VHL 2016

Vernon Hills

TV Show

Entry Description

Students write, produce, and stream live in a four day production period over the summer.

Judge 1

Positives: The group, in general, had great comedic timing. Cutaways and 2-shots were well utilized.

Improvements: The group shot is weird - it's cutting out two people. Also, I didn't really get what I was watching until the end - but the individual intros were fun. Was that a live audience or a laugh track? Either way, it was too loud.

Judge 2

Positives: Seems like a talented cast with good comedic instincts. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but once I did, the cast reeled me in. I really thought the show started to click when we got to the opening credits (even though they got cut off). I liked the different ways the cast were introduced, good announcer voice, and appropriate music track adjusted to a good level.

Improvements: I'm not sure the black box arrangement was a great way to stage the cold open segment. Lighting's not great, sound isn't very rich, and having everyone in a wide semi-circle posed challenges for your camera operators. I'd back off the laugh track a tad. For future submissions, I'd consider starting with your opening credits and then go into your first segment. Makes it easier to get the tone of the show. (I know this is the way SNL does it, but we already know SNL, As a judge, I'm looking at a wide variety of clips from many different types of shows, and I really didn't get what I was watching at first. The description provided doesn't give many clues.)

Judge 3

Positives: Interesting concept.

Improvements: Audio coverage with that many people is very difficult and it was hard to listen to at points. Also with the same size issue, camera work was limited and just sat at a long shot.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: