IIE: What happened to Chad?  What is he missing and how did he lose it?

Aaron: It all started when Chad ran into a volcano while riding his bike.

Matt: Chad was a bit slow before that, too. Everyone who's had a smarter older brother sometimes feels inferior.

Aaron: He's gotta live in the shadow of Darth and that is sometimes a big shadow.

 

IIE: Why "Blame Society Productions"?

Aaron: We are blaming society for all the videos we make so you won't blame us..."Blame Society" has been the name of our production company for about 15 years.

 

IIE: Comedy seems to be your main interest, what makes a story funny?

Aaron:  There's just something in the way you tell it...or the timing...an instinct when we're creating something.  It's not something you can force...it's more like whittling wood.  You just see what works and what doesn't.  There's never a guarantee that something will be funny.  It's good to go through that stage.

Matt: We know it works for us if we think it's funny, or interesting.  Sometimes we wonder if the audience is going to respond...we listen to our own instincts and follow them and I think the audience appreciates that.

 

IIE: You've been quoted as saying your "styles compliment each other".  Please elaborate.

Aaron: I'm not as good at putting together a coherent story.  Matt is good at bringing me back to earth.  I'm good at creating an unexpected, crazy joke. 

Matt: We are on the same page comedically and play to each other's strengths when we're writing and performing...we work well together.

Aaron: We do have very similar senses of humor.  We get each other's jokes...

 

IIE: "Weird Jimmy" is a big hit with audiences.  Can you give us a hint on how you plan to develop his character?

Aaron: We're going to learn a little bit more about who he is...

Matt: ...about how he became weird.  Weird Jimmy's personal story runs parallel to some of the other characters, metaphorically speaking.  We're really happy with the fact that people like the series as a whole, that they like the ensemble.

Aaron: We wanted characters that people like alongside Chad.

 

IIE: Who were your major influences?

Matt: Our personal idols are the guys who created Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

Aaron: They used to be on Comedy Central, then were on Sci-Fi.  That was our inspiration...they broke the mold by not doing it in New York.  They were in Minneapolis.  By being here in Madison, we get a lot of inspiration.  We have a network of people built up here...things are more relaxed and it's easy to get locations in Madison or right outside of Madison.  There's a lot more freedom here, it's not as country as it would seem.

Matt: Mystery Science Theatre is a great show.  They are a real inspiration to us and we got to work with them in San Diego which was a great thrill for us. 

 

IIE: Some viewers have requested longer episodes.  Is there a reason each episode is roughly five mintues in length?

Matt: We started out making shorts for Channel 101.  They have a 5 minute limit and actually it hones your skills to work within those time limits.  It's a great way to help your story stay concise and tight.

Aaron: Everyone says if internet shows are longer than 3 minutes people won't watch them, but that hasn't proven true for us.

Matt: "Super Shooter" and "Fun Rangers" both came out of 48 Hour Film challenges.  That kind of empowerment feeds our creativity.

 

IIE: Matt, I read on blamesociety.net that you are an experienced stage and improvisational actor.  Can you tell us about your experiences doing stage vs. film/TV?

Matt: I was never at home in the theatre.  The process always felt frustrating and I always felt like I did my best performances in rehearsal.  Improv is great in that you get a result right now.  I do miss doing plays and if I had the time I'd do it again just for fun.  We both met doing improv and we participate in an improv show here in Madison every week.  We get a lot of ideas and it's a great way to blow off steam.

 

IIE: How did you come up with the idea for "Chad Vader"?

Aaron: We had an idea in our archives for a long time...basically that Darth Vader just goes around killing people in a grocery store.  It seemed like a one episode joke so eventually when we were looking for ideas we dredged it up again, having totally forgotten all about it.  We came up with the idea of Chad who doesn't have the backbone to tell other people what to do...he has all the super powers but not the charisma to use the powers.  Once we took the original idea and twisted it we felt we could create this new character that is not Darth Vader at all.

Matt: Legend has it that Aaron was really into the idea and I really hated it...that's not quite true, I was just a little resistant to it.  I liked some of our more original series like "McCourt's in Session" and wanted to continue along that vein rather than make what I saw as a "fan film".  Once we started working on it, however, it just took on a life of its own.  We wanted it to be its own story in its own world, and I think we succeeded in doing that.

Aaron: It was Matt's resistance that made us make sure we turned the idea into something...

Matt: More original.

 

IIE: Do you ever work from just an outline?

Aaron: On occasion, we do shoot from an outline but with "Chad Vader" we are trying to tell a coherent story so we script it ahead of time.  The danger of an outline is that we might have to reshoot some things in order to get the larger, plotted out story. 

Matt: We shoot really late at night, around 2 am so a concrete script is good to fall back on.  "Chad Vader" is the most scripted show we work on...a lot of our stuff is more "fly by the seat of your pants" type stuff.

Aaron: When we have a script we are open to  using what comes out of improvisation because lots of times you get unexpected humor that way.

Matt: It's always more organic and ultimately more satisfying when you go with the flow.  You just hope the audience will get it and enjoy it.  I tend to think absurdity is funnier than wit; things that don't make sense are funny to me.  We tend to use takes that have actors flubbing lines, the spontaneity is very funny.

 

IIE: Please elaborate on your statement to, "...do what stimulates you, not what you think other people want to see."

Aaron: We've talked to people and they don't realize we were following our bliss and just doing whatever struck our fancy.  We just try to make something we are excited about.

Matt: A lot of people try to figure out what they think the audience wants to see and let that shape what they make...and that's a real backwards way to make art.  We make what we want and hope that the audience can follow along, and most of the time they do, and I think they appreciate the honesty.

Aaron: You have to take a risk...if you're confident and you're really sure something is going to be successful, then you're probably wrong.  What we do is go forward not really knowing if something is going to work or not...at times feeling even dismal about it...at times feeling unsure and not being able to tell if it'll work or not.

 

IIE: Is there anything you would like to add?

Aaron: We try to constantly make videos...we make at least one five minute video every month.  We started doing that and eventually our skills improved and so did the work we were making.  We found an idea that stuck...it's so important to keep at it, and eventually you'll find an audience.  Just by persistance we managed to get to where we wanted to and we're still going.  It's important to keep going.  I always felt like I was getting good feedback from other than my family and felt that I could make a career.

Matt: We work with a great crew that works for free right now and their input and efforts are really crucial to what we're doing.  We are really lucky to have them and we appreciate them.  Also, the audience is a lot smarter than most people think.  They are smart and have a good bullshit detector.  They know when you are making something dishonest or that will pander to their baser instincts and they don't respond to it.

The originality and comedy of Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda is not to be missed.  After watching Episodes 1 and 2 of "Chad Vader", I cannot wait to see the remaining six, as well as check out their other shows, "McCourt's in Session" and "Fun Rangers".  Season 2 of "Chad Vader" will soon be available on YouTube.com, visit  www.blamesociety.net for up to the minute details.