It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I’ve got a little bit to say, mostly about work…

Last week was relatively boring. Monday through Wednesday was represented by the same old, same old transcribing. Thursday, though, I went on a shoot with the guys on 10 Things. It was supposed to be an easy shoot, but it was characterized by excessive boredom. We spent something like three hours shooting b-roll of hardwood floors. Not the installation. Not the dressing thereof. Just hardwood floors. That’s right. The floor itself. I wondered for a while if this might be representative of a career in reality TV production. Shooting the same old boring, tired crap all the time. If this is the case, I really don’t want to do it for a living… I can’t shoot b-roll of hardwood floors. That’s BORING. I want’ve always wanted to do production in general because it is fun. Reality TV, not so much. (31 Hours worked)

Though I didn’t do a lot this week in terms of actual work, it ended up being rather exciting. At least, today was rather exciting. During a particularly boring stretch, I invaded the equipment room and began talking with Dan. They were preparing for a green-screen interview shoot, and Dan was about to consult a blue-screen guide he had just printed off the internet. Being unusually cocky, I told him to quiz me on what was inside, even though I’d never seen this particular primer before. Ever. Luckily, all of Corey’s teachings came flooding back and Dan and I had this big one-upping techie discussion about the benefits of different kinds of lighting for green-screen.

Meanwhile, the VP of the TV department stuck his head in and was apparently impressed by the amount of knowledge in this insignificant intern’s head. Dan told him that I’d shot a short film on the F900, and the VP expressed interest in seeing it. As corny as it may seem, I’ve kept a copy of “Filtered” (That’s the short film’s name) in my jacket pocket for several weeks now for just such an occasion. He’s a busy man, so he didn’t have time to watch the entire 16 minute opus, but he managed to get through the first five minutes before an interruption, and he said he enjoyed it and particularly liked the relationship diagram. Since I’m off Thursdays and Fridays, I left the DVD with him until Monday, but only after at least two other people expressed interest in watching it as well.

So my short film is making its’ way around the office. Is this a good thing? I’m not sure, but I haven’t heard a bad thing yet, so… I’ve been entertaining the idea of writing a feature length script and approaching a company like the one I’m at to secure financing based on the completed script and previous short film. Perhaps this is the start of such a relationship. I hope so, that would rock. I really don’t want to shoot reality TV b-roll forever. I want to make movies. I have to make movies. I am a director. (26 Hours worked)

As for everything else, things are going along as normal. I hit a rough spot recently where I was really homesick and NYC felt a little bit like a personal hell. Luckily that feeling is starting to lift. I could probably work here if I have to, but all things being equal, I’d rather not. Unfortunately, there are simply more realistic opportunities here than in Texas, and on the surface that seems to equate to more money, and God knows I’m going to need to repay these student loans somehow.

Anyway, tomorrow I’m supposed to be meeting Karina for lunch. She’s a girl who went through the Media Tech program back in high school a year before I did. Apparently she just moved up to Brooklyn and some mutual friends told her I was here, so she sent me an e-mail, wanting to get together. I agreed to it because it’s always nice to see a familiar face, but I have to admit that receiving the e-mail seemed a little bizarre. You see, I’ve met her at least a dozen times… and yet every time she has failed to recognize or remember me. Tomorrow will be interesting, we’ll see how that goes.

On Thursday, I took my short film down to NYU to show Stephanie, and her boyfriend Mark happened to be there as well. We screened it in one of their film school’s screening rooms, and I’m not sure how to respond. They didn’t laugh once. I saw them smile at several parts, and they insist it was pretty good and they didn’t really have anything negative to say about it, but… It was supposed to be a comedy. Now I’m left wondering if they just don’t laugh, or if my film isn’t funny, or what my film is supposed to be if it’s good but not funny, or… I don’t know. Just a weird experience.

Luckily, work this week was rather enjoyable. After having spent about 10 hours on the set last Sunday, I came in late on Monday to load seven tapes on to the Avid. It was easy and I managed to create some downtime to play with the timeline, trying to learn how exactly Avid works. It’s a very different workflow from Final Cut / Premiere, but the theory seems to be the same. I need more time on it to really understand it. I wouldn’t be able to do anything of value on it just yet.

