Posted on

Coming Soon! New Canonized Content: Shards of Glass

Shards of Glass

Many fans of World of Depleted recall the mysterious Gavin Hesterdale video of November, hinting at some pretty mysterious things involving his student, Jenna, and his covert preparations for the Fall. Of course, one of the most confusing elements of the video was the hacking of their work by an unknown operator named the “Glass Samurai.” Well, contributor Fred Koskin couldn’t get the notion out of his head. He had originally set out to craft a tale about Gavin’s son-in-law, Ryan, who’s mysterious weapons fascinated Koskin. However, according to Koskin, “all I got was a blank slate. Nothing ended up coming other than stupid stories which were nothing more than excuses for him to use his high powered guns. However, when I looked at the Glass Samurai, I found I could write something very different.”

Shards of Glass
Shards of Glass

Koskin represents one of the first writers to attempt to explore a character specifically introduced by the WoD team at Viking. He stated that he contacted the team before writing the story, explaining what he wanted to do, and explaining the elements he was interested in. According to the folks at Viking, they loved where Koskin was going (which didn’t conflict with story elements they already had in place) and were willing to provide him with a PF Date (Post Fall Date) that made sense and a location for his story to be set in. Because his work would directly impact work that Viking was working on, Koskin was required to sign an “NDA” (Non-Disclosure Agreement), but he said it was nothing that bothered him.  The only concern that he had was that he would be given too much information and have the secrets of the future ruined for him as a fan.  However, according to Koskin, “[the Viking team] tailored the information exactly to what I needed with no more info, which was cool.  That way I can help tell this larger tale, but not have it messed up by knowing too much.”

When the story was finished, it was Canonized and Viking has announced that it will be launched in the near future. Koskin did go on to say that this was only the first of a number of stories he planned around the Glass Samurai.  He cited his friend Jojo Stratton as a big influence on his choice to submit.

When asked for comment, World of Depleted co-founder, Jeremy Hanke, confirmed the new story will actually have official tie ins to the movie arch that Viking is working on as well as to the mysteries found in the ARG.  Additionally, it will reveal some exciting new factions for fans to look forward to.   He went on to state that because Koskin had involved them early on in what he was interested in, they were able to help him avoid pitfalls and give additional information .  Hanke stated that others who will do the same will find the same level of help and encouragement!

Posted on

The Eye of Megaton

Post-ApocalypticForum.com

PostApocalypticForum.com

If there is a real world character that’s most like Depleted’s Gavin Hesterdale, it would have to be Hawaii’s own Bill Kennedy, who’s better known to his fans as “Megaton.” Megaton began collecting information about the end of mankind a number of years ago, starting by reposting podcasts on the subject on his own blog and then expanded to multiple boards and sites based on the notions of the apocalypse. While not exclusive to more scientific apocalypses like the one Depleted is based on (zombie rises and other apocalypses are openly discussed here, as well), there is no question that Megaton has come to be recognized as one of the experts on the subject of end of the world matters. As such, he was one of an exclusive group chosen to sign an NDA with Viking Productions to offer expert advice on certain elements of Depleted. With that said, WoD founder, Jeremy Hanke, was happy to explain that they want to make sure the World of Depleted is as based on real world possibilities as possible. 

Due to his expertise, William will become only the second person to have a World of Depleted character based directly on him. While the WoD team at Viking wouldn’t comment on what all the Megaton character will do in this world, it’s clear that there is a strong connection between he and Gavin Hesterdale. Hesterdale’s journal has already begun reflecting the interaction between the two men and Hesterdale has been spotted searching for more clues about the “Catacode” on Megaton’s Official “Post-Apocalyptic Forum.” 

When asked for more information, Megaton stated that he is planning on creating an audio recording which will be submitted for Canon status in the near future!

Posted on

Forsaken premieres at World of Depleted’s Contributor section…

Forsaken
Forsaken Poster
The Official Forsaken Poster
The Official Forsaken Poster

 Forsaken, the new film from Ben Nash & James de Paula Hanika (of Four58 Productions) set in the World of Depleted, debuted today in the World of Depleted: Contributors section (IAWBM Archive) .  The film, set 352 days after the Fall in England, follows a man who’s lost everything on a road trip to try and regain part of what he’s lost.

Additionally, an article about the film debuted this month in MicroFilmmaker Magazine, covering the pre-production process of releasing Forsaken and what it was like to be a part of the World of Depleted communal franchise.  A series of in-depth video interviews are also planned between MFM editor Jeremy Hanke and the filmmakers.

