all these days already gone by

Today was what I would call a "triple-header".

First, I was in the studio helping out, which involved clearing out a small green screen studio where we still had some of our stuff stored. This didn't take too long but everything had to be brought to the cage, where I had unloaded the giveaway last night, so it took some re-arranging but we managed to get everything in. Then it was my classic job of being the "elevator specialist"... I've decided to go with that term, it makes me seem more professional, I think? And shortly after the audience was loaded in, the show was about to start. I was able to stick around and help out on set for the first 2 blocks, but once Mr. Carson Arthur was done in studio, it was time to head to our shoot with... Carson Arthur!

Remember that day that got rained out? Well if you don't....

This day...

Today!

That shoot was rescheduled for today! And it was the perfect day for it, not a cloud in the sky, but there were a lot of airplanes haha. Anyway, we arrived at location, unloaded, set up the monitor, set up the slate, and set up Denise's Lastolite Skylite Frame (a Skylite is a giant reflector which was perfect for lighting Carson). 

We banged out the shots for the first segment and had a lot of laughs along the way :) Then it was a quick water and snack break, then back at it for the second segment all about backyard privacy. Even more laughs were shared and everything was smooth sailing :) 

Overall an awesome day and I can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow's 2 show Wednesday has in store!

i invented swag

So today was a studio day, I arrived at work for around 9am, checked my email and went to work seeing what needed to get done for today's show. The answer: not much. That's the joy of not having a show taping on Friday, Friday's are the day for painting, prepping, and getting any kinks worked out for Monday's show.

I helped out wherever I could but like I said, there wasn't much. Until about 10:30, then the "fun" began. As I've said before I'm the designated elevator boy, elevator man?, elevator master?, elevator specialist?, whatever you wanna call me. I'm the guy that takes everyone from the ground floor up to the 6th floor and to the studio :) Once the audience was loaded in it was time to take my place, behind set, and wait for the blocks to be over. The show is broken up into 7 or 8 blocks (or segments) and in between each block is when the PA's work their magic.

After the show it was time to eat and see what needed to be done for tomorrow's show, that answer: I don't know. I went to the office manager, or "giver of work", or as most people call her, Andrea. She sent me to Isabella (who is in charge of the audience giveaways) and my job for the afternoon was to unload the 2 skids of giveaways for Wednesday's shows. Remember, we shoot 2 shows on Wednesdays and we do that so we have Friday's with no show :)

Well normally this is a pretty quick, painless, easy task...today was a little different though. The skids were buried behind everything in the cage. But, without going into painstaking detail, I unloaded 1 skid. It took me just over 2 hours and once it was done, this is what was left in the cage.

Bags Galore!

In total I believe there are 100 bags... I didn't count all of them, but it was a lot. After unloading this skid it was time to call it a day and head home. 

And with that, I'm done.... doing these 1 day at a time, and right after work, is way easier than writing a short novel. Plus the shorter they are, the more likely you are to actually read them. BYE!

hot like wasabi when i bust rhymes

Wow, sorry for the lack of post. I've been a very busy boy this past week. Here's a taste of what's been going on.

Monday was a shoot with our newest designer Joel Bray. This was our first shoot with him and this was also the first shoot we slated! (as you'll see in later pictures, my slating gets a lot better) Overall this was a really fun, somewhat short day and then it was back to CBC.

Marker!

Tough day on set!

Tuesday was a studio day and my entire day was spent painting. I wish I could tell you differently, but I cant. Legitimately from the time I got to work at 9am till the time I went home 5:30-6ish...I was painting. We have new rolling flats for the show and these flats are giant rectangular prisms, one is 8ft x 8ft, one is 6ft by 8ft, and I have no idea what the other one is. But because they are on wheels, they are about 2 feet wide as well...so now instead of painting one wall, you have to paint three to cover the sides. Well Tuesday I had to paint ALL four sides of BOTH flats. So after painting one coat on, I went and got a much needed coffee, waited for it them to dry and went back at it. While I was waiting for them to dry, I sat down at the piano outside the studio (I haven't played piano since I was like 8? 9? 10? I don't even know haha) But I was sitting there, making a fool of myself and guess who walks up right beside me and gives me a little 1 on 1 lesson? Mr. George Stroumboulopoulous :) I have no idea why but I still get starstuck when I see him...and I see him almost every day I'm in the office. So that was sweet, but back to painting. After putting on a second coat on both flats, I headed upstairs to calculate just how much painting I had done. 576 sq. ft. Thats basically a small apartment that I just painted... And I wasn't done yet. 

