Pre-production... the devil is in the details.

Pre-production. This is the first step in producing anything. It's all about the details. The better the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed the better prepared you are when it comes time to actually start shooting. Well, that's where I am right now.

Over the next month, I will be making calls, setting up meetings, establishing contacts, and researching the route we will travel. A lot of the old route established in 1926 is not well defined any longer. In addition, I have to purchase equipment, have my car checked out to ensure it will be able to travel the 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica) and back. I also have to make sure the hard drives I will travel with are sufficient to hold my footage. I do not want them to crash and lose everything. That would ...(fill in your own word).

This will be a trip of both new and old technology. I purchased a large wall map to plot my assault on the Mother Road along with an 8-subject notebook. One subject for each state. I will be traveling through. I also bought a new MAC Book Pro with a 17" screen to run my AVID editing software, and several gig's of P2 cards for the camera I bought. I have to buy a wireless microphone, and several hard drives with many terabites of storage space. And if I have enough money, I hope to purchase a P2 player to make dumping my video easier in the field.

Producing a documentary is not cheap if you want to do it right. I am bank rolling this whole endeavor in hopes of finding a home for it on some network when I get back. It's a big risk, but well worth the experience! Life is too short not to take chances sometime.

I also have to set up this blog, and a Twitter account to be able to use the new social media to hopefully generate some buzz along the way. I will try to post video of the days shoot if time allows.

Now, with all that equipment packed into a 2004 Honda CRV there won't be much room for luggage,and food let alone two people. I am traveling with my 75 year old mom who has always been up for an adventure, and has always been there for me. I think she is more excited than I am to start this trip. She'll be my security, and we will share driving duties. Someone has to drive while I hang out of the car getting the shots I need! And besides, I'm a small production company, I can't afford a grip. lol

And so begins the next phase of my career... long form program producer/photographer (that's video not stills... this term is used in the business. We're also called photog's, shooter's or photojournalists. I can't stand the term videographer.) I will leave out any details about Route 66 you can garner from a simple internet search so as not bog down the blog.

Thanks for checking in... I will up date you as it gets interesting.