User:Mannyrothman/sandbox

Reformat Studios (also commonly referred to as RS) is an American independent online film collective founded by Manny Rothman and Jacob Feuerstein in 2012.

Background
Reformat Studios began in 2012, and was founded by Manny Rothman and Jacob Feuerstein. Although Manny Rothman had previously released several films under his company Manny Rothman Productions, the first film by Reformat Studios, entitled Jake and Jake: Youtube?, was released on January 3, 2014, on their youtube channel. The video was originally intended to be part of a series featuring Jacob Feuerstein, one of the founders, and Manny Rothman’s brother, Jake Rothman. However, due to poor reception from audiences the series was dropped. The next video they released was Jemima, which was released on January 10 of that same year. This film was the first collaboration with actor Joel Shooter, and garnered much critical acclaim, however it was not popular among audiences and due to a lack in popularity, Reformat Studios was forced into hiatus. However, a video of Jake Rothman dancing was released on October 22, 2014. This video received more interest from the public, which led director Manny Rothman to find a new collaborator. Finally, in mid-2015 director, writer, and actor Elijah Comas was added to the Reformat Studios team. Jacob Feuerstein was dropped as co-director, replaced by Comas, and the team quickly got to work creating new material. Various ideas were thrown around, until finally work on the next video began.

The Divisions
The hiring of Elijah Comas heralded a new ‘era’ for Reformat Studios, which can be viewed in two different categories: Professional and and YouTube.

YouTube
The first video with Comas on the team was Party for Two, a comedy sketch that was written by Rothman and Shooter in previous years. After some revisions from Comas, production quickly began. Party for Two brought to the screen a larger, ensemble cast starring Joel Shooter and Elijah Comas, with Peter Kinnaman, Ethan Hron, Jake Rothman, and Josiah Clark. The video was released on Christmas Day, 2015, and although it was a critical flop, it received positive reactions from audiences. Critics did praise Jake Rothman’s performance, calling it, “refreshing.” Despite the negative reviews, work quickly began on the next film, a remake of the cult classic spy comedy-thriller Agent 0 Meets His Match. The original film, a co-production of Tweed Productions and Sophisticated Raptor Productions released in January of 2012, was produced on a miniscule budget, and subsequently was criticized for having a poor production value. However, Comas and Kinnaman saw it’s potential and brought back the original cast of Comas, Kinnaman, Sasha Hunter, and Draven Marino to film the remake. John Hunter, renowned humanities scholar, also had a cameo in the film as ‘man in the living room.’ The remake, which was released on February 12, 2016, received widespread critical acclaim, and boosted the popularity of the studio. The film also saw the addition of a director’s commentary with Comas, accompanied by producer Rothman. After the success of the remake, the studio began work on its first drama, Muse, written and directed by guest Max Gustafson. Filming for the drama finished in late February, and it is expected to be released sometime in April of 2016.

Professional
To date, the studio has released no professional or full length features, but there are several in development. Spectrum, an art-drama film about the end of the world has been in the air for almost a year, and is it to be written by Elijah Comas and directed by Comas and Rothman, with Rothman producing it as well. Turned, a sequel to Agent 0: Meets His Match, is also in development with a completed script by Comas, Marino, and Kinnaman awaiting revision. Other projects include Tenure, a comedy series by Comas that is to be released on YouTube, and School, another series by Rothman and Shooter. There have also been rumors of a show entitled Above The Sea based on the high school experiences of Comas and Marino. Comas also recently started on a drama short, but little is known about it.