RECAP: Webisode 2 - It Wasn't An Accident

Webisode 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQJ9OhesqCs

The girls sit at Ruby's kitchen table eating birthday cake made for Jess. Elle looks through old photos of the girls that Ruby has. Elle reminisces over past times and makes a comment that Jess started to change leading up to her party, which she held the night she died.

With the new information that Alex has been cleared of Jessica's death, Ruby goes searching for answers and finds an online article posted about Alex's release. Ruby and the girls become more shocked to find that after further investigation, it has been concluded that Jessica was actually dead before the car crash took place. The police suspect she was murdered by a sharp object to her chest. This completely takes the girls by surprise. Someone murdered Jess and they have no idea who it is. Ruby suggests making a list of people who were at Jessica's party that night and who might have wanted to hurt her. Elle tells Ruby the idea is crazy and unrealistic as they won't be able to find the person. Kendra's Mum arrives to take Elle and her home and they leave. Ruby finds photos of Alex in the pile that Elle was looking at and rips them up. It is clear Ruby is completely against Alex.

This webisode was filmed the same day as webisode 1, which was part of our fifth shoot for the series. 

Bye for now!

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

WKJL Questionnaire Answered By Hannah Brauer

Hannah Brauer plays Ruby Bennett in the teen web series, Who Killed Jessica Lane?
Below she answers some of your questions about the series :)


Full Name:
Hannah Brauer

Age:
21

How did you become involved in WKJL?
I was contacted by the director about the show and sent in a video audition.

Can you give us a brief back story of WKJL?
Ruby, Jess and Alex were best friends from childhood. They grew up on the same street. One weekend at the end of March, Jessica's Mum went out of town and Jess randomly decided to throw a party on that Friday night and invited all her grade. At some point on that night, Jess left her party and was later found dead in a car crash. Alex was found nearby with blood on his hands and was accused of the murder. Ruby jumped to the conclusion that he was definitely responsible and now she hates him for it.

How would you describe the show?
My friends said it was a cross between Pretty Little Liars and Veronica Mars, when I told them about it.

Have you seen Pretty Little Liars?
I watched a few clips on YouTube to a get a sense of the style that WKJL would be made. The show was inspired by PLL.

What was filming like?
Cold! We filmed all of it in winter. We met once a week or fortnight, depending on everyone's availability. Every webisode there is a new character so it was great to work with a whole lot of people.

Do you watch web series?
I had never really seen or heard of any. Since the show, I have looked into some. They're like mini TV shows. I think they're great.

What was your favourite teen drama growing up?
The O.C! I lived and breathed it. I even tried having a Marissa hairstyle haha.

What do you think of your character?
Ruby is determined to find out what happened to her best friend. She's a nice person at heart and is  liked at school, but she starts stepping on people's toes as she investigates deeper into Jessica's party and death.

Has filming finished?
Yes. Everything was filmed prior to the show being released.

What can we expect from WKJL?
Drama! Really good drama. Even I got hooked reading the script.

What are your hopes for the show?
That it connects with its desired audience and achieves what it set out to do. And, of course, popularity would be a bonus!

Are you on twitter?
No. But the show has a twitter account. www.twitter.com/WKJL17 or @WKJL17


Keep sending in your questions. Bye for now!

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

RECAP: Websiode 1 – What's he doing back.

Websiode 1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPr_87OgDt0

It is four months on from Jessica Lane's death where she was killed in an accidental car crash. The first webisode marks Jessica's birthday and her best friends, Ruby, Elle and Kendra, visit her grave. At the cemetery, the girls lay gifts and afterwards speak about how they are still coming to terms with Jess not being around. Ruby mentions that, Alex, who was suspected and arrested for being the driver of the car crash that night, will be facing court next week to be given his sentence for her death. Ruby invites the girls back to her house for some birthday cake in memory of Jess.

When the girls arrive back at Ruby's house, they are shocked to find Alex out of Juvi and back in the street where he and Ruby live. Ruby who is stunned and angry storms over to Alex outside his home where he is retrieving his belongings from the car. In the brief conversation, Alex lets Ruby know that there wasn't enough substantial evidence to accuse him of being the driver of the car that night and has been released. Ruby makes her way back to her friends where she tells them the news. After what seemed like an obvious conclusion to how Jessica died, is now a messed up puzzle.
If Alex wasn't driving the car that killed Jess that night, then who was? And why was he found close to the scene with Jessica's blood on his hands?

Filming this episode was tough. We had minimal crew, which made it longer to film takes, and it was freezing cold, which made it unenjoyable. But shooting near a crew members house, when scenes had finished, the girls would gather around a heater inside. Lots of hot tea was had that day to warm everyone up.

Hope you enjoyed our recap and insider goss. Bye for now! 

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

*For more detailed information on Jessica Lane's death, read our very first blog entry.

Who Killed Jessica Lane? OFFICIAL TRAILER

Get excited! The official WHO KILLED JESSICA LANE? trailer is here! Watch it at this link below :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEiqV1TUiZg

We are finalising the editing for the first webisode, which airs 3rd SEPTEMBER, 2012. Pop that in your diary so you don't forget (It's next Monday!) This project is finally about to take off after what has felt like years of making haha. We're anxious and excited! Are you!?

Make sure to check back here each week as we will be writing 'Recaps' for the webisodes incase you missed any details and they will include behind-the-scenes information.

Bye for now!

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Who Killed Jessica Lane? TEASER

Check out the cast of the first season in this WKJL teaser!

http://youtu.be/Q67WMNQAdFY

'Like' us on facebook: www.facebook.com/whokilledjessicalane
Or
'Follow' us on twitter: www.twitter.com/WKJL17

Bye for now!

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Final Shoot. What!?

We're here, we made it! We planned our final shoot date with the final two scenes for Saturday, July 14th, 2012, and coming up to that date it was an amazing feeling knowing we were about to wrap production and just focus on editing and promotion... but an actress called up sick the morning of the shoot and it was cancelled :( We moved the final shoot to Sunday, July 29th – that was the next common available day for cast and crew. 

Well what a way to end the series. The morning of the shoot, I get a message from our D.O.P - “I hate to be THAT guy, but I'm sick. I can't make it”. First internal reaction - “NOOOOOOOOOO” haha We're so close to finishing! What to do? I tell the actresses that it may be cancelled but not if I could help it! I message around to close friends in the early morning to see if anyone can help at late notice that has a camera. An hour goes by, no responses. But I figured that because it was still early. I decide... I will film on my iPhone! Bit crazy right? But desperate times call for desperate measures. And yes, I could have just rescheduled with everyone but what if that was then cancelled and the series never got finished?

Two things made it impossible for the shoot to not go ahead:

1) New release dates had just been planned and we'd have to change them and it would ruin the concept we had going for the series, but more importantly

2) the house we film at had been sold over the past weeks and this was our last chance to film before all the furniture was moved out. And for continuity purposes, it wouldn't be good to randomly change the exterior and interior of the main characters house... Could look a bit weird. So the girls showed up two hours after first scheduled and in that time, a friend came through and gave me her spare video camera. Thanks to Lauran (check her link at the end) our shoot went ahead not having to resort to my iPhone's camera.

The two final scenes involved all 3 lead cast members but recently, Brianna, got a contract with a company to be the face of their brand, which requires her to travel to Brisbane every week for 12 months to work on TVC, web media and print campaigns. Swamped with her new job (Congrats Bri!), we had to change the scenes so her character wasn't in it. So Hannah and Shanna did the two final scenes by themselves. Let me give you the set up for the final shoot. There was a total of three people; two actresses and the director - No D.O.P/camera Op and no sound recorder. The director would film one actress while the other actress stood in the scene holding the boom mic. The director became D.O.P and the actresses became the sound recorders! I can safely say that all three main actresses in the series have acted as a sound recorder at some point within the production. What an experience this has been! With filming over, we have scheduled a photo shoot for the girls (in hopes it will be ready by the time the official trailer is released).