Both flat colours (clearly first coat)

After the second coats were dry, I went to set and asked what needed to be done, I bet you can guess what happened. Well after a lot of problem solving it was decided that I had to paint a sheet of Masonite. Not too hard. So I painted the first coat, let it dry, painted the second, got it checked, measured it out and it was 5 inches shorter than we needed. Fun. Nicole and I went and grabbed 2 other (bigger) sheets of Masonite and we measured first to make sure it would do the trick, and it did. Thankfully I only had to paint one sheet and I layered it on thick so only one coat was needed. After that it was time to paint some boxes and that pretty much sums up my day. After my 8 hour painting spree, it was time to go help unload the panel van which was full of stuff for Lisa Worth's segment. Once it was unloaded and upstairs, it was time for me to head home. I wasn't covered in paint, but I did have paint in my hair, on my face, all over my hands, arms, and shoes. Thank god for coveralls!

Wednesday was another studio day, but it was 2 show Wednesday so I helped with loading in the audience. When I'm in the studio, I am now the official elevator boy! Load everyone into the freight elevator like their cattle, go up to 6, unload, go back down, repeat. Both shows went off without a hitch and then it was time to...... PAINT! You remember those flats that I just painted? Well now it was time to paint them BACK to the colour they were before. Thankfully I only had to paint 3 walls of the 8 x 8 flat. After painting and getting the approval from LIndsay, I headed home :)


Thursday was a shoot day and what a shoot day it was! It was our first shoot day with Mr. Frank DiLeo.

(Told you it'd be better)

It was a very tough space to shoot in because it was such a small space (I thought Jo was the small space expert!) So small that we couldn't fit the camera, tripod, lights, Denise AND myself in, so I had to sit close by and wait. But the shoot went well and then it was home time!

Yesterday was a shoot with Erin McLaughlin and it was all about having a nursery that can grow with your child. This was probably the coolest nursery I've ever seen (not that I've seen many/any). It was designed for a 10 month old boy and as you'll see below...Sailboat themed. Denise is a sailor, so she was pretty much in heaven all day. This space was great because it had room for the camera, tripod, lights, Denise AND myself! Bigger rooms require more shooting, but the actual shooting is easier because you have room to move around and get the different perspectives. It was a great shoot day and to end such a great shoot day, we used the dolly :) After using the dolly it was time to wrap, wrap, wrap. We went home and let the weekend begin!

"Like"

The reason I haven't been blogging everyday after work is because I come home, and continue working. You remember that Saturday night like 2 weeks ago when I went to Grace O'Malley's and shot? Well this week was spent editing/rendering... And when it comes time to do the rendering, I leave the computer to do its magic and I go watch tv, eat, hang with friends, anything really :) But as of last night they are all officially rendered and exported :) Time to load them on to a flash drive and take them  back to O'Malley's. That is... after Wonderland :)

Sorry for the lack of post, and it won't happen again (hopefully), but thanks for sticking out the short novel :)

i got what you need

Thursday was a studio day and on the show we were featuring DeeDee's lacquer tour, you remember that long day? That's the one :) Well my jobs for that day including: being the elevator boy, wrapping everything used in DeeDee's segment, helping the boys load everything to be returned into the van, and after the show was finished taping, it was time to do some camera testing.

We're looking to redesign the set a little but it's a lot more work than you think, its not just "this looks bad, take it out... this looks good, put it in" You have to satisfy everyones wants and once you agree on something you have to put it on the set and move the camera around to the different camera positions to make sure it comes across as nicely on camera as it does in person. For example, you may really like a lamp, and it may work for certain segments but as soon as you go to one camera position, that lamp may be appear to be growing out of your talents head... you don't want that. So I was down on set to help take out and put in set dec pieces, including lamps, tables, armoires, chairs, tables, everything. But the best part was being one of the only camera savvy people on set... so who do you think got to move the camera to the different positions? And take direction from the director as to what they want the shot to look like? Thats right :)

Maybe a studio camera operator is in my future :)

So I was down on set for a few hours doing that and by the time we had made some decisions it was time to head home.

Enter FRIDAY Stage Left.

Yesterday was supposed to be an outdoor shoot with Carson Arthur but in case you were in oblivion all day yesterday.... it was kinda pouring rain. Like excess of 35mm of rain, pouring. Well Denise and I got to location, met up with Carson, unloaded the car, got everything set up, got the intro done, and started doing his first stand-up.... And then it was Niagara Falls from the sky. We all ran for cover and tried to wait it out, but Carson pulled up the radar on his phone and sure enough we were just at the tip of the storm. We waited and waited and talked and waited some more, finally it was time to call it quits and head back to the office.

That is, after going to The Source Shop and picking up some much needed things, like some BNC connectors, tape, grease pencils, and a brand new slate :) Once we got back to the office it was time to get to work. I put my new purchases to work and started tearing tape for marks, it was as exciting as it sounds, but its a necessary task if you want to be a true AC.

Essentials :) (this is a VERY small portion of the gack I have now :) exciting stuff)

There is a reason for doing this prep (other than Steven and Chris, of course) and here's that reason.

After I finished work yesterday, I made my way over to Joe Sutherland's Rentals to pick up a Sony HDV-Z5U and 2 lav mics. Why would I need all this? Well this weekend I was supposed to be working on a pilot that Melissa Coghlan is producing/directing. So I went to pick up the camera and get a quick walkthrough of everything, then I took everything home and played with it some more to get even more comfortable with it. However, when I woke up this morning there was a text message on my phone saying that the shoot has been postponed until a later date. Downside: I didn't get to do what I was hoping to this weekend. Upside: my step-sister, Jaclynn is visiting for the weekend so LOTS of family time together, my friend Matt is coming tonight, and tomorrow we're going to Kensington Market for "Pedestrian Sunday"...I've never been, but it sounds awesome! 

Anyway, I feel that this post has gone on long enough and it's time for me to not be sitting in front of a computer screen. BYE!  

if i share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me

Today was a very sweet Friday.

This morning I went to work, expecting to leave at about noon to go shoot at a restaurant with Andrea Ford. Well I got to work and that quickly changed, there was a whole bunch of scheduling and rescheduling that took place and a lot of shoots for next week got switched around but you guys don't care about that haha. You care about what I actually did do, and the answer, not a whole lot. I know I probably shouldn't say that but its the truth, my morning was very easy. And then it was lunch time and then after lunch I helped Isabella get the audience giveaway for Monday ready...this meant unpacking boxes and putting the giveaway into the bags provided. Again, pretty easy, but necessary.

But while I was doing that I got a text from Melissa (one of the producers) saying that she had a paying gig for me for saturday night and to call her ASAP... so I did. And now I'm working on saturday night! My best friend/second half/almost brother Matt is coming to town on saturday and we are going to have a great night "working". More details on sunday.

After unpacking the giveaway it was time to head out for our easiest shoot ever. It was the before of a "kitchen" but literally, there was nothing. I mean no counters, no stove, no fridge, no microwave, no sink, no cupboards, 1 electrical outlet and a newly laid floor. How long do you think it would take to shoot something like that... I'll give you a hint... Under an hour. AN HOUR! Never have I ever had a shoot that was load in, shoot, wrap, load out in under an hour. And I mean EVER.

But yeah, that sums up my day... Time to enjoy the weekend!

all he needed was some rockets on the side of a car

Well these past 2 days have been pretty busy, busy but awesome.

Yesterday we were back in Kitchener to shoot the "afters" of the kids bathroom makeover. And as promised, here are some pictures :D

A little "Behind the scenes" action

More "behind the scenes" action

I can't give away the whole room so here's some parts of it... just watch the segment when it airs :)

It's pretty incredible to see what it was, and what it is. But overall an awesome day, full of talking about awesome things...literally. You know The Book of Awesome? Well Jo brought it with her so while Denise was busy shooting beauties, we flipped through the book and would argue each awesome thing, tell a story about said awesome thing, and just generally laugh. We talked about farts for quite some time haha. 

Yup, that pretty much sums up that day haha.

