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OFG episode 3: Head Over Heels
Here’s the third episode of our little TV show.
“When Oppie gets a job working for a mysterious professor, a neglected Gene begins to act out in new, more diabolical ways. Can these friends become family again?”
Posted by rymo.
OFG episode THREE: “Head Over Heels” was just dropped off to the TV people. It goes out on UF’s campus channel 8 this Friday at 8:30pm! Get excited!
Posted by rymo.
Hannie’s back, and looking for blood.
The show’s in dorms now, but the filming continues!
Posted by rrklop.
The Premiere
So it happened. We made a tv show.
(That’s technically true, although we still have a whole lot of work to do before we’re done. One episode does not a series make.)
Our first episode went out Friday night on UF’s Campus Channel 8, beamed out to the residence halls. We were on before “Watchmen”! How exciting!
A bunch of us gathered together to watch it in the Keys common room.
I hadn’t expected to be so nervous. I had dropped the final dvd off that morning at 7am (we kept discovering new problems, and I had delivered 3 different versions on dvd to the wonderful Housing TV staff) and then gone back to sleep. When I woke up around noon, my heart was already beating nervously.
The show aired, our little group laughed, Filup and I couldn’t quite step away from judging it.
We wondered if there were people out there, somewhere on campus, watching our little show and falling in love with it. Let’s hope so.
Posted by rymo.
Here we go!
Wow, what an experience this has been!
We are only days away from the world premiere of “Oppie’s Friend, Gene,” and I can’t even describe to you the excitement and anticipation that’s surging through my veins. Three full months of filming long hours and in tough elements (this whole thing doesn’t just take place in a dorm, y’know…or on campus, for that matter), and finally we will get to experience what we’ve all been working so hard for.
We got a glimpse this past Friday night, as we aired a special sneak-peek of the pilot at Gator Nights. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to hear people laugh and enjoy themselves at the expense of myself and JC Currais (Gene). I have been so caught up in the filming and all the rigors that go along with it, that I forgot that this stuff is actually funny!!
I have a newfound excitement for what we’ve been producing over the summer, and will continue to produce in the next few months. This stuff is really good, folks, no joke.
And of course, I haven’t even been on board nearly as long as writer/director Filup Molina and director of photography Ryan Moulton. They and numerous other comedy writers in TSF have created something that’s been in the works for almost a year, and it’s finally about to come to fruition. When you see these people, be sure to give them a big high five. They’ve been working their butts off to make this a reality, and have made this the most professional and legit tv show anyone could have thought would come from a couple of college students.
And it’s hilarious!
I’m proud to say I have been a part of this project, portraying such an obtuse yet complex character. And I’m very thankful to those who’ve allowed me to take their baby and try my hardest not to screw him up.
So be sure to tune in to UF Channel 8 at 8:30pm on Friday, September 4th. What you’ll see is something beautiful, funny, and heart-warming…and it’s only the beginning.
If you’re not on campus, remember to keep checking www.oppiesfriendgene.com for when we upload the full “Oppie-sodes” a few days after their initial air time.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I have already!
-Cory, a.k.a “Oppie Oppenheimer”
p.s.- I apologize for my bad acting.
Posted by coryd.
Shoots can require a lot. Last night, we left Flavet Field at 5 a.m. and had to rise at 10 a.m. to get props for the next day. The work will be worth it when it’s Final Cut’d, but sometimes it can take more endurance than you’d like.
Not just anyone can make a TV show.
Posted by rrklop.
Even as you read this, Oppie Episode One (“The Pilot”) is hurtling ever onward towards watchability.
Oppie premieres August 28th.
Spoiler alert: this is a photo of all of Episode One.
Posted by rymo.
While shooting in Turlington today, we attracted some attention from passerbyers. While intrigue is definitely something we want, we don’t want it on camera. Many takes are unusable due to pedestrians walking in the background, looking straight into the camera.
Often, we get extra crew members to corral people into detours if it gets really bad. Fortunately, the UF tours that occur each summer were kind enough to stay out of our path on their own. Thanks guys! You saved us hours.
Posted by rrklop.
Our Day in the Sun
The title is kind of referring to how hot it was. (It was really hot)
As often as our days are about light (and it bouncing off people and into our camera), today seemed especially dominated by it.
For our first hour or so of attempted shooting the sun was beating down on us. Everyone got really sick of the heat really quickly. Also, the harsh sunlight was way too intense. When a truck driver decided to pull up and unload right near our shot (ruining our sound) we decided to take a break and send crew to pick up a few things: a tent thing “borrowed” from SPJ and a giant white-ish sheet from goodwill. We attached the sheet to the tent thing and had a fairly movable sunlight-diffusion device.
There have been so many shoots in bright daylight where this thing would have been so useful.
After the sun set, we had a night shoot. It was hopefully a one-shot scene. (which is what it sounds like: a scene entirely done in one shot. Hmm, here are some standard terms if you’re unfamiliar. Shot: one camera set up. Take: After the shot is set up, every attempted instance of that shot is a take. Sequence: a series of shots form a sequence. Scene: One or more sequences may form a scene. Example: We did (probably) 40 different takes of the shot of Gene saying “Boners!” for the prank montage flashback sequence which is a part of the Act 1, Scene A scene in Oppie’s Dorm.)
We spent a lot more time than usual lighting this night scene, we even sent some people to pick up the extra extension cords. For some reason, it seemed so much darker than would be expected with the amount of light we were throwing at it. Not until we had several strong takes done, did I realize that I had left the ND Filter on (The ND filter reduces the amount of light let into the lens, it’s used for shooting in bright daylight, which we had been doing all day).
I felt like an idiot. We went back and reshot it, properly exposed.
Today I also ate a cheeseburger. Also, Erik Voss was there. Look at these Effing Hipsters:
Posted by rymo.
