We're alive!! With a slightly-longer-than-usual BYAMPOD.
Bold experiment or throwaway stop-gap whimsy? In this episode we're listening to Marillion's acoustic album Less Is More, featuring reworked tracks in a stripped-down form. We also give our opinion on Steve Hogarth's new EP with Richard Barbieri.
2023-05-15 14:47:59 +0000 UTC View Post
My Twitter doesn't have the reach it used to, for entirely unknown reasons. So in case you didn't see this over on ye ol' social media...
2023-05-12 16:03:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello you lot.
Sorry once again for the quiet week. The good news is, there’s light at the end of the tunnel with my schedule, and we should start getting back on track with Digi and BYAMPOD from next week.
It has been a bit of a perfect storm this spring – what with having to do Digi Level 2 filming, and being absolutely flat-out with work. Ever since we got back from the Marillion Weekend we feel we’ve had no time for anything.
Not that I’m complaining on the...
2023-05-12 12:51:06 +0000 UTC View Post
In case you missed it over on the old social media, this Saturday we've decided to do something a bit different.
Instead of our usual weekly video, we're going to attempt a special Alternative-to-the-Coronation Live Stream - starting at 1pm, after the main ceremony, we'll be bringing you everything from Coronation Shop Corner, to The King's Bean, to exclusive videos, a sneak peek of Digi Level 2, and much more. We'll be armed with Pimm's, so it'll go on until either we all get bored, or...
2023-05-04 15:15:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey, ya upper tier goofs! As I'm a bit behind - in part because of the above video - I thought I'd share this with you. Here's roughly ten minutes of outtakes from a Digi Level 2 segment. Basically, we started talking about - well, something revolting - while 'off-camera' and then it spilled over into the main video. There was no real way to keep all this in without making the segment 20 minutes long. Even if I wanted to.
Please bear in mind that this isn't final, so don't share it arou...
2023-05-03 17:00:48 +0000 UTC View PostGreetings, most excellent Patrons! Thanks for being here for another month. Sorry I've been a bit quiet so far this week.
There will, hopefully, be some sort of Digi this week, but it might not be with you until Friday. It will possibly be some sort of special 'Coronation' episode. We'll see.
Basically, I'm a bit behind on everything. We've got another ep with Gannon in the can, but it's a big one and I've not had time this week to get it edited, while also working on ...
2023-05-03 14:43:21 +0000 UTC View Post
We're back! And just in time to give you a review of the Seasons End Deluxe edition. We discuss Mike Hunter's brand new mix, which songs surprised us, and whether or not the artwork is an improvement on the original. Also: the shocking reason the Blu-Ray is rated '12'....
Well, whaddayaknow!?? There will be a Digi video tomorrow, and you're getting it early.
This doesn't quite fit into the main series of Digi Level 2, but it's a lot of fun so we're putting it out as a standalone video. It does of course feature the legendary Ashens, and gives you all another taste of what's coming your way. Plus it's top-and-tailed with some new animation bits, and new music from Jerden Cooke.
2023-04-26 15:10:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, you lot. You've not been forgotten. In fact, here are some outtakes from the most recent video. Lots of Gannon being filthy, if you like that sort of thing, and some surprisingly "meaty bits".
Anyhow. We do have another Digi in the can, but I've been a bit behind because we obviously did a week of filming last week, then I needed to catch up on other stuff this week. Plus, frankly, Sanja and I are still kind of exhausted. With having to squeeze work around the Digi Level 2 stuff ...
2023-04-26 11:08:34 +0000 UTC View Post
As I've said elsewhere, the above video is very, very rough - it's just the basic camera audio, it's with a temporary background/music, and nothing has been finessed, but it'll give you a vague idea of some of what we got up to this week.
Suffice to say, Sanja and I are knackered. I always forget how physical these shooting weeks are. Everything aches (though that might be due in part due to writhing around on the floor in a shark costume, while contestants dressed as Ecco the Dol...
2023-04-21 11:40:00 +0000 UTC View Post
And that's a wrap on the final day of Block 2 of Digi Level 2.
Overall, a brilliant three days that are going to lift the footage we shot last year to a whole different level. Somehow we got everything shot that we intended to shoot - and nobody died!
Now we've got to somehow get all that edited - AND put on two live shows!
I'm knackered, so a proper update once I've recovered, but you're in for a bloody treat.
2023-04-20 19:55:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Weird one today! I mean, it's Digi... so they're all weird. But Gannon, myself, and Sanja all felt we were a bit rubbish, after a high-energy first day. On the way home, Sanja and I were bemoaning how shit we felt we were, and how great Gannon was, when he texted to apologise for not being on form. Which is nonsense of course, but it has been a slightly weird, goldfish bowl-y thing doing these couple of days, and it can feel quite exposing.
I had the notion of being the character Drong ...
2023-04-19 18:12:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, y'all.
Just to say... we're probably not going to be able to get a BYAMPOD or Digi done for next week. We're obviously filming Digi Level 2 most of the week - and Sanja and I are setting up the studio on Monday - while this week was taken up with me trying to get other work out of the way.
We know that BYAMPOD in particular has been sporadic of late. It won't be how things are forever - it's just that between the Marillion Weekend, Sanja getting Covid - which she's still st...
2023-04-15 10:17:11 +0000 UTC View Post
It's Digitiser Minis redux, as Paul Gannon once again joins us for a game of Play Your Carts Right - in which Sanja and I must guess which games Gannon prefers... Yes: it's a video game quiz content!
Later this week for the upper tiers: outtakes!
2023-04-12 17:39:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Our first letters episode in a while, and we're reading out your happy memories from the first Marillion Weekend of 2023. We also talk cliques, being a middle-aged fan, and speculate about how the band might cut down three nights into two for the upcoming weekends.
