Outnumbered...

I don't know if anyone has ever seen outnumbered, but it's in to the second series now. It's basically about an ordinary family, with three children, the 'fibber and anarchist', 'the vegetable hater and awkward questioner' and lastly the 'boy about to leave his childhood behind'. It's about what actually happens in life. Those embarrassing questions small kids ask, and the 'competition' with the 'perfect' family next door! I was reading an article on it in the Times culture section and found it really interesting! It was all about the filming and the script and i thought it relevant as we are learning about British films with Mrs Francis.

How did they end up with such a brilliant script? Well, seven years ago, Andy Hamilton was making a film and casted his daughter. Only to find many problems, such as the seven year old not being able to deliver her lines convincingly due to the fact she tended to stand still, when in fact children never stand still and are always playing with something! This mixed with the fact that when delivering the lines she would stand with her eyes fixed on the adult when in fact the adult is the last thing she would actually be looking at made Hamilton discuss the problem with actor Guy Jenkins. The conclusion was to deny the children the script, and thus produced Outnumbered!

Jake, 12, is the only child who gets to see the script because he is treated more or less as an adult. But the two younger ones, Karen and Ben are 'denied access to the script' Guy Jenkins whispers in Karen's ear and Hamilton whispers in Ben's' a 'mission statement' which the adults are denied from hearing, and have only their script! Therefore, everything is constructed for the unexpected - the children's striking and bizarre views. Two or three takes are recorded in the allotted time of the same scene, as no one knows in advance of the outcome of the scene.

The whole production is shot with two handheld cameras to make it as flexible as possible and the lighting is uniformly so the children can move as freely as desired without plunging into shadows. Also it allows for the children to come out with a 'brilliant line or funny diversion'. The parents are off screen here, and while the children are on their break, the adults have to shoot material to put the children in context.

Outnumbered portrays a real image of British humour, and doesn't need a 'series of disconnected gags or smart lines' to make it funny! The perfect thing for a Saturday night in!


For the whole article, click on the link bellow!!!


http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5247325.ece