Has This Ever Happened to You?

Talk about the latest LRR video or discuss your past favorites.
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cyberghost
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby cyberghost » 28 Apr 2009, 17:57

Great Video,
I couldn't read exactly what the fine print on the bottle was, but that was definitely a Canadian Dental Approval Association logo on the label. That alone made me laugh as much as the rest of the video combined. Keep up the great work.
(Now, time to take care of my sudden smoothie craving.)
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Sauter
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Sauter » 28 Apr 2009, 17:57

College Humor... I thought I saw a similar video!
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby bradleyrains » 28 Apr 2009, 17:59

i found the music a bit distracting. for me, it took away from the video, as it didn't really seem to fit...not even when looking through the third eye. i think some traditional LRR Commodore 64 music might have served it better!
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ljackstar
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby ljackstar » 28 Apr 2009, 18:41

This probably would have been more funny lf I hadn't actually bought suicde pills one day.
Don't worry I never used them!
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Kdz
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Kdz » 28 Apr 2009, 18:43

ljackstar wrote:This probably would have been more funny lf I hadn't actually bought suicde pills one day.
Don't worry I never used them!


If this isn't a joke post, it's still hilarious, because you actually put in a disclaimer that you never used suicide pills.

If it was a joke, good one.

Disclaimer: Not making fun of anyone. Seriously.
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kantan
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby kantan » 28 Apr 2009, 18:52

I felt so bad for Paul! This is different from your usual videos, but it was still very good. :)

BTW: Nice 'Love Hina' poster on the wall. :D
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Jillers » 28 Apr 2009, 18:53

I just watched the College Humor vid, and they are kinda eerily similar, yet also very different... I like LRR's better personally.
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cacho
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby cacho » 28 Apr 2009, 19:43

Matt wrote:
cacho wrote:me.


I disagree with you in about every concievable way, but you're entitled to your opinion.

-m


Like I said, maybe it was me, but I really didn't find it funny and the element that didn't let me enjoy the vid was the music.

Maybe if my english was better I could explain in better words, what I didn't like or why.

But yeah still a fan and besides this vid I have enjoyed all the videos you guys have made.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby TehXmasGhost » 28 Apr 2009, 19:51

Hmm, a bit late on this one.

All I hve to say about the video is: wtf?
Ahhh, i can't think of anything. I hate to sound like a douchebag, but I'm almost completely lost in Geometry now >_>
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Raine
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Raine » 28 Apr 2009, 19:59

It is different, but that's the point right? To expand the movie making stills? making movie skill +2
lol
I have been a die hard fan, so much so, ill EVEN pay for the damn good vids

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notomtolose
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby notomtolose » 28 Apr 2009, 22:30

Very cool.

I was so confused the first time, I almost didn't notice how completely amazing this video is.

This is really excellent work, gentlemen.

Adulation, followed by curiosity:

- Paul and Graham's reaction to the social failure is pretty poignant. Bravo.

- The sequence waiting for the door, again really good stuff. I'm all the way melancholy at this point.

- The blender thing is really well shot, if weird...

- The TV and placebo sequences, again - really very striking.

So, bearing that opinion in mind, don't take this question the wrong way - is it actually supposed to be funny? Honestly, I didn't think it was funny at all. On the contrary, it made me wish you guys would do pure dramatic stuff sometimes.

I wonder if maybe you worked so hard on selling the sad moments, you didn't realize they would overwhelm the comedy? At least for a part of the audience.

On the third hand, maybe you were totally going for a weird ironic thing, like that Penny Arcade strip. In which case, you really, really did it - but it's harder to 'get it' with a three minute video than a three panel comic.

Here are my criticisms:

Firstly, the inconsistency makes it hard to grasp the character's reality.

- There was no shiny 'upper' moment for the knife in the actual ad. So even though it would make sense to have the payoff, we're taught instead to expect only the first half of the infomercial.

- In his apartment alone, however, we randomly get that weirdly happy moment with the blender. Not only is there no crew, there isn't even a sad Blend Fail moment to pay off!

- Then at the end, Paul bursts into an in-progress advertisement with the cast and crew present. His failed suicide wasn't part of the ad, though! So, even now, all the pieces never come together.

The rhythm is also hard to follow. Four 'downer' moments, followed by the blender sequence. Then, after two more very intense 'downer' moments, we have the Sure-icide moment, and then we're in heaven? At this point I'm so confused, I really don't know what to think. Trying to find the pattern, I am distracted from seeing the rest of the video - like looking at penrose tiles or something! ;)

Solutions:

On the one hand, if all the black-and-white frown shots looked exactly the same with different backgrounds, maybe with a more bombastic 'Price Is Right Fail'-type sound, you'd have hit the slapstick note better. The pattern would be reinforced faster, and it would keep the tone more upbeat.

On the other hand, I think you could have hit the manic-depressive note better with a different ending. Morgan's hilarious demonstration made me go back to thinking it was really a comedy again. Then the 'in heaven with a smoothie' beat seems to reinforce the thought that this video is actually taking death lightly, and is therefore funny and not sad at all. Upon repeat viewing it works, but when the viewer is struggling to be sure of what they're seeing, the final impression is crucial. The viewer will re-evaluate the entire narrative based on the last few beats of the video.

Other notes:

- Too bad Matt's face was behind the camera.

- I didn't get the handshake fail the first time, I thought it was some weird masonic secret handshake thing. :) Something a little less abstract would have been better to teach the pattern with, like maybe if he were signing an invoice for his work and the pen broke. Something like that.

