What the hell was I thinking about!
Sometimes you get a wild hair up your butt and try something different. I was watching the television show No Reservations awhile back and noticed they were having a contest. All you had to do was make a three minute video and say where you would take the host Tony Bourdain. I decided to check out some of the videos submitted at their web site. All I can say is they were not all that interesting. I figured I could come up with something better. Hell, I make videos for a living. I know how to walk and talk on-camera. How tough could this be?
I wrote a short script about traveling through the Australian Outback. The video would show me walking around town explaining where and why we should go there. I woud eat some street food. Chat up some of the locals. All the typical stuff Tony does. I even included a cheesy scene in front of an Outback restaurant. The biggest sight gag was to be the ending with me sipping a beer in a pub and tossing darts at a photo of Rachel Ray. Then I would edit it all together in the same style as the show. Oh, the delusions of grandeur began to swell in my brain.
Then reality set in.
Typically, I am the one behind the camera. This time I was on the opposite end. I recruited Diane to operate the camera. She does still photography but rarely uses the video camera. Like a trooper, she took on the challenge. She learned quickly that holding a camera and following someone as they walk and talk is not as easy as it looks. Scratch any fancy camera moves.
Then we realized the logistics of all the locations was going to be a big challenge. Calling restaurants to get permissions to shoot. Trying to get a street vendor on-camera. Searching for a 1970s' muscle car. Heck, we were doing this for fun, not to air an hour show on the Travel Channel. So it was time to trim the fat off this beast.
No restaurant. No problem. We can shoot over at our friends Tiki Bar as a stand in.
No muscle car. OK. We will use my truck and reference the muscle car from Mad Max, the Interceptor.
Editing. Nothing fancy. I wasn't applying for an editing job. I wanted to show that I was able to walk and talk on-camera while explaining all the fun things we would do in the Outback.
The creative changes worked out fine. We shot, edited, and upload the video to the Travel Channel web site over the weekend. The video came out good.
I felt all I had to do was sit back and wait for the rave reviews and a high rating. Not so fast, video boy! After the first 24 hours of voting, things looked dismal. Two stars out five. Oh this doesn't bode well. The good thing is the winner is not based on viewer voting. The No Reservations team has to pick the winner. (At least I hope that's how it works.) I guess we will have to wait and see until the judging is completed in April.
In life, we all have grand plans that are never realized. There are times you say "I could do better then that!" Well this time, I stuck my neck out. I tried to do better. And I had fun doing it. While I am not sure what will happen or where this will lead. What I do know is that at least I made the effort and it was well worth the trip.
Next: No Res - No Clue
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