Sitcom Teaser

SexyPants said:
Justin,

I wasn't trying to say that ya'll were not taking yourselve's seriously. I can definitely see how you could take it like that, though.


What I really meant was that you owed those things to yourselves because ya'll have some really good ideas. I am sure you take your craft seriously. I definitely take you seriously! :)

I went back and watched and re-watched the pilot to try to give some examples of the framing issues.
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Damn it Sexypants, I thought I was finally going to be a part of one of those insanely idiotic forum arguments where it all boils down to who can write the best insults. But you had to come back in being all polite and clarifying your points. Damn you Sexypants, damn you!

Yeah ok, but seriously, after watching Nip/Tuck and a few other favorites of mine, "Sunny in Philly" and "Rescue Me" I think I began to sense what you are saying. Although I still feel a lot of the "not so tv" look stems from the "not so great" lighting set ups. I do agree that a lot of the shots did seem very simple lacking really any type of style. I will however argue that I was going for a "don't pay attention to the camera" look and more at the actors. Even still, I noticed a lot of shots in the previously mentioned shows that had clever angles and movements while at the same time not really bringing attention to its self.

So yeah, thanks for the helpful comments Sexypants. As always, I am constantly looking to get better at my camera work and you definitly helped me analyze it a bit more.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys. The actors and crew really love to see what everyone thinks.
Thanks again,
Justin
 
I've watched this about ten thousand times now, and I enjoy it every time. I actually pick up on new jokes some times, it's great.
 
spencer said:
I've watched this about ten thousand times now, and I enjoy it every time. I actually pick up on new jokes some times, it's great.
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Thanks, Spencer!

My favorite little hidden joke is that the Producer is drinking both a coke and a coffee practically at the same time.. no one ever notices it, but it's my favorite.

Thanks a lot for watching!
 
I concur with the following:

1. AD style ripoff, but in a good way. Since I miss AD, this would hopefully take its place nicely. Good luck!

2. Gotta get those cards, although I personally didn't find it so distracting. That Office look to it -- the handheld, consumer camera -- was welcome to me. The lighting deserves a better package, though.

3. As the F/X commercials say (if they are to be believed), Sunny was picked up after the network prez saw the original pilot (which was made by a group of buddies on a budget of $200).

I look forward to seeing more from you.

Again, great work, and very funny. :)
 
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I have to say, awesome work guys. Although, i'll admit it is getting to my head that a lot of the comments you posted were about how you all missed your lighting guy. aaaahhh, I really look forward to working on this when i get back. i cant believe this was all thrown together in a matter of days and w/o me. I'll definitely have to scrape some resources together to buy those cards. although that looks bleak after missing my flight in milan and having to pay through the nose for another one. see you all in a few days
 
I have to agree, good material with actors that can pull it off. A real rarity around here. This is what sitcom submissions are looking for- the ideas. They're called studios for a reason- don't worry about the lighting, it was great.
 
Thanks for all the support guys! We didn't get into the Top 20 of the FX contest, but we're going to keep chugging along, trying desperately to get into a pitch meeting with some network or other.

Thanks again!
-Yuri
 
This thing is really funny. I downloaded it weeks ago and then got distracted and forgot to watch. Very well done. But...

Please don't try to tell us it's not a direct "Arrested Development" rip-off. It's TOTALLY an AD rip-off --- and that's fine!

AD has a very distinct style from "Sunny in Philly," "The Office," etc... And that style has been completely ripped off here --- from the narration, to the freeze frames, to the sound effects, to the main character, who might as well be named "Michael Blooth." None of those other shows mentioned have those elements. The only thing they have in common with AD is a hand-held, mocumentary, improvisational style/look. Again, this is okay. AD was a great show and deserves to be imitated. Just fess-up to up to it already.

P.S.: If you've already fessed-up, forgive my rant. I didn't read every post in the thread.
 
Hey, thanks, DarwinandPaine. I didn't notice you responded until now -- so, let me just quickly say that, we are in no way denying that AD was an inspiration, we do deny that it's a 'direct rip-off' of AD. A direct rip-off would mean we'd have similar situations, characters, etc. AD took the hand-held mocumentary style from the British Office in the first place, and if you watch Break a Leg, our camera style is more reminiscent of that show than AD. Similarly, I personally think that it has a different sort of feel to it, it's a lot darker, and that will be more apparent when we do a whole pilot.

That said, I can see why the AD comparisons are being made -- we in no way deny that we adore that show and think it's one of the best in its class. I also think that a lot of the comparisons stem from the fact that the five minute short was made specifically for a contest -- and we had to describe a lot of plot points rather quickly -- I think this may have punctuated the similarities even more.

But, in the end, it's all what people think. A few people have said it's an EXACT RIP OFF OF THE OFFICE, and others have said that it's not like any of the shows anyone has mentioned.

The only thing we really care about is that you guys like it and it makes you laugh. All the rest doesn't really matter. If the worst thing people can say about us is that we're too much like AD, then that's the best insult I've ever gotten.

Anyway, thanks for watching! We have a MySpace now, (www.myspace.com/breakalegthesitcom) -- and we'll have a website up soon. The full pilot should be up in the next month and we'll definitely let everyone know when it is.

Thanks!
-Jargon
 
Now that's funny to claim that this piece is derivative. Inspired is one thing, but why does the guy have to defend his film when it's clearly original. AD simply uses devices and set-ups that have been a part of TV and theater for as long as it's been going on. Kind of reminded me of Soap the first time I saw it...

Now, though if you want to talk about derivative... I'd say to check out your film on your site. Anytime, I have to watch a film about a filmmaker making a film... now that just reeks of desperation and trite objectives. Not to be too rude there, but when you slam something you should have something more original in your arsenal than some foppishly soft and effiminate cast covering playing up the trite amateur filmmaker making a film. And that's being polite.. after watching it. Seemed to be so stilted and obtuse that it's laughable.. which is something good, I guess. So to say the film about a filmmaker has been done to death... is not even necessary to most people who've been in the biz a while. I know from working a few festivals that this occupies probably 10 percent of the content of first time filmmakers.... only closely followed by a project about suicide or something...

Seems like this short has to defend itself against a parallel that's only thrown up because this is a funny good piece. Looks good... it's funny and we'll have to see what happens when it's shaped into a full pilot. To add self-importance to comments to act superior just kind of jumps out at ya...



darwinandpaine said:
This thing is really funny. I downloaded it weeks ago and then got distracted and forgot to watch. Very well done. But...

Please don't try to tell us it's not a direct "Arrested Development" rip-off. It's TOTALLY an AD rip-off --- and that's fine!

AD has a very distinct style from "Sunny in Philly," "The Office," etc... And that style has been completely ripped off here --- from the narration, to the freeze frames, to the sound effects, to the main character, who might as well be named "Michael Blooth." None of those other shows mentioned have those elements. The only thing they have in common with AD is a hand-held, mocumentary, improvisational style/look. Again, this is okay. AD was a great show and deserves to be imitated. Just fess-up to up to it already.

P.S.: If you've already fessed-up, forgive my rant. I didn't read every post in the thread.
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The goods are currently being shot. We will ideally have the pilot fairly soon -- it's going to be 45 minutes, so, it'll take a little bit, but we're shooting quickly and we'll let you guys know as soon as anything comes out.

That said, we just released a video blog of our first day of shooting on our MySpace -- so go ahead and check it out (www.myspace.com/breakalegthesitcom.)

Thanks!
-Yuri
 
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