Tuesday and Wednesday were just average days, coming in and transcribing, going on runs and whatnot. Nothing really eventful, but on my way out on Wednesday, Dylan said “See you tomorrow.” I informed him that I don’t come in on Thursdays. I can’t remember exactly how he responded, but he seemed genuinely scared that I was leaving for good. Then I reminded him I’m only a three-day a week guy and he gracefully recovered from his accidental slip of concern. I almost offered to go ahead and come in on Thursday, anyway, but I’d already made plans for Thursday that I didn’t want to break. I guess the fact that I’m willing to expand my hours like that suggests I’m starting to truly enjoy work, despite the low nature of what I’m doing. Go figure.

Last night I went to the Rockwood Music Hall in SoHo to see Andy Zipf perform. I’d been listening to him for a couple years, and this was my first chance to see him live. His set was amazing, albeit very short, and he did an awesome cover of the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. The club itself was a great piece of work, very small and very intimate. Unfortunately it was filled shoulder to shoulder with aging hipsters. Oh well.

I haven’t been doing that much lately. I think somehow I’ve gotten past the initial New York tourist phase and I’m almost treating my time here like I live here. Apart from going to the Statue of Liberty (I’m waiting for a warmer day) and maybe a road (er… train) trip to Niagra Falls, there isn’t really too much I feel I have to explore.

My internship continues to plod along. I spent three days, once again, transcribing raw footage, but only after coming in Monday morning only to have to shovel the snow out from around the rental vans that needed to be returned. It’s amazing how much you can sweat in 30 degree weather.

Sometime either Monday or Tuesday, I overheard Dylan and Michelle talking about needing to load some more footage onto the Avid editing systems, but how they didn’t have anyone to do it, and they didn’t really want to hire anyone new to take care of it… so I stuck my head in and asked if it wasn’t something I could be trained on to help them out with. I’ve edited on almost every non-linear system, EXCEPT Avid. Anyway, Dylan looked into it, and I sat in on a loading session on Wednesday and today I am to go in late (3pm as opposed to 10am) to starting loading footage on my own. It’s not a hard process, but at least I’ll be familiarizing myself with yet another system, which many consider industry standard.

Yesterday, I went with the crew on a shoot out in Long Island. They couldn’t find a paid Production Assistant in time that had a driver’s license (Apparently driving is a specialty many New Yorkers don’t worry about), so I ended up driving the cargo van from Midtown NYC to a small community in the Long Island area. It’s a suburb just like any suburb back in Dallas. On one hand, it reminded me of home, but on the other, I finally saw a place I could see myself living without paying an arm and a leg.

I still love this city, but I’m not convinced that I could live here. Not for any extended period of time, anyway. If I were to work here, I think I would probably see if living in one of the smaller Long Island area communities and commuting every day would be a viable option. I’d be within 30 minutes of the city and I could still drive around recreationally. Parking in the city would be a pain, and I’d probably have to find a commuter parking lot near a subway station closer to the city. I don’t know. Those are just some of the things on my mind. I don’t even have a job yet, so this is all just really big speculation.

Snow, snow, snow. I love snow. The snow is finally falling and I love snow.

...does this mean I need to buy a pair of snow boots?

We all went to the Met today as part of a field trip for the classes I’m taking up here. We were required to go through the Egyptian, Ancient Near Eastern, Medieval and Renaissance sections. As much as I enjoyed looking at all the Catholic art in the latter sections, I was riveted by some of the stuff in the modern art section.

In particular, I saw this giant painting by Salvador Dali called “Crucifixion.” Something about this painting draws me in and I can’t define it. It takes place on some kind of surreal landscape, and floating in the air is a 3D cross from which Christ is hanging. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to convey some kind of message. It’s just… wow.

Work was simple this week. Just transcribed all day, every day. I’m developing a sort of stamina. The longer I do it, the less painful it becomes. The biggest point of the week however, was finding out that this was Taqiy’s last week. He’s been working as a freelance assistant producer for the producer I’ve spent most of my time working with, and he’s been the guy that’s been the easiest to talk to, and I think I’ve learned the most from so far.

