#TPLoCD

[summerb4jc]

SO. For those of you who originally followed me WAAAAAY back in 2014 specifically for my web series or who heard about it at some point (because it is, thus far, my greatest contribution to the phandom and there for I will bring it up periodically from now on until forever) and took the time to go watch it:

OR anyone who has read the accompanying fic (here)

I just wanted to say I finally got to go walk around outside the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, where I set my story, and it was really cool to finally get to see it in person after doing so much research on it.

[summerb4jc]

I didn’t see this notification until just now, but thank you for the plug!!!

Series title(s): The Private Letters of Christine Daae

Channel(s): The Private Letters of Christie Daae

The Private Letters of Christine Daae is a modern day adaptation of of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera. Set in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera, the story unfolds from Christine’s point of view through the “letters” (vlogs) she creates to deal with her father’s passing. In the style of Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Emma Approved, and Frankenstein MD, The Private Letters of Christine Daae is an exciting, new Book-to-Vlog adaptation of the story that has enthralled millions. Written by, directed by and starring Summer Barney.

@tplochristinedaae on Tumblr

[tplochristinedaae]

I had good day and a song in my head and I realized its been a year since my last letter.  I wanted one last entry to say that I'm doing ok.

[fdelopera]

Hey! I stumbled upon your blog just now while doing research for a phantom related project you may be interested in. I am doing a book to vlog, modern day adaptation of the novel called "The Private letters of Christine Daae." It is set in New York, at the Metroploitan Opera, and the story unfold via Christine's "letters" (vlogs) that are mentioned in Leroux's novel. Please check it out on youtube, if you are interested. Have a nice day!

Hi there! Thanks for the heads up about your web series. I’ve watched all the episodes so far and they’re a lot of fun. Props for basing your storyline on Leroux’s novel! :D

From the sounds of it, you’re basing your script on the de Mattos translation of Phantom. As you get into further episodes, especially as you approach the “Apollo’s Lyre” section, I’d recommend reading David Coward’s translation, or in a pinch Lowell Bair’s. I say this because de Mattos cut large chunks from Christine’s narrative in Apollo’s Lyre which you may wish to include in your storyline.

Please feel free to message me if you have any Lerouxy questions.

Best of luck with your web series!

[summerb4jc]

Via GIPHY

IT’S PART TWO OF THE MEGA CHAPTER, LADIES AND GENTS, AND WE ARE STILL EXACTLY AS SAD AS WE WERE BEFORE, IF NOT MORE SO!

Please enjoy.

[summerb4jc]

AH! Thank you so much for including my web-series!! It means so much!

If they have a Tumblr page, tag them! We’ll reblog all suggestions :)

[summerb4jc]

Fantastic News Party People 🎉

For anyone keeping up with my glacial updates to The Private Letters of Christine Daae, here’s what’s happening. Episode 13 and 14 take place during the two weeks leading up to the Perros-Guirec/Port Jarvis/Graveyard scene. In the web-series, 13 was super short, 3:20 seconds and was a confrontation between Carlotta and Christine. 14 was longer and it was about Christine’s relationship/past with her father. SO! Going into this, I was unsure how to write these chapters (which, on top of moving across the country, left me stumped since my last update), until FINALLY I decided to write them as one, giant, interweaving MEGA chapter that I will THEN split into two. And! Tonight! I have finished the first half. I hit all the beats I wanted concerning the events of episode 13 and NOW!!! we move onto 14. And then re-read everything 87 times on different screens in different fonts to edit, and then inevitable find some super obvious gramatical error like...48 hours after posting. I’m excited. Anyway, that’s all.

TL;DR I basically finished a chapter so I might post soon. Woohoo!

[summerb4jc]

Wooooohooo, we are back BABEY! In this week’s adventure, our girl deals with several strenuous tasks including nightmares! Boys! Detectives! Rumors! Jealous Divas! And more! Also I stole a couple names from random Phantom movies because…why not? Can you spot them?

[summerb4jc]

I’ve written the most wonderful joke. I shall retire from writing now.

X.

[summerb4jc]

This one took me a while to write, because I was Very Vague when I wrote the script for the original video, as this week was more of a filler episode during the actual series. I like where the chapter ended up going though, and I had fun writing it, so it all turned out ok in the end.

This fic is based on the web series of the same name I made a few years back, which you can watch over on YouTube by clicking right here.

