David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour

Tag: Channel 31

  • Such a tease, 31 Questions…

    That ought to get your mouth watering for my new TV game show. It’s our opening sketch with special guest, former host of Sale of the Century, TV’s Glenn Ridge! Also, you might want to grab a napkin.

    Yes! I can now officially announce 31 Questions (finally) will be taping its special second pilot on the evening of Wednesday June 29, 2011. This show will hopefully become episode 1 of our 13-episode first season.

    If you’ll be in the Melbourne area and are interested in joining our studio audience, you can get the details and RSVP to the event on Facebook. If you’re not on Facebook, what the hell are you doing?

    Alternatively, send an email to producer/director Simon Eastwood (simonpeter.eastwood@gmail.com).

    Space is limited, so if you really want in, RSVP early.

    And don’t forget to LIKE US ON FACEBOOK and SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE for all the latest news, photos and video.

    Let’s ask 31 Questions!

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Whoo!

  • 31 Questions is back on track BABY!

    I used to watch “Sale of the Century” religiously when I was a kid, growing up in the early to mid-90s pre-Internet world. So it was a small dream fulfilled to not only meet former host Glenn Ridge, but to also film a sketch with him!

    It’s been quite some time since my last update on the progress of my RMITV Student Television game show production for Channel 31: “31 Questions”.

    The last piece of news I shared was when Channel 31 reviewed our pilot and said they wanted us to make another one. We were planning on filming a second pilot in late March, which would then allow us to go ahead with a 13-episode season.

    Unfortunately, it didn’t go as smoothly as we would have hoped. We weren’t allowed to shoot our second pilot and for a while there our whole show had actually been canceled by RMITV. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to go into the details, but I’m sure it will all come out years from now when someone decides to write a book on the history of RMITV… And when that happens I’ll be all too happy to provide insight.

    But anyway, the important thing is that after two months of production gridlock, we’ve finally been allowed to film our second pilot. And we kicked it off in style, by filming a sketch with TV legend Glenn Ridge!

    The shoot could not have gone better. Glenn very kindly donated his time and his production company office (Q Media) in Port Melbourne. Great guy and a total pro. An absolute pleasure to work with.

    We’ll have that sketch online soon. So make sure to SUBSCRIBE TO 31 QUESTIONS ON YOUTUBE and LIKE 31 QUESTIONS ON FACEBOOK to get all the latest notifications.

    This is hopefully going to be a recurring theme – tracking down notable past and present TV game show hosts and getting them to make cameo sketch appearances.

    TV’s John Burgess of “Wheel of Fortune” and “Burgo’s Catch Phrase” fame has said he’s up for it. Unfortunately though, he lives on the Gold Coast… so we’re not quite sure how we’re going to film it… You can always help out by throwing us a bone? There’s a donate button on the left side of my website.

    We haven’t got a studio date yet to film pilot #2, which will hopefully be episode #1 of a 13-episode first season. But we’re aiming to do it within the next month. Stay tuned.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    31 Questions
    Host – Writer – Producer

  • C31 Melbourne approves 31 Questions for second pilot!

    The title says it all!

    Fellow 31 Questions producer Simon Eastwood, as well as RMITV Student Television general manager Eliza Beck and I met with C31’s Kirk Goodsell yesterday to discuss our TV game show.

    The meeting went about as well as we could have hoped. Channel 31 seemed to love the show. So much so that they’ve given us the rare opportunity to actually re-film our pilot episode because, as we all agreed, the concept is strong, but our execution can be better.

    We were provided with excellent feedback from C31. It’s always refreshing to receiving constructive criticism, as opposed to just criticism.

    So I’m happy to announce that we’ll be filming a new pilot in late March. I’ll return as host, with the lovely Minky Cooper as the show’s scorekeeper. And joining us this time at the moderator’s desk will be the resplendent Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, as Lachlan’s movin’ to Colac to actually make use of his journalism degree. We wish him all the best.

    We’ve got a re-designed set in the works and a long list of lessons we learnt from the pilot. I personally can’t wait to prove we can do better.

    Assuming the pilot redux goes well, there shouldn’t be anything preventing C31 from approving us for a season starting in June and running through to the end of August.

    Hopefully, we’ll one day hoist our logo somewhere on the C31 Hall of Fame – if there is such a thing – next to past stand out shows as: “Chartbusting 80s”, “Hotdog with the Lot” and C31’s infamous “Overnight Fishtank”, which I can only assume was the same one in their waiting room:

    Also, while I’ve got your attention, we’ll be needing some contestants for the new pilot, and the eventual series. That’s where YOU come in!

    This was recently sent to all RMITV Student Television members (you should totally sign up, by the way):

    Hey! Are you under 30? Do you like trivia? Wanna be on the TV?!? THEN READ
    THIS!

