Etsy Documentary Filming In My Home ~ Day 2

It is 3:30 a.m. and I am experiencing one of those compelling urges to write.  I should be back in bed trying to sleep because Etsy is sending Shane Brown out sometime tomorrow...or I suppose I mean today....to take my picture with a piece of transferware to distribute to some of the other publications they plan to pitch my story to! =)  I have been meaning to tell you all more about the experience of filming in my home for the Etsy documentary short and I apologize for not doing so already.  I seldom 'take off' work so last week, with all of the excitement going on, I got way behind and am still trying to get caught back up.  Shawn has spent more than an entire day helping me pack orders and take inventory of a large transferware shipment that just came in.

But enough of that, I'm ready to tell you all how the filming went down and I've got lots of pictures to share, so as far as the photos go, this might be a long post....maybe word wise to...we'll just see how it progresses.

Tara and Shane Brown, a local photgrapher/cinematographer were here as scheduled, at 8:00 a.m.  I told you all some about Tara HERE.  She is also one of the few in her line of work that does it all from shooting the film to editing the piece for final production. Pretty impressive! Shane Brown, Tara's local assistant, is an award winning photographer who shot the portfolio for “The Brothers of Clear Creek” which won a Wilbur award.  He has worked on several major films and he is also the photographer I mentioned that would be coming by to take my 'portrait', as they refer to it as.  Click Shane's name above and you'll be redirected to his site where you can see some of his stunning photography.

So, here is Tara going straight to work, getting out some of her gear.

Tara and Shane discussing the set up.

Here I am, with Tara, being miked for the interview....just like you see in movies or on tv... they clipped on a microphone, run the wire down my blouse and clip the battery pack to the back of my pants.

Tara pulled out one of the big, red checked chairs out of the way and pulled forward a small, wooden one for me to sit in.  I     
was becoming really nervous at this point, anticipating the interview.  Honestly, I was not at all looking forward to having a camera shoved in my face and I was even less looking forward to having to talk to it.  I am really shy and my comfort zone is not being the center of attention.  Incognito is more attuned to my forte'.  But...I can suck it up if need be and there is no way I would ever turn down such an amazing opportunity...so here I sit...beginning to sweat...and no big lights on me...yet.

As my stomach is turning and churning and I'm ready to get this over with, Tara decided this isn't the spot she wants to shoot the interview in.  She decides to move the interview into the den. 
So we all do a little rearranging of this room and then they tell me to have a seat on the chair in the corner, which we brought from the living room.  Now, out came the big umbrella and the very bright, hot, making me sweat even more than I already was, light.
(If you look closely, you can scarcely make me out behind the fireball, um I mean light) 

Tara begins the interview and then says she doesn't like the lighting.  She adjusts the curtains in the background and ultimately makes the decision to shoot the interview without the light at all.

Although I was becoming more nervous about being interviewed with every lingering second, I probably thanked God out loud when Tara opted not to use the light.   I was so glad to be out from under the heat of that light.  I had been thinking I'm going to be sopping wet, wiping sweat off my brow and looking as if I came in from a monsoon before she even asks a single question!  As soon as they turned off the light, it felt like the temperature dropped by 15 degrees.  Oh, I welcomed that!  Btw, for you all who want every little detail...the interview will be only my voice speaking, so you aren't going to hear what she asks...just my answers.
Shane put up some sort of reflector and Tara sat down in the chair across from me.

Finally, the interview began.  What I looked most forward to about the interview was actually getting it over with.  As I've made pretty clear, I don't like being the center of attention.   I felt like I fumbled words and/or lost track of what I was saying several times.  Shawn was listening in the next room and later said that I sounded somewhat monotone to start out but that he could tell I warmed up after a few minutes and eventually sounded like myself.  Shane and Tara both assured me that I did fine and then told me that it is rare to get someone on film that's not nervous to begin with.  They even told us a couple of stories about some of the subjects they've filmed that could not seem to get anything out.  Shane said after 2 hours with one guy, they asked him if he could just complete even one sentence.  So, I felt better after that, you know...like...compared to some others I wasn't so bad and at least they've had worse to deal with!   I admit it.  It felt awesome to hear how really terrible someone else did.  I'm sorry.  I guess I'll find out just how good or bad I was when they release the video, which btw, will be November 8th.  It will be titled, "There's No Place Like Here : English Transferware".