Paul's in a particularly irascible and irritating mood, while Sanja reveals she moves cushions with her mouth open.
Sorry we didn't get this up sooner - we only filmed it yesterday! But the next couple are in the bag, and will be with you early.
Anyhow... Once in a while, we like to drop the funnies and get real with you. In this special Q&A, we're joined by Cheapshow, Barshens and Digitiser alumni Paul Gannon to have a good old chat, in which we discuss the future of Digitiser. We also look back to reflect on our our disappointments and regrets over the channel, plans going forwards... and much ...
2023-04-06 13:30:15 +0000 UTC View Post
We've had a quiet-ish few weeks on here, so by way of an apology I'm sharing the latest Biffo's Brain chat with all you upper tiers-ers.
This time we're covering everything from Digi Level 2 to Star Trek to wrestling to problematic Scottish political figures...
2023-04-04 19:51:05 +0000 UTC View PostHello, gang.
We're back on it this week after the hectic last few. Digi might come out a bit late, as we're not filming until tomorrow, because we're waiting on Gannon to join us to film a block of videos (which will at least mean you get the next batch early).
But! We're going to film the Q&A with him, so if you have any questions for Gannon (as well as further ones for Sanja and I) please post them below. Please try not to make them all about Cheapshow and/or Eli. This...
2023-04-04 10:28:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, all Patrons!
Apologies this has been a slightly lighter month than usual. It was a combination of me getting burnt out on that extra-long alien abductee video - which has done TERRIBLY for some reason!!! - going to the Marillion Weekend, Sanja getting Covid, and me being stuck in a writer's room all this week, which trampled my brain into the dirt (turns out it was a show about maths and numbers - the thing I struggle with the most in life - so it felt like I've been in a maths l...
2023-03-31 11:59:58 +0000 UTC View PostHello, Upper Tier Gang. Thought I'd just do a quick blog post just for you lot, and give you a bit of an update on... well, everything I have swirling around my head.
Firstly, thanks for all the nice messages for Sanja. She finally tested negative today, but is still feeling rough AF and washed out. Hopefully all that will pass soon.
Touch wood... I seem to have somehow avoided it again, so go, go, Super Immune System!
However, I'm going to suggest moving Biffo's Brain - aga...
2023-03-29 15:25:53 +0000 UTC View PostSo, in a few weeks we're filming the next block of Digi Level 2. This won't quite be the end of filming - there are a few pick-up bits and pieces we need to do (such as re-shooting the intros, which were all out of focus, frustratingly), and a few pieces of location filming, but we're heading towards pulling the whole thing together at last.
In other news, after three years with barely any day job work, I'm going to be eye-wateringly busy for the next month or two. I'm also meant ...
2023-03-24 14:50:44 +0000 UTC View PostGAH! Well, we tempted fate when we said we fully expected to come back from the Marillion Weekend with Covid! Sanja does indeed have it, and I think I might be getting it. I've certainly got that all-consuming headache that tends to be an early symptom.
Oh! And as I type this, I've started sneezing, which is how Sanja's started... Fun! Fun! I'll test in a bit.
She has it relatively mildly at least - she says the flu we had a Christmas was way, way, worse - and that it's a far cry ...
2023-03-23 13:21:33 +0000 UTC View Post
We're back from three sublime nights of Marillion music, with a two-hour special - partly recorded on location at Port Zelande in The Netherlands! Relive the highs and the lows with us, from our crushing defeat in the Marillion Quiz, through chalet singalongs, and a divisive fan reaction to a Sunday night of rarities.
Coming later this week: a special bonus episode where we dissect the setlists... and Sanja's video of my reaction to our chalet-mates' cruel prank...
2023-03-21 18:16:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I watch this interview back, and I remain stunned by it. It was genuinely one of the weirdest hours of my life. You can see it on my face; my mind was reeling as he told me his story with an entirely straight face, one bizarre revelation after another.
Anyhow. Enough from me. Settle in for this, as it's a long one.
(As I type this, it's still processing, so might not be up to full HD yet).
Here's the blurb:
In this exclusive Digitiser interview, Russ Kellett disc...
2023-03-15 17:22:12 +0000 UTC View PostHello, you lot. Sorry for the radio silence this week. I'm away at the Marillion Weekend from Friday, and I had a lot of work to get done before I can go, so I've had my head down on that. Give recent history, I'm not complaining about being busy.
Plus! As you'll see later today - just about to start rendering - this week's Digi is a monster. It's honestly one of the most involved editing jobs I've done for the channel. Aside from the fact it's a longer-than-usual ep, there's a ton of s...
2023-03-15 15:53:54 +0000 UTC View Post
After what had started to feel increasingly like a slog... we've finally finished talking about Marillion's Happiness is the Road. We end on Especially True and Real Tears For Sale, discussing our feelings about the USA, and the issue of over-sharing your feelings. And talking of sharing... we also share our predictions for the forthcoming Port Zelande Weekend.
If you're going to The Netherlands next week - safe travels, have a brilliant time, and we'll see you there.
2023-03-10 14:09:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, you lot.
Here's half an hour of outtakes from this week's UFO episode. There's a real mix here - mostly from the first half of the episode - with alternate takes, behind-the-scenes bits, and Gannon typically being filthier than I was comfortable including in the episode...!
2023-03-10 13:13:18 +0000 UTC View Post
The first of this year's Marillion Weekends is imminent. Here's a quick BYAMPOD Bonus about what we expect...
2023-03-07 16:59:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's an unexpected Sunday night treat for you: next week's Digi video plenty early. In this edition of Digitiser's Supernatural World, Sanja, Gannon and I go UFO hunting... with predictably trainwreck-esque results...
2023-03-05 19:02:19 +0000 UTC View Post