Crowdsourcing!

I met with my friend Austin Pick today and pitched him the idea for Hot Dex. Austin is a published writer, formerly (and sometimes still) an international roustabout, and all around workingman's thinkingman. I mentioned that I would be using some crowdsourcing techniques to get the show together, and we delved deeper into the idea.

The great thing about the Hot Dex web series is that we can build a community around it, and everyone who wants to can have a voice in what goes on in the show. This is something that most television shows won't do, and honestly most web series don't either - despite all the possibilities with viewer interaction inherent in the web platform. Well, we're not gonna fall into that trap. Here are some ideas Austin came up with right off the top of his big 'ol noggin:

• Polls. What'd everyone think of episode 3? Should Dex take that big, dangerous job working for so and so? Viewers will be able to weigh in on a regular basis and make their voices heard. This leads directly to...

• Voting. That's right. Some of the most momentous plot points and choices in the show are going to be put to a vote, and viewers will be able to vote for what they'd like to see. Not only that, but we'll have votes on smaller issues too: what funny slogan should Dex have on his T-shirt? Viewers will be able to submit entries and vote for their favorites. The list goes on and on for things people will be able to vote for. So not only can you, the viewer, "tune in" to see what's going on with your favorite characters, you can also watch for YOUR original submitted content.

What this amounts to is a show that will have fan interaction like no other show ever has before. Much more on this in coming weeks.

So you wanna be a screenwriter...

Remember this, because I'm probably going to say it 900 million more times: producing this show is about putting together an army. Today I drafted a very valuable member in my old friend Ryan Ellis.

Ryan and I went to college together and share a very similar sense of aesthetics, so he was a natural choice when I was thinking of folks to ask to write an episode of season one. Once I have the arc of season one down in its final draft Ryan is going to pick a place in the narrative to write an episode that fits into the arc.

I'm EXTREMELY excited about this as Ryan is unbelievably creative, crazy smart, and has a unique writing style. He also tends to understand me and my creations better than anyone, so he'll have a really firm grip of how to handle this little project.

If anyone reading this has a desire to write for Hot Dex, watch this space. I'll be putting out calls for writers and other creative types very soon.

Let's play catch up!

The plan: create, write, produce, co-direct, and star in an action-based web series set in Chicago.

The man: well, me. Zach Livingston. Actor, musician, martial artist, and jack of all trades.

So far:

April 10th -

Met with Jay Kelly, who is the head of PR for Victory Gardens, a highly regarded Equity theatre here in Chicago. I basically pitched the idea to Jay to get some feedback on how to put it together from a PR standpoint - creating something is one thing, getting people to see it is another. Jay was extremely helpful and absolutely full of good idea on how to get the project off the ground, and how to get people to see it.

April 14th -

Met with Dan DeFore, a friend of mine who is in the film making program at Flashpoint Academy, a new media arts school in downtown Chicago. Dan and I had been exchanging some emails about the project and meeting face to face we found we were definitely seeing eye to eye. He gave me a homework assignment: write the first episode. 5-10 minutes long. Also, come up with an arc for the first season, and a more or less complete character list.

I'm beginning to realize this thing has legs. More to come.