This article was submitted by Andrew Harrison and is the first in a series of articles written by new media producers. Our goal is to share their stories with other new media producers so we can all learn from each other.

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I have a web series called Polyester Dreams. It’s about a manic depressive prog rock radio DJ named Warren Orlando. The show interweaves the events of Warren’s downward spiraling life with homemade music videos for the forgotten songs he plays on his show.

For years I had written screenplays and teleplays that were never made or sold, and had written comic books and graphic novels with no willing artists to draw them. All around me I was seeing random people producing episodic video content, so I uttered the most dangerous phrase on the internet: “Jesus, I could do THAT.”

At the time I was hosting a psychedelic radio show on WNYU, so I figured that would be a good basis for a show. I had all this great music from the 70s, most of it out of print, all of it overlooked. Polyester Dreams seemed like a good way to share all that with a modern audience. The original idea for the show involved the same troubled retro radio DJ trying to get back into the music scene by managing modern bands. I soon realized that bands wanted nothing to do with me, so I turned to homemade music videos instead.

So how do you independently produce a show on essentially no budget? Let me share some of what I learned.

Content and Conception

Keep it simple. Go with something close and accessible. Do you work in a crepe shop? Have the show take place there, film after hours. If you’re going to have a lot of dialogue, make sure you get good actors. If you’re anything like me, don’t spend too long planning or it will never get done. Just start shooting. As you do so, the quality will get better and you’ll get a better feel for the series. You should expect that the first one or two episodes you shoot, you will want to scrap. The first episode I shot was so bad, I burned it, had it cursed by 666 Santerian priests, and then buried it fathoms deep within the earth.

Production – Cast and Crew

Keep in mind that the more people involved, the harder it will be to get them all in one place at one time. Especially if you’re not paying them.

Actors are free. They are always looking for more reel material, so if you can convince them you’re not an idiot, they will do your project. Feed them, respect them, create a fun atmosphere on set. Here in New York I use Craigslist and NYCasting.com.

Crew members are harder to get. This is where it’s helpful to have good, loyal friends. If you use your friends, make sure you train them on the equipment, and make sure they’re not too high. If you are in need of people, volunteer as a crew member on other people’s student or indie films. Make contacts and do a quid pro quo, Clarice (I help you with your project, you help me with mine).

Production – Equipment

Unless you want to spend at least two grand on a camera, you’re going to have to borrow equipment from friends or colleagues. I borrowed a Panasonic DVX100B from a friend. Another thing you can do is find a cinematographer fresh out of school with his own camera and let him direct an ep or two if he works for free.

You’re going to need lights. You can get decent lighting kits for under a grand. And for the love of all that is holy, do not skimp on sound. Just suck it up and buy a Sennheiser boom mic. Once you get over these fixed costs, the rest of your budget should be only food, travel and props. And booze.

Marketing and Monetization

When creating a web series, you should not expect to make any money. Period. Create an LLC and write off your budget as a business loss. Yuri Baranovsky, creator of the web show Break A Leg (which has gotten sponsorships and amassed millions of views), has said that in the two years of making the show, he has made about $2500. And this was BEFORE the recession and the great decline of ad spending. So throw your expectations away and produce as a labor of love only.

For Polyester Dreams, I have been experimenting with distribution and marketing. I have it on my destination site, on Blip.tv, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and iTunes. So far most of my views have come from Blip. The strategy I am attempting now is to just send out press releases and try to get coverage on blogs. The response rate is pretty bad but when you do get a review it really pays off.

DIY Television

What’s good out there? Well, my favorite web show hands down would have to be You Suck At Photoshop. Simple, hilarious, and the seasons have arcs. I just discovered Gemini Rising, and that show’s amazing: it’s funny, and the drama is actually affecting. I’m not really a fan of The Burg but the show is undeniably well put together. A little less indie are The Guild and Star-ving (David Faustino’s show on Crackle), both of which I enjoy.

Finding a good independent web series is like trying to find good off-off-Broadway play. Nine times out of ten you’ll end up at some shitty rock opera based on Antigone, but the other one time out of ten you’ll chance upon some visionary minimalist re-telling of The Trojan Women that’s surprisingly awesome. And that one time… trying to find it AND trying to be it… is what we live for.

- Andrew Harrison