Hey guys,
I”m pleased to let you know that Episode 2 of Day 419 is now live!
To check it out, simply go to: World of Depleted’s Day 419 area !
-Jeremy
Episode 2 of Day 419 is now live!
Day 419 DVD completed…
Lots of people were wondering when the official Day 419 DVD will be getting out there. Well, we have now completed it. While we will be reviewing additional DVD distribution options in the future, we will be selling a batch utilizing Amazon.com’s CreateSpace service. This will mean that, as soon as all the stuff is mailed in and approved, you’ll be able to buy it on either the CreateSpace site or the Amazon.com site. (Of course, considering the Amazon.com site takes a much bigger cut of profits, if you’d like to buy it from the CreateSpace site, that’d be a great help! *smile*) We will then be setting up the official Day 419 IMDB page, as, for all practical purposes, using CreateSpace to sell your film is the most direct way to get IMDB to provide you with a page for your film, since IMDB is now owned by Amazon.com, as well.
Folks who pick up the DVD will get to see the film in its entirety with high quality audio and have access to both of the Day 419 teasers, as well as getting a chance to see and hear some of the time sensitive codes hidden in Day 419 without other distractions! Each screen on the DVD includes part of the hand crafted sounded design we set up for Day 419, so, like the short, you can get as much from what you hear as what you see! To reward fans who choose to purchase the DVD via the CreateSpace site or through our Distrify player, if you purchase it through either of these options you will be emailed a copy of the official .PDF of the Day 419 Novella and, as a special treat, a .PDF of the shooting script of Day 419!
Just our way of saying thank you for all your support!
-Jeremy
Taking off the gloves and getting real…
Hey folks,
One of the things that’s been brought abundantly to my attention of late is that the World of Depleted needs to be something that is authentic and honest. We’re exploring some pretty dark elements of the human condition and one of the most pervasive mysteries surrounding this world. I realized that I was often times so tied up with trying to make everything look just right–whether it be the site, or the publicity, or the interactivity–that, at times, I was slowing down the process of getting content out there. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t strive for excellence, because that will always be of primary importance, but there’s a big difference between striving for excellence and being swamped in the doldrums of perfectionism. One is attainable and helps you move forward, while the other swamps your creativity and sucks your soul dry.
As such, to help combat that, I’m launching the new Lo-Fi World of Depleted podcast. Experimental as everything else in World of Depleted, this pod-cast has all the niceties of modern filmmaking stripped away and, with it, lots and lots of the time wasting perfectionism I struggle with, as well. I’ll shoot it with my old school iPhone 3GS with no internal edits, no extra lights, no tripod, and no extra audio. In the process, my commentary is going to be a lot more raw and a lot more real. You’ll get to see things we’re working on at the good times, but also at the bad times, when we want to bash our heads through walls.
At the end of the day, the time for fear is past. If we are to explore the darkest things that go thump in the night, we’ve all got to move beyond our own insecurities and the things that tie us up! Hopefully this will prove to be beneficial to all of us as we explore the future!
I look forward to sharing the journey and the mystery together!
With that said, I invite you to check out the two initial podcasts, below!
-Jeremy
The Contributor site gets a facelift…
If you’ve been checking out the Contributor’s Inner Cloister recently, you’ve undoubtedly seen some of the many changes that have been going on there. Amidst the release of Day 419, we’ve been tweaking the layout pretty substantially. The new page is quite a bit different than the old layout and that was intentionally arrived at to provide the community based setup that we want for our Contributors. The fact that the looks are fairly disparate isn’t a huge issue, as they’re supposed to represent a visual difference that would be seen when moving from the battered exterior of a post-Fall city into the untouched inner recesses where secrets and mysteries lurk undisturbed.
Some of the new features that I’m excited to be able to share with you are an auto-login that takes you to your own personal Contributor page. When you haven’t logged in, you’ll default on our news page, like normal, but, after you log in, your personal page will be your home page. (You’ll still be able to easily click on the News menu and check out all the newest breaking news, of course.) We feel that this will make communicating with one another much easier and faster, not unlike getting on to your main Facebook page (although I’m biased enough to feel our layout is cleaner than facebooks).
