There aren’t very many episodes of Franks and Beans that have anything that resembles a plot. I realize this, and I make no apology for it. Okay, maybe a small apology, but I show no remorse in any case. We started out so well, too – “High School” opened the series with hopes of coherent plot points to come, and “Message Board”, the seven-minute Hindenburg of a joke, gave us another glimpse, but in all likelihood, if you’d close your eyes and pick an episode to watch at random (this is fun to do at parties), you’d end up watching something that contained one joke and the buildup to it (see: “The Change”, “You’ll Never See It Coming”, “Milkshake”, etc.). Our monumental seventeenth episode, “Stalker”, breaks the trend and has something loosely resembling a plot. How long until we can say this again? Don’t hold your breath.
We start off this episode with a few jokes that are held a little close to the vest, so to speak. If you’ve ever wondered if our characters on this show were just roles that we play, your question was answered the minute you played “Stalker” and saw Larry sitting down to get his blogging fix. You see, Larry hates blogging, just as he hates blogs in general. There is a long, sordid story behind this that we will not get into here, but trust me, it’s true. Larry won’t even write the Franks and Beans blog, and he’s ON the damn show! So hey, there you go – inside information on a joke that probably only Larry and I find funny.
We also manage to squeeze a nod in to one of our previous episodes, the aforementioned “Message Board”. In it, Larry comments that I have been spending too much time at his house, a point soon exemplified when I receive my own mail courtesy of the character known as “Larry’s Mom”. So my head twist in this current episode when Larry gets a mail call of his own is not, in fact, a nervous twitch or the onset of some terrible disease, but my own silent recognition that, somewhere out there, I have been in this situation before.
We shot the “Larry opens his letter and accuses Jeff” scene a few different times, and to be honest, I thought that one of the later takes might have been a better choice to make the final cut (as we tend to step on each other’s lines a bit in this take). But Larry is a strict and belligerent editor so I bow to his will. One benefit of keeping this particular try is that I get to utter one of my best lines in the series: “Pffft.” And to think – this was IMPROVISATIONAL! My abilities know no limits!!
The effect of the flour (not actually anthrax) puffing outwardly from the curiously already-opened envelope is a real treat, in that Larry added the entire thing in post. The real test of an effect is how much it stands out once you see the end product, and I can honestly say that I didn’t realize that it was a special effect until Larry pointed it out to me. I just thought we got really lucky with the way the room was lit or something ridiculous like that, but to know that it was all added in later was, I thought, very impressive.
We find ourselves joined in this episode not only by another cameo from the character known as “Larry’s Mom”, but also from our mysterious stalker. Just who is behind the mask I will not say, other than by saying that it is our old friend and now regular extra “Hardcore Mark”. A different character of course, but that is the nature of extras, and I should know, because I am totally on “One Tree Hill” this season as just that (an extra, not a stalker. Though if they wanted me to play that, I probably would if I had my motivation set early on in the shooting). It seems that Larry had this entire outfit just lying around the house, so we decided to put it to good use, and Mark does not disappoint in his two actions: standing very still and dancing like a fool.
So now we are back to our popular themes of violence and music. I honestly did not plan to have so many episodes with either or both in a row, but it seems that we have to live with what we’re given, and you, loyal viewer/blog reader are no different. Embrace this repetition of themes! Learn to love the calming familiarity! And stop walking around like you’re so much better than everyone else! Man!
But the fact remains, there is a discernable pattern here, and I hope that it isn’t a distraction. If it is…well, I really do apologize. I do strive to make this show, as cut-rate and unprofessional as it is, funny to at least a select few. That’s always been the goal, to make something that we can laugh at, and I hope that we’re doing an okay job.
Our “No!” ending this time around harkens back to a time when our endings were very simple and just featured Larry opening a door and uttering a one-word line. The plan was to make Larry pop up from below the frame, like he was, say, riding an elevator to some fictional second floor. You know, like how people walk behind couches like there’s some magical invisible escalator back there? “Oh ho! Next floor, laundry!” As it is, it kind of looks like Larry is standing up from just below the camera lens, which is when I realized: pretending to be on an elevator for laughs is HARD! But hopefully everyone got the inference, anyway. If not, well, there’s always next week. There’s ALWAYS next week…that’s something I try to think about often when it comes to this show.
