VIRTUAL DIRECTING PROJECT 🖥️
A lot of people ask what it’s like to go to film school during a pandemic since remote filmmaking seems really inefficient (and… it totally is!) Perhaps interesting new protocols and pipelines have been created to deal with these temporary restrictions, but it’s never really going to be better than what we had before. However, this semester there was one good thing to come out of all of it: I was able to cast and work with my good buddies from across the country for a project in my online “Directing the Comedic Scene” class. (Normally I would have been limited to in-person actors in LA so working with these talented friends couldn’t have happened.)
I selected this sequence from an episode of Community which is already parodying the film My Dinner With Andre, and reworked it a bit to fit the requirements for Zoom class. Then I cast my friend Jacob as Jeff and Sidney as Abed and we got to work on finding the comedy, pacing, characters, emotion, and all the other things that make a scene “work” in front of the class. Since Jacob and Sid weren’t allowed to watch the episode until after we recorded, it was up to us to figure out unique interpretations of the characters from the text on the page. At no point were we just trying to replicate Joel McHale and Danny Pudi. Therefore, you’ll probably notice some of the bold steps taken by the actors to comfortably distinguish their own versions of these performances.
After hours of discussions, rehearsal, feedback, and preparation, I’m really happy to present this short project as a completed virtual directing challenge. It actually exceeded my expectations, especially if you can look past the Zoom imperfections. Below you’ll find the necessary context for the scene, I hope you enjoy!
CONTEXT: “Jeff, a closed-off ex-lawyer, goes out of his way to plan an extensive Pulp Fiction themed surprise party at a diner for his pop-culture loving friend Abed, but, on the night of his birthday, Abed invites Jeff to a fancy dinner one-on-one at the same time. Jeff must try to understand and accommodate this "new" version of his friend, while subtly nudging him back towards the diner so the party can still take place.”
By the way, if you like the chemistry between Jacob and Sidney, feel free to check them out in one of the most fun videos I’ve ever made. Also, I couldn’t properly acknowledge this class without giving a shoutout to my AMAZING professor Andy Cadiff who was not afraid to be brutally honest with us to make us stronger directors. He also worked with everyone individually to address our ideas and concerns and helped keep our spirits high during “Pandemic Directing” which is obviously a bit soul-draining. This class was monumental in my path as a director, so I’m grateful I’ve gotten to work with Andy and hopefully earned his respect. (He did like that I direct while standing up because that’s what he does, so I’m off to a good start!) As always, thanks for reading, check back later for more good stuff if you like what we do :)
