When you combine four middle aged Aussie blokes that have had an ‘absolute bloody gut-full’ of the most notorious terrorist organisation in the Middle East and the need to deliver a knuckle sandwich to the leader, you get Fightin’ ISIS.
The series follows the groups heroic journey to Afghanistan, from their humble beginnings – a couple of blokes sinking beers in a shed.
Completed in 2017 by writers Sebastian Peart, Mark Nicholson and Pete Corrigan, this Bogan comedy series is one not to miss.
Writer and Director of the series Sebastian Peart spoke to MWF on the production of Fightin’ ISIS.
What inspired your web series?
Idiot Australians. Seriously. No one knows anything when it comes to ISIS — people talk a lot of shit. I mean, even when we started writing it, we didn’t know anything about them either. We had to do a lot of research to get our heads around it. We went down to a local mosque to talk to the locals there and get their take on the whole issue. We also googled “ISIS” a lot of times. We’re probably on a government watch-list somewhere.
What are the challenges you came across when making your series and how did you overcome them?
Well we didn’t really know how to animate when we began — and none of us can draw — so I guess that was the biggest challenge. In the beginning it took a lot of trial and error to get things to look passable. I mean, it’s still quite crude, but we’re getting better. There’s a huge jump in quality from the first scene to the stuff we’re animating at the moment. It just took a lot of time.
Your series touches on a few sensitive areas, how did you make the final decision on an edgy punch line?
There is a pay-off to that particular joke further down the track, but we also want to keep people guessing. Our characters say some pretty bigoted stuff in the beginning – but as time goes on, they soften and sort of see the error of their ways. We’ve tried to write it in such a way that anything that’s said in bad taste is disarmed pretty quickly. That’s Archie’s role in the first episode.
How did you fund your series?
We haven’t really spent much at all — the only cost so far has been the musicians we hired to record tracks for the score — it’s our one expense and we split the cost between the three of us. Other than that, it’s just time.
Do you have any future plans for this series?
There are three episodes out so far and two more to be released and that will wrap up the story. We’ve written an ending that hints at a second season – a totally different adventure with the same characters. We have a few ideas, but mainly we’re just focusing on finishing this one first.
What do you want your audience to take away from this series?
Merchandise. But really — if we can make people laugh, that’d be cool. If we can get them to watch to the end, that’s even better.
What is unique about your series?
We’re really excited about the long-form narrative. It’s one big story. Most of the stuff we’ve made in the past has been short and bite-sized. We wanted to serve a main course. We know we’re sort of going against the grain with that idea — web audiences can be fickle and it’s hard to hold attention, but we’re excited by the idea of longer stories being made for the web.
What is your background as a web series creator?
We started Stepmates a couple of years ago. We were producing short online sketches and trying to make viral comedy. We had a couple of wins — but we became a little jaded by that whole game. It’s good for growing social media channels, but there’s no substance to it. We realised that if we wanted to get into making bigger things, we’d have to branch out and actually make some bigger things.
What advice would you give to emerging creators?
Make a lot of stuff. Build an audience. Social media is a powerful tool – but don’t get carried away. In the end it’s all about the content.
What kind of response have you received from your series online? Have you ever had any criticism?
We’ve had a very positive response so far. A lot of people have gotten in touch to tell us they love it – and to ask when Part 4 is going to come out. It’s soon. Animation takes a lot of time.
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