Phase Four featured in this week’s edition of the MIRROR! Big thanks to Matt Hays and the staff at Mirror.

Magic number
Phase Four Productions pushes creative boundaries online

By MATTHEW HAYS

With their web series Jordan and Bear, Phase Four Productions created a surreal, funny, poignant and at times sad serial about a man and his bear who stick up corner stores. With a unique combination of strange and gentle humour, the series proved an instant online hit—perhaps best described as Trailer Park Boys meets Calvin and Hobbes.

This year, Phase Four Productions—the name for three Concordia grads Andrew Lima, Nikola Markovic and Chris Zanti—aim to further develop Jordan and Bear into a feature film. They’ve also been exploring the radio medium, having produced and broadcast the sci-fi radio play Murder on the Edge of Nowhere on CKUT in October.

“We don’t really adhere to any specific mandate or creed regarding what projects we work on,” says Lima. “In the case of Jordan and Bear, the episodic nature of the web serial was the best manner of getting it out there, where it could be accessible to everyone. When the radio opportunity came up, we were intrigued because trying different formats and genres just makes for a more rewarding experience while doing the work.”

Zanti says the trio’s creative brainstorming process is a frantic one. “We’re basically backlogged with a bunch of ideas. When the time comes, we just grab one out of the bag. Normally, I’ll sit down and spit out an idea on paper, pass it along to Nick and Andrew and they’ll bounce it back to me.”

Markovic says the web offers an incredible platform for artists to get their work seen by a broad international audience. “As nice as it is to screen in a theatre, the process of festival submissions is too lengthy, costly and frustrating. By releasing Jordan and Bear online, we’ve had people watch it in Italy, Spain, Germany and Australia.”

“The other thing is, you have the freedom to do whatever you want,” adds Lima. “You’re not relegated to a set duration, genre or content. Being able to do whatever you want isn’t always a good thing but it does offer a venue for content you might not normally be exposed to. We’re presently developing another web series that is a cross between The Monster Squad and The Tenant. Seeing as it’s on the web, we don’t have to justify ourselves to anyone, luckily.”

Markovic says Phase Four is moving into a very ambitious year. “As well as the children’s creature feature, we’re also developing a science-fiction sitcom that covers topical issues like abortion and time travel.”