One celebrated web show winded down yesterday and another debuted its finale.
Created by Jesse Cowell and animated by Erica Langworthy, Drawn by Pain just released the final episode of its 12-part story about a girl whose rough anime sketches, born from inner demons, fight her outter demons for her.
Cowell comes to the web with a traditional film school background (he went to USC) and a distaste for the traditional Hollywood system (he was part of it for seven years). When he left LA for NYC he embraced the internet and found more recognition online than he ever did out West. Thanks to Cowell’s fanatical obsession with quality and a compelling storyline, Drawn By Pain gained acclaim and an audience through a Webby Award, a syndication deal with The Escapist, and word of mouth.
Jesse’s not quite finished with the project (he still has to make and coordinate a Drawn by Pain soundtrack, DVD, and live screening), but I asked him how it feels to air the finale. “I’m pretty psyched,” he said, “but I’m pretty f#$&in tired.” Spoken like a true independent content creator.
Break a Leg is another independent series with a strong following that aired its finale, or at least part of it.
Thanks to a sponsorship from Holiday Inn Express, creators Yuri and Vlad Baranovsky’s bizarro Hollywood sitcom won’t officially end until October, but all the showbiz hijinks taking place now are part of a final-episode-arc that promises to end with a bang (possibly a literal bang, as lead character David Penn might be shot).
That includes a recreation of the Rufio scene in Hook as members of the Child Actor’s Guild revolt against the oppressive rule of current guild president, Gary Coleman (played by Patrice O’Neal).
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The disgruntled kids splinter off to form a New Child Actor’s Guild championed by actual child actors. Full-fledged endorsements from Timmy from Lassie (played by Timmy from Lassie) and Chris Partridge II from The Partridge Family (played by Chris Patridrge II from The Partridge Family) below:
No word on how Yuri and Vlad feel about their series nearing an end, but I’m sure they share Jesse’s sentiments.
