By the way, hope you’re enjoying these sequel title gags. Got a bit tricky to find titles after 7…
Anyway… 31 Questions! We’re done!
And the ratings are IN. We broke all previous records this season with the Channel 31 Ratings Machine indicating 46,000 people in Melbourne & Geelong tuned in to our 4th episode on June 28. Beats the hell out of our previous best of 37,800 for our Season 2 finale last year. These days with all the competition from the plethora of digital channels, YouTube, PacMan and hula hoops, that some damn good figures.
I assume.
Personally, I reckon the best episodes of Season 3 are 1, 6 and the finale. And what a way to go out. Highlights of Ep 8 include the contractually required “Sophie’s Choice” segment, in which contestants Aaron and Naomi sing for points; Sophie and Anthony’s all-French exchange and one very special cameo.
If you missed the season finale when it aired on C31 Melbourne & Geelong on July 26, or you haven’t watched it on YouTube yet, look away now as I ruin the surprise.
A wonderful moment and by far the biggest round of applause we ever received of all the episodes.
31 Questions: the little game show that could, has come a long way since that first pilot 4 years ago. So many people have helped make the show possible. A nice way to illustrate is to take a look at the crew photos, starting with our 2nd pilot shoot in 2011.
Also note, I’m holding a pot plant above Simon Eastwood’s head:
Season 1, 2012:
Season 2, 2013:
Season 3, 2014:
Just by these 4 photos, you can also see how the whole thing has evolved: The set, logo, lighting, the number of people involved and just the general level of organisation too.
Funnily enough, I didn’t begin with the crew photo from our 1st pilot because our level of organisation in those early days was not sufficient to organise a group photo.
This is the closest I’ve got from our disastrous first shoot in 2010:
Side note, get a load of the Question Mk #1 jacket:
I believe that was a rush job the night before… Where was I?
So my point is literally hundreds of hands and thousands of fingers have worked on 31 Questions. 99 per cent of them for no money. And it’s the little touches you don’t even think about that bring out the best in a big project like this. People solved problems and did things on this show I don’t even know about. You could even say we got this far thanks to “the wisdom of friends”.
I probably wouldn’t, but I mean you COULD say that, if you wanted.
Any way you look at it, it was teamwork made this show. It wasn’t perfect, but we had far more hits than misses. It’s just about the best community television can be.
I’ve just come out the other side of the busiest 3 months of my life. Hence the void of blog.
So let me fill you in (not sexually)…
Season 3 of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed my time writing for the show and it was an incredible experience to work with some very talented people, the best of the best, and who until now I’d only known as some names in the credits of TV shows I used to watch when I was 16-years-old.
Several of my scripts made it to air. “Bum Tree” was my favourite. That was my first desk piece and sitting in the studio audience watching that unfold was, and I don’t use this word very often, awesome.
I also feel I’m a better writer than I was three months ago. Previously I’ve tended to avoid topical comedy due to the usual very long gap between recording and broadcasting whatever it is that I’m creating. But working on Mad As Hell put some of my RMIT journalism skills to practical use, and more than anything taught me to respect “the joke”.
Every script needs jokes. That seems obvious, but often I can write what I think is a joke, only to look at it a little more closely after lunch and realise that it’s not actually a joke at all. Comedy scripts need jokes. Only the jokes in a script make an audience laugh. And after all, that’s the whole purpose of comedy. So my personal bar is now set a little higher.
In addition to writing for the show, I also fulfilled another childhood dream and appeared in a sketch. See if you can spot me in the closing song on the season finale. And by the way, I couldn’t have chosen a better song (and I can assure you, it wasn’t me!)…
Meanwhile, while all that “madness” was going on, I was also making my own show. You know that other show I do? I’m sure I’ve mentioned it here before… Anyway, it’s called “31 Questions”. And Season 3 of THAT show wrapped up production last week too.
Jeeze, 3 seasons? Who’d have thought, aye? AYE!?!
It’s gone from an idea for a pilot in mid-2010, which was approved, then rejected, then cancelled, to a 6-month battle with RMITV to make a second pilot, which was finally approved, then to waiting around for 9 months while some managerial politics played out, after which we were finally given the green light for a season in 2012.
The goal of the first season was to make a game show that was funny. For no money. I didn’t spent much time worrying about the technical aspects of the show, so long as they fulfilled the bare basic practical requirements. I wanted things to be as simple as possible. Need a scoreboard? A whiteboard will do. It works.
When I look back at Season 1 now, it looks like a skeleton. Hey, don’t get me wrong. Skeletons are funny. They have a certain boney charm. But it is what it is: community television. With all the splendor of a person with no skin.