Happy reading, and I hope you enjoy!

[summerb4jc]

AHAHA TWO WEEKS IN A ROW, MY FRIENDS. I am on a gosh dang roll. I thought I’d given up on this story. Who know what the future holds, my friends! Enjoy, and watch TPLoCD if you haven’t.

[summerb4jc]

OK SO HEY GUYS. 

I know, I know, you’re like “Summer, please, it’s been three years, just let The Private Letters of Christine Daae go.”

To which I respond “Sorry, I can’t, it’s currently my magnum opus and my one big contribution to the phandom.”

SO, here is my first fanfiction! I’ve been meaning to write more, and as we all know, braining can be hard, so to encourage myself to keep going, I decided to write a fanfic based on my web series!

I mean, if I won’t, really, who will?

I figure that I have the modern day retelling of Phantom all plotted out, I’ve done the research, and I have all these details that I wasn’t able to fit into the literary-vlog format (like how Erik’s layer is connected to NYC’s Metropolitan Opera house, what really happened to Phillipe de Chagny in the sewers, the layout of her dressing room, and how Erik got access to her camera all those times!)

So, why not expand the world I already built! The story and the series compliment each other nicely, with this first chapter ending with the start of her first letter/vlog.

Please read, and I hope you enjoy!

[summerb4jc]

In which our heroine first hears of the mysterious Opera Ghost. "Watch the series here!"

[summerb4jc]

Throwback to baby me a little over 4 years ago during the final lair episodes of my web series.

I was doing a bit of pre-tuesday editing for Letter 39 when I came across this gem of a screenshot, and basically…

that’s it. that’s the entire show. Christine looking very worried while Erik is a sarcastic little creep.

[summerb4jc]

I really enjoyed The Private Letters of Christine Daae, and I wanted to know if you had any personal headcannons about the characters in it? Just little quirks or traits that you had in mind when you were fleshing the characters out.

Thanks Anon! SORRY IT TOOK ME SEVEN TRILLION YEARS TO RESPOND. I started working two jobs back in January and fell off the Tumblr wagon for a good long while. But, just in case you see this, thanks for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed the series!

To answer your question, there were a few headcanons/quirks I had in mind when playing Christine or fleshing out the other characters. Some were pulled from the book, some went with the modern day narrative.

For example, in the book, there is a line about Christine and Raoul as children. The two would gaze at the sea, and Christine (who was either short-sighted or far sighted) would claim to see nymphs, while Raoul, who had good vision, could not see them.

So Christine in my version would sometimes wear glasses in episodes where she was frustrated or exhausted, times when putting contacts in just wouldn’t be worth it.

With the red scarf, I felt like she would have kept something that was a symbol of her relationship with Raoul, and it appears in the background after she sees him for the first time at the Opera. She almost grabs it to throw over the camera the night of the Gala but changes her mind, and it disappears after Erik presents her with a ring. It served as a signifier of her relationship with Raoul, and her hopes for normalcy and a future.

I gave Erik a pretty detailed backstory suited for the modern era that the Persian goes into in the episode where he confronts Christine. I used the description to describe the character to the actor playing Erik.

Complete headcanon and something I was unable to show in my series was my location for the Phantom’s Lair. I actually did some research into the sewers, tunnels and underground rivers under NYC, and learned about a very elegant, art-deco subway platform that had been built in the 20’s or 30’s, and then abandoned and blocked off (I’m pretty sure) when more convenient routes were made available. So that’s where his lair is, in my head, accessible via sewers and tunnels that lead from the opera. In that vein, Raoul’s brother Philippe’s body was found in a sewer off-shoot some distance from the lair, rather than on the “banks of the underground lake near the Rue Scribe side.”

But yeah, those are some of the fun things I kept in mind when creating the series as a way to better understand the characters and their place in a more modern version of the story.

Thanks again, and I’m glad you enjoyed The Private Letters of Christine Daae!

[summerb4jc]

Guys. You guys. I had to rip this chapter out of my bones. I had to draw it from my very marrow because it WOULD NOT COOPERATE. 

For weeks I have been trying to coax this chapter out of the dark corner it had hidden itself inside, while it hissed and threw scraps of dialogue at me. 

ANYWAY, enjoy, and to that anon who had a trip overseas who sent me a message about chapter 6, you are probably back by now, so welcome home and like I said, this one’s dedicated to you.