David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour.
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhPX_5ggF4&feature=g-all-u
A big thanks to the good folk over at Channel 31 Melbourne & Geelong who put that 31 Questions promo together for us!
However, I feel I am obligated to point out that “it’s the quiz show like no other” might not actually be the best description, considering we parody segments from several other TV game shows and the gist of the format is lifted straight from “Sale of the Century” and really any game show that features a host asking questions…
A more accurate line might be: “it’s the quiz show like most of the others”.
But yes, we now have a promo airing on Channel 31 and all of a sudden OH MY GOD! I’M ON TV!
A similar feeling must also be gyrating through the trousers of the good folk involved with RMITV’s NEW flagship show “Live on Bowen”, which also debuts this weekend on Channel 31. Friday evening 8.30PM to be precise.
Thus called because RMIT University is… whatever the opposite of girt is… by Bowen Street in the north-east quadrant of the Melbourne CBD.
Now, there’s surely a score of TV producers who, given the opportunity, may have been tempted to call the show “Live on Swanston” in order to more clearly communicate their unique brand of Melbourne-focused program content. But not these guys. Bowen Street is where it’s at. Literally.
“Live on Bowen” replaces RMITV’s previous flagship late night comedy show “Studio A”. If you’re not familiar with why Studio A was cancelled, have a quick gander at this completely unbiased article from an impartial author: Channel 31’s Best Show Cancelled For Some Reason
So, new cast and new writers! I for one think this is a great thing because there are very few opportunities to get hands-on experience in television comedy in this country.
Speaking from my own experience, I joined RMITV shortly after I moved to Melbourne in February 2010. And one of the first things I did was put my hand up to audition to be a cast member and writer on Studio A.
Wouldn’t you know it, I was unsuccessful. Which was fair enough. It’s a tough contest, and at that point my only TV experience was being an extra in “McLeod’s Daughters”. And that scene was deleted.
But the cast and writers of Studio A remained unchanged for the next 2 years!
For any inexperienced writer or performer who walked into the RMITV office in 2010 or 2011, the only way you could write for TV was to become a producer and pitch your own show. A task that’s considerably easier said than done (but which is infinitely more rewarding).
Of course, a lot of writers can’t be arsed doing all that producing crap. I sure as hell wasn’t keen on it.
So that’s why it’s great that “Live on Bowen” has come along and given some fresh faces an opportunity to see their gags performed on the small screen. It’s what RMITV and Channel 31 should be doing. And they are. So good on ’em.
And may I wish the team at “Live on Bowen” all the best for their debut season.
Now, “Live on Bowen” may have a bigger budget, a flash new set, a more professional cast and crew, big name celebrity guests and the honour of being RMITV’s “flagship” show… but do they have DMG-cam?
I highly doubt it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg5Oij6X6z8&feature=g-all-u
Right! Back to 31 Questions.
Episode #1 will air on TV this Saturday. Be warned though, it is the 2nd pilot episode, which we shot as a once-off back in June 2011.
The set is slightly different (mainly less stolen than in later episodes) and instead of series co-hosts Anthony McCormack and Sophie Loughran, it’s Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall and Melanie Valentine on board.
Now, there’s probably a score of TV producers who, given the opportunity, would probably not allow the pilot episode to be broadcast… But not us!
We figured there’s enough laughs to justify salvation from the cutting room floor.
So it’s going to air – production mistakes, continuity errors, awkward audience shots, Glenn Ridge cameo and all – on Channel 31 Melbourne & Geelong this Saturday June 9 at 10PM.
If you’ve ever wanted to see just how many things can go wrong while making a pre-recorded TV game show, now’s your chance!
So tune in.
And don’t forget you can tweet along too: @31Questions #31Questions
Kind regards,
David M. Green
davidmgreen.com – #1 biased source of David M. Green news
I’m not quite sure how we did it, but somehow… we shot 12 episodes of 31 Questions in just six days. Not consecutively, obviously. Whoa! Don’t get me wrong!
We spread those studio dates out over six weeks…
Oh sure, that’s pretty poor by commercial TV standards. They shoot something like five “Deal or No Deals” a day. But for community TV, that is pretty spectacular.
And it’s all thanks to that great bunch of people in the photo above. We were blessed with a fantastic crew who came in week after week to work for nothing more than a sandwich and a slice of pizza.
What an incredible experience. If they had these sorts of facilities in Adelaide, I would have done a TV show years ago. But instead, I had to move to Melbourne to make this happen. But hey, can’t complain 😉
It’s given me the opportunity to work with some exceptionally talented people…
And I’ve made some new friends along the way…
The actual taping of the last two shows on May 17 went off mostly without a hitch. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There was a hitch.
During the final round of the final show, the tape malfunctioned and stopped recording. It also caused the back-up recorder to stop as well. So we lost the last segment and annoyingly had to re-shoot it.
So that being the case, you may notice a few in-jokes about deja vu towards the end of episode 13.
But these things happen. We’re lucky the guys and girls in the control room noticed it early and we didn’t lose more footage. And luckily for us, that was the only time that happened to us on the whole series.
That fear was always at the back of my mind. I could just imagine shooting two episodes back to back, only to then discover none of it had been recorded. It’s every TV-maker’s worst nightmare.
