From Oak Ridge to “Euston Prep”: Alumni Produces New Webseries

April 13, 2012
Filed under Features

Lights, camera, action! Although many are familiar with this phrase, few are aware of what actually goes on behind the scenes of a production. There are scripts to write, sets and lighting to manage, actors to direct, along with many other details. One of Oak Ridge’s own alumni is currently learning how difficult all this can be. NYU graduate, Annie Liu is the co-creator and executive producer of “Euston Prep”.

“I have a pretty great group of friends out in Los Angeles all working in various areas in the entertainment industry. In early 2012, we decided we wanted to do something that would put our skills fully to use and the idea to shoot a web series came into mind. “Euston Prep” is a project that’s been gestating for some time and now just seemed like the perfect time to put it all together and make it a reality,” Liu said.

The web series’ crew went through a long creative process to decide what their show would be about.

“My friend Andrew and I were discussing Sherlock Holmes and how much we both loved the stories and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The idea came around that if we did a variation of the characters and put them in an interesting environment like boarding school, it could be really fun and interesting. I love television, particularly shows like Veronica Mars and Castle, so this just seemed like a natural extension of those. The idea sat around for a while and then I reapproached him and asked him what he thought about us making the show for ourselves. I managed to get my friend Kacy on board (she went to school for directing at New York Film Academy) and we’ve just be working towards getting this made ever since. We’ve managed to gather together a super talented cast and crew and I’m just really excited about it,” Liu said.

This idea wasn’t just a spur of the moment deal for Liu. She’s been working hard to study urban design and architecture and film and TV production at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Everything she’s been doing has worked up to this very project.

“I did a minor in Film and TV production at NYU and then came out west to Los Angeles to do an internship for Marvel Studios. While doing that, I came to the realization that I really wanted to produce and work in story development, finding new things that would make good movies. So after the internship ended, I got a job working for a producer and now I do that!” Liu said.

Liu’s time at Oak Ridge influenced her future decisions. With the love and support of her teachers in high school, she was able to pursue her career in the production industry.

“I was part of the Oak Ridge newspaper staff while I was in school and being editor in chief really helped me in terms of knowing when to cut my losses. If a story just isn’t going well, it’s time to approach it from another perspective. It’s important to know what you like and what people will want to see or read, and being involved in newspaper really helped me figure that out early on. Ms. Butler was incredibly supportive, not only in school, but afterwards when I was in college and even now out in the real world. I’ve been lucky to have a number of teachers who really have made an impact on the books I read in school and many of my high school English teachers were really fundamental in introducing me to the art of telling a good story. My full-time job now is to find things that make great stories and I love it,” Liu said.

Liu has been very successful in her life so far, and hopes that her current project will exceed expectations as well.

“We just want people to see this show and enjoy it. Essentially, we’re doing this a roundabout way where we’re cutting out the middleman (the TV networks) and releasing it directly to the audience. If people like it and respond to it and appreciate it, at the end of the day we’ll be very happy,” Liu said.

Anyone can help make “Euston Prep” a success. The web series’ crew is currently taking donations to raise money for their project.

“Check out our web site (http://eustonprep.com) and tell their family and friends about this show. We have a really exciting story to tell and we hope that people will be excited to watch it. Making a show does cost money, even though none of us are getting paid (we do this for the love!), so any spare change donated to us at www.indiegogo.com/Euston-Prep will go towards making the show even better,” Liu said.

Liu knows what it’s like out in the real world and has plenty of advice for students at Oak Ridge.

“Do what feels right. Some people are lucky enough to know exactly what they want to do when they leave high school, others not much so. Do what will make you the happiest and what you can realistically see yourself doing for 40 or 50 years. Make a list of what you’re good at and figure things out from there! Don’t be afraid to take a chance on something and don’t be scared because in 20 something years, you don’t want to be regretting not making a leap of faith when you had the chance. Basically, take the risk if you can. But also, if you really want something, be prepared to work very hard for it. Nobody’s going to hold your hand and some days might just honestly suck. That’s one of the reasons why we’re making Euston Prep– we didn’t want to wait around for the opportunity to do something like this, we wanted to create it for ourselves,” Liu said.

Succeeding in the production industry takes a lot of work, but it also takes character and people who are passionate about what they do.

“I’ve seen people in this industry who are flaky and always late, who don’t know their lines, things like that. That reputation will follow you. I think it applies to everything in life in a way, so in anything you do, don’t be the person with that kind of reputation. We’ve been lucky that our cast and crew truly do this for the sake of telling a great story and everyone who has been involved have been incredibly diligent and enthusiastic. Euston Prep has been an incredibly collaborative process and I am really excited to share the show with everyone back at Oak Ridge HS,” Liu said.