Other new elements we’re unveiling are a quote generator that has a plethora of quotes I’ve hand-picked to rotate from time to time as you navigate about the site, which will reside tastefully on the left sidebar. Some are short quotes, while others are from well known (and lesser known) books and songs. Not every quote is designed to be something that is representative of something good (like a few quotes from Adolf Hitler, for example), but all of them are designed to make you think about the human condition in the light of the World of Depleted. I believe that many of these quotes will surprise you (at least, many of them surprised me) and, from surprise, often comes creative inspiration! We’re also optimizing what information is in your sidebars, so that you have important things easily accessible to you whenever you log in!
As always, there are a few things we’re working on that haven’t gotten all the kinks worked out. One of them is a sidebar mounted music player which, when fully completed, will allow special “listening” room chambers where you can listen to music from a Contributor artist while you chat with other collaborators in a chat room. Right now, there are still a few bugs to work out (such as the fact that the player vanishes when you log in), so you can sample the music we have up right now (from zero-project’s Fairytale album) by logging out of your account and clicking on the sidebar player when it appears.
Further, if you check your custom profile area, you’ll note that there are a few new options, including an ability to choose what “role” you will take in this world. When completed, you’ll be able to choose a number of basic roles that you want to associate with (such as Knights of Xeno, Neo-Palidins, Dark Dreamers, Healers, Reapers, The Order of the Steel Rood, or even the N.I.R.) based on your personal ideals in this world. As you improve your skills by publishing more work in this world, you’ll be able to rise in rank in the role you’ve chosen. (For example, if you chose to be a Dark Dreamer, you will start out as a novitiate, but you can rise to visionary, prophet, and finally to seer as you progress through the ranks.) And, with greater rank will come greater levels of authority and control within the actual structure of the Inner Cloister, giving you access to places that few others have!
I think that adding a role-playing style edge to our creativity will only make this a more interesting experience for all involved! And, of course, we’ll be treading a careful path so that folks who are uninterested in the game-type mechanics will not find them overbearing against their own speed of creativity in this world.
If you haven’t been by the new World of Depleted Contributor site, go ahead and check it out!
-Jeremy Hanke
Interim Leader of the League of Dark Dreamers
Day 419 Novella completed…
Fans of World of Depleted who are getting psyched for the official serial release of Day 419 starting this friday can take pleasure in knowing that the Day 419 novella has now been completed.
According to writer/director, Jeremy Hanke, the novella was completed last night and will answer some of the questions that fans have already been buzzing about. However, he went on to say, “it won’t reveal everything and, in truth, it will open up a number of additional questions about the characters. Our goal with our arcs in the World of Depleted really is to answer questions with more questions. The best literature of all generations does that. It answers enough of your questions to give you the satisfaction that you’re getting deeper into the mystery, but then unveils a number of new questions waiting to be explored. Our hope at Viking is that this new novella will provide a tantalizing connection for our fans, giving them even more roots into who the character of Jenna Whitmore is, how she interacts with Gavin, and where things may lead to in the future.”
While an official release date on the Novella have not yet been given, Hanke did confirm that a collector’s bound addition of the novella along with an epilogue to Day 419, the shooting script, and photos from the film would be published in the future. Presumably it will also be sold along with the anticipated collector’s edition of the Day 419 DVD and/or Blu-Ray, for fans who want to get the ultimate Day 419 collector’s pack.
Additionally, during our conversation, Mr. Hanke refused to deny that there would be an official publication of Season 1 of the Gavin Hesterdale Journals, a refusal that I would interpret as an affirmative. More on both elements as we know more!
To Check out the Day 419 Pre-Release…
Hey Folks,
The Day 419 pre-release is now available for viewing pleasure. The $1.99 rental price will allow you to watch the film through three times over thirty days in HD quality. We chose to use the Distrify release service to release this in this manner, as it has options for a lot of scalability for additional elements for the film down the road and has a great commision option for re-posters. Folks who would like to embed the player in their own blogs will be given a 10% commission for each person who rents it. Additionally, because the Distrify player will allow us to link in the Collector’s edtion DVD, soundtrack, and commemorative gear associated with the film as purchasable when they become available, folks who repost the player will make commissions off all of those sales in the future, as well!
Folks who view the film will get access to a code which will lead them to the secret epilogue of the film. Additionally, the first fifty rentals of the film will receive a free specially mastered MP3 copy of credit track, “I Want to Destroy Something Beautiful,” by Josh Woodward.
