The Beginning
This time on Capstone Corner were covering Local 41. This project was created by me (William Cooper), as a comedy/horror news show. The idea came from a web series called Local 58 an Alter Reality Game (ARG) where cryptic hints and creepy imagery created a mythos for the series. Using that mythos created by people watching it theory came into existence of the hidden story of Local 58. This show’s goal was to take that premise and turn it into an actual news show with stories creating this web of narrative threads viewers would enjoy. With this premise in mind I began working on establishing the world beyond the show to have a well to draw stories from. The town Lythero was created as a small coastal town, everyone knows each other small, so with that Local 41 became about presenting the locals endeavors and events in their lives. In the show universe the station is a small local news station lacking large events until an incident occurs called “The Alabaster Incident” where a barge sank into the harbor. Since the incident the town became more and more weird leading to a year later when Caleb Jordan’s character becomes the new Anchor. With him dealing with the oddities of the small town. The horror is cosmic in this series being more about existential dread and the unknown more than in your face scares. The horror slowly sets in over the show allowing viewers to assemble the puzzle of Lythero as more and more things happen.
Building the Show
The creation of the project has been a challenge starting as a team of one person trying to assemble this interwoven narrative. Soon after the start of the project Corum Byers, Spencer Stevens, Caleb Jordan and Amon Philyaw all signed on and helped the show get off the ground. With many late nights and writer’s rooms the first scripts were assembled and filmed. We knew what we needed to do to get the results we wanted and if not we put forth our best effort. The set looked creepy, distant and pale the perfect conditions for the tone of the show, lighting was the hardest part at this stage. Things then got more difficult as we experienced an issue with the narrative, how do we tell a non-sequential story in order? The answer was the news stories by breaking them up and treating them as breaking news or developing stories we could easily show what we want. We then developed an emotional arc for Caleb to follow as the show went on to better illustrate the arc of the show. With the puzzle solved we began methodically writing then filming each episode. Were currently half way though the whole process but will likely be finished in a month. When the show comes out I am excited for everyone to watch it and hear their thoughts.
About the Author
William Cooper
Student - Summer 2019
