Project Runway

The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favorite movies, but beyond that, I've never been into high fashion or design. When I was told I was going to be working on this show I didn't know what to expect. Was Heidi Klum going to be there? Was I going to be on camera? How many seasons were there? So I did my research by watching a couple of episodes and instantly became hooked. It wasn't just about sitting a sewing. The show taught its contestants to dig deep and draw inspiration from unexpected places like greeting cards, a Broadway Play, and even the famous bridges of New York City which I can respect as a person who writes and wants to break into the film industry. It was a great experience and I even got to meet the famous Tim Gunn. 

Dates Shot: Week of August 24th
Shot By: Bravo/Lifetime 

Pictures Taken by Me

PepsiCo Internal Video

I really love what I do, so I generally hate days where I'm just standing around do nothing. However, by the time I started this shoot I had already worked two straight weeks of 12hr-plus days and was exhausted. When I was told that I was basically an extra set of hands for moving equipment from one set up to another, I rejoiced. Not to mention, the crew was pretty laid back and very gracious. I also got to act as the eyes and ears for the producer, who was in New York at the time, to keep her up to date on the progress of the video. 

 Dates Shot: July 16th 
Shot by: Mustache Agency

   Pictures Taken by Me 

EMS Training Video

This shoot was exciting to work on for two reasons, it was filmed in a studio! Obviously I hadn't worked in one since graduating college, so seeing a blank canvas turned in an interactive video was pretty nostalgic. Reason number two is because of the name, Coppola Studios Inc. I never learned if there was any correlation between the person who owned it and the famous family of Directors and Actors but it made me feel one step closer to working on a big budget Hollywood film.

Dates Shot: Week of July 13th 
Shot by: Dvee Media

   Pictures Taken by Me 

 

Frontgate/America's Finest Homes

When people think of Bridgeport, CT the idea of "Fine Homes" never come to mind, especially when the annual Lists of Worst and Most Dangerous Cities are published. After working on this shoot with one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen in a really quiet and upscale neighborhood, I have to say that just because a city is deemed "SCARY" does not mean every part of it is rundown or should be avoided at any and all costs.

Dates Shot: Week of July 6th
Shot by: Spellbound, Inc.

   Pictures Taken by Me 

Untitled Project

On most productions, I have been free to discuss my involvement and any other details in full. However, there are cases where nothing can be discussed until after the project has aired due to the show being a pilot, a surprise to those featured on it, or its a corporate seminar with sensitive information, which might not air at all.

In this instance, I am allowed to state that I was a PA on a show which was filmed in historic Wethersfield, CT involving 18th Century USA.

The concept was really fascinating and I am excited to see the finished product!

Date Shot: June 23rd

Shot by: Revelations Entertainment 

Update:

 As of October 22nd 2015 I am allowed to announce that the show I worked on was 

Food: Fact or Fiction which airs on The Cooking Channel 

Pictures Taken by Me 

Could I Live There

The producer told me that for this reality show my only job was to take production stills. (photographs of important shots being filmed) Although I had taken professional portraits before and messed around with cameras, I was intimidated. At one point I had to take off with one of the camera men and get shots of the city. I left the point-and-shoot camera with the producer and had to rely on my phone, which is an LG G3. The cool thing about this phone is that it is branded as The Photographers Phone due to its Quad-HD picture and video setting. I must say it worked fantastically and it inspired me to practice scenic stills in my free time.  

Dates Shot: May 21st
Shot by: Karga Seven Pictures

Pictures and Video Taken by Me

Bit9+Carbon Black Corporate Video

The purpose of this shoot was to capture an employee seminar, which was completely boring. Granted, I learned a lot about data breaches and virus scanners but I was brought back to that never ending feeling you get while in a college lecture. Although the subject was not at all amusing, the producers were easy to please and I got to work with a friend.

