Triple-threat Kacie Anning has embraced episodic multi-platform drama at a time when it is proving to be at a tipping point.
Anning and her fellow AFTRS graduate/creative collaborator Courtney Wise are part of a new generation of filmmakers exploring storytelling that is created for and consumed online.
Kacie Anning and Courtney Wise graduated from AFTRS in 2011 and 2007 respectively and since then have both found work in the industry.
Anning is the creator of Minister for Men, starring Gretel Killeen for Ideas at the House, a four part webseries created to promote the ‘All About Women’ event held in March at the Sydney Opera House and the six-part web-series Viral Girl for The Festival of Dangerous Ideas.
Wise has also had her share of success. Since graduating with a Masters of Arts in Producing she has been writing, producing and working in script departments on show including Dance Academy, Rush and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo.
Both Wise and Anning are recipients of the Foxtel Award for ‘Exceptional New Talent’ a prize that is presented annually at AFTRS as part of its graduation celebrations that recognises student accomplishment and talent, and that is how they connected.
Foxtel introduces the winners to each other and keeps them in touch as part of its focus on supporting upcoming talent.
Anning and Wise joined forces in 2012 on the creation of the comedy web series Fragments of Friday, a story that revolves around 'Friday-night-antics', which has been described as, “Australia's Answer To Girls” and “the Female Comedy we Need.”
Written, directed and performed by Anning and produced by Wise, Fragments of Friday is made by women for a female audience.
Wise said there was not a lot of comedy content in Australia for young women, written by young women, starring young women and produced by young women.
"Women really are at the core of this show in terms of creativity.”
Since the arrival of online platforms such as YouTube and Facebook online comedy has become a viable space for female content creators to tap into to young-female audiences and bypassing the traditional content gatekeepers.
Anning said some networks had overlooked the young female audiences as a valuable demographic.
Anning said she was determined to create a broadcast quality series for the online space.
The web series format also enabled her to play with characters, premise and structure along with the additional benefit of being able to keep creative control.
In February this year Anning and Wise were awarded Screen Australia multiplatform funding for Fragments of Friday which enabled them to go straight into production of season two of their online comedy.
The first six episodes of the series had been successfully crowdfunded and made in 2012 on a tight budget.
All 12 episodes were released in September this year and have been described by Rick Kalowski, ABC Head of Comedy as “one of the most fun and best made series I've seen in ages."
All 12 episodes of Fragments on Friday can be viewed on YouTube.