McConaissance Reconnaissance

Greetings, Acting Fans, it's bad news again this Wednesday as once again my day job has taken me out of the H&H equation - don't ask me what m'learned colleague has been up to, once again we haven't even got together yet this week! I even have to admit I've been bad and haven't even made my usual first pass at the next vlog script yet, Naughty Chris! Enough of what I haven't been doing, what have I been doing?
Well, after work I have in fact found myself getting caught up in a fresh, exciting new cultural movement that started in 2011 in the United States - yes, I'm talking about the McConaissance. That's right, the stunning second act of Matthew McConaughey's acting career. I am a total convert. After not initially rating the Texan and dismissing him as a pretty-boy actor for years I decided to check out 'True Detective' due to the absence from my telly of the programmes I usually watch (yes, I was right in the middle of a 'Doctor Who' & 'Person Of Interest' drought). I'd heard positive rumblings about the show but dismissed it as yet another cop show with a bit of stunt Hollywood casting. Oh, boy, was I wrong!
Both McConaughey and his co-star (and real-life buddy) Woody Harrelson absolutely knock it out of the park!

It's a frankly stunning bit of Telly that's as much about deconstructing the form as it is in showing the mystery with a hint of Cosmic Horror to boot, whose creator Nic Pizzolatto has been open about the work of comic book writers Grant Morrison and Alan Moore. So, yes, the story is pretty much Chris Catnip but that would mean nothing with out the great central performances. Now, time to stop ogling other peoples' creativity and get on down to my own!

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

Buck Rogers

Greetings, Acting Fans, and welcome to your late, late update of H&H doings this week, thanks to an unfortunate Rota-based mistake on my part. Oopsie!
Anyway, back to H&H Beeswax. Though we haven't met again this week Vern and I are still chipping away at the next phase of H&H production namely the parallel production of a Youtube channel trailer and the upcoming Halloween Special. Besides tinkering away at the script we will also be cobbling together some appropriate images and I'll be off out on a minor bit of Prop Hunting, which will most likely be a Poundshop trawl.
Now you may be wondering about the post title and the bit of Feeder at the start. Well, as today's post is a little light on actual doings, I thought I'd pad it out with a bit of a nod to one of the inspirations for the format of the channel trailer we've come up with and, well, the Feeder's a bit misleading as the actual inspiration is more exactly this:

Now as a low-to-no budget production we don't have the cash for space shuttle footage or, indeed, picture-in-picture editing so we'll have to find a workaround, wish us luck!

Stay tuned for more actual happenings next week and...

TTFN

Christopher Haigh

How Does Hat Beat Pint?!

Welcome back, Acting Fans to yet another blog post after a very sunshiny day. Well do I have some news to report, me and Chris did indeed get met up this week. Last night in fact, yep, Tuesday - glad somebody's keeping track.

And wholly in character, and for the sake of the Art you understand (well, that and to give my flatmates a break from our conspiratorial cackles coming from the H&H production office as we type up our latest masterpiece) like the drunkard actors that we are it was in a pub (well, a few actually)! Where we have now conceived of an opening for the summer special and we are, Gods willing, going to be filming that on this coming Friday too! Yep, we are once again getting back into filming. We also had a good plan to set in motion another project or two involving something that might just be popping up sometime soon BUT IT IS A SECRET! So, shush. Quiet now.

We even managed to puts some plans in place a character to appear in the 2nd series, yes folks, we are now even starting to put plans in place for a 2nd series so stay tuned for more on that one (and yes, yes we haven't forgotten episode 6 either.

That isn't all that happened, oh no, while we were talking at one of our various open air production offices (yes, yes, okay - pub beer gardens) that evening, Chris took his hat off and put it on the table, where my pint was when suddenly a gust of wind caught his hat. Chris managed to snag his hat but at the cost of my pint, mostly over me. He swears he has no idea how it happened as he didn't feel any contact with the glass, just the brim of his hat. So somehow a hat, light enough to be blown by a gust of wind, knocked over a nearly full pint glass. I can only assume Chris has an Evil hat and I will be keeping my eye on it from now on.

VS.

