Rachael MacKinnon pitch thread

This is the official pitch thread of Rachael MacKinnon.

"Things I Don't Have Time For." Though I have a lot of free time in my day, there are things that I as a student as MHS, and most other high school kids, certainly do not have time for. This is a video simply stating what we don't have time for, then recording the "thoughts" as the action is played out. For example, I do not have time for a hall pass to be written out. I have to go to the bathroom and I have to go now. There's an over the shoulder shot of a teacher writing a pass but focused in on the student. The student's thoughts are recorded and saying things like "oh my please hurry up I do not have time for this." I also do not have time for Writing Across the Curriculum (WACs), slow walkers in the hall, the awkward twenty minute segment of 3rd lunch, physics tests, yoga, remembering my locker combination, and I certainly do not have time for the parking lot at the end of the day.

rmackinnon wrote:

"Things I Don't Have Time For." Though I have a lot of free time in my day, there are things that I as a student as MHS, and most other high school kids, certainly do not have time for. This is a video simply stating what we don't have time for, then recording the "thoughts" as the action is played out. For example, I do not have time for a hall pass to be written out. I have to go to the bathroom and I have to go now. There's an over the shoulder shot of a teacher writing a pass but focused in on the student. The student's thoughts are recorded and saying things like "oh my please hurry up I do not have time for this." I also do not have time for Writing Across the Curriculum (WACs), slow walkers in the hall, the awkward twenty minute segment of 3rd lunch, physics tests, yoga, remembering my locker combination, and I certainly do not have time for the parking lot at the end of the day.

This can definitely develop into something good. But I feel like using "Things I Don't Have Time For" as your framing device is somewhat limiting, which is to say that some of the things you list don't necessarily apply to it per se. However, if you just went with "Things I Could Do Without" as your theme, it'd give you more leeway to simply list all these things, and it pretty much becomes a list of pet peeves. For each one, you include a video component, and some audio commentary (either voiced over or said live during the clip, perhaps a mix of both).

* Writing out hall passes -- I do not have time for this. If I have to go to the bathroom, I have to go now.
* Writing Across the Curriculum? Feel free to lose that.
* Slow walkers in the hall? They've gotta go.
* Yoga...hmm...I'm gonna pass, thanks though.
* Remembering my locker combination...I could do without it.
* Physics test on a Friday...you're killing my Friday.
* Physics test on a Monday...you're killing my Sunday.
* Physics test on a Tuesday...you're making my Monday even worse.
* Physics test on a Thursday...you're killing my hump day.
* New rule: Physics tests can only be on Wednesdays, agreed? No? Shoot.
* And have you ever been stuck in the daily traffic jam in the parking lot after school? (insert "Ain't nobody got time for that!" lady)

Just a thought anyway, but it could turn into something solid for sure.

PITCH: 10

Lately there has been a revolt of girls saying "leggings ARE pants!" Girls oftentimes wear leggings to school for simplicity sake. I say we make a rap about how leggings are pants. It's a revolt of girls in order to make our point. Everyone will understand the point of it, even boys, because almost everyday I see something about it. Everyone in the video has to be wearing leggings in a different style (sports, elegant, relaxed, etc).

rmackinnon wrote:

Lately there has been a revolt of girls saying "leggings ARE pants!" Girls oftentimes wear leggings to school for simplicity sake. I say we make a rap about how leggings are pants. It's a revolt of girls in order to make our point. Everyone will understand the point of it, even boys, because almost everyday I see something about it. Everyone in the video has to be wearing leggings in a different style (sports, elegant, relaxed, etc).

  

Love it. Do it. Obviously keep the lyrics completely topical and school appropriate, yet make it as hardcore as possible (without crossing the line into actual gangsta-wannabe territory...it needs to remain clear that everything's being done with a figurative wink involved). The MCAS rap last year juggled this dynamic flawlessly. One of the first things we did with that was choose one of the most hardcore beats in rap history as the backdrop for the piece, and I'd suggest one that's equally as hardcore for this one: Shook Ones, Part II (see below). Anyway, I'd love to see this happen. Trav has a recording studio, and I bet he could help make this song come out sounding legit (despite being entirely ridiculous).

