COLLABORATIVE CREATION
	Author:	Cary Tusan
	Focus:	On-Line Creation

Hollywood has been said to be all about connections, luck and hopefully talent. Well, what if you only have one out of three? We’re talking about talent here. Even if you hit the tri-fecta, it’s still not a guarantee. How many agents can you barrage with calls or query letters or headshots? How many times can you be told “no” or “that’s not going to work”? A group of creative artists, that included myself, decided enough was enough. It was time to stop waiting around for Hollywood to knock on our door, and instead time to make it happen our selves. It was summer in 2002, and I sat at the counter in Fred 62 waiting for Laura Butler and Chuck Coudrain, the two partners at Second Penny Entertainment. I met Chuck a few months earlier when I cast him in my short film, THE WRITER. They arrived, and over an order of pancakes, I listened to them pitch me the concept of "Second Penny." I saw their passion and desire. Their ideas were unique and inspiring. Three hours later, I knew I wanted to join them. Working in development for years and not spending enough time on what I love doing - writing and directing, had left me frustrated. Here was an opportunity to turn that frustration around. With nothing more than an idea, some great stories, and determination, we formed an official partnership. Our primary goal - to build a collaborative community of actors, writers, directors, and technical artists and to provide a venue where their projects could be shared. A creative environment that would give everyone the opportunity to hone their craft as well as promote the results. From the beginning, Laura believed we had to broadcast the completed projects on the internet, on our own website. We were literally starting from scratch and needed to build the website, or more accurately find some tech-savvy person to build it. The whole idea of the website was that it would be a free, public place for Hollywood and the rest of the world to watch and share in our projects. A friend agreed to be our webmaster and after a few months of trial and error, the site was up and running. The three of us went on a hunt for like-minded souls, those creative people driven by the passion and desire to fulfill their aspirations after hours and on weekends. We started shooting the episodes generally finishing one episode in one day, a four to five hour digital video shoot. We kept the costs to a bare minimum. Our budgets are quite literally nothing or a shoestring. That translates into producers operating the boom on the shoots, DP’s acting as their own gaffers, everyone doing whatever it takes to bring the projects to fruition. My first shoot kept me frazzled and awake at night leading up to it. It's a rush to film a five minute episode in a matter of hours using natural lighting and just rolling with the punches. My shot lists were adjusted seconds before filming. Shooting on digital video, though, made everything easier and more fluid. The person behind all of this, Laura Butler, had the idea for Second Penny Entertainment over a year ago prior to meeting Chuck, and myself. On the verge of turning 40, Butler committed to her life long dream of writing and directing. From 1999 to 2001 she wrote, shot, and directed three short films, SEVERE IN SAVANNAH, BELOW THE BELT, and GUEST OF THE BRIDE. In 2001 she completed her first script, THE COLUMNIST. That script placed third in the American Screenwriters Association International Competition. In 2002 she made her theatrical directing debut with WHAT FILLS YOU, and BELOW THE BELT, the latter of which she also wrote. One of the things Butler would like to see for Second Penny Entertainment in the future, is a mentoring program for people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to work in the industry, people who are perhaps considered older by Hollywood standards, people who had put their life’s passions on hold, younger people who don’t have an LA film school or well known campus film program down the street. Second Penny partner Chuck Coudrain comes from an acting background. Coudrain graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a B.A. in Communications and Theater. He came out to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Coudrain appeared in several independent films including THE WRITER, AFTERBAR, FAST FORWARD, and RUNNING AWRY. He met Laura when auditioning for the very first Second Penny series Baker’s Commodities. He believed in Laura’s ideas and her writing, which sparked him to want to be a part of Second Penny. As an actor the idea of a collaborative able to offer him writing and directing opportunities was very exciting. As for me, I studied film at U.C. Santa Barbara and won an honorable mention for my first screenplay in the Writer’s Digest Screenwriting Competition. After arriving in Los Angeles, I tried sending my script around, but I didn’t know anybody, so it was tougher than climbing Mt. Everest. After a lucky break working as an intern for Joel Silver at his Silver Pictures, I met producer Gregg Davis. Gregg formed Parkwood Pictures and it was there that I rose from assistant to Director of Development during my four and a half year stint. Now, after eight months Second Penny Entertainment has two web-based series running, a comedy, BAKER’S COMMEDITIES, and a drama, MASSELIN HOUSE. The site itself receives over 80,000 hits per month, with little to no advertising. What we want to prove is that you don’t have to have many connections or a distant family relative who’s a Hollywood bigwig to make your dreams and desires come true. Guts, passion, drive and commitment are the elements that we believe will get Hollywood to sit up and listen. That and a good story. You can find Second Penny Entertainment on the web at www.secondpennyentertainment.com Stay tuned for the upcoming issues where I will be profiling InstantFilms.com and Group 101 Films.