SDCC Spotlight

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SDCC Spotlight: Sierra Mist Grabs Praise With BUBBLE

New webseries from a lot of G4 veterans.

By Jarrod Sarafin July 31, 2008
Source: On The Bubble

Stars Dana Snyder and Adam de la Peña at the "On the Bubble" panel at SDCC(2008).
© Sierra Mist

One of the best things about the San Diego Comic Con every year is the fact that it's a place where all of us fanboys can come together and be ourselves. The next best thing is those little surprises that we come across at the event. Obviously, the people go for the big movie attractions but sometimes, fans can be surprised by something they were not expecting to come across. As web series are becoming more popular these days, our SDCC spotlight will focus on one pleasant surprise for a lot of fans attending the event.

That would be Sierra Mist's upcoming web series On the Bubble. Since the new web show is featuring a lot of G4 "Code Monkey" veterans, it seems an obvious choice to spotlight, because G4TV is most definitely a medium that caters to our fanboy needs. Mania's Rich Kuras covered the various upcoming web series at the SDCC and he pointed out that this one had some potential as well in his column. He's not the only one though. Masters of Humility also gave the web series as the "Best Giveaway" at the event when they handed out flash drives to unsuspecting fanboys.

Plot Concept: On the Bubble is a new, weekly animated web series that takes a cheeky, yet refreshing look at current news through the eyes of five irreverent “wannabe” reporters from Middle Town Community College. The show “airs” every Wednesday on their official website.

"Bubble" is spearheaded by Adam de la Peña, who launched his career writing for Comedy Central's "The Man Show" and "Crank Yankers". He later went on to create popular cable shows including Comedy Central's "I'm with Busey" and G4's "Code Monkeys". Adam is joined by comedy-industry veterans Jordan Black ("SNL", MadTV") , Dana Snyder ("Aqua Teen Hunger Force"), Andy Spies ("Code Monkeys") and Liz Loza ("Monk").

And now, it's time to pass along Bubble's take of The Dark Knight or rather, their take on why hardcore fans like Maniac Hanso should leave the costume work strictly to the professionals.

Also, would you like to see what it's like to be working an animation behind-the-scenes? Well, you can check out the artists at work on the Knight spoof above by clicking here and hitting the play button.

And here's the official information about the new web series

A new source for news and entertainment hits the web today thanks to an irreverent group of tech-savvy kids from Middle Town Community College and the new show’s creators, Sierra Mist and Comedy Central alum, Adam de la Pena.

At a Comic-Con panel discussion on Friday, July 25, Sierra Mist, the lemon-lime soft drink brand known for its comedic spirit, will premiere its first original web series, On the Bubble. The new animated series, which launches a new episode each Wednesday on www.OnTheBubbleNews.com, takes a cheeky, yet refreshing look at current news through the eyes of five “wannabe” reporters from fictional Middle Town Community College.

“We essentially asked the question, ‘what if we could combine the cross-cultural appeal of animated shows such as Family Guy and South Park, with the idea of developing an alternative news source such as The Daily Show or certain blogs?’” said Frank Cooper, VP of portfolio brands, Pepsi-Cola North America. “Adam immediately understood the power of the idea and pulled together an amazing team to bring On the Bubble to life.”

On the Bubble is Sierra Mist’s latest venture in collaborating with creative talent who seek to push the boundaries of convention and explore new opportunities across a variety of platforms. Working with de la Pena and the producers at medium™, an entertainment content studio and sister company to Levity Entertainment, the brand enlisted a team of animation and comedy industry professionals such as Worldwide Biggies CEO Albie Hecht, Emmy-winning animation director Mark Salisbury and South Park writer Glasgow Phillips, among others, to produce the show.

“This is first-rate secondhand news,” said de la Peña. "It has always been clear to me that Sierra Mist is the best brand in the history of the universe and the fact that they are doing this show proves that I am right.”

On the Bubble is based on a group of tech-savvy college kids who, despite having no budget and few resources, create an online news program from their dorm room that appears to be falling apart at the seams. While the episodic series will offer satirical commentary on real news, the scripts will mostly focus on the five anchors’ interaction with one another during 2-3 minute segments shamelessly titled “Tool Bag of the Week,” “What the Hell?!” and “My Bad.”

Characters and cast include:

· Andrea Valverde, On the Bubble’s most professional and committed lead anchor voiced by Liz Loza

· Luke Hastings, the resident “slacker” and co-anchor played by Adam de la Peña

· Kevin Mac, the slick, ego-centric co-anchor played by animation voice veteran Andy Sipes

· Gordo Roberts, the self-proclaimed entertainment “expert” voiced by Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Dana Snyder

· Clyde Evans, On the Bubble’s professional skater and extreme sports correspondent, played by stand-up and sketch comedy veteran Jordan Black

To launch the web series across multiple online platforms, Sierra Mist drew expertise from a cross-functional agency team which included digital shop, Tribal DDB, and digital strategy company, Undercurrent.

On the Bubble’s official launch will take place during an open panel discussion on Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con San Diego between 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. in room 7AB. At this time, de la Peña will introduce the cast and the animation team behind the show as well as reveal a special, one-time-only On the Bubble screening produced exclusively for Comic-Con fans.

Sierra Mist executiveswill also be on the panel to shed light on the new wave of brand-produced entertainment and discuss the decision to be the main driver behind this project. Additionally, with the number of Hollywood show pitches increasing each year, the Q & A portion of the panel will offer aspiring animators and comedic content creators insightful tips on getting their ideas green lit by major brands eager to discover and invest in up-and-coming talent.

For new On the Bubble episodes, tune in each Wednesday at www.OnTheBubbleNews.com.