Froggy – Digital – Louder than ever: the network stars who created their own series

by time news

About two weeks ago, the first youth series of its kind in Israel, “Sou’ir”, which was created, directed and produced by Michael Ashosh, Or Ashton (“Oboy”, “The Well”), Hila Kakun and Amit Mizrahi, aired.

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If the names are familiar to you, you are not confused. These are some of the strongest network stars in Israel who, in addition to success in social media, have been cast and are still enthusiastic these days for acting roles on the big screen as well.

In perfect timing with the highlights of the series, three of the stars of the series – Or Ashton, Michael Ashosh and Hila Kakun revealed in a special interview the big secrets behind the scenes, the reactions they receive online, the way to the production of the series and also – about the friendships forged between them.

You directed and produced the series yourself, tell about the experience of working behind the scenes.

light: “The experience of working behind the scenes was crazy, we really felt like one team, we did everything together. We had four points of view for everything and we always consulted each other. Of course there are also disagreements, but what’s crazy about this production is that we didn’t let any argument get in our way It was simply the ‘baby’ of the four of us. From the very beginning of the work, I felt a lot of respect and a lot of appreciation for each other, I felt that we really built a little family.”

Hila: “A very challenging experience but at the same time also crazy fun. We had to deal with a lot of problems and problems that I never thought I would deal with, certainly not at the age of 16. The work behind the scenes is very difficult, but there were such funny moments that covered it.”

Michael: “There are difficult moments when everything feels like everything is about to fall, and then we always pick each other up, there are our laughs and there are the moments when one of us is hungry and then he just sits down and doesn’t move until there is no food, usually it was me and Amit.”

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Is this something you see yourself doing again?

Or: “There is nothing else that I see myself doing. The series would mark for me why I am going to deal with it in the future. I believe that it does not end here and also as a quartet, we already have a lot of plans to continue.”

Hila: “Sure. About it!”

Michael: Listen, it’s not easy, I’ll be honest with you, it’s taking an entire production and doing it alone in addition to the fact that we are also the actors. We managed the first season with considerable difficulty. If we were to do it again? I would say yes, because seeing the result after that is worth everything.”

What do you prefer to be behind the scenes or in the front?

light: “It is very different from each other. Dealing with all the technical aspects behind the scenes is not the same as dealing with the character itself. Until now I have always dealt with the character itself, this is the first time I have been involved in the technical matter. Both worlds are very attractive to me, but really my greatest love is dealing with the world the inside of the character”

Hila: “In the front. The goal has always been to be in the front, that’s why I did ‘Soares’. Working behind the scenes is to get to be in front of the camera and not behind it.”

Michael: “It’s fun to be behind the scenes and make everything happen, but I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t fun to also be in the front and enjoy the success. So I’d say both.”

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“Souir” brings up the problems faced by teenagers on a daily basis, and puts emphasis on the storm of emotions experienced by every teenager. Are there events in the series that you have met in your personal life?

light: “There are events in the series that I encountered in my life and ideas were also taken from there. It is true that the character of Amit (Amit Mizrahi. NA) is the one who experiences anxiety attacks, but it is something I experience quite a bit. We chose to reflect Tom’s anxiety attacks in a slightly different way than what I experience.”

Hila: “Sure, quite a bit. The heartbreak of a first love is something I’ve been through and I’m sure many more have gone through, I also got to experience online shaming in the division, the same with regard to sexual harassment of any kind. In short, Zohar and I are quite similar.”

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Michael: “The truth is yes. Ben is experiencing financial difficulties while he is trying to realize his dream and this is something that really resonates with me, not many know but I do not come from a family with money and I finance myself fully and my father also quite fully. Everything I dream On him and achieve, I am torn at work both online and as an AHMS in a restaurant, although I didn’t get involved with people like Ben, but yes I work hard to make my dreams come true, like him.”

There is no fear that touching on more mature topics will alienate your target audience of younger children?

light: “I strongly believe that the young audience knows what we are talking about. I believe that reflecting these issues to young people can greatly obscure concerns and teach, not push away. They are looking for it, they are curious.”

Hila: “On the contrary! I think the generation has changed and today the little kids are much more mature than you think they are, so when there is a series that talks about open and mature issues in a correct and moral way it won’t go far, it will attract them to watch it more.”

Michael: “Actually no, it’s always good to increase your audience and I think that in today’s generation the topics we brought up in the series are topics that are discussed in society”

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The plot of the series revolves around the four broken brothers who experience loss, and discover a dark family secret as a result that will be revealed as a point of light that unites their sons. Tell us something no one knows about you!

light: “You got me! Well, I’ll tell you about Bunny. I have a rabbit that I’m madly in love with, and I won’t go to bed if I don’t pet him first.”

Hila: “I’m insanely technophobic! It’s not clear how I have over 10 followers.”

Michael: “Not many people know, but I used to weigh about 100 kilos and went through a process of losing weight.”

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Where did the idea to write the series come from?

light: “Of the countless comments about the four of us that we look like brothers. Amit Mizrahi took a video for her TikTok and Hila threw a comment into the air that maybe one day we will really play brothers, and of course I will take the matter too seriously and will not understand sarcasm and sit down to write.”

What inspired you to write and where did you gain all the experience and production knowledge?

light: “I don’t think we really understood what we were doing, but we acted as if we knew. What I know roughly I gathered from the productions I’ve done in the past. On each set I get attached to the photographers and crew members and dig for them to explain things to me and this helped me a lot in the production of the series.”

Hila: “Most of the inspiration was taken from real events that we experienced personally or that we know that teenagers often experience them and we knew that it would be a place for them to identify with, not everyone had the knowledge but everyone contributed in a different part that they are good at and that’s how we combined the knowledge in our sons, me personally without arriving So much knowledge and I learned a lot from them.”

