Nearly 4 months
ago I wrote the first words about: "The
Trinitrons". If you had told me I'd only be this far
heading into JUNE tomorrow, I'd have been close to
tears.
"What in
GOD'S NAME could've taken THAT long to write
one 30 minute show?"
Everything.
There have been 10
drafts of "The Trinitrons". There have been about a
dozen different names PER BAND MEMBER
squabbled over (which we finally chose TODAY -
LOL)...and there have been arguments I swear to
GOD should've nixed my relationship with
Charlotte immediately. Yet somehow yesterday morning,
we pretty much agreed on every written word in the
script. Of course there will be tiny changes all the
way up to the second we hit record. Hell, there's a
few lines already I know need to be slightly refined,
but the script for all intents and purposes is
complete. I cringe when I say that, because
I realize what is written and what will be
performed will be slightly different, but by
"complete" I mean we can start plotting out the
production aspects of this show. And after over 15
weeks of writing...Adam's just FINE with
that.
I'll start from
the beginning, for those of you who have skimmed the
past few entries that pertained to "The Trinitrons".
This'll catch you up and give you an idea of why the
hell I've been in such a great mood this
year.
My first 4tvs show
of 2001 was in no way a memorable one. Same Lulu's
Beehive, and same 4tvs sets. This time though, through
working with a director in my apartment building, I
had someone in the audience that would put me on one
HELLUVA path. She saw the potential for at most a
sitcom for 4tvs, and at least a development deal with
a major network because of the talent I show
within 4tvs. She contacted me with a simple
email:
02.01.01
Hey there,
this is Charlotte, Marshall's friend, and I came
and saw the show at
LULU's...loved
it. I think you have a very unique act with a
lot of
possibilities.
And just from your act and website alone, I can
tell you will
make it, if
for nothing else other than you work ethic. I
would love to meet
with you and
see what your plans are and how I can help
facilitate them. Let
me know when
would be a good time?
Charlotte
Avedikian
We talked on the
phone, and met for lunch where she told me that my
goal should without a doubt be the one man show
category at Aspen. Well I damn near peed my
pants, because I had no CLUE there was a one man show
category at Aspen. I thought it was all stand-up. It
was quite the: "WELL DUH, of COURSE I should do
that" type of moment, and from that day on that's all
I've been focused on.
In an email the
next week she was throwin' out scenerios for this 30
minute one man show and stumbled upon the name: "The
Trinitrons":
02.07.01
...4tvs is a
5 member band (needs a name...The
trinatron..whatever.)...
What was just a
fleeting thought for her was INSTANTLY clear to me.
A band of TVs called "The Trinitrons", now that's
funny. 2 days later I bought some domain names:
www.thetrinitrons.com
and www.trinitrons.com
and we were off.
Now many of you
have felt it necessary to mention that "trinitron" is
a copywrighted name. Yeah, as I stare at my Sony
Trinitron monitor while I type this, it's safe to say
I was aware of that. Well there's several points to
this infringement that I should make clear. First and
foremost being: PLEASE SUE ME. Please tell me
that my little one man show is worthy of a corporation
like Sony's time for a cease and desist order. Anyone
in Columbus remember a certain CD101 ad in "The Other
Paper" that used the Chicago Bulls logo? "Running with
the Bulls" I think it was called? Heh, we got the
cease and desist order after the campaign was done.
Bottom line, they're not gonna touch me unless I'm in
some way profiting from it, and I'm not sure that will
EVER happen as this is just a means to an end
(development deal). Secondly, Charlotte actually knows
some people at Sony, and although I'm not sure that
she has mentioned it to them yet (why hand it to
them), she's more than adament about not worrying
about this. "If it comes up, you'll be
happy."
And finally, I've
made absolutely sure that ALL references to the
actual BAND NAME during "The Trinitrons" show is
done by my LIVE character...so if ANYTHING
happens, it will be as simple as changing the tower
signs: $80 and getting new domain names: $22. I mean,
I believe Charlotte and all, but I'm always gonna
leave a responsible "out" just in case.