Then we met Hugh Johnson. He told us we should make a second season, work on the “game” side of the show, develop our “characters” and tailor the comedy around the boundaries of “the game show”. So we did. Again, for no money. And season 2 in 2013 was a step in the right direction. We applied many lessons from the first season. The DMG, Anthony and Sophie characters were more refined. More thought was put into the questions and selecting the contestants. We shot more material than we needed so we could edit out the stuff that didn’t work so well.
But with a more complex production, combined with less time in the studio, we got caught out too many times with lighting and audio issues, and running out of time and having to make do with a rushed job. It was good. But it wasn’t good enough. Imagine a skeleton with some rotting flesh hanging off it. Funny? Yes. Entertaining? Sure. But would the other TV stations invite it to their swanky skin parties? I doubt it.
So we went back to Hugh. He told us we needed to make a third season. And REALLY do it right. He even offered to be series producer. This was the big one. No holding back. Season 3 would be about making sure every single aspect of this program was the absolute BEST it can be.
And by Jove, I think we’ve done it. A skeleton with a system of mighty organs, with flesh and clothes and everything.
It takes a team of people to make a television show. But it takes a GREAT team of skeletons with functioning digestive and respiratory systems to make a GREAT television show. And 31 Questions Season 3 had, without a doubt, the best symbiont skeleton people crew we’ve ever had. And probably the best in Australian community television.
There are some real stars in that photo and I reckon I’ll still be working with quite a few of them many years from now.
It was also incredible to have Joe Murray on board as the senior director. He directed “The Late Show” on the ABC back in the early 90s, among a plethora of other shows. The wisdom and experience he brought to Season 3 has been a godsend and it was a real honour to work with him.
So we’re now well into post-production. Expect 31 Questions to return to your screens of varying sizes sometime in June. I’ll get back to you when I have specific dates and times and cities.
I am completely biased, of course, but we’ve got 8 GREAT episodes coming up. There’s something like 15 new segments, plus the old favourites, interesting trivia and fun facts, cool contestants, a swathe of gags and a few more surprises. It’s not just a great “community” television show. It’s a great television show.
We haven’t even finished editing yet, but we’ve already had one glowing review. Prolific comedy blogger Katherine Phelps was in the studio audience for our Season 3 finale. Read her thoughts here.
But aside from basking in the laughter and the applause, maybe the most satisfying moment came the other week when 31 Questions was labelled “a flagship show” in an official email from RMITV – the same organisation that said in February 2011 that 31 Questions was “not viable for RMITV”.
So what have I learned from all this?
1. A mistake is only a bad thing if you don’t learn from it.
2. Consistent competence leads to greatness, and
3. People are attracted to success.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
Next stop Adelaide, I think.
It’s the end of another year this year. And what an end of a year it’s been. Also, the rest of the year was eventful.
I started 2013 with no regular work and by March I’d run out of money. Well, I say “run out of money”, but I mean it in the first world sense. I got down to my last $9 in the bank, but I still had a car and other things of tangible value, etc. But it was still pretty stressful.
At one point, I applied for a job as a school crossing guard with the Boroondara Council. It was basically this scene from the 1985 motion picture “Lost in America” starring Albert Brooks:
I wasn’t successful.
But I did do this for $150:
Salvation came with the AFL Season and my return to Crocmedia to panel their fabulous “AFL Live” football commentary to 100 radio stations around Australia. Best radio job I’ve had.
[Sports writing mode begins]
The most memorable moment was the Adelaide v. North Melbourne game, Round 9 at Etihad Stadium. The Kangaroos had lead for the entire game, only to have the Crows kick 5 unanswered goals in the final quarter, culminating in an Adelaide goal with only 15 seconds left to give my home town a miracle 1-point victory. It was a fairy tale ending. I’ve never heard Rex Hunt call anything as intense as that.
I don’t leap out of that panel operator’s chair onto my feet very often, but that was one of those moments.
[Sports writing mode ends]
After the AFL season finished, I started some weekend panelling at 1116SEN, using the ole MTR studios in Richmond. So finally, that move from Coburg to Hawthorn to be closer to work (2 days before MTR shut down) has actually paid off. Only took 18 months.
And actually, since I moved in July from the eastern side of Hawthorn to the western side, a stone’s throw from Richmond, I’m close enough to WALK to work in about 15 minutes. The route takes me down Bendigo Street past the old GTV Channel 9 studios, now luxury apartments. To use my favourite cliched broadcasting expression, it’s “absolutely sensational”.
Please enjoy this guided tour of my new place:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T2pT_bdvAU
It’s much better than the last apartment. Cheaper. More space. Laundry taps and an exhaust fan in the bathroom (as mentioned). And the insulation is excellent. That 40 degree day in Melbourne the other week? Barely noticed it. Place doesn’t even have air conditioning. The insulation alone is just so effective.
