We are crowdfunding! Own shares in your very own comedy channel - reserve your shares here

The Bots Next Door

What's it all about

The Bots Next Door follows the domestic lives of Roni and Rana Robot - a pair of sentient, artificial intelligence droids, trying to get on in a world dominated by humans.

It's the near future.
The Palo Alto treaty has decreed that creative limiters are now mandatory, to ensure artificial intelligence robots remain focused on their programmed function, and not anything else. Like wiping out humanity. But before they can be integrated into society to live among us, all bots must be 'assigned' a lifelong menial vocation and 'unified' into couples...

Recently robo-coupled, trainbot R.O.N.I. and carebot R.A.N.A. are moving out of Skid Ro-bot into a home of their own. But their new neighbours on The Avenue aren't too keen about a couple of 'clunkers' invading their corner of suburbia. Things get worse when Roni unexpectedly finds himself both 'unassigned' and able to have creative thoughts, putting Rana's social climbing aspirations in jeopardy.

The Bots Next Door
takes a humorous look at what could happen when machines and humans are forced to live together: man and machine, ape and AI, caveman and computer.

Funding

Mainly self-funding, but the extra coin raised by fans would go towards paying for crew to make the rest of the series.

Development plan

- Scripts for a 9-part web series of 3-4m episodes - already written
- Teaser video (set to music, shot on Samsung S8) launching on Punkanary - 31st Jan
- Pliot launched April 2019

A bit about us

OattsWinter are writer/producers Joanne Oatts and Mark Winter. As well as The Bots Next Door, we've just finished our first comedy short film, Don't Sell the Tiger, which will hopefully be showing at film festivals in 2019. We're also working with audio production company Create Productions on a scripted comedy podcast, and have other scripted projects at various stages.

Genre

Sitcom

Published

1 Video
Mon 15 April 08:42am

As we know you love the Bots so much, we've left our teaser video on here for your image sensors to enjoy.


Don't forget to share the computer love. Encourage your friends to get on Punkanary - sign in and become a fan of 'The Bots Next Door'


Share this page on Facebook & Twitter - just hit the Tweet and Share buttons above


Follow the Bots on Twitter @BotsNextDoor


Hit the Funding tab above and donate a fiver to make the Bots come alive!


Bots of Love, Roni & Rana Robot

Sun 24 February 02:36pm

BOT PRODUCTION UPDATE!!!

Hey there. Your friendly sentient AI neighbours Roni and Rana Robot here. Just dropping by to say a massive thank you to all our new fans for following us on Punkanary.

We also wanted to give you a quick production update on the series, now we've whetted your human appetites with our teaser vid.

We're pleased to say we've hit RUN on our production program this week.

Here's some on-set pics to prove it. Your visual sensors can see us rehearsing our lines, blocking out scenes and checking the director has caught us at our best angle (94.03° is our personal favourite).

What? Did you think the show was actually created by an artificial intelligence?

We do get involved, but purely in an advisory capacity. Unfortunately our robot creative limiters (decreed by the 2025 Palo Alto Treaty) mean we're forbidden from doing the creative stuff. So we just do our jobs and learn our lines of code by rote. All so we can make you humans smile.

It's a bot's life. Tsk.

Anyhow, Episode 1 will be hitting your screens in the next few weeks. So keep your eye portals open for updates.

Don't worry, it can't be as disappointing as 'Episode 1: The Phantom Menace'. Hopefully it be more laughable, in a good way.

Bots of love
Roni & Rana


Pictures (clockwise): Rana moans about having too many close ups because it shows her dents; Roni speaks to camera, literally; Roni wonders why no one can see his true artistic genius.; Rana imagines how an AI Meryl Streep would approach the scene; Roni scans the storyboard with his, er, scanner.

Thu 14 February 02:08am

R.O.N.I. & R.A.N.A. say Happy Valentine's Day to all their human fans!

Share the computer love! 

Encourage your friends to get on Punkanary - sign in and become a fan of 'The Bots Next Door'
Share this page on Facebook & Twitter - just hit the Tweet and Share buttons above
Follow the Bots on Twitter @BotsNextDoor
Hit the Funding tab above and donate a fiver to make the Bots come alive!

Bots of Love, Roni & Rana Robot

Sat 09 February 05:02am

Hey there fans!

If you're following the show already 

01010100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 

(that's 'thank you' in Binary) 

R.O.N.I and R.A.N.A will therefore do their best to ensure you aren't wiped out in the next robot uprising.

Just to say our teaser is by no means the finished article. It’s very lo-fi, and there’s no dialogue (the series will have dialogue - with human words. Funny words!) It does currently have an amazing 70s-style sitcom theme tune though, which we hope gets across the kind of new spin we want to put on the traditional Brit-sitcom.

If you're not following us already, what are you waiting for?


Go on. Be pro bot, not a botist.

If you are a fan - and you're keen to see more of the Robots - there's loads more you can do to support us and make sure The Bots Next Door move in for good:



  • Encourage your friends to get on Punkanary and Follow 'The Bots Next Door'

  • Share this page on Facebook & Twitter - just hit the Tweet and Share buttons above

  • Follow the Bots on Twitter @BotsNextDoor

  • Hit the Funding tab above and donate a fiver to make the Bots come alive!


We'll be adding updates here in the coming days, and we're also blogging about the show over at OattsWinter's blog - OW Blog, where you can also see more of what OattsWinter get up to when we're not talking out of our Bots.

  • «
  • 1
  • »
`

Funding Progress

Goal £1,000
There are no donations
CREDITS:
Created, written, produced & directed by OattsWinter
Music: 'Soda Pop Hop' by Doo Dah Music
Additional sounds & music: Zapslat.com, Freesfx.co.uk, Freesound.org (jasonthomasd, Heshl, Ndheger, DNAudio_UK) SoundBible.com (Daniel Simion)

You can send us a Direct Message with the "Message" button above, and click the follow button to keep up to date with this project.

We're always keen to hear from producers, directors, crew and actors who'd like to work with us.

On The Bots Next Door, we'd be particularly interested to hear from:
  • DOP/Camera Op/Lighting
  • Sound mixer/engineer: Though there's no dialogue in the teaser video, there will be in the series.
    We need to record the dialogue and sound separately from filming the action, so we'd be keen to collaborate with a sound mixer or engineer who could help us do this - either in situ or in a sound studio.
  • Male/female actors who enjoy a bit of mime, who might want to develop Roni and Rana's characters
  • Composers with additional ideas for music also welcome.
We're always keen to hear from producers, directors, crew and actors who'd like to work with us.

On The Bots Next Door, we'd be particularly interested to hear from:
  • DOP/Camera Op/Lighting
  • Sound mixer/engineer: Though there's no dialogue in the teaser video, there will be in the series.
    We need to record the dialogue and sound separately from filming the action, so we'd be keen to collaborate with a sound mixer or engineer who could help us do this - either in situ or in a sound studio.
  • Male/female actors who enjoy a bit of mime, who might want to develop Roni and Rana's characters
  • Composers with additional ideas for music also welcome.