Happy Twilight Zone Day!
According to my daily Coffee Meets Bagel notification, it’s apparently National Twilight Zone Day. I’m not sure why that’s celebrated on May 11, as the show premiered on October 1, 1959, but then again, who knows where these random “National” days come from (The Twilight Zone, perhaps)?
In any case, seeing as though that series is the inspiration for this whole mess, it seems appropriate to celebrate! According to NationalDayCalendar.com, ways to observe National Twilight Zone Day include making 5th dimensional pinwheels, stirring up a “nutty mix of fear and superstition” (no ingredients listed), and, naturally, watching episodes of the classic series. Well, I’m going to skip all of those and use this as an opportunity to update y’all on Season 2! That’s how we roll here at WiYW! Any chance to self-promote, we’re gonna grab it by the shorthairs. (Who’s we?)
The first three episodes have been recorded, and the recording sessions were, as always, tons of fun. It’s not only nice to do something creative with a bunch of like-minded people, but in this Zoom-world we’ve been living in for the last year, seeing long lost friends will always get me smiling. Those three episodes are now being edited: dialogue has been ordered and placed, sound effects and music have been chosen, and now I’m in the process of fine-tuning the fuck out of ‘em, scoping out hidden breathing sounds or someone else’s audio bleeding in or lowering the volume to minimize those pesky clips. It’s a tedious process, but also a rewarding one, as I’m sure you can imagine. It’s always nice when a particularly silly idea pays off; for example, there’s a music cue in the second episode that literally had me pumping my fist Tiger Woods-style alone in my room. I’m pretty sure this was at night and my blinds were closed so no one could see this potentially embarrassing act, but then again, why should I be embarrassed about celebrating? Oh, the ever-present war between security and insecurity! Will you ever end?! (No, it won’t.)
I’m currently awaiting the arrival of retakes from some of the performers before I dive back in head first; right now, I’m trying to listen to at least one episode a day and perform minor tweaks when necessary. About those retakes, I sometimes feel guilty for asking the performers/my friends to do more. The retakes aren’t meant to be a criticism of their initial performance and rather a way to enhance it (or to get something new because a barking dog or passing motorcycle ruined the take), but I always fear it’ll be taken that way. This is why I don’t always like the position of Director: I don’t like feeling like I’m the one with “the power” or whatever. I want each episode to be a collaborative process of sorts; even though it’s my face featured on the website and the actors are reading words I typed out, I don’t want this to be about me. Sure, I want my writing out there in the world with the hopes of it getting noticed, but I also want to show off what my talented and funny friends can do. I want their performances to come forward first. That’s how it’s always been since the beginning when the episodes were being performed live. And, in the spirit of improv, the first thing that happens, that spontaneous, in-the-moment first take, is what I’m looking for the most. Alas, sometimes more is needed, whether it’s a different emotional delivery or a accidental slurring of words or that darn motorcycle revving its engine.
In the meantime, while I wait for the retakes, I’ve been hard at work writing Season 3. Yeah, I DON’T STOP! I’ll probably even head straight into Season 4! I’M UNEMPLOYED, SO I HAVE THE TIME. I’m in the midst of writing the fifth episode for S3, which is the last episode that needs to be written for the season (I feel I need to clarify that because saying “I’m writing the last episode” makes it sound like it’s the last episode, when it’s not, and nobody needs to know this, so I’ll stop now). Strangely, I’m noticing the episodes taking a gradual turn away from comedy. I’m still aiming for them to be darkly humorous, but there are definitely plenty of dramatic and emotional moments in this batch so far. At least, that’s how it stands now. These are just first drafts, after all, so there will be plenty to punch up later on.
That’s about all I got for an update today, except for your new SEASON 2 TEASE! I was pretty mischievous with the previous tease, not really revealing anything of value, so this time, I’m gonna do better and actually give you some lines of dialogue from the first three episodes. Ready?
VICTOR: “Um…”
JUNE: “Oh.”
LIANA: “Yeah, sure.”
Ain’t I a stinker?
But hey, at least I’ve revealed three character names. That’s something! Anyway, Happy National Twilight Zone Day to you all! If you come across any random, floating doors, I don’t know, maybe walk through them? At least try the knob. It could lead to a nutty mix of fear and superstition. Sounds worth it to me. Unless you hate nuts.
—Andy
