When I first thought of the idea to do the series, I honestly didn't think it would be that difficult a thing to do, and it's truly not once you actually have your subject(s) in front of the camera. Getting schedules coordinated is the tough part, which is why AAC is mostly me, but one must persevere.

The first episode features the aftermentioned Lauria and Sara of PISTIL Magazine. I interviewed them over a year ago for another, unrelated project, but we decided to scrap the original interview and do an updated interview for the series. They were fun the first interview, but the focus was more business oriented, than art oriented. This time around, we focused on the creative parts of running an indie publication and had time to talk about their new band, The Pumps.

The editing for these episodes will be pretty simple, since we shoot with one camera focused on the interviewee. The editing process mostly involves cut-aways to still images or footage of the subjects doing their thing (live performance, rehearsal, etc).

The coolest thing about doing the series is getting to interview a bunch of talented indie artists who are doing what they love, even if it isn't what pays the rent, and introduce them to an audience that may not normally find them. That alone is mad inspiring.

The other amazingly cool thing is that I have the good fortune of being able to use the sick music of Detroit's own Phylum Sinter for the series' intro/outro and cues. If you appreciate great, glitchy, electronica/IDM music, then c.todd (a.k.a. Phylum Sinter) is your man. A huge thank you goes to him as well, for allowing us to use his music for the series. We hope to be able to work with him on other projects. With any luck, I'll sit him down in front of the camera in mid-November for an episode.

So, independentChicago is off to a good start, although I'm starting to hate the title...

Once the editing on the first episode is finished, a short segment will be posted here. The full episode will be available for viewing on Democracy and Veoh Networks. Look for the file to be posted in the independentChicago section of the site in about a week.