Computer Show

2015

The making of “Computer Show”

My friend Adam Lisagor runs a video company called Sandwich Video. For a few years we shared a live/work loft space so I had occasion to see the creative process behind the fantastic videos and advertisements they make for their clients. Not only is his team creative and particularly attentive to detail, they are some of the funniest people I know. I remember frequently thinking (and suggesting) that Adam should do what Pixar does — make shorts for the Sandwich team’s own amusement using the talent and resources they have on staff.

Our shared space was a duplex in LA’s Arts District. Sandwich had their office upstairs, and I was living and working downstairs. (I was either living at their office, or they were working out of my apartment, we never decided.) One Saturday afternoon, Adam came over and shared his concept for a show in which modern day tech entrepreneurs would be somehow transported back in time to 1983 to take part in a public access TV show about computers. This sounded like a fun idea to me, and I was excited to see Adam delve into his own original creation. I don’t remember his exact words, but the next thing he said was “Do you want to come and try improvising the show right now?”

“Right now? What do you mean?” I answered. It turns out Adam had flown in Rob Baedeker, the comedian who plays Computer Show host, Gary Fabert, for a character test. Coincidentally, I had been taking improv comedy classes at Upright Citizens Brigade during that time as a hobby. I think Adam saw me as a willing test subject and brought me over to ad lib some scenes so they could figure out what Rob’s character would know and not know about current technology. It was very silly, in the best possible way. A lot of what ended up in this video was the result of that initial improvisational experiment.

A few months later, Adam had put together all the pieces and asked me and Jesse to participate in a full-blown episode. I couldn’t have been more excited. Adam made the whole process a lot of fun, and as always, Jesse is a natural with these kinds of things. This was such a thrill to be a part of, it turned out better than I could have imagined.

The video was released October 14, 2015. Rewatching it in 2018, I enjoy seeing Jesse and I at such a metamorphic moment in Lumi’s history. We were still shifting our thinking from Inkodye and the art supplies we were making and into what would Lumi would become, as a resource for custom manufacturing.

Behind the scenes of Computer Show with Adam Lisagor