Hmm, is that it? Yes, I suppose it is. If I missed something, feel free to let me know, because, heck, it’s always great to hear from people who have watched the show. If you have an opinion, both Larry and I would love to hear it!
Larry and I have just finished putting together another episode, so I’m particularly excited about our little project right now. Today’s work will air in two weeks, but in the meantime, we have next week’s episode to look forward to, and I absolutely mean it when I say that I’m looking forward to it. Not only will I be through with another week of school, but there will be yet another episode of Franks and Beans online – and not just any episode, but one that I feel might be our best ever. We’ve done five “regular” episodes, and now it’s time for “How To” (if you understand our scheduling of episodes, you know what I mean by this)! I really do think that it’s one of the funniest pieces we’ve made, so I hope you share just a little bit in my anticipation. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week!
- Jeff M.
If you’ve been watching Franks and Beans for a while, you might pick up on the fact that there are certain themes present in pretty much every episode. Our sweet sixteenth episode, “Milkshake”, brings two of those into the forefront: music and violence. Reading this, you might ask yourself, “But Franks and Beans, isn’t music and violence a reflection of the popular culture that is so pervasive in our society?” To which we so present-mindedly reply, why yes, Franks and Beans is a terrific social commentary, thank you for noticing! You might look at this and comment further, “That’s not really what I was getting at…”, but by that time, both Larry and I will have moved on to something much more pressing. But thanks for your concern!
As a matter of fact, our newest episode does tend to follow along the lines of earlier ones – “Perfect” springs to mind. What we’re trying to do, consciously or not, is give this show a certain feel to it that viewers can relate with. We want you, our audience, to see something completely unrelated in your day-to-day lives and say “hey, that reminds me of Franks and Beans.” Well, that and we do tend to have a list of things that we find funny, and we do go back to that particular well every once in a while. If nothing else, we try to put new twists on familiar themes. Does it work all the time? I guess you’ll have to tell us.
The premise of this episode is fairly simple, and it came about because I had recently bought a new iPod. The iPod in this episode is Larry’s, because he already happened to have “Milkshake Song” loaded up and ready to go, but the idea is mine. MINE!! Very simply, I think the song in question is funny, though unintentionally so. Just the thought of someone’s milkshake bringing boys to their yard is amusing, and seeing it featured in the movie “Dodgeball” (one of the few Ben Stiller movies I enjoy) makes me think that others get this not-so-subtle humor, too. Adding this to the fact that I apparently like to sing with zeal on camera, the kick to this episode was born. All it was missing was an appearance by another Franks and Beans favorite – the threat of murder – and we were all set.
The scene takes place outside not because we were looking for a change of scenery, per se, but more because we’re dealing with very shiny cutlery items – items which would probably not do so well if they were dropped inside as they are at the end of this little skit. It probably worked out for the best, though – even thought the table in the middle of the yard looks kind of out of place, there’s room for Larry to maneuver and find cover in the shape of a well-placed tree.
The real story behind this episode comes from the choice of music. By this I don’t mean the choice to sing the song about a milkshake (or is the milkshake a metaphor?), because I don’t know if the episode works (if indeed it does) with anything else. No, I’m talking about the decision to play the music over top of my singing – this really gave Larry and me as well as a few confidants fits. The original plan was to have no music whatsoever – just as you’d hear it if indeed you were there while we were filming. It seemed more natural, more realistic, but with Franks and Beans, that doesn’t necessarily mean it would be better.
Larry took the time to edit this episode both with and without the music overlay, and we both fretted about which version was better. The version with the music syncs up so nicely with what I’m singing that it would have been a shame to toss it out, and I’m still impressed at how this particular duet looks as a finished product. This is completely due to the fact that I have the song piped through my earphones, but I like to take credit for a job well done nonetheless. I mean, it’s not like I know the song word for word by listening to it over and over incessantly until it bore its way into my head…that would be silly. But no, if my words didn’t match what was in the song, this wouldn’t have mattered at all. But since they did, and because I feel like I have a security blanket being draped over me when I’m accompanied by outside music, I soon changed my mind and Larry, I think, went along with my suggestion because he honestly couldn’t decide.
