Best of iTunes 2008!

Strangely enough I rarely talk about work, but it does take up (approximately) 60 percent of my time and life, and I've had quite a year -- to say the least.

Working at a small startup company is something that I haven't done before, and I've learned A LOT so far. The ups, the downs, and the reorganization is just a part of the experience. I know I'm one of the lucky ones who continues with full-time employment in this time of recession and uncertainty.

But let me quickly change the tone of this post. The brighter lining involves one of the shows I produce and its definitely something that I am VERY proud to be a part of.

A little over a year ago, I was asked to shoot a pilot on "magic and scams" in a bar. I really had no idea what I was in for, but was intrigued after reading the show pitch and treatment. Little did I know I would start a new journey into comedy, foolery, and yes, intelligent entertainment with a guy sporting spiky hair.

I remember meeting Brian on a chilly afternoon on Market Street in San Francisco, and thinking "Ok, this will definitely be interesting". Brian, Jonathan (his right hand person at the time) and myself, grabbed some pizza and ran through shoot prep. Later that evening we shot for about 4 hours and quite honestly I wasn't sure if we accomplished what we needed.

Our very first attempt at shooting an episode was "The Short Change" (which we re-shot almost a year later). The bar yelled at us for shining a bright softbox light on the main downstairs area, thus rushing our shoot and not getting what we really needed. We were banished to the upstairs area of the bar and shot the rest of the episodes. Asking people to be on-camera was NOT easy. We also rarely use that softbox on shoots anymore.

About two months later I edited "The Human Chimney", "The Puzzle" and "Bang Your Head". I played around with the music and pacing and really had fun with the footage, with absolutely no idea if anyone would like the final product.

Then the feedback came in, and it was overwhelmingly positive! I think a few people were surprised that the pilot episodes were good (including myself). Most of all I was really happy to get the seal of approval from Brian. While I wanted the show to be entertaining, it needed to match his vision as the show is Brian's brand and content. And the rest (as they say) is history and Scam School was born.

Earlier this month we got a little surprise as iTunes announced its "Best of 2008" and we were on the list as one of the Best Video Podcasts of the year! How's that for the little show that no one knew could :)

I like our positioning next to Morningstar and The Pentagon Channel :)

It's been a great year, and look out for more hilarity and scamming in 2009!

Comments

[Serafina]

Congrats!! I must say - I'm a fan, too. :)

[phatemokid]

i am so glad they picked you for scam school! it really is one of the best podcast i watch. keep up the great work!

cordially
aric

[Josh Lawrence]

Hurrah! Keep rocking the Scam School! :)

[Stephen]

I don't have to tell you how much I love Scam School, since I think I do on a daily basis anyway .. it's starting to scare even me ... Anyway.

Brian is an awesome show host, but everyone knows that the editing is where the magic really happens, so congrats on a great show, and I look forward to another great year of scams, and cons.

[San]

Being in the industry, I know what it takes to make a tv show and what always amazes me about what you do is you do it without the support of a major broadcaster. You consistantly produce material that we would broadcast here and you do it "on the smell of an oily rag". I appreciate what you do and it's obvious many others do too.

Merry Christmas and all that :)