MERREL DAVIS

Back in May, I had the opportunity to meet with comedian Tom Green at his home / studio and talk about his web TV show  Tom Green’s House Tonight.

The article, for a pro-audio/video industry mag, talks about the unique production considerations for running a broadcast style talk show on the web. (Article copy below / High Quality PDF )

Imagine if you will, you’re at the helm of a live internet TV show with high production values that bucks
the precise ratings driven format of television. The show is streamed in real time on the web, celebrity guests chat on a couch, a band performs and most certainly hundreds of callers Skype video chat with you. Oh, and it happens at a flip of the switch, all from the comfort of your living room.

If you’re Tom Green, that’s a reality. Quietly (and not so quietly) over the last five years, Tom Green has amassed an impressive internet following with Tom Green’s House Tonight one of the first, and longest running internet-call-in shows. One only needs to Google “Tom Green and Xzibit Freestyle Rap battle” and take a look at the nearly 3.4 million YouTube hits to see his reality is well watched.

Armed with the mantra “content over form,” Green makes a show on his terms. He calls it Guerrilla TV. But that doesn’t mean sound or production become afterthoughts. Guests are mic’d with Lectrosonics wireless lavalieres and surrounded by nine HD cameras, all set to various shot lengths and placed everywhere from the living room, front door, bookcase and even the refrigerator.

The before air set-up for Tom Green’s House Tonight resembles a pre-flight check. The control system of such an advantageous set-up looks a bit like the cockpit of a Boeing 747. At the center, a Yamaha 01V 96 VCM mixing console. Unique, are three Apple Mac computers each running a separate instance of Skype, and each running audio out through M-Audio Fast Track boxes into the board. In real time, director and web producer, Tony Corella, uses a Panasonic AG-MX70 video switcher to swap from various sources, and cues on-screen text from yet another computer, this one running Newtek VT[5].

When a band visits the studio, Green’s team rolls out a second Yamaha 01V 96 VCM and a second engineer. Just take a look at the previous show guests.  And no, that isn’t a laugh track you hear, the studio is equipped with bleachers to house twenty-some people to see the show in action.

That’s part of the fun of Tom Green’s House Tonight; two way interaction. Green wants to give unprecedented access and his viewers respond in kind. This attitude is reflected in just about everything he does. “I’m looking for good people to come out, have a little fun, and help run the show,” says Green. Feel like you have what it takes to run the rig at Tom Green’s house? If you’d like to get involved, post to the forum at TomGreen.com.

When the show comes together, the result is impressive. A live band jams, then switch on-the-fly to a Skype call, cut to the front door as guests arrive, then back to the couch. All seamless, all with the great care all direct to your computer in a show that could last twenty minutes of 4 hours.

But the action isn’t limited to inside of Tom Green’s teched and decked-out home. For high quality audio on the go, he uses a DXA-SLR active DSLR Adapter along with a MixPre Field Mixer and with two Sennheiser wireless lavs, turning his Canon EOS 5D Mark II into a formidable mobile sound package.

Ultimately, Tom Green’s House Tonight has built something unheard of in the world of internet entertainment; consistent, well-produced content that doesn’t sacrifice quality. So, when are you making a house call?

Tom Green is currently on tour, and will be performing  at the DC Improv on July 30th/August 1st. Stay tuned for more articles from me on screenwriting, filmmaking, editing, and more. They’re just around the corner, as soon as the dust from good ol’ Comicon settles!