foilarmsandhog
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Behind the Scenes Set Diary - Sketch June 17th
🕑 Added 2021-06-15 13:09:33 +0000 UTCIt’s a nice Thursday morning, I’ve had a great time responding to comments from my desk with a mug of cocoa listening to Oasis and I’m ready to start the real work. Replying to comments doesn’t feel like work which is good, but also bad because then its nearly 10 am and I haven’t got any work done… (In my mind).
Hogs in good form, he’s annoyed I didn’t notice his hair cut, I mean, did any of you? He barely got anything off? He’s turned into a pensioner who’s going to the post office or the barber for something to do (a life I really look forward to). Although I guess it’s not healthy to want to look forward to retirement, possibly that means you need a holiday.
It is unusual and slightly disrespectful to the sketch that’s out that day, that we immediately start working on the one for the following week. It feels like a betrayal. In some ways it is, depending on the week. If the sketch has not turned out like we wanted or is not being received in ever glowing terms, it can affect your mood. I know that’s silly, and you guys are always so supportive, but you just cant help it, you invest so much of your time into something and if it doesn’t go as well as planned you’re in a bit of a fowler for a few hours. Then you really see the benefit of having other voices on your creative team. You can rationalise bad gigs, sketches or responses – always being honest, but sharing that burden three ways – three hours of a bad mood becomes one in a blink of an eye, and we’re ready to start writing comedy again. We’re really pleased with this weeks sketch, but I thought I’d share that honesty with you anyway.
At the point with which we start to make puns about countries, we really have to dig back into our old sketches to make sure we haven’t already done the exact same joke already. No point in asking foil, literally a head like a net person when it comes to this. I do feel slightly sorry for him when he looks up with those eager eyes and suggests a joke that we've done two years previously, because to his mind, he's come up with a really good joke and for some reason, no one is laughing. Although I should say that sometimes, it isn’t always in vain. As many of you know, we are environmentally conscious here in FA&H headquarters and have been known to recycle our own jokes from time to time. You can rip off yourself right?
Anyway, there’s nothing that three lads with backgrounds in science love more than a heavily structured joke list. One of the three has a slightly more comprehensive science background, but you already know who that is, and it’s not the one with the fake science degree either…or the badger tunnel curly dude. So we get through this one quite quickly and have at least one joke for every country in the Euro football competition – not that we get to use them all, because some of them are terrible. There’s nothing wrong with suggesting terrible jokes either, its fun and loosens everyone up. One joke in particular I have essentially wedged into the sketch, against the better wishes of my friends. It’s not that they don’t like the joke, they do, it’s that it doesn’t quite fit the tone, which I agree with, but well….there was no other joke for that country and I really found it funny, so they got on board. Nice lads. We’ll see what you guys think….
I’ve included set photos with the diary – although there weren’t many interesting ones, but I’ve also included two videos, where I play an eager extra on the set with the great actor Hog and director Foil. It’s an improv we always play around with, I just rolled the camera for it! Take care Patreoners,
Chat soon
Arms x
Comments
selkie
These diary entries from Arms are a lovely insight into sketch creation and the way the lads work together. (I also loved this particular sketch much more than I thought I would - not being a person who follows sports)!
Karen Russell
We think it might have been Arms's comment about the Swiss national anthem not being enough to get the supporters going
I now watched it 3 times and I cannot figure out which one is the joke that does not really go with the rest of the tone. I laughed a lot. It's almost on the level of the game of risk. As I am German, I greatly appreciate that supporting Germany has been suggested as an option
I absolutely love these diary entries! Well done Arms!
Rose Main
Hog looks wonderfully relaxed on the radio, and I bet they loved his haircut a whole bunch. The face paint you are wearing Arms will be what half of Glasgow looks like by tea time on Friday as the weather in the city is set to hoat and uber hoat. We have the EuroFanZone at Glasgow Green for the fitba' and we Weegies burn like wee crisps in the heat. So they will all look like you and if they do the traditional "Tapps Aff" as soon as the big yella' ball appears, their torsos will also resemble tomato soup. Everyone will be looking like your cousin so you'd fit right in. Foil in pensive or vacant mode, I cannot really tell. But thank you so much for the great entertainment. xxx
Shannan
I don't know - there's a lot of physics in safe architecture and chemistry in biology so not that far off!
Thanks! I was a bit off...
Biology for Arms, architecture for Foil and engineering for Hog ;)
Such a poser Arms lol loving the face paint
What are you science backgrounds in? I'm getting a chemistry vibe from Arms and Physics from Foil...
When I heard my country won it's football match at the Euro, it immediately reminded me of the very funny sketches FA&H did about the previous football championships. Now I see this diary and it feels weird to have almost anticipated the next sketch!
Thank you for such an honest diary, Arms. It's so endearing that you are willing to share your vulnerabilities with us and I feel privileged to have this insight into your work. It's great that you have each other for support and to keep things in perspective... everyone needs that from time to time. We Patreons are here too to send you virtual hugs 🤗 I think you lads are amazingly talented and I can't wait for this week's sketch 😊
Thanks for the insight - really appreciate the time you take and the honesty. Always enjoy reading the blogs - so entertaining and real.
A beautifully composed and lovely testament to the collaboration of friends and comrades in humor. Thanks Arms for this very long behind the scenes diary, which I found an absolutely fascinating read. I can totally understand worrying about your own work once you put it out in the public eye - yes, I get that entirely. But it's the faith that gets you through, doesn't it? You have to have faith that you've done your best and once it's out of your hands, you do have to turn to the next sketch and embrace that one. And we're grateful for your perseverance and your willingness to keep going! :)
