David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour

Category: RMITV

  • 31 Questions Eps 4 & 5 taping

    Last Thursday April 19 was our third day in the studio, making low budget TV history. We successfully shot episodes 4 and 5 of the game show all the cool kids are ignoring: 31 Questions.

    This time we had the ability to play VTs (video tapes, for the uninitiated) and the crew had a few flying hours together so technically speaking, things were running smoothly. But the slight problem this time round was the embarrassing reality that virtually no one came to see it!

    Not including contestants and crew, the studio audience for the second show of the evening consisted of two people… TWO!

    This is one of the things stopping me from doing a REAL show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; How the hell am I supposed to get people to pay $15 to come see me do stand up, when I can’t even get them to come see something far more interesting FOR FREE?

    I don’t know how those real comedians do it? Maybe they’re just really funny… Nah. That’s crazy talk.

    Still, it didn’t stop us from putting on a show. Two shows, actually.

    It’s a great atmosphere. There’s a lot of laughter in that studio when the 31Q gang is in town, but everyone knows they’ve also got a job to do. Though too often I find myself worrying about things – like whether the guys in the control room are getting all the gags and Jesus I hope they didn’t forget to press record on the tape – instead of throwing caution to the wind and just enjoying it.

    Ahh, when the burdens of producing fall upon the talent… but then of course if it were any other way, it wouldn’t be my show. I’d be hosting someone else’s TV show.

    But luckily I have the very talented Riyana Kasmawan sitting beside me in the producers’ chair. There’s no actual chair. But she is worth her weight in gold and we couldn’t do this thing without her pulling the strings off camera. Thank you thank you thank you!

    And I know I’ve said this already, but we really do have an outstanding crew working on this show.

    This is the biggest single creative project I’ve ever undertaken. In many ways it would have been much easier and simpler to do another single camera comedy show, something like my webseries Too Easy but for television, all shot on location with just a couple of people.

    But I’ve done that. And I’ll do it again. But here was an opportunity to make a REAL television show, using a real television studio with four cameras; equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And you can’t do it with just a couple of people. You need a big crew. You simply cannot get around it. And as such, you have to delegate. But them’s the breaks. So why the hell not?

    Of course, as impressive as all this is, this is NOTHING compared to any run-of-the-mill TV show on one of the commercial networks, or even the “under-funded” ABC.

    The first thing I noticed when I walked into the ABC studios in Elsternwick, the home of “Letters & Numbers” and “In Gordon Street Tonight” amongst others, was the ceiling. Take a look at the number of lights in the above studio photo there. Times that by about 12 and that’s roughly how many lights the ABC has in just the ONE studio!

    But if the alternative is sitting in the rent-free east wing of my parents’ resplendent house in Adelaide, working some dead end customer service job and lamenting the lack of progress with my television career, which is very much what I was doing in late 2009 before I moved to Melbourne… I’ll take this any day.

    So seriously, you’re running out of chances! Come join our studio audience. It’s quite likely after this, they’ll never let us make another TV show again.

    We’re back in there taping episodes 6 and 7 tomorrow, Thursday April 26. 7pm to 10pm. Studio A Level 2 Building 12 RMIT University, Swanston Street, Melbourne. Free lollies!

    Oh, and one last thing…

    If you thought being a TV game show host was going to greatly enhance my sex life… guess again…

    Exert from a recent conversation on Oasis Active:

    daisy909 says:
    Haha where are you performing?
    superdude87 says:
    I’m making a game show for Channel 31
    daisy909 says:
    Ohhhh really
    daisy909 has removed you from their contacts. You can no longer send any messages to this member.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    31 Questions: The greatest TV game show this side of Swanston Street and still technically within the Hoddle Grid of the Melbourne Central Business District… What an achievement!

  • 31 Questions Eps 2 & 3 taping

    Last Thursday April 12, the 31 Questions team once again gathered at the television studios at RMIT University on fabulous Swanston Street, Melbourne for the taping of episodes 2 and 3 of our 13-show first season.

    It’s a mistake to think nothing will go wrong. I really should stop setting myself up for disappointment.

    This time we had corrupted video files. But that didn’t matter so much, because there was a problem with the VT (video tape) machine, which meant we couldn’t play the clips anyway.

    This mainly affected the “Word on the Street” segment, where we play contestants vox pop footage of people on the street talking about a particular topic, without saying the name of that topic. The contestants then need to identify what the folks are talking about.

    Of course, without the ability to PLAY the footage, the segment doesn’t really work. However, we found an ingenious stop gap solution…

    I threw to the footage as usual, then my trusty sidekick Anthony McCormack simply read a transcript of the vox-pops. We’ll just insert the vox-pop footage in during editing and no one’s the wiser!

    This is community TV.

    I recall Rove McManus’s first appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno in 2007. He mentioned one occasion in the mid 90s when he was hosting “The Loft Live” on Channel 31 – which was a LIVE show and broadcast from the very same studio – where they were forced to go to air with no audio. So he was at the desk writing things on a piece of card and holding it up to the camera so he could communicate with the viewers!