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You all are best known for Tiktok, where you upload gameplay footage. Do you think the network gave you experience in the field?

light: “I don’t think the network gives experience in the game world.”

Hila: “I think the network is an excellent platform for gaining exposure but not for becoming a professional in the game. Tik Tok game clips are light years away from a real game. So for me it’s not considered experience, it’s a bonus.”

Michael: “In the end, we all learned and are still learning how to act, but it’s clear that the network gave us experience and confidence in front of the camera.”

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Hila and Michael, in the future, do you see yourself leaving the boundaries of the social network?

Hila: “Obviously. From the beginning my goal was to break the boundaries of Tik Tok. I don’t define myself there at all because I’m an actress long before I’m a ‘network star’, the truth is that I don’t even get along with social networks, I only do it for them to open I have doors in the game world.”

Michael: “With all my love for the social network, my goal is to play in series and in the highest places available. I will never stop creating online, but I definitely aim to go as far as possible.”

Have you had the chance to study acting in any setting, do you think about it?

light: “I studied acting at the creative acting school. I believe that in the future I will want to go to higher studies.”

Hila: “Before ‘Soerim’ I performed a lot on stages, so the main part of my studies was theater. After Soerim, I started taking more professional courses in acting in front of a camera regularly and since then I have always continued to study and become more professional.”

Michael: “I studied and am still learning, of course.”

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What do you think of the opinion that network stars are automatically accepted for acting roles – true or untrue?

light: “I believe that you have to go through the process until you get the position, and that the networking thing can be a bonus.”

Hila: “Automatically they are certainly not accepted, I believe that without talent no one will be hired no matter how many followers he has. But, if that network star is both talented and has an audience then yes, he will probably be the priority of the cast because he has an advantage Double. As frustrating as it is, that’s how it works today.”

Michael: “It’s not a slip, but it’s also not true. There are series that from the beginning target network stars and then they search in that range, but I’m sure that everyone who gets accepted is not accepted just because he’s a network star. In the end, you see a game on the screen and you have to show professionalism. I believe that like me Most of the stars of the network also learn to act and they work just as hard as everyone else and once they are accepted into the series they will always talk and look differently, but as long as they know that they worked hard and that they were not accepted just because of the followers, but thanks to the talent and hard work.”

How was working on the set?

light: “The work was amazing, I feel that someone directed that we get to know each other in a certain way from some video and start working together. I’ve already said it, but we really became a small family. In terms of the work itself – it was very, very intense and intense. There were nights when we really didn’t sleep more than an hour at night , because we were limited in time and had to get a lot done, it was worth every moment.”

Hila: “Challenging and experiential. It’s not work like on a normal photo set and that’s exactly what made it more challenging, but on the other hand there are laughs and memories that no one will understand. It’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget in my life.”

Michael: “Fun, funny, challenging and annoying at the same time. But this is an experience that in my life I, and also my photo gallery, will not forget.”

Did you know each other before working on the series?

light: “We didn’t know each other before working on the series, only by name. When the work became more intense, the ties tightened and became closer.”

Whose idea was it to “join forces” and create this whole project?

Hila: “There wasn’t anyone in particular who formulated a clear idea, it just unfolded. A colleague uploaded the video that was familiar to us, I threw out that we could make a series about it, Or took the reins and Michael approved.”

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What experience do you remember most from the shoot?

light: “I remember Michael falling asleep on the sofa at every break, the excessive fits of laughter we fell into and also the falls. There is one scene that will be broadcast in one of the episodes in a few days when Amit had to take something out of his mouth and it was repulsive at the level of a fit of laughter that didn’t stop for an hour or so. We were stuck there until one in the morning until we finished filming this scene!”

Hila: “I won’t forget that there was one day of filming that due to problems we didn’t foresee, everyone was sure that the series wouldn’t come out. Some even cried on the set out of despair and frustration, it was a really tough day. Of course, after countless pep talks, we picked ourselves up and didn’t give up, there’s no doubt that It was our most exciting moment together, at least in my eyes.

Michael: “At the supermarket! We were at the supermarket and then one of the employees came to us and didn’t understand what we were doing and asked us to leave because we were disturbing. I tried to convince me to let us stay and I told him that we were filming a network series that would be the next big thing and he listened to me and let us stay. I have no persuasive skills something”.

What about comments – have you been receiving talkbacks since the start of the series?

Hila: “Lots of responses. ‘Where are the old series?’, ‘Kids make movies’, ‘What is this bad game’, ‘Couldn’t they invest in a real production?’ – People don’t really know how much it burns in us to succeed and they don’t really know how hard we worked behind the scenes, that’s why, in my eyes, we shouldn’t attach importance to it.”

Michael: “There are good ones and there are lesser ones. There is nothing to be done like this – there are those who will always download and record shocking things and there are those who appreciate the hard work and fly over it with pride, and from that we draw strength and thank each and every one of them! Because after all, everything is due to them and for them.”

© from the YouTube channel of Soir

How do you deal with difficult comments online?

light: “You should always remember why you do what you do, otherwise it’s very easy to fall into hiding and lose your head. No one should ever lose your head from the goal no matter how much fire you take because there are bad people and there always will be.”

Hila: “In my opinion, the best way to deal with the comments is to simply not read them. It just makes things worse, so why bother with them?”

What are the goals for the game?

light: “Continue to create, study characters and enjoy what I do.”

Hila: “To perform in the theater, to be accepted for more series and films and at the same time to always continue studying and professionalizing.”

Michael: “To reach as far as possible. To seize roles, to know the world as deeply as possible, to experience and fly as high as possible. Dreams are meant to be fulfilled.”

Will there be another season for the series?

Michael: “Wait for the screening of the end and see!”

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