Today could be included in that "Book of Awesome"...ever wanted a room makeover? Well these people did, and they won a little contest...I bet you can guess what happened. And again, here are some pics from today...but I'm not going to give away the whole space. That would be too nice of me.

Great start to the day!

Sneak Peak

His

Hers

I Love Lamp

"Like"

This is literally just the tip of the iceberg....this place looks incredible. Denise's shooting looked just as incredible and this piece is going to come together incredibly. Did I mention, incredible? How about 3 discs full of incredible? Thats a total of about 2 hours of footage for an "after" of a makeover. Not a bad day at all haha. Lots of tripod shots, lots of dolly moves, lots of incredible. Period.

p.s. here's what NOT to do on set.....

This is a picture of me telling Melissa not to take a picture during a take.... Clearly she didn't listen haha.

Anyway, that's all for me tonight, see you again tomorrow :) Or maybe you're reading this "tomorrow" in which case, I'll see you tonight ;) 

anything you need, you can find it at the market

Today... Today... Today was a "Monday" kind of day. You know, one of those days where you don't really feel like yourself. A large part of that feeling is due to the fact that I went to TIFF with my Uncle Bill last night and saw The Lady... It was incredible!!

Here's some snaps!

David Thewlis

Page Insert

Blurb

David Thewlis...turns out we were sitting almost beside him the entire time

Michelle Yeoh (main actress....also beside us!)

Awesome night! But onto today.

Today was a 2 show Tuesday, with Lisa Worth and her French Chic style for the decor segment. Not much to say about this episode other than.... watch it (when it airs!) After the first show I took Lisa downstairs and helped her load everything into her car. Then I greeted Frank DiLeo and went upstairs to get a cart for all of his stuff but when I got upstairs Denise stole me away before anyone noticed. We went down to the food court for a quick bite to eat and then it was off to the Beaches to shoot with Lisa! 

We were shooting a basement renovation "before" the renovation...I say "before" because it has already started but compared to what it is going to be, its very much before haha. If that makes any sense at all? Lets just say there were some giant holes, some insulation (that Lisa thought was a rat :p), some temporary walls put in place, and lots of work to be done! I really need to take more pictures while out on location shoots so rather than explain the spaces, I can just show it to you. That'd be easier, and possibly more enjoyable for everyone. Goal starting tomorrow: more pictures! 

That sounds good in theory, lets see if that actually happens. Guess you'll just have to come back tomorrow to find out. G'night!

p.s. all of my post titles are song lyrics...props if you can message me with all the songs they belong to

it's about loving what you have

Well today turned out pretty much 100% different than I had expected haha.

The reason I was able to blog and post this morning was because I didn't have to go into work until noon, because we had a shoot scheduled for 5:30pm and we didn't want to be pulling overtime if we didn't need to be. So I did my morning thing, my blog thing, my commute thing and then got to work right at noon :) (I'm always on time... [hopefully])

Since I was only going to be there for the afternoon I got right to work asking around to find out what needed to be done. I headed down to the studio to find Sarah working all by her lonesome so I gave her a hand and after a while people were coming up to me with stuff to do. This "stuff" included going to Lee Valley, DeSerres, and Home Hardware (which were all off Spadina, so that was super handy). This was great because I got to stroll around town and enjoy the weather, all while getting paid. Awesome? Yes! So I picked up everything I needed, headed back to CBC, only to be sent out again.

This time it was to go pick up 2 gallons of paint so our flat for tomorrow could be painted. This wasn't the most fun thing in the world, I had to walk 1.3km (according to Google Maps) there, pick up the paint, and walk 1.3km back carrying these 2 cans of paint. Thank god for red lights (never thought I'd say that...). Again, not the most fun thing to do, but it could be worse...I could have to carry said paint cans for 5km. *shudders* Needless to say, after I got back, I was thirsty, hungry and tired. So I went to McDonald's and grabbed a very unhealthy afternoon snack.

Then it was time to go back up to the studio and paint the flats! 2 flats, 2 coats of paint each, 2 hours = success. However, this speed comes with a price, I was covered in speckles of paint from head to toe. Thankfully I had coveralls on so my clothes can live to see another day. Anyway, I need to get ready for my date with Uncle Bill tonight :) We're going to TIFF and going to see the premiere of The Lady!

Time to get my classy on!

I’m ’bout to call the paparazzi on myself

Wow! Sorry for my lack of posting....