We did let our longtime fan and occasional extra “Hardcore Mark” get a sneak peek at this episode to consider another outside opinion in the debate, and he made an interesting suggestion – he proposed that we play the music only when you see me: that is, when we had solo shots of Larry (knife gleaming with the beautiful special effect-ing of Larry), all you’d hear would be my singing. When I was in the shot as well, the music would be playing, denoting some sort of audience awareness. This suggestion was not only interesting, it suggested a higher form of thinking, a level of consciousness for the episode that had never been reached before – a kind of prescience that would bring our program to new heights of understanding. But since we don’t take ideas from fans, we immediately dropped the idea and just slapped the music over top of all of it. Take that, viewer suggestions!
What this debate now offers us is a chance to build the extra features on our fictional Franks and Beans mega-sensational DVD release. I often think about what it’d be like to work on something of the sort, because that would mean that Franks and Beans would be at least somewhat successful and profitable to the extent that it need be. Episode sixteen would allow us a great special feature – the “naked” version of the episode would be right in there with the musical one. You could put the single-disc release in your player and rejoice because of all of the extra content you’d be getting for your hard-earned dollar. We’d probably also throw in a bunch of commentaries (REAL commentaries) and some kind of behind-the-scenes featurette (ooh! And animated menus!) as well, and all would be right with the world.
Oh, one can dream.
Our “next time” ending with this episode makes for an interesting tale just because of how seamless the editing job was. While Larry has the size and weight advantage over me, I come back with two of my own – I am light on my feet (thus being able to strike quickly, without notice) and I have a lower voice range. Because of this trait, I thought it’d be funny to have Larry burst in the doorway as he always does, but instead of his voice, we’d have mine superimposed. I had a Godzilla-style voice over running through my head, where things wouldn’t quite match up, but in seeing the final product for the first time I was astounded by Larry’s new, deeper, operatic stylings. It didn’t connect that this was actually my voice being overlaid! Larry, I think you’ll agree, did a wonderful job synching things up – it was almost too good, in fact, that if people don’t watch closely they might not realize what is actually happening. What I want to do with this show is make something that I find funny, so I suppose that as long as I get the joke it’s fine, but…still, it’s worth pointing out, I hope.
Well, that’s it for this week. I really think that the next two episodes (we have two left on our five week run) are some of our best yet, so get ready for them. Episode 17 features death threats and music, what a concept! Next up – “Stalker”!
See you then!
- Jeff M.
Our magical 15th episode of Franks and Beans is here in the way of “Hats Off”, the episode title of which I egregiously mislabeled in our last blog, and in it I think we’ve blown our entire graphics budget for the entire year (where did that zero dollars go?!). The end result is, though, worth it in my opinion with the last ten or so seconds of this short sequence.
The premise of this episode came from a rather everyday phone call between Larry and myself. The song “Hats Off to Larry”, the bubblegum break up/make up song from Del Shannon, has been something akin to an inside joke between the two of us since our college days (all the way back in the year…2002!) and my campus radio show. Larry would call in and I’d pretend that he was an expert on some random subject and we’d talk on air – usually for to long for the station’s format – eventually devolving into television show ratings or news about comic books. At any rate, when I would finally end Larry’s portion on the show and return to the regular music format, I would always lead us out with the Del Shannon hit of 1961.
Back to the recent phone call – Larry mentioned to me, in a rather offhand manner, that we might think about making a Franks and Beans episode similar to our fan favorite episode, “The Change”, but with the song as our main source of inspiration. Larry would, he told me, walk through different settings, each time wearing and removing different hats. The idea had promise, I thought, but I came to the conclusion that I’d rather point out that the joke we would be making would be almost 50 years old by this point. Seriously, a lot of people can hum the tune to “Runaway”, but how many people know offhand who Del Shannon is? I mean, I’m a big fan of music from that general time period and I don’t think I could name half a dozen songs from that particular group.
So the scene was set, and the result is what you see before you. What I like most about this episode is the different, almost jarring feel you get with our two separate sequences. When I take my hat off after the playing of the song, it seems like we just might end the episode there – and really, it would be a good enough, if not outdated joke if we had…very much in line with the Franks and Beans we’ve put out there before. But when “Hardcore Mark” bursts through a side door into the scene (looking unabashedly dashing in his unbuttoned green shirt), even I have to admit that if I didn’t take place in the filming itself, I wouldn’t have seen it coming (if that makes any sense).
The line “Is it in the public domain?” was a late addition which I think underscores my general worst fear about Franks and Beans – getting the pants sued off of us due to all of our blatant copyright infringement. In this episode alone, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the estate of Del Shannon might as well be holding a blade over our heads, as well as those performing the public domain composition of John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” And while it would be fantastic to have this show become really popular and spread all across the country and the world, I’d also really hate to get a cease-and-desist letter in the mail, a la the great internet program House of Cosbys. It’s something that, honestly, neither Larry nor I think about as much as we probably should.
