- 3:04 PM, Monday,
December 4th, 2006:
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- Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd
we're off!
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- WATCH THIS ON CBSNEWS.COM!
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- It's
an extremely high resolution version, you
can watch it full-screen, and it makes my
6
MB
version
look
like crap. However we want this video
EVERYWHERE so I'm posting it here and your
help is greatly appreciated. Email it, you
tube it, post about it on myspace - share
it as much as you can. Again,
CBS wants this baby passed around and
we're hoping to gain as much viral buzz
about it as possible. There are no
copyright issues concerning this piece so
please do with it what you will. It should
be a very fun and interesting thing to
follow for 13 weeks.
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- As
well, it'll be nice to have an archive of
all of the shows and CBS won't keep older
episodes up so you can always come back
here and see old contestants. Hard to
believe it's finally starting! What a
lightening fast 13 weeks this will
be!
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- (01.29.09
- From this point on I embedded a YouTube version for
archiving purposes)
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-
- The
first episode of any project certainly has
some challenges. You want to set the
stage, introduce characters, set-up
tension... all sorts of fun stuff. However
when your time is this limited
you're kinda stuck with extreme subtlety.
All I really wanted to get across was that
they're an out-of-work boyband that never
really made it. They're quick to bicker,
they're holding onto their youth, and they
now have the job of... picking
OTHER talented people. To add insult
to injury it's a Kid's Edition which makes
them feel even older. Most important of
all however is giving the contestants
enough time to show their stuff and
keep a nice balance to the show.
Whew.
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-
- The only writing
issue seemed to be the actual introduction of the
band. Being that this is CBS News, I was driving poor
Producer Jim crazy. "Who, what, where, when, why and
how" is BURNED into your brain when working
in the media (as I remember from my radio days
and some media writing courses I took) and of
course I don't introduce anyone in the episode
but chose to just give you hints at their character.
Over time of course everything will be answered but
there just isn't the time to do much else in the first
show. The title sequence put everyone at ease as it's
a nice way to attatch names and faces.
-
|
- ...attaching
hair however was a completely different
issue. So Spencer is now a redhead.
(sigh). Unfortunately the "highlights"
didn't work out as well as planned and
they're anything but blonde. I have a
feeling Spencer's hair will be an on-going
process as the weeks progress. Here's to
Week 2!
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- This
shot however actually freaked me out a
bit. It was the first time in a couple
years I really got that icky
feeling. I mean if you actually put
your fingers on the monitor and look just
at my eyes... I look like a hot girl. LOL.
It's so weird to see that on a monitor
I can't even begin to tell
you.
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-
- The
shoot went off pretty well. I just love
having the newsroom as part of the shot.
Actually trying to create that newsroom
would be so time consuming and all we have
to do now is turn the camera around and
voila: there we are. There's even people
working on stuff, walking by - I love
it. It looks great. I'm really happy with
the overall feel of the piece and
I think the make-believe of the
"selection process" will really be fun
down the road. I'm really hoping the kids
have some fun with it. If Santa is real,
so are the Egos. :-)
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-
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- What
isn't real anymore... is ME. Yes,
I now require 30 minutes of make-up
just to look like me again. How surreal is
that. Since we had to really dye my hair,
in order to be Announcer Adam we had to
paint it. Then had to draw in more
eyebrows, and of course fill in my goatee.
It's kind of the highlight of my day to
tell you the truth. It's really depressing
to not look like yourself all week so I
really look forward to being able to look
in the mirror and see a familiar face.
Such a strange little scenario I've set-up
for myself ain't it?
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-
- Oh yes
and apparently Dewey's bare chest was just
too much for the youngins so Dewey now has
to wear a hawaiian surfer shirt. Meh,
what're ya gonna do. We also made a much
more concerned effort to keep his hair out
of his face. Unfortunately none of us
noticed the GREEN in his shirt making the
"green-screen" REAL fun to get out.
LOL. Luckily on the grainy monitors in the
real shot you can barely notice it. But a
close eye will detect he does indeed have
holes in his body. Poor Dewey.
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-
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- And
poor Gary! What did he ever do to Cameron?
Heh. Gary just gets harrassed in this
episode but rest assured he won't stand
for it too long. Also you may notice that
his hair doesn't seem to have the obvious
"rows" in them as they did in the test
show. That's because we had to paint over
the dye job and it covered up any
"rows" we had. Gotta work on that. It
is indeed an ongoing process. But more
than anything - I'm digging the opening
tension between 'em. Good
times.
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-
- The most exciting
thing about this project of course is that the winners
determine the plot. Because each "Ego" is
connected to a contestant, they'll be affected by the
outcomes. I won't know the winner until voting is
closed on Wednesday and we shoot THURSDAY. It's a
mad-dash to put everything together and work-in the
contestants and outcomes each week. I gotta say...
I LOVE IT. It reminds me of being back in
radio where I had to come up with new stuff each
week on an incredibly strict deadline. Granted, it was
a self-imposed deadline back then, but it was good
training for this. It's a cool kind of stress that
seems to bring out the best. Can't wait to see what
happens next.
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- And also, please
don't take my lack of talking about the contestants as
some sort of arrogance on my part. I simply can't
say anything one way or another. I can't
influence one vote, can't type a word about anything
I may think or feel about each act. I have to
leave it to each individual character in the show and
even then I have to be incredibly careful not to
be too opinionated. It's a very, very fine line
and a tough one for me to walk because I'd love to do
pieces on each contestant here on the site. Once they
become "finalists" (winning 2 rounds) I'm actually
going to interview them at which point I can talk
a bit more about the contestant. For now however, I
gotta keep mum.
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- Alright,
I now get a day off before the crazy cycle starts
up again. I may have an entry in between this and the
next show, but that's probably pushing it. I need
to sleep at some point. Lemme know what you guys think
of the first episode by clicking the "Forum
Feedback" button!!
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- Adam
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