Ryan O’Bryan Guest Hosts Local 7 Lifestyles [VIDEO]

Surprisingly, I didn't screw up too bad!

As I told you last week, Laura Kirtley with Local 7 asked me to stop by on Friday and guest host their daily show, Lifestyles with her and Ron Rhodes. As expected, I was a bit nervous making while making the drive to Henderson this morning, but settled in once things got rolling.

This was not my first venture into a television studio, but it was my first time being on TV for more than a short interview segment during a newscast. What I think most people would find amazing is how close everything on set happens to be. When you watch the news on TV, you assume the weatherman or a reporter presenting a story is on the other side of the building, when in reality, they're literally standing five feet away. That's the magic of TV, I suppose.

The Lifestyles set is in the front corner of the room and is maybe 60 square feet in size. Next to it is a huge green screen that goes from floor to ceiling where Ron Rhodes, Wayne Hart, or David Heckart give the weather. When you see them on TV the green screen is the map or radar behind them, and I'll let you in on a little secret, they have TV monitors just off camera on either side of the green screen that shows them what's going out over the air. So while it may look like they're looking directly at the map, they're actually looking off camera so they know where to point.

On the other side of the green screen is the weather center, full of computers and other gadgets the weather team uses to track the weather. About five feet away from there is the anchor desk where Randy Moore, Brad Byrd, and others deliver the news throughout the day. The center of the room is wide open so the cameras can be wheeled around to the various sets.

Laura asked that I arrive around 7:45am as the show started promptly at 8am. I got there about 7:35 just to be safe. I was amazed at how quickly everything went. Laura and I went over the rundown of the show about 10 minutes before 8:00, walked in the studio five minutes until 8:00, put on our microphones, and next thing I know we're on live TV. Seriously, it was that quick. Laura and Ron had the benefit of wearing earpieces so they could hear a countdown from the producer, I was flying blind and just following their lead.

We bantered for a bit in the first segment before going to commercial and coming back for a regular segment with Stocker Landscape owner, Charlie Stocker, who I found out is a west-sider like me. We followed that with an interview with comedian Artie Fletcher, and then I sat out while Laura interviewed a young girl and her mother who are from the tri-state area and are part of some Dance Moms-spinoff reality show that debuts Tuesday on Lifetime.

Before I knew it, we were sitting down at 8:55 and wrapping up the show. I was surprised at how quick the hour went by. As I said earlier, I had the classic butterflies as I pulled into the parking lot of the station, but once the cameras were rolling and we started talking, I felt more comfortable than I thought I would. I was able to relax and just go with the flow.

If you missed it, check out video from the show at the links below.

Opening Segment

Garden Guy - Charlie Stocker Segment

Comedian Artie Lang Segment