The graphics and sound effects at the end of this episode, as I mentioned before, are well beyond anything we’ve tried before, but Larry managed to pull it off masterfully to give it the amount of over-the-top flash that it called for. In editing and typical episode of Franks and Beans, we’re probably dealing with two or three layers at the most: a video track, and audio track, and the title and end graphics – all fairly simple in design. In the final “congratulations!” sequence alone, we used: the video feed of the three of us celebrating; video and diminished audio of fireworks bursting overhead; “Stars and Stripes Forever”; a bell ringing (which consisted of me ringing…get this…a bell outside of Larry’s front door); two different takes played back-to-back of Larry’s family and me cheering and clapping; three different graphic layers rotating simultaneously. The fact that it all came together as nicely as it did is probably a combination of luck and skill, but I’d like to imagine it’s more of the latter.
In all, I hope that we captured the unsuspecting feel that we were going for in this episode. While Franks and Beans carries with it a healthy feeling of uncertainly as far as continuity or even a dedication to reality, I hope that the sight of someone jumping unannounced through a doorway was as shocking as we intended it to be. While the graphics (how’d you like the sing-a-long aspect of the song portion? It was harder to make work than you might think!) might steal the show – and deservedly so – I dare to think that the overall punch line here was just as clever.
We’re moving right along here at Franks and Beans! On Monday, we’ll debut our earth-shattering 16th episode as we continue to transform the beginning of the week. Monday’s episode features some familiar themes and my favorite subject of timing in comedy. It’s called “Milkshake”…at least, I think so. Larry, is it “Milkshake” that we’re airing on Monday? I mess this part up sometimes.
See you then!
- Jeff M.
SCENE: A bleak and desolate landscape, where the sun beats down mercilessly on the desert sand. The light shines overwhelmingly, bleaching an already preserved skeleton of an unfortunate steer. Overhead, two similarly emaciated buzzards circle nervously in the clear, hot, bright, blue sky. The sand seems to stretch on forever, uninterrupted except for the large boulders strewn haphazardly over the area and a few patches of withered and browned grass.
Off in the faraway distance, the figure of a man reaches the apex of a small hill, feeling as insignificant as he looks as he staggers forward toward some unseen goal. We advance to the wispy visage, a shadow of his former self. His shirt is tied around his head in a sense of futility; the sun treats him no less harshly. His sunken eyes are bleak and his lips are as parched and cracked as the earth around him. He ambles on, making no sound, simply mouthing the words to an indistinguishable phrase. His arms hang dead at his side; his feet, covered in worn-through soles, drag through the grainy sand.
But then, on the horizon, something catches the man’s view. He stops in his tracks and lifts his head. Was he seeing something? Perhaps he had been in this situation a hundred times before – distracted by a mirage or a flicker of cruel imagination. A trick of light? Another nothing to compliment all the other nothings? But no – there it was again.
The man stands straighter than perhaps he has in all of his life. He opens his mouth to speak, but the words devolve into a raspy unintelligence. He clears his throat once, and again, and again, and he reaches up with his newly living hands to touch his face – a face into which hope now flows once more.
Walking forward with a purpose as never before, the man begins to speak, first barely an inaudible whisper, but soon he is shouting at the top of his lungs: “It’s back! Franks and Beans is back!”
END SCENE
And after weeks of waiting, Franks and Beans is back with a (theoretically) highly anticipated season two. Our first episode of this new undertaking is none other than “Sandwich,” named after one of the basic food groups.
Having returned to southwestern Pennsylvania after a lengthy hiatus, Larry and I got right to work and managed to punch out five episodes of Franks and Beans, the first of which is on display before you. It’s a short episode, one without much plot and really only one joke, but an appropriate one, I think. It calls back previous shorts such as “The Change” and “You’ll Never See It Coming”, and it continues a theme of quick, timing-based jokes that I think are so underrated. The pause between “Is that my sandwich?” and the inevitable “…no” really determines if this works or fails, in my opinion, and I think that we hit it pretty well this time around.
How obvious is the joke from the beginning or the episode? I don’t think that’s really an issue here, as the timing is probably more important. But not knowing what Larry is looking for until I magically appear on the armchair does hold with it some risks. When I think back to it, there probably should have been a shot of me sitting down with the sandwich after Larry walks into the room and before he asks his question, but hindsight and a limited list of filmed takes keeps us honest this way. At any rate, our almost comical sandwich, complete with olive and toothpick (Larry’s idea) shows up and probably steals the show. It was a good sandwich, and I had to keep from eating parts of it during filming.
This episode is significant probably more so than any plot point in that it introduces a new character, and this more than anything else precipitated the episode’s production order. Mark Moncheck (who also comments on, like, EVERY episode as username hardcoremarkie18) was gracious enough to fill in as an extra character in several of our upcoming episodes, and I wanted to first introduce him in our loving homage to the Rick Roll.
In this scene, I wanted Mark to seemingly come out of nowhere, making viewers say “wait…who is this guy?!”, and airing another episode with him in it first would have really taken some of the humor out of that…even if I’m the only one who might find that funny. Filming this batch of episodes actually served as the first time I’ve ever met Mark, who had to leave soon afterwards in order to fulfill his obsessive haircut fixation, and I have to say that it was a real treat to meet someone who uses the phrase “Mustache Buddy” in his everyday language. There now arises the challenge of giving him a proper character name for the inevitable IMDB entry (HOW DO I GET THAT LISTED?! COME ON, INTERNETS!!). It will probably have to be Hardcore Mark: not very original on my part, but it just seems to fit.
Back to our previously mentioned Rick Roll – this internet sensation continues to astound me. Well, honestly, the internet as a whole is a rather fascinating contraption, but you get what I mean. Why anyone would choose Rick Astley to prank their friends is beyond me, but I can at least appreciate the humor. Before this inevitably fades away into cultural yesteryear, Larry and I both agreed that we’d have to do something with it, and we wanted to sooner rather than later. Having us all dance on screen was something of a last resort, but really – what else were we supposed to do? It was worth it just to get a little extra mileage out of our ever-expanding collection of “NO!” endings.
I’ll admit, this blog was a little behind the actual airing of the episode, and tomorrow already looks to be the debut of the next one. Think of it like renting a movie just before going out to the theater to watch the sequel…or something like that. Anyway, it’s good to be back, and we will be here with new episodes for at least another month. So check back on Monday for our next episode, which…I think…is titled “Cultural Reference”! See you then!
- Jeff M.
Franks and Beans episode four, “The Gift,” features a Christmas theme for several reasons. First, the practical: this episode was shot over the first few days of 2008, when the season was still lingering and, well, the background props were still up and festive-looking. Second, the subversive: every television show or piece of popular culture manages at least one commentary on the holiday within its existence.
If you don’t believe me, think back to any medium-to-long-running sitcom you’ve enjoyed in the past, say 10 years. I’ll bet dollars to donuts (I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO USE THAT PHRASE!!) that there was at least one painful Christmas themed episode in the lot, and I’ll bet that the episode in question was then replayed every single year afterwards as long as the show was on the air. Heck, the first episode of The Simpsons WAS a Christmas special! Not wanting to be left out in the cold on this obvious inane tradition, and having the forethought to use the props that were available at the time, “The Gift” was born.
I find that there are probably three main categories for Christmas episodes when it comes to television shows. There’s the first category, the “all-ages” Christmas episode, where the existence of Santa Claus is debated. I understand (somewhat) the desire to sidestep any meaningful conversation on the season and the religious implications that it has, but shows that fall under this category tend to make my brain slowly bleed until my eyes become that jolly shade of red. The parent figure(s) in shows of this breed will always be staunch in their approach: “oh kids, it’s about time you realize that there’s no such thing as Santa Claus.” But at the end of the episode, there’s always the sound of sleigh bells on the roof or magical presents appearing out of nowhere, proving without a doubt to everyone that there IS in fact a real, breathing Santa. Gasp!
Here’s what I don’t get about shows like this – they’ve just made a fantastic discovery – one that changes the entire makeup of reality within their fictional universe. If Santa Claus is actually real, what else might be true? To me, this should start a bold new direction for any show that takes this position. The subsequent episodes should be filled with town hall meetings, trips to the White House, and finally, a last-ditch effort to journey to the North Pole with weapons and ultimatums. I mean, you’ve just proven the existence of a creature who can break the laws of physics – what else does this world have in store? But NO! Next episode, there all back to their mundane “Boy, men and women sure do have a lot of differences! I hope we can work them out and remain a dysfunctional yet supportive family!” What a load of crap.
