We're getting geared up for our coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions coming up over the next couple weeks. And for our evening coverage, for the first time, we're going to be streaming live video from the scene with technology from qik.com. In today's episode of TPMtv, we bring you a preview:



Ok so yes, TPMtv acknowledges: there are lot of freaky, weird, new things going on in this video. Those of you who fear change - do not be scared. The millions, possibly billions of you who have e-mailed us concern/confusion/criticism/profane outrage regarding our apparent misuse of the famous TPMtv green screen - welcome to a brave new age of TPMtv green screen usage (the two of you I've met who like the green screen - there are plenty of old episodes using it that you can continue to enjoy). We are still working out our eventual look/style, but going forward we will be using the green screen the way green screens are normally used: to create a digital, typically non-green backdrop. Since today's is a kind of meta-episode we figured it was a good time to introduce yet another new feature: the TPMtv TV, which will sometimes be used to display our video clips. And then it gets even more meta - :49 mark - when we splice in some footage TPM Deputy Editor Andrew Golis took with our new qik camera, which we'll be taking with us to Denver and Minneapolis for the conventions. So yeah, that's what it looks like in our office when we shoot a TPMtv episode. That futuristic-looking white and gray device you can spot at around the :57 mark is not a vacuum cleaner, but in fact a very futurist and cutting edge technological device that is used to help achieve the excellent and very high-quality production value of our videos. [Ed. note: It is a vacuum cleaner.] Also - :55 - that pen has no ink in it. I just use it to make Josh think I am paying attention and doing stuff.

So, hopefully this episode wasn't too jarring and terrifying for everyone. We are pretty excited about the coverage we'll be bringing you from the conventions, so follow our live qik stuff on twitter: http://twitter.com/tpmmedia. And as always, stay tuned!