About the Project

Synopsis

Hazbin is a 40-minute proof-of-concept metafiction comedy pilot for a TV miniseries. Hazbin follows Jimmy Matthews, an unemployed 20-something-year-old by day, and a B-List Superhero named Blue Justice by night. After getting mixed up in a fight and getting arrested, Blue Justice begins hearing an inner monologue that causes him to question his sanity. Is he real? Is anything real for that matter?  Throughout this pilot, Jimmy finds himself not just confused about the world around him, but the choices he has made in his life that have got him to where he is. As he tries to navigate the balance of day-to-day unemployed superhero life with the perils of his crumbling psyche, Blue Justice must find a way to understand the mind-bending escapades at hand. When he finds out the answers to what is going on, will he truly ever be able to come back from that?

At its core, Hazbin is a coming-of-age story about navigating your 20s. The main character Jimmy finds himself surrounded by people who are moving swiftly through adulthood. While his best friends are off getting engaged and working their dream jobs, he's stuck playing dress up as a superhero.

Logline: Stuck at rock bottom, a B-List Superhero questions his reality when a series of psychedelic events unfold.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Superhero, Coming-of-age

Inspiration

Hazbin is a story I came up with as both as a love letter to superheroes and a tale of the growing pains of being thrown into the deep end of life. Growing up, I have always loved superheroes. I still remember my mom driving me to see every superhero movie in the theaters and my dad waking me up in the middle of the night to show me his copy of The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray. The first stories I ever told were the ones I came up with while still in diapers back when I was 18 (kidding I promise!) playing with my Lego minifigures of Spider-Man and Green Goblin.  I've always dreamed of telling Superhero stories and what better way to do that than to make your very own Superhero for my very own Superhero show!

The original idea for Hazbin came to me during my first year of college. I had moved across the country for school and had my first breakup the night before. With all that happened, I started making some rather regrettable decisions that came with their fair share of some not-so-great consequences. Being so far away from the life of comfort I had up until then, I realized that this was the first time in my life that I was truly living for myself. I had no family, no friends directly in my corner to steer me correctly. It was on me to figure out what I needed to figure out. To mess up in all the ways I gotta mess up and face the music at the end of the day. 

Blue Justice as a character represents the rock-bottom loser that was created from a series of bad decisions. The desire to want to feel like you matter so you dress up in a blue and purple unitard in order to stop feeling invisible.  I like to believe that each of the characters in Hazbin represents different versions of me and the people I have met over these two years. Some, hurting and confused, while others are more at peace with the world around them. But regardless, all of them are for the first time, simply figuring out life one step at a time, for better or worse.

The only way to describe the visual inspirations of Hazbin is to look at the art of comic book artists who inspired this story. One specific artist I would like to point out is Mitch Gerards, the Eisner Award-winning artist for the graphic novel Mister Miracle (written by Tom King 2021) who has modernized the classic halftone effect that many feel a sense of nostalgia from when they read the vintage comics of the Golden Age. Taking a page out of Gerards' Book, we have implemented a halftone effect into our shots which truly gives Hazbin the comic book aesthetic that sets this apart from other live-action superhero projects. (see the image below to better visualize how we incorporate the halftone effect) 

Not only did we take visual inspiration from comic books, but we also strived to come up with a series of our own psychedelic effects that have not been executed in films and television of the genre. While we will be keeping some of these sequences up our sleeves for now... one we have prided ourselves on from the beginning is what we have coined The Crayon Scene. The Crayon Scene implements a technique known as mixed-media animation in order to get the look of reality blending with other forms of art. In this case, we shot an entire scene and in our post-production process we printed out each frame and colored it with crayon to get the feeling that different mediums are blending with one another. I have seen videographers utilize this effect but with it not being as widely popular in film and television, I felt this would be a perfect effect that can work with the story we are telling.  If you check out our trailer at the top of the page, you will be able to see the animation for this groundbreaking scene in motion!

When discussing the audio inspirations, I feel the films I resonate with the most include films by James Gunn like The Suicide Squad (2021), and television like Extraordinary  (2023-2024). These stories feature soundtracks that include needle drops that enhance the scenes with the familiarity they bring to the audience. When I think of the Soundtrack for Hazbin, I see songs by bands like Vampire Weekend, The Drums, & Dr. Dog. 