Date Shot: May 13th

Shot by: Hot Pineapple Productions

 

   Picture Taken by Me 

Lifespan Bio-Tech Commercial

My only job for this shoot was to rent a 15 passenger van, shuttle crew back and forth to film location, then return it. We didn't wrap until 12am and I had to go an hour in the opposite direction of my home to not only bring back the vehicle, but fill up the tank as well which took another hour to find an open gas station. Needless to say I got back to Hartford around 5am exhausted. That's dedication!

Date Shot: March 29th

Shot by: 8th Street Productions

Pictures Taken by Me

Chevy Silverado 2015

I've done many shoots and have been given a variety of tasks. The only one I really tried to avoid was driving a cube truck because it scared me. Since I was the closest one in the area, I had to pick up camping props which included 2,000 ft of sod. There ended up being a wind advisory (Just my luck) and every time I went over 50mph the truck seemed to shake. I clearly made it back safely and was able to shake out the nerves and help set up the "camp-site"

Date Shot: March 18th, 2015

Shot by: VaultNYC
Talent: ESPN Anchors Steve Levy and Scott Van Pelt

Pictures Taken by Me 

Chevy Malibu 2015

This was shot during the same time as the Silverado commercial so there was a lot of hiking at the ESPN campus. I bought the shirt used in the opening scene and I was one of the people walking on the catwalk.
 
Date Shot: March 18th, 2015

Shot by: VaultNYC
Talent: ESPN Anchors Steve Levy and Scott Van Pelt

Pictures Taken by Me 

 

The Hartford Insurance Corporate Video

I got a seasonal job so that I didn't have to travel far in the snow for shoots. The sad thing is that when I did this shoot it snowed the entire time, some of the crew barely made it to the locations and my car took an hour to start. On the bright side, other than light work (slating and transfering files), I got paid to sit with my friend and fellow Uhart grad (in the picture below) and watch equipment.

Dates Shot: December 8th to December10th 2014

Shot By: Leo Zanis, Caps & Crowns LLC

Pictures Taken by Me

Amish RENOgades

For this Spin-Off show of the Vanilla Ice Project I finally got to get my hands dirty on an HGTV- type of shoot. This renovation was for the attic of a small family. I worked closely with the design team who collectively gave off a stress free vibe and taught me how to paint like a pro!

Date Shot: October 13th to October 17th 2014

Shot by: Juma Entertainment

Pictures Taken by Me

George Jepsen 2014 Campaign Ad

This was the first job I did in Hartford which is exciting only because I didn't have to drive for hours to a location I'd never been to. On the first day of a two day shoot, I was told to find and rent a police light bar, and 5 people failed before me. Not only was I was able to find the lights but I found an actual cop car for a great rental rate. (It was my Devil Wears Prada moment.) Moral of the story, I accomplish my tasks. Only down side is that they didn't even use it.  I also made the wardrobe purchases, managed crafty, and handled lunch orders

Date Shot: September 11th, 2014

Shot/Directed/Produced by: Three Point Media

"Business"

 "Breach"

Pictures taken by me

 

Restaurant Redemption

I worked on the "Golden China" episode of this show. This place was known as the Chinese version of the Cheers Bar & Restaurant and I got to go to the original Cheers and see the TV replica in Boston. This was actually the best shoot I worked on. Even though I was glued to my computer as a story assistant, everyone including the crew, owners, the host, Ching-He, and locals were amazing and a lot of fun to work with. 

Dates Shot: August 25th to August 29th 2014  

Shot by: Lion Television

 

Pictures Taken by Me

                                    

Undercover Boss

For shoots like this, it is IMPORTANT that no one ever says the name of the show during production. With that being said we weren't even allowed to  post it on our resumes until after the episode aired. This is mainly because the CEO's are wealthy and producers do not want undeserving or lying employees to receive benefits that could have went to someone else. I learned a lot about secrecy on this shoot but the best thing I learned is that the term Mass-Holes is something to be aware of especially when asking people to sign waivers.

 Dates Shot: August 1st to August 2nd 2014
Shot by: First and Goal Pictures

There were no pictures taken, due to the extreme confidentiality of the shoot. 

