Too Hollywood a headline? Nah. Two projects of mine earned their way to some laurels this month. First up, THE ICE & TIMES OF RACHEL W. was selected as an Official Selection for Stareable Fest, celebrating web series and indie TV talent. Second, HOLOCRIMES has advanced to finalist in narrative at the Festival de Jogos do SBGames Recife 2020, a festival for the Brazilian games industry. I contributed to the narrative, but I promise I didn’t commit any of the crimes!
ICE & TIMES is a hybrid fictional/documentary short-form series intended to inspire women to pursue STEM fields. If picked up, the series would follow a young woman going on the adventure of a lifetime as she participates in research expeditions in Antarctica.
HOLOCRIMES: AR INVESTIGATION allows the player to participate in a remote investigation of crimes as a new investigator. Solving these crimes may unveil a plot that menaces more than just the victims. Available for any detective using an Android. In addition to its nomination for Best Narrative, HOLOCRIMES is also a finalist in the Best Mobile Game, Best Design, and Best Technology categories. Maybe crime does pay.
If you’ve had a chance to play the game, I’d definitely love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment below.
The series I created, ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE, will be showing at Baltimore New Media Web Festival this weekend, under its English title, LOVE, ANNETTE. The fest goes on all weekend, but make sure you’re there Sunday to catch the viewing, hopefully with English subtitles.
WHAT: LOVE, ANNETTE screening
WHEN: Sunday, November 5 at 2pm
WHERE: Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Avenue Baltimore, Maryland
You can buy tickets for the two-day event here. I’d attend myself if I weren’t speaking elsewhere this weekend. If you go, please let me know how it went! And if you can’t make it this time around, the Rio Webfest chose ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE for their webfest in mid-November. In case you were planning to be in Rio 🙂
ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE, the German webseries I created, swung into full gear this month. Annette has gotten to know both Henry and Arne, and now she has to make a decision. But will it come out as she expects?
Annette may not be sure, but 200 comments says the fans have chosen their guy! After Arne’s ultimatum, Annette is torn between Arne and Henry, and gets a little assist from Maria.
She’s lost everyone, but she’s going to keep vlogging. #teamannette!
Remember, even if you don’t know German, you can watch by turning on Closed Captioning and changing the Youtube settings to auto-translate. You can also follow along on their social media sites and use the magic of Google translate:
The webseries I created, ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE, has been streaming on Youtube for over a month and a half! Check out this resume of the first episodes if you haven’t seen them yet. The series, developed for German broadcaster MDR and Funk, cracked 15,000 subscribers this month with the introduction of Henry, who at first completely forgot he’d met Annette and ends up… well, it’s still in progress 😉
If you can understand German, take a gander at the episodes that premiered in the last month:
Episode 7
Her sister Jenny is literally at the point of strangling her, so Annette, fed up, announces she’s moving out to stay with Maria. And so it begins…
Episode 8
Annette moves in with Maria… but it’s not all fun and dancing.
Episode 9
Annette should be writing, but she’s looking through online dating profiles instead.
Episode 10
Annette has yet to write anything at Maria’s. I wonder why…
Episode 11
It’s happening! Annette meets Henry (again), who doesn’t remember her from the Arne concert way back in ep 4.
Episode 12
Henry still doesn’t remember Annette, but he’s figured out there’s a vlog.
Episode 13
Annette and Maria talk smack about Henry, and he overhears. Awkward.
Episode 14
Henry calls Annette Maria’s puppet. Annette hits the beer.
Episode 15
Annette practices music to prove to Henry she’s not Maria’s puppet. Plus, first Arne video!
Episode 16
The gang have a farewell party for Maria’s free time,now that her family’s arranged a job for her at the Grimms. Looks like the only ones really unhappy are Maria… and Henry.
Episode 17
Maria’s sleeping in her work clothes, while Annette plays with a new story, though Henry is still on her mind…
Episode 18
Annette doesn’t get a great review on her story, so she turns to Henry to help her revise…
Episode 19
Annette gets a mountain of notes from Henry, and Maria entertains herself by giving her a strange hairstyle.
Episode 20
OMG, so cute together! No need to summarize the episode, the title is enough: “No more showers and naked running around” ha!
Episode 21
Annette gets a good review — and now Henry is nervous about asking her for feedback on his writing.
Episode 22
Double date & naked? Annette goes on a double date, and somewhere in there is a live model drawing class.
Episode 23
Henry’s poems are terrible; Annette doesn’t know how to tell him. Maria, however, would have no problem.
It’s here! The trailer for ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE, the dramedy webseries I created, went live just a few days ago. The story follows Annette, a young woman with big dreams, just as she decides to write her way out of the little town she grew up in. While she’s planning to study abroad, her best friend and co-conspirator Maria thinks it’s high time she acquire a boyfriend. What ensues involves two men, a rockstar, the brothers Grimm, and a great, big lie. Based on the shocking true story of one of Germany’s literary greats, ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE (All my Love, Annette) explores friendship, betrayal, and the dark side of the internet.
