Specs Appeal

Hello, Acting Fans, time once again for your midweek missive from H&H HQ. Today has seen me get the old eyes tested and fork out for a new pair of corrective eyewear. Yes, on the H&H Production Weekend Outing the point was hit home by my current specs failing the rigorous safety test of me thrashing about on the dancefloor to some CHOONS. Yes, I'm afraid things came apart, but then they had already been put back together with copious amounts of superglue. A prior repair job necessitated by my unfortunate tendency of leading with my face (ouch).

Weekend outing? Yes, Myself and t'other H (and other associates) decided to break out of the confines of Halifax for a night out and tottered our way over to Leeds after a nice tea of Thai. There may have been an other, ahem, ulterior motive on the part of one of our party but, dear Reader, discretion is the better part of valour. Or, as this poster reminded us...

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT BANGKOK! What I can tell you about the evening is it began at 'Carpe Diem' which we promptly did the opposite of, carpe-ing the old noctem, and ended at a post-'The Cockpit' pizza joint. A good time was had by all, though I discovered that when it comes to finding my way around Leeds I often undershoot when it comes to finding my desired destination. Don't we all fall short sometimes though?
In more salient news for you, Acting Fans, we also had a following Monday meet-up and, besides decompressing from our Saturday Night/Sunday Morning Shenanigans, have come a step closer to sorting the next Actor's Log. It turns out, after further investigation by Vern, the first choice of location for the shoot may be unavailable so we'll be looking at arranging a secondary choice (& sharpish). We also realised we'd overlooked a small item of prop-age that could add a little something to our upcoming escapade. Good news though, getting straight on Ebay as soon as I could, I found the very thing (and well within our Low-to-No Budget too!). Doubleplus Good News, said item arrived TODAY! It was sat waiting for me as soon as I got back from the Opticians. Yay, All H&H Systems are GO! Stay tuned for more messages from us this Friday as that's all from me for now, so...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Wigging Out

Hello there, Acting Fans, it's time once again for our regular Humpday Dance so on with the Blog it is! It's a mix of Good news & Bad News. Good News first, Vern & I got our meet-up on and put our head's together for another H&H planning session going over the new tweaked version of the next Actor's Log (that I finally got around to tweaking, Bad Chris!). The Bad News is, in the course of running through it we realised (as is becoming rather regular post-tweaking) that we needed more preparation before getting down to filming which we planned to do this week. Bah! Sorting stuff out it is, then.
We also talked about some of the future ideas that came up during our coffee & cake brainstorm session, which in turn led to some research - checking out some Two Ronnies sketches online. This also led to us doing some wig shopping, well, wig window-shopping (or is it screen-shopping if you do it on the internet?).

Yep, for some time I've been resisting Vern's push for us to get a bigger stock of costume, including wigs, as we are after all a Low-to-No budget feature. Now though, I have to agree with m'learned colleague, especially as they have now become essential for one of Vern's future Actor's Log ideas as well as being handy for the still-on-hiatus Episode 6 (if we can just get it done before Star Wars Episode 7 comes out, we'll be happy!) so there goes that Low-to-No budget!
That's it so far for this week, we've earmarked our wigs for purchase later, on with prepping the next Actor's Log and I'm taking a look at the first draft of another future Actor's Log H&H Productions continues to trundle along, so goodbye for now or, as the French say, au revoir...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Acting Gear

Hello Acting Fans, fellow bloggers and people of the Internet, yep, it's Friday so it's my turn to ramble on online! As to what's has been happening at H&H HQ?
Well, not much new, as me and Chris haven't been able to get our weekly meet up in this week but we have been in prep mode for us filming this Sunday.
Yep, we are indeed going to be filming the next Vlog down in our good buddy's comic shop Legacy Comics owned by one Simon Shaw in fact. Yes, once again he has very kindly lets us have the use of his shop (well, one of the up stairs rooms - we won't be actually filming in the shop as we don't want to disrupt his business!)

Legacy to the Rescue!

Chris his been doing some testing with one of the required props we bought especially for this very Vlog and I have a few odd things to pick for the shoot on Sunday too. Which is...well, I can't tell you that it'd be ruining the surprise AND the Magic of Filming! All I can say is the testing is going well so far, touch wood, and it's looking like it'll do us a solid, or at least a fairly solid but a bit wobbly.

Yes, so Shatner willing the next Vlog shall be hitting your eyeballs very soon, very soon indeed. Then it's on to the next next Vlog which is already written too! We are getting better at getting on with these (well, when we don't have that day job interference that is) as the H&H machine gets back in acting gear!

