Saturday 24 May 2014

Behind the Scenes: Return to the Shadow!

Our latest episode takes the form of an animated short, composed of stills.  It was shot on the stairs and landing.  The stairs in each of our houses have been very good to us over the last two years, and have often featured in one way or another.

This particular episode goes right back to our very early days, when we did this shot (below).


We decided that more of a sequence was needed, and so we shot 'Fleeing the Shadow' in two halves.  The fluid, menacing shadows seem so creepy!


Stay tuned, and join the adventure! 

Shadow Laughter schedule: 
Tuesday - trailer
Thursday, Saturday, Monday - Episode posts
Sunday - Blog


Fleeing The Shadow


Sunday 18 May 2014

Behind the Scenes: It's close to midnight...

Shadow Laughter's current episode is another where a topical issue is explored.  With only a year to go to the next general election, and European elections imminent, politicians and their  exploits are very much in the news.  The phrase 'zombie government' has been mentioned in the news, and we had, by slight coincidence, been planning to do some masked photos, using politicians images.

We shot these in a narrow upstairs landing, with one light.  Below, Michael is sporting an old towel: A new look for this season's zombie, and is very scary.


Nigel's giant, laughing face seemed especially frightening, and here he gestures with his well-practised zombie shuffling manner.


Here, we see George, star of our trailer feature, 'George of the Dead'.  George is carrying off a charming jacket and trilby combo, and is looming out of the darkness for your blood.


Last, but not least, we have Ed of the Dead.  Ed casts an impressively menacing shadow, and his empty eyes are a must-have look this season.


Keep on the lookout for further members of the zombie government who will appear by Monday, plus more animated intrigue!

Stay tuned, and join the adventure! 

Shadow Laughter schedule: 
Tuesday - trailer
Thursday, Saturday, Monday - Episode posts
Sunday - Blog



Sunday 11 May 2014

Behind the Scenes: Exchange and Marty

Shadow Laughter has been hitting the screen for nearly two years now, and during this time Laurel and Marty have been involved in numerous incidents where mysterious items have changed hands.

Our current compilation features examples of these.  In the exchange below, the little wooden case offered great texture.  We shot this in a small space, with minimal lighting.  


Hamish and I had talked about getting some more unusual camera angles, and for this episode, shot in his kitchen, we used a camera taped to a pole.  It gave us some interesting compositions.  In these exchanges, it's all about gesture and expression.


Gesture and expression took on a more aggressive tone in our tribute to the late Lewis Collins and tv show The Professionals.  Here, it is blows that are being exchanged.  No-one was hurt during this shoot!


Below, we see goods of no doubt dubious origin being packed up and made ready for shipping.  The lower character is 'Dumbdog'.  As the name suggests, he isn't too smart, and he has only made rare appearances, including in the episode, 'Odyssey on Osbourne Boulevard'.  


"Drink this and it'll all go away!"  One wonders what information was obtained prior to this fatal dose...  Here, the lighting was carefully arranged to keep The Hat in silhouette, whilst also lighting the other character.


"How about you swap me the name for a bullet?"  More hands and expressions, shot from below.  This kind of angle can take a few attempts to get right, when there's just two of us.


Stay tuned, and join the adventure! 


Shadow Laughter schedule: 
Tuesday - trailer
Thursday, Saturday, Monday - Episode posts
Sunday - Blog