We’re excited to be a part of a very cool event happening off-site during Comic-Con.

Celebrate the Web was created by Kim Evey and Jenni Powell in April 2010 as a way to celebrate the new media/web video community of creators and supporters.

CHICK will be part of the Fantasy/Gaming forum during the event.

If you’re going to be in San Diego definitely swing by, say hi and support some great web content creators. We’d love to see you.

And if you’re not in San Diego there will be a livestream too!

HERE’S ALL THE INFO:
Where:
Bristol Hotel
Starlight Ballroom 9th Floor
1055 First Avenue
San Diego, 92101

When:
Saturday July 24, 2010
3:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Tickets: http://celebratetheweb.eventbrite.com

We’re very excited about the future of CHICK.  After a short break we’ll be back, hard at work writing season two.  We hope you’ll be a part of the process.

While we’re writing we’ll have lots of giveaways from ColorMySoul, GirlPROPS, Kate Kunkel and of course CHICK swag.

We’re also thrilled to announce we’ll be having a CHICK contest! The grand prize will be a Genius HD Camera.  This is the camera Lisa used in season one of CHICK to shoot her video blogs.  We love this nifty little camera and know you will too.  More details about the contest coming soon.

So stay in touch and be a part of all the fun planned in the CHICK Universe.

First a bit of backstory.

When I was getting ready to shoot CHICK I was researching ways to have the audience be more involved in the story.  I loved how the web supported a more personal story experience.  During my research I discovered ARG’s (alternate reality games).  The narrative interactivity they offered was exactly what I had envisioned for CHICK.

I knew nothing about ARG’s so went about visiting a popular forum and posting a topic seeking someone to come on board as puppetmaster (the person who oversees the running of the game)  and help create a small ARG connected to CHICK.

I found someone, and we worked on the ARG for the good part of a year when, just as we were going to intertwine the ARG with the web series, things fell apart.  I was left scrambling to figure out how to revise the journey Lisa was supposed to go on in connection with the ARG.  The plan was to have the ARG players help guide Lisa to the find Dot.

In hindsight it was flawed for many reasons too long to go into here.  I do believe it was a blessing in disguise that it fell apart before we really got it going.  As you will see in solving the comic ad puzzle, it was way too advanced for the average watcher of a web series and really geared towards avid players of ARG’s.

Still it was a great learning experience that I will use to create more interactivity in season two of CHICK.  So hold on, the ride’s just getting started for everyone.

And now for the solution…

In EPISODE 13, Lisa asks for help solving the cryptic text.

She tells viewers she is going to post a scanned copy of the ad on her blog and also discovers a hidden message underneath a gold seal on the ad.  The message says “Ask Vigenere for help”.

In EPISODE 14, Lisa learns others are searching for the secret academy.  She shares a video she received from a woman named Herricane Furie.  She tells Lisa she has a document she wants to share with her.  Due to the sensitivity of the document and for security purposes, she directs people to her website where they will be instructed to enter their email address and a thorough background check conducted.

Anyone visiting the site and entering their email address received the following email message.
SUBJECT: Read and Destroy

You have been verified.

DO NOT share with anyone.  Memorize information and destroy.

http://ssgforum.net/2010/02/principia/
password: ADPLUESTXXXIII

Access to the password protected post reveals a scanned copy of a document believed to be connected to the Secret Academy.

We will learn what this document is in season two.  It is important to note the password is made up of the first letter of each of the main latin words, Animus, Doctrina, Philosophia, Lascivientia, Universibaili plus the ESTXXXIII at the bottom of the document.  This is a mini clue.

In EPISODE 15 Lisa offers the final clues to help in solving the cipher.  She tells us there is something called a vigenere cipher named after Blaise de Vigenère.  We also learn we need a key to decode the cipher.

Lisa hasn’t figured out the key but she gives us all the information we need when she talks about the Latin words in the Herricane Furie document.

ANIMUS DOCTRINA PHILOSOPHIA LASCIVIENTIA UNIVERSAIBAILI

If you put them all together you get animusdoctrinaphilosophialascivientiauniversibaili which is the key.

A simple Google search of the word vigenere will give you a few options on the first page of search results that help you decode cryptic text if you have the key.

I know, I know, a tad complicated, but fascinating none the less.

So if you’re feeling adventurous, give it a try.

