The Trillo & Suede Concept

The Trillo & Suede Concept

Exciting news: I’m planning to shoot Season 2 of my multi-award-winning Trillo & Suede web series this August – less than two months from now. My long-thwarted dream is finally coming true. Enjoy it all here… https://www.youtube.com/c/TrilloSuede

Many people have asked me various questions about my concept of Trillo & Suede. So far the concept has been mainly in my head, but now I want to write it down for others to see. It also feels helpful for myself to have it in writing to refer to. My concept might evolve over time in some ways, but I don't imagine I'll ever want to change the main aspects. Here it is...

Trillo & Suede live in an alternate universe in which they really are a detective duo in their “real” lives. They decided to produce a web series based on their real life experiences as detectives and we are seeing that project as it unfolds. This was Trillo’s idea because he has a life long issue of feeling unappreciated, insecure and anxiety-ridden. He has long dreamed of becoming famous somehow, imagining that that would make him feel worthy and confident, and he came up with the idea of shooting this web series for that purpose. He does have SOME belief in his abilities - he thinks that he and Suede are a good detective duo and he knows that he has some other talents, especially piano-playing - but he is plagued by the self-doubts that continuously gnaw at him and undermine his self-confidence.

Trillo also knows that he is a very talented ventriloquist. In fact, he has proof of that because he is so good at it that he eventually breathed life into Suede without TRYING to do that. It just happened at some point because of the effectiveness of Trillo’s ventriloquist skills. In this universe this is a phenomenon that occurs occasionally, but only if a puppet works with a really good ventriloquist over a considerable period of time.

But even this knowledge is undermined by the fact that Suede no longer NEEDS Trillo in order to talk, so Trillo feels insecure about not being NEEDED by Suede. Trillo does still ventriloquize Suede because he and Suede are used to doing that - out of habit - but even though Trillo is still (usually) “operating” Suede and throwing his voice into him as a ventriloquist, Suede always says whatever Suede wants to say…since Suede is now autonomous. In other words, Trillo still usually “makes” Suede talk but he has no control over what Suede says. Plus, when Suede really wants to talk all by himself - such as when Trillo is not with him - Suede is perfectly capable of doing that…most notably when he is romancing a femme fatale.

Trillo created Sam Suede as an alter ego; Suede is what Trillo WISHES to be: supremely self-confident and cool, ESPECIALLY with women. The sad irony for Trillo is that having created Suede, Suede has now become autonomous and none of his self-confidence has rubbed off on Trillo. In fact, being with Suede so much of the time just reinforces Trillo’s lack of confidence and anxieties as he continuously compares himself negatively to Suede.

Suede is going along with Trillo’s idea for a web series and Suede wants it to be good and successful as well, but it doesn’t mean ALL that much to him the way it means for Trillo. Trillo has invested all his hopes and dreams into this web series so he feels enormous stress about its outcome.

Trillo writes all the scripts, but Suede helps here and there. Also, Suede often veers off script and says things that take Trillo by surprise, adding to Trillo’s stress during shooting.

When the fourth wall breaks during shooting - as it often does - all the characters remain who they are. This feels important to my concept, i.e. when the fourth wall breaks Trillo & Suede are still Trillo & Suede; they NEVER become Jonathan Geffner and his dummy. Jonathan does not exist in this universe.

Likewise all the other characters; Chloe Cliche is always Chloe Cliche, NOT Kristin (the actress). And this season Fiona Fatale will always be Fiona Fatale when the fourth wall breaks; she will never be Sarah (the actress). We do see the difference between those characters ACTING and being themselves, i.e. a femme fatale may stop acting sexy and stylized and suddenly become bitchy and pissed off or whatever, but she is still a femme fatale showing a different side to her personality that is normally hidden from the screen. She is never the actress PLAYING the femme fatale. Likewise for all the other characters we encounter.

The Trillo & Suede universe has a very film noir look and feel, but it is mixed with modern anachronisms, such as cell phones and computers and modern cars on the street and even modern references that come up in conversations. None of this is ever explained. It doesn’t need to be. It is just the way their universe is.

I want the viewers to feel immersed in this universe and accept it on its own terms, yet I want to convey the feeling that they can never be completely sure about what’s real and what isn’t. Is it all a dream? Or is the viewer’s life a dream and the T&S universe is the only real one?

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