I know the production value isnt brilliant in this but I'd like to hear your thoughts anyway. Thanks in advance.
The Joyous Return of Henry Smith
While I admire your dedication to longer form sketches they just don't lend themselves to the YouTube format, and seven minutes is a very long skit by any standard. The punishing length coupled with bargain basement production values and poor sound quality doesn't make this an easy watch I'm afraid.
My advice would be to reevaluate your process. Know what you can pull off in terms of production and write to that. No matter how hard you try, without the use of greenscreen you're never going to get a domestic lounge to look like a talk show studio. Take a look at what you have access to and write with that in mind. Maybe you know someone who runs a restaurant? Great - write a restaurant sketch and take your camera there. And while you're at it, take someone along to operate that camera, because shooting one angle off a tripod makes for a very dull visual experience. Look at the way conversations are shot in film and TV and do a little reading on the subject of directing (or even better, get someone else to!)
There's nothing wrong with homespun skits so long as they're punchy, well performed and audible. You have a huge bank of material online and all the ones I've seen look more like dingy rehearsal recordings than bona fide sketches. And that's a shame, because as much as I enjoy your writing and I'm sure you're having a lot of fun shooting, your sketches are a poor representation of your talent.
Quote: David Bussell @ January 6 2011, 11:31 AM GMTWhile I admire your dedication to longer form sketches they just don't lend themselves to the YouTube format, and seven minutes is a very long skit by any standard. The punishing length coupled with bargain basement production values and poor sound quality doesn't make this an easy watch I'm afraid.
My advice would be to reevaluate your process. Know what you can pull off in terms of production and write to that. No matter how hard you try, without the use of greenscreen you're never going to get a domestic lounge to look like a talk show studio. Take a look at what you have access to and write with that in mind. Maybe you know someone who runs a restaurant? Great - write a restaurant sketch and take your camera there. And while you're at it, take someone along to operate that camera, because shooting one angle off a tripod makes for a very dull visual experience. Look at the way conversations are shot in film and TV and do a little reading on the subject of directing (or even better, get someone else to!)
There's nothing wrong with homespun skits so long as they're punchy, well performed and audible. You have a huge bank of material online and all the ones I've seen look more like dingy rehearsal recordings than bona fide sketches. And that's a shame, because as much as I enjoy your writing and I'm sure you're having a lot of fun shooting, your sketches are a poor representation of your talent.
Thanks Mr. Bussell for the excellent feedback. I agree with what you are saying in that the production value lets down the script. If I'm honest I do believe I have written some funny material but the finished production often does not do the script justice.
Its a great idea to write to suit the environments we have at our disposal I will definitely write with this in mind in future (at least until we get a greenscreen) and I will have a look at angles and sound and try and get our material looking a bit more professional.
Again thanks for the honest and constructive feedback.
I think we did once shoot a sketch quite well though(not sure what happened to us that day but here it is:
Looks like it's been shot by a small child, using Mattel's 'My First Big Grown-Up Camera'.
Cringeworthy.
I couldn't agree more with Bussell. Especially this bit.
Quote: David Bussell @ January 6 2011, 11:31 AM GMTMy advice would be to reevaluate your process. Know what you can pull off in terms of production and write to that.
But also, if you write a sketch that's based in your house, you have the added advantage of grabbing peoples familiars (oo-err) and hopefully pulling them straight in. People may be able to relate to it more. So it's not all negative when faced with a small budget.
Quote: Otterfox @ January 6 2011, 10:01 PM GMTI think we did once shoot a sketch quite well though(not sure what happened to us that day but here it is:
MUCH better. A funny, punchy idea shot competently. The waiting for the ball to come down bit is a corker. If you wanted to improve the sketch further I'd suggest:
Add a short fade in.
Remove shot 2 altogether - it only serves to slow down the action.
Pay attention to your line. Your players should remain one side of the screen/net during play to avoid confusion. As it is you routinely switch sides, which makes things confusing to follow. Most editing packages will include a feature that allows you to horizontally flip the picture so cheat it with that.
00:43 tighten net shot to cut in later. Too long as it is.
Get someone who knows sound to do a pass over your punchline - it's a little muted.
Find someone who knows grading and see if he can get more consistency in your shots. Right now you have some continuity issues as the colours change quite dramatically between cuts. An editor will know how to balance that out.
Add a short fade out.
Do these things and your sketch will be twice as funny.