P.S. I want to give a quick shout out to Haley Moore who helped us put this puzzle together.

Have a question for the creator of CHICK?

Kai will be featured on US Townhall’s internet radio show this coming Tuesday. She’ll be talking about her experience creating season one of CHICK.

So bring your questions and be sure to tune in to hang with Kai and Scott of US Townhall.

When: Tuesday April 20th, 10AM PST
Where: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ustownhall

US Townhall is an online town hall community and general-interest e-magazine. What could be better?

We wanted to celebrate a successful season one with you, our awesome fans.
So we’re inviting you to come party with CHICK!

When: Tuesday April 13th 6-7pm (pst) / 9-10pm (est)
Where: http://tinychat.com/whoischick

+ Chat with the producers and star
+Find out what the future holds for CHICK
+Win fun prizes and CHICK swag!

Winners will be announced at the party.

IN ORDER TO WIN YOU MUST:
+Visit whoischick.com and sign-up for the CHICK mailing list by Monday April 12th at 11:59pm (pst) (if you’re already on our mailing list you’re good to go)
+Be present at the CHICK cyber party.
+Live in the U.S. or Canada

One prize per person.

A big thank you to GirlPROPS.com and Kate Mucci for some of our cool prizes

GirlPROPS’s unique, fashion-forward products are regularly featured in magazines like People, O, Glamour, & Seventeen, and are worn by trend-setting celebrities in every corner of the entertainment business!
GirlPROPS mission is to offer girls of all ages a way to express their inner beauty and truth so they can boldly make a mark on the world as women, as artists, as businesswomen, as activists, as teachers & mentors, as daughters & moms, and as revolutionaries.

The Healing Sound of Music book and CD by Kate & Richard Mucci is an easy to understand primer on music healing.
It reveals how positive and negative vibrations affect not only humans, but trees, animals and even the universe.
The Healing Sound of Music shows you how to surround yourself with the kinds of tones and frequencies that will make and keep you healthier.
Learn to use music to enhance your immune system, and fight stress, high blood pressure, headaches, chronic pain, and even help you deal with grief.

SEE YOU APRIL 13TH!

The CHICK cyber party is sponsored by

Barbara Fisher: Tell us something about yourself.  Where are you from?  How did you get interested in photography/film?

Sandra Valde: I am originally from Miami, Florida, but I came out here about six years ago to pursue a career in cinematography.  I was camera assisting back in Florida and occasionally shooting student films/music videos.  After six years of camera assisting, I knew it was time to take the plunge and concentrate on being a director of photography.

I got into film, fairly early on.  I do come from the “spielberg” generation and wanted to do film since I was about 8 years old.  At 8, I had no idea what that meant, but I wanted to do what Spielberg did. What really made me want to be a DP was watching Spielberg’s EMPIRE OF THE SUN. There is one particular scene, where the main character Jim sneaks onto the Japanese airfield and is able to touch a Japanese zero plane with his bare hands. As he touches the plane, sparks from the nearby welders are shooting behind him, and this incredible John Williams score swells in the background.  There is no dialogue, just these wonderful visuals. After seeing that, I knew that is what I wanted to do – create visuals that somehow affected the audience, whether it be happiness, sadness or just pure fun.

One of the most rewarding events that has happened to me was getting to meet Allen Daviau, ASC, the cinematographer on EMPIRE OF THE SUN.  He was participating in a lighting seminar that I was attending and my friend coaxed me to go up to him and tell him how much I loved EMPIRE OF THE SUN.  I, of course, being the shy person that I am did not want to do it at all! My friend kept pushing me and pushing until I was standing right in front of Mr. Daviau.  I, like a scared teenaged fan, bashfully shook his hand and said “Hi Mr. Daviau, your work made me want to be a cinematographer.” HOW CHEESY IS THAT!!!  He responded with a thank you and I told him how much I was inspired by the scene in EMPIRE OF THE SUN.  He said “Actually, that was all Steven (Spielberg).  He kept saying MORE SPARKS! MORE SPARKS!”  Allen Daviau was such a humble and sweet man.  We talked a little bit about what it was like shooting in Shanghai (it was the first American movie allowed to shoot there in many years) and how he was going to return to Shanghai soon to see how it has changed since the film.  We spoke a bit more and then parted ways.  It was really a shining moment for me and I am so glad I got a chance to tell one of my inspirations how he encouraged me to do what I am doing today.

