Good Morning Crew,
Thank you for taking the time and being part of our show.  This blog will serve as a stream of consciousness, behind the scenes look as I share different insights on all aspects of “Good Morning Antioch.”  It will be interesting for film makers, actors, or people who love the process of what it is to make a film.  Let's have some fun!

So, how did we get here?  Let's start at the beginning.  Back in 2010 the term “New Media” was kicking around Los Angeles... a lot.  According to Google “New Media” is defined by a means of mass communication using digital technologies such as the internet.  But back then it was just a catch-all term for everything not on T.V. but even then it was rapidly expanding.  One of the first larger companies to fully embrace New Media was the world's superstore Amazon with their service Amazon Prime.  Prime was cool because it offered free 2-day shipping, but the real steal was the access their digital streaming service which included T.V. shows, movies, and reality series.  Amazon realized the cost/benefit of producing their own content versus just licensing, turning itself into a full production studio making original content like Bosch, Transparent, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Not too shabby for only 99 bucks over the entire year.

This left us performers in a weird place.  New Media was the Wild West and it was getting so big that the Screen Actors Guild felt they had to create a separate contract for this type of web-based content.  It covered everything from a Netflix series to an Indie web-short produced for YouTube.  

Now if you have ever attempted acting pre-2010, you can likely write you own blog about how difficult it was to become eligible aka “get your SAG card” or Taft-Hartley.  It was like an insurmountable catch 22.  You couldn't get good roles unless you were at least SAG-eligible, and you couldn't get eligible without the good credits.  What the hell were we supposed to do?  The great thing about the SAG New Media contract was the fact that it gave smaller independent productions the legitimacy to hire union talent, and it also gave them the power to make non-union performers eligible for SAG with a lot less red tape than some of the bigger film contracts.  I actually got my SAG card on the web-series “Zoe & Chloe: Private Detectives.”  I found a producer friend of mine who was already a member of the union to be our Signatory and Executive Producer, and I gathered a group of like-minded hustling actor friends and I wrote some scripts.  Together we all jumped that seemingly insurmountable hurdle of joining SAG. 

Once, I did finally join the performers union, it became clear that if I wanted to continue producing my own content, I would now have to do it under the new New Media SAG contract.  I tell you that bit of history to tell you this, that first series was helping us break new ground with web content.  And several of my friends have gone on to producing much more widely seen works from that initial spark.  It was hard, and there wasn't a clear path to distribution like there is today.  But it did its job.  Our new show “Good Morning Antioch” is also forging new territory trying to bridge the gap between Podcasting and Web Series.  Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me either.  I'm nothing if not a sucker for punishment.

In upcoming entries, myself along with some of my crew, will be writing more about acting, cameras, mics, distribution, as well as how we build all the cool stuff you see on the show.  Here is how all the above relates to New Media as it's currently in its golden age.  Simply put, with New Media and new distribution methods popping up, we have a much easier path to display our work.  It motivates me that my career is in my own hands.  The days of us working for free on some unknown film that may never release is all but done.

Many performers get into this industry and say to me all the time, “I don't even know where to begin.”  They are worried about not having credits, footage for their reel and their SAG card.  A great place to begin is by checking out Bonnie Gillespie's 

   “Self Management for Actors: Getting Down to Business”  

Start there.  Surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to be doing.  And if you're the most experienced person in the room?  You're in the wrong room.  Find those spaces where you can learn, and don't be afraid to ask questions.  And yes, you can always shoot your own new media content.

If you have any questions you can reach out to us at contact@goodmorningantioch.com.  We'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.  We will beam our reply to you straight to you through deep space!