You may or may not be familiar with Current. It’s a news-and-information cable channel, started by Al Gore & Friends a few years ago to cater to younger audiences. The channel broadcasts what they call “pods,” which are essentiall 3-5 minute news stories, often contributed by viewers, which are bracketed by VJ-like hosts. Current approached me a few months ago about putting together a pilot for a TV version of The Sound of Young America, and what you see above is the result.
We tried to keep it very simple and true to the spirit of the radio show and podcast. It’s shot in my apartment, and they’re actually shooting a radio interview. As you can see, they work in a lot of other visuals and so forth, as well. I was really impressed by the excitement producer Mark Reinhardt and his team managed to introduce into what’s essentially a pair of talking heads.
What do you think? Current are as happy with the product as I am, and it looks like we’ll be doing more of these in the future.
(In case anyone’s worried, while Current will probably end up owning the TV productions, they won’t get any control or rights to anything other than that, including any future TSOYA video projects. They’ve been really good about understanding my desire to control my work, and I feel very good about the partnership.)