The city of Portland has been featured in quite a few movies as of late, from 2007’s Mr. Brooks to 2008’s Untraceable. For residents, the filming industry in Portland is no secret. In keeping with the city’s unique spirit and do-it-yourself attitude, a group of locals are now picking up the camera and producing their own Internet-based television show.
Web television from scratch
The city of Portland has been featured in quite a few movies as of late, from 2007’s Mr. Brooks to 2008’s Untraceable. For residents, the filming industry in Portland is no secret. In keeping with the city’s unique spirit and do-it-yourself attitude, a group of locals are now picking up the camera and producing their own Internet-based television show.
Writer, actress and director Nena Botto, along with producer Benjamin Fluter, is currently shooting the final scenes for Blue Fiddles, a Web series based in Portland. The series offers an intriguing story set against the backdrop of the city of Portland.
“[The characters] are all in their 30s. In your 20s you can say ‘someday I’ll do this, someday I’ll do that,'” Botto said. “Then when you get into your 30s, you realize that you crash into the reality of what your life is.”
Three shows will be the final result, filmed in high definition and set to be exclusively viewed as online content. Eventually, with the hope of a growing fan base, more episodes will be filmed for the series.
“Web series have become pretty popular in the Web community these days,” said Fluter. “If we can get an audience, then definitely we will be making more … we are going to have a Web site, some social networking and, of course, YouTube.”
Blue Fiddles tells the story of Lisa, recently abandoned by her husband for another man. While navigating her way through this complicated portion of life, she meets Sam and Chloe in the lobby of her therapist’s office. Together, the trio comprises a diverse group of women, whose life experiences progress this dramatic comedy.
“You know, I feel it’s very realistic. It’s pretty much the way my life is—you have the drama, you have the comedy, you laugh at the things you can’t change,” Botto said. “It’s therapy in a way, in the fact that we all go through these things and we all make mountains out of mole hills, so we just laugh about it.”
The series has been shooting various scenes in the Portland area and its neighboring communities, such as Forest Grove, where the cafe Maggie’s Buns serves as the set for Lisa’s place of employment. An effort was put forth to include and highlight as many Portland businesses as possible.
“I wanted to use a lot of [local] business and designers for the show,” Fluter said. “We could use anyone really, but I wanted to get the community going. It’s an opportunity for local businesses, especially in this economic climate, and also for the show.”
The show is scheduled to premiere in the fall, and Fluter plans on kicking it off with a special screening of the show at one of Portland’s many local theaters. So far he has set his sights on the Hollywood Theater, but says nothing is certain as of yet.
According to Botto, the series has become well liked in the community of local filmmakers and actors. Both Botto and Fluter feel fairly confident that the series will pick up further fans upon its online release.
“I knew it would appeal to women,” Botto said. “It seems to be appealing to people across the board.”
