<br /><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=4995fdbf-3463-4810-a2f4-b8853c006fb1" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 10: The Return!">Video: Season 3 – Episode 10: The Return!</a>
* The opening gag with Vork appearing took some time to rehearse, to get all the movements synchronized. The first time, Jeff came in a little slowly, but the whip-pan to him sitting there still cracked us all up.
* Kim Evey provided on-set penguin squeaks for Zaboo’s video game.
* Charlie’s Internet Cafe was actually the Zune House, owned by Microsoft for parties and other events. It was full of all sorts of cool gadgets that we were no longer allowed to play with after the first day because they were way too distracting. We shot there for two days, the second of which saw me receiving my first-ever parking ticket.
* Toward the beginning of this season, I saw people online commenting that it felt like the focus of the show had shifted away from the gaming. This amused me, knowing that the big climax this season was moving toward was a huge LAN party. Of course, I couldn’t say anything at the time.
Look, a new Guild episode! As always, I’ve typed up a few memories from the shoot, and you’re just stuck reading them. Or scrolling past them, if you must.
* I wasn’t on set the day they shot in the office building, so I have no insight on any of those scenes. I know, you’re disappointed.
* Vork’s scenes were filmed at the same big high school where many other scenes were filmed. This is the only time it was necessarily supposed to look like a school, which meant backing the van up on a wide stretch of sidewalk.
* In the apartment, I was quite amused taking down framed religious art, Bible verses, and quotes from hymns, only to replace it with Riley’s decorations. You don’t see them particularly clearly here, but the things in Riley’s room are particularly entertaining, including photographs on the mirror of all the people whose innocence she’s taken…which was pretty much all of the crew.
* I love all of Riley’s scenes, especially after having seen Michele Boyd act in person. She’s incredibly funny and charismatic, which makes her such a fun semi-villain. And, of course, she seemed very sweet in person, and even acted amused by my “I Agree With Dave” shirt.
* Is it intentional that Zaboo’s wearing the Holy Grail T-shirt in the episode released so soon after Python’s 40th anniversary? Probably not, but it’s awesome.
* Some of my favorite moments from this season are still to come. As a fan who got lucky enough to become involved in my own small way, it’s unbelievably exciting to watch it come together.
<br /><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=f5adff20-445c-474f-89cf-8ed22d2ddb22" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 8: +10 to Bravery">Video: Season 3 – Episode 8: +10 to Bravery</a>
* Codex and Tink at the basketball court was shot at that high school. This was the location that seemed to be daring us to try and get good audio. Swim lessons at the pool, cheerleading tryouts and joggers on the track next to us, a leafblower nearby, and a single airplane that kept flying overhead over and over, like it was circling around looking for film shoots to disrupt.
* Incidentally, the bit about Codex risking it by going outside was only partially a joke. Whenever Felicia wasn’t on camera, she was under an umbrella. A tan or burn would’ve COMPLETELY wrecked continuity.
* New gag reel!
<br /><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=ad9da3c0-f956-4a84-91a0-29281cc13c51" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 7: Coping and Stuff">Video: Season 3 – Episode 7: Coping and Stuff</a>
* Vork’s van is parked out in front of the apartment complex used extensively throughout the rest of the season. I recall two main takes of his Spanish dialogue: the fumbling version used, and one where he reads more confidently, sans one incredulous glance at the guide book.
* I wish there was a wider shot of Bruiser walking away from Bladezz and his garage, because the suggestive motion he made with his baton was hilarious.
* Today I ran by the FYE at the Trumbull Mall and finally picked up the Season One and Two DVD set, since the lousy Hamden FYE did not seem to carry it. There was something really cool about buying the show in a “real” store. Behind the scenes documentaries also have a whole new layer of awesomeness when you’ve worked with the people featured, but I imagine they would still be fun for anyone who enjoys the show. If you don’t own the DVDs already, pick them up as soon as you can. You’ll be glad you did.