But thankfully that didn’t happen and it’s now all “in the can”, or more accurately, that little plastic case the DV tapes come in.
And before I forget, a BIG THANK YOU to the many people who made up our studio audience. Our last two nights in the studio had our biggest audiences to date. And it really made the whole experience so much better.
Fortunately also, we were able to record the important second half of the Gerard Kotlowy cardboard cutout gag. See previous blog entry.
I think cardboard cutouts are up there with boats and golf in terms of hilarious concepts. We had a lot of fun with that cardboard cutout:
Actually that video pretty much sums up the show. A few people goofing around while others freak out.
As for 2D Gerard… he seems to be developing a mind of his own…
He’s now taken his rightful place on permanent display in my apartment. I’ve set him up just inside the entrance.
The first time I arrived home after setting this up, I forgot “Cardboard Gerard” was there and upon opening the door I experienced one second of absolute terror as for some reason there was a suited screaming man in my home. I suspected that would happen. Hilarious.
However, I’m less certain how to explain this… When I arrived home the NEXT night, it was almost as if Cardboard Gerard was expecting me…
An additional side effect I’m now faced with is the prospect of finding places in my apartment for all the other props and tidbits we used on 31 Questions.
A prospect I’m very much enjoying…
So we now move on to the NEXT stage of television… the editing.
This may take a while.
In the mean time, I’m proud to announce OUR TIMESLOT!
Episodes of 31 Questions will be broadcast for the first time Saturdays 10PM on Channel 31 Melbourne & Geelong – starting 9 June – and repeated Fridays 1.30AM from 15 June.
It’s not exactly the timeslot we were expecting, but hey, we’ll take it!
I’ve done radio shows in worse timeslots. Who could forget 2007’s “Brain Damage” on Radio Adelaide 101.5FM, Wednesday nights midnight to 1AM, hilariously wedged between “The Albanian Program” and five hours of the BBC World Service?
Everyone, that’s who.
If you’re outside of Melbourne and Geelong, sit tight. We’re looking at other community TV stations around Australia. And there’s YouTube as well. So there’ll be no excuses for not watching 😉
Unless of course, you’re a blind person.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
Livin’ the dream.
Did someone say, “Gee, that 31 Questions is okay for a community TV show. But they could really use a once off $350 joke”?
No? Well, I’m not surprised… But for argument’s sake, let’s assume you did!
Last Thursday May 10 was our penultimate studio shoot and my good friend of 18 odd years, Gerard Kotlowy (also one of the 31 Questions writers) booked himself a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne to see his vision to appear on television and then be transformed into a cardboard cutout of himself come true.
The only problem was… the cardboard cutout only arrived today.
So we shot Gerard’s “live” bit last week and hopefully the magic of television will allow the 2nd half of our single most expensive gag to be immortalised on fabulous standard definition video tape during our final day in the studio tomorrow evening!
The rest of the taping was a bit more rocky than in previous weeks. This was thanks mainly to competition with the news programme “Newsline” over RMITV resources such as the autocues, graphics machine and other things I don’t understand.
Newsline goes live to air from 5.45PM to 6PM in the adjacent Studio B. So we had to keep it down during a time where we would otherwise be rehearsing and setting up for our shows.
I’m all too familiar with Newsline, having completed a Graduate Diploma of Journalism (with Distinction, might I add) from RMIT University two years ago. A great course. I learned a lot and especially loved the television component.
If memory serves, back then Newsline was 45 minutes. But these days it seems to only be 15 minutes. It might have something to do with my infamous gaff on the show back in ’10…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSojtnWJIf8
Man, that was some bizarre television… Exactly what community TV should be 🙂
Speaking of which, back to our show!
Ahh Anthony, will you ever change that shirt? Or even just wash it once in a while, for Christ’s sake…
We had a huge audience last week. And by “huge”, I mean like, 15 or so? Many thanks to the good folk who came down and joined in the triviality of the evening.
It’s all getting to be a bit of a blur now. We’ve done 11 of these shows. I’ve forgotten 90% of the crap I’ve said. And as yet, I haven’t even watched any of the footage back.
That’s not really how I’d like to do things in a perfect world, as I do find I’m able to self evaluate my performance much more effectively when I can see the video. I improve my sex life in much the same way.
So this brings us to the FINAL studio shoot. We’re taping the last two episodes of our 13-episode season Thursday, 17 May 2012.
We’ve got a lot to get done. As well as Eps 12 and 13, we also have to shoot four sketches and a bunch of pick-up shots; little things we missed or forgot to do in previous weeks.
So come join the fun. It’s most likely your LAST EVER OPPORTUNITY to see me host a TV show. I mean, what moron would let me loose in a TV studio again? Someone who wanted to get fired.
Hell, 31 Questions was officially cancelled by management in February last year! People have been trying to stop this show since the beginning.
So this is it, my friends and foes. It’s now or never.
So what are you waiting for!?!
Be an extra special member of our exclusive studio audience. 7PM RMIT University. Studio A, Level 2, Building 12, near the corner of Swanston and Franklin Streets, Melbourne. Join the Facebook event here. Come one, come all!
And feel free to join us cast and crew for a few drinks afterwards at an as yet undecided location.
Hope to see you there.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
Televisionman