Bye for now!

(Shanna during a scene today)

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Reshoot, Cancelled, Reschedule, Cancelled, Recast, Reshoot, Done!

Two days later, June 28th, 2012, we had made a date to reshoot a scene from our first shoot which we had lost footage for :( The night before this shoot our lead actress tells us she can't do it because she has work and can't get out of it. So we cancel and reschedule for the next week. That time comes around and the night before that shoot our other actress involved cancels. So we cancel and... Oh wait, we can't reschedule because that actress leaves for overseas in a few days and is unavailable... Damn. So we have to recast. We thought about editing the scene with the footage we already have but it just isn't of a good standard and would look bad – which we don't want if we can help it (sometimes you can't). A week later we find an actress and plan to shoot the week after that. So three weeks on from the original reshoot date and we are finally doing the reshoot for this scene with our new guest actress, Samantha.

Filming a web series with no budget is proving to be hard. Not so much the part of needing the money for the production (we manage as best we can with our own resources) but the part where the actors and crew are unable to be paid. From the very start, the WKJL production promised “shoot when you can”. We all give up our own time when we can. The last few weeks have been busy for everyone, and everyone needs money so work comes first. It can be hard finding a common free day for cast and crew and sometimes it means weeks go by until we can film, pushing back the scheduled release of the show. Originally, filming was to wrap June 26th, with the official trailer being released Mid July and the first webisode airing July 23rd. Well those dates have certainly passed haha. And this is the very reason I decided to make a blog. To document how things don't always go to plan and the behind-the-scenes situations that are unavoidable. Hope you're enjoying the insider goss!

Bye for now!

(Samantha, our newest cast member)

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Freezing Shoot 5

Three days later and the main cast were back together to film our LAST shoot on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 (or so we thought). It was a freezing, cold day, filming south-west of Sydney in the directors street and home, which is the setting for the lead character's home and fictional town of Eastdale. When we had the wardrobe fitting prior to filming, to put together the girls outfits for each webisode, we just assumed (hoped) it would always be sunny and picked dresses or jeans and a top. Unlucky for the girls, we were filming the first webisode, which is set in a cemetery and we picked dresses for them. But being so cold we added jackets to the outfits. The only bonus of the overcast weather was that it really suited the mood of the first webisode and overall plot of the show.

We filmed into the night, filming our first night scenes for the series that are all set at the lead character's house. Overall, the day was an unpleasant experience because of the cold and the minimal wardrobe selection, and we ran out of time having to leave two scenes to be rescheduled for another day. We only had two crew members and one camera for the whole day also :( lol. Talk about tough times. This production is the definition of no budget and limited/minimal help but I'm so thankful it can be made :) Our biggest concern isn't the production value but creating an entertaining drama that will connect with our intended audience and leave them wanting more! Quality is just a bonus.

Bye for now! 

(Shanna, Brianna and Hannah filming on location at the Cemetery)

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Shoot 4

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012, saw our fourth shoot for the WKJL web series and it was a massive day! Thankfully we had some extra help :) It was our first weekend shoot, which meant more friends were available for crew roles. Our regular sound recorder, Keelin, went back home to Adelaide for the Uni break so she was missed but we had the lovely, Georgia, in her place and two great camera op's, Danielle and Chris – two very talented, aspiring film makers (check out their links at the end).

The day kicked off at 6.45am. I must mention to our readers who do not live in Australia, it is winter here and it was so cold! The first scene was a reshoot of a scene from our first shoot between our two leads, Hannah and Brianna. The girls were in summer dresses and they definitely didn't find that fun lol. By the time of the next scene the sun was out and we were filming in it, which made it warmer and more enjoyable. At 9.30am our third lead actress, Shanna, joined the cast for a group scene. I'm excited to announce our D.O.P will make an appearance in the WKJL series (webisode 11) as we put him in the girls scene as an extra. Trivia for y'all, we've never used extras in the series so far. If there is a featured part or someone in shot, it's a crew member! (Keelin also makes an appearance in one webisode).

