High Five, Action!
Rated TV-MA | 22min | Comedy | Scripted, TV Series
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Logline
Unsuccessful filmmakers produce video projects as a means to establish their careers in entertainment.
Quick Synopsis
Aaron McDermitt, a creative and hard-working amateur filmmaker, has what it takes to make the next blockbuster movie. The only thing that holds him back is his egotistical, adolescent, and hilariously odd film crew who share his ambitions but often have conflicting ideas on how to achieve them.
Synopsis
“HIGH FIVE, ACTION!” is a high-energy, adult comedy series in the vein of “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”, “New Girl”, and “Entourage”. It’s a story that deals with amateur filmmakers and asks the question, what if all of Hollywood’s big shots had all started out in college together? It follows the journey of AARON MCDERMITT, a hard-working, creative-visionary, yet unassertive, shy and humble filmmaker; as well as his fast-talking, egotistical, two-faced and manipulative, charming asshole producer, JARRETT MICHAELS, as they try to make the films they will use to launch their career in the industry. Complications arise when their reasons for filmmaking collide, as Aaron is in the art for art’s sake, whereas Jarrett for the fortune and fame. Problems also occur due to their egotistical, adolescent, and hilariously odd film crew, who have ambitions of their own that often interfere with their plans.
Each episode, “The Crew”, is attempting to make a different kind of production – a horror movie in one episode, a cooking show in the next, a hip hop music video in the next, then an action movie in the next! Something always goes wrong on their productions which ultimately leads to a disastrous project – thus they are never quite successful in their endeavors to create a project that will establish their careers in the industry.
The Setup
The series follows “The Crew,” a group of five, late-twenty-year-old, anti-hero, misfit roommates, and buddies who work on set together to produce their latest indie video projects.
The series starts with them in college, explaining their nearly unlimited access to quality film equipment and production staff, talent without the financial means to otherwise afford such resources.
Every storyline is put into motion by each character’s attempt to contribute to their latest production. Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes and sometimes conspiring against one another and others to complete their project the way they individually see fit.
Primary Characters
NOTE: The following talent depictions are intended to be viewed as “COMPARATIVE” only. All lead talent roles are subject to finalization of both availability and contractual terms best suited for the production creatively, as well as in regard to final production scheduling.
AARON MCDERMITT: The crew’s writer and director.
A creative visionary (and possibly genius), amateur-indie film student. He is the moralizer and tries his best to be responsible, but is not beyond getting caught up in the ridiculous situations the crew ends up in. Humble, shy, and often to his disadvantage as a director, unassertive, and a pushover. Serious about his work and ambitions in filmmaking – ultimately wants to make art for art’s sake, and would be content without a lot of money out of it. He tries to do filmmaking by the book but is open-minded to new ideas. He is gullible and reserved.
JARRETT ROBERTS: The crew’s producer and first assistant director
Jarrett is the charming asshole of the group who tends to lead them into new arenas of jackassery. He’s manipulative and narcissistic. Jarrett is the crew’s producer and will do or say anything, to get the project finished. He rarely plays by the rules and avoids taking responsibility for his discrepancies. He is fast-talking, quick-witted, and well-versed in dealmaking, even if he can’t keep all of his lavish promises. He works hard, however, unlike Aaron, who makes films for art’s sake, Jarrett does it for the fame and fortune. He is energetic, and easily able to give off a charming first impression, making him vital as the crew’s producer. He is a halfway decent friend to those around him, but never misses an opportunity to crack a joke at their expense; everyone else is a nuisance to him unless they are useful for making a film.
MIKAYLA FRAMPTON: The crew’s cinematographer and camera op.
Mikayla is pridefully gay with a fiery personality. She takes an independent stance on most of their outlandish plans. She is often the devil’s advocate to the group, in addition to the voice of reason, although tends to be overlooked by the others and furthermore isn’t above suggesting ridiculous ideas herself. She is selfish, hypocritical, stubborn, and attention deficit. She rarely ever goes along with their plan willingly, however, does enjoy seeing them play out. Although she is very different from the boys, she loves them and remains loyal to them as a great friend and cohort.
FLOYD RHODES: The crew’s sound operator
Floyd is a stoner, psychedelic druggie. He is very in touch with spiritual science and organic living – a modern hippie in a sense. He can be particularly persuasive and carefree. Although a very caring person and compassionate to others, he is wise about street life and very knowledgeable in all things illegal and underground.
GRIFF ELDENWALD: The crew’s key gaffer and grip
Griff is a bit of an idiot savant that marches to the beat of his own drum. He is an oddball character who is strangely oblivious to the real world and many social norms. He is a bit of a wild card, capable of doing, saying, or believing anything. He also tends to be the one with knowledge about strange things no one else knows. He is very creative and often his ideas conflict with everyone else’s. He is inventive as well, and imaginary. He is carefree at times, however, strives to be great at something.
