Will Hines |
nyc improviser, actor, director and perhaps oddly, computer programmer. |
Howdy! I’ve been directing videos since about 2005. I’ve worked for ucbcomedy.com, College Humor, AOL and Mo Rocca as well as stuff for myself. One of my videos (“What If There’s Bears” was cited by FunnyOrDie’s Adam McKay as one of his favorites on that site, and I’ve had stuff featured on atom.com, Huffington Post, YouTube and other place. Here are some of my favorites.
Director’s Reel - A selection of clips from my favorite videos.
Walking Contradictions - A short for collegehumor.com.
Checkmates, for ucbcomedy.com. This is one of the most popular videos I made for ucbcomedy.com, thanks to Sean Clements’ great script and Todd Bieber’s DP work. This video was featured not just on ucbcomedy.com but also on FunnyOrDie and CollegeHumor and re-posted on dozens of other sites. Features a great cast including Sean, Ellie Kemper and Curtis Gwinn.
What If There’s Bears, for myself. Adam McKay picked this as one of his favorite videos on FunnyOrDie, and it’s also been linked and blogged on dozens of popular sties. I wrote it after editing a batch of “how-to” videos for AOL.
Second Fattest Man in the World, for its author/star Charlie Sanders. This video was featured in Entertainment Weekly as well as on ucbcomedy, FunnyOrDie and CollegeHumor. We were trying hard to invoke the feeling of an old Orson Welles character, but sweatier.
Worst Sarah Palin Impression Ever, for Rob Lathan. This was featured on YouTube. Rob Lathan is one of the funniest people on the planet, and this was his idea to jump in on the “Sarah Palin impersonation” storm of late 2008. Besides being the frustrated off-screen director, my proudest contribution is the title card.
Get Your Butt Out of My Food?, for morocca180.com. Mo Rocca is one of my favorite comedians and I got to work with him for about two years at AOL, producing and directing videos. This is one of my favorites, not just because it ends with the title screen “Ass or Crotch?”
Sexy Screenname, for Rob Cacy and Matt Evans. This was a hit, racking up thousands of views everywhere we posted it, including being featured in a British humor site as one of the best videos of the year. I saw Matt perform this at UCBT and asked him and author Rob Cacy to film it that week. We had a more complicated version shot with multiple angles but the funniest take was the one you see here — a single unbroken performance from Sir Evans. Kristy Webb is standing just off screen doing the computer’s voice.
Snapple Cap Facts, for ucbcomedy.com. This was a hit written by Sean Clements, being featured on CollegeHumor, FunnyOrDie, ucbcomedy, Break.com, and YouTube.
House Porsche, for ucbcomedy.com. Another Sean Clements script. This was featured on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0 as well as G4’s Attack of the Show.
Stripmall Photographer: Tahiti, for ucbcomedy.com. Part of a re-launch of ucbcomedy.com. I directed and starred in this video, written by Crystal Delahanty. It’s designed to have a lot of improvising so the most fun part was picking which improvised sections to keep as we did more and more takes.
Snoopy Lamp, for its author Sean Clements. I am sucker for two things: Matt Decoster’s performances and the repetition of a silly phrase. This video combines both of these plus simple beautiful lighting from Todd Bieber.
Cornish Game Hen Manuever, for ucbcomedy.com. I saw this sketch at UCBT and wanted the chance to practice putting an elegant back light on three cornish game hens being dangled on strings.
“Breathless” Parody, for myself. This was my pitch to Adult Swim as a commercial for my friends Curtis Gwinn and John Gemberling’s show “Fat Guy Stuck in Internet.” I had just seen Breathless, which includes a ridiculous scene where reporters are swarming around an author asking him philosophical questions. In this video I believe Andy is actually talking about the Thundercats.
Connery and Danza, for Channel 101. “That’s right, Sean Connery has super-breath.” If that sentence does not amuse you, do not bother watching this video.
A Man Wants Someone to Feel His Pecs, for nobody. This sketch was a dream I had. Matt Mayer did the beautiful special effects at the end.
