Interview with SPELLFURY director Travis Gordon!
Spellfury...
Dragons, Half-Elves, Thieves, heroism, villainy, comedy, fell creatures, and a tavern that hosts the most bizarre menagerie this side of a certain sci-fi movie…
Spellfury started in 2008. A live-action fantasy web series with drama, adventure, and definitely tongue-in-cheek humor. Official Selection Hollyweb Festival 2013 and Official Selection by Gen Con Film Festival 2013, Season One comprised 12 episodes, with Season Two currently ongoing. Searchable on YouTube, Spellfury is a comedic treat that cannot be missed. Travis Gordon is the writer/director of the series, and being a fan I had the great opportunity to interview him!
Hi Travis - thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed! Let’s begin with telling us a little bit more about who Travis Gordon is. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer/director?
TG: I’ve been making films since I was 14 but halfway through my 2 year Theater Arts Course in College I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life writing and directing.
How did you develop the idea for Spellfury?
TG: I love the Fantasy genre, I wanted to make a show that I would watch. Spellfury is my crazy experiment to play around with fantasy ideas that excite me.
Which characters were the most fun to develop? Which were the most challenging?
TG: The villains are fun to create, Davinica (Played by Lisa Forrester) was brought in season 2 just to make it tougher for Druinia to achieve her goals. Fan reaction was telling me that they thought Kruskull was a little too goofy, I needed to bring in a villain who was no nonsense. The characters are very easy to write, the structure of the plot for future seasons has been challenging at times.
What are your plans long-term for Spellfury? Do you have additional/different works in mind?
TG: I took a break from Spellfury for a while but now I’m back on the project. I want to see how far I can take the show, I knew I would come back to it one day. I would also like to do a SciFi project in the future.
As an author, I have the challenge of getting the word out on my books. What have you had to do to win broader exposure and branding for your works?
TG: Promoting your own work can be difficult. It’s a job in itself, I find you really have to toot your own horn and never give up. Although it’s entertainment you’re still building a business so you have to treat it like that.
As an author, it’s sometimes difficult to finally say a product is finished, no matter how many times you review or edit. Is there anything you would go back and change in your concepts for Spellfury? Where there ideas you had in mind and then decided NOT to include?
TG: I was in a rush to create season one of Spellfury, I had a contract with Koldcast.tv (They’re not around anymore) to deliver an episode every month, it would have been nice to take more time with the episodes back then. Because it’s a web series I have more freedom story wise to try things out and see if they stick. The fans let me know if something is working or not. Ultimately it’s my decision if something stays or goes though.
I have a 5 year old son, and structuring time around him can be challenging! I’ve lost count of the times he nearly pressed the delete button on something I was working on…how do you find time to balance your many writing/directing projects?
TG: Great question, balance between family and work can be tough, I think everyone struggles with that.
Do you have a certain method you use when you write – i.e., a certain room, music, mood, etc., to help get you in the right writing frame of mind?
TG: Spellfury is the easiest project to write that I’ve ever worked on. Working on all the green screen shots and compositing is the toughest stage for me. I just have to drink a lot of coffee and work my butt off to get through it.
What are you working on right now?
TG: I always have a few projects on the go. I just wrapped a TV Pilot called Detective Bros. that we’re shopping around to networks here in Canada. I also have a documentary and 2 shorts in the pipeline. Although the next episode of Spellfury is what I’m working on right now, it’s already been shot.
Where can readers go to find out more about Travis Gordon and Spellfury?
TG: We have info about the show and all the episodes at www.spellfury.com
Thanks Travis, for sharing some of your time!
TG: Thanks Hugo, I really appreciate it!
Dragons, Half-Elves, Thieves, heroism, villainy, comedy, fell creatures, and a tavern that hosts the most bizarre menagerie this side of a certain sci-fi movie…
Spellfury started in 2008. A live-action fantasy web series with drama, adventure, and definitely tongue-in-cheek humor. Official Selection Hollyweb Festival 2013 and Official Selection by Gen Con Film Festival 2013, Season One comprised 12 episodes, with Season Two currently ongoing. Searchable on YouTube, Spellfury is a comedic treat that cannot be missed. Travis Gordon is the writer/director of the series, and being a fan I had the great opportunity to interview him!
Hi Travis - thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed! Let’s begin with telling us a little bit more about who Travis Gordon is. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer/director?
TG: I’ve been making films since I was 14 but halfway through my 2 year Theater Arts Course in College I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life writing and directing.
How did you develop the idea for Spellfury?
TG: I love the Fantasy genre, I wanted to make a show that I would watch. Spellfury is my crazy experiment to play around with fantasy ideas that excite me.
Which characters were the most fun to develop? Which were the most challenging?
TG: The villains are fun to create, Davinica (Played by Lisa Forrester) was brought in season 2 just to make it tougher for Druinia to achieve her goals. Fan reaction was telling me that they thought Kruskull was a little too goofy, I needed to bring in a villain who was no nonsense. The characters are very easy to write, the structure of the plot for future seasons has been challenging at times.
What are your plans long-term for Spellfury? Do you have additional/different works in mind?
TG: I took a break from Spellfury for a while but now I’m back on the project. I want to see how far I can take the show, I knew I would come back to it one day. I would also like to do a SciFi project in the future.
As an author, I have the challenge of getting the word out on my books. What have you had to do to win broader exposure and branding for your works?
TG: Promoting your own work can be difficult. It’s a job in itself, I find you really have to toot your own horn and never give up. Although it’s entertainment you’re still building a business so you have to treat it like that.
As an author, it’s sometimes difficult to finally say a product is finished, no matter how many times you review or edit. Is there anything you would go back and change in your concepts for Spellfury? Where there ideas you had in mind and then decided NOT to include?
TG: I was in a rush to create season one of Spellfury, I had a contract with Koldcast.tv (They’re not around anymore) to deliver an episode every month, it would have been nice to take more time with the episodes back then. Because it’s a web series I have more freedom story wise to try things out and see if they stick. The fans let me know if something is working or not. Ultimately it’s my decision if something stays or goes though.
I have a 5 year old son, and structuring time around him can be challenging! I’ve lost count of the times he nearly pressed the delete button on something I was working on…how do you find time to balance your many writing/directing projects?
TG: Great question, balance between family and work can be tough, I think everyone struggles with that.
Do you have a certain method you use when you write – i.e., a certain room, music, mood, etc., to help get you in the right writing frame of mind?
TG: Spellfury is the easiest project to write that I’ve ever worked on. Working on all the green screen shots and compositing is the toughest stage for me. I just have to drink a lot of coffee and work my butt off to get through it.
What are you working on right now?
TG: I always have a few projects on the go. I just wrapped a TV Pilot called Detective Bros. that we’re shopping around to networks here in Canada. I also have a documentary and 2 shorts in the pipeline. Although the next episode of Spellfury is what I’m working on right now, it’s already been shot.
Where can readers go to find out more about Travis Gordon and Spellfury?
TG: We have info about the show and all the episodes at www.spellfury.com
Thanks Travis, for sharing some of your time!
TG: Thanks Hugo, I really appreciate it!
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