Idea Generation - Arch Roomies

My idea for Arch Roomies came from my interests in shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Friends, these are shows which primarily show the antics friends get up to when they are living together, I wanted to do something similar to this but I needed to come up with something that would be new and relevant to todays interests.

I was reading an article on the popularity of the superhero genre and the idea came to me to mix the two together, I came up with the plot line that there would be a hero and a villain who are arch enemies, they detest each other and are always out to capture or defeat the other.

However when they are their normal selves they are room mates, neither knowing that each other is their sworn enemy. As roommates they are best friends and the villain often acts like the older brother to the hero, helping him pay rent, sort out bills and generally helping him with his life.

In this way we see the characters in a different light, whereas the Hero is good and the Villain is bad in their home lives we actually see that the Hero is a bit lazy and the Villain is kind hearted and has his reasons for his criminal behaviour.

I want this idea to be a sitcom with the main focus not being on their alter-egos but being on their real  personas. Showing the super-powered as normal people who struggle with everyday life and tasks, whether it be paying bills or unclogging the drain.

In most modern superhero genres we dont see the average joe side of the character, we only see them shooting lasers/doing backflips/looking cool whereas in our show we could show the suave super villain gagging as he has to unblock the toilet.


The two characters I came up with are Jason and Sam, Jason is a salesman of some kind who is able to make a sale no matter what, whereas Sam is seen as a bit lazy and almost perpetually unemployed.
JASON                    VIPER


In reality Jason is the Villain Viper who uses his powers of persuasion to rob and manipulate people into doing crimes, He can charm a person into unlocking a safe or even into outright handing over their valuables.

Sam's Alter Ego is Duke Hammer a super strong hero who leaps at an opportunity to help those in need, the majority of the time though he does more harm than good but after a run in with Viper which resulted in him being controlled he seeks him out with a vengeance.

SAM        DUKE HAMMER



They both live together in a rundown flat, for although Jason is a successful salesman he sends all of his money to the hospital for an unknown reason, He tells people he owes someone money to avoid scrutiny. Sam keeps losing his job due the fact he keeps running off to save the day.





This is the design I had in mind for their apartment, however slightly smaller with broken or damaged furniture, the programme I used to put it together  did not have any secondhand furniture as its primary use is to plan a redecoration.

Mrs Brown's Boys - Sitcom Research

Creation -

• Created, Starring Writer Brendon O'Carrol
• Produced in the United Kingdom by BBC Scotland.
• Informal Production style
• Production mistakes and improvisation is kept in for comedic effect
• First Episode released in 2011

Format

• Informal Production style
• Production mistakes and improvisation is kept in for comedic effect
• Follows a Script
• Breaks the Forth wall

Set

• Open at the front, allows the cameras and audience to see in.
• Lit from above via studio lights.
• Cameras are on a dolly system to allow easy movement.

What I will take

I will take the open layout of the set, with the front wall missing allowing the audience to see in, I will also use the system of dollys to allow easy movement of the cameras. I also like the way the show is self-referencing, I find this adds an essence of comedy that is not in most shows.

The sets are interesting as they do not use cutaways, they only use the three sets you see from the audience's perspective.

Big Bang Theory - Sitcom Research

• Started September 2017
• Filmed before a live audience
• Produced by Warner Bros.Televison and Chuck Lorre Productions
• Current total of 12 Seasons running up until 2019
• Average of 22 Minutes Run Time
• Multi-Camera Setup
• Inspired Spin-Off Series of Young Sheldon
• 18-49 Age Demographic
• 3rd Season reached CBS's highest rating show.
• During 4th season became TVs highest rated comedy
• Last season averaged 19 Million Viewers
• Won Peoples Choice Award for favorite Comedy

In terms of set the show takes place mainly in Sheldon and Leanords apartment with scenes also taking place in their place of work, Penny's Apartment, Raj's Apartment, Howards Home, Amy's Apartment and the Comic book shop.

Most of these locations are within the studio, There is also clever use of a single set which connects the boys apartment to Penny's a single corridor set is used to show three levels of floor.



In the show they have a common scene which has the characters climbing up the stairs discussing the topic, seemingly progressing upwards, however in actuality when they reach the top of the stairs they cut and then redress the set to make it look like the next floor. This is an interesting concept as it allows for the effiecient use of space and materials to show multiple areas.

Friends - Sitcom Research

Friends is an american sitcom that was released in 1995, it ran for ten seasons and is widely known as one of the be

• Started 1995
• Finished 2004
• Average Run time 21 Minutes
• Distrubted by Warner Bros. Television
• Ran for 10 Seasons
• Cult Status
• Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman
• Finale was watched by 52.5 Million American viewers
• Nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards
• Started with mixed Reviews
• Huge cultural impact

Friends is a sitcom which follows the lives of six friends living in new york, the show features the antics the group get into in their daily personal and professional lives.



The show is generally split into two main locations, Monicas Apartment, The Coffee Shop and often travels to Joey & Chandlers apartment or Ross' Apartment, this mirrors what I would like to do with Arch-Roomies in having one main location being their apartment and then using cutaways to move to a different location whilst the set has changes and the actors can have a wardrobe change.

It also encompasses what I would like to do with the dynamic between the two friends and the stories each episode follows, The average friends episode lasts 20 minutes allowing for a shorter narrative, what I would like to do with Arch Roomies is similar but also containing a wider story arc that is playing out in the background and throughout each episode.