But be prepared to be hit by a semi-truck full of awesomeness.

This week was prettttty sweet! Last Tuesday was a shoot up in Kitchener with Ms. Jo Alcorn. We were shooting the before's of a kids bathroom makeover, which made for a pretty easy day (for me anyway) considering this bathroom is probably the smallest space we have ever shot in. Our day started in the studio, but Denise and I had to leave before the first walkthrough. (More on that later). Then it was off to kitchener, we arrived, loaded in, shot, loaded out, headed home, went to bed (basically) haha.

I did go to bed pretty early on Tuesday night simply because Wednesday.... was our FIRST "2 show Wednesday" of the season! This means early mornings and late nights. I was at work for 7:30 in the morning...the earliest I've been there...EVER. Anyone that knows me, knows I like sleeping, so this was a little difficult to handle but coffee was there for me. Coffee, you're always there for me :). Anyway, our first two shows went great with lots of great segments so be on the look out for it soon! I'm not going to give anything away about the first 2 episodes, but one of them features these little guys:

Set's all done!

Want? Yup!

Baby Bacon x2

 Yes, that's happening.

After the shows on Wednesday, we packed everything back up, moved it all back into the studio for storage and home I went. Wednesday was also the night of the Gemini's, so I may or may not have run into some famous people as I was leaving work. Notable mentions include, this guy:

I wish it wasn't blurry...but that's Dallas Green.

So that brings us to Thursday which was a "day off" full of doctors visits and dentist appointments. Don't worry, I'm all healthy and I have a beautiful smile (but you knew that already). 

Friday was another great day in the studio. In the morning we did more on camera auditions :) More fashion, more fitness, and most importantly more FOOD! I can't get over these segments. They're just so delicious. 

That's a cake... Thumbs Up!

The auditions went until about mid-afternoon and then after the auditions it was time to go to my "other job" and put together IKEA stuff. We also brought up more flats for segments, and I did a few other AC things such as pick up the camera from maintenance and hand over the audition discs to the senior producer, Jen Dick. And that pretty much sums up last week. Except for running into this guy:

Russell Peters!

This week should be a sweet one, we're shooting everyday! (And you may be wondering why I'm blogging at 9:20am, well, you'll just have to read tonight/tomorrow to find out why :D) 

Have a great day!

and I'll be smiling in case they take a picture

Hello again!

It was the long weekend and I took full advantage of that (hence why I haven't blogged till now).

So let's see...where were we? Oh right, Thursday. Thursday was a very busy day but a very awesome day. We were shooting out in Aurora with Lisa Worth, and you remember last season how we shot this amazing home office? Well we were back in that same house but this time it was to shoot 2 separate segments with Lisa. Our first segment was all on how you can bring the outdoors inside, specifically in your sunroom. The second was an open concept living/dining room.

Last season when we were shooting in this house, the client was away on vacation, this season, they were right there with us. I can honestly say they are some of the nicest clients I've met, plus I was/am super jealous of his sports memorabilia collection so it was great to meet him and congratulate him on his collection. After meeting and greeting, shaking hands and kissing babies, it was time to get to work, we set up everything and off we went with our day. It was great working in both of these spaces because it was very open which allowed to use the Dolly a lot! And I mean a LOT! haha. After a 14 hour day (including travel time) it was home and off to bed for a much needed sleep haha.

Friday was a pretty awesome day because we were doing more on-camera auditions. The first round was just the parenting panel...Friday was etiquette, food, fashion, financial and decor. It was a pretty easy day considering it was just set up the camera, the monitor, and away we go. In the morning we auditioned for a new "etiquette" segment, things like texting etiquette (when to text, when not to text), what to do if you have gum in your mouth and need to get rid of it discretely (without swallowing it), that sort of stuff. After that it was the financial segment which taught us about "when should you start teaching your kids about money". After that it was probably my favourite segment... food. We were taught how to make unreal stuffed pork chops...and we were also taught how to EAT unreal stuffed pork chops (the answer to that one... as fast as possible.) They were way too good. Then it was a fashion segment, a decor segment and then lunch. And lets just say my food court food couldn't compare to these pork chops at all.

I'm sitting here thinking about it and I can still taste the pork chops...remind me again why I didn't write down the recipe?