Public House Wine

My friend and Co-Owner of Spellnet was hired to do this commercial for a local boxed wine company and asked if I would help out. We took it upon ourselves to make this a get-together with friends and shot the outdoor scenes within an hour. I was her camera assistant and an extra.
 

Date Shot: August 16th, 2014

Directed/Produced by Stephanie Pelletier.

Dannel Malloy 2014 Campaign Ad

On the prep day, I accompanied the producer, Andrea Blake, on tech scouts in West Hartford. When we were done she gave me a list of crafty and props to be purchased with petty cash. I was nervous about going over budget and losing money or receipts because this was the first time I had this task. However, I survived the pressure and got to do another campaign ad with some of the crew.

Date Shot: June 30th, 2014

Shot by: John Del Cecato, AKPDMedia

 Pictures taken by me

WorkSmart 2014 Tools for Security

During my first shoot for Spellnet I had to film ADNET’s 9th Annual WorkSmart Summit and keep interviews and seminars running on schedule. In this video, you can see the top of my head during the presentation because the speaker couldn't figure out how to use the remote to change slides and I had to manually do it.

Date Shot: May 5th, 2014

Shot by: Stephanie Pelletier, Spellnet

Lidia's Kitchen

This was honestly the only job I was physically tortured on. My job was to take notes of the steps Lidia Bastianich took to showcase her recipes as well as record time logs and camera shots so that editors would know which takes to look for and complete the editing process faster.
This might not seem like a hard task for most, however I couldn't go to the bathroom or even take a sip of water until the director yelled cut because I could have missed a take. 
Not only that, but I had to watch, listen, and smell food being cooked for 12 hour days (Talk about an interactive TV experience). And because our crew lunch was the food from each episode, I killed my self watching her slowly pour sauce over gnocchi and counting down the hours until it was chow time.

Dates Shot: March 6th to March 9th 2014

Shot by: Tavola Productions

Pictures Taken by Me

Keyshawn Johnson's DWTS Interview at ESPN

This was my first job as a Story Assistant and the first of many times I got to visit the ESPN. Sharna Burgess and Keyshawn Johnson were extremely nice and fun to work with. I also got to spend the day on the set of the Sunday NFL Countdown with Ray Lewis and Mike Ditka, which made all of my guy friends jealous. 

Date Shot: September 15, 2013
Producer/Photog: Alex East
Sound: Matt Andrews

Pictures Taken by Me 

                         

American Idol 2014 Boston Auditions

This was my first job after I graduated college and is biggest production I've worked on to date. For this shoot I had to direct contestants to designated areas, pass out release forms, and set up equipment. There were two contestants that really stood out to me, one who almost made it to the top 24 and the other was in the top 5. This made me realize I have an eye for talent and could become a really good talent scout or casting director. It was also my positive attitude on this shoot that got me noticed by producers who recommended me for Dancing with the Stars and other shoots.

Date Shot: August 2nd, 2014

Shot by: American Idol Productions

Photos Taken by Me

Mayor Bloomberg's Mayors Challenge

This is the only news package I ever created and it was for my summer internship with WVIT. My friend came up with the idea, I researched filming locations, and we both edited. Although this was my first time completely in charge of filming I really do regret not remembering to white balance the indoor shots and not doing the editing by myself, but all I have to say is "Live and Learn."

Date Shot: August 21st, 2012
Written By: Reyna Boucaud
Shot by: Me

Rosenberg Orthodontics Confidence Campaign "Marlena"

I got to do this commercial while interning at NBC CT, WVIT because I was the only intern who had any production experience. The director did a couple of these confidence campaigns before so he asked me to create shot ideas. This project obviously changed my life because it made me realize that news was not what I wanted to do anymore and I haven't regretted my decision to make the switch yet. I'm also in this video as an audience member.

Date Shot: July 20th 2012

                       Shot/Directed by Kurt Davis, Commercial Director at NBC WVIT

Picture Taken by Me