16. Spin Off Shows - the character of Doris Shades builds as stars join as guests.

As we speed into 2016, Doris Shades now has two spin off series to Shades Of Bad, each have their own playlists on the TV Channel SHADES OF BAD TV, which is now on 5 platforms and with over 11,000 views in just 6 months on YouTube alone; ASK DORIS and DORIS VISITS. Having spent 26 years as a creative head of department on Emmerdale I realise how long it takes to build such a platform and fill it with product.

The veiwing numbers are a study in themselves, and sure if we made an abusive Christmas record we would get a larger viral response, but social media is changing as fast as methods and habits of viewing, so we are building a product base in a style for a third phase of social media use and future watching habits. The plan maybe risky but it is aimed at longevity. Shades Of Bad is designed to be edited into broadcast lengths and the first will be tested on YouTube soon.

We love it when we get great reviews so please tell us when you see something in print. Here is the Comedy Cake review.  We also enjoy being on the radio, here is a link to the James Whale Radio Show which has a very informative interview.  Here is a link to the USA We Love Soaps review.

As well as the spin off series and diversions to the main web soap Shades Of Bad, there is a great love for compilations, but one can only have a compilation if you have a wealth of product. Shades Of Bad has 35 episodes up (Jan 2016) and has not missed a week. Some of our episodes are fantastic works while one or two fall short and that is something else a series has to learn from. With a tiny crew of people who all have other lives and other filming and personality commitments the scheduling and the shot reservoir is something that has to be manned and watched. Now dealing with our biggest star yet, though we say

that every time we move up a notch, just finding the time when we can all meet to shoot is hard. Derek Redmond is a world star, athlete and olympian, so him joining the series for episodes just prior to the Rio Olympics is one of the many planning goals we try and achieve. Future planning is way in front of that and the day Shades Of Bad cannot improve is probably the day is takes a rest from filming.

The spin off series are there to build on, they are there to be added to in this timeless medium of download media and changing viewing habits. As we return from Courchevel where we shot the latest travel show, the ski lift map was an app and your position was tracked on your phone. The world is changing fast and we can only build ready for it.

The first is a PLAYLIST where Doris Shades fixes stuff. ASK DORIS. The first three very

different films made in 2015 to start the Ask Doris playlist is of fixing stuff. It is an experiment in itself and one we will continue and have plans for these films take time, they are by design and nature all very different and deliberately not obvious but are there to help people with problems, but are also amusing and short enough to be watchable media.
ASK DORIS, she can do anything, and does, is a good line. Obviously not true but the idea is to encourage, to look for answers and save money before being ripped off. That, as a message is in line with much of the underlining political message in Shades Of Bad.

It started when Doris mends her Health Rider exorciser. Then the second was by design when the Vacuum broke. The third, closer to home is how to hide a body microphone which the actors had problems with until they discovered this method from experimentation. Now getting good sound means post dubbing and they hated that.

The second spin off PLAYLIST is a travel site, simple and informal. It has t's own style and DORIS VISITS. The travel show should have been started years ago, we have talked about it at length as we genuinely travel. 2014 we were in Hungary, Slovenia and Austria working for HBO on the major show Strike Back, and if only we had shot some travel footage. 2015 we were on a world tour as celebrity guests for a cruise operator and travelled China,

Vietnam and Cambodia across to the Mediterranean up to Venice.  It was a cruise to Norway that we shot the first drama episodes of Shades Of Bad abroad. The Behind The Scenes Video shows glimpses of the filming and Norway and Barcelona. Now the playlist sits for itself as a list of travel films with many more planned this year. However the best laid plans are often changed and who knows where our stars and crew will be taken.

We also have other playlists on the Shades Of Bad TV channel which take you off to our previous films. The Bula Quo playlist is an example. We do have material to pull a new series together on that adventure in FIJI but again, time is our enemy.

We think we have nailed a format that the audience understands is our style. Shades Of Bad TV is beginning to have a style. In 2016 we should tackle the subscription to the channel. It is a misleading word as it implies details and fees, but all we ask is a subscription on YouTube which is no more than a follow. Then you get an email overtime we post a new video. Please subscribe to the channel and watch us grow.

We hope you find something in our blogs which is of interest.

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