At VentHaven, Ken Groves showed a video slideshow that was full of trivia before some of the shows. He told me he has also created one for the cruise ships, which plays as people are coming in and waiting for the show to start. Its not really a part of the show, but gets people in the mood.

I have decided to create something similar, but after the slide show, I want to run a short video that will let the audience see some of my travels as a performer. While here in Mexico, I am visiting sites and tourist locations, with the goal of creating a 3 - 4 minute video. I have taped a segment at the Mayan Ruins of Coba and put together a clip. It will be edited further for the final product, and the sound relies on the camera mic - because it is being done on the fly.

The Youtube link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgVuJu5VT_M

Be interested in knowing your thoughts...
Thanks,
Tom

Hi Tom..

Great idea. It seems as though the punch lines (audio level) fade out a bit too quickly. Funny lines, but I think you need a pregnant pause before the video moves on to the next clip. Especially if a audience is reacting to the lines, they'll be laughing and missing the set up for the next bit. I really like the idea though...keep shooting...

Ken

Thanks for the point Ken, I was trying to keep it short - apparently too short! The fade cross overs also pull down the audio. I should have known - always accent the punch!

I will do that when I edit the final piece. Again, thanks for a valuable insight!

I think it's a great idea...nicely done too.

thanks Tom

Wow ! Excellent stuff ! Very funny. I had a bit of trouble hearing you sometimes, so if you plan to use this for shows, you might think of taking it to a studio to overdub the spoken lines again, or the simpler trick would be to just boost them up over the music a bit. It does seem to pick up pace towards the end, which doesn't leave much reaction time. Perhaps you could splice in some ruins shots to alternate with the shots of you and your quacker, which would give the audience time to laugh more.

All in all, though, uber cool, and VERY TOM CROWL, which in my humble opinion, is fuh-NEE ! Hope I didn't wake up my kid, I was laughing kinda loud....

Mark

Thanks Mark & Wanlu.

I agree the sound needs some work. Good idea on more ruins shots in between Mark - it would definitely help the pacing. I had so many quick bits I wanted to include, but still wanted to keep the clip short. When I re-edit for the final I will definitely make these changes. The hard part will be figuring out what to pull out of the final video.

I really appreciate the suggestions.

If only Dangerous is an Axtell, this could be a winning entry for the Axtell Video Contest

I have to agree - very funny stuff.
Dangerous seems like such a great character to adlib with, although as Jack Benny once said "The best ad libs are well rehearsed"

I agree with that statement Neale, you wouldn't believe how many "ad-libs" I threw out! My future segments will be done after some careful thought. I also need to leave more time on each end of the bits so I can edit the video easier. Its a learning process.

I've seen videos of Jeff Dunham lately with a pre-show video of him with his figures. Interesting!

Well, the pre-show video is officially finished. Turned out very different than I expected. I ended up leaving out a lot of jokes. The whole thing runs just a bit longer than my original Coba edit.

The video will make its debut at my tapings on Sunday and will most likely be on the DVD when released. I will try to upload it to Youtube when I have the time - that is, if it plays well with the audience...

I think this is a great idea...

I might just invest on a projector and a small screen that I can bring in my gigs...and play the pre-show video while the guests are eating

You see here in Manila, entertainment comes immediatley after lunch or dinner So the pre-show video can play during lunch/dinner

What stuff should I avoid putting in the video that may spoil the surprise or maybe give away too much of the act? Should I put all my charaters in one video?

Maybe I should have two sets of videos...one for kiddie shows which I regularly do...and one for adult shows which comes along once in a while


Thanks for the great idea Tom...expensive but great!