So that's it for now see you in the Future!

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

Checking It Twice

Welcome once again, fellow bloggers, Acting Fans and people of the internet, yep, it's Wednesday once again and this is our blog.

Once again we have been a bit busy, we have put up another Vlog video on YouTube, Number 3. WHAT?! You've not seen it yet? Hmm...ok, I'll be nice and it is under this text of which are reading for you to watch and enjoy.

Watched it? gGood. Now what else have we been doing, well, we have been putting together a Christmas list, no, no, not for Santa (though we have been exceptionally good this year) but for our next vlog. You see we have a few things in which we need to do this next vlog. In fact I think it has the most props we have every used in one go, more than most episodes. No, really it has we have about [SPOILERS] many [SPOILERS] including a [SPOILERS], [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS], [SPOILERS] and [SPOILERS] *teehee* we are so mean to you!

Well I'd best get back to the list and find some footage clips of things I need for it. 'What footage and what things?' I hear you cry out at once, then suddenly silence. Well you will just have to wait and see, we won't keep you waiting too long for it.

That's all for now folks we'll be seeing you on Friday.

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to this week's down-to-the-wire Friday Blog, Acting Fans, whoo I'm getting bad at this but here we are nonetheless. Sadly there's little new to report since the last H&H head-to-head but we are continuing on with the next phase of our plans for your favourite Actors at Large.

Vern did indeed get our bit of writing bashed out into Word and sent it on to me, where I did the brush up and polish on our verbiage. It's now ready to go and we hope to get it pencilled in shortly for shooting. The next phase of our latest scheme though requires a bit of a Scavenger Hunt.

Obscure UK Comics reference FTW!

Yes, Internet Chums, in touch with the ground, we're on the hunt - we're after props! And a rather specific set of them it is too. Once again we've made a rod for our backs but if we can beg, borrow or scrounge up all the stuff we need then hopefully it will lead to something rather amusing. To say any more, well, we'd be into [SPOILERS]! So stay tuned, folks, for further developments as m'colleague said, 'SOON'.

That's all for now however so...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Games Afoot!

Well here we are once again, Acting Fans, halfway into the week and there hasn't been a meet up so far but there have been things going on. First of all this weekend, whilst I was stuck behind a desk selling tickets for 'Room On The Broom', Vern was lending a hand to our old chum and sometimes Location Manager.
That's right, Weapon HX himself proprietor of Legacy Comics, Simon Shaw. Not wanting to get too much into the ins-and-outs but circumstances (mainly the up-and-coming re-development of his previous shop location) have led to our old chum having to find a new location. After hunting high and low and hither and also thither Simon has actually managed to get himself re-located to the high street. It was to this new location, handily just up the road, that my co-star and some other local reprobates helped Simon get moved to.

Sheldon is watching you. Always.

Best Wishes and warm regards from all (alright, both) of us at H&H Productions, Simon. May the re-boot to Legacy Comics 1.2 be a rollocking success!
As for the Halloween Special, though we haven't met up this week, the preparation continues. I've been on the hunt for some additional props  and it just so happens that fortunately they were right here at home. At the risk of blowing [SPOILERS] we needed to get our hands on some board games. Some of you more astute Internet Chums might get an idea from it but I'm going to say no more, except they were easier to find than I thought. I'd been thinking of where we used to keep them though, d'oh!

"When you play the Game of Chess you lose and then cry!"

Yep, as a Low-to-No budget production it sure does help to use what you already have. It's as cheap as free! Anyhow with a morning shift, another day off and a free weekend this week we hope to get a bit closer to filming so stay tuned to find out how it goes on, we hope your route to the weekend holds straight and true and we'll see you here again on Friday!

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Staying Out For The Summer

Welcome back, Acting Fans, Vernon Harcourt here with Wednesday's late-breaking blog post. I am pleased to say the reason for delay is that we have been back filming AGAIN!

Yep, that's right, folks! Once again we have gotten behind, and in front of, the camera and been out filming the Summer Special. In fact we have been doing it today! We managed to get together with our Special Guest co-star in the form of Logan Darkholme, esq. (yes, yes, it's his real name - we've been over this already).

Esteemed (cheap) Special Guest Co-star, Logan Darkholme

We went down to very white-ish room to film the main bulk of the Summer Special, secured with the help of our friend, sometime cameraman, location manager, Keymaster, comic book shop proprietor, erotonaut and upstanding pillar of the community (who by now should probably be getting a producer credit), Mr. Simon Shaw. And, well, it did go very well. After a few small, minor hiccups that is. Such as us finding some furniture and a few chairs (well something, anything, for me and Chris to sit on) we even had to ask our good buddy if we could borrow a few things from his shop, well, off his counter top, to fill out the Mystery Supporting Person's desk.