By 10.30am, we moved location from the school campus to a nearby soccer field where we were joined by our first guest actress for the day, Emily. The girls and Emily filmed for two hours and we then moved back to the campus for Emily's second scene (Oh! Recurring character... how will her character impact the story of Who Killed Jessica Lane?) Hannah and Brianna then shot the first scene for the finale episode. Can't wait for everyone to see the series and the lead up to the season 1 finale. To end the day, we were joined by our second guest actress, Julia. Julia also filmed two scenes – one which is also featured in the finale. What will her character know that may well be the finale climax?

All in all, we had nine scenes to be shot with a crew of five. ...Five. So different from the usual two or three crew members. It was great! Definitely a less stressful day than others. Thanks to everyone who helped on the day. The weather was great and so were all of you! Very much appreciated.

Bye for now!

(Emily in her scene at the soccer field)

*Additional film makers to check out:

  Danielle Payne: https://www.facebook.com/DaniellePayneFilms

                           http://directordani.tumblr.com/

  Chris Chrasity: http://www.youtube.com/TheChrasityLife

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Shoot 3

Monday, June 18, 2012 was our first 'new' scheduled day for our web series. This shoot was never initially planned but due to two actresses pulling out of our last shoot we had to catch up and get those scenes done rather than delay 'til after the other shoots.

This week we welcomed two gorgeous actresses, Ally and Kaitlyn, who have a guest role as the mean girls in the series (which means they had the fun scenes - the bad characters always have the best lines and actions. Do you agree?) The weather was great and sunny, which helped since Winter is definitely in full swing and it's getting quite cold. It's lovely to be able to film or stand in the sun to get warmed up.

We shot with Ally first, followed by Kaitlyn. Turns out, the girls had modelled together before and knew one another! Small world. We then had Neda from the last shoot drop in to do a re-shoot of one of her scenes. Our first reshoot... will there be more? :s The great thing about doing a re shoot is the scene takes much less preparation time. The actors know the dialogue from before and the delivery of the scene. A re-shoot was scheduled due to camera issues that we tried to change.

Thanks goes to our small but great production team - the director, DOP and boom operator! Film shoots usually have many more roles and people on board but we are trying our best with what we have.

Bye for now!

(Neda, Hannah and Kaitlyn at todays shoot)

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Shoot 2

Our second shoot took place on Friday, June 8, 2012. It was a beautiful day outside but majority of the scenes took place indoors, set in the school's library. For this shoot our 1^st AD/assistant, Keelin, (from our first shoot) was promoted to sound recorder/boom operator. Keelin joins the WKJL team to gain set experience. I hope we are helping teach her the basic fundamentals of a film production.

This week we had one guest actor with us - Neda. We had two actresses pull out the day before filming, which was unfortunate, but luckily we could rearrange our filming schedule and film scenes that only required our lead actresses.

The day ended behind schedule (do film shoots ever run on time?) but we got our shots! Now comes the task of rescheduling to accommodate the scenes we couldn't do. Maybe an additional shoot day is required.

Bye for now!

(Keelin, Brianna and Hannah on set in the library)

 

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Filming has begun!

On Friday, June 1, 2012, we kicked off our first shoot for the new Aussie web series, Who Killed Jessica Lane? #WKJL?

The weather had been overcast and raining most of that week but it was very good to us on Friday with not one drop of rain! This was extremely fortunate since all our scenes for that day were filmed outside on location.

