Well guys, it’s pretty amazing to see Episode 1 of Season 4 FINALLY online! 😀 I really hope you enjoy it, it’s our longest first episode yet, and I gotta tell you it KILLED me I couldn’t get it under 5 minutes. Looking at it now, I probably could have cut some stuff, but I’m super happy with the final result, so editing to an arbitrary length is not the end-all be-all. If it works, it works 🙂
A few things. If you’ll notice, the episode looks a bit different than usual. We shot this season on a different camera, the Canon Mark 5D, which I NEVER EVER WILL TRUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A STILL CAMERA SO HOW IS IT TAKING VIDEO?! (/oldwomanrant). Honestly, the quality looks AMAZING, it’s in 1080p for the first time with the Guild (we were shooting 720p before) so it has a clarity to it that is pretty spiffy.
Story-wise, when I started this season, the thing I wanted to avoid most of all was the whole “Codex sneaking around with Fawkes behind everyone’s back and getting caught later in the season.” That seemed like the automatic go-to as a result of the cliffhanger, so I knew immediately that I would have Codex do the opposite and come clean at the top of the season. She’s a pretty guilt-ridden person (as am I, that part is a bit auto-biographical 🙂 ). Everything else fell into place from there. Getting Codex into trouble this season was much easier because she’s definitely coming out of her shell a lot, her interactions with The Guild face-to-face are making her more assertive and more confident, so her point of view about things is much easier to write now.
In addition, I introduce the idea of a Guild Hall for the Guild, because, as an in-game activity, it is something that would theoretically bring the Guild TOGETHER, unlike last season when they were torn apart. But bar-none my favorite moment in the episode is Bladezz sneezing SO disgustingly on the kitchen grill. Sean Becker’s idea ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to Amalfi for letting us use their kitchen and cleaning up EXTREMELY WELL afterwards, that place is a great restaurant and had a very clean kitchen which we abused a little bit 🙂
Small side note: When you write something crazy like “Clara wears a goofy squid hat”, Kim Evey (my producer) can take care of it for you. She found a man who ACTUALLY MAKES SQUID HATS. So weird, but thanks Kim for making my “vision” a reality. 🙂 Also thx Sean Becker for getting Clara to belt out that opening song, and making me write even MORE than what was in the script for her to sing. The opening shot is really really funny and well-done.
For more in-depth analysis of this episode (and ALL of them really) our show fan-podcast Knights of the Guild was on set for almost all of our filming, interviewing cast and crew about each episode. I believe they will upload a mini-cast with every episode (today’s goes up tonight @knightsoftheguild said), so check them out! We’re very lucky to have such amazing fans! 🙂
Lastly, Maureen Ryan over at the Chicago Tribune did a set visit and an in-depth article about me and The Guild that I’m really proud of. She’s a smart and insightful lady, and it’s an honor to be profiled by her. Check it out, and the accompanying article she did on Web Series Coming of Age.
Hope you enjoyed the episode! Next episode has some really funny stuff, I think Bladezz is kinda stealing the season, hehe 😉