The second category uses the same theme, albeit in a more adult (read: dramatic) fashion. These dramas are too serious to debate the existence of Santa and his elves, so they’ll usually move on to the entirely new debate of “what is the meaning of Christmas?” This usually takes form when one character – a depressed, brooding type – refuses to go to the office party, instead staying home to drink. See how dramatic this is? Other friends and colleagues will try to console the character, who will eventually reveal a traumatic childhood experience that colors his or her views of the holiday and all that it means. “I was five years old when I first realized that my father molested all of the Salvation Army bell ringers…and then…he touched ME, too! WHY, CHRISTMAS, WHY?!”
The third category, and we can all be thankful for this last solace, represents the Christmas episode parody, where both of the two previous themes are mocked in a way befitting the medium. The Venture Bros. have done an excellent job at this, as have a few others. I’m not about to say that Franks and Beans has done comparably in its attempt to squeeze into this category of self awareness, but the attempt is, if nothing else, a lob-toss try to keep us safely away from the previous two choices.
In other words, there are two jokes within this one episode. First, there’s the obvious “I got you a book” line, but second, there’s the nod to the theme of Christmas episodes in general.
Let’s break down this episode, shall we? As good or as bad as the writing is, this episode would never have seen the light of day if Larry couldn’t edit as well as he so obviously can. My lips are clearly not moving throughout the episode, so it’s apparent that we went with the voice over shot. This isn’t necessarily very tricky to pull off, but I went about it the absolute wrong way in preparing the shots. Basically, we filmed me scribbling while someone else (a background appearance of the character known as “Larry’s Mom”) read the hastily prepared script. I then read, for the camera, my script and hoped it would all sync up with some form of magic. I don’t know why, but I just assumed it would work. Of course, it is always stupid to assume that timing between two different people – without any practice, mind you – will work itself out. It won’t. But Larry makes it look perfect, and my hat is off to him for this (there’s a joke somewhere in this last sentence…).
Does the joke work (the overall idea of the episode, that is)? I don’t know. I certainly hope so, but I suppose it’s not as obvious as, say, Larry without a shirt as in “The Change” (always a favorite). Here’s what I was thinking when I came up with this basic idea: I’m deep in thought, pontificating on the true meaning of friendship, realizing that buying an endless stream of gifts is not the way to show that you really appreciate someone. I’m bearing my soul, at least to a small extent, in hopes that someone I care about (though obviously in a non-sexual way. That part was obvious. Of course it was. Right?) will realize that I really do value the things that we share. And then in lumbers Larry with a clunky, one-line answer and a clunky, no-thought gift, showing the opposite of the two extremes. This is perhaps more subtle than some may be expecting, especially after watching some of our other hit-you-in-the-face-with-a-shovel-it’s-so-obvious episodes, but I really do hope that it could be appreciated. I guess we’ll see.
The reference to the David Hasselhoff super racetrack whatever was brought out of thin air, and no such device exists in the real world. This is a shame. The coupon for the free car wash, however, does exist, and it’s terrible that it’s not more visible on the screen when I unfold the piece of paper. A mixture of clipart and permanent markers, I actually did promise to wash Larry’s car, but he has kindly not pressed the issue as much as, say, I might have. The inclusion of the penny was also a last-minute addition, but one that works in the overall context of the episode, I think.
The book that Larry so malevolently tosses at me is World War Z, a zombie tale that I have yet to read. So take that, thoughtless gift. But Larry is a fan.
That wraps it up for this episode, and, as a matter of fact, our look back at F&B episodes of old, at least for the time being. No, I’m not about to start work that I actually get paid for – Larry and I are returning from our self-imposed hiatus and will be filming brand new episodes of Franks and Beans next week. We’ll try to squeeze as many in as we can, because we’ve both been chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle. Wow, that was TWO horse references in one sentence! You just know, with that kind of wit, how great the next few episodes will be.
So strap in and get ready for some new and shiny Franks and Beans. I’m not sure which episode will be airing first, but it will air, if all goes according to plan, in two weeks. Two weeks! You could practically get an online degree in that time. So get crackin’, and meet us back here then! See you soon!
- Jeff M.
