Hey there, Geoff Gresh here again with your (semi)weekly Halfbad Update. This week we’ll be highlighting a couple of great reactions to The Competition from around the interwebs and rationalize the sluggish pace at which we are completing Chapter 2.

John Flowers of lifezero.org started out the parade of champions by highlighting The Competition on his excellent video podcast That Media Show, Episode 5.

To make a great thing better, John then mentioned us again on the mega-podcast This Week in Media. This particular episode also happened to guest star friend of the show (and former boss) Andy Beach.

 
So, yeah, cool beyond words. Thanks John, Daisy, Andy, etc. You’ve made us weep tears of fanboy joy. Which brings us to the long-awaited Chapter 2. In last week’s update, we stated that Jim “Stretch” Rohner would be writing and directing Chapter 3. Well due to a new project I’ve been involved with (RemixAmerica), I had to delegate and throw Jim under a bus. In other words, he’ll be directing Chapter 2. The script is the product of a collaboration between Jim and I, i.e. Jim wrote it and then I cut and pasted things into a different order. We may not be members of the WGA yet, but I think that gets me a co-writing credit. Suck it, Jim.

We’ll be shooting Chapter 2 in the coming week and the post process on this one shouldn’t be too extended, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it should be done by the week of September 7th. Or when it’s done. Which might have some relation to that date, we’ll see.

Enjoy your time in the interim. Rewatch Chapter 1 for clues. Laterz.

Geoff Gresh
– geoff@halfbad.net
– Exec Producer, The Competition

UPDATE: The very day this muxtape was posted, The RIAA shut the site down. Sorry Muxtape. We’re kind of easy, so we moved the unoriginal soundtrack for The Competition to 8tracks, a site not being sued by the RIAA. Enjoy.

The large majority of the music we’ll be using for The Competition is courtesy of The Internet Archive’s absolutely mind-blowing 78rpm & Cylinder Collection. Archive.org is doing a really commendable job of saving old recordings from the sands of time and putting them up for the world to hear, which is what this internet tube thing was supposed to be about in the first place. That last sentence will be the opening of the deposition for the inevitable lawsuits brought against us.

Before our arraignment, here’s a muxtape (Exhibit A) of a variety of songs from the collection that we intend to use during the series. Enjoy. Freedom of information. And all that.

– Geoff Gresh, Defendant #1, The Halfbad Network

Hi there. This is Geoff Gresh, creative director and taskmaster here at The Halfbad Network. In this inaugural Halfbad Weekly Update, we’ll be talking about the iTunes store and a special recipe for Mac & Cheez.

As you can see on that very well designed and convenient sidebar (over there —->) we’ve added an HD feed for The Competition in the iTunes Store. If you’ve got an AppleTV or Xbox360 (using Connect360 or Rivet), you can now watch The Competition in its full HD glory right on your TeleVision Set. Or right in iTunes on that fancy Cinema Display you mortgaged your sublet for. You’re welcome.

We’ve been in hardcore pre-production mode on The Competition’s second and third chapters. We’ll be working on them back to back, so hopefully in the near future we’ll be releasing new chapters every 1 or 2 weeks. You might not be able to set your watch by our release schedule, but c’mon, this is the 21st century, you should have one of those atomic reactor watches anyway. Chapter 3 will mark the writing/directing debut of Mr. Jim Rohner of Zoom In Online and CHUD fame. Let’s hope he doesn’t screw it up.

We’re also proud to announce Power People, an upcoming animated series for kids of all ages from the warped team-up of The Halfbad Network and The Treehaus Kullecktif. More info on that soon.

And finally, a kicking recipe for BBQ Mac & Cheez:

Start by sautéing a ton of onions and garlic in a large pan. When that’s all browned up nice, toss in about 6 hotdogs, sliced into little bite-sized chunks. When the franks are looking tasty, toss in one of those Costco-sized cans of beans. Depending on the brand of beans chosen, you might want to spruce it up with some BBQ sauce. Salt to taste and let simmer. Meanwhile, cook up some mac & cheez (Annie’s Organic Shells & White Cheddar is The Official Mac & Cheez of The Halfbad Network). Once you’ve cooked up that duder, throw in a nice heap of grated Parmesan cheese. Now comes the crazy part. Get a massive bowl and combine your beans & franks with your mac & cheez. It’s a match made in heaven. Enjoy.

– Geoff Gresh, Totalitarian Leader, The Halfbad Network

In response to a request for production notes from DVXuser, well, user metro2307, I wrote a lengthy post on the road that led us to the release of the first chapter of The Competition:

All in all, we were able to get the principal photography and post done at lightning speed thanks to a year of latent pre-production and some solid tools. I think it’s a testament to the endurance of old Macs that I was able to so quickly work on this 720p material, even on what some would say is an ancient workstation. (read more)

We’ll be posting more info (and behind-the-scenes videos) on the making of The Competition as the series continues. Enjoy.

A snazzy The Competition-inspired desktop background for you all, free of interfering text. And rabies.

Written & Directed by Geoff Gresh

Cinematography by Timur Civan

Starring Ben Naidus & Lucy Sorlucco

Produced & Edited by Hamilton Fish

Subscribe to The Competition at The iTunes Store. Or become a fan on Facebook.