Welcome to my blog

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. Over the next several months I will be preparing, planning, and shooting a documentary on historic Route 66. My actual trip begins in June. I hope to be back by July to start writing, and editing. I hope this will be an interesting look at what goes into producing a television documentary, and how the documentary is coming along.

A little background about me...
I am a broadcast video journalist with over 20 years experience shooting, editing, writing and field producing. I decided to "retire" from local news in 2009 to pursue the next phase of my career. Much of my experience is in local tv news as a Field Producer, and ENG Photographer, but the fundamentals of producing long form stories are the same as producing shorter news packages.
You are telling a story, plain and simple. The better you plan the better the final product will be.

Thanks again for reading, and enjoy the ride!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

From Chicago to LA.. errr Santa Monica

After 20 days, we finally arrived in Santa Monica on June 20th. The Santa Monica Pier marks the unofficial end of Rt 66. We finished shooting interviews on June 28th, or so I thought. Our last interview was with Dan Rice and his fiance' Jessica Slating. They own and operate 66 to Cali (http://route-66-to-california.com), a store on The Santa Monica Pier that sells nothing but Rt 66 merchandise made in America. It is also the last stop for many weary road warriors who finish getting their kicks on the Mother Road. (I met a couple today from Norway who just finished their trip on the road.) Dan and Jessica meet everyone who has completed the trip with a friendly smile, and a welcomed seat on a captains chair facing the Pacific Ocean. Talk about ocean therapy!!! The view is enough to regenerate even the most road worn soul.
Well, as I said, I thought I had my last interview until Dan suggested I speak with one last person in Seligman Arizona. So, on our return trip home we will be making one last stop to interview a man named Angel Delgadillo. Angel is credited by many for starting the re-discovery of Rt66 after he helped establish the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, which set in motion the founding of the other seven states’ associations along the Route.
I hope to be home in Pennsylvania by July 10th. My niece, who is along taking still photo's for a companion photo book, has a concert to attend in north Jersey. And besides, we will have been traveling for over 30 days, and it's time to come home. I miss seeing my family, friends, and visiting my daughter's grave in Princeton, New Jersey.
The only thing that remains after our last interview in Seligman is to pick up some video of iconic Rt 66 images on our way back to Chicago. The trip out was dedicated to interviews, and making contacts. I have to say we have succeeded in that effort and then some! I left time on the return trip to get anything else we may have missed in our effort to keep to our timeline.
I am very proud to say we have kept to our schedule every step of the way. The final milestone of the trip depends on where we stay on July 4th. If it happens to be a town that has a 4th of July celebration I will have to cover it. What better way to close a documentary about the spirit of those who live along America's Main Street than with fireworks celebrating America's birthday.
Oh, speaking of birthdays, I just found out I share the birthday of Rt 66. We were both born on November 11th some 42 years apart. And I turn 42 this year. Maybe that is why I was drawn to shoot this documentary this year. I really couldn't say. I just wanted to tell a story about the people who live along one of the nations most famous forgotten highways.
I'll be posting some more video clips from our trip in a day or two.
I hope you all have a nice 4th of July! And as always, thank you for checking in!

2 comments:

  1. Looking forward to seeing the final cut! :) Maybe I can get to PA to see the premier....

    ReplyDelete