Indie Spotlight: ‘Two Robots Talking’ Explore Philosophical Topics

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

Sometimes, a web series is so different that it leaves an indelible mental mark. Two Robots Talking is one of those series. It’s far from the most polished web series out there. Its episode titles are clearly created in iMovie. But man, is it something else.

The two robots referenced in the title are a pair of 3D-animated characters named Steve and Dale, and they love to talk about philosophy. Sometimes, they’re taking the Turing test. Other times, they’re responding to Stephen Hawking’s recent letter about AI. No matter the topic, Steve and Dale dish out their opinions with constant honesty and dark humor. Here they are discussing the merits of fine art:

Creator Andrew Genaille of Sir Perphoulous Films uses a text-to-speech format to give life to his two robots, and that’s key; it allows Two Robots Talking to have a deadpan, almost tongue-in-cheek sensibility to it. Not all the episodes hit, but on the whole, the series is so unique in its presentations and themes that it is worth checking out for that reason alone.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• No Rights Reserved. Viral sensations like “the knockout game” form the center of this web series.
• Variety Pack. A filmmaker with an unusual state of mind unloads a “psychedelic stream of consciousness.”
• Dropped Pie. In this web series, a culinary accident becomes a taste sensation.
• Blondie. A young woman navigates her way through life in the big city.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.