Credits
By Grace Carballo ‘17
I first heard about Credits, a web series from Alex Burns and Alexandra Kyllingstad while I was abroad in Nicaragua this fall. I watched the trailer and then the season premiere on December 6th and was excited to see several familiar faces from around campus putting together a funny series about the nitty gritty realities of film school.
From the very first episode “Icebreaker” portraying the awkward encounters of Orientation to the seventh and final of the season “Film Festival”, where the six friends juggle finishing their final scripts while trying to find housing for the following year, Credits is full of relatable and laughable moments.
I wanted to know more about the process behind it so I asked my friend, Tom, who plays Tuck, a few questions which he was gracious enough to answer while studying abroad this semester in London.
How did you guys come up with the idea for the web series?
Zan and Alex came up with the idea. I think they wanted to explore a world that hadn’t been seen, like film school.
Did you all know each other before hand?
Yes, most of us are screenwriting majors or theater majors. Raphie and Kermann probabaly knew each other from their “fraternity”, but that’s not my scene. I’ve never had a strong enough liver.
How are your real film school experiences incorporated into the show?
The show is definitely an exaggerated version of film school and an even more exaggerated version of college in LA.
Even though the portrayals of college in LA may be exaggerated, fellow Trojans will definitely recognize familiar spots on campus in the footage and relate to many of the experiences the 6 students experience at the fictional “ULA”. One of my favorite Tuck lines is in episode 2 “Being Normal”, when he is offended the “Greenleaf” pamphleteer didn’t pay attention to his interest in joining the organization, “I’ve always been really good at making people feel guilty for their life choices.”
We’ve all been approached by people wanting us to sign things or donate money on our way through the Campus Center and moments like these make the series that much more enjoyable to watch. Particularly students with majors or minors in the film school may relate to the characters as their work is torn apart by professors.
There’s a whole episode on “Game Day” that sums it up pretty well and most students have endured the stresses of choosing housing, assembling a group, and securing a lease in time. “Right now we have our pick between on-campus housing ad a box behind Panda Express” (Episode 7).
So take a look at the cast and take a look at the Facebook page with links to all the videos on YouTube. https://www.facebook.com/Credits-Series-745442035555082/
STARRING
Alexandra Kyllingstad as CASSIE
Aaron Kerman as DAVE
Hanna Turley as EMMA
Tom Truax as TUCK
Claire Bostrom as LUCY
Raphie Cantor as XANDER
And if you really, truly, don’t have time to watch anything new as midterms start up, take a look at the trailer and see if that changes your mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33xFy66ujQo
And be sure to read the description on the trailer to see if any of your friends or classmates played a role in the production of the series. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
Watch On,
Grace Carballo '17
