Emmy Award-winning Fourth Wall Studios has joined forces with visionary YouTube creator Joe Penna, aka MysteryGuitarMan, to release a new RIDES.tv series called “Meridian.” The three-episode series follows a man who discovers an ancient artifact that immediately sweeps him into a world much larger than his own, and changes his life forever. The first episode debuts today.
“Meridian” is an action-adventure, fantasy series directed and co-written by Joe Penna. Jeff (Orlando Jones, MADtv, Office Space, The Replacements) stumbles upon a mysterious cell phone, which leads him on a mission to find the owner, Alan Greggs (Rick Overton, Willow, Amazing Stories, Million Dollar Mysteries). Over the course of his journey, Jeff uncovers an ancient artifact that Alan has been using to try to avenge his son’s tragic death. The audience is taken along for the ride with Jeff as he tries to solve a deadly mystery.
“Meridian” leverages cutting-edge technology of the RIDES.tv multiscreen entertainment platform and offers an experience that brings this mystery to life. The audience becomes a part of the story, and their cell phone becomes an interactive prop, engaging participants more deeply into the action than ever imagined.
October 25, 2012
Emmy Award-winning Fourth Wall Studios has released “The Hunt” as the first installment of “FLARE”. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, “FLARE” is a world of darkness and fear, but also of humanity and hope. Each day, a mysterious light briefly illuminates the transformed world. But is the light another threat or is it salvation? Does it mean hope or death for earth’s last few inhabitants?
Within this world, there are many stories, some of which will explore the answers to questions about the world, but all of which will explore the lives of the people in it. In “The Hunt”, two families become deeply connected by a single thoughtless act. Burke (Jamie McShane, Sons of Anarchy) is on the hunt for the people who took everything from him, while Dale (Mark Moses, Mad Men) and his son Sid will use the dark in any way they can. It is a tense game of cat and mouse in a post-apocalyptic landscape.
“FLARE” was created by Jim Stewartson, CEO of Fourth Wall Studios. “Having developed this world for nearly three years, it’s so exciting to finally be able to share a part of it with our audience.” said Stewartson. “It was such a privilege to be able to work with our director Dan Brown and this incredible cast. And as we release more content, we will have created something like an open-sourced story world. I hope that audiences everywhere find this glimpse of the world of “FLARE” intriguing enough to want to create their own stories set in this universe.”
FLARE: The Hunt is available for free now on Fourth Wall Studios’ platform, www.RIDES.tv
As part of the cutting-edge technology of the RIDES.tv multi-screen platform, “FLARE” uniquely offers:
• A global view of the world through the amateur radio conversations of secondary characters.
• Deeper insight into each character by experiencing their inner thoughts.
• An open-source philosophy of storytelling, where the audience has the opportunity to contribute to the world of “FLARE”. Where will we go from here?
FLARE: The Hunt is directed by filmmaker Dan Brown. Written by Olumide Odebunmi & Tolu Awosika. Produced by Jackie Turnure. Jim Stewartson, Zach Schiff-Abrams, Sean Stewart and Elan Lee serve as Executive Producers.
October 25, 2012
Fourth Wall Studios’ first multi-platform series, Dirty Work, was honored to win the Emmy® for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media, Original Interactive Television Programming at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 15th held at the Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles. The success of the groundbreaking Dirty Work series marks the first Emmy® win for Fourth Wall Studios, and the first time the Academy has given the award to a property created solely for an online audience.
“We are thrilled Dirty Work has been so well received by audiences and critics,” said Jim Stewartson, CEO and Founder, Fourth Wall Studios. “We are grateful to the Academy for recognizing next-generation storytelling, and we are so excited to have the opportunity to be on the forefront of this rapidly growing category.”
Created by Aaron Shure (The Office), John Newman (Guiding Light) and Zach Schiff-Abrams (Executive Producer, Brothers and Domino), Dirty Work is an irreverent dark comedy about a trio of misfits navigating the after-hours landscape of Los Angeles as they attempt to clean up their lives. The series is produced by Jackie Turnure alongside executive producers Zach Schiff-Abrams, Jim Stewartson, Elan Lee and Sean Stewart. Starring Mary-Lynn Rajskub (24), Hank Harris (Bones, Nip/Tuck), and Jamie Clayton (Hung), the series is directed by Eric Appel (Funny or Die Presents) and written by Aaron Shure and John Newman.
