Rhode Island Pride Parade

I had just spent a month in RI so I wasn’t thrilled to drive back up any time soon. But I got a call from a producer saying she had a shoot in Providence and got my contact info from a girl I worked with on An Impossible Place. I said yes because why turn down money? Strange enough I didn’t ask how much or even what the shoot was.
I showed up the following week for what I thought would be some basic shoot where I would be doing general PA work like lock-ups or runs, but to my surprise I found out that we were shooting the Rhode Island Pride Parade for Google. (My jaw dropped to the floor) You mean you are paying us to party? Their reply: basically yes.

We had to go around to the different floats, get interviews, take pictures, and get releases. When the actual parade started, we had to photograph it. And you exactly do you photograph a parade to get the whole experience? You have to walk it yourself!
Needless to say this was the most enjoyable shoot. Met a lot of cool people and got to hear their stories about coming out and why Pride Parades were important to them. Also I got to dance in the street, hi-five people in the side lines, and see some of my own friends from Hartford.

When we were done, we had to do paper work and fill out our day rate. (BTW, this was only about a 6 hour day) I expected $120 or $150 but we got paid $200 plus $15 for our meal.

Lesson of the day: be flexible and open to all opportunities that come your way.

 Production Date: June 14th, 2017 

Production Company: Google

Pictures Taken By Me

The Cars that Made America

Every set/production I have worked on has been special to me. (Clearly, since I post about each and every one of them) I always learn something new whether it’s how to correctly paint walls or driving a cube truck. I meet some of the world’s coolest people, both cast and crew. And I get to do amazing things that leave me feeling like anything is possible like driving alone across the country or finding a cop car to rent when I was only tasked to find the top bar lights.  

The Cars that Made America is the one I am definitely the proudest of because it was fun but also extremely challenging. There were days when I wanted to quit and I believed I wasn’t cut out for this life. First of all, the fact that it was for one month made it the longest gig for me. I’m also no stranger to 16 hour days but the commute to and from RI made it harder. I also had to drive a 15 passenger van, which was only nerve racking when you have the execs in your vehicle and the RI streets are very narrow.

But then I would show up and see that I would get to work in some of the coolest/creepiest buildings. I got to see cars that I never thought I would see in person let alone get to touch like Ford’s Model T and the Delorean and all of my frustrations would disappear because I knew this was a once in a lifetime experience. I developed real friendships with both the cast and crew. Plus, I am a history buff and learning about this subject was equally intriguing.

After seeing the finished product on the History Channel and my name in the credits, I can say it was all worth it and I’m more than ready to do this full time. No doubt.

  

Production Dates: May 8th to June 2nd, 2017

Production Company: Magilla TV
Pictures Taken By Me