Mark of the Wolf: The First 15 Years

15 Years.

Wow. Hard to believe that it was fifteen years ago today that “Mark of the Wolf” officially entered the online world with its first episode “Conundrum”.

I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that it’s been that long, or the fact that it’s been even longer than that since I came up with the concept that has grown to become “MOTW”.

To put it into perspective, here’s the first thing I wrote online about MOTW, which wasn’t on this date, but even further than that: January 31, 2005.

“Let's face it, werewolf movies have gotten quite lame lately.

Sure, there have been a few exceptions, but there have been way too many lackluster movies involving lycanthropes. Stupid plotlines. Horrible acting. Terrible transformation scenes. Just films that, as a werewolf fan, have totally let me down.

There's a saying that goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself".

So, I'm setting out to film my very own werewolf movie.

This all began several years ago as a writing assignment for college. It was a one scene sample for film class. My scene was for a werewolf movie. A movie that I wanted to see. I got an "A" for my effort.

The cool part about this was, I had so much fun doing that scene, I continued working on it on my free time, until I had written out an entire script outline, one that I envisioned being a five-part epic designed for TV or video.”

So yeah, that’s how it started for me. Because first and foremost, I’m a fan of werewolves. Unabashed die hard fan. It started when I saw the original “WolfMan” movie on the old Saturday night horror movie show as a kid, and then seeing “An American Werewolf in London” on video. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan and wanted to see more of that, especially after seeing not just “AWIL”, but “The Howling” as well.

But as I mentioned way back in 2005, those types of movies sucked. And sadly, with a few exceptions, it still does. And it was that, along with thinking about a good friend of mine at the time my college assignment came together, which sparked the concept that exists today.

Over the years, I came up with writing samples, scene fragments and various forms until I had a fully functional script for MOTW. I initially wrote it as a five part miniseries, then it became a full on movie script. At the time, I thought this movie idea would come together, even cast another good friend for the lead – which I’ll talk more about later. But I would soon realize that doing a movie, especially one with the scope I had in mind, was something too big and expensive for me to do.

I still have the script and the concepts, and maybe one day I’ll turn it till a full on novel or comic or something like that. But that concept will see its fruition one day.

From late 2005 to 2007, MOTW morphed and reformed into many things. A teaser trailer concept. A solo short film (with a way different storyline). And then, a mini series, which would be the early concept of what MOTW is today. But back then, all of those ideas were too big at the time, at least for me.

It also went through various changes. Getting one story done and then a casting search for a lead role that started off with a one time friend from another state, then finding someone based in my home state of Michigan. Things that went back and forth and eventually fell through.

In September 2007, our first ever video hit online. It was simple, a teaser trailer that explained the concept of what will be the MOTW WebSeries. Thanks to a friend of mine, Eric Smigiel, (who would become a key player in a lot of the early years of MOTW), he filmed several scenes that would be the impetus for the WebSeries. I edited the footage and had another friend at the time put together the VFX and things were off and running. It debuted on YouTube and we got some good buzz from those who had watched it.

A month later, I would make my first mention of what is known now as “MOTW: The Web Series”. At the time, the plan was for the series to run in tandem with the movie (which was what I still planning on doing). The series would connect to the film, with me writing a few ideas and my online filmmaking friends coming up with others. It was gonna be a ten part series and would end with a prelude to the actual film.

Looking back on it now, it was a high concept and a huge gamble on my part. But it lit the fuse for what MOTW is today.

Among those who had signed up to do an episode of the series was another online friend of mine, William Phelps. From January to June, he worked on this, even after dealing with numerous delays and obstacles. And thanks to his efforts -and many, many emails and online chats with yours truly - his episode, “Conundrum” was the first to hit the internet on this day.

And the rest is history.

That first year, as things started to come together, something pretty cool would happen. Thanks to relationships with several good friends who were a great help and were always interested in the concept, two more episodes – both filmed in England – came out later that year, “The Message” (which debuted in October), and “The Garage” (which premiered in December). That one was a game changer and would set the tone for the later episodes to come.

And MOTW would become a part of my life ever since. Since that first episode, thirteen episodes has since premiered online. I already mentioned “The Message” and “The Garage”. The others that followed are: “Pet” (2010), “Dark Responsibility” and “The Suspect” (2011), “The Test Case” and “Out of Control” (2012), “The Argument” and “No Turning Back” (2013), “Turn (or the End of the Wolf)” (2020) and “All Tied Up” (2022).

We even went outside the box with two other episodes: “Detention” (2012), an episode filmed with an all kids cast, and “”Prisoner 109” (2015), our first animated episode.