We had three guest actors, Matthew, Jessica and Scott, film their scenes with our lead character, Ruby. It was a dialogue driven day for our actress, Hannah, who plays Ruby. Everyone did amazing in their roles – and inside trivia, we never had the actors audition! It is risky choosing actors based on pure look, but due to time constraints (production wise) that is what we decided to do. We believe no matter how great or little the training of an actor, they can always give a great performance within a scene if instructed by a great director in terms of line delivery and intention. I guess we'll let you decide if it worked or not once you see the webisodes! Everyone worked well on set and had previously contacted us wanting to know more about their character and plot within the series. They were committed and reliable which was a great help to our production.

Later in the day, we had our two other lead actresses, Brianna and Shanna, join us on set, along with, Sophie, who acts as the face of Jessica Lane. (No episodes have been written in season one of WKJL where Jessica appears, so you might never know what Jessica was actually like. Unless there is a flashback episode on the cards... Stay tuned!) The girls all huddled around each other taking group shots and one on ones to help form the back story and future props for the show.

The WKJL production has a minimal crew. We've only planned on shooting with a director, camera operator/D.O.P, sound recorder/boom operator and and 1^st A.D/assistant (due to filming mostly on week days and full time work making it hard for others to help). Unfortunately our boom mic operator never showed up without warning so the director stepped up and divided his time between directing and sound as best he could. We should take this moment to let all of you know who read this that WKJL has NO budget. Everyone is giving up their time and hard effort for free and we use all our own resources as best we can, trying to film on common spare days within our busy part time work schedules. We have scheduled 4 shoots within the month of June to film all scenes for the 15 webisodes. We'll wait and see how we go.

Time was pushed and we did run over but we are thankful for the weather and the great actors! One last thank you goes to 'Giovanni' who assisted as our second camera op/D.O.P for half the day.

Bye for now!

Who Killed Jessica Lane?

Keep up with WKJL

These are all the channels for the web series of "Who Killed Jessica Lane?"
Check them out and like, follow, subscribe where needed if you're interested in following this project :D


FACEBOOK PAGE - www.facebook.com/whokilledjessicalane

YOUTUBE PAGE - www.youtube.com/whokilledjessicalane

TWITTER ACCOUNT - www.twitter.com/WKJL17

TUMBLR PAGE - www.whokilledjessicalane.tumblr.com


*Will get a Vimeo account once promo trailer is released.

Welcome to the blog of the web series "Who Killed Jessica Lane?"

So, who killed Jessica Lane????

'Who Killed Jessica Lane?' (#WKJL) is an Australian teen drama web series following three friends as they attempt to uncover the person responsible for killing their best friend in a car crash the night of her party. Its first season is a 15-part, 5 minute (approx) web series set in the fictional town of Eastdale. Each week new information about that night and a new suspect is brought into the series. Inspired by the American teen drama, Pretty Little Liars, it is a web series that is full of gorgeous, scandalous teens and addictive draaa-ma!

The Facts:
Jessica Lane held a party on Friday, March 30, 2012 at her home in Eastdale. It was an open house party with many attending, some unknown to Jessica herself. By 8.30pm that night, Jessica had left the party driven away by someone in her car - willingly or unwillingly is unknown. All that is known is that a passerby found Jessica's car crashed into a tree finding her dead in the passenger seat. 800 metres down the road, accused suspect and fellow neighbourhood friend, Alex Rowe, was found walking with blood over his shirt and hands. Alex was arrested with the manslaughter of Jessica Lane and has been held in Eastdale Juvenile Detention Centre until his court hearing, scheduled for August 15, 2012.

The Drama:
Webisode 1 sees the return of Alex to the neighbourhood due to unsubstantial evidence in his case. Jessica's friends are now uneasy with the possibility the person responsible for their friends death is still walking free. So why was Alex released and what was he doing at the scene of the accident that night?

ONE NIGHT. ONE PARTY. SO. MANY. SECRETS!

This blog is here to show the process of the series from start to finish. Find out all the details of characters, actors, story lines and episodes HERE!

WKJL?

xx