Shooting video is very much different than performing stand-up comedy
March 26, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I went into the studio to tape my first video production today, and oh boy did it not go as well as I expected. Luckily, we had a number of takes, so once they are spliced together, there should be one good performance.
Maybe I’m being too hard on myself. I’m used to single takes being perfect, because in stand-up comedy you only get one take. You can’t hit rewind when you’re on stage.
At first I thought it should be easy to record a video since I should be able to do single takes the entire way through the same way I do it on stage. I even resisted using the teleprompter for the first few takes because I didn’t know if I would come off as too robotic. Strangely, the opposite happened.
Minus the teleprompter, I had zero personality as I was trying to remember my lines. Once we switched over to the teleprompter, I at least showed some signs of life. Hopefully it was enough.
The other trouble I felt now that I think about it, is that I didn’t have the right timing on my delivery. I spoke quite a bit quicker than I normally do in stand-up. I haven’t watched the video back yet, so I’m not sure how easily my words will be understood.
I’m not really sure why I had so much trouble today, but I’ll chalk it down as a learning experience. Hopefully next time, I can be a little bit smoother.
Now comes the second part of the video, the actual production. I’ve got to decide how I want to take the video footage and make it into a complete package with sound and images. I went with my video producer because I believe in his talent, so I don’t want to step on his creativity too much, but I think he may be looking for some direction given the subject matter is a bit specific to me.
I’m really excited to show everyone the video once it’s ready, so please stay tuned.
Michael Sarver – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8
March 25, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Michael Sarver has a good voice but not quite good enough. Michael doesn’t have the goods to be a true R&B singer, though I suppose he maybe could have a career in country music, seeing as how a great voice isn’t exactly a requirement in that genre (sorry country fans, but it’s true).
Michael Sarver performs Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)
Michael Sarver performs Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)
Michael Sarver has a nice tone to his voice, but he struggled badly with his upper range in this performance. The performance came off as a little too weak for the subject matter, similar to his performance of I Don’t Want To Be. The ending of the song was also way too over the top.
Michael Sarver used the stage well, and his performances have become less and less horrible from week to week.
Review Score: ★★☆☆☆
Kortnie Coles – Photoshoot Portfolio Review, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12, ANTM 2009
March 25, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Kortnie should never have been cast for the show. She has no real shot in the actual modeling industry. She’s the in-between size that is too large for size 2 outfits but too small to be a full-figured model. Her bone structure is quite lovely, but that doesn’t matter as her skin is terrible after probably years of ridiculous tanning. I was happy to see her go home, and it probably took longer to send her home than it should have.
Kortnie Coles, America's Next Top Model Cycle 12 ANTM 2009, Episode 5: Put Your Best Face Forward
This photoshoot concept ended up quite boring. Shooting with an old camera is not a concept, Tyra. Oh well, considering everything, Kortnie didn’t do too bad, though she blends into the background a little too much.
Review Score: ★★☆☆☆
I’m not sure if this comedy is allowed, but I’m going to try it anyway
March 24, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
One more day before I film my first video production. On the great advice of a great friend, I have decided to film my comedy set about the SuperPowerBottoms, my gay volleyball team and not-so-subtle stab at promoting rights for bottoms everywhere. Haha, talk about the opposite of mainstream. The video will be targeted to a very specific demographic, but I’m hoping that that demographic will really appreciate it.
The big news of the week, though, is that I have found my own comedy muse: hot blonde actress and improv student Holly. While doing improv, I discovered how much I love collaboration which isn’t something I get to do at all in stand-up. While brainstorming with my muse, I’ve decided to try something off-the-wall and maybe even against the rules.
I’m going to write a stand-up for someone else. I will be the Tina Fey to her Amy Poehler (check Saturday Night Live). Writing stand-up for Holly is actually kind of exciting because of her great acting ability. She has a uniqueness to her look and great timing on her delivery, but at this point in time she is more of a performance artist than a writer. Writing for Holly will allow me to really push myself creatively. I’ve written for my own stand-up persona for so long, that I think writing from the perspective of a young, hot blonde will be very interesting.
The end goal for this writing project is to have Holly perform her material as an opening act when my one-man show debuts (now with a bonus woman!) at the end of this year or early next year. The fact that I’ll be writing both acts will lend itself to some great continuity and some comedy tricks that I’ve been meaning to try and which I don’t think have been done before, as a headliner generally doesn’t write material for their opening act.
Anyhow, with my two current projects progressing well, I’m getting excited and more inspired than ever. It feels great to be pushing the boundaries of an art form that I love so dearly.
Deciding which set will work best on video is more difficult than I thought
March 22, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
My spring and summer comedy schedule is starting to get really full, which is a great thing and not something I could have said about my comedy life last year. I end each of April, May and June off with a relatively big show and I have a bunch of off-stage projects on the go, the biggest of which is my comedy video production starting this week.
