The new webisode class at Oswego State is hard at work creating a series of web-shorts to impress the Oswego State student body, and quite possibly the world.

Professor Brad Riddell has been teaching and encouraging his Cinema and Screen Studies class (CSS 395) to create online webisodes to showcase their writing, producing, directing and other talents. This semester has brought many great ideas to the table, and the webisodes that will be hitting the Internet are all student-coordinated. Students came into the class with clever and creative ideas for a webisode, but they decided on three concepts that would engage the world audience.

“Appholes,” created by Bruce Kesselring, is a series about a software programmer with little creative vision, who is hired to shadow and potentially replace a delusional app developer, whose products are obnoxious yet popular. The web series is a work place comedy that takes on an “Office”-episode vibe. The “Appholes” team released some content online to preview the show. The teaser trailers go into the wacky ideas for apps that the “Appholes” team contemplated over their time working together. They are currently getting ready to film and are looking to release the pilot episode around April 9.

“Bad Date,” created by Adam Armstrong, is a series about two pathetic, lonely and equally narcissistic roommates who send each other on a series of awkward blind dates, meeting a bizarre array of suitors. The show has an episodic feel and casts a male and female roommate. The webisode has teaser trailers that portray two roommates’ conceited attitudes and sets the show up for their dating misadventures. The blind dates take place over different Oswego locales and involve Oswego State students acting as the unusual suitors. The team is even posting its progress on Twitter.

“Hansford,” co-created by Bryan Liberty and Brian Reilly, is a webisode that is shrouded in mystery. The team has not released much information on the webisode, but they are very active in the social media aspect. The team released some teasers on Facebook and Twitter, but they are not directly connected to the webisode. The teasers showcase the team’s humorous acting and their unique style. The “Hansford” team is another group of roommates who eat and sleep their webisode idea, and will make sure to impress the world.

“Only this group of guys could pull off a quirky and ambitious webisode series like ‘Hansford,’” classmate Eric Wojtanile said.

The webisode class has also enlisted the help of some outside sources. Kelsey Titus, president of the Oswego Film Club, has been aiding the “Oz Webbies” from behind the scenes. Briana Purdy, the public relations specialist, has been working with the teams to get their content out locally and nationally, and to help make the Oswego community involved in productions. Riddell has been a beneficial influence for the webisode class. He has worked in the film industry for years, having written three-produced studio movies and one independent film. His role is to encourage the students to create something fresh for the web and to set crucial deadlines for their webisode projects.

Oswego Webisodes will be blowing up the social media scene, and the “Oz Webbies” are hoping that the world, especially Oswego State, will be watching.

“We are showcasing Oswego,” Kesselring said. “This is produced in Oswego, casted with Oswego talent, and it’s profiling the Oswego community. We’re trying to get Oswego on the map.” All of the teams’ profiles and webisodes are available on www.oswegowebisodes.com.