We’re back at it again! And this time, you can check out this month’s Top Ten video RIGHT HERE!

Typically the Troupe Dynamic video’s run exclusively on thrivedecatur.com for the duration of their namesake month. This month we decided to try and spread it out a bit, so check it out – along with some thoughts on this go round – right after the bump!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about our February video. Each month I’ve tweaked the format juuuuust a bit on these things, and this month is no exception. The result, in my opinion, is our goofiest outing yet. Sure, much of this edition is the same – it opens with our  ”Act One” of the Story, followed by the Top Ten list, and closing with the “Act Two” resolution (plus a “sting” at the end of the credits, usually offering a continuation of sorts from the story) – but the differences make all the… difference. For one, nobody addresses the camera directly in the Story mode, so the whole thing is self-contained for the first time. Two, we worked the Thrive Entertainment Guide INTO the video instead of mentioning it by name – product placement, baby! And third, the top ten list itself is presented in a completely different format. It’s practically it’s own self-contained story!

What does all this mean? I think it plays a lot differently now, and for the best. We teased this format in January and embraced it full-on this month, and I really like how it looks and feels. It’s a bit more sitcommy, and allows us to fully inhabit the Troupe Dynamic world. Yes, we still address the camera in the Top Ten bits, but they’ve always been separate from the story so it’s no big shake.

Character-wise I’m really happy with this outing. We’ve been strengthening the characters up bit by bit each time, but to me they really hit their stride this time out. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still playing around a bit with things here and there, but overall I think we really found our groove with this one. I know writing the script was super easy; the characters were so clearly driving the action that I never once questioned where they were taking me!

I’m going to save it for another post, but I really want to get into what it takes to produce one of these things. We’ve talked about documenting it a couple of times and just haven’t pulled the trigger, but this really is a monthly form of guerilla film making. It’s a small crew of volunteers who have full-time jobs and families and lives, coming together and working as hard and as fast as we can to get things done. It’s a great mix of professionals and novices, and I’m telling you…For all the long hours I put into this thing (and I put in some looooooong hours), nothing I do brings me as much satisfaction.

To paraphrase Dr. Janet and Dr. Timmy from Dynamic Labs: When it comes to Troupe Dynamic, tomorrow can’t get her fast enough!