Over the last few years, the web has blossomed with streaming content.
No longer is the television the only way to get your laughs or your
drama, and their isn't any better example of the booming web TV market
than the success of target="_blank">The
Guild
. Focused on the hi-jinx of an MMO playing
troupe
known as The Knights of Good, The
Guild
strives to softly parody the lives of MMO gamers,
because everyone knows someone that acts just like Codex, Vork, or
Bladezz.



While Ten Ton Hammer was at Comic-Con '09, we ran into Sean Becker, the
director of The Guild,
and asked him a number of questions regarding his work with the online
series. Keep reading to get an in-depth look at what it's like to work
on one of the most popular web series on the Internet!



href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/72253" target="_blank"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" src="/image/view/72253">

Ten Ton Hammer: When did
you get started working with
style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Guild style="font-weight: bold;">?
style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean Becker: I
wasn't a part of the show for Season One, and I was actually brought on
board for Season Two because I knew the producer - Kim Evey - through
the original director of The
Guild
, and he had other obligations. I knew him from other
projects, and he got me in touch with Kim.



While I was familiar with the show, I hadn't seen all the episodes, so
I went and watched all the episodes in one night and fell in love with
it.



Ten Ton Hammer: It's very
charming...




Sean: It
is! I'm not even a gamer, and it's still really easy to understand
what's going on. I'm more of a console gamer - I don't play MMOs or
World of Warcraft
- but even though I didn't get the really in-depth
jokes, the characters and the writing still drew me to the show.



Ten Ton Hammer: How is
Season Three different from the previous seasons?

style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean: Basically,
we venture out a lot into the "real world." In Season Two we were
starting to go out of the rooms and have the characters hang out, but
in this season we do that even more.



I can't give you the really big details, but I can tell you that we
introduce an entire rival guild in this season. They're named..."The
Axis of Anarchy." The Knights of Good are now going to have to deal
with the Axis of Anarchy, as you will all find out as the season rolls
out.



Inside that guild will be five new members of the cast, of course led
by Wil Wheaton's character Fawkes. The other members of the Axis are
Valkyrie, Venom, Bruiser and Kwan.


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Ten Ton Hammer: Are they
like the eco-villains compared to Captain Planet's planeteers; kind of
evil opposites?




Sean: Kind
of, it's not like a sort of bizarro guild where everyone their polar
opposites. In fact, every member of the rival guild has their own
unique personalities just like the Knights of Good. Just like Clara and
Bladezz, you're going to have Kwan and Valkyrie in the rival guild.
Everyone has their own quirks.



Ten Ton Hammer: Did you
do a lot of Web TV before you picked up the directorial reigns of style="font-style: italic;">The
Guild
?



Sean: Definitely.
I started off doing short films, and I eventually got tired of the film
festival scene. The online medium is much faster, because once you put
something online - and it's good - it can be instantly seen by
thousands.



I started with my buddy Payman Benz, and we put together a company
called Awkward Pictures. From that we started up another show named
"Comedy Gumbo" that is best described as a "live action Robot Chicken."
It's great for people with short attention spans; everything is very
quick.


Ten Ton Hammer: How would
you describe the cast of The
Guild
? Are they the typical sort of actors
you've worked with in the past? Or are they more interested in breaking
the "Hollywood mold?"



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Sean: While
Wil is certainly a big name this season, everyone is very down to
earth. When Felicia writes the script for these characters, she pens it
with all of the actors in mind, even Wil's new character. A lot of the
cast members were friends before we even became this popular, so this
definitely has a more "family" sort of atmosphere than a lot of
projects.



Ten Ton Hammer: What's it
like working on another person's creative vision?

style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean: It's
overwhelming and a relief at the same time. It's nice with style="font-style: italic;">The Guild to
be able to show up on set and just worry about directing. When I do
things for Awkward Pictures or Comedy
Gumbo
, we're the ones driving to
the set and picking up lunch and that sort of thing. It's a very small
crew and a very low budget, so everything is very tight.



The Guild
is actually the first thing I've done that I didn't create
and/or write for. It was actually really intimidating at first, because
I'd never worked with someone else's material and Felicia is there on
set, on top of everything else. But it ended up working out really
well, because Felicia can consult with me on certain scenes where she
had a different idea of things playing out.



By mid-way through Season Two, I felt comfortable enough to throw my
own ideas into the mix and add to the story. Season Three was very
comfortable, so we just picked up where we left off.



Ten Ton Hammer: Has style="font-style: italic;">The
Guild
helped you in any way?
style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean: It
definitely has with the sheer exposure. style="font-style: italic;">The Guild and style="font-style: italic;">Comedy Gumbo has
really sucked up all of my time lately, so I haven't been able to
venture outside of those mediums lately. That said, the exposure has
definitely, definitely helped.



Ten Ton Hammer: So have
you started playing MMOs since you began work on style="font-style: italic;">The Guild
?
style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean: I
refuse to, because I know that they will take up *all* of my time. I
won't even play Zelda, because I know that it will take up too much of
my time. If I'd played MMOs, I probably wouldn't be directing style="font-style: italic;">The Guild
right now.



I was a huge gamer in high school and college, especially the Japanese
roleplaying games and those things were 70-80 hours a pop. The Final
Fantasy series and Chrono Trigger were my all time favorites. I won't
play anything any more; it's just too easy for me to get hooked.



Ten Ton Hammer: What's
been your favorite memory from The
Guild
?




Sean: That's
a tough question. I'm such a huge fan of the show that when Felicia
gave me the script, I was really excited just to read it. Everyone has
their moment this season, so that was a really, really nice thing to
see.



Ten Ton Hammer: What do
the fans have to look forward to in Season Three?

style="font-weight: bold;">


Sean: Definitely
the rival guild, that's almost exciting enough in itself. [laughs]
Other than that, I can't go into any story details.



If you thought Season Two was a step up, you'll think Season Three is
insane.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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