“A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Microsoft” Eric Rudder picks up Lenn

The Discussion

• 

  Coolest video, ever. How large is that campus?! No way Lenn was going to walk that distance...
  Btw, who was the designated sit-on-the-hood-camera-guy? Scoble?
  
  Seriously tho. Great work guys.
  
  /Lars.
  

• 

  Eric is by far one of my favourite Microsoft guys (sorry Lenn!). I've had the chance to exchange a few emails, and he's always been fab (and always answered quickly!).
  
  He's the kind of person I feel like I could email if I really wanted to, but he's also the kind of person I wouldn't email unless I needed to.
  
  Very cool

• 

  Thanks Lars. Campus is BIG ... 5 square miles or so. No way I was going to walk that distance. In all honesty, Scoble wasn't strapped to the hood, but you gave me a great idea for next time We used some camera's mounted to the dash with styrofoam and duct tape. Mics were rigged to the sun visors, but I had a little help from my friend Bob, who is a producer. Some day I am going to put Bob on camera because he has helped us a lot to do what we do. Oh and Jeremy - I forgive you man ... just for Eric though

• 

  Is it me or did Lenn get off where he got on?
  
  I've been to the main Microsoft Campus multiple times and each time I visit I am more and more impressed. It's definitely a huge place.  Essentially I think of it as a college campus: lots of buildings and lots of smart people walking around, talking about the latest and greatest technology.

• 

  Great video, fun and really informative.
  
  But, I'd say, Eric and Lenn, I wouldn't give up the day job to try and persue an acting career!!!

• 

  So far the BEST video I'v seen, set apart from the Sp2 one.. Once agian, Great job scobleizer! Maybe in the next video we can actually see all of your offices...

• 

  Cider wrote:

  Great video, fun and really informative.
  
  But, I'd say, Eric and Lenn, I wouldn't give up the day job to try and persue an acting career!!!

  
  
  I don't think either of us have plans or the physique for the silver screen, no worries there ... we are sticking to software.

• 

  Great vid.  The best yet on a visual basis.  You guys are going to need a production team soon.

• 

  This website is very awesome!!
  I love it!!! Thx for this vid which worth to be seen!!
  Great job, and stay alive a looooong time!
  

• 

  Great video! (Always wondered how those in-car clips were put together )
  
  Eric definitely seems to be one of the most approachable and customer-focussed members of our exec team. his work with partners is also first rate -- just saw him talking with SAP's chief tech officer at their annual customer event in New Orleans. imho, customers love & want more of this openness and partnering...
   
  keep up the good work!

• 

  cwoodruff wrote:

  Great vid.  The best yet on a visual basis.  You guys are going to need a production team soon.

  
  
  I'm first in line It's been a year since I've done any production stuff, but it isn't that foreign.
  

• 

  Thanks all.  This was very fun to do.  Has anyone noticed the blooper that accidently made its way into the video?

• 

  jeffsand wrote:

  Thanks all.  This was very fun to do.  Has anyone noticed the blooper that accidently made its way into the video?

  
  
  Yeah :lol:, I wondered when everyone would realise Lenn wasn't wearing any pants!
  

• 

  So Jeff you were the Guy on d'Hood?
  
  I met Eric last year at VS Live in NYC, he was the same genuine guy we see there on the video. You would never think he was a VP, but he did have a youing woman with him to take care of all the details. I need to have a young woman to take care of all my details... 

• 

  Steve411: I appreciate the compliments, but I didn't have anything to do with this one. Bob Snyder and Robin Para over at Microsoft Studios deserve the credit (and, of course, Lenn and Jeff for doing the hard work).
  
  How come execs never pick me up and drive me around campus?

• 

  Cider wrote:

  But, I'd say, Eric and Lenn, I wouldn't give up the day job to try and persue an acting career!!!

  
  
  I think it was pretty good!
  
  

  jeffsand wrote:

  Has anyone noticed the blooper that accidently made its way into the video?

  
  
  At one point it looked to me like there was someone behind the back seat...
  
  /Lars.

• 

  Outstanding video. The Microsoft studio crew must be great to have as a backup production team . Well done!
  
