Rachael MacKinnon pitch thread

"MHS Welcome Committee." A group of us stands at the front door and just welcomes everyone that comes in. "YAY ITS A WHOLE NEW DAY OF SCHOOL LETS GET GOING." Each person that walks in is like "what the heck are these people talking about." Each new person that walks in is welcome with a whole new bunch of cheers and we are holding signs. We say stuff that you would say on the side line like "come on! Stay with it! You got this! Keep at it!"

So it's track season now, and I think that calls for a track promo. Katherine and I were discussing possible promo ideas and how we could film them. Maybe Katherine and I could be the "characters" with the worst talent on the team. We come out to practice and we are wearing jeans and the coach (maybe jack shaw) will be like "and why in lords tarnation are you wearing jeans to a track practice??"
Then when we are running our workout we can be like gasping for air after jogging the first 50m and ask someone who just lapped us how many more meters there are.
"Ah just about 350 left."
Then jack yells across "hey ladies in the back, let's pick up the pace here"
Our end text can be "break out the spikes, it's track season"

Thank you MHS parking lot.... For being a solid 6-minutes-of-speed-walking-distance away... Because there's nothing like a little morning exercise in 8 degree weather to brighten my morning.

rmackinnon wrote:

"Baby it's Cold Outside." Sarah and I are singing the popular Christmas jingle "baby it's cold outside" but it's a remix. I'm singing the guy part with Sarah responding as he has to do homework and get home to start a project.
S- I really can't stay
R- Sarah it's cold outside
S- *talking not singing for rest of song* no seriously I have to get home and do homework
R- but Sarah it's cold outside
S- no this has been great but let go of my arm
R- look out the window at that... Snow?
S- I also have a test tomorrow, LET GO
R- mind if I move in..
S- why are you hugging me
R- what's the sense in hurting my pride

And at the part where it says "say what's in this drink" Sarah is holding a juice box instead.

DEC 1

High ceiling, low floor. Worth a shot though for sure.

PITCH: 10

rmackinnon wrote:

"Sounds Like a Lotta Hooplah." Sarah and I are discussing the newest and hippest songs of 2014.. but there's a catch. We don't really know all the words because there is a lot of techno in them.
S- Hey you know that cool new song?
R- Which one?
S- The one that's like: Is it worth it, Lemme work in, wa wa dada dada ye yeee..
R- Um yeah.. i guess that kinda sounds familiar.. but have you heard the other one with Jay-Z and beyonce that's like "NEWWW YORRRRK! da da da da weeee wa wawaaaaaaa baaah!!!!"


And so on and so forth.

DEC 3

If script is sharp you'll potentially have a strong bit, but I think it's important to hammer out all your details with this ahead of time.

PITCH: 10

rmackinnon wrote:

"MHS Welcome Committee." A group of us stands at the front door and just welcomes everyone that comes in. "YAY ITS A WHOLE NEW DAY OF SCHOOL LETS GET GOING." Each person that walks in is like "what the heck are these people talking about." Each new person that walks in is welcome with a whole new bunch of cheers and we are holding signs. We say stuff that you would say on the side line like "come on! Stay with it! You got this! Keep at it!"

DEC 5

I like the thought and where it's coming from, but I don't see this one working and/or going over as intended with our audience.

PITCH: 9

rmackinnon wrote:

So it's track season now, and I think that calls for a track promo. Katherine and I were discussing possible promo ideas and how we could film them. Maybe Katherine and I could be the "characters" with the worst talent on the team. We come out to practice and we are wearing jeans and the coach (maybe jack shaw) will be like "and why in lords tarnation are you wearing jeans to a track practice??"
Then when we are running our workout we can be like gasping for air after jogging the first 50m and ask someone who just lapped us how many more meters there are.
"Ah just about 350 left."
Then jack yells across "hey ladies in the back, let's pick up the pace here"
Our end text can be "break out the spikes, it's track season"

DEC 9

I like the idea of the track promo. What can we do to raise the ceiling on this a little bit? Feels lower than it needs to be, worth discussing further.

PITCH: 9

rmackinnon wrote:

Thank you MHS parking lot.... For being a solid 6-minutes-of-speed-walking-distance away... Because there's nothing like a little morning exercise in 8 degree weather to brighten my morning.

DEC 11

The second part of the punchline is key here. That's the sort of thing that makes the bit work.

PITCH: 10

I would like to do a good looks PSA for Marshfield music. We are going to Dana Farber and Beth Israel today and I would love to bring a camera and interview some people in the chorus and orchestra about how doing this has left an impact on them. I can get some shots of us singing in the lobby and people walking by and watching. Obviously I won't be filming the patients, but I would just like some viewers to get an outside perspective of what it is that we do.

rmackinnon wrote:

I would like to do a good looks PSA for Marshfield music. We are going to Dana Farber and Beth Israel today and I would love to bring a camera and interview some people in the chorus and orchestra about how doing this has left an impact on them. I can get some shots of us singing in the lobby and people walking by and watching. Obviously I won't be filming the patients, but I would just like some viewers to get an outside perspective of what it is that we do.