I have studio time booked with my video producer for this Thursday. The final video will consist of me performing one of my stand-up sets that will then be enhanced with animation and sound effects. It’s difficult to describe, but I’m excited that the project is moving forward.
The biggest difficulty for me is deciding which set will work best in a video format accompanied by graphics and sound effects. Some of my sets definitely lend themselves more to a visual format but may not be the best for a debut video, as I’d like the first video to skew more mainstream (otherwise I’d start the first video off on a skit about the SuperPowerBottoms volleyball team).
I think I’m down to two choices: the set about my sister Anne, which has never yet been performed, and the set about my time as an obituary writer, which has never been filmed or uploaded online. Both sets of their merit for sure.
The set about my sister Anne would probably be the clear choice in terms of what would work for this project, but it is in an unfinished state and hasn’t really been tested for kinks. The obituary skit works well too but isn’t as representative of my comedy style as a whole.
I’ll think about it some more tonight, and I’ll have to make up my mind by Tuesday, as I’ll need all of Wednesday to rehearse and memorise.
Aminat and Fo impress as Wall Street investors, America’s Next Top Model 12 Episode 4 ANTM
March 18, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
The preview showed that tonight’s episode would include lots of Miss J and runway walking, which is always a good thing. There’s not much wrong that this show can do for me. I’m way too obsessed.
Overall, it was a fun episode, and I enjoyed that we got to see more of New York due to the theme of the photoshoot: famous areas of New York. I wasn’t too sad to see Nijah go home. She’s extremely pretty, but she’s been boring me to death the last couple of weeks.
Read more . . .
Alexis Grace – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8
March 18, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Alexis Grace had one of the best transformations I’ve ever seen from her first audition to her performance in the Top 36. Her new hair, makeup and attitude were refreshing and showed that she could be a real star.
Alexis Grace’s voice was definitely nice, but I was never as blown away as the judges. That being said, I wasn’t as disappointed by the judges and thought that Alexis’ last two performances were actually pretty good. She was a consistent performer but never had a breakout performance.
Alexis Grace performs Jolene (Dolly Parton), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)
Alexis Grace performs Jolene (Dolly Parton), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)
Alexis Grace sounded like she had a lack of breath control to open the song, but I really thought that Alexis brought a nice delicacy to her vocals. She told the story very well.
Alexis Grace has done a great job of changing up her hair and look in subtle ways week after week. Her little black dress looked great paired with her dangling earrings.
Review Score: ★★★½☆
Nijah Harris – Photoshoot Portfolio Review, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12, ANTM 2009
March 18, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
Nijah is the classic case of a model having all the potential in the world and not knowing what to do with it. Her gorgeous body and ridiculously modelesque face never translated in any of her photos. Still, if she can figure it out, she has tons of potential to make it as a real model in the fashion industry.
Nijah Harris, America's Next Top Model Cycle 12 ANTM 2009, Episode 4: New York's Finest
Total disaster! Nijah looks horrible yet again, her clothing doesn’t work, and the overall colours don’t mix well in this photo.
Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆
Adam Lambert stuns Randy Travis with Ring of Fire Egyptian Remix, American Idol 8 Top 11
March 17, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
Tonight is American Idol’s annual trek into the world of country music, this week’s theme being the Grand Ole Opry. I’m glad that the guest vocal coach is Randy Travis, as he has an incredible amount of credibility in the country music world.
The big story of the night is Adam Lambert’s bizarre but memorable take on Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. He shocked me with his bold choice. I’m not sure what to make of it, which is a sign of good art I suppose. It’s always a good idea to change things up and deliver something unexpected; otherwise, people will get bored no matter how great your performances are.
Matt Giraud most definitely stole the night away with his mesmerizing performance to close the show.
I have to give big props to the stylists this week. Last week, I was upset that some obviously horrible hair and style choices were still around despite it being the first week that the stylists had access to the contestants. This week, all the horrible hair from last week was corrected: namely Scott MacIntyre and Lil Rounds looked a lot better.
The American Idol producers went a bit too far trying to push this week’s show to two hours. There are commercial breaks between every single performance with only one exception. That’s a little bit too much in my opinion. I can’t fault them, though, since it does bring in more advertiser dollars during a time of economic downturn. Still, I’m allowed to be annoyed.
Charice Pempengco’s voice sparkles in Fingerprint, preview single off new album
March 17, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
Courtesy of Charice Pempengco super fan and insider FalseVoice, below is a preview of Fingerprint, a great song from Charice’s upcoming album currently being recorded with producer David Foster.
Preview of Charice’s Fingerprint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-QYVsyQi_Y&feature=channel_page
It’s great to hear how well Charice Pempengco’s voice translates in a studio environment. She’s undoubtedly the best live singer I have ever heard in my entire life, so I didn’t really have much doubt that her voice would work well in a studio. The big question would be about artistic direction. This song gives a hint toward that, but I’d like to hear more before I make my verdict.
Read more . . .
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