The crews’ unity is rarely solid. Everything they do results in contention among themselves and much of the show’s dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at and over one another. That being said, they still spend all their time together on and off set.
Throughout the series, there are also many hilarious recurring characters the crew often works with.
Recurring Supporting Characters
(Click character sections to expand full profiles)
Series Longevity
“High Five, Action!” Has the potential to be a long-running series after the pilot, tapping into modern trends and pop culture media with the developing times. The overall theme of the series is that this group of filmmakers is never quite successful in establishing their careers with a single project. Episodes are not strictly chronological, thus viewers can jump in at any point without the requisite of starting at episode one to understand what’s going on.
100+ episodes are currently in development, such as:
“The Crew Makes an Action Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Reality TV Show”
“The Crew Makes a Zombies Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Fantasy Adventure Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Mobster Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Romance Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Murder Mystery”
“The Crew Makes an Old Western”
“The Crew Makes a Superhero Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Ghost Hunters Show”
“The Crew Makes an Episode of Cops”
“The Crew Makes a Kung Fu Movie”
“The Crew Makes a TV Game Show”
“The Crew Makes a Sitcom”
“The Crew Makes a Kung-Fu Movie”
“The Crew Makes an ER Drama”
“The Crew Makes a Drug Lord Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Faith-Based Film”
“The Crew Makes a Sci-Fi Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Vampire Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Spy Thriller”
“The Crew Makes a Vampire Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Weather Broadcast”
“The Crew Makes a Courtroom Drama”
“The Crew Makes a Documentary”
“The Crew Makes a Monster Horror”
“The Crew Makes an Underdog Sports Story”
“The Crew Makes an Aviation Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Demonic Possession Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Vigilante Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Talk Show”
“The Crew Makes a Pirates Movie”
“The Crew Makes a Hip Hop Music Video”
“The Crew Makes an Cooking Show”
“The Crew Makes a War Movie”
“The Crew Makes a News Broadcast”
Series Hook – What separates this sitcom from others?
“Audiences will enjoy this series because of its unique setting; behind the scenes of amateur filmmaking – as well as the high energy, hilarious situations, and the many diverse recurring characters. Instead of being set in the same old bar or living room in every episode like other sitcoms, and focusing on characters’ love lives or a boring workplace, each episode of this series offers a different adventure and setting out in the field with the crew’s latest production.”
“The show depicts every aspect of filmmaking from the struggle of raising funding, to the unpredictable jobs of casting and pre-production work, through the tedious work of post-production. It also offers endless creative freedom with the storytelling of “real life”, behind the scenes of filmmaking, paired with the fictional worlds depicted in the character’s film projects, as seen both in the projects they are creating per episode as well as referenced projects they have previously produced, seen in comedic cutaways that add to the story. Additionally, the creative process of projects they work on often parodies productions and stereotypes of the genre.”
Production Format
Half-hour (22 minutes) length episodes; live-action, narrative comedy; loose chronological structure, or otherwise stand-alone episodes. Thus, viewers can jump into the series at any point instead of starting from the beginning episode.
The video format is intended to be 4K, 16:9 aspect ratio but the exact specifications will depend on the distribution we deliver to, though it will likely be shot on the Sony F55 or Panasonic AG-DVX100. The shooting style is intended as dual-running cameras, primarily steady cam, and handheld, and largely independent from constructed or studio sets and instead shot primarily on indie locations. This however is open to change as financing, production, and distribution circumstances change.
Similar Productions
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
“New Girl”
“Entourage”
Mood & Visual Concepts Boards
(Click topic sections to expand detailed report)
SETTINGS
| Temporal Setting: Our universe, modern/present time (of the production); Environmental Setting: Savannah, GA, college/art college, art & entertainment industry workplaces, culture & lifestyles; Individual Setting: Indie film sets, interior and exterior locations varying from studios, city streets, parks, beaches, homes, etc., Additionally will be set staging and backlot areas such as lunch tents, crew parking lots, props & costumes shops, film equipment cages, etc. |  NOTE - Each episode is about a new production and thus a new set or sets and, or relevant behind the scenes locations. |
PROPS & SET DRESSING
| Props: The crews' productions film equipment, production props, school supplies, art supplies & equipment, etc. Set Dressing: The crews' productions' sets behind the camera, characters' home, production set dressing for the camera, other locations. |  |
MAKEUP & WARDROBES
| Makeup: The look to achieve for our crew members should be imperfect, compared to their on-camera counterparts who may instead have a comical abundance to contribute to our “amateur” filmmaker perspective.. Wardrobes: Casual dress, with accessories to protect from the elements or assist with their job such as wide brim or Boonie hats, jackets, bandanas, sunglasses, rain ponchos, gloves, cargo pants, or shirts with large pockets stuffed with several small items, utility belts with tools, etc. |  |
LIGHTING & COLOR PALETTES
Lighting: The energy of the show demands bright lighting when applicable. We will make use of natural lighting, traditional set lighting and untraditional, on camera "prop" lights in the background can be used strategically to bounce lighting behind our characters. Colors: Colors may vary per episode to match the aesthetic of their current set. Greens, yellows and oranges will be common to match the themes of immaturity, naivety, and fun energy. |  |
FRAMING, COMPOSITION
| Framing: 2-shot, 3-shot and up will be used commonly to capture group reactions to the speaker(s) on camera to assist with comedic purposes. Composition: compositions will primarily focus on the characters, but at times the action behind them or the sets they have built will play a comedic role and may be needed to visible. |  |
Detailed report not available
Series Bible Overview
SETTING
- Temporal Setting: Our universe, modern/present time (of the production);
- Environmental Setting: Savannah, GA, college/art college, art & entertainment industry workplaces, culture & lifestyles;
- Individual Setting: Indie film sets, interior and exterior locations varying from studios, city streets, parks, beaches, homes, etc., Additionally will be set staging and backlot areas such as lunch tents, crew parking lots, props & costumes shops, film equipment cages, etc.
EPISODE STRUCTURE & TONE
- Fast-paced, energetic, on-the-move, packed with comedy, and adventurous as each episode is a new setting for their latest project.
- For the most part, things return to normal at the end of each episode. There is a new project idea or inciting incident that sets them into production. They often have different ideas as to how the production should go and split into different factions which become their own small narratives. Then through chaos and humiliation, they are returned to the same point again by the end of the episode – another failed production with nothing to show. Every chance they get to change their careers for the better is inevitably thrown away.
- Like “Family Guy”, and “New Girl”, episodes are interjected with cutaways relevant to the topic of discussion at the time, or as an example to the joke told, often revealing a previous project they worked on not feature in previous episodes.
OVER-ARCHING THEMES
- The director Aaron is, although a brilliant visionary and creative, unassertive and a pushover, thus manipulated by the rest of the crew. The producer Jarrett is usually the ringleader in corrupting him.
- They are all serious about succeeding with a grand production but are never successful with making any headway in their career.
- Their productions will sometimes mimic stereotypes from productions of the same genre as their own. For example, when the crew makes a Pirates movie, the crew is unhappy with Aaron’s direction and mutinies against him.
SERIES STORY PROGRESSION
- They will start in their final years of college, studying filmmaking. This sets up the premise of having access to nearly unlimited production assets and personnel on a consistently limited budget.
- Upon graduating college, they will maintain their connections with the school and other student networks to retain access to these assets.
CHARACTER ARCS
- Aaron
- Jarret
- Floyd
- Griff
- Mikayla
- Steve
Production Locations
SAVANNAH, GA + SURROUNDING AREAS | ATLANTA, GA
- “High Five, Action!” is set in Savannah, for a fresh setting with a beautiful backdrop, but reminiscent of Los Angeles and a filmmaking environment.
- Studio spaces, equipment, and other resources are available locally.
- The studio/ business office will be a rented/temporary leased space. On location, offices will be in designated trailers.
- Experienced local film office with support; experienced community, familiar with productions.
- Many industry professionals and talent agencies (plus talent) are already in the area, eliminating the need to bring in below-the-line personnel.
- Local entertainment industry is growing with more productions coming to the area every year; the film community gaining more recognition each year with the local film festival, workshops, seminars, etc.
- The city and surrounding region offer a variety of unique shooting locations, eliminating travel needs and costs for production.
- The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office offers Georgia production incentives up to 30 percent of your Georgia production expenditures in transferable tax credits.
- In addition, the Savannah Regional Film Commission offers the Savannah Entertainment Production Incentives.
- These incentives apply to qualifying projects. Incentive overviews are below. More information can be found at: https://www.filmsavannah.org/incentives/
GEORGIA TAX INCENTIVES
- 20 percent base transferable tax credit.
- 10 percent Georgia Entertainment Promotion (GEP) uplift can be earned by including an embedded Georgia logo on approved projects and a link to ExploreGeorgia.org/Film on the project’s landing page.
- Both resident and non-resident workers’ payrolls and FICA, SUI, FUI qualify.
- Production expenditures must be made in Georgia from a Georgia vendor to qualify.
- No limits or caps on Georgia spend. No sunset clause.
- No salary cap on individuals paid by 1099, personal service contract or loanout.
- Payments made to a loanout company in 2021 will require 5.75 percent Georgia income tax withholding.
- Post-production of Georgia-filmed movies and television projects qualifies if post was done in Georgia.
- Development costs, promotion, marketing, story rights, and most fees do not qualify.
SAVANNAH INCENTIVES
- Cash rebates for qualified feature films and televisions series.
- Bonus Incentive: A $25,000 bonus will be awarded to productions that qualify for the Savannah Entertainment Production Incentive AND hire 50% or more local crew.