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Power Cut: Jimmy Kimmel Does Show on Laptop

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

A power outage forced Jimmy Kimmel to shoot his show with just a MacBook webcam and a couple of mics.

Power cuts can be fun, as long as they don't interrupt your busy day. Fortunately, fully charged laptops and phones are often see you through to the end of the dark ages. And who knows, maybe you'll even come away from it all with an interesting story, just like Jimmy Kimmel. An hour before shooting the latest episode of his show a power outage shut down the Jimmy Kimmel Live control room, broadcast transmission center, and tape operations area. They had some power but the cameras were down so they couldn't tape the show. But, with a studio audience and celebrity guests waiting, they couldn't not tape the show either. Kimmel solved things by recording the entire show with his laptop's webcam. Guests Seth Rogen, John Henson and Dierks Bentley were interviewed as planned and Bently even performed live.

Check out the video clip below if you can handle the audience screaming and cheering every five seconds, which is actually obnoxiously loud when on a webcam.

Jimmy Kimmel Live Power Outage

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jeffk464 06/24/2010 2:37 AM
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I wonder if this is a clever apple add.

MDillenbeck 06/24/2010 2:40 AM
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Fool! Now that the network execs know he can do his show with a laptop while acting as his own camera man, they'll cut his budget. After all, its a recession and profits have been down and so forth...

wonspur 06/24/2010 4:47 AM
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because mac webcams are just SO much better than others..

Pei-chen 06/24/2010 5:05 AM
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Friend just picked up a MacPro 15" after using DIY PC for more than 10 years and he loves the battery life. I still stick with ThinkPad but general notebooks are crap.

vicskyline96 06/24/2010 5:14 AM
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wait, but how is he still powering all the other microphone and lighting equipment?

airborne11b 06/24/2010 5:57 AM
Show
mtyermom 06/24/2010 6:20 AM
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vicskyline96 :
wait, but how is he still powering all the other microphone and lighting equipment?



The article states that they still had SOME power, just not to the critical production areas.

Draven35 06/24/2010 6:26 AM
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I call BS. If there's no power, how are the thousands of watts of studio lights still on?

Draven35 06/24/2010 6:28 AM
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uh huh. thousands of watts of studio lights, but they can't use the cameras that are in the same room?

ianpac 06/24/2010 6:50 AM
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This is a fraud, they could easily have powered just one TV camera or even just used handheld cameras. These studios have handhelds available for exterior shots.

Kelavarus 06/24/2010 8:00 AM
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For those calling BS, not necessarily. Having been in places where power outages are common, lights are always one of the first things on the list for critical things, due to safety. Others include security doors and alarms. It's not about the wattage or power, it's about what circuit they're connected to, and outlets and things like cameras wouldn't be connected to a circuit marked as critical.

super_tycoon 06/24/2010 10:55 AM
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"Guys, I'm recording this on my notebook, so will you please STOP F***ING SCREAMING WHEN I'M TRYING TO RECORD MY STUPID TV SHOW?!?!?"

nukemaster 06/24/2010 4:37 PM
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Very strange that power could not be routed from elsewhere. As for its about safety, Yes most places DO have lights as a priority, but not ALL lights. Select lights make sense(enough to see with, not the full stage).

logitic 06/24/2010 4:54 PM
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Yep going to call BS, I worked in production for years, and it is true stage lights are on a separate power unit then floor power. But the mic he is using would be on floor power. SO it is total BS!

Anonymous 06/24/2010 6:50 PM
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power out but light still working?
Just plug the cam in the light circuit then!

gm0n3y 06/24/2010 7:39 PM
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Also call BS, they would have at least a couple of handheld battery powered camcorders (as mentioned, for exterior shots). Wouldn't have taken more than 30 minutes to go pick a new portable camera up anyways.

xerroz 06/24/2010 9:15 PM
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bullshit

digitalrazoe 06/24/2010 10:39 PM
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I don't think its BS .. you can have multiple circuits and have an isolated failure .. to Jerry Rig or to link one circuit to another just for the sake of power could cause a cascade effect that would bring other systems down... And even if it was a publicity stunt... So what... he pulled it off THis may not set well with the Union Shops though...

m-manla 06/24/2010 11:11 PM
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Those are some bright emergency lights!!! I think this is just to see if people like to stream the show on a webcam. Emergency lights are different from the stage lightning that is show. The show would of otherwise got cancel.

m-manla 06/24/2010 11:12 PM
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Also think guys, where is he getting his internet connection at? It would be hard to stream the show from a 3G connection in that building. Had to be a LAN connection, and these shows don't just have your average router on stage.

JOSHSKORN 06/24/2010 11:31 PM
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I actually watched this last night. It was pretty cool. I wouldn't watch it if it was done over and over again. The band was boring, though. I think it would've been awesome if they had some heavy metal band play and at the last minute were asked to play acoustically. I seriously doubt it was deliberate and had anything to do to boost iPhone 4 sales. Power outages happen, and backup systems at least power lights.

TheKurrgan 06/25/2010 12:15 PM
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Jesus christ people I watched the youtube clip above and he never said Apple anywhere in there, he said laptop. Maybe he said it on the show if I watched the whole thing, but who really cares? Its just the same variety of camera thats in any other decent laptop, wrapped up in one that happens to be called a "Mac"

kingssman 06/25/2010 12:50 PM
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ewww... sad thing is, the studio audience is that loud (just seems toned down with pro audio), but dang...... webcam mic=fail when it comes to background noise.

gm0n3y 06/25/2010 2:03 AM
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Just to clarify about me calling BS on this. I didn't mean that it had anything to do with Apple. I meant that they probably planned it as a gimmick for the show.

face-plants 06/25/2010 7:52 AM
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Minus 100 points for thread derailment

airborne11b :
My G60 asus 15" gaming laptop is a great balance between battery life, power and portability. Its not as huge as a 17" sager or alienware desktop replacement, but it can still crank out the latest 3D games like BF:BC2 and left for dead2 on max settings with great FPS. If I need to use it for web surfing or something while unplugged on the go, still gets hours of life out of it before needing to recharge. Best laptop I've ever owned.