 

Never mind, though, as Chris coughed up for a replacement and while I'm working away in a hot call centre today he's going to approach the manager of the location we need to hopefully be able to get on doing it on Friday. He'll be popping in to see the manager before he goes to see 'Miss Nightingale - The Burlesque Musical'. Going into work on his week off, what's he like, eh? As Chris is indulging his theatrical side (and he does the final edit and posting) this entry might get posted a tad late but hopefully it'll still be Wednesday - I have to admit, I hold my hands up! I totally forgot about Blog - but I did have a lot on my mind AND I'd had my pint thrown at me! Anyway, things crossed for Friday, Folks.

Well that is about all what I can tell you today, so have fun in, on or under whatever and wherever you do out there!

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

1.0 Weeks Later

Welcome back fellow bloggers to this Friday blog post and what's happened? Well, I was bundled onto a hot train last Friday and shipped off to a quarantined part of Leeds where we (Me & my colleagues in DANGER) were given a map and some quadrants then told to set off out into the infected parts of Leeds. Just my luck. We had to get a place called Asylum and we had to get there fast, as the police were cracking down on illegal entrants in the town.

So it was with nothing but a map and our wits about us we set off in a group of seven to the first check point. Only to find when we got there a very, very harsh woman, who would not let us stay as we didn't have any papers with us. We had to move on to another part of the map but this time is was not going to be so easy, as well reached the checkpoint we were told something disturbing - the homeless people had, well, started to act a little strange and we should not hang around.

As we approached to blue sheet hanging up over the entrance, we ran like men possessed as we got half way down we were greeted by...two raging zombies with blooded faces and screaming at us!
We ran as fast our legs would allows to go. We had to get away from them. They were not going to touch us at all. We got out of there with our limbs bite free and, oh boy, we were knackered though. We had no choice but to push on to the next place on the map with no time to waste as the police could be anywhere and, well, now so could zombies. Yes, folks we were in trouble and in it deep.

Reaching the next point on the map one of our worst fears had been realised, there was a police officer. He was checking and talking to other people that had been put though all the same shenanigans as us. We knew we had to somehow talk our way out of this. We had to find someone to get a hold of false papers so we could get some shelter and food if we needed it but the officer spotted us! We had to get away from him, fast. We started out by being as aloof as we could to questions. We did just about manage to convince him to leave us alone then, as we stepped around the corner, lo and behold - there was the chap we had been looking for. He talked to us about some of the papers that we would need and how to get them but I got the strangest feeling that some thing wasn't quite right here. He was acting rather odd, well, odd even for when there are zombies around and about. Luckily my caution paid off, as I started to move to the other side of the table two more zombies jumped out at us (probably some other poor survivors who this guy had taken in). Once again we were forced to flee for a lives. Oh man, was this night ever going to end?

we finally got to the next check point after we had past a protester demonstrating about the unfair way that people were brought in the city and treated. When we got the next check point we told that we had to remain of the street, as we could get caught at any moment. The only way out of this check point was under the it. We made our way down the steps of the new arcade in Leeds only to once again face a greeting by yet more zombies. This was getting ridiculous now - I'd had enough, so this time I decided I would tackle them head on, and went for it - I ran straight at them. Yep, I ran at them and dodged out of their way so none of them would catch hold of me. The rest of the night was mainly the same but the zombie became more and more and they were getting quicker too.

After a long night of fright and flight, at last we neared the end of our quest and to a van that was supposed to get us out of there. Hope flooded into us but when we got there we found the driver had been badly and, well, mortally wounded. She faintly asked for some pills from the back of the van. It was my turn I was up to be the hero this time. As I cautiously made my way around to the back of the Van I opened it to discover there were two zombies tied up in the van. I had to move quickly to grab the pills and get them to our dying ally. And, like a true hero, I did. Once again an avenue of escape had been cut off, we had to find yet another way out. As we set off down the zombie-infested road the worst happened, I fell, went right over with a thundering clash and smashed down to ground, injuring my hand. Well, that was it I was done for, unfortunately it was Game Over for me.

"Hmm, this might put a crimp in filming the rest of the series. We'll have to changes all Vern's lines to 'Braaains!"

