It seems like everyone has a web-series now yet while some have a ton of heat like THE GUILD or Jane Espenson’s HUSBANDS, others exist on the fringes of the web, under acknowledged because they don’t have pre-established celebrities at the helm.
Sean Gitter and Joe Centner are not celebrities, they are two guys who used to work at a pet store, an experience that armed them with a wealth of stories about the general level of suck that exists within the world of retail.
Their show, SEAN AND SUCH hasn’t reached the masses yet but after meeting Sean and Joe at New York Comic Con, and watching the first 8 mini-episodes of season 1 on SeanandSuch.com, I thought I’d get a few answers, curse words, and upsetting images out of them for you fine people.
Here now is the raunchiness of Sean and Joe; animation punk rockers, and electric bon vivants.
Why do a web-series at a time when everyone seems to be focused on high quality amateur porn and shows about cupcakes, tiaras, addiction, and storage auctions?
Sean Gitter: Well, deep down at its core “Sean and Such” is really a story about a man with a terrible addiction to cupcakes. So it’s really nothing new, and I’m a little annoyed that you didn’t get that from watching it…I mean it couldn’t be any clearer unless it was just called “Cupcake Addicts and Such”.
Joe Centner: We always wanted to do a cartoon together, and now we have the resources that weren’t available to us ten years ago. We just figured the web was the easiest place to start it on. Truth be told, we have it on the web because we’re too stupid and poor to put it anywhere else.
Do you guys envision Sean and Such in any other medium, comic books, singing greeting cards, etc?
Joe: I’m trying to get a “Sean and Such Morning after Pill” off the ground. It’s taking a while for FDA approval because of all the recycled animal parts in it but you know…one fight at a time.
How much of SEAN AND SUCH is based on your real life experience working amongst the people as a lowly clerk? If it is, please share some colorful (curse filled) stories about customers and why they are the center pillar that keeps the walls of hell erect.
Sean: A lot of it is based on real life experiences. Joe and I did work at a pet store together during our college years. We obviously exaggerate most of the jokes to make them more outrageous…our headless bird section was much smaller in real life.
Joe: Yeah, I think the real ugly truth about retail is that it’s so fucking boring and that gives you all this time to think about how worthless you and this job are. I try really hard to capture that mundane vibe of being a store clerk in my writing. You don’t have to work at a pet shop to get the jokes; it’s a show about all retail jobs. As far as customers go, the only thing that was different in real life was that we couldn’t curse at them as much…but we should have.
Speaking of CLERKS, you have to admit there is a Kevin Smith/CLERKS vibe to Sean and Such, any other inspirations apart from Tony Danza and the Lord?
Sean: What is this “CLERKS” thing everyone keeps talking about…? I’ve never seen it. Nah, we love those kinds of shows and movies with dry witty humor. We’re big fans of those short lived cartoons like CLERKS, THE CRITIC, CLONE HIGH and so on. Not to mention the biggest short lived cartoon, THE SIMPSONS.
Joe: We do try to make the show as original as possible. It’s hard to be different because there is so much out there and everything has been done twice over. We like to think that our show is something new and refreshing, but you’ll have to judge for yourself. I think that the biggest influence for me is the version of our show I play in my head while writing it. It’s so much better then what we actually wind up making.
Explain the creative process to the 38 people who will read this. How long does it take to get an episode online, how many people are involved, why aren’t the episodes shot in 3-D?
Sean: Too long. Animating something that’s five to seven minutes long with only two people sucks. We use Adobe Flash CS4 for the animation. But before we get there, Joe writes the episodes and then I read it and laugh my ass off. After we have that, Joe draws out a storyboard and then I re-draw everything much, much better and put those drawing into Flash. We then go record in our studio and fight for a few hours about nonsense…we go home mad at each other, we don’t talk for a few days and then we make up and start applying the audio we recorded to our Flash file.
Joe: Seriously, if we can make some money on this shit, the first thing we’re doing is buying some Korean animators/sex slaves to help out with this. Then we’ll be cranking these episodes out, but for now…its back aches from our shitty chairs and carpal tunnel. And as far as 3-D goes, fuck that. Stop watching 3-D shit, it’s getting out of hand. Let’s make the movie makers find a more creative way to make films different. I say boycott 3-D movies.
You’ve got this forum so sell people on Sean and Such in the most vile, shameless way. I want saccharine sincerity, and bullshit proclamations. We’d better get sued for what you’re about to dishonestly claim (ok, not really sued).
Sean: We just want what every man wants… fame, fortune and solid-gold, robot servant-warriors. So if you watch the show and spread the word to your friends you can help us make that dream come true. We really do put a lot into it and only make what we find to be humorous. If we like it so much, we’re sure there are a lot of you out there that will like it too. And if you don’t watch the show… we’ll remember you when we unleash our golden robot army upon the Earth.
Joe: Well, if you read this whole interview and don’t watch the show…you’re a fucking idiot and I don’t want you on my site.
Good job Sean!!!
good job guys!
saw the shows and you guys at comic-con…love it. great interview..clever
Drawings are awesome as usual and very funny. Always looking forward to see what each character is going to do to piss Sean off :)