Almost Epic Fail

Yesterday I was hired to shoot a video for an event downtown. I got there at 7:00 am and shot some footage of people arriving and mingling at the breakfast reception. They started the speeches around 8:30 and I had a prime spot with a view of the Capitol building right behind the speakers. When they finished the introductory speeches, they moved the lectern out of the way and prepared for the ribbon cutting to kick off the event. The event organizers made a point of discussing the ribbon cutting in all of the pre-event conference calls. I had to get the shot.

The minute they moved the lectern, I ripped my camera off the tripod and ran to get a better view. I jumped into place and focused my camera just in time for them to cut the ribbon. When it was over, I looked up into the corner of my viewfinder and realized that my camera hadn't been recording. I must have hit the button while I was running! I panicked for a minute and told the producer and director that we had to re-stage it. They quickly found some tape, while I told the event organizers that I wanted to re-do the ribbon cutting so I could get a better angle (or some crap). They posed for pictures, while the producer and director scrambled to find another ribbon and tape it up. I got everyone back in position, handed them the giant scissors and had them do it again. They didn't seem to mind and I made sure to get the shot this time. The rest of the day went fine and the video will turn out nicely, but they would have been pissed if I didn't have the shot of them cutting the ribbon!

Hardball with Chris Matthews picked up a soundbite from an interview that Emily shot for the PBS Newshour! Check out the whole interview (her bite is 1:10 into the segment).

New Job Update

So far I’m liking my new job. It is similar to my old job, but the projects are a bit different. I enjoy knowing my schedule ahead of time and being able to plan for the shoots (something I couldn’t do very much of in the news business). I’m also getting to do a fair amount of travel. Last week I went to NYC for the day. As usual, I had to drag a heavy light kit on the train, but at least I had a production assistant meet me at Penn Station to help with the shoot. I was only there for the day, so I shot an interview and caught the 5:00pm train home.

Two weeks ago I went to Detroit for a shoot. The client was holding a small event in conjunction with the huge classic car rally that was happening that week. Detroit reminded me of Daytona Beach during bike week, only it was cars instead of motorcycles. At night, after the shoot was over, the producer and director wanted to go to the casino. I don’t really like gambling, but I had to go, because our dinner reservations were at a restaurant in the casino. They played craps after dinner. I didn’t know how to play, so I just watched, but they won a ton of money. If I had known they were good at it, I would have just bet on whatever they did! At least now I have a very cursory understanding of the game.

Later this month I’m suppose to go to California. Unfortunately the client is very secretive about the whole thing, so I don’t know the dates, the city or anything about the shoot. Hopefully I’ll know more soon and won’t end up having to wear a blindfold on the plane!