    This is community TV.

    Thank God we’re pre-recorded.

    And that wasn’t the only thing that went wrong. There were problems with the electronics that controlled the buzzers, lights kept blowing out, crew called in sick, there was no audience warm-up person and there were various breakdowns in communication.

    But we’re so lucky to have a damn good bunch of people working on this show. There’s a few who stand out immediately and I know they’ll have illustrious careers in television.

    Now what is really remarkable is that we somehow overcame all of the problems, kept our cool, pulled together and shot two complete episodes, which I have a feeling should come out of the editing process pretty damn well.

    To be honest, yesterday when we put the studio tape in the machine and watched it back for the first time, I was so relieved there was any recorded footage AT ALL, it could have been 45 minutes of a goat licking a sugar cube and I would have been happy.

    They mystery of how such goat footage made it onto the tape would be another matter.

    It was a small studio audience. Probably only 10 people or so. But we actually managed to get some pretty big laughs out of them. In a way it was lucky we started with a small crowd, because it didn’t matter so much we were still ironing out the bugs.

    We’ve also established a new convention on the show. If neither contestant knows the answer to a question, I’ll throw it open to the audience. There’s a great atmosphere in that studio. It really is a very powerful format: the TV game show.

    And our four contestants were great. Good general knowledge and best of all, they played along with our silly gags! And they seemed genuinely amazed they walked away with ACTUAL PRIZES! Granted, they’re just things with my face on them, but still… turns out these props are pretty expensive to get printed up… so they’re worth at least the cost of the materials.

    We’ve still got 10 shows left to go and we’ve got some pretty hilarious things planned, so if you can’t wait til June to see it on TV, come on down and join our studio audience this Thursday evening. Seats still available!

    And don’t forget to subscribe to 31 Questions on YouTube (We’ll have some sneak peak behind the scenes footage up there for you soon!).

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    31 Questions: The TV game show where YOU get to be the viewer!

  • *Ding* Time to turn the page…

    Welcome to the next chapter in the DMG saga.

    It’s been some time since my last blog entry. My apologies if I’ve neglected the few souls who come here semi-regularly, hoping to discover some new David M. Green bloggy goodness.

    I suppose I can immediately blame Optus. I moved into this new apartment in Hawthorn on March 10. I was supposed to have Internet installed on March 23. It’s now April 6 and I’m still waiting for my wi-fi modem.

    Thank God for the “hotspot” function on my iPhone and the idiot in the neighbourhood with the unsecured wireless network, or I’d be living like it’s 1996.

    Hopefully I’ll properly merge onto the on-ramp to the Information Superhighway soon enough, and join the rest of you.

    I’m settling into my new place nicely. The kitchen is just about set up. I had to buy a fridge, a microwave, cutlery, crockery, cookware, the works.

    I even needed to buy a bench from IKEA, as there’s not enough built-in bench space…

    One Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and half of Gary Numan’s “Beserker” later…

    Tada! Gotta hand it to those Swedes. They know kitchen solutions.

    The lounge room/main room still needs some work. A couch is on its way from my lovely parents’ house in Adelaide. Then when I can muster the cash, I’ll get a coffee table and a bigger TV.

    Speaking of cash, I recently signed up with DJ Masters as a casual DJ. Thus far I’ve DJ-ed two weddings. One in Metung, near Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria. The other in Shepparton, a couple of hours north of Melbourne.

    If you stalk me on Twitter you can follow my progress wearing suits and spinning tracks all over the state.

    Want David M. Green to DJ your next rhythmic social gathering for some reason? Go to the DJ Masters website. Ask for me by name. Or a vague description.

    I’ve also got a very promising new radio-related job in the pipeline. But more on that one soon.

    And then there’s 31 Questions. My big project for 2012.

    In a way, it’s been a blessing I lost the MTR job, because I have no idea how the hell I’d be able to produce, write and host this TV show if I was also working 40 hours a week.

    I’ve got most of the 13-episode season now written and it’s coming together nicely. We’ve already shot some pre-tape stuff, including this:

    And last night we had our first studio day. A very brief rehearsal and a chance to shoot some of the opening sketches.

    Not surprisingly, we were plagued by problems. The hallmark of community television.

    The most annoying hindrance was the absence of a large piece of our set, which we had constructed for our 2nd pilot in June 2011. It had simply disappeared from the store room!

    In hindsight, we probably should have checked last week everything was in order. But Jesus! It’s a huge object. No idea where it’s got to. It’s either been misplaced god knows where, stolen, or broken up and used for firewood.

    We were extremely fortunate to make a similar-looking replacement out of pieces of other sets. You can hardly tell the difference, right?

    In the 2nd pilot, we had 2 plasma TVs on set. But we arrived yesterday to discover one of them was broken.

    Fortunately I had a large poster of myself; an item I can stare at just as long, if not longer, than a flat screen television. An adequate replacement, no?

    There were some other technical issues as well. Something was wrong with the lighting desk, which meant we only had time to record three of the seven sketches I had planned.

    Hats off to our fantastic crew. Despite the setbacks, we all kept on and no one lost their cool.

