It isn't exactly beyond possibility. I suspect the branding rights can be purchased for a song, and after that, you're just looking at the mechanics of making the show. As difficult as it may seem, audio quality is where videomakers need most to focus their attention.

Of course, you'll want to begin with a story. Granted, the replacement of Daisy in the movie could be explained away with a scene in which (the new) George either is informed by her mentor or informs us through her off-screen narration concerning the "random body-swap phenomenon" that occasionally (or always, but I like "occasionally" better) results in personality changes ranging in character from subtle to profound.

In that way, you could recycle the whole crew (sans Rube) without bothering to involve any of the original cast. Depending on how the scene is done, it could be completely cheesy or quite poignant. An added benefit is that the RBSP allows cast changes to occur pretty much independently from not only the story line, but also the script.

Making actors fungible, of course, accrues not only to the benefit of those who wish to pursue other career options, but also to the benefit of the production group or project principals seeking to minimize acrimony and other sorts of disruption among the cast.

Of course, you could simply scrap the original characters for most or all of your new show; however, if you elect to go this route, it seems only appropriate that you'd make at least some sort of a reference (perhaps only a brief blurb in one episode, but alternatively perhaps relatively rare occasional mentions) to the crew from Der Waffle Haus.

The hardest part is coming up with stories that are faithful to the theme, incorporate credible pathos with the often-but-not-always farcical sense of DLM humor, that can be reduced to a script -- and, somewhat obviously, reducing those stories to a series of scripts.

That part is hardest because it's the part you can't simply purchase off a shelf: someone has to actually invest his or her creative genius in putting together at least an idea for a story. It's not impossible for a single person to supply most or all the creative input for a season or a series, but it is unlikely that such an effort won't lead to mood swings, exhaustion and other problems.

A more "imagineer-friendly" way of getting that done is to put together a creative team. The creative team should consist of people who generate ideas for stories and that help to write those stories (including people who proofread for grammar and continuity) -- and the creative team needs to be involved during rehearsals in order to get a better feel for the respective actor's peculiar characteristics of speech.

The creative team should expect to re-write or re-score the original script pretty much all the way up to when the final take is in the can. That could mean one or two minor tweaks per episode, but it could also mean wholesale revisions or substitutions of scenes.

And if the production schedule is relatively fixed (as is almost certainly to be the case if a location is available for a limited time, or weather doesn't cooperate, or resources are being rented), the work week for *each* creative-team member could easily exceed 100 hours.

If ambient conditions are favorable, you can get decent sound from an improvised lavalier -- basically, a digital voice recorder using an external microphone hidden on the actor. Beware, however, that each recorder will sync differently based on its mic's proximity to the audio source -- which can be either good or bad, depending.

There are simply far too many variables affecting sound to say much more about it, except to reiterate that it is *the* thing that must be perfect (or as nearly perfect as humans can make it): cheap-out on the audio, and you're screwed. If you can't find the talent in-house to get it done, hire an outside crew to do it for you.

Lighting is relatively cheap nowadays; chromakey setups are inexpensive, so you could pretty easily set a warehouse or, with a small crew, even do location shots on "off-days" at schools and churches and the like. Church leaders will be reluctant to jeopardize their tax-exempt status by pimping church property, but in most cases, a satisfactory arrangement can be had: whether it's by fame or infamy, popularity increases when the Word gets out. Amen ;)

Makeup is a mixed bag, as is effects: generally, good isn't anywhere close to cheap, and cheap isn't anywhere close to good; however, use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and other social media sites to get the word out for what you need. Put ads on Craigslist and e-Bay and Amazon: someone whose passion is makeup or effects, or both, is likely to see it and to respond.

After that, it's all about HR and budgeting -- but don't buy bad results simply because you feel like you need someone handling makeup or effects, or both: you'd be *amazed* at what you can achieve with differences in illumination and shadow, and with the color temperature of lighting.

On the recording side, that basically leaves just the camera. For closeups, even the FlipHD is okay -- and if that's all you've got, why not use it? I've used it in videos that have sold relatively well: you just have to be aware of its limitations, and take advantage of its strengths.

Soon enough, you will discover a need for the optics of a pro-grade camera, and that's when you need to answer to your own satisfaction whether you've got something that truly is worth the additional expense. If you can get VHS-to-digital conversion done well, for a reasonable price, you can often pick up a used news camera for not too much; the alternative is to rent a new rig.

Rentals generally require fairly steep deposits -- sometimes, $10k or more, to rent a camera for $350-or-so per day if you rent for a week at a time (and no, that's not the price you'll pay for a Red One). Canon lenses are popular and inexpensive rentals; make absolutely sure beforehand that the camera will accept the lenses -- it can be an expensive lesson if they don't.

Schedule your shots using a rental camera several months in advance, and reserve the rental (of the camera, lenses and other hardware) reasonably far in advance of the shots; otherwise, you'll have a pocket full of cash and no way to capture the footage you need.

Regardless what you're using for your studio (garage, storage building, warehouse, etc.), locations not in the studio are only rarely available for rescheduling at a time that fits within the production-schedule window.

Fortunately, non-linear editing allows shots to be taken out of order. I've used Avid's Pinnacle Studio 16 and Lightworks Pro (lwks.com); they're inexpensive and work very well -- and the base version of Lightworks is free (hard to beat that).

The key to making it work is organization. Plan it out. Know what you need, and when you need it. Budget your time and your money accordingly, remembering to allow for overrun (25 percent is not a big budget for overrun).

And remember that a little ingenuity can usually overcome any hurdle you'd hoped to solve by getting a fancier thingamabob or a more expensive doomaflitchie: sometimes, less resolution or fidelity gives higher quality.

Best wishes to all,
Jesse Ragland

--- In dead_like_me@yahoogroups.com, mcreek25@... wrote:
>
>
> I keep hoping the DLM will come back. I know it's unlikely but it was may favorite show of all time.
>
> Star Trek does a lot of fan fiction, several groups are doing Internet TV shows that are as good at the original series.
>
> Too bad we can't do such a thing.
>
> Mike Bunkermeister Creek
> http://hystericalrightwing.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcreek45 <mcreek25@...>
> To: dead_like_me <dead_like_me@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Fri, Mar 15, 2013 10:48 am
> Subject: [dead_like_me] Movie
>
>
>
>
>
> My wife and I watched the TV series on DVD for the fourth time this week. We watched the movie today for the third time. I was very disappointed in the movie the first time I watched it. The second time it was not too bad. Now, having watched it for a third time, it's actually pretty good. I agree with many that Daisy, Daisy Adair was horribly mis-cast and should have either been given her lights, like Rube or they should have waited for the original actress to be available. I was very pleased that they got most of the original cast back, it made the movie seeing them all again.
>
> I did not like the new boss, I am glad they got rid of him by the end. I was sorry to see Der Waffle Haus go, maybe it was a chain and they could find another one, I missed Kiffany. It's too bad there is no fan fiction video as I certain would love to see more Dead Like Me.
>
> The wife and I enjoyed seeing the clocks and the references to time all though the episode. It was good to see the sisters interacting. I love that classic red Mustang George drives!
>
> Everytime we watch Dead Like Me the TV series or the movie, we see more that we missed before. It's a great series and a good movie. If you loved the series, buy the movie, but don't expect it to be great, expect it to good and you won't be disappointed.
>
> Mike Bunkermeister Creek
> http://hystericalrightwing.blogspot.com/
>