Our latest movie for DHP just came out. It's a spoof of "The Man From Snowy River". If you have not seen it, do not consider this a "Go out and see it today" post. We had a blast filming it. We'd recently seen the original (Drew and I had never seen it previously), so it was fresh in our minds. We planned to film the afternoon before, but we ran out of time while figuring out the adaptation structure so we figured to start early Saturday morning. It was filmed up in the mountains above Hemet. Some families at church were doing a camping trip and we'd already hung out most of the weekend doing different stuff. This time we got a couple of the girls involved since they were around and frankly, they were necessary if we were going to spoof that particular movie (besides, we didn't want to alienate our female audience.) Spending the morning on it, we all had a grand time and then headed home in the afternoon. No pictures at the moment. After watching the completed version, I was remembering the morning we made it and the different goofs we'd make or something being funny and everyone breaking up. In our children's ministry that the DHP gang works in, we do a lot of skits. In my thirteen years of school, I never learned to count as high as the amount we've done. Okay, so maybe not that many. But when you run a program for 3+ years on virtually every Wednesday and probably at least 2/5 or more of those are skits...it adds up. Include in Sunday School and VBS skits and you've got a handful. Quite a lot of those I've been in. But to get back to the point that I meandered off from, it's interesting how people act differently between the two. There's good and bad things with both. I'll try to outline some of them here, but take note that I'm speaking almost exclusively with regards to comedy here. Suppose for a moment that I'm in a movie. I stutter on a line or flub it altogether and then say something cute about missing it. The cast and crew all laugh and have a merry time and make cracks about things that are totally unrelated to the movie. The director finally calls for a new take and we do it again. Sometimes we'll miss numerous times and just having trouble coming up with things to say (remember, we almost exclusively adlib our scenes in regards to dialogue). It can be irritating or fun, depending on the overall mood of the group. Suppose on the other hand that this is skit and Justin says something ridiculous by mistake and the kids laugh. Spurred by the error, Justin makes a crack about his goof and more laughter ensues. Kyle pitches in something smart about me always trying to steal the crowd. We then continue on as planned. Playing to the crowd is something you really can't do on film. You can see some reactions later online, but mostly, you're making the movie for yourself. And frankly, if you're not having fun making it, why would anyone else have fun watching it? Some of that has to bleed through, which means mistakes aren't really a bad thing if it makes you relax and have fun. On stage, if you goof, there's no 'take 2'. You make a knot on the rope or break something early, you have to roll with it. Adapting to the situation is what it's all about. Improvising. Fortunately, we're in the business of making folks laugh which is much more forgiving than Shakespeare. Imagine how funny I'd look saying, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen! I come to praise Caesar not to bury...uh...wait...strike that and reverse it." In our brand of entertainment, we can get away with, even make a better skit out of lulu's like that. The tough part on stage comes when the guy talking to you says something you weren't expecting that's incredibly funny. If you're filming, you can bust up right there if absolutely necessary, or after the take is finished. On stage, it's usually better to try to keep a straight face. Sure, it still works if you laugh. Kids often laugh more if the actor breaks up, but the general rule of thumb is to play it sober socks. Anyhow, just thought I'd throw that out there since it relates to DHP sort of and doesn't really fit on my blog. Check out DHP's new movie (based on The Man From Snowy River) even if you haven't seen the original flick. Is it cutting edge filmmaking? No. Not even a little bit. But it is funny. When we stop being funny, please leave. Thank you. Justin - your faithful and philanthropical movie blogger. P.S. If no one reads this, I will cry. | 
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