Reality Blows: 11 Years Later (PART ONE)
- Keziah Hyde Media
- Sep 30
- 8 min read
Article by Chris Hyde
In 2014 I was in the midst of a creative drought. With limited resources I decided to film a sketch only featuring myself. I came up with an idea of a man and his clone sat around, bored and thinking of something to do. It mirrored my own situation and allowed me to project my frustrations out onto characters. The sketch was received well and so it inspired me to keep exploring this idea and developing my craft as an aspiring filmmaker.
What eventually became a franchise, started out as a minute long sketch.
Now eleven years later, and two years after the release of the latest short film Keep Yourself Alive. I felt it was important to mark the occasion by discussing the franchise, how it came to be, the struggles to continue and where it might be heading next.
Let's first go back to the beginning, where we first met our heroes. Cats (2014) was inspired
by Thomas TomSka Ridgewell. I'm not ashamed to say that his style of comedy has always been something I have been a fan of.
So I decided to use his 2011 sketch Holy Shit Cats as inspiration for this video. The sketch follows Christopher and Clone Chris who are at home and bored on a rainy day. Clone Chris suggests some ideas of what Christopher could do to pass the time and eventually suggests he should make a video about cats. Christopher agrees and what proceeds is a trailer for his short film Cataclysmic Disaster.
While I do enjoy this video on a rewatch, it's clear that it definitely was heavily inspired by TomSka's sketch. For a first attempt to demonstrate the concept of Christopher and Clone Chris I think it works. It's funny, short and to the point.
One thing to note is the camera angles. I had recently got a DSLR camera for my birthday to help with my photography course at college. I had not used a proper camera previously and as a result the shots were awfully framed.
But the interesting thing is the use of The Boat That Rocked as the stand in DVD. It was going to be a copy of my favourite film of all time The Dark Knight as I wanted Clone Chris to go off tangent explaining how it is the greatest film of all time but I couldn't find the DVD at the time. So instead I picked The Boat That Rocked, a film I had watched recently and felt good enough to include.
I have never thought about actually making Cataclysmic Disaster as an official short film but then again I haven't ruled it out. Who knows what may happen in the future?
Return of The Space Cats (2014)
After the positive reception of Cats I decided to do a sequel, in two parts...
It was unnecessary upon reflection as the two parts eventually were combined into one during the restoration.
This was the first short film to feature not just two but three of me. Introducing Meta Kris was an interesting way to spark the jump from sketch to short film and as a result it achieved a combined view count of 275, at that time becoming one of my most popular videos.
The short film centers around Christopher and Clone Chris who are playing a board game. Clone Chris believes they are playing Cluedo when actually they are playing a game of Chess.
Then Meta Kris bursts into the living room threatening our heroes with death. Our heroes escape and hatch a plan to try and stop Meta Kris and the incoming invasion of Space Cats.
All in all I prefer this installment to Cats, it has a lot more going on storywise, I think the jokes are stronger and the framing of shots aren't as jarring.
"Enough of the time wasting, time to waste you two" is still one of the best lines I have ever written in a story.
I also introduced more science fiction elements like parallel universes and spaceships, this time the inspiration came from TV shows I watched growing up such as Red Dwarf and Doctor Who.
The opening to part two was actually inspired by the series Torchwood: Children of Earth where Eve Myles' character Gwen is recording a video about how the Doctor never always shows up when you need him.
The video also features the first death of a major character. In this universe (#201) Meta Kris kills Christopher and then immediately deals with the repercussions of the decision.
The original ending had the song "Spirit in The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum but unfortunately I was unable to due to copyright which is understandable but no less depressing. Although the song picked for the restoration actually worked better so there was no real harm done.
After completing this video, I felt it necessary to move on with the project, and like my hair I made a change to go more experimental with the concept.
This is when The Armageddon Trilogy was born.
