Stephen Fung Makes the Jump to TV?

During CES, I got a note that the producers of “The Lab With Leo” wanted to talk to me. I thought it was about having me on the show to do a “Party 101″ since I know how to throw a great party. After having a few challenges with their last party, I know I could give them a few great pointers to make the 200th episode party kick some serious ass. More likely though, they probably wanted to talk to me about my work with Futurelooks. Well, I found out that it wasn’t about throwing a party…

 

Apparently, Sean Carruthers, one of the show’s long time members is moving on. Sean has a PodCast Site called LabRats and it looks like it’s getting to the point where he can make it a full time gig. I met Sean at the Charity PC Race and he handed me one of this LabRats business cards, which should have given me a clue. Sean is leaving some big shoes to fill as one of Leo’s most active sidekicks. I was actually quite honoured to be considered for the role and sat down yesterday with the producers, Craig and Marc, for some first contact and to talk about what the role would entail.

We talked a lot about my background in tech, what subjects I would be good at, and how keen I was to make the break into TV. We even bonded by geeking out on RockBand and the coming availability of a Smoke and Light Show Kit and a USB Cymbal Kit. Overall, I thought the interview went well even though I’m horribly out of practice. Earlier today I got an email from Craig inviting me to stop by again next week to meet with the star, Leo Laporte, and check out a recording of the show for their upcoming season. I’m assuming that this next meeting is to see if Leo and me would get along and to get his blessing on having me around. Well, I won’t pick the green jelly beans out of his bowl, but I will run around the set in a chicken suit if they want me to.

Since I’ve never been on a real TV show, and I doubt small town public access TV and Band concerts count, I think they also want to see how well I’d react to the environment. I’m definitely not as experienced as the other Leo, even though he doesn’t get any speaking lines. I’ve definitely got a lot to learn about staying in frame and reading from the teleprompter without looking like I’m…umm…reading from a teleprompter.

Whether I get this role or not, it will definitely be a great experience to see the process from both sides of the camera. Does anyone have any advice for a TV n00b?