BF: What about CHICK attracted you to work on it?

SV: Two words: KAI SOREMEKUN. Kai and I had worked before on a previous project and we had immediately clicked. She is an absolute powerhouse with a relentless spirit that is really contagious. She knows exactly what she wants and comes very prepared. She is truly a wonderful collaborator and I hope she will want to work with me again for many years to come. Also, CHICK is a fantastic idea and who doesn’t want to work on a superheroine project. 

BF: What was your vision for CHICK? And how did you accomplish that?

SV: As a DP, my job is to bring the vision of the director to life.  Kai had a wonderful vision for CHICK and I took her lead.  Funny thing, though, before we met to talk about CHICK, I had prepared a few visual references that had spoken to me when I had read the script.  Most of my references had come from the film AMELIE. When I met with Kai, without knowing what my references were, she told me that a lot of her ideas were inspired by the film AMELIE, so we were on the same page from the very beginning.  Overall the look we were trying to achieve was a very saturated colored palette, which primarily came from the costuming and the great (production) design by Kimberly Huie.  We were shooting on video, and usually video has huge depth of field, which means that everything is in focus.  To achieve that shallow depth of field and film-like quality, we shot with a special lens adapter in front of our video camera and used film lenses, instead of video lenses.

BF: What was your greatest challenge working on CHICK that you successfully overcame?

SV: The greatest challenge working on CHICK was the falling sequence in Episode 2.  When I read that Lisa had to jump from the roof of a building and into a dumpster, I thought to myself, how are we going to do this? To overcome this challenge, we did it all via a series of stills. We ended up shooting stills in three different locations.  With the help of the wonderful stunt coordinator, Jeri Kalvan (Kirsten Dunst’s stunt double in SPIDERMAN), we were able to accomplish the fall.  It required a bit of math, planning, and visual effects magic, but I think it worked out nicely.

BF: What is one thing that the fans of CHICK should know about you?

SV: Hmm…not sure what to say to that.  I guess, that I just started training in Muy Thai, Thai Kickboxing.  Not to compete, but to stay in shape, and I really love it.

BF: What are you currently working on?

SV: I just finished shooting a feature, called GIRLTRASH: All Night Long. I really can’t wait for the film to be finished, because it is an absolutely fun ride and it’s a musical.  I’m in pre-production on another feature gearing up at the end of the spring about a mother dealing with her autistic daughter.

BF: OK – now for the CHICK-A-Licious questionnaire!

What is your favorite superhero?

SV: Wonder Woman.

What would your super power be if you were a superhero?

SV:  The ultimate photographic memory.

What is your greatest fear?

Fear of failure.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

SV:  EVERYTHING!

What’s your favorite word or expression when something great happens?

SV:  OMG!

Thank you to Sandra for a ‘Fantastica’ insight into her craft and talent.  We’re glad she’s one of our superheroes!!

Shhhhh! Don’t tell anybody, but there are real-life superheroes in this world, those who bravely defy obstacles and make life more fun and spectacular for the rest of us. Kai Soremekun is one these individuals who is using her special secret powers to produce CHICK, the indie soap that inspires and challenges its audience to tap into their own super power strength. In this interview, this inspiring talent will share with us how CHICK evolved.

We Love Soaps: Before we talk about CHICK, I’d like to go back a bit. Where are you from?
Kai Soremekun: I’m originally from Toronto, Canada. I grew up there, and came to the states to go to the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York City.

We Love Soaps: What caused you to move to Los Angeles?
Kai Soremekun: I was focused on acting, and they said to come out to L.A. for pilot season. When I got here I realized that as far as work in television the opportunities were ten times more than they were in New York City. In my second year I booked a series regular role on the Fox network show, MEDICINE BALL [1995]. It was exactly GREY’S ANATOMY, but unfortunately we did not do as well as GREY’S ANATOMY. We aired for nine episodes, but it was a great experience, and the reason I went back to school to study filmmaking. I had worked so hard to realize the dream of being a regular on a TV show. Then when I got it, it was a little disillusioning. I guess I envisioned a lot more freedom, and it was exactly the opposite. Once you are of value to someone on a TV show they want to keep the reins on you.

You can check out the rest of Part One here.  Part Two.  Part Three.