To watch the trailer, the entire film, and read the article go to, check out:

Forsaken’s World of Depleted Page (IAWBM Archive)

Posted on

Contributor Site Launches with all sorts of new elements…

The New Logo of the Contributor Site

Well, the new Contributor site is now live, featuring the stylized new World of Depleted Contributor Logo (as pictured below):

The New Logo of the Contributor Site

The major element of the new Contributor site is that folks can easily sign up as Contributors without having to mess around with .PDFs or extra hassles on their end!  (Plus for the fans, rather than a CAPTCHA code for verifying your humanity, you get to solve a very simple Gavin code.  A nice touch that adds some fun to the process!)  To simplify things, the Contributors section is governed by the Contributor agreement as part of the official registration for it.  Non-Contributors can still read and watch the main content found in this page, as well as comment with their thoughts, but they can’t do some of the fun things Contributors can do (like the Challenge mode below) and they won’t have access to some of the building block assetts until they choose to become a Contributor. 

One of the now realized elements (which we’d alluded to earlier) of the Contributor section is the Challenge section.  After having been able to check it out a bit, it’s very cool!  Clearly an encouragement for folks to sign up as Contributors immediately, the Challenge feature is updated regularly with short challenges in one of five categories: Writing, Films, Audio (including music), Photography/Art, and Games.  You have to be a Contributor to be able to submit stuff, but, if you are, it’s super easy.  Once you decide to apply for a challenge, you fill in a bit of information about yourself and submit your short story, or photo, or whatever else.  (Small attachments for stories and photos can be included with the submission, whereas you’ll need to link to larger attachments you have hosted elsewhere to cut down on clutter during the review process.) Not sure what all the winner perks will be, although they are all eligible to be canonized and some seem to be designed to fit directly into pre-envisioned collections.  (For the latter, this means that there’s a specific work you’re contributing toward, which is often times easier than just submitting whatever comes to mind.)  I have heard from Jeremy Hanke that they’re setting this feature up to be a specialized feed that fans can subscribe to, so they will be notified whenever new challenges are available.

Challenge Mode
Example of the Challenge Mode

It also looks like, at this point, the short film Forsaken will be launching on March 2nd in its official capacity as External Canonized content!

Finally, a few new groups have started covering the new elements Depleted is embracing, including YURDigital (who will also be helping provide specific products that are useful to Contributors) and Megaton.Us, a group that is very much abour post-apocalyptic tales!

To read Lillian Hawkins (of YUR Digital) interview with Founder Jeremy Hanke, go to: World of Depleted Explored: Interview with Jeremy Hanke 

To read the coverage of the new features of Depleted in Megaton’s page, go to the article: Help Shape The World of Depleted

Additional news will be coming as we know it!  I don’t know about you, but I’m already very excited!

Posted on

Mid-February Updates…

Kari Ann Morgan Recording Voices for Day 419
Well, for your post Valentine’s Day update on Depleted, it seems like the team at Depleted is really grinding into high gear!  This is the Depleted news I’ve been able to uncover so far!

Kari Ann Morgan Recording Voices for Day 419
Kari Ann Morgan Recording Voices for Day 419

 Perfect Pitch: Bringing The Perils of the Fall to Day 419 – Yesterday, voice artist, Kari Ann Morgan, was brought in to record a variety of voices for the new Day 419 at Oakwood Sound Design.  Morgan is a talented vocal mimic that can recreate pitch perfect recreations of acccents, inflections, and voice types.  As such, she was tapped to help supply some of the wide range of different voices that would be heard in Jenna Whitmore’s chaotic return from the Middle East to the U.S. after the Fall.  Additionally, for a pivotal flashback set in Dublin, director Jeremy Hanke has tapped Dublin-based filmmakers, John and Martin Moylan, to help gain needed dialogue.  Finally, to help these radio broadcasts have the most authenticity in association with real world conditions, Ham Radio Specialist and Engineer, Victor Annas, will be going into the studio with D419’s sound designer, John Howard, to make sure the audio effects are as authentic as possible!

