‘everyday superheroes,’ the making of a semi-animated action adventure.

If you told me about a year ago I’d write and direct a semi-animated superhero-themed video series on the Oz Roller Girls, I’d likely say you were crazy. But crazy is the currency of derby, it seems, and so this week we launched the first episode of “Everyday Superheroes,” a six-webisode serial promoting the league, its skaters and the sport.

I woke up one morning with a strange idea for a web video series to promote Oz where the rollergirls would play everyday superheroes. In addition to the intended cheesiness, a somewhat serious message that anyone can be a hero underpins the cheeky humor and slapstick action scenes. The atmosphere is loosely inspired by the old Saturday-morning superhero serial Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as well as ’60s-era Batman campiness.

With generally supportive feedback from the rollergirls, I roughed out six scripts tied to our schedule — the expositive Episode 1 is generic and related to recruitment, while the next five installments promote our five home bouts. But the whole project kicked up a notch when the talented Phillip Moore, a recent SUNY Oswego grad and friend of the league, came on board.

He came up for the idea to use rotoscope-type animation that gives the series such a distinctive look. Phillip showed me two versions of one episode — one with the animation, one without — and the version with the comic-book look hit the mark. He worked on touches like J-Rock-It’s glowing star to add to the awesome.

The Oz Roller Girls look over scripts during our filming session. (Lindi Himes photo)

The filming, complete with hapless guards (I’m one of them) getting pummeled in fight scenes, came together in about two hours on a Sunday. A call for various props returned countless comical weapons and costume pieces. Some of the most amusing bits were developed by the rollergirls themselves, which made the creative process even more enjoyable.

The adventure ahead will involve combat, cliffhangers, peril and escape, skating skills, a final showdown and a surprise twist ending. Very much looking forward to sharing the whole series with the world!