DEC 15

I'm all for it. Do this.

PITCH: 10

"Mistletoe in the Air." So I've wanted to do an awkward field report for the longest time, because quite frankly I am a straight-up awkward person. And I would love to put that in character format. For a while now. Then I had a brain blast. And I hope you like this idea. So I have a headband that has a mistletoe that juts out from the top but it can bend down next to my ears to remain hidden. I go around and ask people some of their favorite Christmas memories or say all the reindeer or something like that to get them thinking about something Chrismasy. Then bam. The mistletoe appears out of the top of my headband. I turn super awkward. "Ope... What's... What's uh. That? That looks like a mistletoe if you know what I'm saying." Then just kinda stand there and smile. And obviously no one is gonna be like "OH YEAH LETS KISS ON MSB" so the reaction will be genuine, awkward, and classic.

Once people start committing to schools, it would be cool to make a slideshow or a video of everyone holding their acceptance letters and something from their school. I'm thinking we can play "On Top of the World" in the background. It will be a simple-looking PSA but everyone loves to know where their peers will be spending the next 4 years of their lives. Happy happy.

Thank you Yankee Swaps.... For showing me that the season of giving is all about a passive aggressive brawl over one gift.

"This Isn't Brain Surgery." Sarah and I are standing at the island in the center of the computer room. We are wearing surgeon masks (my mom is a nurse, she could hook us up) and I look at Sarah. I say "are you ready to do this?" Sarah takes a deep breath, nods, and we both put on those gloves. I say "scalpel" and Sarah hands me a pencil. I say "ooh. Doctor Hastry. This will be harder than expected." The camera does an over the shoulder over what we are "operating" on. It is math homework. The worksheet has a single line where I did the "cut." It can be something like a derivative problem. The end text can be something like "Keep Calm and Do Your Homework. We're halfway through."

I decide that I'll write Sarah a valentines day card because she was just talking to me and she seemed to be feeling down. I cut out a heart in red paper and tell her that I love her and she's a wonderful person!!! I slip it into her backpack... But there's a catch... It's not her backpack. It's Jack's!! Jack gets a hold of it and starts reading it! He mouth "oh my god!" And then rests it on the table. Next jake walks up and finds it lying there. He reads it and has a similar reaction. He runs outside with it and the wind blows it out of his hand. We get a slow motion shot of it soaring through the air. Mike catches it and reads it. And so on and so forth. It gets to the point where pretty much 10 people have read it, none of which are Sarah. And it's awko-taco.

Thank you yellow lights... For turning every streetlight into a moment of "should I totally gun it or slam on the brakes?"

"The SNO Jungle." So once one year asked a guy to senior night out last week, the flood gates just literally opened up. I mean, this has turned into the ecosystem of a jungle. Girls are on the prowl for a date and everyone wants to ask someone now. So we start off (a group of girls) sitting in a circle having a civil conversation then someone mentions how the initial asker has already asked... Everyone pauses... Looks about the room in distrust... Then BAM! Wild jungle music starts playing and we are all on the prowl. We are growling and claiming the boys we are gonna ask. For example, Kat and Sarah both see Will and they are stalking him from behind the wall. Then they go into full pounce mode and fight right in front of him. Kat ends up beating Sarah to Will and drags him away. To reiterate the jungle theme, Sarah can "lick her paw" in disgust and walk away. The end text will be "SNO is in the Air, It's a Jungle Out There."

I did the lyrics for our coffee rap:
MLous, Dunkies, Starbucks x 4
Where I blow all my bucks,
In the Starbucks line man it's so long,
I needa venti hot mocha by the end of this song,
I needa double ristretto venti half soy
Nonfat decaf organic chocolate brownie iced,
Vanilla double shot gingerbread frappucino
Extra hot with foam whipped cream upside down
Double blended one sweet n' low and one nutrasweet
And don't forget, do for- don't forget that ice!
*chorus*
If I'm late to school,
It's all cool,
Hold up Hun,
I hide the java, sneak past howerton,
This godforsaken walk is a mile, takes a while,
So cold and not nice, turns my hot to iced,
I see my girls and I nod "wassup,"
Ow! My hand is freezing, didn't get a hot cup,
Still have my PSL by the end of the day,
Can't you see that PSLs are bae?
By the way did I say
That this espresso,
Makes me feel wicked hyper so here we go:
So today I like took a wicked hard math test and I'm pretty sure I took the derivative of the wrong function oh oh oh oh oh oh SIEVE! Huh!
*chorus*
MLous flava of the month,
They be reppin it,
Put some extra sugar
Don't forget that whip,
Blueberry, Twix, Turtle, Minty-Lou,
You could bathe in it
I don't care whatcha do,
Anyway ya take it, it's gonna be great,
I've decided this Starbucks line's worth the wait,
If I were to give this a rate outta ten,
I'd give it a solid e-lev-en,
Uh oh I feel it coming on,
This coffee crash, I'm already halfway gone,
Looks like a needa start, drinkin some Jo,
I've already had 8 cups today doe!
*chorus*
Broskis we'll catch ya on the flip,
And remember:
Don't be shy!
Here have a sip!!!