Our Team

Hazbin is nothing without the team that made it into what it is. As an entirely student-run film set, everyone working on this project worked to juggle classes, jobs, and personal lives while working diligently to bring this project to life. The stories of the heroes working behind and in front of the camera dedicated to the craft are just as important to be heard!

Starting with the producers, Kathan Reddy, Thomas Hogan, and Ella Conway, have all had the pleasure of working on countless sets together and this project was an opportunity to become closer not only as colleagues but also as friends! The three of us have a wide range of experiences that allowed us to bring this project to life with efficiency and care.

Kathan Reddy (Writer/Director): Kathan Reddy began his journey in filmmaking with Emerson Independent Video (EIV), the largest student-run production company in the United States. Starting out as a PA on sets in 2021, He slowly worked his way up becoming an executive producer for a TV pilot he co-wrote and co-directed titled Speedwell. Continuing to work his way up the ladder, Kathan became the Director of Development for EIV where he oversaw and facilitated a learning environment teaching students how to pitch their projects to a board of professionals. While filming Hazbin, Kathan also worked as the Deputy General Manager of EIV acting as the Human Resources Department for this organization of over 200 people.

Thomas Hogan (Technical Producer): Thomas grew up with a love for all things filmmaking, particularly in the technical and post-production areas. As a lover for dramatic and boundary-pushing television such as Mr. Robot (2015-19), Hazbin was a project he couldn’t have been more excited to help create. Thomas has technical and producing experience in multiple student productions like Floor 13 (ongoing series, EP), Crunch (post-production, director/writer), and EIV's I’m Seeing Someone (post-production, tech producer), each providing valuable learning experiences in tech management and cinematic language. Currently, Thomas is working on his BFA film "Indulgence" shooting in September 2024 and assuming the position of Tech Manager for Emerson Independent Video (EIV), managing camera/lighting/audio equipment rentals and care for 10+ productions in the fall semester.

Ella Conway (Logistics Producer): Ella Conway began working in filmmaking immediately upon arriving at Emerson in 2022, starting with Emerson Independent Video (EIV). She started off as an associate producer for her first set and continues to gravitate towards producing roles. Since her first set, in her four semesters at Emerson College Ella has associate-produced six projects at Emerson, and been a lead logistics producer on five projects, with plans to produce at least two more next semester. Ella has also been on the board of Frames Per Second (FPS), Emerson's oldest film organization. Spring semester of 2024 she was the workshop coordinator, planning and hosting workshops for Emerson students with speakers from different realms of the film world. In the Fall semester of 2024, she will be the president of this organization.   

Kathan, Ella, and Tom hired a team of 35 talented student cast and crew members to be a part of Hazbin. Over the span of 7 days across 3 weekends, the team faced below-freezing temperatures with 20-mile winds coming their way just about the entire time. 14 locations and 120 pairs of Handwarmers later, we were able to make something we can all look back on and feel a mixture of nostalgia and fufillment in! 

Where Do We Want To Go From Here?

W intend to do a festival run beginning sometime in Beginning around April-May of 2025 that will most like extend through the rest of the year. But let's talk a little more idealistic of what we hope for the future of Hazbin. This pilot was the hard work of countless student filmmakers and you, the donors! At the end of the day, we would love to have the opportunity to continue telling this story as a full miniseries one day. The entire story as a whole consists of 6 episodes each about 45 minutes in runtime (6x45). The TV series would continue to follow Blue Justice on his existential journey as he learns to love life for the good and the bad, and in the process, learn to love himself.  It's a harrowing yet heartwarming story that dives further into themes found within the pilot episode including the male romanticization of violence, substance abuse, and above all, love. With enough traction, anything is possible! 

How You Can Help

If you are interested in our story, feel free to follow us on social media! Our page on Instagram (@hazbin.pilot) will keep you up to date on our post-production journey and our release schedule, so be sure to check that out as well. 

The more people we can reach the better. Even if you share this project with a single person, it would mean the world to us!

This crazy superhero story is not just the dream of one person, but the work of dozens of passionate, hard-working storytellers. As student filmmakers, we have hoped to create a story that would push the bounds of storytelling both on a narrative and visual level. Our goal with this pilot is to show people that putting superheroes on the big screen doesn't require a million-dollar budget to be made and look professional. You just need an idea that's super crash(Young Justice reference, which basically means cool) and unique, along with dedication and love for the artform. We had a genuinely amazing time making this pilot and our hope is that you have as much of a blast when you get to watch! So if you have made it this far, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your support means more than you will ever know :)