Canonizing History: Forsaken Receives The Very First EC Code – Ben Nash & James de Hanika will be the first filmmakers to receive the coveted Depleted Canon badge for their short film, Forsaken, and be able to begin the rewarding relationship of helping to further flesh out the World of Depleted and be involved in commercial profit associated with the film.  The current badge (featured below) includes the EC Code “#001. ” WoD Founder, Jeremy Hanke, did clarify that the badge is undergoing a final redesign by graphic designer, Craig McDaniel.  (Although, he was quick to state the current Badge is officially recognized and will likely become a valuable status symbol in the future, as so few people will ever receive one of these early ones.  Sort of like collector’s coins…or, more appropriately, stamps!) 

Current Depleted Canon Badge
Current Depleted Canon Badge

  Contributing To The Future: Sneak Peak Into The Upcoming Evolution of WoD – I had a chance to chat a bit with WoD Founder, Jeremy Hanke, who’s personally overseeing the new Contributor site.  He stated that since everyone who creates content is a Contributor, the official Contributor site is where all approved content (both Canon and Apocrypha) will go.  While anyone will be able to view the content on the site (and make comments), only those who register as Contributors will be able to submit new content.  Additionally, Hanke went on to say that one of the newest features that he was extremely excited about was a specialized challenge event board.  The new Contributor Challenge Board will allow specific challenges to be issued, which will really jog the creative juices.  I asked Mr. Hanke what exactly he meant, to which he replied: “Well, if you ask everyone to make a film or send in a cool story or take video of stuff, most people won’t know where to start because you have now overloaded your contributors  In directing terms, we refer to general concepts like these as “unactionable”–things that people can’t actually act upon directly.  However, if you have a short challenge like, write a 500 word short story that deals with three people trying to escape a plague zone…or record a 3 minute audio message from the day the Grid goes down of a family member leaving a goodbye message to his kids–these are now actionable.  Now, our contributors can glance quickly at these challenges each week and either they will immediately get hooked by the current challenge or they won’t–very little gray aread.  However, for those who aren’t hooked by a current challenge, they’re more likely to contribute something else that they are passionate about, because now they see how simple a contribution really can be.”   Hanke also went on to tell me that there will be cool things that filmmakers can unlock by contributing to these challenges, including special sneak previews of future content, the right to be a part of an extremely restricted vote on official Viking Productions Depleted content, inclusion in targeted specialty collections marketed by Viking Productions, and even the ability to win high value prizes for certain challenges.  Plus, while he wouldn’t go into any specifics, he did explain that Contributors that submit more Officially Recognized content during these  Challenges will have a chance to win cool cumulative prizes.  

 Picture Yourself The Way You Like: Harnessing The Desires Of The Fans – Fans like Fred Koskin (and myself) have wondered when World of Depleted would allow us to control our avatars!  Well, the good folks at Depleted have announced that this is now a new feature in both the official World of Depleted website and  the new Contributor site.  (Apparently, Contributors will in fact have a separate login, which will also give them access to Contributor exclusive areas.  No word yet on what all will be in these special Contributor areas.) 

Broken Hearts: Gavin Explores New Secrets On Valentine’s Day – Fans who’ve been missing the updates from the enigmatic Gavin Hesterdale will be happy to see that a brand new entry has appeared out of the ether, and may be one of the longest entries to date!  Rumors have been circulating that one of the elements from this new entry will show up in the official Depleted feature film.  To no one’s surprise, I can get no official confirmation on that!  

Well, more on all of these things when I know more!

Posted on

Depleted Updates: Beginning of February…

Depleted Sorenson Picture

Bunch of new things on the Depleted horizon so far:

Depleted Sorenson Picture

– MicroFilmmaker Magazine arranged a press review deal with Sorenson Media (the company that creates the most powerful video codecs in the world, including Spark and On6) for Depleted, which will allow them to use the most state-of-the-art compression for Depleted’s Canonical films.  Additionally, the Sorenson 360 video streaming option will give Depleted fan’s the ability to see higher quality videos than they would normally be able to get, as well as permitting numerous password encrypted videos for more secret ARG elements.  Director Jeremy Hanke is very excited about this new arrangement and feels it’ll be a great benefit to Depleted fans and to Sorenson!

-In conjunction with this, the new Contributor site for Depleted will be rolled out shortly, which will be the location for all Canonized and Apocryphal content: From videos to stories to photos!

-With the completion of the beta test of the contract submission process, the finalized contracts have been completed and are now in the process of being encoded for digital submission by fans!  This area will also be in the Contributor section of the WoD site!

