Directed by Hammy Goodman, Louie Symmons and Tom Linford, Flyer Gyè depicts the story of a man and his love for flyering, and the reality of all those who flyer at events around the world – but who knew it could be so fun?
Filmed at Melbourne’s renowned International Comedy Festival, Hammy Goodman who plays Flyer Gyè is compassionate about his love for hand-to-hand advertising – and the challenge of being a paperboy. Beginning his heartfelt journey back in 2015, Flyer Gyè is made up of two seasons featuring Hammy Goodman with guest appearances from comedians Troy Kinne and Ryan Shelton.
When in production of Flyer Gye, how did passers by react to ‘Gye’?
Some liked it more than others. I actually flyer for comedians at the comedy festival. Gyè is just a dialled up version of myself, I basically just put a hat on and get someone to film. With that in mind I didn’t invade anyone’s privacy much more than normal.
What is your background as a web series creator?
Recently I was a producer for The Slot, which is a TV show that will showcase online content creators on Foxtel later this year. I currently work as a social content creator at Sportsbet which is letting me participate in the space more and more.
What was your experience with web series before creating your own?
I watched plenty. I was always good at finding and sharing the quality stuff. I remember spreading Alex Williamson stuff around at school to the point our school server blocked his content – apologies for the drop off in numbers at Canberra Grammar, Shooter!
How did you fund your series?
I did it all for free. We only brought one or two props and were dodgy with those. We kept the receipts and returned them for full refunds straight after shooting. I was lucky enough to have a cupboard full of gear at work and was able to call upon some great mates who just wanted to make things.
When following up the series with a second and third, did you ever have any other ideas of moving to another location or using another form of advertising?
Keeping most of it around the Town Hall steps gave it a level of authenticity. I wanted to play with the concept of flyering – the best way to do that was keep it largely in the flyerer’s natural habitat.
What did you want to achieve in creating this series?
I just wanted to make something to show people and get something on the Internet! There is so much low production quality stuff online (Flyer Gyè is certainly no exception) which seems to make quite an impression. My mates and I thought ‘we can do that’ so we got out there and did it.
What did you learn from making this series? What would you do differently?
I learnt how easy it is to get out there and make stuff. Anyone will tell you the big challenge with web content is regularity. With that in mind, I might have planned better and shot everything before we started uploading. We went episode by episode for a while there and it could build stress.
What advice would you give to emerging creators?
Stick at it! I would do well to take a dose of my own medicine there. My time on The Slot allowed me to meet some of the best online content creators in the business. What they’ve all got in common is that they just back their sense of humour, make a lot of content and just keep doing it. The guys/girls at the top have millions of subscribers on their channels, but they’ve been posting regularly for the best part of 10 years to get there!