UCB's Matt Walsh Plays Mr. Bates in Downtown Arby's Video

KONY 2012 from UCB's Horatio Sanz - New Video

Rob Michael Hugel on I Hate Being Single

I Hate Being Single, a video web series created and starred by Rob Michael Hugel, follows the life of an unfortunate young man living in Brooklyn without a lady to call his own. The series has been circulating the web and landing on websites like Splitsider and The Gothamist. I wanted a little piece of the action so I found him online.

me: ‪let's gchat this up!

Your web series, I Hate Being Single is great!

 Rob:  ‪Thank you so much!

 me:  ‪The response from viewers has been very positive.

The show has a very personal point of view, were you expecting so many people to respond to it in the way that they did?

Rob:  ‪I can't say I expected people to respond a certain way. There was a while when writing and producing episodes where I kept thinking... I HOPE people like it. Writing from such a personal point of view, I was sometimes afraid they would look and say, "what the hell is he talking about?" or "what makes him so special that his life deserves a show?" or something like that. But what drove me to do it anyway was thinking about shows I like, and how personal they are. Freaks and Geeks, Seinfeld. The shows I like the most are where you watch and can see that this MUST have come from somewhere real in someone's life.

me:  ‪Something that makes this series stand out, besides the fact that it is quite funny, is that it seems like you invested a lot in the production value: the song, the opening, the brand; everything is top notch. Was this a goal from the beginning?

Rob:  ‪Thank you! Yes, it was the goal to invest (time not money) in the entire process of the show from top to bottom. I took a while just brainstorming ideas and adding them into the pot. I want the show to resemble TV or film in every way possible besides the length of time. I'm a stickler for quality, especially the basics of sound, lighting, and editing. My rule is, if it's something that was written and planned to film, then there's no excuse for distracting quality errors. It doesn't cost much more and there are people out there who do it for free if you can find them through friends/networking.  If I am taking the time to write it, produce it, and put it on the internet where potentially millions could see it, I want to make it look as good as I possibly can so it has the best potential of being seen/accepted by the "internet"

aka WORLD.

me:  ‪So what does the future hold for fictional Rob and real Rob?

 Rob:  ‪Fictional Rob still has some rough times ahead... He'll have a few bad nights, an uncomfortable party, another date gone wrong, he might find his place at the end of the season though, His ex might come back into the picture, he might join an underground group of outcast single dudes in Brooklyn.

Real Rob is very busy trying to keep the release of the series going strong, I'd like to work on season 2 as soon as the editing process is complete. I'm starting to pitch around to different places with ideas. Besides that, working on a comedy career on stage and continuing maude night, and doing stand-up.  I'd like to pursue stand up more seriously in the future.

Check out the videos, FB, Twitter, and official website below!

Official link to the I Hate Being Single Website

Twitter

Facebook

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

"Things That Seem Normal When You Live Alone" Interview with the Writer and Director

Horse+Horse, one of the video BETA teams at UCBcomedy, has had some popularity on the web for their first video released, Things that Seem Normal When You Live Alone. The video has generated tons of positive feedback by fans relating to the perks of living solo.

I found Melinda Taub, Director and Writer of the video, on gchat today so, naturally, I requested an interview.

me: hey melinda, do you have a minute?

Melinda: sure

me: congrats on your video

Melinda: thanks! we’re pleased.

me: I wanted to do a quick interview with you about it, is that ok?

Melinda: ha, sure.

me: great so can we do it now?

Melinda: now’s good.

me: cool. So you live alone?

Melinda: I do.

me: And so this is you in the video, correct? I can only assume.

Melinda: I plead the fifth. No, some of it is me, but most of it is heightened from what I actually do. I have been known to leave chicken defrosting in a pot in the bathtub, but not with me in it.

me: Nice. Seems to be getting really good feedback on the web, I don’t think you are alone.

Melinda: Yes, some of the commenters on Jezebel are concerned I’m going to get food poisoning, I think. It’s OK, guys! I’m eccentric but sanitary.

me: I was also talking about the fans that strongly relate to farting and peeing with the door open.

Melinda: Ha, yeah. That struck a chord, I think. It’s one of the nicer things about living alone. You don’t have to spare anyone’s delicate sensibilities.

me: How long did it take you to film this?

Melinda: It took about five hours to shoot. We knocked it out on a Saturday morning/early afternoon in my apartment. Which I cleaned like a maniac, because people were coming over, and then had to re-mess for the video.

This one was the first thing I ever directed, but is was a total team effort, even more than these things usually are. Moujan [Producer], Kent [Editor], and Patrick [DP] were really the ones who made this as hilarious as it was. It was sort of ideal of how a BETA team should work: I had this idea, and everyone figured out how to shape it and fill it with funny stuff.

me: So does Laura do yoga? Or was that a pretty dangerous stunt?

Melinda: She does do yoga. No Laura’s were harmed in the making of this video.

(Creepy guy in the back is Patrick, the DP.)

Check out and subscribe to this video and other BETA teams’ videos here!

http://www.youtube.com/ucbcomedy