The crux of the
next 2 months basically was an argument between
Charlotte and I that truly, only recently was
completely agreed upon on my end. I wanted the Live
band member, Adam, to be the member that is trying
valiantly to do a good tight show, and the TVs
constantly screw with his world. A real Man vs.
Machine type of bit. With the audience relating to the
"Live Adam" who must put up with his band mates.
Charlotte from the beginning felt Adam should be the
world's most arrogant person. A total dick to
everyone. ComPLETEly over the top. Ego personified. My
problem was that I couldn't define his motive to ever
deal with ANYONE's shit on the TVs, 'cause if he was
that much of a dick - he'd just
TURN THEM OFF.
As late as early
May, I was still against the arrogant Adam character,
but the final and best argument that made it win out
is that the live person HAS to be a strong character.
By design, the 4tvs set-up drowns out the live man. I
remember even in early 1999 during the first shootings
saying: "Man, no one is gonna watch me when
I perform..." Well that just can't be the case
here. The audience didn't come to watch a
TV show, and if the live performer is drowned out
by the tvs (even if they are ALL me) - you're starting
with a strike against you. It was this rationale that
finally made me quit fighting and give in. Now that
the script is finished, I can happily say, it
works like a charm. The story I crafted around Adam's
ego has a very strong beginning, middle and end...that
I feel will truly impress the audience. In fact, this
show is being crafted so carefully, and on so many
levels, I'm not sure how you could leave this show NOT
saying: "Wow".
-First of all,
and the most obvious, it's all one guy,
interracting LIVE before your eyes. For those of
you who have seen the old 4tvs, imagine the tiny
bits of interaction times 1000. On top of that,
picture every TV looking
DRASTICALLY different with insanely different
character traits. It now begins to blur the line of
fantasy and reality that within a few moments of
the show...you WILL forget the actor and begin
focussing on the character development.
-The technology
itself is quite a "head scratcher". We've all seen
the power of the green screen and post-production
magic as Eddie Murphy becomes an entire
family...but live? And in one continuous 30 minute
take?
HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT?
And how am I syncing 4 VCRS? Or is it a computer?
How the hell would you RECORD such a thing? There's
quite a few people in the audience, that will
basically ignore the first 5 minutes of the show
(I'm one of those people) trying to figure out the
trick. Most "know-it-all" males will fall into
this category. Christ, in LA, I should
probably stop the show after 5-10 minutes and start
over. LOL.
-The music. I
actually CAN sing. It's pretty hard to fake a
capella when you're doing all 5 voices. If you
suck, it's obvious. It's kind of sad, but what was
once my biggest and brightest talent (may still be)
is now delegated to a small portion of a comedy
act. I really feel that's a good thing. If your
weakest point is also your strongest point...you're
gonna be JUST fine.
-The
acting/timing/performance aspect. FINALLY I get the
chance to truly "perform" for a group of people
that WANT to see this. I get to act! No
one has really gotten to see that side, even though
moments peek through in 4tvs...this is the first
bit of acting I've gotten to do since being the
lead in The Music Man in highschool. I'm freakin'
ready, and have ABSOLUTELY no doubts. I'm
eager as hell, and I'm amazed I was able to sit and
WRITE for 15 weeks, without performing. It's
been killing me.
-And finally,
and truly the foundation and glue that will hold it
all together: The story is funny on it's own. If it
were 5 different people, it'd still be funny. That
is what I've been struggling to accomplish for so
long. So often I've relied on my "performance
ability" to make the most out of mediocre
lines...well these babies aren't mediocre. They
aren't just the first thing that came to mind (as I
did with all my other 4tvs sets) - this script was
truly run through the mill. And will certainly be
harped on for the next few weeks all the way up to
the moment of shooting. Hell, I guarantee that
when it's all said and done, I'll still want to
change things. It's the nature of the
beast.
