Livescream

I remember sitting on my couch and watching "Uno The Movie" for the fourth or fifth time. It's a two and a half hour YouTube video of five guys - the Achievement Hunters, based out of Rooster Teeth Studios - playing a game of Uno on the Xbox One. Although it sounds daunting to sit through that for nearly three hours, I recommend it to everyone I can. It's equal parts hysterical, desperate, and heartfelt. 

But on that particular watch, I remember thinking something more - "If these five guys can make an entertaining feature-length video about a card game, could I make a feature film about a game?" 

Livescream - my first feature film - is the film of my heart. Rather than utilizing the physical resources around me to build a low budget feature, I utilized the resources inside of me. Not only was Livescream built off my love and passion for gaming and horror movies, it was also built off my vast knowledge of Let's Play culture and horror gaming history. It utilized my pre-existing knowledge of Unreal Engine to build the nine games featured in the film. 

It's the first film I haven't had to compromise on because of budget. I made it for just $1500 self-funded dollars, but a million dollar budget would not have altered it much. My games would have been more polished, and perhaps made of custom assets instead of stock. But I think it's worth mentioning that I had a perfectly good Canon C100 in my house, and still chose to shoot this film on a Logitech webcam. And I can't see anyone other than Gunner Willis in the shoes of Scott. 

I've spent four straight years immersed in Let's Play culture, particularly in the niche of indie horror games. Nearly every creative choice I made for Livescream was inspired by a game, a game player, a game developer, a reference to a popular video, or some aspect of the culture. Over these years I have observed, and felt in my own heart, the deep, intimate connection between streamers and their fans. 

Not only does Livescream seek to thrill and entertain, but I hope it opens a window into the world of streaming culture, and helps the audience answer the question, "why on Earth would you watch someone else play video games?"