It's the MSP!

 And we may have forgotten a couple of Props but 'Ssh!' - no one need ever know which ones they were! Of course, I'm not going to tell either, tee hee!

Now, with the main bulk of the whole thing in the can, we are just two cutaways away from finishing shooting. I now have the task of going over the rushes to see which are the best takes to use. Now, if you'll excuse me there are a few to go over, 57 shots in fact are the total we took today (Hey! Now that's quite a lot for a Low-to-No Budget production). Apart from a few which we can't use either because they are outtakes or the line delivery is better on another take, most of them are looking pretty good. So I guess I'd best get on with it!

So that's it for now, see you all on Friday!

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

It's pronounced FrankenSTEEN!

Hello, Acting fans, welcome to Friday's belated Blog! Nothing much has changed since midweek, except I have been working on my mastery of puppets. I took the opportunity of my Thursday off work to get on with the construction of the puppet we need for episode 6. Having experimented and mocked up his basic shape using foam and tights, it was time to pull him together a bit and sew his core body together. Yes, yesterday I had my seamstress hat on...er, I mean...seamster? Anyway, whatever the correct terminology I used my rudimentary sewing skills to get the puppet from this:

To THIS:

So now our mystery puppet no longer has his guts spilling out and (though it's hard to tell it's only balanced on there in the prior picture) his head is now properly attached to his body. Next phase is to give him some fur skin and features - he's metaphorically and actually coming together.
In the meantime Vern & I press on with arranging the next shoot (weather permitting). Fings crossed, Internet Chums, see you on the other side of the weekend...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

No Walls Were Harmed During The Filming Of This Episode

Hello, Acting Fans and Blogonauts, welcome back to the H&H Production blog for today's latest update.

No, really

I'm happy to report that, after today's shoot at the flat, episode 2 is a wrap! This time we remembered the additional Props that were missing last week, and Vern had a last minute brainstorm about the establishment of a prop we had planned to have in the series all along but entirely missed in the pilot! Phew! Nice catch, H.
Part of today's shoot was an expansion on initial plans that were conceived during last weeks shooting that added a bit of business for one of our main characters, which in itself led to a little more expansion including a bit of a running gag we're trying to set up (not to get too specific the one of the series promos is the first hint of it).
We also got a rather abject lesson in why going digital with our new camera was a good idea, when we were reviewing today's rushes we found a couple of sequences when inopportune reflections and a glaring continuity error made the shots useless but we were able to go back and re-shoot them the same day. No re-setting - Bonus!
That'll be it for shooting this week but Vern and I will be meeting up on Friday to plan out and storyboard the filming of the first episode, in the meantime I've got to get on with a major prop for it, so...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Give Us Our Props VI

Greetings, Acting Fans, it's that time of week again and we're still getting ourselves organised for the rest of the series shoot, Post-West Yorkshire Premiere that is (The audience verdict: actually not terrible).
As we mentioned earlier besides running through the next scenes (& filming & editing a brief Premiere-only intro) we were going to take on a bit more prop making to try get one of our more complicated doodads finished, at least in the major construction phase. Before you you can see the fruits of our labour:

Yes, major construction on the [SPOILER] has been completed, though of course we're remaining cagey on it's function, any of you as old and haggard as us here at H&H Productions may have an inkling what it's function is. Particularly if you have a fondness for 'sticky-back plastic'. It's not yet fully complete, mind you, it still requires a few touches or retouches on the decoration front.
We still await with baited breath a reply from Valve but so far nothing (which, as the saying goes, may be good news.
Stay tuned for Fridays Blog post, as despite the lack of filming we do have something to submit for your approval.

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

When Is A Door

Greetings, Acting Fans, hope you've had a good Bank Holiday Weekend. We've had a bit of the usual social whirl ourselves, as well as learning our lines for the next shooting sequence of course. Keeping with tradition though we had a slightly DIY errand to do on Bank Holiday Monday.
One of our Props-under-construction has had components stored in two distinct-&-distant locations and so we decided it was about time to get the two parts together, ready for their merging into one. This was how Chris ended up as a temporary door-to-door door delivery man.

