Left: Shannen Doherty of Suite 7, Right: Oh, Inverted World
The brave new world of web series production is certainly a promising industry and one that will allow a wide array of audiences to find something that suits their specific interests, appeases certain desires, and gives them the opportunity to explore fresh faces or appreciate a familiar face in a different light.
The online world has given independent producers a chance to hone their skills at their own level of experience, budget, and creativity. A new addition to this industry of the web series, however, is the more established producers, directors, writers, and actors who are testing the waters of new audiences with original plot lines unrelated to their previous work, but with the same prominent feel of a mainstream production.
The realm of the web series has something for everyone. The variety ranges from big-budget productions such as Mark Gantt’s Suite 7, a seven-episode web series based in a hotel and sponsored by The Better Sleep Council, to more raw, unrefined productions like the uncouth series about the mysterious happenings in a small town focusing on four wayward college graduates, Oh, Inverted World.
While productions of the likes of Suite 7 have the obvious appeal of familiar faces, such as Shannen Doherty, Illeana Douglas, and Brian Austin Green, as well as the expected fancy camera angles and background music to set the scenes, I still believe the web series market is more fit for the new guys, the do-it-yourselfers. The expectedly lower budget of independent web series can be a barrier when producing a clean final look, but the consequent realness and relatability could quench the thirsts of many viewers.
The characters of Oh, Inverted World are in fact so relatable because they belong to you, the viewer. They are new, unknown, and only exist in the realm of the series. While some don’t necessarily see this as a plus, I personally find it gives the series the charm and down-to-earth atmosphere that makes you want to keep watching.
One viewer, Teresa Roca, feels similarly. “It was more relatable [than Suite 7], and the setting went along with the tone of what was going on.” That is, the awkward camera angles, the absence of constant background music, and the overall gloominess of the production fit perfectly with the plight of the post-grads settling back into life in their hometown and finding that they are still the odd ones out.
While I may be biased in choosing independent productions over those featuring established actors with prominent sponsors (I’m a sucker for subculture), I could easily see why many others would agree that the small works definitely have something worth following.
