Ahead of the inaugural Melbourne Web Series Festival on 20 July, we’re profiling all 30 series that made the Official Selection list. First up is Clutch, created by Jonathan Robbins.
Filmed across Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal, Clutch follows the path of a motley crew of pickpockets, hookers and fetish workers, forced to band together in order to fight back against the mob. The completely independent production has carved a name for itself on the web, winning awards at numerous festivals and with recognition by The Webby Awards and the Streamys, Clutch is full of guest stars from other popular web series including Jillian Clare (Miss Behave), Caitlynne Medrek (Out With Dad), Tom Konkle (Safety Geeks: SVI) and Mike Donis (Pete Winning and the Pirates).
Creator Jonathan Robbins, says his inspiration for the series was: “wanting to make a series that celebrated the freedom of the web by not censoring my ideas, and at the same time, that didn’t fall into the trap of exploitation.”
And, as far as what he wants viewers to take away from the series: “For women, a sense of empowerment – Clutch is ultimately a survival story after all. For everyone, a gripping ride that thrills as much as it moves.”
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in production?
There is no affordable New Media deal with the actor’s union in Canada, so as production continued over a couple of years and some of our cast booked union gigs, they had to leave the show. This obviously challenged us in the writing room, but it also opened up a gift to the storytelling in that it encouraged ideas that may not have otherwise happened. It also encouraged us to film an episode in Los Angeles, which expanded our community.
How do you reach your audience?
We are heavily involved in the web series community, and we cast stars from other web series throughout production, so existing fan bases and site referrals are a benefit of that. One of our top referrers is the Out With Dad website, even though our shows couldn’t be more different. We also appear at conventions and lead events such as a theatrical screening where we invited trailers from other web series to play, as well as an episode of Super Knocked Up. Apart from being lots of fun to have everyone together, and making friends with other people who share your love, the community spirit is a viable business model in itself.
Why make a web series?
The episodic format is very interesting, and we have an exciting opportunity to work with it in a manageable way with short form episodes that are unrestricted in time formats. The web itself is still the Wild West and therefore a wonderful opportunity for creators to experiment and discover, and tell the stories that matter to them.
Clutch on the web:
Website: http://clutchtheseries.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/clutchtheseries
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ClutchOfficialFanPage
YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/mojoprofilms
Melbourne WebFest is on July 20, and tickets are on sale now. Keep up to date with the festival on Twitter: @MelbWebFest
La Trobe University is an official partner of Melbourne WebFest
