Filmin' it Old School

The Past just put the Present in Representin’.

It’s Friday, and judging from rush hour traffic and the dearth of occupied parking spots in the garage this morning, I now recognize that it’s officially summer. Vacations aplenty, blog readers and non-readers alike will forgo reading Friday updates since it still seems impractical to rock the laptop at the beach or while camping, and I understand that. Readership will decrease slightly on Fridays, but that doesn’t mean the funny will cease.

Comedy doesn’t take summer vacations.

For those strong enough to be here today (or just waited to long to ask for time off), YAB would like to announce the impressive turning that is happening for those who once called Medford, New Jersey their home. Down and to the right (go ahead and scroll, we’ll wait) is a section of blogs titled “Old School.” None of them feature Vaughn, Wilson, or Ferrell, but instead are the collective musings of the Writer’s Guild of my old high school Shawnee. It’s the funny, as brought to you by the Shawnee Group.

Why do I mention this now, though? Those links have been there for years. It’s simple. I don’t know if they even realize it, but the Shawnee Group is enjoying a Mini-Renaissance. Including YAB, there are 9 blogs that must have an SHS diploma hanging up in their editor’s office. This includes Lacey Smith’s new entrant into the fray, the cleverly-titled “I’ll Blog You.” Now within the last week, of these 9, there have been new posts on 7 of them. In fact, in that frame, there’s been 29 new posts courtesy of the Renegade Blog Squad.

30, if you count this one.

I encourage you to check out the Old School when you get the time. Lacey’s giving a day-to-day account of life as a teacher who is enjoying being off for the summer. Smith does a fine job of reviewing every tv show and flick he’s watched that day (I’m waiting for when this expands to anything he sees on a flat screen – like the drive-thru window at McDonald’s or the touchscreen at Wawa.) Harford has always been a partner in crime of bringing the funny, and it seems that Toms and Kristen Cole have even found their keyboards. Oh, and Joe Brescia likes to count, but not in a Sesame Street sort of way.

In keeping with this theme, today we’ll recount a story from the Old School.

During the summer of 2000 (cue the creepy Conan O’Brien melody), Aaron Boblitt and I set out to make our first feature-length flick. The idea was simple. Turn Mafia, the card game, into a real-life horror-pscychothriller flick. We patched together a decent script, cast our friends as well, our friends (except the part of Joe Brescia was played by Rob Harford, and I think we had a stand in for Smith’s future wife.), and had the whole summer to work with. After borrowing a few handhelds, we set out one weekend at the end of July to film a masterpiece. We had talent, time, and a peculiar idea to make our narrator (Kristen Cole) carry around a rifle and do things like sit on a roof and in a car trunk. (That’s indie.) But despite having all of these things, we lacked a typical film element.

A budget.

Character deaths has to be filmed delicately using tricks of shadows, lighting, and mirrors, to make up for the complete lack of blood and well, death. Filming Locations had to be our homes or free locales that wouldn’t draw interest from the police. (I’m still shocked we didn’t get picked up for the “high-speed car chase” around Ironstone Village.) And I don’t think we asked anyone to be in our movie. We told them they were going to be in our movie.

Good thing none of them belonged to SAG at 19.

Coming this afternoon: Behind the Special Effects of Mafia: The Movie.