Interviewing The Talent

I chose to interview four members of Athens Video Works' comedy show, "Friday's Live", who I knew were all actively involved in the 48-hour Shootout each year: Aaron Missler, Anthony Fabiano, Margie Pandora, Sarah Baker and Zachary Small. Since they all had busy schedules, I asked them three questions through e-mail, giving them the liberty to respond at their liesure. Each person has been accurately quoted, word-for-word, according to their e-mail responses.

Questions:
1. What is your favorite thing about being in the 48-hour Shootout? Why?
2. What has been your favorite experience working on a shootout film? Why?
3. Do you have a funny story about the shootout that you would like to share?

AARON MISSLER: He is a junior digital medias major and was the director of The Legion project "Trapped By Spoon." He is also a member of OU Siggraph that makes some very entertaining animated short films. (This photo was taken while Missler enthusiastically told the crew exactly how he wanted the next scene to look.)

1. "[My] favorite thing about Shootout is seeing the finished product. While you're making the short everything is so hectic you sometimes get frustrated, but that all just melts away when you're relaxing with everybody and just watching what you all worked on. It makes the lack of sleep worth it."

2. "After the Short is submitted and before the screening starts our group, for the past two shootouts, would stand outside and smoke "completion cigars" as a kind of bonding celebratory act that we completed our task."

3. "Everyone was so sleep deprived this year that some of the team members fell asleep on the floor, some stopped speaking mid-sentence and just go in to a daze, and some of us started dancing around obnoxiously to stay awake. There never is just one instance with us; the whole experience is sustained hilarity."


ANTHONY FABIANO: He is a senior here at OU and is the executive producer of "Friday's Live." He was the director and an actor for Baby Hollywood's production. (This photo was taken by Caitlin Corns during an infamous "Friday's Live" Party.)

1. "I think the thing I like most about Shootout is how unpredictable it is. I like going into it not knowing what you are going to be working, not knowing what genre you will be working in and not knowing the prop central to your piece."

2. "I think this year was my favorite experience working on Shootout because we got to work on a genre we were unfamiliar in: drama. It was a great challenge and that is always so much fun to face a challenge."

3. "During the piece we shot at this really shady motel, and I am pretty sure most our of cast and crew thought the end was near."


MARGIE PANDORA: She is a sophomore organizational communications major and an actor on "Friday's Live." She acted in the Legion's production "Trapped By Spoon." (This photo was taken by Caitlin Corns during an episode of "Friday's Live" that Pandora hosted.)

1. "Just the whole idea of shootout, really. Developing, writing, shooting, and editing a short in that little of time. It makes whatever you do that much more impressive."

2. "Well, this was my first shootout, and even if this hadn't been, this one would definitely be my favorite. I know of other groups that fight like dogs all throughout the process. We didn't have any of that, it was really like hanging out with all my friends for a weekend and we happen to make a short movie as well. Also, getting covered in all the blood and gore was pretty cool too!"

3. "I think the funniest thing for me was when Aaron and Josh were putting the prostetics on my eyes. I was sitting in their bathroom for about an hour, each of them working on one of my eyes. I obviously couldn't see anything, but I could feel them putting on all this blood and "meat" as Aaron referred to it, which was really corn starch mixed with fake blood. I honestly thought it wasn't going to look good, or scarey at all. Then people started coming in and looking at me, and all I could hear was their reaction. I remember Zach saying something to the effect of it made him want to vomit. But the best one was hearing, I think Aaron's roommate, Matt, say it looked like my face had been blown off by a shotgun!"

SARAH BAKER: She is a fifth-year senior and a psychology and English major. She is the floor manager on "Friday's Live," which makes her second in command to the executive producer, as she relays information from the floor to the director in the booth. She was an actress in Baby Hollywood's film. (This photo was taken by Caitlin Corns at a "Friday's Live" party)

1. "My favorite thing about ShootOut is being able to do something so creative in only 48 hours. I had the real pleasure of working with a production company (Baby Hollywood in association with Easy Fix Productions) that was truly professional and on the ball. While most teams were still writing and didn't plan to start shooting until Saturday morning, we shot our first scene around 1am. We didn't wrap until 7pm on Saturday."

2. "This was my 3rd year of doing ShootOut. Each year has been a new and wonderful experience. From creating a parody of Blue's Clues (called "Lou's Clues" that actually won 2nd place that year) to making a drama about the McCarthyism and Hollywood in the 1950s ("Red Planet: Hollywood"). I've had the pleasure with working with very talented people and I even when there were times where we didn't think we would make it, I wouldn't trade it for the world."

3. "A funny story about ShootOut....hmmmm...Okay. So in our film "Red Planet: Hollywood", we needed a bedroom scene that didn't look like a college student's bedroom so we rented a room at the Sunset Motel (on Columbus Rd.). It was, by far, the shadiest motel I had ever seen. It looked like a motel where certain illegal substances are dealt and "professional" women take their clients. We felt dirty just standing in the room. I felt bad for Danny Cox and Lauren Salandra (two of our actors) who had to actually lie in the bed. The bathroom was filthy and we half expected to find a dead body under the bed. Truly the place where horror movies are made. Oh but they best part is yet to come. So there's a mini-fridge in the room, much like the mini-fridges in the dorms. For some reason (I can't exactly remember why) we dared our producer, Anthony Fabiano (Fabs), to look inside. He found a box from D.P. Dough with a half-eaten calzone. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. We still talk about it."


ZACHARY SMALL: He is a junior video production major. He was the lead editor on the Legion's production "Trapped By Spoon" and has done the graphics for past episodes of "Friday's Live." (This photo was taken during some down time while filming for the shootout.)

1. "My favorite thing about being in shootout is that for one weekend everything else gets put aside so students can come together to make completely random movies."

2. "My favorite experience from a working standpoint has been working on the post production. Editing, to me, is the most fun."

3."During this past shootout I accidentally got drunk at our first night of shooting. We had picked up a case of beer and what started out as just a few beers out of thirst quickly became several beers and deep heartfelt conversations about life, movies, and love. I severely regretted it waking up the next day at 11 considering our shoot ran to 6 A.M., and I was probably still drunk the next day for awhile but it was still fun."