After lunch it was another fashion segment and to end the day... another food segment. This time, cupcakes. Again... spectacular. However, I'm not telling you anything about these because I don't want to also be thinking about those... I just ate dinner and already I'm getting hungry again just thinking about the food I ate on Friday (its now Monday... they're that memorable). After work on Friday it was time to head home for the long weekend full of friends, parties, and cottages. Perfect weekend, now lets get on with this week! I have a few friends in Welland I should probably visit next weekend (Welland-ers....thats a HUGE hint)

Talk to you tomorrow :)

Take what the water gave me

Well today was pretty awesome! And I could tell it was going to be awesome from the beginning, my coffee was perfect, I crossed the road right as the bus was pulling up to the stop, I got my favourite seat (don't ask me why its my favourite haha) AND I finally finished reading Siddartha! Its an amazing book by Herman Hesse and I've been reading it on my morning bus ride since I started on the show. I highly recommend it to anyone. Time for a new book.

This morning started with helping Denise load some of our gear into the office because we were shooting auditions for the new Parenting segment on the show. But these weren't to be done until the afternoon so what was I going to do for the morning?

Set up the studio, thats what. When I got down to the studio Dave, Xico, Nicole, and Liz were already there unloading boxes and unwrapping. So I gave them a hand with that and with all 5 of us working hard on it..the studio is pretty much set up. Crazy to think that a full studio set can be built in a matter of days. And I mean going from this.....

To pretty much a full set. Watch the show, any segment, and just look at the difference.

http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/videos.html

Pretty wild if I do say so myself. All that's left to be done in the studio now is set up the lighting grid and speaker system... I think. Don't quote me on that. But anyway, after unwrapping, putting in the right place, and cleaning up it was time to shoot the auditions. They went really well and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the parenting segments..... not for the advice.... stop freaking out, family.

After we wrapped from the auditions it was off to Trinity-Bellwoods Park to shoot a segment with Carson. If you like gardening at all, watch this segment (or wait till I link to it on here). It was a pretty sweet afternoon cuz again, we got to be outside and it was stinking hot! I really need to stop wearing jeans when we shoot with Carson haha. After we wrapped from this shoot Denise dropped me off at Queen and Bathurst where this store with no sign and only funky office chairs out front caught my eye. So of course I went in and had a look around to see what else they had.... a lot of sweet "vintage" stuff (Erin....go check this place out :D) including clocks, typewriters, and other random stuff. Usually I'm pretty good at going in to somewhere, looking around and coming out empty handed. Not this place. I bought a sweet little desk clock (analog...) which oddly enough, they hadn't even "received" yet. The clerk had to put it in the system before I could buy it haha. But I will definitely be going back to this place. If you want to go check it out for yourself its on Queen, right at Queen and Bathurst, black storefront with funky chairs out front. It's called Morba. So yeah, that pretty much sums up my day. Time to do laundry :)

Also, after I posted last night I decided it was time to purge some of my stuff...turns out I have a lot of unnecessary clothing. Well not anymore :) I have so much more space, and everything's pretty organized...now I just need to keep it this way..... (yeah right!)

i be high when i think what the future holds

So these past 2 days have been pretty sweet! And it seems like I'm doing this blog in 2 day spurts now which is kinda nice...it gives me a night off from this whole writing thing and when I DO write, it's longer, more informative, and you get a double whammy. Win, win, win, winning!

Monday was a shoot day with Carson Arthur and it was revealing the "after" of a backyard makeover. It was an awesome shoot because 1) it was HOT out, 2) it was my first shoot with Carson even though I feel like I've known him for a year(ish) and 3) we finally got to bring out some of the toys! The combination of those 3 things made for an awesome day.

If there's one thing I learned from last year its the format of the shoots... Load in, figure out logistics, shoot the contributors stand-ups, shoot b-roll, wrap, home. Using this same format for most of the shoots is great because it allows Denise and I to get into a rhythm and knock 'em outta the park. Since this is our third official field shoot, I can feel that rhythm starting to build. If this rhythm and momentum continues for the rest of the season...watch out, we're going to be a force to be reckoned with. Now enough of me talking about how great we are haha here's some pics from the day :)

Amazing backyard!

...hard at work...

Table setting!

Me and Ms. