Category Archives: Production Blog

Visual Effects Sneak Peek

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One of the big new things about Month of the Novel Season 2 is that due to the science fiction theme, we are amping up the visual effects. Our VFX supervisor, Ben Smith, is working on tests right now, and we wanted to share this one with you.

The first image is Ben’s concept art for a space frigate that appears in Episode 8. The second image is an early test render. When I asked Ben for details on the render, he told me it’s mainly a lighting test, and that he’s still working on the textures and model. Continue reading →

Spaceship Bridge Concept Art

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Rebekah Shafer, our fantastic production designer, did this rough sketch of the spaceship bridge that will be featuring prominently in Month of the Novel Season 2. We’re going for a somewhat steampunk look, while still keeping a science fiction bent.

Spaceship Set Concept

Spaceship Set Concept

If you haven’t seen our Indiegogo fundraiser for Season 2 yet, check it out. We’re getting all excited about shooting this March!

Help Fund Month of the Novel Season 2

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This is the part where we talk about money. Every movie has to be paid for, and Month of the Novel Season 2 is no exception.

We have some funding already, but we’re hoping to find some more so that we can make Season 2 even better. To that end, we’ve set up a funding campaign on Indiegogo.com to try to raise at least $500.

We’ve tried to make the reward levels for pledging reasonable and interesting. Here are some highlights:

  • For any pledge, we’ll put your name in the Special Thanks section of the credits. We believe in thanking even the smallest contributor, so we wanted to make sure that even pledging just $1 was rewarded. Continue reading →

Cast/Crew Interview: Ben Smith

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It’s time for another in our cast/crew interview series. This time, we’ve caught up with Ben Smith to find out more about his role in the show.

Month of the Novel: What’s your role in Month of the Novel?

Ben Smith: I’m writing Episode 6, heading up the visual effects, and playing one of the characters.

MotN: From what you’ve seen of the scripts, what do you like about Season 2?

BS: It’s longer, just as funny (if not more so!), and has a more connected storyline. Continue reading →

Season 2 Costume Concept Art

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Rebekah Shafer, our production designer, is hard at work on Month of the Novel Season 2 costume concept art. Here are the looks for three characters in the Writer’s novel for Season 2.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments!

Cast/Crew Interview: Benjamin Dawson

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It’s great to welcome Month of the Novel crew-member Benjamin Dawson to this month’s interview. Let’s learn a little bit more about him.

Month of the Novel: What’s your role in Month of the Novel?

Benjamin Dawson: I am the composer.

MotN: From what you’ve seen of the scripts, what do you like about Season 2?

BD: I haven’t read the scripts yet – but I’m looking forward to having 10 episodes to score! Continue reading →

Cast/Crew Interview: Aubrey Hansen

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We’re kicking off a monthly cast/crew interview series with Aubrey Hansen, our intrepid story supervisor. We’ve already kind of stolen her first answer, so let’s get to her answers!

Month of the Novel:: What’s your role in Month of the Novel?

Aubrey Hansen: I’m the story supervisor, which is the person the producer pays to yell at the writers. No, seriously—when I signed on, Jordan and I explicitly agreed that I was hired because I am more critical and demanding than he is. It’s my job to make sure the scripts are well-written and flow together as a complete season, which means I don’t spare when I give feedback to the writers. But in return I also make Jordan’s feedback pleasant and coherent before I send it to the writers, so everybody’s happy (as far as I know).

Additionally, this year Jordan also cajoled me into writing an episode (not that it took that much effort on his part).

MotN: From what you’ve seen of the scripts, what do you like about Season 2?

AH: I’ve always been fond of sci-fi, so I’m excited that we’re exploring/mocking/mutilating that genre this season. Continue reading →

Season 2 Coming November 2013!

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It’s true! The first episode of Month of the Novel Season 2 will hit the Internet on November 1, 2013.

“2013?!” you protest. “You mean I have to wait another whole year? Why?!”

Here’s the scoop:

We are committed to making Month of the Novel the best web series that we can. We realized as we entered pre-production for Season 2 that we couldn’t do the show justice on such a compressed schedule. We need more time to make it really, really good, so we’re going to be taking an additional year to do just that.

What does this mean for you? A lot, actually!

You see, with the extra time to create Season 2, we are upping the episode count. That’s right! Season 2 of Month of the Novel will contain not five, not six, not seven, not eight, not nine, but ten episodes! Yes, Season 2 will be nearly twice as long as Season 1!

And with extra breathing space, we’ll have time to give you more updates. You’ll definitely want to subscribe to our blog, like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, whichever is your preferred method(s) of keeping up with things, because we have a lot of great stuff to share with you.

Like what? Well, I don’t want to give too much away, but starting a little later this month, we’ll be posting monthly interviews with each of our cast and crew members, so stay tuned to hear a little more about each of the creatives behind the show.

And lest you miss your 2012 NaNoWriMo pick-me-up, we’ll be re-blogging all of the Season 1 episodes this month, so you can get that little weekly boost. Better yet, we’ll also be posting the bonus episode in its official Season 1 chronology for the first time ever, and we have a Season 1 bloopers reel to show you, too! Plus, director Jordan Smith and producer Ruth Shafer will be sharing some behind-the-scenes thoughts in conjunction with each episode, so be sure to watch for those, starting tomorrow.

So mark your calendars! November 1, 2013, is when the Season 2 premier hits YouTube! It’s gonna be great and you don’t want to miss it.