The next part in
"The Trinitron Chronicles" will be the preperation for
the production. I've already started by growing my
beard, and my hair is as long as it's been since I was
in college. A lot of this stage falls on
Charlotte. She needs to get the workspace to shoot
(which she is pretty sure about), she already has a
hair and make-up artist ready to go and of course all
the costumes and scenery for each TV needs to be
gathered. Each character within the TV actually has a
giant ROOM behind him that is dressed up in each
character's own special way. I'll be drawing up models
for each TV tomorrow (at least the first 2 that we're
doing), and brainstorming on costumes and props. My
biggest chore, and probably the most crucial part of
the entire process, will be making an entire audio
script of every second of this performance. Including
having to "guess" where the audience will laugh, and
having to guess how long it will take each character
to actually change within the show (oh, and the
characters actually change clothes during the show
with ABSOLUTELY NO EDITS...why do I do this
to myself?). I suspect this process alone will take
5-7 straight days of work. Tedious, mind-numbing work.
Laboring over every damn line. Then mixing and
rendering 4 seperate wav files onto a CD that will
guide me during taping. If I had access to CD101's
studios for probably a DAY, I'd have no
problem...without a full fledged recording studio
though, it's gonna take a lot of time.
The other part of
this "Pre-production" phase that I've kept mum about,
is getting our celebrity guest to agree to let us
invade his house for a few moments and tape him for
part of the act. He's just SOOO PERFECT for the
end of this show. It will truly shock the hell out of
everyone if he does this. It would be the perfect end
to a perfect skit, and I pray to GOD he feels the
same. Charlotte has his home phone number, and is
fairly confident he will dig my sense of humor enough
to do this for free. He's only on camera for about 90
seconds, and we can do it without him ever leaving the
comfort of his own home. Jesus, the audience will be
laughing so damn hard...I'll be amazed if they can
even hear him.
Another
plus, is that it gives me immediate
credibility to anyone watching to think
that this guy would do this for me. All I
can do is hope and pray. If he does say
no, I do have an alternate ending, that
will work fine since no one will know what
it "could've" been...but goddamn let this
happen. Within a couple of weeks, we'll
know. Let's pray he's as cool as
Dave
Foley
was last year. And don't freak about "who"
it is people, you'll know either way in a
week or so...
Now if I could
just choose, I'd want to do the 1st two TVs on the
16th and 17th
of June,
respectively. We then would have to wait for 2 weeks
while some facial hair grows back and to allow me to
insert the first 2 TV's audio tracks, so the last 2
are talking to the ACTUAL finished lines, as opposed
to the dummy copies. That would bring us to the days
of June
30th, and
July
1st. With
another 2 weeks of post-production, this
baby...AT THE EARLIEST...could be performed
by the end of July. I know 2 months away seems
like forever, but that may even be a "rushed"
estimate. As I've seen from the writing phase, shit
just comes up.
But for now, the
process is in motion, and part one is complete. It's a
five part process if you were wondering, with the
first linking to the video:
The Trinitron
Chronicles: Part 3 - 1st half of
shooting
The Trinitron
Chronicles: Part 4 - 2nd half of
shooting
The Trinitron
Chronicles: Part 5 -
Post-production
There will be
other "Journey" entries not pertaining to "The
Trinitrons" in the coming months as my life has a way
of throwing interesting curve-balls when I'm least
expecting it. So far so good though.
You know, late
last night as I took Marshall (director who introduced
me to Charlotte) to the airport, he straight up said:
"I get having a site, I get doing cool videos, showing
show dates and having mp3s...I don't get "the
journey". I don't understand the need to have a diary
online". And honestly, I don't really either. Had the
idea not simply evolved from the "Late Show"
newsletter in early 1996, there probably wouldn't be a
"Journey". But as of entry #124, I'm
REALLY GODDAMN HAPPY this exists. "The
Journey" is a project that at some point will end, and
just may be the thing I'm most proud of in 20
years.
And finally,
Marshall, if you haven't read it...you'll never get
it. To those who have read up to this point...they're
pretty excited.
