EPIC FAIL: Pete Jumps Over a Car

This is a promotional video for "Home at Last." The series premieres on October 25, 2011. The character, Pete, is portrayed both in the series and in the above video by Eric Rubin. 

This is the first in a series of videos we are using to promote the show. The director of the show, Steve Sprinkles, is a VFX pro. That is why we are able to do ridiculous stuff like this. As you can see, Steve rocks at VFX (in addition to editing and directing). We're lucky to have him on board for this project. 

Steve came up with the concept for this video, and Chelsea and I loved it.  It's basically a take-off on a Kobe Bryant car jumping video that came out in 2007/2008. In that video, Kobe successfully jumps a car. In this video... Things don't quite work out as well.

Chelsea and I are very excited, because I think we are going to end up with a total of seven or eight "Epic Fail Pete" videos, and each is going to be more ridiculous than the last. 

As for these videos and their relationship to the series, that is something we gave a lot of consideration to before we decided to go ahead and shoot them. At first we were concerned - are theses videos pertinent to the series? Are they in line with the 'story world' we're trying to create with Home at Last?

Obviously, we decided that the answer to both questions is yes. These Pete videos are just that: Videos about Pete. They are almost more about the character than they are about the VFX surprise at the end, because Pete's easily distracted douch baggyness is pretty much why he fails to avoid disaster. 

Yes - there is a ridiculous element and a suspension of disbelief here that is not present in our actual show, but I think that's okay. Lots of my favorite promos are totally absurd. They're just fun, short videos that get you interested in the show itself.

So far, this video has only been up a couple of hours on YouTube, but it's already picking up steam more quickly than the two trailers we released earlier this month. That's kind of the idea. With these videos, we wanted to release something a bit more 'internet friendly.'  Something good for a 30 second laugh, that might point some new fans and viewers our way. 

I'm very interested to see how these videos fare online. There is certainly a bit more of a 'viral' component to them, but, as we've said before, we don't really have an interest in 'going viral.' Yes, the more people that watch the better, but we want a real, committed fan base. This is just one tool to get the word out there.

We'll certainly update this post if this video (or any of the other supplmentary vids we release) gains any traction online. We'll track how this video influences our subscriber numbers and view counts on other videos, and whether or not this 'viral' angle helps us develop an audience long term.

We've got a ton more footage already shot for more epic fail videos, and we've also shot an entire vlog style mini-series, focused on "Pizza Boy" (played by Jacob Grodnik). 

We're really excited for these videos too. Jake worked as a PA on set, in addition to playing this part. In the actual series, it's a small part, but he really shines when he's on screen, and these vlogs are shaping up to be pretty entertaining as well.

Alright, awesome. 

"Home at Last" is a comedy web series directed by Steve Sprinkles. The show stars William Russ (Boy Meets World) and features Jeff Lewis (The Guild). The first episode airs Oct. 25, 2011. Like us on Facebook! Subscribe on YouTube!