A popular web series created by an Abbots Langley filmmaker, which also features plenty of local faces, is available on YouTube now.
Kyle Chase (pictured centre), 31, who was born and raised in Abbots Langley, had been working on the comedy show, called Crying Out Loud, for five years prior to its release last month.
It’s a 17-part mini-series, with three episodes coming out weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) up until the end of October.
Kyle, who describes the show as a “massive passion project”, hired a cast of more than 40 people with speaking roles; a mix of seasoned actors, like former Eastenders lead, Tom Wells; local talents, including Kyle’s sister, professional actor Marianne Chase, along with acting newcomers, saxophonist Martin King and several Abbots Langley residents.
Kyle told AbbotsNews: “Abbots has played a massive part in shaping me as a filmmaker. I had a passion for it since I was a kid, so I’ve made lots of films in and around Abbots before this.
“For 15-plus years of my life, I filmed with handy cams in local parks and neighbourhoods with loads of local friends and family, or made stop-animations with plasticine figures.
“I managed to get all of my family in this series as well, including my very talented sister, Marianne, who was in some of the Harry Potter films. I had plenty of friends from the area in it as well, so it was great bringing together so many people I grew up with for this.”
Kyle, who studied film production at London Metropolitan University, said filming Crying Out Loud was his biggest challenge in the industry yet.
He explained: “There was no funding whatsoever for this, so I just had to use whatever camera equipment I had available to me and whatever else I could borrow off of other people. A lot of it was filmed on the streets, or just in some of the cast’s flats or houses, and we just did it as and when we could.
“It was quite liberating in a way, to have the opportunity to do whatever I wanted and admittedly, I used a lot of goodwill from friends and family. It may have taken several years to get here, but my enthusiasm for it and the style I wanted for it really seem to shine through.”
The absurdist comedy, which Kyle compared to The Mighty Boosh and Spaced, has received thousands of views on YouTube so far.
Kyle said: “It’s had really good feedback so far. It’s mixed emotions putting your work out there, because you feel very protective over it, but if you’re not going to show anyone then what’s the point?
“I do hope it finds a wider audience eventually, but I don’t want to become too caught up in views and likes, because you can become obsessive. But I do love the messages I get from viewers saying they enjoyed it – that means the world to me and makes everyone very proud.”
To see more about the show, including some behind the scenes action, go to instagram.com/cryingoutloud.series.
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