His contract was up as of yesterday, so he’s moving on, going to Houston for a few days, actually. On my way out Wednesday (my last day for the week), we exchanged information and I subtly expressed an appreciation for his guidance. He refused to make any kind of good-bye, though, insisting that the world of production is much, much too small and that we’d run into each other again soon. I hope he’s right, because I enjoyed working with him.

Dylan, the producer is still there, and he’s a cool enough guy, but he’s always in high gear, pushing through trying to get the show done, so the time in which I can get to know him and talk to him about the company, etc. is very limited. I’ve kinda gotten to know Michelle, the P.A., but she’s also freelance and I’m not sure how much longer she’ll be around.

The nature of this business is so transitory that it has me wondering how I’ll be able to repay my loans, but everyone seems to be getting consistent work, provided they’re willing to use their contacts and start off with the low-end stuff. I’m curious how much a general freelancer makes, but I don’t know how to ask about that without getting too personal. After all, it’s impolite to ask how much someone makes and stuff like that.

In any case, I don’t really have too much new to report this week. I’ve been kinda cooping myself up in the Lamb’s, trying to get over this damn cold of mine. It seemed like every time I went outside, the blast of cold air made my cold twice as bad. It’s mostly gone now, but it’s still a pain in the ass. The Hard Lesson Learned: Even if the weather is only in the 40s, if you’re going to be outside for an extended period of time and there’s a chance of rain, a hoodie is not enough—Wear a real jacket.

So The Bronx at night… officially a bad decision. Brian wanted to see if he could find the restaurant where Salazzo was killed in The Godfather, and supposedly it was deep in the Bronx. And someone told us that particular part of the Bronx isn’t that bad.

Oh, but it is. You don’t want to be caucasian in the Bronx. Not at night. You could cut the racial tension with a knife. We were white, and we were not wanted. There were random people standing alone in random spots, and it reminded me of delivering pizza to the ghetto in Waco, with the crack dealers on every corner. You could feel their stares pierce your soul. Needless to say, we got out of there VERY quickly. I don’t want to think what would have happened had we stayed a second longer. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my life. It was very… very… scary.

I guess trying to find a restaurant in a real notorious borough where a fictional character was slaughtered should have set off red flags, and I guess it did. But Brian said he talked to Ruth, who works in the Bronx… so… whatever. I’ll never go back. I’ll keep to the Manhattan / Queens / Brooklyn areas.

But now for a pleasant update: Work has been interesting. I came to the realization this week that a production company, at least so far as the one I’m with goes, doesn’t actually MAKE anything. They hire all technical workers from out of company. Almost no one in house is responsible for shooting and editing and what have you. This bit of knowledge deflated my already diminished expectations further, but luckily things look to be on the upswing.

On Saturday, I went on a shoot with the producers I’ve been spending most of my time working for. Upon arrival, the resident equipment guy, Assaf, gave me this really long lecture about never leaving equipment alone and about all kinds of protocol which should be common knowledge, but apparently had been ignored in recent weeks by other members of the staff.

On location, they made me the guy responsible for moving little bits of equipment such as cables and monitors. I was yelled at a few times, told to hurry up. So I did, taking the barked orders in stride. After all, if I can bark out obnoxious orders like that on my own set, why shouldn’t they? By the end of the day, Assaf pulled me aside and thanked me for the good work and said he felt like he could trust me, and that was rare. I guess most people just don’t know what the hell they’re doing… and I do. Or something like that.

Monday, I’m supposed to go see him in the equipment room and he might have some stuff for me to do. I don’t know what that entails, but I’m almost certain it’s better than logging tapes, and it’s one step closer to the production side of a production company. All this is just to say that things are getting better with work, and I think I’m actually starting to enjoy it a bit. Just don’t let them know that.

As for my free time, this weekend has mostly been a really lazy weekend, and I’ve loved it. Thursday I kicked my own ass by walking the long loop around Central Park (roughly 6 - 8 miles, including trip to and from the Park). It took about two and a half hours, but it was so beautiful. I’m in love with northern Central Park (the Harlem area). The little ponds and waterfalls and Harlem architecture in near sight just make the area absolutely beautiful and peaceful. I can’t wait to go back.