The other week, my sister Lizzy and I felt like watching a movie. We had no idea what movie we wanted to watch, so I looked over our family’s DVD library to see what we had. And that’s when I came across something in on the shelf that Lizzy–and the rest of the universe–had been trying to get me to watch for years, but that I’ve always managed to avoid. However, I was in a riffing mood, and had recently read a recap on it while going through random AgonyBooth articles, so I decided it was now or never.
“Lizzy, I’ve resisted for a long time, but I’m gonna give you one chance before I change my mind…”
Immediately, Lizzy jumped up excitedly, and injured herself. She ran to her computer to brag to Twitter that she was making me watch “High School Musical”.
I love a good musical as much as the next former high school thespian, but I had no real interest in ever seeing any part of the “High School Musical” franchise. But Lizzy had been pushing me to see it for a long time, because she felt it would bring back memories of the fun “rivalry” between our drama department and our basketball team. And it might have done just that, had it been a remotely realistic portrayal of any high school I’ve ever seen. Continue reading →
Not a whole lot to say about this episode, except congratulations to the applicants! Also, note the two references to other web shows involving the cast–Sandeep’s Legend of Neil t-shirt, and Riley shouting “Bad Horse”, a line which was Michelle’s idea.
Also, everybody be sure to check your local FYE/Suncoast/Coconuts to see if they have the retail DVD of The Guild Seasons One and Two, which came out today! Sadly, my own local FYE did not have it, although the clerks working were fans of the show.
Speaking of Guild-related stuff you can buy, Paul Sabourin (of Paul and Storm) happened to be wearing a Guild T-shirt at the Jonathan Coulton/Paul and Storm concert at Toad’s Place in New Haven on Friday.
Okay, a slightly awkward segue, but what do you expect from me?
The concert, naturally, was fantastic. We were at a table in the very front row, and Paul serenaded our friend Grace during the second verse of “Frogger”. It was my first time actually at a concert of JoCo’s or Paul and Storm’s (if you don’t count the Whiffenpoof Centennial in January where JoCo performed three songs), although I was familiar with a lot of the traditional set through YouTube, various bootlegs, the DVD, etc. Of course, it’s all the better when you’re actually in the middle of it, seeing the technical difficulties and hearing the accompanying adlibs in person.
I noticed people videotaping (and Lizzy recorded a few of the songs), but so far the only video from the show I’ve found is the following from “I’m Your Moon” (aka the SWEETEST SONG EVER WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND), including a special greeting from Jonathan that was originally from famous “NewsRadio” guest star Chuck D.
After the show, I got the three performers to sign my copy of the “Best. Concert. Ever.” DVD. It was my second time meeting Coulton, but my first meeting Paul and Storm. They, like each of the countless other geek celebrities I’ve met in the last few years, were very nice guys. Paul said he liked my RiffTrax shirt, and I said I liked his Guild shirt.
The signed DVD. I particularly enjoyed Storm’s signature, half on the disc and half on the case, which is revealed when the CD is lined up correctly, like a copy protection wheel for an old computer game. He gave an extra signature completely on the case as a bonus.
Naturally, Coulton sang a lot of songs about monkeys. And a new chapter of “Tales of Monkey Island” came out today. In related news, I’m looking for an intern to write better topic transitions for me.
“Tales of Monkey Island” just keeps getting better and better. This latest chapter features the humor, story developments, and quotability we’ve come to expect. Additionally, it has fun new puzzles such as the Face Off, which is like Insult Swordfighting without the tedium (and without the quotability, but you can’t have everything), and the Tarot Cards, which is elegant in its simplicity. Plus, Murray riffs the end credits!
Sadly, I couldn’t get the chapter to work in Crossover for the Mac, so I had to pull out…*sigh*…the old Dell craptop. Desperate times, and all that. It was worth it.
All in all, it’s been a delightfully geeky couple of days. I’m going to go write a song about a fictional group of adventure game players now.
The Guild Season Three Episode Four: “Get It Back!” is here! And I talk about it here:
* The living room where Clara and George are fighting is Felicia’s.
* Vork at the drive-thru is one of my favorite scenes in the whole season. We filmed it at one of the many parking lots at the large high school in the Pasadena area where we spent a long, hot day shooting. The drive-thru menu itself was a surprisingly hilarious prop. It had pictures of not-particularly-appetizing-looking combos, each with the sandwich item in the foreground, and fries and a drink in the background. One of the combos is a Fish and Chips combo, which has a cardboard tray with fried fish and french fries in the foreground…and an ADDITIONAL fries and a drink in the background. We referred to it as the “Fish and Chips…AND Chips” combo. We also noticed that the fish and chips listed on the NON-combo part of the menu were a dollar more…so clearly the extra chips are SO bad that they’ll give you money back if you order them. The most peculiar thing about the menu prop, though, is that it had a tag saying it had previously been rented for an episode of Firefly. We were all scratching our heads trying to figure out when it was used, before deciding that it was either heavily disguised in the background, or it was a tag from a different prop shoved in by mistake. We joked about asking Felicia to call Joss and ask, but decided against it. Although it DID happen to be Joss’s birthday, so we would’ve had a good conversation starter.
* Fawkes’ computer room is the den/office in the back of Felicia’s house. Venom’s computer is actually the same room as Tink’s, also in Felicia’s house. Bruiser’s was in the back room in the same apartment as Riley’s. Oh, and did I mention this was an apartment complex for missionaries? And we were filming this on a Sunday night as many of them were getting back from long days at church? And that the profanity carried further than we thought it would? Felicia went door to door apologizing for the strong language afterward.
* Yes, FinnSmulders.com is very real.
You’ll recognize some of the stories I mentioned earlier, plus one I forgot: the power kept going out at Kim’s house, and we had to reset the breakers. We guessed this was because we were steaming the clothes in the back, but I don’t remember if that was actually the cause or not. But needles to say, it slowed things down a touch.
<br /><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=80a029bc-7a7a-4f6e-b63c-8c4e73975e20" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 3: Player Down">Video: Season 3 – Episode 3: Player Down</a>
The Guild Season Three Episode Three: “Player Down” is now live, as are my pointless thoughts below:
* For the curious, Codex’s room is in Kim’s house, Zaboo’s room (technically Riley’s room) is at the same apartment complex the exteriors are shot at, Clara’s room is in Felicia’s house, and Bladezz’ room is Felicia’s garage.
* As I recall, there was only one “Spires of Dragonor” prop box, the same used in each computer room shoot. The magic of filmmaking!
* Bladezz’ sister Dena is played by Vince’s actual sister Tara. I didn’t really get to meet her, as she wasn’t on set very often, but like everybody else involved in the show, she’s pretty funny.
* Ah, the Vorkmobile. Mere video does not do justice to the majesty of this vehicle; you really have to see it in person. Tyler outdid himself with that one. You should get more clear looks at it over the course of the season, but just know that it is filled with the most bizarre and…well, Vork-like assortment of stuff imaginable.
The Guild Season Three Episode Two: “Anarchy!” is now live! A few disjointed (some might say anarchic) thoughts…
* That’s Best Boy Grip Extraordinaire Noah Flippo as the Game Stop Manager. You can imagine the mockery one receives from the rest of the G&E Crew when they’re promoted to “talent”.
* The wide shot of the Guild dragging the tent to the back of the line was the very last shot of principal photography. We were chasing sunlight at that point, so the process went something like this: Sean yells action, Jeff drags tent, Sean yells cut, Tyler and Ethan run and drag the tent back to the front of the line as fast as humanly possible, maybe a VERY QUICK adjustment of the mirror boards, Sean yells action, etc. Several takes in five to ten minutes, and then we were wrapped.
* It’s true that Wil Wheaton gets angry…some-TIMES, and he plays quite an entertaining villain (his role only gets even better as the season goes on), but as I mentioned last week, he was seriously very gracious, friendly, and having a lot of fun. As were all the Axis of Anarchy-ers, at least the ones I had any interaction with.
* Seriously, everyone, this season’s awesomeness is only just beginning.
