[Note: This is all written before I saw any footage or the commercial.]
I’m bad at the self-edit and this is written more for myself, as a memory log, then anything else. So if it’s too long, take snack breaks when needed. I can only post so much before the episode actually airs, so this is all you get today – and besides, you wouldn’t want me to ruin anything for you right?
[See this post for those who don’t know, or: Bar Karma is a half-hour Sci-Fi show airing on CURRENT TV, Fridays at 10pm. This cosmic/mystical bar resides somewhere out in Time/Space and each week one Patron opens a door somewhere in their life but enters BK, carrying the burden of some “Karmic Dilemma”. The shows regulars, Doug, James and Dana, try to help rectify it. The show itself is partially created by a online community. I came to it late, but I’ve been kicking ideas into the mix, under the name BillBlogins and got some stuff into episodes 7 & 8.]
Overview: It starts with an email, goes pretty good in the middle, and the real breakdown comes at the end.
Prolonged Prologue:
The first email was brief as were all the ones to follow. What it all boiled down to was that the producers of the Bar Karma wanted to do something different for episode 11. Basically: a few of BK’s online Community Members, on set, discussing the show, inter-cut with clips from previous episodes. While paraphrased, that was the original, leading idea. I say leading because, behind the scenes, there were still a lot of ideas kicking around. And since I live in proximity to Newark where they film, I was one the few they contacted. They asked us all for brief videos. Nothing fancy, straight off of a phone cam was good enough.
I hesitated briefly.
Eventually, after spending way too much time figuring out how to prop up and set up my phone, the UnKool-24/7x, I got something decent recorded and emailed it. Nina, the online producer emailed me right back. No sound. Well, of course not. She never asked for it. What, you people want to HEAR me, too? I switched out to a pocket cam, redid my shtick another five times to get it right and felt like the hurdle was cleared. Nah. It was to big for Gmail.
Ugh. The Drama.
I found a video file converter online and changed the format, which at the same time shrank it down. Nice. Again, sent it off to Nina. By that point, it was so late she was at the Gym. Oops- my bad. Like a lot of things in life, this whole idea was starting to seem destined to not happen. All those little hurdles putting a negative spin on it all. But low and behold, they liked the video. (I do a hell of a Channing Tatum impression. …or was it Carol Channing…)
Now everything started moving to phone calls and they wanted to, maybe, come to my house (and/or my job) and film a segment about me. They, especially episode director Rosario Roveto, were interested with the visuals of my space- my artwork and all that. They were still tossing around ideas, “things might change”, I was told. Mind you, half these calls were a garble thanks to the overrated wonders of speakerphone technology. They were on a tight schedule and looking to shoot in a few days. I was into it. Seemed easy enough. Talk a bit about myself, hang out with some online friends, talk about the website community and the process, talk about the show. Simple, straightforward.
But then things changed.
They had devised a narrative for the episode. A story.
That meant a script. Dialogue. Acting.
Ok, that’s a bit of a change I’d say.
Rosario called me that night to put to bed any concerns or nervousness I might be experiencing. This was the first point I realized that I wasn’t nervous. Which isn’t right. Normally I would be nervous about anything like this- at least a little bit. The limited amount of public speaking I’ve done has always come with an uneasy gut. So when he spoke about the script, his ideas, and how there was no pressure or expectation on me to be an actor—just be myself— I rolled with it.
To the best of my ability to “roll”, anyway.
Ok, that's it, more tomorrow, here are some teases: A Satellite Crew! Broken Artwork! The Noob Has Ideas! Eye Damage! Micro-dramas!
Here's the next part!
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