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Interviewing the President

2015-01-23 · letter vlog · Hank, John, Barack Obama, Steve Grove, GloZell, Bethany Mota, Katherine Green · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life · mode: Personal update · tags: on location, guest or collab, timely hook

Hank shows behind-the-scenes footage of his day travelling to Washington and interviewing President Obama at the White House, and his return to his family in Florida.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting: yesterday Hank interviewed the President at the White House; rushing for his flight

  • ★★★ Hank says that yesterday (22 January 2015) he interviewed the President of the United States at the White House in Washington, D.C., and shows how his day went. — 00:00:01 · Barack Obama

00:00:13 — Preparation: Google's Steve Grove on question secrecy, editorial consultants, an outfit via GloZell, Frederick playing Obama in rehearsals

  • ★★ Steve Grove: A Google employee, Steve Grove, assures Hank that nobody in the White House, not even the President's staff, will see his questions beforehand. — 00:00:18 · Google
  • ★ Hank says two people are basically his editorial consultants, there to make sure he doesn't say anything truly dumb. (playful) — 00:00:22
  • ★★ Hank insists the interview is not all theater and hopes to surprise the President at least a little bit. (hedged) — 00:00:27 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ Hank officially has an outfit for the interview and GloZell pulls its tag off for him; a man who has played Obama in their rehearsals is introduced. — 00:00:32 · Barack Obama

00:00:59 — The long day at the White House: Pizza Bowie John shirt, makeup, the drive, holding pen, set, ambassadors, bathroom, Secret Service, the President's helicopter

  • ★★ Wearing his Pizza Bowie John shirt, Hank expects to wait hours at the White House before the interview and to spend all that time panicking. (playful) — 00:00:59 · Pizza John
  • ★ Hank waits with three hours to go: the holding pen between two gates, the set, and a pre-visit from some ambassadors; he admits the video is all anticipation, like the process. — 00:01:24
  • ★★ The Secret Service arrives, Hank notices very thick glass, and he is told the President's helicopter will land right outside; then his camera is taken away. — 00:02:16 · Barack Obama

00:02:36 — Camera taken away; meeting President Obama ('it's the people's house… I'm actually leasing')

  • ★★ Barack Obama: Greeting Hank, President Obama jokes that the White House is the people's house and he is only leasing it, with the lease running out in two years. (playful) — 00:02:51 · Barack Obama

00:02:56 — After the interview: the TFIOS copy, press, leaving the White House, a Cuban sandwich with Josh Sundquist

  • ★★ After the interview Hank says he did it, keeps a copy of The Fault in Our Stars, and has to talk to press instead of sleeping. (playful) — 00:02:56 · The Fault in Our Stars
  • ★ Hank has a Cuban sandwich at an American restaurant with Josh Sundquist after leaving the White House. — 00:03:16

00:03:24 — Back in Florida with Dad, Katherine and John; a good night's sleep; John's praise; sign-off

  • ★★ Back in Florida after the interview, Hank says Dad and Katherine have just picked him up at the airport. — 00:03:24 · Florida, Mike Green, Katherine Green
  • ★★ John tells Hank he did such a good job, is proud of him, and asks whether that is the copy of The Fault in Our Stars the President touched. — 00:03:41 · The Fault in Our Stars

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description Hank says he is exhausted but pretty euphoric, and that his thoughts and analysis of the interview are on his Tumblr, not in this video. — video description · Tumblr
  • ★★ Hank thanks everyone who helped pull off the interview, says the White House was intense to work with but did a fantastic job, thanks Bethany and GloZell as fantastic company, and jokingly credits Paul Janssen, who first synthesized Imodium's active ingredient. (playful) — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Stuck in a White House bathroom unable to find the light switch before the interview, Hank adds a sponsor line. — 00:02:13

    “This presidential interview brought to you by Imodium AD.”

  • Obama thanks Hank for having him; Hank says he can't be hosting him in his own house, and Obama calls it the people's house. — 00:02:53

    “I'm actually leasing, and my lease runs out in two years.”

  • Leaving the interview set, Hank collects his things. — 00:03:00

    “I'm also going to take this copy of TFIOS, cause it's mine now.”

  • Katherine says Hank did amazing; he asks what she would have said if he had done terribly. — 00:03:10

    “What would you have said if I had done terribly? Amazing.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Barack Obama · White House · YouTube Asks Obama

Also: People: Bethany Mota · GloZell · Josh Sundquist · Katherine Green · Mike Green · Steve Grove

Works: The Fault in Our Stars

Organizations: Google · United States Secret Service

Terms: Pizza John (“Pizza Bowie John shirt”)

Places: Florida · Washington, DC

Products: Imodium

Only in the description or credits: Paul Janssen · Tumblr

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