The launch of of the website and the first episode, You Say Potato…, was a resounding success. The site went live at 4:35PM EST on February 17th – though this was 1.5 hours later than originally planned, it was met with hearty response from our loyal fans, old and new. The launch of a new episodic web series brings with it a bushel-full of planning, hard work, love and logistics. It certainly would not have been possible without the incredible help and support of an epic team of creative, dedicated friends and colleagues. It would be wonderful to introduce you to everyone who worked so hard to make this series and website possible, and over time, I’m sure we’ll have ample opportunity to do so, but for now we would like to thank a few extremely dedicated folks who worked tirelessly over the last year to make this possible.
First and foremost we must thank Ralph Perkins, founder of Tuberville.org and executive producer of the web-series. It was well over a year ago that Ralph contacted the small Maine film production company, goodfocus, to ask them to create a short documentary about the work he and his organization were doing to help fight hunger in communities across New England (and ultimately across the country, but that’s another story). The goodfocus team suggested another, perhaps slightly nutty tack, a web-series that would meld the core values of Tuberville.org into a fictional world populated by slightly off-kilter characters and help spread the message of Tuberville through an entertaining 8 minute per episode online tv series. Ralph could have sent us packing, but he had faith in this crazy idea and he encouraged the goodfocus team to do their creative best to make this happen. And it did. Thank you, Ralph. You are an inspiration.
We must also thank the series’ director (and co-producer and co-writer) Anelisa Garfunkel, whose tireless energy, creative mind and gift with guiding actors through the world of Tuberville cannot be over-stated. Not only has she directed all the episodes of the season to come, she has also booked travel for our actors, found lodging for us all in rural Vermont (not an easy task), whipped up menus to feed our rather sizable band of cast and crew and shown incredible skill at tag-team ping-pong. Her wit, humor, care and love can be seen in every episode of Tuberville and are a testament to her unshakeable spirit and filmmaking prowess.
We must also thank the entire cast and crew of Tuberville – whom you can get to know in the Tuberville Times section of the website. They are the most dedicated, creative, joyful and professional family of filmmakers one could ever have the good fortune to meet. Without them the series would still be simply a collection of eight page scripts nestled comfortably in our drop-box folder.
While Tuberville is not a “real” place – though some might argue this point – it is filmed in a real place and we must thank the real people who own the real places where Tuberville is brought to life. Particularly Barb and Bob Chapelle. They graciously allowed us (and continue to welcome us) into their lives and onto their farm to film the series.
And lastly, we must thank all of you who, through viewing the series, visiting the website and telling your friends and family about it, are helping us spread the word about this great organization and movement, one potato at a time.
Tune in next time for a quick recap of the shoot for the first two episodes. And don’t forget to tell your friends about us. And if you happen to be in rural New England, please don’t hesitate to drop by and say “hi” in Tuberville.
1 Comment
Barbara Cartwright
Mar 3, 2012
I believe this is a great thing you are doing. I will attempting to do the same here in Central PA. At least I’m going to give it a good try. This site is very inspirational.