STBD 5-10: Revealed!

The "Light-Up Night" episode was a great opportunity for us to showcase Downtown Pittsburgh in all its festive holiday glory... and to wrap up a loose end or two.

The Making of "Light-Up Night" involved:

- 7 scripted pages

- 5 improvised scenes

- 60 minutes of raw footage

- 2 shoots over 24 hours

- 2 voiceovers

- 12+ hours of editing

Fun Facts, Scene by Scene:

* Caroline (aka Ann Turiano) is wearing a pierogi t-shirt, courtesy of a soon-to-be-launched Pittsburgh apparel company who shall remain nameless for the next week or two... (Ask Mike Woycheck for details.)

* All of the dialogue between Tim (Ryan Ben) and Leo (Will Guffey) was improvised from a basic outline, as was the idea for them to play a carnival game. Tim accidentally winning a one-armed bear? That was serendipity; the woman working the carnival booth asked Ryan to choose something from a shady box they kept under the counter, and he accidentally took a damaged prize.

* Improvised as well was the scene between Caroline and Todd (Matt Pavlosky) on Mount Washington. Matt happened to be drinking there with friends and we plucked him from the bar (Redbeard's) for an impromptu scene, hours after Light-Up night had concluded.

* If it looks like Leo is burning his S'mores beyond repair, that's because he was... More surprisingly, Ryan Ben (Tim) had never had a S'mores before, and wasn't sure how to make them. (Hopefully he didn't study Leo too closely...)

* To save on downtown parking hassles, Ryan Ben (Tim), Will Guffey (Leo) and Ann Turiano (Caroline) all carpooled down in director Justin Kownacki's car. While Ann and Rick Hertzig (Rick) were filming the final downtown scene of the night, Will was in charge of getting Justin's car out of the parking garage and navigating the traffic / pedestrian / construction hell of Downtown Pittsburgh during Light-Up Night. (Remarkably, he found streetside parking one block from the "big freaking tree," on 6th and Penn.)

* Although Dierdre's arrival under the "big freaking tree" is the last scene of the episode, it was the first scene we filmed. That's because Lacey Fleming, who plays Dierdre, had to race home to Ohio to prepare for a family wedding the next day. That scene was actually filmed 90 minutes before the Glenn / Caroline scene that immediately precedes it.

* All music included in this episode actually comes from Ed Roberts's incredibly useful Podsafe Christmas podcast, which returns with all new music immediately after this year's Thanksgiving! Thanks for the great finds, Ed!

* Several hours' worth of editing on this episode took place on an Amtrak train between Boston, MA, and Bridgeport, CT. Did you know Amtrak has power outlets for every seat on its trains? The STBD laptop (and its 1 hour battery) thank you, Amtrak...

Birthday Girl

With a cast as large as STBD's, there's a birthday to be celebrated every couple weeks. But Ann Turiano (aka Caroline) celebrates hers this weekend -- which also happens to be Easter / Passover, which means it's easy to get lost in the meta-holiday shuffle.

So, if you dig Ann's work on STBD, drop her a comment -- or a birthday video link!

(Note to self: perhaps we need a public STBD calendar, so everyone can follow our cast's various stage performances, independent films, charity work and, yes, birthdays...)

Ask Tim: Valentine's Day Follow-Up!

Missing your regular dose of Tim over this hiatus? So are we!

Fortunately, Tim had time to update us about this year's Valentine's Day escapades on his blog.

Click. Laugh. Weep.

Valentine's Thaw

You may not have noticed, but there's a wicked snowstorm eating most of the eastern half of the United States alive these past couple days. It's mostly passed here in Pittsburgh, even though the forecast includes snow every day this week. But the sun's out, which makes it much easier to celebrate Valentine's Day after chipping your car out of ice for over an hour. (Special thanks to our neighbors for getting us out of our predicament this afternoon.)

On a day of love, joy and candy, it's worth mentioning the obvious flaw in this season of STBD: there's very little love, joy or candy. As many folks both within the cast and beyond have mentioned, far too many of the existing characters are filled with sarcasm and sharp edges. Tim stands out primarily because he's the exact opposite -- innocent and supportive, almost to a fault.

So, on this Valentine's Day during our hiatus, we'll be giving special thought to this puzzling predicament: how do we chip away at the ice around the hearts of the STBD characters?