Look Ma’ I’m on TV!

A good friend by the name of Ryan Yewell invited me to be a guest speaker on In the Lab with Leo (http://www.labwithleo.com)! Now that’s awesome! Ryan has his own segment called “Yewell’s Jewells” in which he shares free software with the rest of us. I grew up watching such shows as The Screensavers and I never imagined I’d be on a show with Leo Laporte. Being a guest speaker is awesome – the trick is to show up at lunch and you get free food….

[flashvideo file=”http://mattvogt.com/media/leo-segment.flv” /]

(that’s the “oh crap” expression)

The segment we talked in was about 3D printing. The school district I work with has purchased a 3D printer in which my colleagues and I take full advantage of. We even won an international “Most Spectacular Print Job” award with a haunted house we modeled in 3DSMax and sculpted in Zbrush (http://haunt3d.com). Anywhooo, since we were showcasing 3D printing I thought I might as well impress the hell out of Leo and model his head.

[flashvideo file=”http://mattvogt.com/media/leoProcess.flv” /]

Approaching the air date reminded me of that feeling I used to get when I didn’t study for a test. I had no idea what to expect and fear did enter my mind as I visualized Leo asking me a question I did not know the answer to. Nonetheless, when I arrived. the thought of screwing up was overcome by how positive the crew was. I’m sure there is stressful times in every workplace but these guys know how to have a good time. It makes sense that they push the positive vibes as no one likes to watch people not enjoying themselves (if you do – you suck).

An episode’s creation process was somewhat surprising to me. They actually record “live to tape” which scared the bejesus out of us. Upon entering their control room, the producer (he who calls the shots) looks over the shoulders of three dudes:

• A sound guy with phatty speakers and a sweet sound monitoring program
• A video switching master – “on the fly editor” if you will
• A guy who whips up the title bits (names, locations, URLs etc)

These guys work their magic as if the show was being broadcast live. They cue up the required footage, set up the camera angles and capture the “on the spot” personality of everyone who’s on! It’s a very relaxed atmosphere, you can even walk around the set while filming regardless of if you’re in the shot or not.