Summary: FREE FALL COPS - A TV Show In The Palm Of Your Hand I learned about the FreeFall Cops project while moderating a recent Austin Actors Conservatory workshop where Phil Hardage appeared on a panel about working in the film industry. Click Image, Go to iTunes, Purchase App See Full Cast and Crew List at the bottom of this page With his wealth of experience, primarily as a 1st Assistant Director on projects like THE NOTEBOOK,THE TREE OF LIFE,THE ROOKIE,THE ALAMO,SPY KIDS,PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, BURN NOTICE, DALLAS, LONGMIRE ON A&E, Phil knows film production. He knows how to analyze a script, how to break it down for scheduling and budgetary purposes. His experience and expertise are significant assets to any film production on which he works. So it's not a huge leap to understand that he possesses some of the key tools necessary to produce his own projects. That's what he has done with FreeFall Cops, an intriguing new series that has just been released for distribution on, wait for it: iTunes. It's no secret that film and television distribution as we have known it is in the process of a major overhaul, maybe we should say a re-invention. Anyone with a NetFlix streaming account or a bookmark to HULU.com understands where this discussion is headed. Phil Hardage and his production partner, writer George Ayres have fashioned a good old fashioned shoot 'em up action/cop show into a series that is intended to be mobile, viewed on a smartphone or other mobile device that can download and play an iTunes App. Hardage and Ayres are tapping into the still evolving new media distribution opportunities offered by maturing internet technology. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjsmTkVakE&feature=colike FreeFall Cops is not your grandaddy's old TV series. Heck, it's not anyone's old TV series. This series has been tailored for this new media world, scripted in serial form as a series of ninety second, that's right 90 second, episodes. The first question that may arise is 'what kind of story can you tell in 90 seconds?' If the first series of FreeFall Cops is an indication, the answer is the same story you can tell in a 30 minute or 1 hour traditional television program. It's just shorter. And to watch it, the viewer isn't tethered to a television set. It is truly 'television' designed to be viewed in the palm of your hand. The idea of watching longform television or a feature length film on my iPhone frankly has little appeal to me. But a well produced series of 90 second 'television' episodes? Hummm. Now that gets my interest. The first 'series' of FreeFall Cops consists of five episodes all available as a package in the iTunes App Store for $.99. So for a buck you can download and check out this new media distribution experiment. Shot under a SAG New Media Agreement and headed by a terrific professional cast (Brad Leland, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Matt Pulliam, Tory Taylor Tompkins, Joshua Moody, Jorge A. Jimenez, Rocio Garza, Louis Moncivias), shot with a 54 person crew, FreeFall Cops is professional quality all the way. And for indie producers and those who might want to be, FreeFall Cops offers an interesting model. In fact, Hardage and his team envision a sort of 90 Second Network and have other projects in development that will also be designed and produced to fit this form and format. Let's be clear. I don't think anyone is proposing that all future television or film projects should be limited to 90 seconds and be viewable on mobile devices. But the fact is that there is a lack of scripted narrative content for these devices and FreeFall Cops looks like an attractive entertainment alternative to scrolling through emails and tweets. Is this a viable form for scripted entertainment? Is it a novelty that will fade or is it a glimpse into the possibilities available within the evolving new media distribution model?
