We’re Filming The CheckPoint Series!

Update: We did it! The entire series is available to watch on our YouTube channel, and at checkpointseries.com.

Here at CheckPoint, we couldn’t be more thrilled to let you know that we are well underway in filming The CheckPoint Series. After a long 30 days gaining momentum on Kickstarter, our audience showed us how much they care about mental health. It was absolutely phenomenal. That was nearly three months ago, and what a quarter! It’s been a wild ride.

The Road To PAX West

We spent a hard two months scripting the show – this involved consulting with Psychiatrist Dr Liber, making sure all of our knowledge was up to date, and, of course, writing some really amazing game related content. My favourite part of that was getting to play Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. What an experience! Stay tuned for a much more in depth analysis.

During this time we also teamed up with Nothing Network, a local production company led by the exceptional Tobias Venus (formally of Good Game) and Ben Hasic. We’ve been collaborating on script and direction, and I’ve left all the complicated film related stuff in their very capable hands.

Next we did some scoping for spaces and managed to acquire two awesome spots thanks to the generosity of IGN and AIE Sydney. And trust me – they look great.

These last few weeks have been all go. We filmed the full script for all 18 episodes (it’s increased since the Kickstarter due to an abundance of content!). It was so absolutely exhausting. I’ve needed a full day of recovery after each one – 10 full hours each time of full on content. I have a new found respect for actors! How do they put that much energy into a performance day after day?! It astounds me.

Seattle and Beyond

After filming the to-camera stuff, we travelled to the states for PAX West, where we met up with our amazing guests, all of whom have dedicated their time and bravely come forward to share their stories of lived experience with mental health issues. Honestly I couldn’t have asked for more – these people are just so incredible to come and do this for us (and for you guys). Everyone had a different and completely unique story, everybody could describe so beautifully their journey and give really important, relevant tips on how to overcome obstacles. It was a pleasure and a privilege to interview them, and I couldn’t be more excited and humbled to be the person who is bringing their stories to you.

While we were there, we had the pleasure of visiting the Naughty Dog studios, to interview Josh Scherr, co-writer of Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy. Seeing as Uncharted and The Last of Us are some of my favourite games of all time, I was beyond excited and couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity. Here’s me doing an impression of a Clicker.

So what’s next?

WELL I’m so glad you asked! Now that we have (most of) the content down, we can focus on post-production. Dean Cutsforth has created some super great tracks for us, and if you’re a backer, there is a backer-only update on the Kickstarter page right now you can take a sneaky exclusive early listen to one of them. It’s called “Every Cloud”, and it really sets the tone for the series: at times difficult, but with hope and a brighter outlook.

Next we’ll be working on art and animation, with our fabulous artist Toby Allen who is working directly with 6 awesome backers to create the characters for the series. We’re on the look out for a flash animator – if you fit the bill or know someone who does, please get in touch.

Ben and Toby will be getting their heads down to the editing process in anticipation of an exclusive (currently unannounced) premiere screening of the first episode.

It’s all go! Looking forward to keeping you updated and taking you on our journey.