    We’ve still got the next six Thursdays in the studio so hopefully we’ll squeeze the rest in.

    And I’m very happy with the new cast.

    There’s myself of course (but you know that).

    Taking over from Alasdair “Al” Tremblay-Birchall  is the fabulous Anthony McCormack (from The Good Show and many other things). We all loved Al but he has conflicting Melbourne Comedy Festival commitments.

    And it gives me great pleasure to introduce Sophie Loughran as our new 31 Questions scorekeeper.You’re gonna love her!

    From our rehearsals, we gel together like some sort of razzle dazzle entertainment ooze. And I’m really looking forward to working with the two of them more over the next 6 weeks. I think we got something here.

    Also, I got to wear a dress:

    Disturbingly, I stayed in that dress just a bit too long after shooting the relevant sketch. I enjoyed it considerably more than I was expecting…

    I don’t actually mind wearing lip stick and make-up, but here’s a fun fact for you: I absolutely hate face paint. Ever since I was 4. That one occasion at kindergarten in 1991 was the one and only time I ever had my face painted. From memory, it was some form of rainbow. Just didn’t care for it.

    But back to the present. Remember, we’ll need contestants on the show too. Plus there’s plenty (every) of seats available in our studio audiences. So sign up to RMITV and keep an eye on the 31 Questions Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.

    So big times ahead for the next six weeks. I’ve got a television series to make. And I have to scrape enough money together to pay for it, plus pay my considerably higher rent, and a cavalcade of bills and renewals… which always seem to come all at once, don’t they?

    Car registration, servicing, RACV membership, Internet, ambulance cover. All these bills and more! Christ!

    But then again, I could die tomorrow, and I’d still be in surplus.

    So life ain’t so bad, really.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    With a new found appreciation for women’s fashion.

  • C31 gives 31 Questions the green light!

    That’s right!

    After 18 months, two pilots and not much else, my game show 31 Questions has finally been given the green light by both RMITV Student Television AND Melbourne’s Channel 31.

    We’re booked in to start shooting our 13-episode TV series starting mid-April for broadcast starting in June.

    Due to the vast amount of time that’s passed since we started this project, understandably there’s been some attrition of cast and crew. So we’re looking to fill a few roles.

    If you live in Melbourne and you’re interested in getting involved with the fabulous world of community television production, make sure you’re a member of RMITV Student Television. We’ll be sending out emails with more information soon.

    And keep in touch with the show’s progress on Facebook and Twitter.

    A big thanks to the several key people who have fought for us and helped us through this journey. You know who you are. This has been a dream of mine for many years and I’m absolutely thrilled that I’m now actually going to get a shot at it.

    Kind regards,
    TV’s David M. Green
    Let’s make some TV gold.

  • 31 Questions iPilot 2.0

    Six thumbs up? Or a bunch of well-dressed criminals getting ready to surrender their fingerprints? You decide.

    Yes! The 31 Questions Re-pilot, Pilot Mach 2, or iPilot 2.0 if you will, was successfully recorded to tape on June 29, 2011.

    The evening at RMIT University’s fabulous Studio A went very well. The set looked great. Wonderful lighting. All the mics and cameras worked. The crew turned up (well, most of them). The gags worked (well, most of them). The questions were just the right level of difficulty (unlike last time – way too hard!). And most importantly, it was a fun night of TV-making.

    It’s community television, so it’s virtually impossible to avoid using the term “shambles” at some point. But we embraced our shortcomings and kept on with the show.

    That’s right folks! 31 Questions. The show that keeps the mistakes the other game shows cut out!

    The day before the rehearsal, which we had the previous Wednesday, our original score-keeper and glamorous assistant, Minky Cooper, decided to quit the show (via Facebook. A sad sign of the times…). So we had less than 24 hours to find a replacement.

    Incredibly I was able to find the lovely Melanie Valentine at extremely short notice to take over the role. And considering it was her first time inside a TV studio, she did very well.

    Alasdair “Al” Tremblay-Birchcall also gave a fabulous performance as the official moderator. That guy cracks me up.

    Special thanks also to our very talented, and forgiving, contestants: Julia and Andrew. They were both an absolute pleasure to work with.

    And a big thanks to the 16 or so strong crew. Without all you we’d just be making a silent film in the dark.

    But most importantly, THIS pilot went SO, SO, SO MUCH BETTER than our first pilot back in November. Instead of 4 pages of post-show improvement notes, this time I only had 6 key points. And they were all procedural or organisational issues, not to do with the fundamental concept of the show.

    The pilot is currently being edited by the talented Anthony McCormack. We’ll soon be handing it in to the good people at RMITV Student Television and Channel 31 Melbourne for their approval.

    And hopefully they’ll let us film 12 more!

    I’ll keep you updated.

    But if you’d like more immediate updates, or you want to check out more production photos, make sure you LIKE 31 QUESTIONS ON FACEBOOK. It’s all up there. And SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE. All episodes (& some extra bonus material!), that’s where they’ll be.

    Kind regards
    David M. Green
    Mayor of TV-Land