The Mystery Door

 Yep, The main body of the [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] is a common or garden BILLY bookshelf unit but for our purposes we needed to fabricate and attach a custom door. Obviously attaching one to the other is easier if they are in the same place but for the more heavy drilling/sawing/painting phase Chris's sister has kindly allowed us the use of her studio space, instead of obliterating Vern's flat with sawdust. With the start of filming though some of the practical prep has been on the back burner so now we're playing catch-up. High time we humped it to the flat, then.

Lastly but not leastly there is another big surprise awaiting you this coming Friday. Yes, It's time for some more cryptic clues and words. Be prepared for something of a portait of H&H as, well, themselves really and see them caught in the act(ing) of, well, something. But what is it, my beloved Blog Followers (looking at you Sweden & any of you Russkies that aren't hackers), that they are doing? Tune in on Friday and find out what it is. Has to been seen to believed and remember - don't have nightmares.

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

&

Christopher Haigh

 

WHAT'S IN THE BOOOOOOX?! (Give Us Our Props VI)

Here at H&H we have been busy, busy, busy, and busy. We have been, well, doing all sorts of things - some of them have even been productive things. Honest.
Yes, Acting fans, so productive that it's time to reveal yet another prop for the show and we're pretty sure this will go down well.
With a BANG in fact! A BIG BANG (or maybe even no BANG at all, if we're lucky)!

1. TAKE ONE BOX

2. ADD ONE EX-POWERPLANT (DECEASED)

3. ADD ONE VANDALISED EX-CIRCUITBOARD

4. PLUS A FEW MORE THINGUMMIES AND WHAJAMACALLITS

5. ET VOILA!

This was the easiest build for H&H productions so far, and with the least injuries too. We still have all our fingers and thumbs intact, as well as the usual average acceptable number of human appendages.
Yes folks, we have built a BOMB (calm down, dear, it's just a prop), or INED* if you prefer (I do because you can pronounce it 'Enid', she's harmless, bless her. Isn't that right, love?)

Subtlety, a H&H Productions forté.

But where and how is it going to be used, where exactly in the narrative would a web series about two troublesome actors need such a plot device?
Well, you’ll just have to stick with us to find out.

P.S.- Don’t tell the police about the, you know, the B-O-M-B Shhhhhhhhhhhusssshhhhh! Don't spell it out loud! (You know what John Law's like with violence-based humour, let us not forget Robin Hood Airport!)

P.P.S.-  This is not the big thing either that is still yet to happen. What is it I hear? That keening sound? Oh, your cries of frustration. Soon, my lovelies, soon. The hour is nigh.

HEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, *GASP!* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Bye for now,

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

* = Improvised Non-Explosive Device

Give Us Our Props V

Greetings, acting fans.
I am still unwell at the moment, but I am making a herculean effort to blog on (and let's face it, my computer is pretty close to my sickbed - hang on you couldn't tell that where you are. Damn, so much for playing the martyr).
Today I thought I'd take the time to unveil some more props, some of them that my learned colleague has created for the show, that make their first appearance in the pilot. However I don't want to blow the gags of some of these, so once again I'm playing the Big Tease.

What could it be?! What! A clue? What if I said here at H&H Productions we aren't afraid to take an out-of-date meme and run it into the ground?
Another poster, you say? We’ve gone poster mad?! Well, ok, but it's one we've made ourselves this time, all will be revealed to due time.
What about wrapping your eyeballs round THIS one:

And what exactly is this an opportunity at an opportunity for I hear you ask?
Wait and see, cheeky chops.
And last but by no means least is this mystery of a nifty little prop. This was given to me by a dear friend for Xmas (Thank you, Shaleene! Props to you for a Prop for me!)

And what does it do? Ha-Ha! You’ll just have to watch and wait. Patience, Acting Fans.

So long for now,


Big Tease out,

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

Give Us Our Props IV

Of course, you know what has to happen now...

Yeah, That's right - We've made a Chekov Gun.

Stay tuned, Acting Fans

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

&

Christopher Haigh

This Is Just a Tribute

This week see's a couple of historic milestones for us here at H&H Productions, one of them a little sad.
So let's start with the bad (and now pretty old) news first, this week sees the anniversary of the death on 24th November, 1991 of (IOHM*) one of the 20th century's finest showmen, Farrokh Bulsara AKA Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. As late 70s/early 80s kids Freddie and Queen were at the forefront of our formative Pop Cultural experience and, of course, besides great hit tunes as geeky 70s/80s kids he (& the rest of Queen) also provided the soundtrack to not one but TWO firm favourite cult films:

Forget Star Wars (remember it started off as Lucas' pitch for a Flash Gordon film) plus Max Von Sydow, Peter Wyngarde AND Brian Blessed in one film - no computer-controlled FX models can compete with that sort of cast. Anyone who disagrees gets the Bore Worms.
And then the film that spawned a far-spanning franchise of infinitely reducing returns but it's so good we forgive it it's rubbish sequels:

A sad day but a great one to remember the talent of the man and as he himself once sang, the show must go on. So long, Freddie and thanks for all the tunes.

