Ahead of Melbourne WebFest 2014 we are profiling all the series in the Official Selection as well as the “Second Look” series.
Southeast of Reason centres around teenage girl Andrea, who is perfectly ordinary one moment and is suddenly far away from everything she’s ever known.
After deciding to track down her mother who disappeared and hoping to find questions to her identity; Andrea is met by information about her clandestine ancestry and why she is a special girl – the hope of the entire civilisation.
Filmed in Zagreb, Crotia; the film was inspired by TV shows that had enriched the creator’s childhood and stirred their imagination, such as Doctor Who and Star Trek.
Why should people watch your series?
To see a cool little science fiction story, or at least it’s very beginning (as it’s only the first season). Also, in these times when much of what surrounds us (even in entertainment) tends to be deadly serious, some light-hearted fun can’t do any harm.
What do you want people to take away from your series?
Most of all, we hope our audience will have some fun and an all-round good time watching the series. We’ve done this show in truly impossible conditions, so we also hope it could inspire some of our audience to do something creative and wonderful.
How do you finance your series?
The series has no budget at all. Season one was done entirely without financial support of any kind; all work was done on a voluntary basis, fueled by enthusiasm.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in production?
The biggest challenge to overcome in production, and post-production, was the constant pressure of scheduling work on the series so it wouldn’t conflict with cast & crew’s other professional and personal commitments. Also, the entire post-production was done on a pair of 6 year old laptops, ancient history in computing, so there was always some creative thinking involved in optimizing the visual effects workflow. Fun, fun, fun!
How do you reach your audience?
Primarily through word-of-mouth, social networks and tours of local science fiction conventions.
Is it an ongoing project? If so, can you give us some clues about what comes next?
Southeast of Reason was planned as a three season show. First season was the set-up, second season was to be a full-on adventure, and third season would conclude the adventure and tie up loose ends. Continuation of the series remains a possibility, but due to cast & crew’s other commitments it might or might not pan out.
Trivia: please tell us a quirky and/or interesting fact about yourself or team that’s unrelated to your web series.
Filip Staresinic (director of photography), who is also from Croatia, is currently studying cinematography in Australia.
Why make a web series?
Croatia has a population of just about 4 million. Television series’ aimed at younger population are considered niche, add to that science fiction and all you’ll see are the backs of TV execs as they’re running away from us. Web distribution gave us the opportunity to present what we’ve created directly to the audience, which helped us further hone our skills.
SouthEast Of Reason on the web:
Website (series): http://jugoistocno.com/international/
Website (creator): http://www.ratimir.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jugoistocno
Twitter (series): @jugoistocno
Twitter (creator):@RatimirRakuljic
Twitter (lead actress): @DorisTeur
Keep up to date with Melbourne Web Fest on twitter: @MelbWebFest
La Trobe University is a festival sponsor of Melbourne WebFest.
