LOST FOOTAGE DEVELOPMENT DIARY Pt 1 (Patreon)

I thought I'd give you some insight into the next episode of Lost Footage, given that I'm right at the beginning of a brand new episode. Don't read this if you want to go into the episode knowing nothing, as I'm going to go deep into the process (and much of what I write about here may not even make it into the finished thing).

The idea for the one I've just started working on kind of stems from where I've been heading since I put together that first Lost Footage a few weeks ago. 

The first three episodes in this not-remotely-planned series began life when I thought it would be nice to give you a new Goujon John video in these strange times, then realised that by bundling him together with some of the clips I've featured in Digi Minis I'd possibly have enough for a whole new episode. Then I realised if I added some more new stuff, and spread the existing clips out, I'd have enough for - as it turned out - three new-ish episodes.

However, as I was putting them together I was realising I wanted to push what Found Footage was. Episode 4 of Lost Footage was the first one that was conceived as a whole entity, and I think it shows in terms of the rhythms and atmosphere. But also, I don't want to rest there. There are no real rules for this series - I never expected or intended to be doing it - but now that I am, I want to try different things and really push the format.

With the next episode I've started from a different place, in that I'm really conceiving it as a whole, and there'll be one common thread throughout. It'll veer off, as Found Footage always has, but it'll keep coming back to this one idea I've got, which is an educational programme about the cycle of life. 

I know I've had some stick for calling the series 'Prog comedy', but the inspiration for this is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, which kind of follows the different stages of life. I want to try to do that, but with my very random, glitchy, form of comedy. I'm hoping it'll give it a structure, and I want to see if I can make something that's funny and weird, but also moving at the same time. 

I sent Chris Jerden-Cooke the structure yesterday, and asked him to write some music which evokes those different stages of life. His first suggestion for "Conception" was something a bit porn-y, but I asked him to write the emotion of it instead. And he came back very quickly with a beautiful piece of music, and then an even more beautiful piece of music for "Birth". In fact, the challenge is going to be making it funny without losing the emotion of it. 

The early animation test I put together is obviously the starting point for that, and I've gone on since then to make it a little weirder and unsettling. There are always happy accidents with Found Footage, and in this instance - and this'll give you as good an insight into my creative process as any - I animated a nozzle which extends and sprays a beard onto the unborn baby. 

I realised that the baby then looked a bit like Lenin, so I added a Lenin-style cap... and a rubber stamp shooting in and stamping the word "LENIN" on the baby. I don't know what any of this means, but as I was writing the voice-over for the sequence this morning, I stumbled upon the pun "Lenin's Womb". So, that's kind of become the gag/funny conceit of the sequence. 

Again, entirely by accident, but that's how the series is made; I often start with an idea before I've even thought how to twist that idea into something weird and/or funny. 

So, that's where I'm at with it this morning; writing the script for the documentary part, which I'll most likely pay someone from Fiverr to record. I've bookmarked a couple of actors whose voices I think will fit. It'll be a longer, and thus more expensive, session than I normally ask for, so just as well it coincides with your kind Patreon donations coming through!

I hope it'll be worth it. More importantly, I hope it works. Flying by the seat of my pants like this is one of the joys of doing this series. I'll be back soon with more updates as this progresses.

Paul