Comedy.

Today, I woke up with a simple question in my head: "What is Comedy?" I know it when I see it, but if I were asked this question, for the life of me, I wouldn't know to begin. Since I am making comedy skits, I would bet it is a pretty good idea if I knew the definition of my genre.

Here are the definitions I found:

" a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with ahappy or cheerful ending;

a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance,

resulting in a successful or happy conclusion." -Dictionary.com

"any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse,

especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy" -Wikipedia.com

"A comedy is a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character." -Condor.depaul.edu

"A dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution of the thematic conflict." -thefreedictionary.com

Essentially, I believe comedy is the art of making people laugh, and making them happy.

I also came up with four rules on why things are funny:

1. It is expected.

2. It is unexpected

3. It is familiar

4. It is unfamiliar

If you think about it, it's these four things that make us laugh. These four things trigger and amuse the human psychology in ways we don't understand, but they make the recipe for laughter.

Weekly Update Questions.

How much time did you spend on your project?

This week, I have spent 8 hours on it so far, and it is only Thursday. I am confident I will hit 10 hours this week. The reason why I have done so much this week is because I sat down with Ian and planned for around two hours. We discussed skit ideas, and potential cast members. We are going to begin to recruit people with in the next two weeks. I have also just simple youtubed a lot of videos on video making, and looking at other people's work, for inspiration, like The Lonely Island.



I really like these videos for a number of reasons. First off, their sense of humor is clever and hilarious. The 3D glasses thing is a brilliant parody of how every single movie is now going 3D. Also, I really like how they are mocking every single silly soap opera on TV, like the O.C. And last but not lest, they have really good editing and video production. It's no surprise how they got themselves a job for SNL.

Asie from that, I also sat down by myself frequently by my fire, and wrote down ideas for skits. That's the best way to


What did you do for hands-on?
Like I answered in the previous question, I just did a lot of skit writing, and planning with Ian, about skits and staff. I also took a look at his video camera and editing programs, both of which are perfect for our project.


What Research did you do?
I've been reading this book I picked up at the public library the other day.

It's pretty good so far. The first couple of chapters define aspects of film making in simple yet effective terms. It also has taught me a couple of new ways to look at your project, and new editing tricks.


Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
No, I haven't yet, because I was absent on our meeting day. I am either going to schedule for tomorrow, or twice next week, a monday and friday one, depending on his preferred choice.


Were you in class this week?
Yes, I was in class tuesday. We watched the Barnsong, which was a project of a former WISE student named Schuyler Wood. It was pretty neat, I talk about it more in a earlier blog. I also plan to be in my red flag meeting tomorrow with Ms. Lord, 6th period.

What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
This week was solid. I did work everyday, and finally got the first steps of my project on the road.
I also have spent my minimum of 8 hours working, but I plan to do more.

What are your plans for next week?
I plan to neet with Ian several times, to edit and present skit ideas to another. The process is long and repetative, but it's what you got to do to get the best film. The ideas must be perfect. I also recruit another writer. His name is Will Doerr, and I have known him since 8th grade. He is very clever and hilarious, and it would be nice to have him on board. Lastly, I plan to establish a date for our photo shoot. Photo shoots make anyone look cool, and it'd be the start to get some hype on Facebook. I'm also hosting Cabaret Night with Theo Pritz next Friday and Saturday, come see us!

Batman.

Today, I sat down and gandered more at my past film. In this scene, my character is training to become the ultimate water boy for the Varsity Soccer Team. The intro explains it all. If you wish to skip the intro go to 0:52. I'd recommend turning up the volume.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie. If you couldn't tell, this scene is a parody of the training scene from the movie, Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan. Same music, Same idea. If you want a HD version, go here watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqHp9vLCYzM.

GOOD STUFF:

-Very well edited for the most part. A couple of cuts that were too sudden or choppy.

-The scenery worked well in our favor.

-In my opinion, we did a very good job doing a parody of this scene and fitting it into our movie.

-The acting is so bad, it is very hilarious. That worked out well.

-Good sound effects. I really look long and hard for decent, royalty free sound effects.

BAD STUFF:

-The sound quality! Oh my gosh, filming next to a water fall is the most annoying thing ever. I remember while editing this scene, I did my best to optimize the sound, but it was really hard. I definitely need a microphone for my film.

In other words, I haven't shaved in about a week and a half.

I'm Back.

This blog post is from 2/28/11.

Well, Well, Well! I have returned from my wonderful vacation in South Carolina! It was a butt-load of fun. I spent time in the city of Anderson and the small, small town of Fairfax. I enjoyed the south very much because the weather is very nice, the people are nice, and time spent with special ones is time well spent. I look forward to going back relatively soon. During my trip, I had some downtime, especially when waiting for my flights at my airport. During this time I was able to finish my book and brainstorm skit ideas. It's time to sit down with Ian and start to plan steps to succeed our goals. I am home, and it's time to kick this thing off. I also need to reschedule my weekly appointment with my WISE mentor, Mr. Byrne, since I was not in school today. I was exhausted, so I slept the entire day. Boom shaka laka.

South Carolina.

This blog post is from 2/18/11.

Today, I leave for South Carolina. I am looking very forward to the warm weather and beautiful country. During my trip, on my down time, I will read my book, Make Your Own Damn Movie and write down skit ideas. I hope your vacation is great, I know mine will be.

Good bye!

Doh!

Incase you hadn't noticed, Alexi Bouvet-Boisclair is a very silly man. That being said, I was unable to make it to a computer before I left on my trip to South Carolina. This prevented from posting blogs. Good thing I wrote them down. This explains why I am going to post several blogs in one day.

Barnsong.

For our weekly WISE meeting, we watched a documentary called Barnsong. It was made by a former WISE student named by Schuyler Wood. The documentary follows another student, named Austin who wishes to build a barn. This project particularly spoke to me because my project is a film project as well. This documentary is very well done in my opinion. Great video quality, tight and solid editing, and effective sound quality and music. It does a good job in making you feel like you were there, along the whole process. It was neat to see the steps it took to build a barn. I didn't really realize how much work it took to build a whole barn. I don't think I could do it. I can barely set up a tent. The subject of the documentary admitted he underestimated how hard it was going to be. All the brute work and calculations, it is intense. I wish the documentary was longer, but filming can be time consuming and difficult. I can only imagine the process of planning and filming for the documentary.