-In addition to the much anticipated Forsaken film submission, story submissions are getting rolling.  Currently, die hard Depleted fans Julie Stratton and Fred Koskin are already on the list for submissions.  Additional contributors are also  going through the contracts, as well!

– Score composition on Depleted: Day 419 appears to be  going very well.  I had a chance to listen to the first scene and was really impressed with the use of both music, narration, and sound design to sculpt a 3D backstory outside the confines of the scene.  (The folks at Oakwood Sound Design are doing a great job on the sound of the film!)

More as we know it!

Posted on

“Forsaken” slated for February 8th Submission…

Thumbnail from Ben Nash film, Forsaken

It appears that the first of the films to be submitted for potential Canonization into the World of Depleted will be Four58 Productions’ Forsaken film.  Directed by Ben Nash & James de Hanika, Forsaken is an action tale that plans to weave some of the current elements of Depleted mythology into the visuals of their tale.  As directors Hanika and Nash of Four58 have been two of the filmmakers who’s enthusiasm and drive permitted him to get in on the beta version of the Contributor plan, we at Viking Productions are very excited.

Once we’ve had a chance to review it, we’ll be chatting with the directors about what the official release will be and where it might fit into the World of Depleted.

In the mean time, check out their HD trailer below:

Posted on

Day 419: Rough Critiques Begin This Week…

Jeremy Hanke

Dear Friends of Depleted,

Folks who read our magazine, MicroFilmmaker Magazine, know that I am a huge stickler for critique as a way to improve filmmaking.   (It’s simply impossible for any filmmaker to put blood, sweat, and tears into a film and remain objective.  For low-budget filmmakers who have often written and edited the film, as well as directed and/or produced, the ability for objectivity is completely gone.  An educated and impartial critique helps people get the valuable and constructive insight they desperately need to make their film the best it can.  Some well known filmmakers who have “earned” the right to work with impunity have forgotten this, thus leading to sub-standard work that left their fans let down.)

With my editorial duties at the magazine and my producer role in a number of shorter projects, it’s been awhile since I’ve both written AND directed a film.  As such, some folks have asked whether I will really put my money where my mouth is and have Depleted: Day 419 critiqued.  And the answer is ABSOLUTELY.  While a public critique is something that I am still working hard to arrange (as my choices are limited due to how many filmmakers know me personally, which immediately limits the perception of their credibility as critics of my work), this week we started the process of having trusted and experienced members of the film industry in LA watch the rough cut of Day 419.  (While much of the film is completed at this point, it is still considered rough until we actually distribute it.)

Once these critiques are complete, we’re also going to be looking at some possible alternate cuts of a few scenes with a very accomplished editor.  The end result will hopefully be the tightest cut we can deliver to our fans (and the “unused cuts” will provide plenty of extra features and alternate takes for the DVD boxed set).

Once both are accomplished, we will have a much more concrete timeline on actual release of the Day 419 film, as well as the actual timeline for the Depleted feature.  (As many of you know, release timelines are always educated guesstimates, even in Hollywood where there is a massive amount of history with film releases, a huge marketing machine, and lots of money to get things done  in a more rapid pace. )

I’m really excited to see all the things we are able to do with this first film and have a bunch of improvements for workflow and quality for the feature already lined up!  This will be a very exciting time for everyone and I’m glad you’re here to share it with me!

With My Greatest Gratitude,

Jeremy Hanke
Writer/Director/Editor Day 419/Depleted
Co-Creator World of Depleted

Posted on

Depleted News: Mid-January…

With the snow-falls across the midwest, things haven’t been snowed under at Viking Productions and their work on the World of Depleted!  Here’s the exciting news I was able to glean from some of the folks in the various production and marketing teams:

