David Mitchell's Soapbox: Box Clever

David Mitchell is a very witty, articulate chap who I would love to go for a pint with one day (partly for the discussion and partly because I think he would order the cheapest ale and save my pocket some grief) but isn’t one that seems to spend hours and hours putting every hair in the right order before leaving the house in the morning. So it strikes me as strange that his latest endeavour in the Podcast world is sponsored by Bulldog, a male grooming company that specialise in very manly shower gel, hair gel and – I don’t know – probably nipple gel. This beautiful irony hasn’t gone unnoticed by David in his Vidcast, David Mitchell’s Soap Box. To quote the man himself: “You may have noticed these shows are sponsored by a range of male grooming products who, for reasons best known to themselves, that their range would profit by being associated with a series of three minute rants from a man from whom, self-evidently, grooming is not a burning issue”.

For three minutes per week a fresh, imaginative and targeted moan falls into your computer’s hard drive straight from the minds of David Mitchell and one of his long-time writing friends Jesse Armstrong. Together, the two put together a very funny rant on a series of chosen topics ranging from spelling to man flu. As you would expect from a Mitchell/Armstrong combo, the writing is superb and delivered in a way that can’t help but make you smile. David Mitchell has a dry delivery with the edge taken off. He’s got the timing and pace of a Jack Dee but infinitely more approachable and isn’t afraid to crack a smile and enjoy himself a bit. Presented as Vidcasts, David will sit perched in a CGI world very calmly and informally sharing his views.

Effort really has gone into the show production-wise and each episode’s subject matter is reflected in its virtual location (which probably peak on the weirdness front in the episode “Going To The Doctors”, which sees David delivering his piece from inside a blood cell in the human body, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. As the series goes on the productions are becoming more and more elaborate with panning shots, crazy camera work and the like, which makes me eagerly await episode 100 which I think will most definitely be scratch and sniff.

I like it when celebrities “get” the Internet and use their powers to promote mediums like Podcasting in the way that David Mitchell has. As a writing pair, he and Jesse Armstrong are as funny now as when they did Peep Show and it’s great to see a creative outlet for these two. Whether the show has room to expand and become more is yet to be seen but for now, three minutes of Mitchell as week is good enough for me. But the Bulldog sponsorship still baffles me.

Subscribe by iTunes - David Mitchell's Soapbox Official Website

Robert Llewellyn's Carpool: Giving Vidcasts A Lift

“When I interview people, I never know what to do with my hands” commented Robert Llewellyn whilst chatting with Ruby Wax as he drove her across London.  Whilst this wasn’t the inspiration behind the birth of Carpool, it was a happy coincidence for its host.

The artist formerly known as Red Dwarf’s Kryten, Robert Llewellyn has a firm grasp on the modern, internet generation.  Unlike many of his peers who are baffled by concepts such as Twitter and Youtube, Llewellyn has embraced that this medium will soon bypass the current conventions such as TV and radio.  All he needed was a way to get a piece of the action.  Enter Carpool, one of the most unusual concepts for a talk show since Kenny Everett pioneed “Eat Your Guest”.

A self-confessed Petrolhead, Llewellyn has kitted out his car with an impressive array of microphones and cameras and offers to give his famous friends a lift to wherever they need to go in return for answering a few questions for his fans.  In London, the home of the congestion charge, this probably comes as quite a relief to residents who want to get to work quickly and efficiently.  Since the programmes birth earlier this year, Bobby has taken the likes of Stephen Fry, Tony Hawks, Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Dom Joly and Ruby Wax to where they need to go and – in return – has supplied the Internet with some wonderful interviews in a very relaxed and unusual environment.

As an interviewer, Robert Llewellyn may not be taking over from a Jonathon Ross anytime soon, as there are times when he seems uncomfortable and slightly at a loss for words or – when with close friends like Chris Barrie – drifts off into slightly dull car talk.  If you love cars, then watching two Red Dwarf stars talk about the top-of-the-range super-turbo engines is nothing short of a wet dream…for the rest of the dry, non-petrolheads, it does cause you to wonder off in your mind.  But what we mustn’t forget in all of this is that the great chat show hosts of our time don’t have to worry about piloting a great big hunk of metal through a busy West End side street, so Robert can be forgiven for losing his thread from time to time.

A wonderfully unique concept, Robert Llewellyn has created what is essentially an online pilot for a TV series.  I hope that somebody somewhere pumps a bit more money in Robert’s direction to make Carpool into a well-polished TV-ready product.  Carpool is still worth watching for now though, as you never know who will hop in the car next.  Everybody needs to get somewhere at some point…the possibilities are endless!

Carpool Official Website

Random Bandits: A Kicker To Sponsorship Naysayers

One question that has dogged Podcasters since the medium's inception is how to monetize their efforts.  The results are as varied as the Podcasts themselves; whilst some people manage to rake in beer money for their wares, some have managed to turn the show into a full-time occupation.

A common method of making some pennies from your Podcast is to get the backing of a well-established sponsor, but that opens a whole can of worms on how "The Man" will control the direction of your production, thus destroying the whole ethos behind you doing "exactly what you like for money".  Despite these concerns, this is what Modern Toss creators Mick Bunnage and Jon Link have done in their latest project Random Bandits.

Sponsored heavily by shoe company Kickers, Bunnage and Link haven't pushed their sponsor into the bookends of the show like many others, and have instead embraced it in a big, virtual hug.  The short, three-minute Vidcasts look and feel like the Modern Toss productions that made the writing duo famous with sketchy graphics, loud and abusive characters, distinctive music stabs and slow-to-fast bursts of comedy.  Random Bandits places focus on three main characters; Shoe Horn (we'll get to him in a second); David Beeline, an abrasive and loud truck driver; and Fly Talk, the only characters taken from the original Modern Toss series, that follows two of nature’s favourite insects discussing celebrity run-ins they had that day.

Random Bandits, as mentioned earlier, is very vocal about its connections with the sponsor and have birthed the Shoe Horn character from this relationship.  The sketches follow a man who invests in a pair of shoes (very obviously of the Kicker brand) that are a hundred sizes too big and how his life seems to improve because of it.  Suddenly, he has respect and admiration for his ridiculously oversized footwear, and ends up in a series of bizarre situations with them.  Whilst it’s obvious the character has been created to get the sponsors across, Bunnage and Link have done such a marvelous job that Shoe Horn would not seem out of place on a new series Modern Toss…I actively encourage it, as a matter of fact.

The result of the Bunnage/Link/Kickers connection is a dose of Modern Toss comedy that you can keep on the move.  Whilst there is only currently five episodes of this series, it’s a great example of how anybody that says that sponsorship destroys the product should probably, to quote Dave Beeline, “just forget it, yeah?”

Subscribe via iTunes - Random Bandits Official Website