Tag Archives: Film

Flush Toilets, Not Fish

Tagline: Flush Toilets, Not Fish is about toilets, fish and domestic responsibility.

Mike’s Comments: When we were kids, my cousins had two goldfish named Frank Ferdue (sic) and Doo-Doo Head. Tim and I were obsessed with the point as children. Through the years, we’ve continued to talk and laugh about it. It was funny on many levels. One, because our cousins named Frank Ferdue after a Maryland local celebrity. Secondly, that they changed the last name’s first letter to an “F”, creating a half-baked alliteration. Why didn’t they just call the fish Frank Perdue? Because that name was taken? Because they were mispronouncing “Perdue”?

No one will ever know the answer to those questions. However, if an answer is to be found, it is probably to be found in the second goldfish’s name, Doo-Doo Head. This was the whammy, and what made the amusing Frank Ferdue name comedy gold and Frank Ferdue and Doo-Doo Head the Smothers Brothers of fish-comedy.

In Flush Fish, Not Toilets, Jim Ferdue’s name is, of course, inspired by Frank Ferdue. (For those not from the Eastern Shore, Jim Perdue is the son of Frank Perdue and now runs the chicken empire.) There’s no Doo-Doo Head counterpart among the fish, mainly because there is no recreating a legend. There is, however, plenty of potty talk, so Doo-Doo Head lives on in spirit.

Megan’s Comments: I would like to point out that there was a very good reason why I told Mike to flush the toilet, and why I wasn’t going anywhere near it. It should also be known that although Mike walked offscreen with a ever-so-fake look of guilt plastered on his face, he did not flush the toilet for another 15 minutes after I spoke those words.

The Boy in the Box

Tagline: The Boy in the Box is about a boy in a box.

Mike’s Comments: I can’t remember how exactly The Boy in the Box evolved. There wasn’t a script. I think Peter just put the box on and it sort of went from there. A lot of the reactions we got from people were natural and unplanned. As for the box itself, its from the karaoke Singing Machine and I believe (though I can be sure as it is all so long ago now) that the Singing Machine doubled in post-production as a poorman’s multi-track recorder allowing my lawyer, Paul, to do the soundtrack. Its a great soundtrack too, maybe one of my favorites.

When I edited it originally, I had some problems with the video decks, and there were mistakes (both in the visuals and sound). I’ve been able to correct a lot of these problems in FCP.

Peter’s Comments: For those worried about copyright infringement who had difficulty reading the FBI warning at the beginning of this video due to resolution issues, I’ve pieced together a transcript of the notice below to the best of my ability. Note though that both the statement it’s self and the transcript are protected under their own copyright stipulations so you’ll need to destroy any copies cached on your hard drive or elsewhere immediately after reading.

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The Bridge

Last night Megan and I watched the Director’s Cut of THX 1138. For the THX 1138 Director’s Cut, Lucas rather cleverly added CG monkeys. Inspired by Lucas’s simian revisionism, I unearthed some footage from the ol’ treasure trove. I couldn’t do CG chimps, but I did do some melodica, gave the piece a title, and tried to brighten up the footage a little bit. The original was shot on Super 8 and transferred to a now decaying VHS tape. Maybe one day I’ll find the actual Super 8 footage and recopy it. No plot spoilers for the bridge. Just watch it raw and unaware, and think what I’ll be able to achieve with some CG meteors.

Kettle Kittens II

It is now pushing 2 a.m., and I have to help Tim move tomorrow. For the past hour I’ve been dealing with an issue with Compressor. The problem is finally fixed, and Kettle Kittens II has been exported.

With the exception of the lead instrument, me on melodica, the song was made from stock sounds in Soundtrack Pro.

I would also note that the strobe is not an FCP effect, but a crank emergency flashlight I have.

Kettle brew those kittens.