How Brothers With No Game Turned A Successful Blog Into A Successful Web Series
‘Brothers With No Game – The Web Series’ is the creation of the four young men (JC, Don Kwelu, The Yak and Maverick….crazy names I know) responsible for the trend-setting blogsite of the same name.
Set in London, Brothers With No Game – The Web Series follows the social and romantic lives of four friends: Theo, Dorian, Junior and Marcus. Facing a ‘quarter-life crisis’, the 20-somethings come to terms with the responsibilities and dilemmas that revolve around work, family, friendships and most notably, women. Their distinctive personalities and ever-changing love lives are paralleled with a strong friendship and one evident, common, trait…they have no game.
JAM: What gave you the idea to start your web series?
BWNG: We had been blogging for about a year and a half, and fans of the blog (www.brotherswithnogame.com) constantly used to drop comments or message us saying we should have our own show; so we always had it in the back of our minds to do one. What really sped things up was when
we were approached by an up and coming producer called Emil who had been a fan of ours and wanted to collaborate with us on something visual. So we had a meeting on how we could bring the best out of our stories and creativity and decided on having a Web Series. We knew the web was the easiest way to have our content received and discovered by a wider audience first, so it was a no brainer.
JAM: Why do you think fans have connected so well with your series?
BWNG: Good Question! We think it provides a little bit of everything for varied demographics. First and foremost it’s relatable to many; it’s just your four everyday professional guys going through the ups and downs of singledom, dating, work, friendship, relationships etc. The characters are very loosely based on real life people (ourselves) and I think that resonates with fans who have consistently let us know that they either know someone like the characters or they are like the characters themselves.
The stories and scenarios we present are a comedic and mostly light-hearted portrayal of real life issues, which allows the fans to be entertained as well as stimulate conversations on topics such as going through financial difficulties (Episode 4, Junior and Remy’s date) or trying to aspire to a false representation of yourself (Episode 3 and 7, Marcus and Nia).
Fans, well women notably, also get to learn more about relationships from a man’s perspective as we don’t get to see that side often; as well as know more about British culture and how relatable and often similar it is to cultures in different parts of the world. There’s a strong element of realism in a sense that it’s not your general alpha male quartet; these guys mess up…badly, and our fans love and understand that.
All of this in addition to the fact that we rarely get to see programming with this content, this representation and/or this style on TV, adds to the connection and we really appreciate the fans’ support.
JAM: How do you generate new ideas and creativity when writing new episodes?
BWNG: A lot of it stems from being creative thinkers already individually. We come from different backgrounds in terms of our skillset, whether its music production, digital marketing, content creation or finance, so there is already an element of resourcefulness and imagination. When we get together to brainstorm over stories and scenarios the ideas seem to flow; we’re friends as well as businessmen so we can draw upon crazy analysis and antidotes from general conversation alone.
Our blog plays a role also, as we have written up to 200 posts on observations and experiences and so we always have material that we can adapt. Episode 1 was based on the first ever post written on the blog.
BWS: Web Series are emerging as a leading force of entertainment and education online, why do you think this is happening and what future do you see for web series?
BWNG: It’s very much to do with the way we access information in this day and age. Nearly everything is done, or can be done digitally/online and when you attach and adapt certain industries to such a growing product, naturally you begin to see sustainability and expansion. With Youtube receiving a billion views a month alone it’s no wonder that Web Series are becoming increasingly popular. It provides a platform for both established and up and coming writers, producers, directors, actors etc to showcase their talents and create content that could fit on the big, small or smaller (laptop, mobile, computer) screen.
With Web Series you get to view a variety of content that caters to everyone and is rarely seen anywhere else; its no surprise so many people are entertained and educated by a plethora of perspectives. I think the future of Web Series is bright; we will begin to see more deals being made for them to be bigger, whether it’s through distribution, advertisement or even being picked up for Television. We often get asked whether TV is dying because of the emergence of Web Series; I personally (JC) think that TV will never die and there is room for both; the important thing is to build a great body of work and a fanbase for the web as saturation is always a threat.
JAM: The Cast & Crew are essential for any web series to be successful, how did you form your team?
BWNG: We were extremely fortunate in Season 1 to have a crew built mainly through fandom (for a lack of a better word), our co-producer at the time Emil, approached us from being a fan of the blog; our DOP and co-director at the time Olan Collardy approached to be part of a project as he was a fan also, and production team members and editors were found through contacts and websites.
Our team for Season 2, are of the same mould, with us calling upon contacts who have a great body of work and were fans of the series, as well as keeping on post-production members who were found through searches on sites. Our amazing cast came to audition for us after we put out a casting call on our blog and various websites. Half of the cast were fans of the blog so news spread very quickly on social networks and we had 80 actors/actresses audition for a role. We chose the actors who could really encapsulate the characters we produced; there was a lot of great talent to choose from but we made the right choices we think lol.
JAM: What advice would you give anyone that is interested in starting a web series?
BWNG: Go For It. Just know WHY you’re doing it because it costs. The HOW, WHEN & WHERE are important but knowing WHY you’re doing your web series will guide you.
Season 2 of Brothers With No Game returns this summer. Stay tuned for some great material in the build up to the launch.
Official Website:
www.youtube.com/brotherswithnogame
www.brotherswithnogame.com
Social Media
http://www.twitter.com/TheBWNG
http://www.facebook.com/BrothersWithNoGame
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