Part 2: In Progress...

I've dropped hints in the last couple days that I had hit some snags filming part two of episode one. Here's what happened:

To start, I was being way too picky about my time frame. Both for when I wanted the second installment to be released and the personal time frame of the subjects I was looking to interview. Once I relaxed on both of those points things went a lot smoother.

I came across a couple (through a friend of a friend of a friend (!)) that fit the bill perfectly; established in PDX, young children, have jobs, have awesome hobbies, etc. They live in North Portland so it's been taxing to find my way out there - definitely least familiar with this quadrant out of all of them! My new phone has been extremely handy in these instances! It really has replaced my old GPS, so I'm thankful for that.

Admittedly, the first interview with them was scheduled for disaster, and it's mostly my fault. The wife/mother has been excellent on communicating with me and recognizing what I need from her. I was spoiled with Marianne being my first interview subject; she and I already had a great rapport and I had plenty of time to explain to her exactly what I needed. With this new couple I only did email. It would have been smarter to have a sit down with them first, you know, get to know them.

Here's what went down: The interview was set for a couple days ago after they both got off of work. They wanted to meet me in this beautiful park up in North Quadrant at 5:30pm. Checking a few weather website I found that the sun was supposed to set sometime around 6:10pm... that was my first anxious doubt I had for this one; running out of sunlight. Oh well, I was just glad to finally have the next part rolling! I get there early hoping against hope that they would show up early. They showed up exactly when they said they would (which is fine) and darn it if they didn't bring the whole family! Even the dog! So I had those distractions to fight. Reminder: This is all going on in my head - these people I was meeting up with for the first time could not have been more friendly and forgiving!

What followed was a mess of distracted microphone attaching, distant small talk and an obviously ill-prepared question lineup from yours truly. I had picked up a second wireless mic from a production buddy of mine who was generous enough to offer his equipment to me as long as there were not schedule conflicts. The mic I borrowed was beautiful! So nice! While I use my archaic set up that honestly probably cost the same amount (wish I had thought that through) I fumbled making sure the one I was not familiar with was in working order that I flubbed up and didn't even turn MY OWN lav mic on! But don't worry - my H1 Zoom got all 16 minutes of the interview from inside the husband's/dad's pocket...

After the interview was over, and I was sweating a little because I didn't exactly get what I was looking for on top of being distracted by the dog chasing squirrels, the oldest daughter running off and playing on the playground without supervision, and the 9-month-old bursting into tears at the end, I admitted that his microphone was not on and asked if we could reschedule... I'd ask right then and there but the sun had already set. Have I mentioned how amazing these two people are? Because they immediately started working with me to schedule a Saturday morning interview!

Incredible. I would like to thank Portland in part for the ability to harbor such nice, grounded people such as these two.

Just so the day was not a complete wash, I followed them back to their beautiful little house and witnessed a slice of their home life; they cooked dinner, showed me around the house, allowed me to film the kids playing - it was superb. There is one shot where they are all sitting around the dining room table and laughing whilst eating a frozen pizza. I know this will be my money shot to end the middle chapter of the first episode on.

I am in communication with both the husband/dad and wife/mother now. It will make things easier for when I get their individual b-roll. Some things I brought away from my first experience with an outside interview case are not to get too flustered. Meet them first and develop a relationship (time permitting). Personalize questions more! And, most importantly, start with a clear idea on what the episode is going to be about!!! I foolishly went in thinking I was going to wing some parts of it without knowing the circumstances of what will be happening during the actual interview! Now I know better... logged for next time.

Blanket statement: I will be concentrating more on having a family in the city of Portland and why it is a good place to raise your children. Whew! Glad I got that out there!

Some foreshadowing: I am in talks with my next potential interview subject. Part three might be released in a more timely fashion than part two has been. I can hardly believe it's been two weeks since the first episode premiered! Time flies when you're living your dream :-)

PDX Fact: The city of Portland has nine sister cities spread out all around the world! They include Ashkelon (Isreal), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Ulsan (South Korea), Mutare (Zimbabwe), Guadalajara (Mexico), Khabarovsk (Russia), Sapporo (Japan), Suzhou (China), and Bologna (Italy)! Sister cities are partnerships between two different cities with similar standards in geographically and politically distinct areas to cross promote cultural and commercial ties. Don't forget that PDX has a "Friendship city" relationship with Tallinn (Estonia) too! How pleasant :-D [source]