to contribute to the event in some way, even though I was on the other side of the country. So for a few hours at 1:00 AM on a Friday night, while on vacation, I downloaded a trial version of Photoshop to do just that.

Although the event is now several days passed, I'd like to offer a poster design commemorating both the nominees and the industry itself. It's a stylized illustration of the evolution and convergence of film, television, and web, free for you to download/share.

Download Poster (Hi-Res)
Download Poster (Small)

And from myself and the rest of the cast/crew of The Mercury Men, we share our sincere congratulations to all the 2010 Streamy Award winners and nominees.

AGES 5 AND UP

Had a chance to show half of my family episodes one through nine of The Mercury Men tonight. Not only was it great to finally be able to share what had caused their son/brother to disappear for so many months, it was also a blast to experience it with my 9 year old brother. He shouted suggestions on how Jack and Edward could defeat the glowing invaders, smiling proudly when he guessed correctly a few times. He desperately wanted both a Lumiere light revolver and a brain-in-a-jar for himself. And most importantly, he wanted to know more and more about the world of The Mercury Men, eager to see the further adventures of the League.

While I assume the average age of web series viewers is probably a bit higher than elementary school, and the vast majority of web content is aimed at 16+, it was very important to our team that our story and fictional world be both fun and appropriate to children. (After all, younger viewers that may miss it online will have the opportunity to see the series by other means, such as DVD.) Part of our goal is too capture and share even a fraction of what we felt watching Star Wars and Indiana Jones years ago to both those who remember it first hand and a younger generation of viewers. While I realize my family is not a completely unbiased test audience, tonight was a really good confirmation that we aimed in the right direction.