Comic-con isn’t over, at least not in San Francisco. If you’ll be heading out to San Francisco Comic-con to see the likes of Jenna Coleman or Trina Robbins, come check out these panels on Saturday while you’re at it. I’ll be speaking on both!
SHIPPING AND WHY IT MATTERS
Saturday, September 3, 2016
10:30-11:30am, Pacific A
Bringing together passionate “shippers,” and writers, our panel will explore the reasons we ‘ship, why it matters, and how it affects the properties we love. After drawing 4.5 million votes in this year’s TV Couples March Madness Challenge, we at Zimbio know that many of the most vocal fans in TV, movies, and comics, are shippers. Following the controversial death of Lexa on the 100, this topic has never been more relevant. We will be joined by other fan writers in an interactive discussion on how ‘shipping changes the nature of the media we consume.
WOMEN WRITE COMICS
Saturday, September 3, 2016
1:30-2:30pm, Foothill E
There is more to comics than great art! A panel of women writers of comics and books discuss their craft. This panel features Trina Robbins, Dani Colman, Anne Toole, and Serena Valentino.
So come on over and share your favorite ‘ships, and find out about upcoming comics from a panel of awesome lady writers. See you there!
If you’re interested in webseries, VR, and all the glories that digital storytelling has in store, join me and other great panelists next week at the Writers Guild. I’ll be discussing writing for digital webseries like Emmy-winning LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES, writing for video games such as THE WITCHER, and writing for VR projects (project announcements forthcoming!). The event is open to all.
Tue, August 16, 2016 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
WGA Headquarters, 7000 W 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
The ever-expanding digital landscape has created more opportunities for writers than ever before. YouTube has grown into a platform for filmmakers, comedians, and brands to air self-produced webisodes and web series. The video game industry has embraced and incorporated more narrative and cinematic elements to games. And virtual and augmented reality is the next frontier waiting to be conquered and scripted.
This panel addresses the various paths to a career in storytelling within the digital space. From writing webisodes to VR simulations, our panelists share their experiences creating content for new and emerging mediums and what lessons they’ve learned in often unchartered territory.
Moderator: Richie Solomon Speakers:
Anne Toole
Dean Orion
John Zuur Platten
Evette Vargas
All are welcome. Proceeds for the event go towards the Writers Guild Foundation to support the Foundation library and other programs. Click here for tickets!
In case you didn’t get your fill of transmedia at last month’s NAB talk, I’ll be speaking on transmedia and webseries next week in Singapore for Transmedia SG 2013. Wondering how transmedia can up your engagement? Curious how technology can offer you transmedia gold? Then check out these sessions if you happen to be in Singapore!
Day 1, May 28th, 2013
2:30-3:30pm
FORUM SESSION 2: WEB SERIES BEST PRACTICES: FROM CONCEPT TO TRANSMEDIA
Moderator: Christine Weatherup, Producer, Writer, Actress
Matt Enlow, Creator, “Squaresville”
Anne Toole, Writer / Game Writer / Aurthor
Marco Sparmberg, Transmedia Evangelist / Award-winning emerging media producer
Day 2, May 29th, 2013
1:00-2:00pm
FORUM SESSION 4: CONTENT CREATION AND INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES
Anita Ondine, Transmedia Producer / Creative Director, TransmediaNext
Anne Toole, Writer / Game Writer / Author
Siobhan O’Flynn, Transmedia storytelling consultant at NarrativeNow; pluscitydesign.com
Come on down and join the fun. And if you won’t be enjoying the humidity in Singapore, feel free to ask your burning transmedia questions in the comments below!
Interested in webseries writing, development, transmedia, and distribution? Or just want to hear from hit webseries creators? Either way, you’re in luck, because at NAB next week, you can join me, Bernie Su (LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES, LOOKBOOK), Christopher Kubasik (BOOTH AT THE END), and Matt Enlow (SQUARESVILLE) for a whirlwind tour of the scripted webseries business. It’s all part of the Creative Master series at NAB, the premiere show for broadcast content. So I guess that makes me a creative master. Kneel before Zod! Here are the deets:
Fans everywhere are celebrating Pride & Prejudice’s 200th anniversary today. By now, of course, you know about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the hit webseries adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. If you don’t, check out the front page of the Arena section of the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and the episodes I’ve written. But if you can’t get enough Jane Austen, I’ve also worked on the game Jane Austen Unbound, and my storyline will go live on February 4th.
Jane Austen Unbound (fka Rogues and Romance) will allow you to play in the Jane Austen universe, when characters from many of her books have gotten loose and are starting to wreak havoc in the wrong storylines. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring Elizabeth and Darcy back together again, without messing everything else up in the process. Feel free to check out this hidden object game on Facebook, or wait until the new storylines go live on February 4th.
ICE & TIMES is a hybrid fictional/documentary short-form series intended to inspire women to pursue STEM fields. If picked up, the series would follow a young woman going on the adventure of a lifetime as she participates in research expeditions in Antarctica.
The series I created, 
Comic-con isn’t over, at least not in San Francisco. If you’ll be heading out to 
Anne Toole, writer 