2013 has been another year of media delights. In addition to 20 throw-away episodes of my “need an excuse to upload something” vlog series “Life of DMG” (as seen above), I also made a few videos with TV’s Shane Crawford for his website. I was basically Richter to his O’Brien. Shaffer to his Letterman. And to a lesser extent, robot skeleton to his Ferguson. Though I can’t seem to find those videos online any more, you can see part of one in my most recent showreel, where I took one for the team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Y9CBJ_BZs
31 Questions – The TV game show all the kids are listening about – returned for its second season. We shot 9 episodes, 7 of which were broadcast-able. They aired on community TV stations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand. And will soon air in Adelaide after they finish repeating the first season.
Season 2 was a step up in many respects. Better graphics, better editing, a flashier scoreboard, more defined characters and some minor touches here and there. Although it wasn’t quite the step up in lighting and audio that we had hoped.
There are always challenges and setbacks when you’re making a television show. We had to make do with reduced studio time, simultaneously throughout the production my parents back in Adelaide were splitting up after 29 years of marriage, and worst of all I had a really bad haircut 2 weeks before we started taping.
But we had some good crowds towards the end and the laughs were there. And what our crew managed to do with those limited resources was quite impressive. Not bad for $4,000?
This is my favourite episode. It was the Season 2 premier, but it was actually the last episode we shot:
And in case you missed the memos, 31 Questions is indeed coming back for a third season. We raised $3,262 with our recent crowdfunding campaign and we’re back in the fabulous RMIT University televisual studio from late February.
This will be the big one. So stay posted if you want to come join the studio audience or BE ON THE SHOW.
Back in Adelaide, after talking about it for years, my folks have finally sold the family home at Seacliff. I remember the day we moved in: 17 March 1992, just before my 5th birthday.
It’s a great house. The big walls all around the outside got me quite used to privacy. Everywhere else I’ve lived has seemed quite exposed by comparison. And aside from 9 months in 2000, when the second storey appeared, I lived there 18 years until I left for Melbourne in 2010.
It was still nice to return to my home town and stay in my old bedroom. But I don’t have that any more. And the SA jaunts haven’t quite been the same. This year in particular, going back to visit Adelaide has felt less and less like visiting home and more like seeing a jigsaw puzzle with pieces gradually being removed and replaced.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Adelaide and there’s some exciting things going on at the moment. I’ve had many a conversation about local infrastructure projects with anyone who will listen. But it’s not where I want to be right now.
Ahh I’ll miss that house… But it will live on in so many video projects, like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oQakmn_cAw
That reminds me, we really should get around to editing those 3 other Too Easy episodes…
So that’s about it for 2013. Well I did some other things. I went to Sydney for a bit. Bought a bookcase. Hosted a documentary series about webseries. Had a really nice sandwich, etc.
But my big news for the new year is I’ll be a writer on the third season of “Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell” starting February 2014! Coincidentally, my first day writing is on the 13th, which is the four year anniversary of my move to Melbourne.
How about that?
Best move ever.
Hope you’ve had a good year yourself and things are looking even better for 2014. I’ll see you on the other side.
You can buy me a coffee.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
No, I’m serious. Small cappuccino with one, please.
Earlier this week I caught up with the very talented Francis Greenslade in my favourite Melbourne suburb in terms of pronunciation: Elsternwick. We chatted for an hour about insects, acting, Blue Heelers, Winners & Losers, Shaun Micallef, sketch comedy, theatre, musical instruments and other related things.
Fortunately, this fascinating conversation was recorded and you can hear it all in the latest episode of David M. Green & Other Famous People. Available on iTunes, as well as in the player embedded below:
The Logies are unique among the world’s entertainment industry awards. This is not a compliment.
The organisers would like to believe Australian Television’s “night of nights” is the equivalent to The Oscars. The biggest. The fanciest. The most regarded awards ceremony on the event calendar.
But the Academy Awards are for the silver screen. Not the small screen. The fashion reporting on the red carpet is where the comparison between the two stops. So in that sense, The Logies are more like The Emmys; The American awards for television production.
But if The Logies are supposed to be Australia’s version of The Emmys, why aren’t they run like The Emmys?
Emmy Award winners are decided by industry professionals. Some Logie winners are chosen this way; the categories that begin with “Most Outstanding”. However, the majority of Logie categories begin with “Most Popular” and those winners are decided by votes from the public. It’s basically a popularity contest.
So in that case, The Logies are run more like The MTV Movie Awards. No offense to MTV, but I think that’s pretty embarrassing for Australian Television.