PITCH: 10

"Peacocking for Prom." Ya know how boy peacocks show off their feathers when they are in search of adoration from the girl peacocks?  Well since the prom season is about to begin, there should be a group of girls in one cluster, and a group of boys in another cluster. The girls are flipping their hair and trying to act pretty, and the boys are flexing their muscles and trying to act all strong. The purpose is that we are "attracting dates to the prom." In the end, someone narrates what is happening in an Australian accent, as if we were actual wildlife.

For February 7. This is going to be hard to do, but we fill a mayo jar with vanilla pudding, a Clorox bottle with water, and a windex bottle with blue Gatorade. We go into a study and consume one of the weird looking things, and there is a camera hidden and recording peoples expressions. People would think they are the real thing and obviously have some pretty funny expressions because they would think we are eating a jar of straight mayo, or drinking Clorox, or spraying windex into our mouths.

I like the peacock one

rmackinnon wrote:

"Peacocking for Prom." Ya know how boy peacocks show off their feathers when they are in search of adoration from the girl peacocks?  Well since the prom season is about to begin, there should be a group of girls in one cluster, and a group of boys in another cluster. The girls are flipping their hair and trying to act pretty, and the boys are flexing their muscles and trying to act all strong. The purpose is that we are "attracting dates to the prom." In the end, someone narrates what is happening in an Australian accent, as if we were actual wildlife.

I like this concept, and it COULD definitely work and be a successful video. However, as we learned in class the other day, execution can often dictate whether a good idea hits or flops. However, after seeing the original idea on screen, I'm realizing that the piece will likely work better if we simplify it and tweak it a bit. I'll discuss with you further in class. But the bottom line is that I would support (and actually encourage) the idea of revisiting this concept, learning from our first attempt at it, and changing our approach to reach its high ceiling. The penguin video from last year was a great example of what this sort of video can be, and your version can work on a similar level for sure if we get it right. So let's talk it out further and see what we can do with this.

PITCH: 10

rmackinnon wrote:

For February 7. This is going to be hard to do, but we fill a mayo jar with vanilla pudding, a Clorox bottle with water, and a windex bottle with blue Gatorade. We go into a study and consume one of the weird looking things, and there is a camera hidden and recording peoples expressions. People would think they are the real thing and obviously have some pretty funny expressions because they would think we are eating a jar of straight mayo, or drinking Clorox, or spraying windex into our mouths.

  

I'd be uncomfortable with the Clorox and Windex ones, simply because I'm just not really comfortable with it no matter how "clean" you feel like the bottle is...it still contained heavy duty chemicals unfit for human consumption, so I couldn't greenlight those examples. However, the vanilla pudding in the mayo jar is totally workable. Let's discuss how to approach it and get the most out of the idea. I'm not convinced that it needs to be a hidden camera piece at all necessarily, could just be a video about some friends who LOVE mayo, and the plot could include some ridiculous scenes of eating "mayo" in hideous amounts. But again, we can talk it out to see what might work best. But I love the idea, so long as we stick to the mayo example.

PITCH: 10

"Mario Kart to the Parking Lot." A group of four is starting in four separate classrooms, Wii Mario Kart Wheels in hand, is ready to go before the bell rings at the end of the day. The Mario Kart cloud that begins each race makes it's noise and we are off. We do split screen into 4 cubes, like it is in the game. Everyone wants to get to the parking lot first, hence why we are throwing bananas at eachother, and mushrooms are giving us speed boosts. The winning theme song begins to play as the first person reaches their car. All the others over exaggeratingly cry.

For February 13. "Not-My-Hands Makeup Tutorial." This would be an out of school project because the end effects would be quite horrendous. So someone sits in a chair, but their hands are behind their back while there is a person sitting right behind them with their hands acting as if they are the front person's hands. The person in back puts makeup on the person in front while the front person pretends like it is a legit tutorial. Since the back person cannot see the front person's face, the end result will be ridiculous: lipstick all over the nose, mascara smeared above the eyelids, etc. The key to this working is for the front person to try to keep a straight face and act like they are actually controlling the hands.

rmackinnon wrote:

"Mario Kart to the Parking Lot." A group of four is starting in four separate classrooms, Wii Mario Kart Wheels in hand, is ready to go before the bell rings at the end of the day. The Mario Kart cloud that begins each race makes it's noise and we are off. We do split screen into 4 cubes, like it is in the game. Everyone wants to get to the parking lot first, hence why we are throwing bananas at eachother, and mushrooms are giving us speed boosts. The winning theme song begins to play as the first person reaches their car. All the others over exaggeratingly cry.

Seems like it could be fun, but I've had people bring the Mario Kart concept up in the past, and several have tried to film it, but it seems like a difficult bit to film from a pragmatic/practical standpoint. I have no familiarity with the game, but I just know that everyone who has tried to make a PSA on it has abandoned it in frustration. That's not to say that it's impossible to do or not worth pursuing, just that you'll need to think ahead and plan it out well to avoid the same fate others have had with the endeavor.

PITCH: 9

rmackinnon wrote:

For February 13. "Not-My-Hands Makeup Tutorial." This would be an out of school project because the end effects would be quite horrendous. So someone sits in a chair, but their hands are behind their back while there is a person sitting right behind them with their hands acting as if they are the front person's hands. The person in back puts makeup on the person in front while the front person pretends like it is a legit tutorial. Since the back person cannot see the front person's face, the end result will be ridiculous: lipstick all over the nose, mascara smeared above the eyelids, etc. The key to this working is for the front person to try to keep a straight face and act like they are actually controlling the hands.

  

Hilarious if it's done well. I'm all for it if you're all-in on it, which I'd expect you to be, knowing your character (which I mean as a total compliment). I'd love to see this one come together. Try to make it happen!

PITCH: 10

"Natural Beauty Tips." Prom is right around the corner and you really want to look your best. Lucky for you, we are here to show you some amazing (..or maybe not so amazing) hidden techniques on how to look outstanding! The PSA begins as looking like a legit how-to on how to clear skin or do your hair all nice, but the audience soon realizes that the spokesperson does not know what she's talking about. "To get that natural face glow, you really wanna mash up these avocados *mash avocados* and put a hint of cayenne pepper in, and smear it all over your face *spokesperson demonstrates, making sure even coat is on face*". "If you don't have this, a great alternative would be warm whale milk, works just as well." The purpose is to make the spokesperson look like a fool with various items "beautifying" her face and hair.

rmackinnon wrote:

2/24

"Natural Beauty Tips." Prom is right around the corner and you really want to look your best. Lucky for you, we are here to show you some amazing (..or maybe not so amazing) hidden techniques on how to look outstanding! The PSA begins as looking like a legit how-to on how to clear skin or do your hair all nice, but the audience soon realizes that the spokesperson does not know what she's talking about. "To get that natural face glow, you really wanna mash up these avocados *mash avocados* and put a hint of cayenne pepper in, and smear it all over your face *spokesperson demonstrates, making sure even coat is on face*". "If you don't have this, a great alternative would be warm whale milk, works just as well." The purpose is to make the spokesperson look like a fool with various items "beautifying" her face and hair.

Solid potential, definitely something that needs a solid script in place to make for an efficient, effective filming session. But it could absolutely be funny, although if I was ranking your pitches I'd probably put it on the back end of the list (although it's worth noting that it would be at the top end of most people's lists).

PITCH: 10

FYI you are one class ahead, because we didn't have class on Feb 5th. I've marked your dates accordingly. The next pitch you enter will be for Wednesday February 26th.

Two people are standing at a locker, just having an every day school conversation. In the middle of the conversation, the swear noise that you hear in shows or movies beeps really loud and both people look scared and are looking around. The person that was talking says "Wait but I didn't even swe-" and it beeps again in the middle of the sentence. They are looking around then they look at the camera and say something how they aren't even swearing but the beep keeps interrupting them. Or if the beep would be inappropriate for school since it implies a swear, there can just be an interrupting cow noise out of no where.
"So what was the math hom-"
*mooooooooooooooooooooo*
"...."

This is a "good-looks" promotional PSA on how the cafeteria has evolved into more healthy choices. We take a look into the calorie content of some of the new lunches (like the smoothie and pretzel) and compare it to the old lunches. We interview some of the lunch ladies to see their take on how they like the change. We can also compare how cookie sizes have changed or how they taste different, and though everyone gets angry, they still taste pretty darn good. This PSA is to make the student body aware of the changes for a better, healthier lifestyle invoked in this school in the past couple years.

rmackinnon wrote:

Two people are standing at a locker, just having an every day school conversation. In the middle of the conversation, the swear noise that you hear in shows or movies beeps really loud and both people look scared and are looking around. The person that was talking says "Wait but I didn't even swe-" and it beeps again in the middle of the sentence. They are looking around then they look at the camera and say something how they aren't even swearing but the beep keeps interrupting them. Or if the beep would be inappropriate for school since it implies a swear, there can just be an interrupting cow noise out of no where.
"So what was the math hom-"
*mooooooooooooooooooooo*
"...."

  

The bleep noise can be fine for this sort of bit. There's very funny potential, but we need to work out the details. But generally it shapes up as a very filmable piece with strong potential if we plan it out properly.

PITCH: 10

rmackinnon wrote:

This is a "good-looks" promotional PSA on how the cafeteria has evolved into more healthy choices. We take a look into the calorie content of some of the new lunches (like the smoothie and pretzel) and compare it to the old lunches. We interview some of the lunch ladies to see their take on how they like the change. We can also compare how cookie sizes have changed or how they taste different, and though everyone gets angry, they still taste pretty darn good. This PSA is to make the student body aware of the changes for a better, healthier lifestyle invoked in this school in the past couple years.

This is an excellent idea and something that could absolutely be a good look for us to produce. I'm all for it.   

PITCH: 10

I always seem to catch myself staring off into open air during my silent study blocks, thinking about the strangest things, like if giant squirrels existed, or if spaghetti was pink instead of yellow. Therefore I assume others must do the same. It's either that or I have officially lost it, my friends. This PSA is four or five of us sitting there and it appears as though each one of us is doing our homework. Someone is reading Huck Finn, someone has a Calculus book, someone has a thermometer and a beaker, etc. However, upon closer examination, the camera zooms into each person's face and their thought stream is recorded over as they are thinking. Instead of math or science or English thoughts, they are the strangest thoughts this side of Kentucky. Then the bell rings and someone thinks to them self "well *insert name here*, you have successfully wasted another block thinking about mindless nonsense."

"Gym Grunts." So I was on the elliptical today minding my own business, mind you, and all I kept hearing were the ungodly grunts coming from behind me as the high school boys lifted weights. Oh guys, I didn't realize you were working out, could you please grunt a little louder when you lift that weight?? Then when your done with it, please I'm begging you, throw the metal weight right onto the hard floor so it makes that cringe-worthy metal-on-surface clang. This PSA idea is an over the top depiction of what it is like going to the gym. People huffing and coughing on treadmills, people throwing weights, people grunting as they lift, etc. It must be done in an over the top way though; everything is exaggerated.

Me and Sarah both have a crush on the same person, but we don't know that the other one does. I go to Katherine for advise and Sarah goes to Tyna for advise. Both Katherine and Tyna say the same thing: "Just laugh at his jokes, guys love when they think they are funny." So our "crush" is sitting at a table as me and Sarah both ironically come over and sit down at the same time. The camera zooms in on Katherine watching from afar eagerly, and then pans over to Tyna on the other side of the room doing the same thing. The crush says hi and we both nervously laugh. He starts talking about math homework and we laugh a little harder. He talks about walking his dog and me and Sarah's laughter escalates to an obnoxious level. We look at each other and laugh as loud as we can with an angry face on. The crush slowly gets up and inches away, absolutely terrified. The PSA ends with "This is Uncomfortable."

rmackinnon wrote:

I always seem to catch myself staring off into open air during my silent study blocks, thinking about the strangest things, like if giant squirrels existed, or if spaghetti was pink instead of yellow. Therefore I assume others must do the same. It's either that or I have officially lost it, my friends. (editor's note: It's possible. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]  But we still love you.)

This PSA is four or five of us sitting there and it appears as though each one of us is doing our homework. Someone is reading Huck Finn, someone has a Calculus book, someone has a thermometer and a beaker, etc. However, upon closer examination, the camera zooms into each person's face and their thought stream is recorded over as they are thinking. Instead of math or science or English thoughts, they are the strangest thoughts this side of Kentucky. Then the bell rings and someone thinks to them self "well *insert name here*, you have successfully wasted another block thinking about mindless nonsense."

We did a very fun variation on this before. Remind me to find it on the server; it's different, but still could be a good reference point. I love the idea though. Excellent detail (and funny background context) in this pitch!

PITCH: 10