P.S. - From listening to the podcasts I get the impression you guys like feedback and criticism. So I hope I'm being helpful, but if I'm just making myself look snobby and hipsterish by thinking so hard about this, it's probably better if I just stuff it and get to bed on time instead. :) Lemme know.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Graham » 28 Apr 2009, 23:13

All solid points, notomtolose.

I'll go into it more in the podcast, but for now:
Pay attention to the narrator.
You'll note he only says "has this ever happened to you?" the one time, and later "Then you need new Sure-icide!" implying that the whole lead up has been part of the Sure-icide ad (which Shawn then crashes).

That's basically the whole thing.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Cybren » 28 Apr 2009, 23:30

I've noticed a lot of people in various video threads go "it was well done but wasn't very funny".

You keep on using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
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notomtolose
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby notomtolose » 28 Apr 2009, 23:50

Ah, so Cake was right. Cool, cool. I think it would have been clearer without the blender sequence, much though I would miss it. Can't wait for the podcast.
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manika
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby manika » 29 Apr 2009, 01:39

I liked the video and I also think that the music fit quite nicely. It's not typical infomercial music, but it just fits the scenes. Although the CH and LRR vids are somehow similar. They both have a very different tone, because of the music.
i somehow got the feeling that around 0:40 Paul may have had a hard time to keep serious. it looks to me that his mouth slowly wants to just start laughing during the awkward handshake with Graham, but then he gets all serious/sad again. Very nicely done.

about the 'dying' theme in recent videos:
it doesn't bother me as long as it fits the rest of the story which it has always done so far (I think), and people got killed before as well, just think of all the persons getting 'fridged'. i guess the crime scene dialogues between Graham (can't remember the onscreen name) and Off. Rodriguez don't count I guess.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Vadim » 29 Apr 2009, 01:41

Graham wrote:I totally had not seen the College Humor video (which is really well shot!), so I claim ignorance.

Also, gnosis (ie: an idea that's time has come).


In essence, this video is the calculus of internet humour. College Humor plays the role of Newton, while LRR plays the roll of Liebniz.
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theINC
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby theINC » 29 Apr 2009, 03:51

It is certainly a dark video, but I really liked it. It was funny, and well-shot too.

It does what all humour is essentially supposed to do - take something that we can all relate to ("has this ever happened to you"-style infomercials that are clearly fake) and takes it to its logical extreme (someone who is disabled in such a way that all they can do is suffer.)

It then takes that to an extreme, of a 3 minute long infomercial for a suicide pill.

I laughed. I also enjoyed Morgan's narration, and good music choices. I know all the GarageBand loops too well (from the various media projects I've done using those over the years), but I really liked it.

One shot, 2:06, I liked how you did the gradual zoom/move closer. Made that shot more interesting than if it was static.

Also, this was actually the first beardless Paul video I've seen, and I must say, he is much more attractive without it.

4/5 for the video.
6/5 for Paul.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Lyinginbedmon » 29 Apr 2009, 05:07

The initial fakeout of a Yummies Ad was cool to see, I was definitely expecting another series of terrible, terrible, products.

Then it turns out suicide pills are their best yet :D
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Metcarfre » 29 Apr 2009, 08:03

OK, now I get it, that it was all one add for Sure-icide pills. I think the whole thing could be tied together with a narrator saying "five easy payments of 19.99! Operators are standing by" over Paul's heaven scene.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Lyinginbedmon » 29 Apr 2009, 08:33

Sure-icide, the only -icide pills recommended by the Canadian Dental Association.

Sure-icide, making your -icide sure!

:P
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Elomin Sha » 29 Apr 2009, 08:43

Lyinginbedmon wrote:Sure-icide, the only -icide pills recommended by the Canadian Dental Association.
Sure-icide, making your -icide sure!
:P


Really? Excuse me a moment.
*Runs to the nearest pharmacy to buy a bottle of Sure-icide and Post Count Up Elixer. Swaps labels around. Runs to Lyinginbedmon's house*
Here you go Lying.
*Hands him the bottle and legs it when lying downs the entire bottle*
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby gryffinp » 29 Apr 2009, 10:40

Please. Lyinginbedmon wouldn't juice up to artificially boost his post count. Drugs are for lameors.
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Lyinginbedmon
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Lyinginbedmon » 29 Apr 2009, 10:51

Fortunately I've spent many years slowly building up an immunity to sure-icide.
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Morgan wrote:Lyinginbedmon is short, but he makes up for it in awesomeness
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Cherry » 29 Apr 2009, 10:52

kantan wrote:BTW: Nice 'Love Hina' poster on the wall. :D

LOVE HINA! THAT'S THE ONE IT WAS! Dammit to hell I spent like 45 minutes trying to work out which anime it was. I thought it was Mahoromatic for some reason.

...Yes, I spent more time trying to figure out which anime the poster on the wall was than actually watching and contemplating the video. This is how sad I am.
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Re: Has This Ever Happened to You?

Postby Lyinginbedmon » 29 Apr 2009, 11:05

Let's see, the first location is definitely Bill & Morgan's kitchen (I'm wondering about the sign on the dishwasher/cabinet "FREE <something? Works")
Second scene is, obviously, a street I can't really place with google maps
Third scene is outside the same building from Worst Day Ever, so it's likely UVic
Fourth scene is Graham & Matt's apartment from kitchen to living room (Dolly shot, btw)
Fifth scene I'm uncertain of. It's neither Graham's nor Morgan's room, so it could be Matt's as far as location-simple shooting goes
Sixth scene we return to Bill & Morgan's kitchen
Seventh scene is naturally the green screen on the moonbase.

That fifth scene is still kinda bugging me though.
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Morgan wrote:Lyinginbedmon is short, but he makes up for it in awesomeness

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