With no further ado, we invite you to check out Day 419 in it’s rental pre-release at:
World of Depleted’s: Viking Productions Page
-Jeremy
The Gavin Hesterdale Season Finale…
As the pre-release of Day 419 comes out tomorrow, the Gavin Hesterdale Season Finale occured today. As predicted, the finale gets to the brink of the Fall and, according to folks in Viking, gives clues which move forward into the Day 419 film.
Still no official word on when or where the next season of the GHJ will pick up, although Viking’s Jeremy Hanke assures us that “it will give many new insights into some of the things hinted at in Gavin’s dreams and in Koskin’s Shards stories.”
For those who haven’t yet read the newest entries, which include Megaton, Jojo Stratton, The Catacode, and the Attacks, don’t miss out at:
Final touches…
Hey folks,
As we have now finished the last touches on the Master version of Day 419, I wanted to do a more official announcement about release and how it will come out.
The pre-release date of Monday, the 17th, will allow fans to see the film in its entirety and in HD early for a $1.99 rental fee. (Folks who choose to rent it will get a surprise bonus!)
Starting on the 22nd, we will begin making the film available on the World of Depleted YouTube page in a serial fashion. Once a week, for four weeks, a new episode will be released. In addition, each week, we’ll have a new podcast with behind-the-scenes information about the making of the film to go along with it. For folks who want to purchase the Day 419 DVD, it will be released in the near future, and will include a number of special bonuses for fans of the franchise!
I appreciate all your support, both in the making of this World and in the making of this film! We, at Viking, look forward to new ways we can help you explore new elements in Depleted!
-Jeremy Hanke
Day 419, Writer/Director
Rumors of the Gavin Hesterdale Season Finale…
Rumors are circulating that the Gavin Hesterdale Journal is coming to a “Season Finale.” While nothing has been confirmed, fans have clearly been seeing the escalation as Gavin races to figure out the mysterious catacode! In the most recent addition, the final Dark Dreamers symbol was unveiled (which, apparently, folks who got a sneak peak of the Day 419 film got briefly exposed to). Additionally, a mysterious order of warriors known as the Order of the Steel Rood was unveiled and MEGAT0N (the founder of the Post-Apocalyptic Forums) made a return guest appearance. As a final coup, Dark Dreamer Jojo (an undoubted nod to Contributor Jojo Stratton) is credited with being part of the mystery to unravel the the Catacode whih is said to reveal the mystery of the date the Fall begins on.
That things are rising to a climax is undoubted. If this is indeed a season finale, it seems likely that it will conclude with the riots that Gavin and his Dark Dreamers foretold. (I have heard rumors that the finale will be day and date with the first of the Day 419 serials, providing a bridge from the conclusion of Gavin’s journal directly into the film itself.)
Where the series may pick up after this event is currently unknown, although World of Depleted Co-Founder Jeremy Hanke has stated, “This is only the beginning of what Gavin Hesterdale will be involved in.”
For those who missed the newest release (“Cloistered Warriors”), you can catch up on it here at:
The Gavin Hesterdale Journal
10 Months in Hell: The Jenna Whitmore Trade Paperback?
Fans of the Jenna Whitmore branch of the Depleted saga, will likely be excited about a secret image that’s surfaced. While the folks at Viking are tight lipped about what might be involved, the following image was recently leaked from one of the viewers of the secret Day 419 1st Master showings.
Apparently, cast, crew, and special contributors received a special digital swag bag at this event which included secret information about the World of Depleted, as well as four songs from the Depleted soundtrack. Each song has custom artwork, with different clues about the World of Depleted on it. According to Jeremy Hanke and the Viking team, these MP3’s with this artwork will not be made available again, so those who received them have a cool piece of digital memorabilia. The image in question that has fans in a state of intrigue features a cold-eyed Jenna Whitmore wielding a Beretta with the tagline: 10 Months in Hell. Due to the stylized look, we assume that this image will most likely represent the cover of a graphic novel or comic book.
No word yet on who might be involved, although some fans have enthusiastically postulated that Frank Miller (Sin City) might be tapped to run the comic book, Neil Gaiman (Sandman/American Gods) might be tapped to write the story arc, and Dark Horse (Hellboy/Terminator/Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse) might be releasing the comic. We were unable to find any confirmation on these theories and feel it would be safest to put this to bed along with the rumor that Ted Nugent will be appearing in the Depleted feature.
Nonetheless, there’s clearly something up with this image and we will be sure to report as soon as we know more!