Then Friday night, Travis, Brian and I went to Little Italy again… and I had the greatest meal I’ve had yet in New York City… details to follow:

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MEALS OF NOTE:

“Da Gennaro Ristorante” - Italian - Pollo alla Bolognes, White Zinfindel
Thoughts - OH MY GOD, THIS PLACE ROCKS! The Pollo alla Bolognes is chicken breast, topped with a slice of prosciutto, smothered in melted mozzerella, on a bed of your choice of pasta and marinara sauce (I chose Fettucine). I really don’t know what to say other than THIS MEAL WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Easily the best meal I’ve had in New York so far. I think the restaurant was brand new, because the place was packed, so we were seated outside (luckily it was a nice evening, 55 or 60 degrees) and the manager came and chatted with all the customers, leaving business cards for people to take. The glass of white zinfindel wasn’t particularly special, but that’s ok because the meal was just THAT amazing. Highly recommended. If my family and I are ever up here at the same time, I might have to bring them all here. No. I WILL have to bring them all here. THAT amazing.
Total Cost - $28 (includes $15 plate, $6 glass of wine, tax and tip)

So I’ve been falling in love with the city more and more every day. There is a certain rhythm to the city, and it’s reflected in all the street/subway performers. Music is everywhere, and it’s all good. I’ve yet to hear one bad street performer.

In fact, several days ago, when heading up to the ABC building with a bunch of people from the program, we were waiting for the sub when we encountered one particular subway performer. He was a little old hispanic guy (probably Puerto Rican) named Frankie, just sitting there with his guitar. He announced to everyone that it was his 73 birthday that day, so he wanted to sing Happy Birthday to himself. And then he did. With his little guitar in hand, he proceeded to perform a very sassy version of Happy Birthday, and whenever there was a break in the lyrics, he would shout, almost mariachi-like, “SEVENTY-THREE!”

Frankie was the definition of a cute old guy. Rachel would have absolutely fell in love with Frankie. No doubt in my mind.

Anyway, since then I’ve just been working and wandering around the city having fun.

On Wednesday, I was helping out on a shoot for a pilot when one of the producers assistants asked me if I had a pair of jeans (I was wearing khakis). Of course I do, so they sent me home to change, saying they wanted to use me as a “model” in one of the segments. I thought I would just stand there as the technology guy demonstrated digital cameras, since that was the topic of this particular show. Little did I know…

I returned to the assistant who asked me to put on a T-shirt they’d bought for me. I wear XXL. They bought me a medium. So I put it on. Then they told me to go to make-up. So I did. And they made me up to look Euro-Fab. I was everything an alpha-male shouldn’t be. The irony was completed when I found out that I was supposed to be the centerpiece to a mock fashion shoot, sandwiched between two gorgeous girls, both of whom actually do some modelling on the side.

I felt absolutely ridiculous, and they say I look high in a lot of the pictures, but it was such a goofy fun time. I opted to keep the make-up on for the rest of the day, just for the hell of it. Hopefully I’ll get a copy of these pictures because they’re so ridiculous. And I do mean ridiculous.

Then that night, Efren requested that I watch a movie called “Grave of the Fireflies.” Traditionally, I have been very vocal about how much I hate the anime style of animation. Efren suggested this movie would change my mind, so I approached it as openly as I could, despite my bias…

...and I found it to be one of the most moving films I think I have ever seen in my life. It’s the story of a teenager brother and his very young sister trying to survive in Japan during World War 2 after both of their parents die. It is quite possibly one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen, and a tear did fall. It’s a beautiful movie, and I now strongly recommend it as well.

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MEALS OF NOTE:

“Haru” - Japanese / Sushi - Sushi Variety Entree, Sake
Thoughts - OK, I was worried about this place. I’m not huge on fish, and I especially don’t like Tuna, which seems to be a large part of almost every dish here. However, I figure I might as well try everything once, and if I don’t like it, then at least I’ll know why. Well, the sushi was absolutely fantastic. It took some experimentation to figure out just how much wasabi was appropriate, but I loved nearly every bite. The only part I didn’t care for was the caviar. So bland. The sake was quite possibly the strongest drink I’ve ever had. I couldn’t handle more than a drop at a time. Overall, a great meal.
Total Cost - $40 for everything, including tip.