Yep folks, in case you haven't got it by now, I was playing in the live action zombie role play game called 2.8 Hours Later. We did it for a friend's 30th birthday do and I must say it was the upmost fun and at times really quite scary too! In a good way.  None of it was real (you'd probably guessed that as: 1) I'm writing this blog (and haven't mentioned "Braaaaaaiiiins" at all, well, except now) and 2) there are no such things as real Zombies...or ARE there?) It was a great night and I got to exercise the old acting skills a bit too! It also means my zombification won't be a hurdle for the rest of the series of H&H.

Regarding H&H, I'm afraid the week has got on top of us again and we haven't managed a meet-up but I have read through the additional lines Chris thought of on some stairs and I reckon it's definitely worth editing them into the Summer Special script which we hope to get on with shortly. Keep your eyes peeled, Acting Fans, for more stuff from us at H&H productions - and any stray zombies! You don't want your flesh chomped now, do you?

Well, that's all for this week now, folks. Sleep tight - if you can! MWAHhahahaha!!!

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

Taking It To The Bank (Holiday Weekend)

Bad News, Acting Fans, on the H&H front this week. What's been going on at H&H HQ (production-wise, anyway) has been exactly this:

That's right, Internet Chums, despite our best efforts (and an unexpected reprieve from my afternoon shift today) thanks to Vern's upcoming employment, my current day job and the encroaching Bank Holiday Weekend we haven't even been able to do our regular weekly H&H Meet-Up, let alone anything else. Though seeing the weather outside my window today I'm glad we didn't have any filming set for tonite!

Looks like we'll have to scrub this week altogether and chalk it up to experience, or maybe lack thereof. Despite the disappointment of this weeks setback though we're both determined to get on. It turns out that Vern's new post, though it's costing him prep time now, it's starting a little later than expected. So hold on to your hats, Acting Fans, we don't want to jinx it but we're hoping to use that to our advantage! Apologies once again from the H&H crew but we'll be back with you next week so stay tuned and...


TTFN

Christopher Haigh

 

Preparing For Re-Entry

Running around but not like a headless chicken, no, with a purpose! Welcome back, Acting Fans and fellow blogonauts, it's that time again. What’s been happening over here at the  H&H HQ? Well, Erm, nothing - Chris has been busy doing his day job and, like I may have mentioned, I've been running around being busy with sorting out stuff for me starting work next week, you know all the boring but necessary stuff like like sort out documents and trying to sort the right start date and that. Yep, we have been busy just not with H&H, oh, but I have manage to get a few more people to say yes to helping out and I just need to send them a copy of script so they can start to learn their lines.

My new job his taken up a lot of my time and it hasn't even started yet! It's times like these when it seems Time itself is our worst enemy, what we wouldn't do for a certain Blue Box, eh? So sorry there’s not much for us to report at this moment in time but please stay tuned for later moments where we will have something to say and, hopefully, something done too.

So that’s it for now folks hopefully more to report on Friday,

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

Blooomin’ SNOOOOOOOOOOW?!!!

Welcome back to fellow acting’s fans and bloggers to the Friday update.

Image source: propertycasualty360.com

Well ,at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, it's just like Wednesday. Thanks to the freak snowfall that we've had (and are still having it seems, stop it, damn you! Has it stopped? Let's hope so!) once again we have been Snowblocked! Damn blooming snow. Jack Frost is not on our side! We haven’t had much chance of getting together with Chris's hours this week to sort out things (like the cast readthrough) but I did by chance bump into one of my fellow acting buddies from the Actor’s Workshop and had a quick chat about using the Actor’s Workshop space once again.

I have also over the past week been trying to get in touch with Mr Jake Broadhurst and my other fellow actor Ross Galloway, Esq. but I have not quite managed to get a hold of them as of yet. I do know that the over the last couple of weeks being involved with the Actors Workshop they have been rather busy of late with upcoming shows and dance classes but my acting buddy assures me they haven’t forgot about us which is damn good thing, too! With any luck (and little Energon) we should be hearing from them soon so we can film the next major scene for Episode 6.

And that’s all for today, sorry it isn’t much more exciting but, well, the woes of no-low-to budget
production sometimes prevail. We are unfortunately at the mercy of the weather -  Bloody Snow!
Be safe out there, and have fun if you can!

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt