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(bell rings)
Smith: Outed is a
story about two high school seniors who
desperately love each other but because of life
circumstances struggle to be together.
It's a web series.
Each episode is about 7 to 11 minutes long.
I wrote and created the series and then I also
decided to act in the show as well mainly just
because I was very connected with the
storyline and it was something that was
inspired by a situation I went through.
So I decided to write about it.
What's the matter?
Everyone's staring.
What?
No they're not.
I'm sure it's nothing.
What happened last night?
What are you talking about?
What's going on?
I was hoping you guys could tell me.
Okay, can you please just tell us what's going on?
(bell rings)
Smith: This is pretty much my first
soiree into film.
I've done a lot of theatre, done a lot of
acting and writing.
As far as film if I really wanted an experience there
was no better place than to do it in Iowa.
My goal was to surround myself with pretty remarkable
talent and people who knew what they were doing.
Pace-Tuomi: First as a producer I set out to
develop the shooting schedule that would
maximize our locations and also allow us to shoot in
a short period of time without killing ourselves. We
actually ended up shooting four episodes basically
over a week.
So we were shooting very fast.
At one point we shot three different setups on
different sides of town in one day, starting in the
morning, moving in the afternoon to a different
location and finishing on the totally other side of
town for our last location of the night.
It's not something I recommend but sometimes it
becomes a necessity when you're shooting
independent film.
Ridley: They knew that we'd have to be here at one and then
all the way across town at 1:30 with the exact same
crew, with all the equipment ready to go.
It's very rare on sets where you're working very
long hours with very little time you'll have
fun at every turn.
We did have fun at every turn.
Smith: I didn't really know what to expect the
first day and I was so excited.
I walked on and saw all these people getting
organized and getting everything put together
for the actors to come in and it's like, oh my
goodness, this is my baby.
Things are going to be seen. And it was a very, very
surreal and humbling experience.
♪♪
Hey, are you okay?
Do you need help?
Oh, easy, easy, easy.
How's your head?
Fine I think.
Thanks.
No sweat.
Did you want some ice for that?
I'll be good.
Name's Connor.
Max.
Nice to meet you.
Yeah, same.
Ridley: When you get to know characters like Max
he's first introduced after having weathered so
many storms, he has kind of developed this sense of
self that is unflinching and he's not compromising
of anything.
When you first get to know Tyler he's very weak in
that respect.
He has a very poisonous idea of how much people's
opinions of him matter and how much his status
matters.
So to watch him take back his identity and find a
way eventually to stand up and say this is who I am
and this is who I've decided to be, that's huge
I think.
Adams: We help ourselves through fictional stories
that relate to our personal endeavors and I
believe that there's going to be someone who is going
to be able to make that connection and say, this
is how he dealt with it, and maybe deal with their
personal circumstance in a better manner.
I believe that the openness of Outed is going
to be able to help some people out.
Smith: The writing process was certainly cathartic.
It gave me the opportunity to say a lot of things
that I didn't initially have the opportunity to
say then also spin it so it could be crafted out of
love, to be a source of inspiration rather than of
fear.
Do you honestly think I took that photo?
Didn't you?
No, absolutely not.
Why would I?
You and I both know how badly you want to be out
of the closet.
Here's your chance.
Do you still want to be out?
I wouldn't do that to you, I couldn't.
Smith: I want this series to inspire people to be
who they are, unapologetically
themselves and really just love themselves before
they start loving other people because that's the
first step.
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