It Could Happen to You

When I wrote my first blog about our first shoot and the possible consequences of firsts, I had no idea the irony that would follow.

i·ro·ny
[ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-]
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

It all started last week. As always, we scheduled a scout prior the actual shoot day.

A scout usually entails meeting with the company’s top representatives and touring the location to better prepare for the shoot day. So on Wednesday, we piled into the van and took off towards Carrollton to scout one of the largest wire manufacturers in the world, Southwire.

At Southwire, we met Gary Leftwich, Manager of Media and Community Relations joined later by Mike Schmittou for a tour of the manufacturing floor. None of us expected to see so many cool machines along with so much state of the art technology. So much, that our DP (director of photography), Ben decided to shoot more footage than usual during a typical scout. I think he was mesmorized by the grandiose feel of this huge facility along with the almost cartoon like ginormous spools of wire surrounding the place. It was natural for him to want to capture this on tape. And who was I to stop him?

A few hours later, the crew left feeling confident there was plenty of valuable information to share with our knowledge hungry audience. We piled into the van and headed back to the office.

Fast forward to Friday. I was unusually calm. We were on time, armed with new equipment and a solid plan to make a video. What happened next was a first for me.

The crew arrived ready to roll, but something just wasn’t right.

There was no noise coming from the manufacturing floor. No one running those big machines. No wire filling those over sized wooden spools, no forklifts moving back and forth, no tools being used, no one overseeing anything. There was nothing to shoot.

We later found out it was Southwire's 'Family Day at Six Flags'. A day when the company says, "thanks'. One where colleagues can appreciate one another's work and enjoy each other's company away from the company. Pretty neat concept.

It was about then when our Executive Producer, Dave reassuringly reminded me that Ben shot enough footage during the scout. In fact, we had plenty of material. And better yet, now we had an opportunity to spend more time with interviewees and concentrate on our teachable moments!

How ironic. What could have been a production disaster became another first for me; additional time to shoot without any added costs. And that’s how production works. Whew!