While we're talking about 'shows going on' that brings us to the happier news. This week also saw the anniversary of a groundbreaking television series that first hit the TV screen on 23 November, 1963. That day BBC 1 broadcast the first episode 'An Unearthly Child' and two unwitting schoolteachers and the British public were introduced to a certain mad man (who's not really a man) with a blue box.
Despite the hiccup of being laid low in the 90s (yeah, thanks a lot, Michael Grade, we don't think *shaking fists towards London*), thanks to Russell T. Davies and BBC Wales the Doctor has enjoyed a wildly successful revival these past few years. Here at H&H we are always ready to salute the sort of fiction that stops staring in the kitchen sink and gets you to look out the window at the stars above, so Happy 48th Birthday DOCTOR WHO, long may you transcend Time and Space!

(The only November broadcast Christmas advert that we support, plus it's for charity, innit?)

A Happy Whonniversary to you all!

Stay tuned for more Harcourt & Haigh-centric news next week,

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

&

Chirstopher Haigh

* = In Our Humble Opinions but of course, you figured that out, didn't you? After all, You're not total n00bs are you? What, you ARE?!

Give Us Our Props III

Our brief hiatus on series shooting gives us the opportunity to catch up on a bit of the old prop production. Progress on [REDACTED MYSTERY PROP] continues at a slow but steady pace.

Whatever could it be?

We're taking our time with [REDACTED MYSTERY PROP] as it's pretty demanding on our very basic carpentry skills (flat-pack furniture = a doddle, handling a Jigsaw (the power tool, not the perennial grandparent-preferred puzzle, you mook!) = I have never been more afraid in my life) and it has a very large possibility for error but, if we pull it off, it'll be brilliant (if we say so ourselves).
As we've said before though some stuff comes to us easier, take for instance this little beauty, BEHOLD:

"THE UMBRELLA STAND OF DOOOM!!!"

Originally we envisioned something of a standard armoury-style gun rack for our two criminally-inclined actors. Further thought made that seem a bit too professionally criminal/possibly psychotic (as well as difficult to construct) we decided something more whimsical or comical was called for and so the concept of 'The Umbrella Stand Of Dooom' was born. Hang on, where do we get an Umbrella stand from? Well, it turns out Poundstretcher, the budget filmmakers' boon.
On a random scouring of the budget stores for stuff that is a) cheap and b) possibly useful (and not at all for cut price collectible toys), Chris came across a neat looking fake-leather laundry basket and, like an idiot, promptly took a picture of it and left it there.
You may hazard a guess as to what happened next after Chris consulted Vern and later returned to the shop to pick it up. What did you guess? It wasn't there? Well, you're almost right. SOME of it wasn't there, the lid in fact, which also had the price on it, had been nicked. It was then that Chris's inner yorkshireman came to the fore, as he realised, not needing the lid, he might be able to get it... cheaper!
After swift negotiation with the shop manager he soon left bearing his prize, a formerly £17 Leatherette Laundry Basket now lidless but a seven whole pounds (seven pounds later squandered on booze) cheaper. VICTORY!
And thus a Legend was born!
If that Epic Tale Of Successful Shopping hasn't thrilled you enough, we leave you with another sexy image of Hearthrob Harcourt on the Rocks:

He's thinking of you, ladies, always of you. Yes, ALL of you...

See you soon,

Don't have Knightmares,

Vernon Harcourt

&

Christopher Haigh

 

Give Us Our Props! II

Some jobs are easier than others.
For example, take a look at this little beauty...

Yes, It turns out the series may just be a bit nerdy. Who knew?
Answer: Everyone

Knocked out quite easily and pretty sharply after conception (with a great deal less swearing than the creation of the HAiL 2001, could I find a decent lens? Not easily, I tell you. Many hours of fret were had until accidentally passing the scented candle display in Poundland). As the filming of the first scene of the series rapidly approaches we crack on with our doings and makings behind the scenes.
For instance, what's Vern doing here?

What's he building in there?

I'll tell you one thing, he's not building a playhouse for the children.

It might have something to do with these:

Opal Acrylic, you say?

You'll just have to wait and see...

Oh my, Is that the Time?

I really must be going.
Hello, Goodbye.

Christopher Haigh