Foley Magic
Much of Hollywood's magic doesn't come from what you see, but what you hear! From Top Left, clockwise: 1) Two of the mics used for Foley; 2) John Howard, Day 419's Audio Designer; 3) Marinated pork loin provided good realism for slow stabs; 4) Lining up the sounds with the cut in the Nuendo DAW.
  • Foley Magic: When the sound effects libraries and wild sound recorded on set can’t measure up to the needs of a film, the audio designer takes his team to the Foley stage to create super-intense sound effects!  Having garnered the advice of pro sound designer, Kelley Baker, who has done the audio on many Hollywood films, including 1998’s Psycho, Day 419’s audio designer, John Howard, had a good idea of where to start for some intense stabbing effects needed for the film.  Director Jeremy Hanke was on set to capture the footage of the events with his pocket video camera.  Folks wishing to check out the cool video can go to: Cutting to the Quick: Foley Work on Depleted: Day 419
  • Official World of Depleted Contributor FAQ Channel on Vimeo: As the folks at Depleted come close to releasing the official Contributor agreements (which have previously been in a private beta), they have now launched the World of Depleted Contributor FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) channel, which provides video explanations of different questions about how distribution works!  Three videos kick it off and two more are slated to appear next week.  Director Jeremy Hanke states, “this is a way to boil down the main concepts present in the contributor agreements into easy to understand videos.  I believe these will help eliminate confusion and reassure fans who may be a bit nervous that this has been well thought out ahead of time!”  He went on to say that future videos would feature more pictures and step-by-step examples!  (Additionally, there will be a printed version of these questions and answers at the World of Depleted website in the future, for folks who prefer reading them.) To check it out, go to: the Contributor FAQ channel.
  • New Changes for Contributors: Jeremy Hanke will be meeting with entertainment lawyer, Paul Battista, this week to add a new feature to the contributor contract.  After an in-depth exploration of the current rules during the beta process with Brain Candy LLC’s founder, Scott Walker, it was decided that the previous rules had been a little restrictive in regards to Apocrypha.  For those unfamiliar, two forms of submissions would be recognized at World of Depleted: Apocrypha and Canon.  Apocrypha is designed to be much like Fan Fiction is today, but would have the advantage of being officially displayed at the World of Depleted website, giving publicity to the creator.  Canon, on the other hand, would be accepted as official information and/or mythology, helping to sculpt the world of Depleted, and permit both the creator and Viking productions to profit from this arrangement.  It has now been decided that both Canon AND Apocrypha will allow their creators to profit (a first for things that would be accorded fan fiction)!  According to Jeremy Hanke, “We wanted to really encourage people to shoot for Canon, because that helps grow the official world and mythology, which is why, originally, Apocrypha didn’t have revenue share with it.  However, we realized that this de-encentivized (if that’s a word!) people who wanted to create well-told stories in the Apocrypha section.  As such, both will now be able to profit using the same revenue share model.”  To make sure confusion doesn’t arise with fans, once submissions have been reviewed and official certified as either Canon or Apocrypha, Creators will be given an official Badge which they will be required to use in the marketing of any of their Depleted products.
  • New Footage for the Depleted Feature: The striking Kat Carney will be filmed in Kentucky’s snowy tableau for some of the flashback scenes in the Depleted feature this weekend.  2nd Second Unit (no, not an alliterative typo!) DP Eric Henninger (who played the role of Nash Fitch in Depleted: Day 419) will be filming.
  • New Crowdfunding Updates: As fans recall, director Jeremy Hanke has chosen to use crowdfunding to raise the majority of the funds needed for shooting the Depleted feature film.  While he has not yet released the date that crowdfunding will commence, he has stated that he will be borrowing a page from successful microbudget filmmaker, Mike Flanagan.  Flanagan recently created an award-winning feature film (Absentia) on a micro-budget utilizing a crowdfunding campaign so successful that he actually made nearly double his intended budget with it!  One of the large elements was creating targeted, humorous videos for each of the members of the main cast and crew, that explored information about the film, but which were funny enough that people would pass them on to friends because they were welll-done and genuinely amusing.
  • RPG News: Twilight 2013 Rumors put to rest. While there had been rumors that Viking Productions (the production company behind Depleted) was going to be able to arrange something with the now-defunct 93 Games Studios for their core fules behind Twilight 2013, according to co-founder Jeremy Hanke, the terms required were currently untenable and Viking has to pass.  While Viking continues to explore other alternatives for an RPG backbone, folks who want a good ad hoc way of getting into the game will be pleased to know that the rights for Twilight 2013 appear to have reverted to the original Twilight 2000 creator, GDW.  While there is no word on whether they will be creating new bound versions of the set, they are now selling .PDF versions of the Twilight 2013 set at RPGnow.com .
  • World of Depleted: Rumors of New Films – While unable to be verified, there has been a rumor that Viking Productions may be officially producing another short film in the World of Depleted.  My sources say that it has a working title of “WoD: Dark Day Tomorrow” and tells some of the backstory of the enigmatic sniper, James Fallhery, one of the protagonists of the Depleted feature.

More information as we know it on the World of Depleted!