Episode 11: Eat Good New York
(For a better viewing experience click on the HQ button once the video starts. Everything is more fun in full-screen mode…)
[First off, THANK YOU in a major way to Shawna Kirby, Katie Frassinelli, and Anonymous (at his request) for hitting the Donate button. You are incredibly generous, and I truly appreciate it. The big news on this front is that I have finally decided what I am going to do with the donation money; I’m going to save it up and buy a better video camera. Nothing super fancy, but something that shoots HD, and preferably straight to a hard drive. It’ll make the project look better, and will save me at least an hour or two every week in editing. Anyway, thank you guys for helping me closer to that goal!]
(Giant thanks, too, to wonder-kid photographer C. Bay Milin for shooting this episode. Bay has an amazing eye, but deliberately made this shots look ugly and off axis to add to the “Public Access” feel of it. Brilliant move. Check out his work if you get a minute.)
Greetings once again, my friends,
This episode was born of several things, chiefly the economic downturn. I wanted to create a character who was extremely positive in general, but especially in the face of that. He doesn’t mope or complain, he adapts, and he shares his positivity and his knowledge with his audience (which may or may not exist) on his internet show.
The shoot was fast and painless. Highlights:
-getting yelled at by some guy from Floria in a Benz convertable when I did the sausage bit. “What are you supposed to be, a pervert? Grabbing your cock at her!”
-getting yelled at by a woman who lived above a the bagel store, “Don’t do that! I heard what you said! Those aren’t fresh!” (note: I’d just bought them and put them in a plastic bag filled with my laundry… that’s movie magic for ya)
-we went back to do a second take of the negligee scene after the lady left, only to realize that we couldn’t… because she took the negligee!
That’s about all I can muster for now. It has been one hell of a week, and as it’s just a few minutes to 5am, I’m afraid I don’t have the energy/brainpower to go into it. I’ll say only this: in my last entry I spoke of a ball that was in the air, and I wasn’t sure what side of the fence it was going to come down on. As it turns out, it landed right in the middle of the fence, and then spent DAYS wobbling back and forth, teasing me. One moment it looked sure to land on one side, and the next, it was surely the other. It went back and for like that, sometimes several times a day. At about 8pm tonight, it finally landed, and for good.
Stay tuned for my next blog update (Thursday or Friday)… it’ll be a doosey.
In the meantime, all the best,
Brent 6.10.09 4.56am
P.S. This edit, with all it’s cheesy transitions, was actually really fun.
Brent Rose's 50 Characters in 50 Weeks 
Yay Brent! I really liked the editing on this one, very creative, though a tad nauseating with the grass at the end (ewwwwwwww). Sometime’s you’d lose your accent for a sec (but not long). I’m so glad to read that you had bought those bagels….LOL…I thought they looked a little too chewy for more then a day old! Keep on truckin’!
Woo-hoo! I loved this one, up until the end. I think the grass bit took it out of the realm of reality – not sure if that matters to you or not. But you lost me a bit there. Otherwise I really love this one, and I think it’s one of your best.
IS that the same ice cream walk up window you took me to?? Looks familiar, yay! =)
As always, well done! Having lived in NJ for a period of time, I can attest that your accent was spot-on and accurate and you even captured the mannerisms and movements/gestures of certain people who live in the NJ/Philly/NYC area.
I concur with the other comment that you probably could have omitted the last segment with the grass in that, while certainly amusing, it detracted from the realism of the other segments of the video. However, that is a minor qualm in an otherwise stellar episode! Keep up the good work and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
Having spent too much time in NJ, I also have to agree that the accent was aces. I thought the grass thing was hilarious, and if reality caved in at any point, it had to have when the guido said he’d take a date out for salt and pepper packet meals. If this guy takes girls out for ketchup, he eats (drinks?) grass soup.
Fuck you, Chicago!
Also forgot to mention, you can do no wrong with star wipes.
While I also agree that the grass bit was pushing it just a little, I thought this was one of your best performances in this project so far. I really didn’t feel like I was watching YOU, you know? I truly felt like I was watching some bizarre infomercial or something like that. Nice work.
i’m totally with katie. your transformation here was remarkable. the voice, the costume, the walk, all excellent. probably my favorite character to date. [side note: if you want to go further w this guy, stand outside of tom’s restaurant on a saturday morning with your “date.” they come around with coffee, sausage, oranges, and cookies for anybody who’s waiting!]
Love it! My favorite moment was “don’t use that.” (Just AFTER the grabbing.) It really anchored the guy in reality– showed his off-camera truth as opposed to the on-camera host. Great work! k
I totally disagree with the grass comments. I was practically raised on the stuff.