Saturday, March 5, 2016

Easter Eggs of The Realm



Inside The Realm web series are a few ‘Easter Eggs’, some real, others for fans of Butterfleye Films and so on. Here are some of the Easter Eggs of season 1. Let us know if you find others!
1.      Sorcha’s name revealed in episode 3. If you looked closely at the book, "Signs, Symbols & Omens" Warlock was using while talking to James and Sorcha you would have seen a couple of things of interest in the other books alongside.
A.    Crossroads: This is a reference to a book series my wife Allyson has written about two souls who always reincarnate and find each other. Like James and Sorcha, I want their love to be eternal.
B.     Sorcha. Yup, It's Sorcha's name right there in plain sight. I thought it would be cool to put it there never forgetting that the audience is not dumb someone might have jotted down these clues and remembered.
C.    Insight.  This one is actually the name of my Ghost Hunting group. (On top of writing, directing, musical composer and editor, I also hunt ghosts!) It felt appropriate since this story deals with the paranormal.

2.      MS-408. In the series, Warlock reveals this to be "The Voynich Manuscript" A strange book that cannot be deciphered. This book, in fact, exists in real life. It is stored at Yale University where it has the catalog name… you guessed it, MS-408. I ran across the story of the manuscript some years ago and thought it would be great to include it to suggest that people from The Realm have been here before. (Also, it is referenced in Warlocks book as a sticky note at the top of the cover. You can also kind of spot it behind Warlock in her office in episode 5).

3.      Mysterious Crystal: In episode 12: part 1, as Ashley is looking through the manuscript; the page facing the camera shows a strange yellow crystal with a red center like a flower. It has been seen before and will be seen again. Keep digging.


4.      What the hell kind of stuffed bear is that? In James's bedroom on the headboard, you will see a rather deranged looking teddy bear. This is, in fact, FUFU, He is Butterfleye Films unofficial mascot..sorta. He has appeared in every film we have made. That thing is a diva as you can tell.

5.      Who lives in Apt. #342? You might have notice that James has neighbors. The Apartment across from his is numbered #342 this is a reference to one of Butterfleye Films movies called “Case #342” a found footage horror film, who knows maybe that apartment is haunted?


6.      Harrington Hospital: Sorcha is obsessed with a soap opera called Harrington Hospital. This fake soap opera is actually produced by Butterfleye Films and can be seen on the web here. I even went as far as to give the show an entire history from the 1950's to the present. I wanted to make it seem as real as possible. You can read about it here.

7.      But wait there is more: Also next to the TV you can see some films. Star Wars is the box set as James is a big sci-fi fantasy fan…much like myself. The two films next to that are “Timequake” And “Attack of the Atomic Zombies”. These were the first two films made by Butterfleye Films.

8.      There something on the TV: In the restaurant scene, as Dustin passes by the bar to get to Cassie, there is something is on the TV.  Look and you will see it's the opening credits for a TV show called "Woven". This, in fact, was the original web series we intended to do but dropped in favor of producing The Realm.


Keep an eye out during season two for more Easter egg fun! Season 2 of The Realm starts in June 2016.