I filmed a talking head piece for MTV on Tuesday. Like the comics on VH1's Best Week Ever, but talking about music videos. The bits, if used, will air next week at various times.How it happened: A casting director with MTV wrote me last week and said I was recommended to her by another local comedian for a new show they're doing.
We are looking for comedians to do commentary on some of our MTV videos, very similar to how comedians comment on VH-1 Best Week Ever. We are looking for comedians who are good to come back throughout the summer and be our regulars on the show. Unfortunately its none paid, BUT the videos will be playing 8am-11am every morning, and the hour before TRL, hour after TRL and some evenings. So you'll get lots of exposure.
What comedian doesn't like exposure? I tell her I'm in and on Tuesday afternoon I went to the MTV studios.
The deal: The bits are for FNMTV. That's MTV's way of playing videos over the summer while, using picture-in-picture, random people (fans, bloggers, comedians, musicians, etc.) comment on those videos.
The gist of the comments is that you either love or hate the video and you give funny/creative reasons why (in 10 second or so bytes). You also get to answer a couple of random questions about the video or the artist.
Another comic (Joe Powers) and I were slated for the same time period. They brought us up to a conference room, had us fill out some paperwork, and then showed us three videos that will premiere on Friday night: T.I. (rapper), No Age ("experimental" rock), and Day 26 (P. Diddy's new boy band). We watched each video twice and took some notes.
Then they set the camera up and we were rolling. It was just a simple setup. One camera, no lights. (I think it's supposed to look kinda homemade.) Joe went first and did his bits on each video, one after another (and did a nice job). The guy running the show then would ask a few questions if there were missed topics he wanted Joe to address.
Then it was my turn. Some of my bits were def stupid, but I think at least a couple had legs. It's an odd situation: doing jokes off the top of your head in front of a camera that's three feet away and a roomful of about five people who don't really care all that much (they're filming a bunch of people so they've probably seen these videos, and similar comments, hundreds of time already). The good part of that was when you did get a laugh in the room, you felt you were actually onto something. Who knows what they'll leave in/out though.
The videos debut on Friday night and then the talking head comments will start airing on Monday and go through the week, I think. Other NYC comics are doing 'em too: Kumail, Sean Patton, Becky Ciletti, Chelsea White, Gabe Liedman, Jenny Slate, Mara Herron, and prob a bunch more that I don't know of.