We also did something I called “promos”, super short films that were part of the MOTW Universe. We’ve done six of those, “Clock’s Ticking” and “Time is Running Short” (2009), “The Full Moon Files” (2010), “Sanctuary” (2012), “The Intruder” (2013) and “Sam’s Story” (2015), which was the closest I came to doing a story that was based on the original concept I created.

So yeah, it’s been a crazy ride for all these years. Of course, it had its share of hiccups and bumps in the road. A lot of the episodes were very lean back in those early years. I mean, what do you expect for a no to low budget series. Several had technical problems that plagued its release. Some didn’t get released at all. I know at least one that got hit hard with problems and I’m doing everything in my power to fix it.

But in spite of it all, I’m damn proud of what MOTW has become. When it started, I had very little filmmaking experience, except for what I learned in college. My initial plan was to write out the ideas and storylines and then hand them over to those who had better access to film equipment. Like cameras, microphones and lighting. All stuff that I didn’t have at the time.

But working on the series also became a hands on film school experience for me. I would soon work my first ever project as a director with “The Test Case”. I would later get my own camera and equipment and would work on my own films as well, “Sam’s Story” and “All Tied Up”.

Which brings us to today. And to fifteen years of MOTW.

As for how we’ll celebrate this milestone, we’re gonna do a few things. Starting with this post, we’ll be talking about the anniversary from now till the end of 2023. Over seven months. I’m gonna be doing several write ups like this one reflecting on key moments in the series’ history. And even do a few videos on them as well.

And I won’t be doing this alone. I’ve put the call out to every director, writer and actor of the series, with one request: to talk about their time on MOTW. Some have done numerous episodes in front of the camera, as well as behind the camera. The odds are strong that we may not hear from everyone. I’ve lost touch with many of the players involved over the years, and some may not have much to say, or nothing at all. But I do hope that they’ll add their perspective in the coming months.

In addition to blogs and videos, I’m also gonna do a few things that I’ve never done before. Topping the list is a retrospective video. A full on video that will cover every MOTW moment from that teaser trailer in 2007 to today. I may even do what I call the “transformation cut”. I look at it like this: if you’re doing a web series about werewolves, you got to showcase the fun part of werewolves: showing them change into beasts, and maybe even showing them change back.

And while we’ll be celebrating the past, we’re also looking ahead to the future.Two NEW episodes will debut during our 15th year: “The Incident” and “After Hours”, both written and directed by yours truly. Watch for teasers, trailers and then, the world premieres of the full episode throughout the year. “The Incident” will premiere over the summer, while “After Hours” will debut in the fall.

Who knows? We might have a surprise story pop up before the year is done.

And finally, I also want to talk about what is probably my most intensive project for MOTW: “Prey: Cole’s Story” is a short film that I devoted many years putting together. A project that me and my friends filmed off and on over the last two years. Right now, we’re in the post production phase with this story, but I do plan on releasing a teaser and a full trailer for it during the year. As for when you’ll see the actual film? That is in the works, but this film will have to run its own course first.

As I look back on how far “Mark of the Wolf” has come over the years, I do want to take a moment to thank every man and woman who helped out with this in one form or another. A project as bold and as unique as MOTW is something one guy like me couldn’t do alone. I had a lot of help from a lot of friends. Many I’ve never met in person. We went through a lot of emails, online chats, message boards and other avenues to put every project associated with this together. At any time, at any moment, this could’ve stopped dead in its tracks. But it didn’t. These people who helped me along this all saw how different and unique and interesting doing a werewolf story can be. And they also knew how passionate and dedicated I was about it. Some who were fans of the genre just like me. And all of them climbed aboard this crazy train and went on one hell of a ride. And for that I’m forever grateful. I’ll mention all of them in a later post. But for this day, for this milestone moment, I want to especially thank Will Phelps for being the first to put this story online, and to Eric Smigiel who helped me out in its earliest stages, and would later help in a few other ways as well. But that’s for another day.

MOTW has been a part of my life in one form or another for the last 15 years. And in some cases even longer than that. And through its bumps and bruises and letdowns and grey hairs and stress headaches, through all of it, I am so damn proud to have brought this together. The people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve shared and the comments I’ve read (both good and bad) from viewers all over the world had made all of this so worthwhile. And it’s something that I’ll gladly own and treasure for the rest of my days.

I recall a moment back in 2008 when I was in San Diego for a convention, and while talking about this with a friend of mine, another person who was part of the conversation had heard about MOTW through my friend and as he introduced me to him, he said, “Is this the werewolf guy?” I nodded and said “Yes I am”. And if that’s what I’m known for, then I’ll gladly accept it and embrace it fully.

Thanks for being a part of this for the past 15 years.

Here’s to all the stories that've been done and for those that are yet to come.

Let’s continue to make our Mark.

---- Mark E. Brown,Creator/Head Writer/Producer.