Archive for Persian Gulf
Outtakes: More care in those packages from Stephen Colbert and Tom Hanks
Posted by: | CommentsHeh, the good folks over at ColbertNation are really helping us out by continuing to post outtakes from the Operation Iraqi Stephen shows. I really kind of love these. Check out Stephen Colbert and Tom Hanks in some more of the clips we missed out on during the original airings:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Outtake – Tom Hanks Pt. 1 | ||||
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More after the jump — enjoy!
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Outtakes: Stephen Colbert does Basic Training
Posted by: | CommentsColbertNation has posted a few more outtakes from Operation Iraqi Stephen (yay!). They’ve posted three brief clips, but this one is my favorite:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Outtake – Basic Training Pt. 3 | ||||
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Love that little heel click!
Watch the other outtakes after the fold:
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Outtake: Stephen Colbert flying with the Thunderbirds
Posted by: | CommentsInteresting! Just days after we hear Stephen Colbert telling Pete Dominick that he has “yet to feel like it was a good idea to have done that [flown with the Thunderbirds],” ColbertNation posts a bit of unseen footage from Stephen’s flight with the Thunderbirds Thundercats:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Outtake – Air Force Thunderbirds | ||||
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Considering how airsick we know he got, I’ve got to tell you, I’m impressed by his lucidity in that above clip. Watch Stephen’s original segment on his flight here:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Operation Iraqi Stephen – Fallback Position – Air Force Thunderbirds | ||||
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And don’t forget to watch some of the other outtakes from Operation Iraqi Stephen here.
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How’d they do that? Technical challenges to ‘The Colbert Report’ in Iraq
Posted by: | CommentsWhile doing my usual morning skim of Colbert-related news, I clicked on this story thinking it would just be another summary of the impressive “Operation Iraqi Stephen” shows. Boy, was I wrong! This article goes into great detail over the technical and production aspects of the shows and even managed to give me, a complete idiot where this stuff is concerned, a sense of the behind-the-scenes efforts. From TV Technology:
Colbert Goes Commando in Iraq
by Claudia Kienzle, 08.12.2009. . .
While USO productions typically involve transporting two or three palettes [sic] of gear and a few people, “The Colbert Report” needed to transport a 30-member crew and over 13 palletes [sic] of gear, done over three separate trips. This meant filling the interiors of C130 and C17 military cargo planes with people in helmets and flak jackets—including editors, camera operators, and writers—and production elements such as sets, props, theatrical lighting, editing systems, and audio gear, not to mention office equipment. The military dedicated over 200 troops to assist in construction and setup of the facility, as well as logistical support and housing for the crew.
“Given the opportunity, we would have pre-fabricated a high-end production control room or even a flypack in New York and moved it over to Iraq ready to go. But we didn’t have the luxury to ship such large cargo,” said Jeremy Tchaban, production manager for “The Colbert Report.” “As a result, we had to supplement our equipment complement with video cameras, production switchers, and monitors from a local source, Coaxial, a Kuwaiti event production company; and this meant we would have to work in PAL, the native format in that part of the world.”
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For example, the most complex, blue screen effect was created live for “Formidable Opponent,” a segment where Colbert appears live in both sides of a split-screen simultaneously and debates himself about a controversial issue; this time the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. While this live split-screen effect is no problem at all for the big Sony switcher back home, Pretnar said that, for the Iraq shows, he needed to use two of the small switchers at once.
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“Pretnar was punching up buttons on the three switchers as if he were playing three pianos at once,” Tchaban said, “so the gags would be staged with the full live effects to capture the natural laughs we wanted from the troops.”
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I’d strongly recommend that you read the full story; it was an extremely interesting look at a lot of things that normally fly under the radar for us watching from home.
And again, thanks to everyone at the USO, in the military, and with the show who put in such fantastic efforts!
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Stephen Colbert reflects on Iraq
Posted by: | CommentsThis is a sweet little item from Variety:
Stephen Colbert
Host, ‘The Colbert Report’
By MICHAEL VENTRE. . .
[W]hat Colbert remembers most from his week of shows inside the combat zone — titled “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” — was the connection he made with that live audience that had little to do with shear lunacy.
“As friends of mine had told me who had done this kind of work before, there was an immediate and startling affection from the men and women over there,” he said shortly after his return to the States. “They’re grateful to you. That immediately gives you a purpose beyond just the purpose to make them laugh. It becomes to make them laugh, and to show your appreciation to them.
“The response was deeply emotional and not intellectual. It was a very beautiful feeling and one that will take me a while to (assess) and extricate from the tangle of my present exhaustion.”
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Speaking just for myself, I think that emotion was evident in the shows that were broadcast back here. Thanks again, Stephen and crew, for doing such an amazing job and giving those troops such wonderful shows!
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VIDEO: Operation Iraqi Stephen rehearsal clips
Posted by: | CommentsGreetings and salutations, kids. We all know that break weeks are tough, but I’m a little bit grateful for this one, because it bored me enough to send me searching “the internets” a bit more thoroughly than I otherwise might have. And, lo and behold, I stumbled across Flickr user robert birkenes‘ photostream, which includes some great shots from Stephen Colbert during the rehearsals at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad.
These two additions are the ones that made me feel the warmest and fuzziest inside: clips of Stephen watching and reacting to the video of his stint at basic training. They’re short, but they’re sure to bring a smile to the face of anyone who’s been to a taping and watched Stephen watch himself.
Let’s face it, Stephen cracking himself up is just so darned cute!
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VIDEO: Stephen Colbert and Barack Obama – behind the scenes
Posted by: | CommentsNo way — the White House has posted the footage of the taping for Barack Obama’s “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” cameo on facebook!
I can’t embed it here, but click on this link to go to the video. Awesome!
Huge hat tip to Roland!
EDIT:
Thanks to all the tipsters who sent us a link to the vid on YouTube – enjoy! I know I did! – DB
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Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando — a Zeitgeisty follow-up
Posted by: | Comments
Where do I start? Stephen and the rest of Team Colbert put on an amazing week of shows from Iraq, and I’m still absorbing it all. I’m speechless with admiration and pride for what they’ve accomplished, and for the obvious passion and dedication that made the shows a resounding success. Kudos to everyone involved for having the guts to “go commando” and put so much of themselves into entertaining our troops in Iraq. It was a week that couldn’t have been scripted better, from the initial “It’s go time, Fatty!” (which is still making me laugh) to the heartfelt “thank you” at the end. The obvious enjoyment of the troops was a great reward for a job well done.
It would be impossible to do a full round-up of all the news to come out of this week simply because there was so much of it. I had a hard time keeping up with what was showing up on NFZ; trying to keep up with everything else out there would’ve made my head explode. I’m sure there will be more commentary during the upcoming week, as the media has a chance to look back on the Iraq shows, and as Stephen resumes doing shows from the studio and (hopefully!) offers up some thoughts of his own on last week’s events. But I did come across a few pieces this morning that I thought were worth looking at, as a less intense follow-up to the main news stories from the week.
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