In many ways, episode five, “Grapes”, is quintessential Franks and Beans. It has (attempts at) singing, a lesson to be learned, seemingly unrelated asides, uh…the word “ass”…
Our fifth episode takes us back to the beginnings of Franks and Beans. I’ll probably get all retrospective when we finally get to talking about episode one, but it bears at least some mentioning now because the first five episodes were filmed over the same several days. You can tell, I think, that there are a lot of similar themes being played out over these first few shows, culminating with “Grapes.”
The first shot we see in this episode is a rather ingenious one. I’m sure it’s been done before, but I like at least the idea of unconventional camera shots and angles, and having the camera sitting in a refrigerator along with the leftovers certainly qualifies. If there’s one thing that bugs me, though, it’s that due to some file size restrictions, viewers are never going to see how well this shot actually turned out. We are, in reality, filming this show with a very nice camera (not in Hollywood terms, I’m sure, but relative to other shows with zero budget we’re ahead of the game), one that records digitally and has the capability to shoot in HD, but Larry has to decrease the signal quality in the editing process to make it fit under the 256 megabyte limit enforced by the Funny or Die team. How this first shot looked to us and how viewers can see it really illustrates the difference.
For us, it was like we were the grapes – born and raised on some sunny California grapevine, plucked by underpaid migrant workers and shipped to the extra-moist shelves of the local Foodland. For you, loyal viewers, it’s merely like you’re the grapes’ socially ostracized cousins, seeing some of the glimmer but not getting any of the communal benefits (and do you even have a Foodland?). The metaphor is weak, I know, but seriously – we could see individual drops of moisture on the playback after shooting. To see the opening shot dulled, regardless of the necessity of the matter, is a little disappointing.
As we move a little further through the episode, we come across what just may be my favorite line of the entire series – “They’re good for my libido; don’t worry about it.” For a while, this was going to be the title of the episode, but we went with something a little shorter in the end. There is no meaning to this phrase at all, at least in connection to the overall joke in this episode, and yet it still sticks out in part because of that randomness. As Larry and I were rehearsing for the conversation in this scene (we actually do practice…sometimes), it just seemed to show up unannounced. It had to be kept. I’d like to point out the nice editing work Larry did at this point, as he added in a zoom where there was none originally. It saved us from having two shots placed back-to-back that were too similar to be of any use.
Singing in Franks and Beans is nothing new, and mocking Larry for his freakishly large head in real life is likewise rather commonplace, so it felt natural to combine those two elements into this next overall joke. It should be pointed out, however, that Larry does still have all of his hair, while mine is becoming precariously thinner by the day, so I guess that’s one for ol’ Lar, and good for him. Saying that no one will ever love Larry does come off rather mean, I suppose, but – and I might just be falling for my character’s own line of thinking in saying this – I think it is easier to handle just by the fact that I’m singing the bad news. I could be wrong.
We have in this episode the first appearance of the character “Lauren”, named for a friend from grad school. This just might end up being her only appearance, as Larry’s sister (if you didn’t notice the resemblance you should probably be shot) isn’t necessarily the biggest proponent of acting in some random internet television show (for whatever reason); I had planned on using her in the episode “Mustache”, but she backed out and has turned down any subsequent requests to reprise her role. This is a shame because it limits Franks and Beans in the jokes we can tell. Well, I guess it only limits us in one area – I had planned on using Lauren as my character’s source of unrequited love, a big subplot where I would get humiliated and rejected time and time again. There’s really nothing funnier than a guy getting his hopes crushed, in my opinion, and let’s face it – we’re kind of limited with our pool of available extras as it is.
“Bring that sweet ass over here” is bound to be on a t-shirt one day…if it isn’t already, and ‘Lauren’s’ responding distain is perfect. We had to shoot this scene about thirty times before we got it right, delaying dinner at Larry’s house…and if you’ve ever been to Larry’s house, you know just how serious they take their early evening meal. Even though I ate all the spaghetti I could stuff down my gullet that night, I did so with a wary eye to those around me.
When we had finished filming this entire sequence, I thought that “Grapes” was the best episode we’d ever done. I have other favorites now, but this episode, to me, shows a lot of the promise of Franks and Beans. I really think that we’re getting better at what we do, and this episode was a step in that direction.
Larry and I are gearing up for another filming session, but I should get to write about another episode or two before those are ready to release. So unless I get murdered in the meantime (you never know), we’ll talk about episode four, “The Gift” next! See you then!
- Jeff M.