    “31 Questions” is a brand new game show produced by RMITV coming soon to Channel 31 Melbourne. And we need contestants!

    Hosted by TV’s David M. Green and assisted by the glamorous Minky Cooper, with Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall as the show’s moderator, “31 Questions” gives ordinary people a chance to prove their trivial superiority.

    So if you’ve got a knack for general knowledge and pop culture, and used to watch shows like “Sale of the Century” and “Vidiot” in the mid 90s, all the while wishing that was YOU answering those questions, now’s your chance to live the dream!

    You could even win some fabulous* prizes…

    If you’d like to be a contestant, contact our lovely producer, Simon Eastwood – simonpeter.eastwood@gmail.com

    Make sure to include your name, gender, age, email address and mobile number, as well as any previous television experience (no experience necessary).

    31 Questions. The people’s quiz show.

    *Prize fabulousness subject to personal opinion.

    Now… we have a lot to organise…

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Keep checking back for the latest 31Q news, or better yet, follow me on Twitter or Facebook!

  • 31 Questions: The TV game show pilot!

    About 4 months ago a conversation took place in RMIT University’s Studio A on the set of Channel 31 Melbourne’s “Tough Times”.

    I was sitting on the couch, providing my pale skin for the guys in the control room to configure the flesh tones. Fellow crew member Simon Eastwood was hanging around, talking to Eliza Beck (who later became RMITV General Manager). The conversation went something like this:

    Simon – “I want to make a TV show.”
    Eliza – “What sort of show?”
    Simon – “I don’t know, maybe a game show? Hey Dave, you wanna help me make a game show?”
    Me – “Can I host it?”
    Simon – “Sure.”
    Me – “Yeah!”

    So Simon would be producer/director, and I would be host/writer/executive producer. Essentially I would handle the content, and Simon would handle the technical and organisational side. And thank god, because no one ever wants to do that crap.

    And after more paperwork that I would have liked to worry about, Simon and I had a meeting with RMITV programming manager Naomi Davis. Basically our pitch was: “Channel 31 doesn’t have any game shows”. And we were quite quickly given the green light to make a pilot!

    “31 Questions” will be a standard quiz show with a youth/pop culture focus, a bit like Sale of the Century mixed with Spicks and Specks, Talkin’ Bout Your Generation and Vidiot (I loved that show in the mid ’90s!).

    In preparation for my new role as host, I’ve been researching famous game show hosts of the past. I’m sure there’s a few pointers I can pick up from this guy…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TRBwKFfJv4

    Jeeze… what a creep!

    Joining me on the show will be the show’s moderator Lachlan Cowlishaw, and our glamorous assistant Minky Cooper, currently the Monday host of 1700 on Channel 31.

    So we are filming the pilot for “31 Questions” the evening of Thursday 25 November 2010. If you live in Melbourne and would like to be in the studio audience, details are available on this Facebook event page.

    See you then!

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Man am I looking forward to this!

  • Live Television Debut!

    Greetings!

    Very exciting week last week: it was my turn to be on Newsline! I was the sports correspondent on May 18 2010 under the weighted anchoring of TV’s Ben Hagemann and Alicia Muling. The programme broadcast live on Channel 31 Melbourne from 4pm to 4:30pm.

    Coming to Melbourne and studying television journalism at RMIT has really opened my eyes to the practicalities of television production. It’s an incredible organisational feat. So much preparation goes into it. There’s a crew of about 15 people behind the scenes and putting together a 30-minute news programme and broadcasting LIVE five days a week is amazing. It still surprises me that we actually get to do this (as students, not professionals remember… not yet anyway).

    Special thanks also to TV’s Jill Singer, executive producer for Newsline. I can’t imagine the effort she’s put into getting this show off the ground. She’s done a wonderful job.

    Without beating around the bush, or using excessive cliches, I absolutely loved this. Each show has two hosts and three correspondents (news, business and sport). In some ways it’s actually harder to be a correspondent, as you’re up in a small room on your own with a green screen behind you and a camera pointed at your head, and unlike the hosts, the correspondents don’t get no autocue. All that presenting experience for YouTube sure came in handy.

    Even though I had to glance at my notes occasionally to remember some names, I’m very happy with my performance. I took it seriously. And how many opportunities does anyone get to do LIVE TV these days? How many shows are even done live anymore? And the people on those shows are mostly weathered TV veterans. Newsline and the resources at RMIT University provide an invaluable experience for newcomers to the industry, such as myself, and I am very grateful for the opportunity.

    Here are some snapshots of that day’s creation of Newsline, a voyeristic peak into the magic of student television news:

    This shan’t be my only dabble in television, of that I can assure you.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Photos my Yinmin Maung with Ben Hagemann’s camera.