Girl Number 9

www.canyousaveher.com

More information will be available soon.

What's next?

Splendid is now being unleashed upon the world, so a new phase begins. Lots of hard work to raise awareness and make sure all the hard work everyone has put in is rewarded with a commission. It's simply not enough to pop a DVD into an envelope and cross your fingers. There are many weeks and months of Splendid work ahead.  I think many people forget this most crucial of stages. It's not enough to write/perform/film etc. You need to put as much work into finding an audience too. 
I will keep the blog up to date on progress.

The next blog I write will be a special one. A brand new project that's been quietly off the radar up until now. I won't be a tedious tease for too long. It's worth waiting for, believe me.

After that I hope to give all the details of my feature film project The Man Inside. it's another project I have not talked about much, as I don't believe in talking unless there is something to talk about. So, now is the time to break the silence! I will devote a full blog post to The Man Inside.

On other matters, my first feature, Experiment is now screening on Zone Horror in the UK. Available on Sky channel 319, Virgin and Freesat.
4 years later it's nice to see it pop up unexpectedly!

Finally. I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to friends and family who continue to support me. It does take a fair amount of energy to fight the good fight, and without the brilliant support I get, it would be impossible.

Splendid: The Official Trailer

And now...

Hello there.

And now... some Splendid news.

Following the screening of the Splendid pilot, the team went back to the edit site for a final polish, and to plan for a few other little absurdities that will be part of the ludicrous collection of sketches.

Friday July 31st, we shot 4 short sketches. All absurd, all have no point to them, or hidden meaning. They are quite simply ridiculous.
Which in Splendid language translates into - brilliant.

It was a mixture of a Greyhound Race track, with extras and lots of silly running around, complex special effects and fresh fruit, and 3 men dressed as dancing women.

A veritable mixed bag of stupidity, which will help us balance our pilot so we have 11 longer-from sketches and 8 silly quickies.

As Ive said all along, its a constant learning process, and despite the wonderful reaction we had at the screening we are all very committed to pushing ourselves as far as we can and making something that is as good as we could possibly hope for.

Next week will be our final day in the edit suite, and we will be laughing, debating and rolling around on the floor, throwing punches and fighting for what we individually believe in.

Comedy is a very complex and challenging form, and sketch shows are strange beasts, containing multiple stories and characters and different styles of humour. Some laugh out loud funny, some clever, some silly, and some more esoteric or surreal.

Right now, all the sketches we have made for the pilot deserve to be in the final edit. Which is a testament to all the talent involved.

Very exciting times!

Splendid - Screening reflections.

Before we begin, lets look at a nice photograph of Richard David Glover and Jason Arnopp enjoying a crossword.

Those two boys really do see the benefit of mind-stretching word games, and you can genuinely see the delight on their faces.

After this photograph was painstakingly staged and taken, we headed down to MPC on Wardour Street for the screening of SPLENDID, our comedy sketch show.

Fifteen sketches of silly and ludicrous fun, shot with love and a lot of dedication.

We deliberately set the screening up so that the audience had all our cast and crew, but also at least half were made up of people not connected directly to the show, and in many cases, not knowing anything about it.

We gave out feedback forms to those whose opinions would be more pure and not influenced by involvement or investment in the show.

I think, everyone who had seen the edit knew we had something special, but it's still another thing to show people the work and to hear the reactions.

Laughter. lots of sustained laughter. And, lots of smiling. People really enjoyed themselves watching it, and there was a feeling that people were watching something that made them happy, and took them to a new place. Which was just what Rich and I had also wanted.

After the screening we collected the feedback and listened to people talking and it became clear that we really do have something to be proud of.

It won't be too everybody's taste, of course, but I think we have made a show that will really put a smile on your face. And I'm dead proud of that.

I'm also proud of all the talent that went into it.
Everyone involved made an important contribution and the reason many of the sketches have so many layers, is that creativity was employed from script to edit and beyond.

We learned so much making Splendid.
In creating, shooting, editing... we learned how complex comedy can be. but also, how much fun it is too.
We also learned, and are learning, about the structure of a comedy sketch show, and how important that is.

I am excited to be involved in Splendid.
I feel so much pride for what we have achieved, and feel we can bring a lot more of this to a full series.

To everyone involved, thank you all so much for making it possible and being so brilliant.


Dan.x










UPDATE:
Bloggings about the screening...

Helen Smith
Jason Arnopp
Johnny Caution
Phillip Baron

Splendid.

Just a little note to say how great it is to finally let people see the results of all our hard work tonight at the first screening of Splendid - our comedy sketch show.
It's going to be a great night, and I feel very proud.

Normally, first screenings of any work are full of trepidation, even when screening to people who want to like your work!


We have deliberately set the guest list up with a range of people, and over half the audience are not connected to the show, and only know what's out there on the internet. So, it will be great to gauge genuine reaction.


I'm so sorry to anyone who didn't get on the guest list for this screening. Sadly, resources only stretch so far, but hopefully we will have another one soon.

At the risk of sounding smug, my excitement to screen this show vastly outweighs the nerves. And, that's the first time that's ever happened.

A good sign.

Splendid!

Hello Mum.

I still find blogging rather odd. The idea that anyone would read this and be remotely interested fills me with fear about my own narcissism and the sanity of others.
I gave up Twittering for this very reason.Because i genuinely have nothing Earth-shattering to report on a daily basis.
Now, now, Mr Daniel, you cry. You're being rather disingenuous, so do shut up, and just blog, or don't. Honestly!

Ok. Eyes down.

What's happening?

Splendid. All done. Finished. Complete. Over with. Line drawn under.
What happens now.
A 3-month promotion campaign that's what. Starting with one of those fabulous cast-and-crew screenings where Rich and I get to say thank you to all those people who worked so hard and made it all possible. I'd love to take sole credit for it all, cos it's so bloody brilliant, but sadly I have to salute other people for all their talent. Quite tiresome, I know. Not only are they talented, but they work jolly hard too. I mean... What's their bloody problem?
Let's just say, if there is a bit you like in Splendid, I would like to take SOLE credit for it right here, right now. Thank you.

About a month ago, when we looked at the final edit and saw what we had, we took the decision to not let any sketches air online.
It's simply too precious a commodity, and it's rightful place should be on the television.
So, there will be snippets and things popping up, sadly there will not be whole sketches. Until after any potential broadcast. We feel very strongly about this, simply because we are so very excited about what we have.

I will keep updating on the progress of Splendid for the benefit of everyone involved.

As to other things going on.

I hope to be able to reveal some news about the feature film I'm working on very soon.
I'm very happy to be working with a leading UK producer, whose just had a tidy hit on their hands.
I don't want to go into detail on the film yet, basically, because he'll mostly likely hit me quite hard around the head.

I have so many thoughts and things I want to write that I am going to be organized now and do a list. I love a list.

1. Are writers in danger of not writing real characters if they don't interact and mix with real characters? I know people will argue that it's the job of writers to use their imagination. But after 60 years or so of television and film, aren't our imaginations now being influenced by fiction rather than reality?

2. Comedy. Why is it seen as drama's rubbish cousin? Trust me. Comedy is as difficult, if not more so than drama. Once made, the demands of a comedy can be much stricter and purer than a drama. Does it make you laugh? No? Then it doesn't work. It's about time it was respected more at award ceremonies.

3. Cheese and Dogs. Very similar in my book. Individual food type and individual species. However, many many varieties, and all with very different qualities. I like both, very much.

4. I like Bakwell Tart very much. I am famed for my love of cake and puddings. But the Bakewell really is the queen of puddings. I could literally eat Bakewell until I popped. It really is extraordinary. However, if you attempt to put a cherry on top of it, I will destroy you *


Until next time.





* See, I told you I have nothing Earth-shattering to say. However, if you also like Bakewell Tart, please do get in touch.