OK, so I’ve gotten through two days of my internship. It’s been alright, I suppose. I showed up yesterday at 2 p.m. just expecting to sign some paperwork and talk about a work schedule. Instead, I signed my name and contact information to a sheet, and they started me off with the bitch work. Within five minutes of entering the building, I was outside, making the long haul to a video production equipment store to pick up some kino flourescent bulbs.

Then, when I got back, I was given a VHS tape with hours upon hours of down-converted footage for a TV show I’ve never heard of outside of this company, but that bears an eerie resemblance to The Biggest Loser. My task? Transcribe every word spoken with a rough time-code outline. Not necessarily bad, except there are physical challenges and the main person talking speaks like a drill instructor, making my process tedious and painful.

Luckily, the day ended with the production manager saying he wants to start taking me out on their shoots pretty soon, which will be a VERY welcome development. Meanwhile, today, I again set out to transcribe more footage. After about six hours I couldn’t make out individual words. I was going loopy. So I took breaks by delivering paperwork to the Mayor’s office and reviewing/doing coverage on a script the company had solicited. Not a bad story, but it needed work.

Anyway, around the time I started going loopy, a representative from another place I had applied to called me. A place that I would have preferred to work at, to be honest… but they got back to me too late and I can’t quit. That kind of killed my motivation for the rest of the day, but I think it’ll all work out alright. I just need to start taking on bigger and better projects than the crap they’ve been giving me. Which I think they will. Eventually. Hopefully.

But overall, I’m having fun and enjoying myself. And the food is freakin’ excellent. So with all that previous stuff aside, we move on to my favorite part of this blog:

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MEALS OF NOTE:

“Europa Cafe” - Sandwich / Salad Shop - Chicken Fajita Panini, Double Fudge Brownie, Sun Chips, Mug Root Beer
Thoughts - The sandwich was pretty good. Not really spicy, but good enough that the sauce to the side was unnecessary and unused. The brownie was REALLY dry, but the Sun Chips great as always
Total Cost - $11

“Bread” - Sandwich Shop - Prosciutto and Mozzerella sandwich, Tomato Basil Soup, Coca-cola
Thoughts - Excellent sandwich, so-so side salad, and quite possibly the BEST Tomato Basil soup I have ever had in my life. It was AMAZING. The 8 oz. coke bottle was a bit of a disapointment, but it didn’t end up being a huge deal.
Total Cost - $13 with tip.

“Fat Sal’s Pizza” - Pizza Delivery - Supreme Pizza, Pepsi
Thoughts - It was good, but nothing special. Average as far as New York pizza seems to go. I can’t say it was anything below good, but I can’t really praise it either. At least it was big. I couldn’t eat more than 3 slices. I sold a slice and gave the rest away after it sat in the fridge a couple days.
Total Cost - $25, including drink and delivery tip.

“The Times Deli” - Delicatessan - Philly Cheese Steak, Health Chips, Giant Cookie
Thoughts - The cheese steak was decent. It seemed strange that they used yellow cheese, but it ended up tasting pretty good. I wish I could say the same for the chips. I don’t even remember what they were anymore. I just saw some kind of vegetable variety chips and figured I should try everything. But they were gross. The chips were flat out awful. Thank God I got the cookie, too. It was so big and so thick it almost had the consistency of a cake. It was good.
Total Cost - $12

“Szechuan Gourmet” - Szechuan - Chicken with Orange Flavor, Brown Rice
Thoughts - The chicken was REALLY good. The rice was REALLY dry. I love rice, so that bothers me a little bit, but the chicken was good enough that I think I’ll forgive them.
Total Cost - $10

Once again, I have walked myself to exhaustion, but it has been good. I walked with a bunch of people up to the area just to the west of Central Park. One of the girls wanted to check out where she was working, and I wanted to see Central Park. As far as I could tell, everyone else was just along for the ride.

We stopped at Aegean Greek Cuisine on 70th St. & Columbus. The atmosphere was cozy and the food was EXCELLENT. I had a combination plate that included souvlaki, lamb chops and some kind of hamburger-like patty. It was an expensive lunch, and I need to stop letting myself do that, but it just seems wrong to order something simple that I could get in Texas. Hopefully once I get into a routine of working, I’ll start cooking for myself again.

After lunch, Brian and Travis followed along as I checked out The Dakota and Strawberry Fields. I wanted to get my picture taken by the Imagine mural thing, but apparently every other tourist in the city has the same idea. I didn’t feel like fighting them, so we moved on and just roamed around Central Park a bit. It’s obviously a very beautiful place… in the springtime. Right now it’s very grey and sad. But peaceful. The random saxophonists improv-ing provided an excellent backdrop to the experience.

On the way back to the Lamb’s, I stopped and got a Sabrett’s hot dog with everything, as per my father’s suggestion. I was scared when they put sauerkraut on it. I hate sauerkraut. But this concoction was actually damn good. So thanks, Dad.

After returning to the Lamb’s and resting for a couple hours, Brian, Travis, Sapora and I went and visited Ground Zero and the Financial District. I wasn’t ready to see Ground Zero, but our initial plan of going to the Empire State Building was dashed by the existence of heavy fog / cloud cover and I was outnumbered. It was a somber experience and hard to imagine the two behemoths that used to jut out of those massive holes in the ground. I wish I could have seen them in person.

And that’s about it. But it reflects block after block after block of feet killing activity. And I don’t regret a single step.

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MEALS OF NOTE:

Lunch - “Aegean” - Greek Cuisine - Lamb combo plate, Coca-cola
Thoughts - I liked this place. A lot. I just wish my meal wasn’t $18.50 before drinks, tax and tip…
Total Cost - I paid about $28, including tip.

I’ve done my time. For three and a half years, I’ve labored through purgatory. But now… NOW I am finally in New York City. It’s been a good first day, too.

Brian and I had to wake up early to catch our 5:30 flight out of D/FW this morning, so it was a rough start. However, I finally arrived in NYC around 11:30 am Eastern time. Brian and I went to get a cab, and some guys offering a shuttle service tried to divert us from the officially sanctioned taxi lines. I’d seen a sign in LaGuardia that warned against taking rides from these, but Brian didn’t see it and initially suggested we try it out.

Then we found out it was just a guy with a Suburban. He was probably just trying to make money, but he was definitely not anything official. Luckily, he overbooked his Suburban and we took the opportunity to duck out and return back to the official taxis. It ended up being cheaper than the dude with the Suburban, too, so it all worked out fine.

We checked into the Lamb’s and began going through all our move-in paperwork and unpacking. My room is most-definitely, without-a-doubt, nothing more than a closet. 8x8 supposedly. There’s enough room for a bunk bed, a tall storage cabinet and standing space to change clothes. I don’t imagine I’ll be spending too much time in my room. (Yes Mom, this means you were right.)

After a little power-nap, I managed to cajole five other people to come with me to Little Italy. We tried Buona Notte. Excellent dinner. Made me happy. My first dinner in NYC, and it was a great Italian meal. I couldn’t ask for more. Afterwards, we hit the K-Mart in Penn Station. That sucker is three stories tall!!! K-MART! I got myself a nice little blanket, comforter thing. Not sure what it is, but it’s soft and it’ll keep me warm.

And now I type this blog. I’m tired and sore all over. I’ll probably go to bed shortly. I think I might try checking out Central Park tomorrow. Or something. There’s so much to do!

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MEALS OF NOTE:

Lunch - “The Red Flame” - Diner - Pastrami Sandwich, Fries, Coca-cola
Thoughts - The Pastrami was a little tough, but it tasted amazing. The fries were nothing special. Service was quick, but left a little to be desired. Overall decent.
Total Cost - About $12 (including tip)

Dinner - “Buona Notte” - Italian Restaurant - Lobster Ravioli, Chardonnay
Thoughts - At first I didn’t think much of the ravioli. The plate only included six and the taste didn’t seem to be particularly great, but the more I ate, the more I began to really enjoy it and it ended up being decently filling. The chardonnay wasn’t half bad either. The waiter was a little bit slow in taking our orders and bringing the check, but the wait staff overall kept our drinks full. Overall great experience.
Total Cost - About $25 (including gratuity and extra tip), and WELL WORTH IT!