The sketch show that us lot here at quiteenjoy make for shits and giggles. Starting in 2009 with Lee Coldicott and Anthony brown re-inacting the opening titles from Peep Show (UK comedy show) it is now running into it’s third year. We all live miles apart these days so getting together is never an easy thing. As such, sketches happen with comforting irregularity (Just like your bowls when you’re 90). Once sketches are complete they appear first here on quiteenjoy (via Vimeo) and on Comedy Whirled, our friends in the US.
Insert title here’s title comes from the fact that no one came up with a better idea for one. Simple as. No hidden meaning or anything, it was just what was at the top of the first script.
As a unit, quiteenjoy films (previously ajba productions) have been filming odds and sods together for over 10 years. Originally formed from a group of friends in high school filling their spare time on the weekend- it is now only a few people with very little spare time! After filming the last spoof music video of the school generation (Lionel Richie’s My Destiny) it was four years before the next project was embarked upon. In that time the production base had moved from Stratford Upon Avon to London. Also new cameras were purchased meaning that the new project (whatever it was to be) would be in HD (High Definition). Considering that old projects had been shot on VHS and MiniDV this was quite a leap in technology, bringing with it new requirements for post production. This newproject would see the editing process move from Avid Xpress DV on PC to Final Cut Pro on Apple Mac.
A Plea video was send out to ajbaco members via facebook in 2008 from Anthony Brown asking them to contribute to a
newproject. After discussions with some of the members a sketch show was agreed upon. This is something that had been in the pipe line for many years, but thetime now seemed right to do the idea justice. The idea of separate sketches really seemed to suit the situation of the cast as well. Since everyone lived so far, and full projects seemed far to demanding on people schedules, little bite sized projects seemed theway to go. With the internet video scene (You tube, Vimeo etc) now very prominent; this seemed a great opportunity to show our comedy to the world at large. So it was decided upon – Insert title here would begin filming in September 2009.
No Rehearsal, no real thought, just get on and do it. Thats long since been our motto so we decided to keep things roughly along that line for Insert title here (ITH). The first sketch (Peep-Less Show) was filmed at the end of a long day for Anthony and Lee- sampling the many fine bars around London. After the shop that features in the sketch (an italian dele that was once the electrical store from the original Peep Show) had closed we quickly dove in to film the skit. Five takes was all it took- three with Anthony as the character, and two with Lee. The first part was easy as there was only one person on screen at a time – so the other could be the camera man. For the last shot however both Anthony and Lee had to be seen in the reflection of the window. This was eventually achieved by Anthony holding the camera at some cock ass angle just out of shot of the window. Each sketch is filmed in roughly 5 min or so- most on them arnt even written- just improvised when we see something that could be funny. For example; the Torpedo sketch was thought up on Brighton pier as lee walked upto a telescope and made the observation that it looked like a bazooka. Now in year 3 more sketches are being written before filming; such as the “Abuse of time travel” sketch.
Visual effects are now playing a large part in our sketches. From Compositing the Statue of Liberty, half submerged on Brighton Sea Front, to Blowing up boats and recently putting two Andi’s in a room together. The Abuse of Time Travel – or most vfx heavy sketch so far was shot over two days with Andrew Jenkins playing both a present day version of himself and a version of him from the future. Anthony Brown wrote the sketch on the morning of the first day while he was waiting for Andi to get up (thats how we roll). After filming for the first day- on the night they sat until 3am editing the sections together to check it all fit. It didn’t, so on the second day they shot pick ups and re-edited. The sketch would no go Live until nearly 5 months later because of sound issues and general laziness.
Insert title here continues to film and we thanks anyone who cares to watch us.
See you soon. (No Threatening over tones.)