THE ARMAGEDDON TRILOGY
Part One: ZOMBIES
Before I dive into the third entry of the Reality Blows franchise I thought it best to highlight where the title The Armageddon Trilogy came from. It was originally a title of a different project I was writing at the time where I wanted to make a trilogy of short films all set within three days of the end of the world. This would never go further than an idea but the title stuck. But what could I do with such a concept? That's when it hit me. Three monsters, three videos. The first being....
College of The Dead (2014)
College of The Dead (2014) was the first part of the Armageddon Trilogy. It featured our hero Christopher at his residential college coming back to his room only to discover that Clone Chris has arrived.
Then what follows is a hilarious run around the campus with "zombies" trying to attack Christopher and Clone Chris. That is until a stoner comes into frame and admits that the people chasing our heroes are actually just very high.
This was originally inspired by the likes of Edgar Wright and the late great George A. Romero and with the coining of the title College of The Dead. As no one had done it previously I felt it was perfect for my film.
This was also the first film to feature a shot with both characters in the same frame at the same time. With the advancement of using college computers I was able to learn better editing techniques and with help from my tutor Ian Silvester, not only was I able to pull off the shot I had in my head since starting the adventures of Christopher and Clone Chris but also using a green screen for the big explosion set piece that would feature in WANTED (2015).
Also I love the line "come at me you zombitches". It was a line ad-libbed at the time and worked so well in the final cut that it has stayed as one of the best moments from the franchise.
Count Christopher (or) The Legend of Count Christopher (2014)
After releasing College of The Dead it was time to work on the next installment to the trilogy. This time I wanted to focus on vampires, or one at least. This entry was inspired by films such as Fright Night (1985), Nosferatu (1922), and the Universal films featuring Bela Lugosi.
Clone Chris recounts the story of Count Christopher arriving to pay Christopher a visit. But what happens next is a full on fright fest as both Christopher and Clone Chris do what they can to escape being bitten.
It was rushed to say the least. A concept barely thought out but still strong comedy wise. Jokes such as Clone Chris using his "womanly ways" to disract the Count was a particular highlight. A reference to a now removed Jack and Dean video, two YouTubers who also made sketches.
But upon reflection I can't help but feel it could've been a lot better. With a lack of any biting and an overly simplistic ending it doesn't deserve high praise but it was still a lot of fun to film.
This also introduced the concept of tea making in Reality Blows. A british quirk that I felt was necessary and highlighted the Britishness of the series.
The ring that Count Christopher wears is actually a Red Lantern ring from DC Comics. I'm not sure how I came to be in possession of it but I needed a MacGuffin for the final part and this seemed to fit.
Revenge of The Space Cats (2014)
After a two video absence, it was necessary to finish the Space Cat trilogy and also finish the Armageddon Trilogy at the same time. This culminated in Revenge of The Space Cats which is the only entry to directly reference the previous installments.
When the Space Cats return, they communicate with Christopher and Clone Chris charging them with the crime of killing ten thousand Space Cats. They declare war on the duo by way of invasion. Christopher and Clone Chris must find a way to defeat the threat, but will they get out alive?
This was the penultimate episode featuring the college. Filming in the residential and cafeteria spaces.
While the episode does have some good moments, it again feels like with a couple more rewrites the script would have been dramatically improved.
This was the second installment to feature the death of a major character. Clone Chris uses the ring to blow up the spaceship which also affects Clone Chris.
The epilogue is inspired by another sketch YouTuber by the name of Chris Kendall (aka Crabstickz) where he made a sketch featuring detectives Lindsay and Lohan. I had so much fun filming this installment. It was great to finally conclude the saga and give what I thought would be a send off to the characters I had created. But all that was to change in 2015....
End of Part One
As this article is getting pretty long, I thought it best to split it into two halves. Part two will focus on the three episodes that came after: WANTED, Reset and of course Smith & Jonesy.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the project and if you would like to check out the series you can do so by going to our visual media page. Or alternatively you could watch the series on YouTube.
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