For nearly ten years I and Bernadette Russell run a night under our company White Rabbit called "Are You Sitting Comfortably". It was a themed night where we told original stories from writers and ourselves to an audience while they drank wine and ate chips. We showcased over 1000 writers' work and performed it in the South Bank, National theatre, Arts Admin, and around the country. I and Bernadette would write and perform a new story for each event. And since finishing the shows I missed that rush and deadline of producing material that way.
Lately, we have been doing more film work with the award-winning PITCHES and DEREK and DAISY but I wanted to try and combine the storytelling elements into that. Also, we devour quick content now online, and the idea of doing something which is designed to be bite-sized and quick to digest was appealing
So the challenge of telling a story 90-second story arrived. It's bloody tricky but I love doing it every week. The week normally goes something like this.
MONDAY - Think of a story and write it. Normally between 200 and 240 words. Time it.
TUESDAY - Edit and learn
WEDNESDAY - Edit and learn
THURSDAY - Learn
FRIDAY - Film on iPhone asking Bernadette or friends to do. I normally do about 4 takes. Quickly rush back and edit, subtitles, add music, and grade. Send out on YouTube and socials. Then rinse and repeat.
Some people say that I should just record loads of them in reserve, but there is something I like about the weekly challenge that makes it interesting and totally scary. I don't know how many I'm going to do, but I like to keep going as long as people are still watching.
So here is the last one I did below. If you like please subscribe to the YT channel and share with anyone who might like it.
Gareth x