Barden And Sarah Start A Pandemic*
*formerly known as Big Oops.
Well hi there, long time no see. You look great. We wanted to pop in and give everyone a quick update on one of the projects we’ve been working on that we’ve previously wrote to you about! We’ll be sending out occasional blogs when we have updates to share.
Big Cookie Productions and Fred&Dan Productions are so proud of our webseries Barden And Sarah Start A Pandemic for bringing home the Audience Award at Seriesfest in Denver, Colorado!
The irony is that this particular journey started in a pandemic.
At the start of the pandemic my partner and I realized that we were going to have to get creative with how we were going to keep pushing forward in our writing/producing career. We’ve always believed that there is a way forward no matter the setback, the block, or lack of callbacks we face. We like to say, it’s all about the pivot! So we decided to start a weekly chat in lockdown with fellow writers and old college buddies also in the same boat. Each week we’d meet to brainstorm, table read (where we read our scripts in character for the writer to hear it out loud), and keep each other on track.
From this writers group we’ve produced many works of art, and last year we decided to take on our biggest challenge yet. An indie 5 part webseries with our biggest budget goal…oh and did I mention we got hit with a historical writers/actors strike halting everyone’s work in Hollywood in the midst of pre production?
What started off 4 years ago as a few friends keeping each other on track has turned into something that we can say not only has taught us a lot, but shown us how much everyone in our lives believes in us, and just how much we’re capable of.
We raised $53,000 in one month, we got approval by the actors union SAG to produce during the strike, and we set off to complete production in just over 3 weeks. It was a wild ride that left us all awestruck by our amazing cast and crew.
Fred&Dan Productions started very similarly. What started out as two friends writing together has turned into two friends writing, producing, and directing together. We’re so proud to have been a part of creating this hilarious piece of art and we are so excited for its continual success during this festival run. We haven't been able to premiere it online quite yet because it’s still in consideration for a few other fun festivals, but the team can’t wait for a wider audience to get to enjoy this hysterical comedy about work bffs trying to start another pandemic to go back into their cushy work from home lives.
This is all to say that it’s about putting one foot in front of the other and letting the journey take you where it wants to go. Start writing that piece, ask for feedback from friends, and keep believing you can.
Fred&Dan has a few more fun projects on the horizon we look forward to sharing with our friends and family soon, and as always we’ll bring you along this zany ride of independently producing! Horror comedy anyone?!
And if you ever need someone to read your script or support you on producing your film project, these girls right here have your back!
Xoxo
Fred&Dan