Fictional Adaptation - Pre-Production

Whilst waiting to hear back from Mike I started working on a rough script for the poem - If We Must Die, I called up Delta Force Paintball in Orpington and asked them whether it would be possible to film a short video and they seemed very interested on the condition that I credit them in the video and if we film out of business hours.


I started working on a shot list/storyboard as well and researched where I can buy some camouflage uniforms, I will also look at second-hand sites and surplus shops as I will need several uniforms and I do not have the funding needed to buy multiple costumes, however I may be able to make it work with what I have if I get creative.


I am in the process of filling out a risk assessment for the project and am a bit nervous as there will be a scene in which a character needs to be shot with paintballs, I am looking at getting motorcycle armour for him to wear to mitigate the impacts as from what I have heard getting shot on bare skin with a paintball hurts.

Fictional Adaptation - A Change of Plans

With the poem "If we must die" I did minimal research as I was eager to start on with the idea of a epic sacrifice, this was incredibly unwise, Mike spoke to me today about how the poem was written about during the "Red Summer".

The Red Summer refers to the summer and early autumn of 1919, which was marked by hundreds of deaths and higher casualties across the United States, as a result of race riots that occurred in more than three dozen cities and one rural county. In most instances, whites attacked African Americans. In some cases many black people fought back, notably in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The highest number of fatalities occurred in the rural area around Elaine, Arkansas, where five whites and an estimated 100–240 black people were killed; Chicago and Washington, D.C. had 38 and 15 deaths, respectively, and many more injured, with extensive property damage in Chicago.^[1]

Claude McKay's sonnet, "If We Must Die",^[40] was prompted by the events of Red Summer.^[41]


I have therefore decided it would be insensitive of me to carry on with the idea I had, I should have looked into the poem more before choosing it as my final idea.

I do not know how I could portray the poem in an accurate and respectful manner therefore I have changed the poem I will be adapting to "Do not stand above my grave and weep"

The idea I had for the story is as follows.

The day is cold, Owen has is in the Park with Dog, he is laughing and throwing a stick (distinctive stick) for Dog to fetch, Dog ignores the stick and instead chases after Owen, they play for a while before Owen gets a phone call.

They make their way home whilst Owen is on his phone distracted, dog crosses the road and is distracted by (something) he hears a screech and a thud, he turns around then starts barking he runs up to Owen who is laying on the floor unmoving. He sniffs at Owen then whines laying his head on Owen's chest. 

Dog is looking up at door whining, he scratches at the door and sits down, he barks once and a woman comes round the corner, she leans down and strokes Dogs head before opening the door, Dog bounds inside with his tongue out but is met by an empty bed. His face falls and he jumps up onto the bed sniffing before laying down and whining.

The women comes in with his lead and takes him to Owens grave, Dog sniffs and starts to tear up and whine, he runs off and into the woods, he ends up in the park, he looks down at something at his feet and whines again.

The woman is sitting in front of the grave, her hands covering her face as she cries, she pulls her hands away to see Dog with the Stick Owen had thrown in front of him, he nudges it onto the grave and moves over to the women and lays his head on her leg.

I really like this Idea, the main issue is having a dog being well trained enough to follow commands like that since my dogs are not on that level I considered animating the dog by hand. The more I thought of it the more I liked it.

To save time I will animate the dog at 12 frames a second, I tested out the idea of having the video portion as a timelapse to help show the time passing for dog and the woman, however I didnt like how it looked and decided to film it instead.

I made a shot list and my artist drew some designs for the dog, I wanted a specific look and not a cartoon dog so we went through a through iterations before we settled on one I liked.

In terms of sound design I want the video to be almost silent with only the sound effects, I may add a score in if I can find one I like that works but the lack of sound should work in my favour to create a lonely feeling with the audience.

Fictional Adaptation - Production Notes

Weather and Plot Change

The filming for this project has been difficult as I haven't had many free days in which I can film, this is compounded by the weather as the first filming day there was non-stop rain which meant I could not film outside, I instead filmed all the inside shots on the first day of shooting and then on the second I filmed outside, I decided mid-shoot to change one of the key plot points which was Owen being hit by a car.

I realised that this would be too difficult to show and maybe a bit abrupt, therefore I simply had Owen collapse and leave the audience in slight suspense on whether he was alive or not.

An issue arose where my actress was called away before we could film the final shots in the graveyard, this was a problem as I didn't have any free days before the rough cut but Mike was ok about it, I filmed the final scene on Sunday and ran into another issue with the weather, specifically the few inches of snow.

Whilst this does work in a way with showing the passage of time I was hoping to have a shot of the dog with a snowflake falling down and landing on his nose, this would be a "sign" from his owner, I cant change the weather unfortunately so the snow will have to stay, I feel the scene will not have the same impact but there isn't much I can do in the time I have.

Timelapse

I also planned to do a timelapse to help show the passage of time, my initial plan was to do a timelapse showing from night until day and loop it a few times to show days passing, however I discovered a different method which requires setting the camera to the Apeture Prioty, this will change how long the shutter will be open for and expose the image to the same brightness.

It creates an interesting effect which looks like there has been a picture taken every day when in actuality it was over one night and morning. This works much better as it shows a larger period of time passing. Having the dog sitting in one spot with slight movements on each image also will help show how he has been sitting infront of his door waiting for his master to return.

Animation

The animation of the dog is something that is quite new to me, I have gotten help with a animation student to animate the dog onto the footage, since there is a lot to edit I wanted to start the animation and the edit at the same time, I made a rough cut quickly and sent it over to my animator so she could start.