  It is cool to hear Eric's background. In a recent Business 2.0 article he was talked about as the person most likely to take over from Bill if he ever retires. He seems like a smart, friendly and down-to-earth guy.
  
  You guys have a great range of people on video... PMs, SDEs, Management, Evangelists and now Senior VPs
  
  The best thing about Channel 9 is the variety of people passing through!

• 

  Chris,
  
  That's the best compliment we could imagine getting. It's exactly what we're setting out to do -- to get you to see all sorts of different people at Microsoft, not just the rock stars.
  
  I just wish we had more time. There are so many interesting people doing interesting things here.

• 

  Hmm . . . Blooper? The only thing I noticed was when he was picking him up at the beginning. If you watch the road behind the truck, there is no one coming behind him. When the shot goes inside the truck, you can see through the back window that there is another vehicle coming, and you would have seen it in the previous shot . . . No? I don't know . . . Not what I would necessarily think of as a blooper, but . . .

• 

  Also, noticed that at the end when Lenn is thanking him, you see that there are a lot of green trees and such in the background, and the truck is starting to turn to the right, but when they immediately show Eric, the truck is going straight on and there don't seem to be as many trees in the background . . .
  
  Okay - I need to get back to real work, I obviously have too much time on my hands!
  

• 

  lars wrote:

  At one point it looked to me like there was someone behind the back seat...

  
  
  You are getting close.   Go look at the video again.

• 

  Prolly some sort of backtrailer cover, then at one point there's the trailer with the cover on.

• 

  I still maintain it's Lenn's pants. Nothing will convince me otherwise.
  

• 

  Great job Channel 9! As it sais in the first post this is the coolest video ever. So when are you going to do the Bill Gates' video?
  
  By the way, there's a cat behind the back sit isn't it?

• 

  I agree, the setup script is almost real until you realize that he  (Lenn) can not walk that distance at all.  But I think this video is a great improvement. I imagine, wireless microphones on each actor and mountend cameras (3 or four?) on the car.   Also they were able to follow the 10-seconds-a-frame-shot rule in Movie making. Great!!!!

• 

  There seems to be someone under a tarp or something in the back of the truck moving around.  Maybe it was just the wind moving something.

• 

  Here's something I noticed- The truck was pulling a boat or some kind of trailer behind it, and in the end when Lenn gets out of the truck there's nothing in tow.

• 

  It's greate! You are a real Crew, right?
  

• 

  Yes, too cool interview. Nice.

• 

  What is that thing that flips by the back window at 3:18?

• 

  I was wondering the same thing...almost looks like pages of a big book or something...turning pages

• 

  what a giant car u have
  
  Guess you used 2 liters of gas for the period of the video

• 

  it looks like there is something in the back of the bed covered up with some type of sheet, blanker, or cover?¿?¿

• 

  ok i got it. there is a dead body in the back of the truck. it was eric in the kitchen with the pipe.

• 

  [insert Alfed Hitchcock cameo at 3:18]
  
  Hey, there's an idea...have Mr. Gates make brief cameos in these videos then have users try to spot him.
  

• 

  That's not all Microsofts' lot is it?
  
  Anyway, the goof: As Lenn is getting out of the truck at the end the camera flips back to Eric and the shot is of him while they were on the open road, not parked up at the drop-off point.
  
  And no, I don't spot continuity erorrs in movies as a rule
  
  

• 

  great video ,,
  
  Does that truck   have a "Hemi"  ,, in it
  
  It just purrrrrrrssss ,, when he steps on it
  
  
  JP
  
  

• 

  Excellent video Lenn.
  

• 

  http://blogs.msdn.com/jledgard/archive/2005/03/08/389907.aspx
  
  "Eric Rudder will join us live on March 18th along with members of the Whidbey team to tackle your Whidbey questions"

• 

  Does everyone at Microsoft drive HGVs?  I am now beginning to understand the reasons behind the Golf War…

• 

  ringi wrote:

  I am now beginning to understand the reasons behind the Golf War…

  
  
  You mean the Ryder Cup?