In recent years, some people have been able to make their fame by posting movies they’ve produced on the Internet — one ASU student is hoping to do the same.

A group of students led by psychology senior Chris Nash is producing a “webisode” series called “Small Pies,” the story of a new manager trying to save a pizza joint.

Nash is the producer, director, set builder, writer and an actor in the series.

He won best comedy in Campus Moviefest, a short film competition at ASU last semester. From there Nash met a lot of comedians and it wasn’t long before he realized he had the basic skills to produce something of his own.

“It was the most ridiculous coincidence because five or six phone calls later, I had about four people on board,” he said. “It was like it meant to happen now. Walls pretty much parted for this to happen.”

There were initial struggles, like getting a quality camera, but Nash said whenever there have been problems, solutions have seemed to appear. When it looked like they’d be a using a cheap camera, someone let Nash know he had one he could use. There was also a setback when the actor playing the main character got sick the night before filming but Nash was able to replace him that evening.

“Small Pies” is about a struggling pizza parlor and a new young manager who is the son of the owner. He wants to prove to his dad he can fix the pizza parlor, but its problem isn’t the location and it’s not the pies — it’s the employees.

While it’s for the Web, Nash said he wants to produce a TV-quality show.

“I don’t want to be an Internet sensation,” he said. “I want to create a show that is worth a re-watch, that has substance, with subtle jokes that people only end up catching the second time.”

He and his cast and crew rehearse in Lattie F. Coor Hall on the Tempe campus. Each time they film, they construct the set that night and take it down before they leave, which takes about an hour each time. Nash said he was able to secure the space because he works for ASU.

There are nine people who have been the core of the production, including Nash’s girlfriend, intermedia art senior DJ Bourne.

Bourne is in charge of visual effects and works as a stagehand.

It has been difficult, she said, because Nash is sometimes busy until 4 a.m.

“I think it’s only been half as stressful for me as him though,” she said.

Brian Vilona, an ASU graduate, is an actor in the production, playing Neal the delivery boy. He said he wants to be a comedian or a writer in the future, and is hoping this will get him some notice.

“This will help me gain experience and take in the atmosphere of a production,” he said. “And of course it’s a lot of fun to hang around and joke with everyone I used to go to school with.”

Nash has financed most of the production himself, putting the tab on his credit card, which he said stares at him every night before he goes to bed.

“It’s definitely a gamble,” he said. “Some people like to go drop two grand on red in Vegas, but I’d rather spend two grand on this.”

He hopes to make some money back at the premier of the first episode, which will take place on Feb. 9. He said most people he knows — including those who work on the production — think he is crazy, but he thinks of himself as supplying a need.

“What really happened here though, is I took a small idea and found people who dream big,” he said. “If it doesn’t exist, build it yourself.”

Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu