Snobby Robot’s 2013 Best of #WebSeriesWednesday Awards

While last year was the first year of #WebSeriesWednesday awards, 2013 is the first year in which I covered shows all year long. The result is that this list was far more difficult to put together than last years! Last year Ed Robinson and his show ‘Pairings’ walked away with three of the major awards including Best Series, this year we have a much more balanced set of winners and a small group of shows responsible for the majority of nominations.

All nominees participated in our #WebSeriesWednesday review / tweet along / viewing during 2013. That should be 50 eligible shows from the year. All nominees and winners are selected by the author in as unbiased a manner as possible after viewing at least one full production cycle in it’s entirety.

And without further ado,  here are the 2013 #WebSeriesWednesday Award Winners.

Best Use of Music & Sound

Nominees:
Destroy The Alpha Gammas | The Vault | Withered World | 3some | Once You Leave

Destroy The Alpha Gammas

Best Editing

Nominees:
Phil Bucci (Destroy The Alpha Gammas) | Marco Sparmberg (00C6) | Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione  (The Vault) | Brian Elkins (Headshop) | Henry Rembert (CC:’d) | Various Artists (Withered World) | Aidan Brezonick (Tailgate 32)

And the winner is…

Aidan Brezonick – Tailgate 32

This was the most challenging category this year, as exemplified by the seven nominees. I just couldn’t cut it down to the five that was the target. At the top of this list is some seriously exceptional work and in the case of Tailgate 32 we saw both the monumental task of cutting together 32 multi-cam documentary style episodes combined with the aesthetic artistry of great editing.

Best Cinematography

Nominees:
Boa Simon, Oliver Fitzgerald (Destroy The Alpha Gammas) | Diogo Martins (00C6) | Various Artists (Withered World) | Ryan Knight (Wasted Time) | Nate Locklear (Once You Leave)

And the winner is…

Various Artists – Withered World

No other production this year could match the visual beauty of this Kansas City community production. The show is a testament to the power of collaboration. While there are somewhere around a dozen cinematographers credited throughout the series a special credit should be given to Chris Overholt and Anthony Ladesich, who were the real difference makers for this award.

Best Production Design

Nominees:
Voyage Trekkers | 00C6 | The Vault | Headshop | Withered World | I Am Tim

And the winner is…

Voyage Trekkers

Maybe the easiest category for me to select a winner from this year. Voyage Trekkers production design is just flawless. While the bridge set they constructed stands out as a highlight it’s the places where the show cut corners that really seal the deal. Be it the great matte paintings, or Jada’s silly, completely unrealistic mask, those moments of restraint recall the classic science fiction television series that Voyage Trekkers is parodying.

Best Screenplay (Comedy)

Nominees:
Jamie McKeller (Nights At The Round Table) | Jamie McKeller (I Am Tim) | Chloe Searcy (Chloe & Zoë Show) | Michael Jonathan Smith (The Common Cult) | Andrew Dahl, Jordan McArthur (The Digressions)

And the winner is…

Michael Jonathan Smith – The Common Cult

After finishing runner up last year with ‘Mermates’ Michael Jonathan Smith and his crew returned again in 2013 with the even better ‘Common Cult’ the story of a group of friends dabbling in the dark arts. The dialogue and subject matter has that witty back and forth that recalls ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ but without all the fighting.

Best Screenplay (Dramatic)

Nominees:
00C6 (Marco Sparmberg) | The Vault (Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione) | Entangled With You (Caryn K. Hayes) | 3some (Lisa Gifford) | Set The Table (Deborah Adair, Brian Adair, Ryan McKinney)

And the winner is…

Marco Sparmberg – 00C6

00C6 is everything I look for in a web series. The script tackles a growing social issue, and it does so in its own very unique world. I love when a film can leave me tossing around questions and ideas in my head following a viewing. Without any dialogue I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned there wasn’t actually a script for this show, but what 00C6 definitely had was the best story found in a series in 2013.

Best Ensemble Cast

Nominees:
3some | Destroy The Alpha Gammas | Voyage Trekkers | Entangled With You | The Digressions | The Common Cult

And the winner is…

Destroy The Alpha Gammas

This might be the most well rounded cast yet. They sing, they dance, they act! Often all at the same time. DTAG was some of the most fun I’ve had watching a series this year and the bulk of that is due to the excellent cast highlighted by series star and creator Leah McKendrick.

Best Actor

Nominees:
John Alston (Set The Table) | Patrick Prentiss (Headshop) | Alex Aschinger (The Common Cult) | Shane Spalione (The Vault) | Peter Halpin (3some)

And the winner is…

Peter Halpin – 3some

Peter Halpin’s character ‘Paul’ takes a backseat to ‘Jen’ & ‘Rob’  for much of 3some but his subtle performance as an introverted and closeted homosexual is the crux of the series, and ultimately what makes the show work. The dynamic he has with Jen is simultaneously believable and incredibly heartbreaking. The scene in which Paul finally confesses his secrets to Jen is one of the more memorable. Rather than anger, or being defensive Paul comes across as disappointed in himself, and paradoxically still in love with Jen.

Best Actress

Nominees:
Allison Sommers Kelly (Headshop) | Chloe Searcy and Zoë Worth (Chloe & Zoe Show) | Helen Krieger (Least Favorite Love Songs) | Kayla Olson (Once You Leave) | Indigo Rael (Once You Leave) | Angela Lin (Wallflowers)

And the winner is…

Indigo Rael – Once You Leave

This was a really tough one because Indigo’s part is very much in a supporting role. She appears in just one episode (episode 3) of Once You Leave, but she absolutely carries that episode and ultimately delivers arguably the most memorable performance of year.

Best Direction

Nominees:
Marco Sparmberg (00C6) | Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione (The Vault) | Jamie McKeller (I Am Tim) | Aidan Brezonick / Mike & John Trupiano (Tailgate 32) | Scott Brown (Destroy The Alpha Gammas)

And the winner is…

Aaron Hann & Mario Miscione – The Vault

As I said last year, rating ‘directors’ is probably the most subjective and difficult of all the awards. From my perspective I like to rate directors based on vision. This year the honor falls to Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione and their show The Vault. The Vault started with a brilliant single location production strategy, crafted a creative and enthralling script, and then convinced Mark Cuban to invest in the project. The result is one of the most well rounded series I have come across and in turn a project that is helping to jump start the careers of those involved.

Best Series

Nominees:

• The Vault
• I Am Tim
• Voyage Trekkers
• 00C6
• The Common Cult

This year I had the pleasure of watching a season and a half of what has become one of my favorite shows – on any platform. Maybe it’s the irreverence, the attitude of every aspect of the show, from the characters, to the story, to the props. It’s a documentary director that will sacrifice his interns for the sake of a good shot, it a throbbing, bloody mess of intestines that takes way too much time to put together on set but which has the effect of being excessively gross. Or maybe it’s an all too cocky goblin crashing his bicycle down a flight of stairs in the opening scene of series one. Whatever it is, it’s bloody brilliant. I think the success comes down to what has become a very large group of individuals who believe in the project and who contribute their time along with really brilliant work. ‘I Am Tim’ is the best series of 2013.

And the winner is… I Am Tim

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