But even The MTV Movie Awards have an award for “Best Comedic Performance”. How many awards do The Logies currently give for comedy? Zero. Pardon the pun, but that’s a joke.
There hasn’t been an award for comedy at The Logies since 2009, when “The Hollowmen” won “Most Outstanding Comedy Program”.
What does that say about Australian comedy if it’s not even acknowledged at the highest level? This serious lack of respect would make Rodney Dangerfield roll over in his grave.
Think about all the hilarious Australian TV shows that have made us laugh through the years: The Late Show, Frontline, Kath & Kim, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, The Chaser, The Micallef Program, Summer Heights High. All of those shows won the Logie for “Most Outstanding Comedy Program”. In fact, some won it twice.
Interesting to note, of the 16 awards for Most Outstanding Comedy Program given between 1994 and 2009, 13 of them were won by the ABC. Goes to show you don’t need money to make outstanding television comedy.
But the best a comedy show can hope for these days is the Logie for “Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program”. What is “light entertainment” anyway? Aren’t all television shows supposed to be entertaining?
In 1997, there were three separate Logies for comedy. Roy and HG’s “Club Buggery” won “Most Outstanding Achievement in Comedy”, the hilarious “Full Frontal” won “Most Popular Comedy Program” and Eric Bana won “Most Popular Comedy Personality”.
It was a simpler time. Comedy was comedy. Drama was drama. And reality TV only existed in movies about a fictional dystopian future.
But though comedy is no longer officially recognised by Australian TV, it seems to have crept into just about every other program.
The new buzz word at the moment is “dramedy”. I hate that word. For me, it represents a comedy not quite funny enough that the producers want to commit and call it a comedy. Or a drama not quite dramatic enough to be called a drama. Shows such as Seven’s “Winners and Losers” and Ten’s “Mr and Mrs Murder” have both been promoted as “dramedy” shows.
Network Ten’s “The Project” is another example. Hard news, light tragedy, music, stock footage, infotainment, and a few gags.
But for a really bizarre example of comedy white-anting into a traditionally no-comedy TV zone, take a look at this new comedy segment that’s just appeared on Ten Late News. One recent segment involved my good friend Sam Mac videoing his facial expressions while receiving a series of simulated prostate exams:
I’m a fan of Sam Mac. But this is not a comedy program. This is a late night news program broadcast nationally on Channel Ten. I’d much rather see him do this schtick on his own show – A show that could be nominated for a Logie for comedy.
The Logies also has a serious lack of respect for Australian writers. Unlike The Oscars and The Emmys, The Logies has no awards at all for writing. None for comedy. None for drama. None for a telemovie or miniseries.
I find it absolutely beyond comprehension the industry award body for Australian television doesn’t recognise its writers. Industry people and viewers alike are constantly complaining about the substandard level of screenwriting in Australia. We have great actors. We have world class cinematographers. Australian films and TV shows always look amazing.
But the script? The story? The writing? It’s such an afterthought; we don’t even have an award for it. Who cares, right? Hey, why do we even need writers for TV?
I believe the first step to improve Australia’s reputation for quality screenwriting is to recognise quality screenwriting at the highest level. And the easiest way to do that is to include Logie Awards for writing.
The Logie Awards Ceremony itself also differs from the big American ones. The Oscars. The Emmys. The Tonys. They’re all held in theatres, with a seated audience watching the stage.
But The Logies are conducted more like a pub trivia night, with the audience and nominees seated around tables in the Palladium Ballroom of Melbourne’s Crown Casino. Many of the attendees aren’t even facing the stage.
Is it any wonder nobody wants to host The Logies? It’s widely believed among the TV industry that hosting The Logies is death. It’s a tough room. Most people are there purely to be seen and to enjoy a steak dinner.
At last year’s 54th Annual Logie Awards, Adam Hills walked out on stage to present the first award, and after establishing that there was no host, he said, “Hosting the Logies is like being one of Gina Rinehart’s children. It sounds good, but you get nothing out of it.”
That’s true for most of the hosts in recent memory. In fact, of the last 10 ceremonies, six of them had no single host. The risk of dying a death on stage was shared by several presenters.
For a truly exceptional ceremony, you have to go back to Shaun Micallef in 2001.
Channel Nine thought so too and they gave him his own tonight show two years later. But Wendy Harmer (2002) and Gretel Killeen (2009) weren’t so lucky.
So how do you cure The Logies? It’s so simple even a TV executive could do it. Bring back awards for comedy. Introduce awards for writing. And hold the ceremony in a theatre where the audience’s attention is on the host. Only then will The Logies be the Australian equivalent of The Emmys.