September 16, 2012
“The Swarming,” the next installment in Fourth Wall Studios’ DARK WALL anthology, premieres today exclusively on RIDES.tv.
Written by best-selling author and Fourth Wall Studios’ co-founder Sean Stewart, and in collaboration with the award-winning directing team Walter Robot, “The Swarming” is a tale of technological terror. What if an infestation could not only cross species but also cross the barrier between electronic devices to living things? “The Swarming” is a frightening tale about a young musician who picks up his phone expecting to hear his girlfriend, but pure pain stabs into his ear instead. He finds himself infected by a deadly digital predator that has stung him like a wasp laying eggs in one of her victims. Now he is locked in a desperate struggle to save his lover before the young devour him from the inside out, driven by their fundamental programming: Hunt. Sting. Kill. Spread.
“The Swarming” leverages the cutting-edge technology of our RIDES.tv platform to up the ante on terror by having the audience not just watch the show, but live it,” states Jim Stewartson, chief executive officer and founder, Fourth Wall Studios. “Written by our very own Sean Stewart, “The Swarming” opens a whole new frontier in genuinely immersive storytelling and horror.”
As part of the cutting-edge technology of the RIDES.tv transmedia platform, “The Swarming” features offer:
• YOU are a character in the story: After watching the musician get devoured alive, the audience will receive the same phone call.
• Behind-the-scenes: Hear behind-the-scenes content on your phone.
• Bonus content: Unveil new facets of the story.
DARK WALL is a new online anthology of horror shorts. Combined, the episodes cover all the sub-genres of horror, from psychological thrillers to tales of the paranormal to slasher stories. A unique and distinct DARK WALL wrapper will identify each episode with an eccentric and unnerving host. Mr. Dark Wall, played by James Urbaniak, (Unforgettable,The Office, Weeds), is a disfigured paraplegic and recluse, always delighted to show another tale of madness, misery, or flat-out terror that will leave audiences scared out of their minds. “The Swarming” joins the first installment of the series, “Whispers.”
“The Swarming” is directed by filmmaker Walter Robot (the award-winning animation and directing team Bill Barminski and writer Christopher Louie). Walter Robot was recently recognized for their short films at Sundance and the LA Film Fest. Their past work includes music videos for Kid Cudi, Modest Mouse, Gnarls Barkley, Rob Thomas and Death Cab for Cutie. The team. Produced by Ken Franchi (Mt. Vernon Entertainment), Ella Gray serves as Producer, Zach Schiff-Abrams, Sean Stewart, Elan Lee and Jim Stewartson serve as Executive Producers and Behnam Karbassi as Supervising Producer.
Viewers can access all of Fourth Wall Studios’ content including “The Swarming” for free at www.Rides.TV. Like Rides on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RIDEStv, follow Rides on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ridestv or add to your circles on Google+ at http://gplus.to/rides.
September 10, 2012
Fourth Wall Studios premiered “Whispers,” the first installment in its new DARK WALL anthology, exclusively on RIDES.tv.
DARK WALL is a new online anthology of horror shorts. Combined, the episodes cover all the sub-genres of horror, from psychological thrillers to tales of the paranormal to slasher stories. A unique and distinct DARK WALL wrapper will identify each episode with an eccentric and unnerving host. Mr. Dark Wall, played by James Urbaniak, (Unforgettable,The Office, Weeds), is a disfigured paraplegic and recluse, always delighted to show another tale of madness, misery, or flat-out terror that will leave audiences scared out of their minds.
Written by award-winning science fiction author Maureen McHugh, “Whispers”, the first installment in the DARK WALL anthology, centers on a father and his mentally-ill son living in an isolated farmhouse in the winter. When the father suffers a terrible accident, the son is left to cope on his own, with only the voices in his head to help him survive – but these whispers don’t seem to be his friend. “Whispers” is a story of psychological horror in which the life of a man and his young son depend on the unexplained voices surrounding them.
More... September 06, 2012