Alex the Russian loves America.
By Kenneth Lipp
On Saturday the 6th annual Naked Bike Ride snaked (sorry) its way through the streets of Philly. Scrapple TV, a production studio in Northern Liberties, was along for the duration with a whole ensemble of hosts, and the video they produced (starring Nikki Allen Poe, Lefty Grimes, Nikki Black, Emily Yates, Steve Miller-Miller, and Alex the Russian Guy) is hilarious. There’s nobody else in town doing new media like Scrapple.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eod4azz5-kE]
I asked Marc Brodzik, owner of Scrapple, how the studio manages such a high quality output, with no production budget and with unpaid talent and staff.
“It’s about heart,” said Brodzik. “At least at this point it’s just a bunch of people coming in covering what they want to cover with autonomy. I’ve got the ship, I’ve filled it with stuff, bought a new sail and mast – we’ve got a crew of riggers and swabs and navigators who all have an independent desire to get to the same place.” Brodzik is currently exploring funding to take the studio’s production and distribution further. “We’ve built an excellent boat. Now we need our Ferdinand and Isabella to get us to the New World.”
