Untitled (MDE/P&C collab) concepts

Concept:

A 12 minute, micro-sketch based show.

Each skit is a snippet of what could be a much larger story, each is written as if the writer assumed the viewer would have much more of a setup on the story than they do.

Fast paced, goal for each sketch to be 15-30 seconds.

MDE Players primary actors, but make frequent use of friends, craigslist actors, etc.


The opening of Ideas Man is a fast-paced chase scene to a shitty techno loop. But the techno loop doesn’t end when the sketch ends, the loop keeps playing throughout the whole 12 minute piece. It could stay the same throughout, or it could change subtly each sketch so that by the end it’s completely different, but you didn’t really notice it getting there.

Tech/Logistics:

Simple colorful Sesame Street sets that can be easily rearranged and tweaked quickly, but we don’t hide the fact that it’s the same set elements.

Extensive use of props, basic costumes and makeup.



Other Ideas:

Each skit begins with text at the bottom of an establishing shot that says “Meanwhile...” For each skit, the font of the “Meanwhile” is different.

One or two “extended skits”; extended skits are a series of three regular length skits that form a story when put together, regardless of what order they are seen in. Each part of an extended skit is the length of a regular one but is framed in the same overarching story, same characters, same location etc. For instance, there are three mini-skits that form, say, a car chase, but the beginning and ending of each of them is ambiguous, and since the viewer will watch them in random order each time, it’s up to them to piece together how they fit chronologically. This will give an experience akin to absentmindedly watching a movie and paying attention to only two or three scenes total and trying to piece it together later, and how little sense it makes.

i think if the extended skits are 1 minute long tops this could work

Yea that’s the idea, the mini-skits that actually form the “extended skit” will be the same length as all the other normal skits but putting all of them in “order” altogether will form a ~1 minute story

Each skit ends on someone speaking an adjective.

Each skit starts on someone speaking a noun.

Instead of being a linear, set duration show, that’s 12 minutes long, it is instead dynamically edited at playback by a simple random algorithm, so that you would get limitless bizarre narratives from the connection between the clips.

An interesting part of this is that all viewers could be watching the same clips at the same time, like an infinite broadcast almost.