What seemed like a very, very long time, was only minutes, and the interview was finally over.  Or so I thought.  Tara said that she'd review the film when she got back to her hotel that night and that she might want to re-do some of it the next day.  She'd just have to see if it was good enough.  Oh joy.  I can't tell you how stressed I was thinking that I might have to do this again.    That thought remained at the forefront of my mind until the next day.  Oh, and I'm thinking to myself, "Am I supposed to wear the same clothes or what?  The ones I just sweated profusely in?  Gross".  I cried a little after they left that night.


So, next Tara wants to shoot me going into the garage and then of me opening the garage door from inside...so here you can see her and Shane out in the street in front of our house.  I'm in the garage pulling it open but it's too dark to see anything yet.

Next, I'm shown walking in to the garage with Tara following behind.

Tara asks me questions about some of the random pieces I pick up along the way.  I think she will probably use a little of this in the video.  

Next we went back inside where Tara and Shane began setting up for what they call Dolly shots. (The link gives a great explanation of what a dolly shot is)

I had rearranged my sheep painting vignette (again) with all Spode Byron.  Byron is one of the patterns Tara specifically asked me to create a wall-scape with and one which she wanted me to talk about.   I completely went into OCD mode when I did this.  One morning Trev and Ash left for school and I was standing in front of the demilune table hanging the Byron up over it and planning out the arrangement.  Guess where I was still standing when they got home?  Yes---truly, madly, deeply--- my OCD came into full bloom.  When Trevor opened the door that afternoon we glanced at each other, him knowing without my saying, exactly where I'd been all day long and he exclaimed to me, "Oh my gosh!!!Mom!!!You are in OCD overdrive!!!".   It is what it is.  I've come to like, even appreciate, this quirky thing about myself.   

 Arranging things, creating vignettes and putting together wallscapes almost always comes so naturally to me, but not this day.  By bedtime, I had resolved to like what I'd come up with.  I also decided I would like a green kitchen.

Ok, so before you all start saying I've got ADD in addition to OCD I'm getting right back to the subject of the filming.  I loved watching Tara and Shane at work.  I love the look of contemplation on Tara's face in this photo below...deciding which way(s) she wanted to do this shot.  I would never have believed it had I not seen it but most of these shots took well over an hour or more of filming (read the dolly shot link above), lighting,  lowering and raising the dolly, etc.

I enjoyed seeing how they use reflectors and such to alter the lighting. 

Meanwhile, Shawn aka Red Foreman was getting bored, grumpish (but too polite to let it show)  and  vewy, vewy, sweeepy. 

Next Tara and Shane set up in the breakfast room.  The table and chairs were all moved out and they shot my hutch of red transferware. There was lots of furniture rearranging going on just to make room for them to get the footage they wanted.  Little things that, from my standpoint, I would not have thought about beforehand.

Tara took some macro shots on several pieces of transferware and got some amazing images of detail.

By now, it was past dinner time so we decided to leave off until tomorrow morning...same time, same place.  Tara and Shane packed up some of their gear and headed out.
And that, my friends, was the sum of day 2.

I will be posting about Day 3 sometime in the next few days but am first going to get a tablescape in tomorrow or Friday. 
And, one last thing...I have received way more emails and messages about my post regarding the truth about my selling transferware than I ever fathomed.  Honestly, I kinda thought a bunch of people would bail but it has been quite the contrary and I have not been able to keep up with the messages.  I just want every person that sent me a heartfelt note to know that I have read every single one, most of them more than once, some of them over and over, and all of them to Shawn.  I can hardly even write this without tearing up because I am so moved by YOUR words.  I have replied to some of you and mean to respond to all of you as I am able to,  but I must again sincerely thank you for taking any time at all to read what I write.  I am really struggling with wrapping my brain around the notion that someone out there... whom I have never met...actually likes reading my blog.  

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