Filming St Elizabeth Ann Seton in NYC episode
Hello everyone and happy new year to you all!
I’ve been working like a madwoman, trying to get these shows put together and off to EWTN for approval, and then for final delivery. Keep praying, because it aint over till it’s over! Actually… I think that’s supposed to be February 1st…
Anyway, today we had a particularly challenging day… it’s mostly over now, and I am sitting in my warm office with my doggie at my side, so I can laugh about it. But it occurred to me that you all might find this little story interesting… so I thought I’d share.
What to do when something just goes completely wrong. Not once. Not twice. But, as Eddie Murphy channelling Buckwheat says, “fee times a mady…”
I should start this story off by saying that if you haven’t read my blog post about how we produce the show, I suggest you do, just to give yourself an idea of, well, how we produce the show. LOL.
So, suffice it to say, we’re a two-man show. That’s not to complain… I used to say the Holy Spirit was a PA on our shoots (that’s Production Assistant). As we near wrapping production of the first season, I have very quickly realized that the Holy Spirit doesn’t like being a PA. He’d rather be Executive Producer. And you know what? I am a-OK with that! Because, let me tell you, HE’s got all the great ideas. So I’m happy to follow.
So… this story starts back in the summertime. One of the locations we visit with The Faithful Traveler is the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Battery Park, Manhattan. In NYC. The script is a tough one. There’s a lot of talking, and not so much showing. Lots of history about people who lived a very long time ago… before cameras existed. So I have to rely on art to illustrate what I’m talking about. And when I have nothing to show, but HAVE to say something, we do what some people call a “stand up.” That’s basically when I get in front of the camera and talk.
St. Elizabeth Ann’s story is VERY complex. Well, at least I think it is. And I wanted to do her justice. But to do so, I ended up having a lot more than the usual amount of stand ups in this episode. And to make matters worse, most of them were set (by moi) in Battery Park. Why worse, you ask? Let me make a list for you (I like lists):
1.) It is a MECCA for both tourists and native New Yorkers. Not only is Battery Park where you go to get on the Ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty, but the Staten Island Ferry is there, too, for all those New Yorkers who commute to and from Staten Island. So, LOTS of people pass through Battery Park.
2.) It is near some sort of helipad, which means constant noise from helicopters. Very bad when you’re trying to shoot talking in front of a camera.
3.) See #1. Big boats herding loads of people also make lots of noise.
4.) It’s by the water, which usually means there’s wind. Also bad for mics.
Add to this the fact that, by the time I got this shoot scheduled, it was August. Yes, August, Just about the hottest month in any city. ANY city. It’s hot. So, on the hottest day in August in 2009 (I kid you not), Sonja Stark (our fearless freelance camerasuperwoman) and I headed out to Battery Park to shoot this A-Roll (another word for stand ups…).
We DIE out there, it’s so hot. It’s so hot, I don’t wear the jacket I should be wearing, because I had it on when we shot the A-Roll on the inside of the shrine. It’s so hot, my make up is melting and my hair is plastered against my sweaty scalp… It’s so hot… oh man. It’s so hot, I should NOT have been in front of any camera with film in it.
But we did it. We shot everything we needed to shoot, and I went home to capture the footage (transfer it to my computer from the tape).
Oh, people. It was not a pretty sight.
And, look. I am not vain, but even though I don’t know most of you, I would not want to subject anyone to what I looked like on that film. In fact, I’m so not vain, I would show it to you… if I hadn’t deleted it from my computer as soon as I saw it! Oh, we had other issues other than how horrible I looked. The telepromter always wants to get into my shots and steal my scenes (the jerk!), the light and sound didn’t always cooperate… it wasn’t just me. But it was so bad, David and I decided we had to go back and reshoot it. WE HAD TO.
So… like any sane people, we waited until the COLDEST day of the year, December 30, 2009. I think it was, maybe 16 degrees with the wind chill.
So, same issues: loads of people, loud boats, loud helicopters. And while I wasn’t sweating like a glass of cold milk on a hot day… I was SO COLD my mouth stopped working. I kid you not. Suddenly, I couldn’t speak. My “b”s and “p”s were incomplete. My upper lip refused to cooperate. There was NO WAY we were shooting the scenes in Spanish that day! I could barely speak English! It was so cold outside, we moved inside the shrine for shelter and –God love them–they let us finish up shooting there. Which would have been AWESOME, had we brought our lights…
So, there we are, in the middle of the shrine, with a desk lamp in David’s hand and the camera in another. My nose is beet red from all the cold and blowing. My lips are starting to work…. I’m still not wearing the jacket I had on earlier because now I’m covered in winter gear…
But, we get it done, load our junk into the car, and head home. HAPPY to have gotten the footage. And then I capture it, drop it into the timeline, and oh, goodness…. I look dead. Except my nose. My nose was very much alive. I was so drained from the cold, I was lifeless. And which of you–tell me–which of you like to watch lifeless hosts on television? Hmmmm? Not I!
Ugh. So, this past week, as I just about wrapped up the edit on EASeton in NYC, David and I decided… let’s give this thing one. more. shot.
Today, we drove to a beautiful little park in Weehawken, NJ (ever since watching The Lorax, I have always wanted to go to Weehawken, and folks… it doesn’t disappoint!). Weehawken is just across the river from Manhattan, and it has a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. The image above is a screenshot. Pretty, huh?
It was perfect! Not too hot. Not too cold. There was still noise from helicopters, and nearby cars, but for the most part, the noise level was much better. We got there around 2:30ish, just as the sun was dipping down, so we got the last dregs of light. And I nailed my lines! (Well, I did have some practice…). David was doing well, with the camera in one hand and the light bouncer thingy in the other, trying to bounce the last of the sunlight onto my face… It was awesome.
Came home. Captured the footage. And you know, at this point, I started to wonder if–just maybe–God didn’t like what we were doing. Because what we captured…. well… Let’s just say that David had so much on his mind, with the light bouncing off thingy and the sound and the focus…. that when he thought he was turning the camera on… he was actually turning it off….
Just a few times! Just for that important opening sequence that I really nailed! That really has to be strong! To grab you, the audience. To make you want to watch the rest of the show. To make you say, “Yeah! I am totally gonna watch this show!” That’s the part that ended up on the, um, cutting room floor in Weehawken.
So, as I sat in this office and watched the footage we didn’t get, I started to pray. “Jesus? Do You want something else? What do You want for this opening sequence? What is mine missing?”
I mean, come on. We shot it three times.
Tomorrow, we’re going to shoot the revamped version. The version that popped into my head exactly one second after I asked Jesus that question: what do You want? He never fails me. I just have to ask.
And you know what? I think this new version is SO MUCH stronger than the one we shot three times. And I’m glad we messed it up. And I’m glad I at least offered up my stupid little sufferings on those days. They were so nothing (especially in light of what people are suffering in Haiti). But I know that God will take my nothing and make something awesome out of it. He always does. He’s awesome like that.
So, I just wanted to share that with you guys. Producing this show has been a fantastic journey. I’ve learned so much and struggled for so long. But I think the most valuable thing I’ve learned out of all of this, is that I have to trust HIM to show me the best way to do anything. He does deserve Executive Producer, I think. I’m happy just being His.
Now let’s just pray everything works tomorrow. 😉
UPDATE: The new opener for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in NYC has been shot, edited, and delivered. It worked out magically. Better than anything I had planned. Thank God.