OVERALL:
Having done many numerous seasons of Strange Bedfellows: U.S. Federal Edition, we really do enjoy the plot twist of having the Speaker of the House give a rebuttal speech to the President's, even though this isn't the State of the Union. In previous seasons of the show, we have never done that, even with Speaker Pelosi! So, this is a great change of events that we think fans of the show would appreciate.
That being said, we do feel that we can bring out more from the speech. With some edits, bites and cues, we feel that we can maximize Boehner's speech for comedy and drama.
SPECIFICS:
00:06 Please make sure to adjust the color levels during on-line. It could be the low-res copy we have, but the Speaker's skin tone looks a few shades off of "Oompa-Loompa." Please bring this to the same color-correction lab that does Jersey Shore.
00:14 Keep it dry until here, then start patriotic music under Boehner's story of his small business.
00:38 Put a dramatic sting after "Those days are over!"
00:49 Can we put in a flashback from the State of the Union where the President asked for an increase in the debt ceiling? Please use the blue filter on this. Also, I know you said we didn't have Congress saying "Not so fast, Mr. President!" on camera a few times before. Please double-check to see if this is true; it would give the speech a better impact if we could see the Speaker (or even Majority Leader Cantor) say it on camera.
01:02 Shift to a dark, mysterious music cue after he says "And here's what we got for that spending binge." Right now, it's playing flat and I'm losing interest.
01:10 Please put in a comedic sting on "fodder for late night comedians." That way, people will know it's supposed to be funny.
01:34 - 01:52 Pull up this section; it's repetitive to what the Speaker was saying in the previous scene. I know we've done a lot of repetitive bites in other seasons, but this is too much even for us.
02:00 Just thinking out loud here, but should we change up our lower thirds? The chyrons for the past 18 seasons have changed a bit. Maybe something new? Let's discuss.
02:09 I know the Speaker here explains what the "Cut, Cap and Balance" Act will do, but I'm worried it won't be clear enough for our audience. Please do a clarity pass on this; maybe a funnier button?
02:14 When the Speaker starts talking about his sincere efforts to communicate with the President, please shift the music to a more heart-felt, sincere tone. Maybe the composer can do a sound-alike of The Fray's "How To Save A Life"? We do have some money in the budget for that. Please double check.
02:39 We've been staying on the same kind of shot for a long time now; do we have a wide shot of this? I'd love to know the geography of the room we're in.
02:54 Can we have the Speaker talk about how the closure of tax loopholes will kill jobs? Not a huge note.
03:03 Can we see shots of the Speaker's children when he references them? How can the audience know he has children unless we see them? Please make sure they have signed releases.
03:11 Do we have another version of the Speaker saying "He wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today"? He's been more emotional for us before -- remember the 60 Minutes Scene? -- but here's he's so flat and dull. Please do a comedy pass.
03:34 The Speaker here is referencing a bill that's going to pass later on in the week. Do we have that? If not, there will need to be a significant restructure of this scene.
04:10 Add cymbal scrape after "The Constitution."
04:19 Instead of the Speaker talking about how the politicians shouldn't focus on trying to get re-elected, could you have him say something along the lines of "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore?" That would be great.
04:32ish I feel like we're on the same shot for a long time here. Can we vary things up a bit? Maybe a slow push-in would be good. Be creative.
04:47 Add sad trombone effect after "running at full capacity".
04:55 Add triumphant music under the portion where he's talking about breaking the grip of debt. Should be an awe-inspiring, a-ha! moment.
05:10 End with a big swell of patriotic music, then use the new graphics of the donkey and elephant in the boxing ring.
Thank you! Please call to discuss!
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