The Black Dawn
Encyclopedia
The Black Dawn is a post-apocalyptic, science fiction
multimedia project produced by New Renaissance Pictures
. The franchise spans a feature film
, TV series, web series
, short film, comic book
, and videoblogs. Created by William Hellmuth and Abraham Sherman, The Black Dawn follows the survivors of a deadly plague that wipes out most of the world's population and turns the sky permanently black. The series first premiered in January 2009.
The mystery behind the "Black Dawn" is unravelled across multiple mediums in an unprecedented interactive, cross-platform, story-driven experience. Viewers are able to engage with any of the individual components (TV series, video blogs, comic book, etc.) and move through the story non-linearly, in whatever manner they so choose.
The series averaged more than 50,000 viewers per month over its six-month run. Critics praised the interactive components of the series, noting the groundbreaking use of web mediums to present a non-linear story. The series was eventually syndicated on other web networks, including Vuze
.
In late 2009, The Black Dawn was transformed into a broadcast TV series. The various components of the multimedia experience were re-compiled into a dramatic half-hour series, which premiered in nationwide syndication in October 2009.
New Renaissance Pictures re-edited and re-mastered the series as a feature film released in 2010.
, this interactive series gives viewers a unique peek into the backstories of the central characters in The Black Dawn. The videoblogs also include a notable series-within-the-series: The Adam & Ben Show! — an interview series that was perceived as a real college-based news show until the final episode, in which the Black Dawn actually occurs. Before the Black Dawn included more than 30 videoblogs in its run from January to May 2009. The series was directed by Kevin Christensen & Joshua Sikora.
, The Black Dawn: Darkness Falls follows another group of survivors and reveals their dark and hidden connection to the Black Dawn. The comic was written and illustrated by Zach Herring based on a story by Joshua Sikora.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
multimedia project produced by New Renaissance Pictures
New Renaissance Pictures
New Renaissance Pictures is an independent production and distribution company for film, television, and the web, established in 2005. Since its inception, New Renaissance Pictures has been involved with a variety of groundbreaking new media projects, including WebSerials.com and the multimedia...
. The franchise spans a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, TV series, web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
, short film, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, and videoblogs. Created by William Hellmuth and Abraham Sherman, The Black Dawn follows the survivors of a deadly plague that wipes out most of the world's population and turns the sky permanently black. The series first premiered in January 2009.
The mystery behind the "Black Dawn" is unravelled across multiple mediums in an unprecedented interactive, cross-platform, story-driven experience. Viewers are able to engage with any of the individual components (TV series, video blogs, comic book, etc.) and move through the story non-linearly, in whatever manner they so choose.
History
In 2008, The Black Dawn was conceived and developed as an original web series for WebSerials.com by William Hellmuth & Abraham Sherman. Produced by New Renaissance Pictures, the series originally focused on a group of survivors of an unknown virus that appears to kill everyone else in the world. While in production on the series, Executive Producer Joshua Sikora developed the integrated multimedia experience that expanded the world of The Black Dawn with interactive content spanning a short film, an online comic, and in-character videoblogs. The Black Dawn experience launched in January 2009 on WebSerials.com and YouTube.The series averaged more than 50,000 viewers per month over its six-month run. Critics praised the interactive components of the series, noting the groundbreaking use of web mediums to present a non-linear story. The series was eventually syndicated on other web networks, including Vuze
Vuze
Vuze is a BitTorrent client used to transfer files via the BitTorrent protocol. Vuze is written in Java, and uses the Azureus Engine. In addition to downloading data linked to by .torrent files, Azureus allows users to view, publish and share original DVD and HD quality video content...
.
In late 2009, The Black Dawn was transformed into a broadcast TV series. The various components of the multimedia experience were re-compiled into a dramatic half-hour series, which premiered in nationwide syndication in October 2009.
New Renaissance Pictures re-edited and re-mastered the series as a feature film released in 2010.
Television series
The seven-episode television series follows the entire story of the Black Dawn, intercutting between the survivors of the virus and flashbacks to key moments leading up to the disaster. Each episode is 30 minutes including advertising. It was followed by the feature film edit, shown as two parts of one hour each.| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Web serial
Focused on the thirteen survivors of the Black Dawn after the virus strikes, the 24-episode web serial premiered in January 2009. The web serial was directed by William Hellmuth and written by Abraham Sherman & Brian Walton. The series was also compiled into six chapters, available exclusively on WebSerials.com.The Black Dawn: Catalyst
Catalyst is a short film that serves as a dramatic prequel to The Black Dawn, chronicling the story of Dr. Steven Wilkins and his attempts to stop the virus from being unleashed. Catalyst was first released on WebSerials.com and is also integrated into the TV series. The short film was directed by Joshua Sikora and written by Joshua Sikora & Kevin Christensen.Before the Black Dawn
Utilizing videoblogs released on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, this interactive series gives viewers a unique peek into the backstories of the central characters in The Black Dawn. The videoblogs also include a notable series-within-the-series: The Adam & Ben Show! — an interview series that was perceived as a real college-based news show until the final episode, in which the Black Dawn actually occurs. Before the Black Dawn included more than 30 videoblogs in its run from January to May 2009. The series was directed by Kevin Christensen & Joshua Sikora.
Comic book
Released as an online comicWebcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
, The Black Dawn: Darkness Falls follows another group of survivors and reveals their dark and hidden connection to the Black Dawn. The comic was written and illustrated by Zach Herring based on a story by Joshua Sikora.
Feature film
The feature film tells the central story of the franchise, focusing on Adam — one of the original survivors of the virus. The feature film is a re-mastered, re-edited version of the web series released in 2010. The film is directed by William Hellmuth and written by Abraham Sherman & Brian Walton.Cast
The Black Dawn features an ensemble cast across the entire franchise.- Jordan Warren as Adam Forrester, protagonist
- Eamon Glennon as Lee Smith, losing candidate for class president, military veteran
- Misty Madden as Julie Thompson
- Tristan Scott as Noah Fletcher, Dr. Wilkins' lab assistant
- Kevin Harland as Wally Anderson
- David Siik as Montgomery "Fox" Foxworthy
- Christy Giannestras as Kristen Wright
- Kerri Hellmuth as Elyse Smith, Lee's sister
- Todd Tetreault as Mack Summers
- Joel Sappington as Dwayne Brown
- Bobo Chang as Alex Chang
- Missy Walker as Grace Ellis
- Amanda Turner as Elizabeth Flanders
- Rachelle Klemme as Tricia
- William Landsman as Samuel, a terrorist
- Caleb Griffin as Mark, an FBI agent
- Skip Pipo as Dr. Steven Wilkins, scientist and college instructor working on cancer treatment, who develops an antidote to the virus
- Laurel Vail as Lila Reed, a federal agent and old friend of Dr. Wilkins
- Parnell Damone as Max
- Jesse Grotholson as Kirby
- Joshua Adam Snyder as Ben, Adam's friend; Adam and Ben host a video blog
- Kelsey Scott as News Anchor