Wednesday is Lump Day.

Also, I used to be a much better drummer.

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(Quicktime version here)

Something funky is up with my new WordPress install that doesn’t play nice with the auto-post from blip.tv. Consequently, I have to post new videos here by hand. Which, as soon as I discovered was going to be at least a short-term necessity, suddenly sort of appealed to me. It means I have the ability to throw in the direct link to the QuickTime file, which is nice for people who don’t have/won’t use Flash players. It also means I can drop extra content, sort of a reward for reading the blog (because it’s obviously such a painful experience that rewards must be offered with some degree of frequency).

This episode was one of those rare and lovely shoots where everything just sort of worked out. The idea was sitting in my head for over a week; it really was about to be the episode for last week, only I needed to rant about politics instead and it got pushed off the schedule. But this idea, I felt the need to get Milton and Lump huddled around a flickering candle. It was one of those tropes I hadn’t yet used. It’s out of my system now.

The shoot got done in almost no time at all. The takes went smoothly, there weren’t any mechanical difficulties, the writing was fun, I even found a perfect Chekhov quote to end with in less than 20 minutes. The problems were more related to slow rendering (during the mid-season break, I started questioning my desire for a new computer; now I am reminded of what prompted the desire in the first place) and allergy attacks, the latter of which seem to be a semi-regular thing this month. I had sort of forgotten about autumn in VA, and how I’m either filled with allergies and miserable, or filled with antihistamines and miserable. The misery is just sort of a given.

Also, I have managed to write another random song that will likely get stuck in my head for days at a time hereafter and forevermore. “Floating Head” still gets caught in my brain on a fairly regular basis. It’s nice to know I can still crank out a somewhat memorable melody when I put my mind to it.

The biggest tragedy of today’s shoot was the fact that the majesty of Lump’s hat is entirely lost in the actual final video. This is partly due to the close framing of the shot, which was necessary for various reasons (stylistic and practical), and partly due to pure safety. It was with great regret that I tied up the giant, floppy, furry earflaps of Lump’s hat so that they wouldn’t catch fire. I make a lot of sacrifices for this show, but a burning arm is a bit much. Also, I’d hate to lose Lump to an on-set accident. You’d all desert me if there were no more Lump to look forward to.

Anyway, as your extra-special blog bonus, here are two shots of Lump wearing his hat, one with flaps up, one with flaps down. Please ignore the smirking chap to Lump’s immediate left. It’s far too late to try to Photoshop him out of the pics.

As always, feel free to leave comments. It’s nice to know I’m not talking to myself.

Well, that I’m not just talking to myself.

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