When we started Slap the Dickens we felt it had great potential for being, (for lack of a better term), hilarious. We hoped that we could get people involved, but we also knew we would be asking quite a bit. After all, we were asking someone to allow themselves to be slapped as they attempted to tell what could be a lengthy story.
For the first episode Todd and I decided to put ourselves "in the chair", along with two good friends, Kyle and Caleb. The first episode quickly became the most popular video on our channel and we got excited to make another.
Once we decided on a story for the second episode we quickly went into casting. We decided it would be fun to keep two guys from the first episode and introduce two new guys on top of it. We also started to see Todd develop a personality/character behind the chair as, "the slapper", so we decided to leave him there since he was so blasted funny. I don't think we could have been happier about the two new guys we got for the next episode.
Jordan and Karl were absolutely hilarious in completely different ways. Between them, as well as Kyle and Caleb graciously returning to the chair, we had the makings for a great episode. Caleb was particularly hilarious as he noticed that Todd had amped up the power behind the slaps for this episode.
Although we've only been playing around with the Slap the Dickens series for a couple of episodes now, it's already been a journey. The first episode we had to pull in some very loyal friends who we knew would be willing to get slapped. The next episode we began to see some people come out of the wood-works and actually volunteer themselves for the job, (although there was still a fair amount of hesitation). After we released the 2nd episode we had near daily offers from a vast variety of people who wanted to be in the next episode.
It's so funny to me that people have become so willing to put themselves in a chair and get slapped around. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that they are willing. We've had so many offers now that it's become less of people offering to do it, and more of people asking to do it. We LOVE that people are excited about it, and that people can see how much fun it really is.
What we never really expected, was that girls would come to us and want to do this. I can honestly say that girls being in Slap the Dickens never really crossed our minds. However it didn't take long for a number of women to come to us and offer to be in an episode. This was really surprising to us and we didn't know what to do. We wanted them to have the opportunity but didn't want to actually slap girls. Then it dawned upon us: Do a girls version of Slap the Dickens where girls get to slap girls.
It was such a simple answer but we knew we would have to do it right. It would take the right set of girls who were just really able to have a good time telling a story and smacking each other. We weren't quite sure what to expect to be honest, but we were excited to try it.
The first girl to go was Deyana. For anyone who really follows our channel in depth, they'll recognize Deyana from the first of what we hope to be many episodes, of the Copper St. John Papers. Click here to watch the Copper St. John Papers.
Deyana got to her first word VERY early in the story, and naturally, she got a polite little slap from our good friend Jessica. Dey's reaction was priceless. She burst into a shout of laughter mixed with shock. She even said, "I guess I somehow forgot I was going to be slapped." It was outrageously funny. Todd, Jeremy, and I looked at each other and each of us had a grin. It seemed as though each of us was thinking, "this is going to be comedy gold."
So with all of this in mind, here are some behind the scene shots of the Slap the Dickens, Episode 3, shoot. What people don't realize is that if you think it's funny to watch it on YouTube, it's even funnier in person. This first shot is Dey reacting to a slap with a reaction very similar to that of her first slap in the story.
This next shot is one of the few where we get to see the Slapper behind the chair. Just as in the first episode Todd got slapped by Caleb, Dey went first and allowed herself to be slapped by Jessica.
The next girl to go was McCall. Watching McCall tell this story, (which we are purposefully not announcing yet, although the clues are incredibly obvious), was one of the highlights of my day. As McCall told the story it really hit me how different men and women are, (which, of course, I've known since childhood). After having just finished our second guy episode of Slap the Dickens however, the contrast between it and this new episode were like night and day. These girls told stories and reacted in ways that the guys never would have even thought of.
One of the things I love about Slap the Dickens is how much fun everyone has doing it. Sometimes fim-making requires a lot of patience. It takes time to set up the shot and get exactly what you were originally hoping for. Slap the Dickens is fun because it's easy to set up, it only takes as long as it takes for everyone to tell their story, and there are a ton of laughs in the process. While we try to keep it quiet on set so we don't miss any classic one-liners, sometimes it's just too hard to restrain ourselves.
The last two girls to go were Antonia and Jessica. The two of them were such different personalities from the first two girls and it really provided for some huge laughs. Whenever I talk to anyone who was at this shoot two days ago the one comment I hear from everyone is, "I can't wait to see it." Honestly, neither can I.
So, be looking for the next Slap the Dickens in about two weeks. Before then we also hope to release the long awaited, third episode of Poppyseed Lane. (We'll post updates and possibly some pictures for it in the days to come.) Stay tuned for now and we'll keep posting updates.
-Cameron-