This PSA involves the use of the small studio in MCTV, and if it works out, I can ask Jon if we could use it for a couple minutes. So it starts off with Sarah and I at the desk, and Sarah is getting fed up with how excruciatingly painful my jokes are today. Everytime I try to crack a joke, Sarah cringes. Finally, she calls you (Shack) to the desk and explains that maybe I should do some time in solitary confinement where all the washed up anchors go. I go in there and it looks very mysterious to everyone watching because obviously they haven't seen this studio before. I'm saying "Good morning Marshfield" in a sing-song voice, and "Be kind, be fearless, be happy" in a jittery mumble. Finally, we have a SpongeBob panel come up with "three hours later" and Sarah slides a V8 into the room. The PSA suddenly shifts into a random advertisement for a PSA. Sarah and I do an awkward jingle of "They look gross but they make ya kinda funny!" The rest is a slow-motion montage of Sarah and I back in harmonious agreement.

Yeah that PSA took a turn.

Thank you Twitter... For being so economically great. Being an online diary, like you are, really eliminates all the paper waste we used in our normal diaries before getting a twitter account.

rmackinnon wrote:

"Mistletoe in the Air." So I've wanted to do an awkward field report for the longest time, because quite frankly I am a straight-up awkward person. And I would love to put that in character format. For a while now. Then I had a brain blast. And I hope you like this idea. So I have a headband that has a mistletoe that juts out from the top but it can bend down next to my ears to remain hidden. I go around and ask people some of their favorite Christmas memories or say all the reindeer or something like that to get them thinking about something Chrismasy. Then bam. The mistletoe appears out of the top of my headband. I turn super awkward. "Ope... What's... What's uh. That? That looks like a mistletoe if you know what I'm saying." Then just kinda stand there and smile. And obviously no one is gonna be like "OH YEAH LETS KISS ON MSB" so the reaction will be genuine, awkward, and classic.

D17

Turned out great.

10

rmackinnon wrote:

Once people start committing to schools, it would be cool to make a slideshow or a video of everyone holding their acceptance letters and something from their school. I'm thinking we can play "On Top of the World" in the background. It will be a simple-looking PSA but everyone loves to know where their peers will be spending the next 4 years of their lives. Happy happy.

D19

I love it, let's do this.

10

rmackinnon wrote:

Thank you Yankee Swaps.... For showing me that the season of giving is all about a passive aggressive brawl over one gift.

D23

Wish we didn't miss the window here, as this is a great one.

10

rmackinnon wrote:

"This Isn't Brain Surgery." Sarah and I are standing at the island in the center of the computer room. We are wearing surgeon masks (my mom is a nurse, she could hook us up) and I look at Sarah. I say "are you ready to do this?" Sarah takes a deep breath, nods, and we both put on those gloves. I say "scalpel" and Sarah hands me a pencil. I say "ooh. Doctor Hastry. This will be harder than expected." The camera does an over the shoulder over what we are "operating" on. It is math homework. The worksheet has a single line where I did the "cut." It can be something like a derivative problem. The end text can be something like "Keep Calm and Do Your Homework. We're halfway through."

J6

I like the direction/potential a ton here, but I think the pitch/plan still needs some working out of some details to get it right. But I could see this turning into a strong final product.

10

rmackinnon wrote:

I decide that I'll write Sarah a valentines day card because she was just talking to me and she seemed to be feeling down. I cut out a heart in red paper and tell her that I love her and she's a wonderful person!!! I slip it into her backpack... But there's a catch... It's not her backpack. It's Jack's!! Jack gets a hold of it and starts reading it! He mouth "oh my god!" And then rests it on the table. Next jake walks up and finds it lying there. He reads it and has a similar reaction. He runs outside with it and the wind blows it out of his hand. We get a slow motion shot of it soaring through the air. Mike catches it and reads it. And so on and so forth. It gets to the point where pretty much 10 people have read it, none of which are Sarah. And it's awko-taco.

J8

If you can execute this right, it has a very high ceiling.

10