Behind the Scenes Diary - Thurs 3rd June

Ever since 'Alcohol went to Therapy' a sketch about well, alcohol going to therapy, we learned a valuable lesson. Silly characters need silly costumes.  Would alcohol have been funnier in a giant beer costume? Almost certainly, especially delivering more serious or deadpan lines - contrast principle and all that.  But just as importantly, it visually explains the situation in an instant, "there's alcohol, he's on the couch, I understand what's going on, okay i'll watch."

So... if you want to personify weather, well get yourself a cutout of a cloud and wear it on your damn face. "I can't hear myself", says a laughing hog, as he reads his lines

The discussion on which weather cloud image to use, what shape and size and so on, I stayed WELL out of, hiding behind my computer as foil and hog discussed which weather pattern, shape, size, format... I imagine this is what graphic designers go through on a daily basis. - Hog, the client, wants a certain style, Foil the designer has his own opinions and then me, the guy they draft in to bridge the deadlock. 

"I'll do it, but it's gonna look shite"

"Naw, it'll look deadly"

Our good friends in the office downstairs printed it for us, even though they were incredibly busy - sound lads!

"A quote from the piece

that's important"

Another task I stay well away from is cutting out anything or cutting around anything. Watchers of our live stream will know by now that for almost 25 years I used a scissors backwards, putting my thumb into the large hole and cramming my 3 fingers into the smaller hole and ....well this is all getting a bit inappropriate.... basically I used it backwards, god almighty is it just me or is it boilin in here?

Moving on.

We plan the shoot out, with Foil using his new found skill of colour correcting between shots adding a mystique to the beginning of each shot. I'm basically directing as I have the least lines, and my main bit comes at the end. Its one of those sketches that is coming across slightly differently on camera that in the read through, which is never the nicest feeling. The important thing is not to panic, you just need to find what was funny about it on paper, pin point that, and try to draw it out and exaggerate it on screen. Most of the time its the pacing, too slow being the main offender, or there's a problem with status - one character is too big, the other too small - or it could be that the camera angle isn't right, not intimate enough, or too unrealistic. You just have to remain calm, be honest, and keep switching it up until it makes you laugh  - trust your instinct, and don't look at the clock.

"putting my thumb into the large hole"

Its sketch is starting to work, making me laugh - and we're off. The lads are on the couch fully in character now. Hog with his head in the clouds and with a cloud on his head. As if prompted by the previous weeks sketch, he says aloud "this, this is a job, this is my job, I wear a cloud on my head" 

The really fun part of this sketch comes at the end and we only have one shot at it. I really do try desperately not to laugh. I won't give too much away here, I haven't included photos of it for that reason, but I hope you enjoy it. 

Another Friday finished filming, we got there in the end. Although we're all wrecked, as Hog says "this is my job, I wear a cloud on my head" - there's no reason to complain.

Arms x

Ps, there's a video attached.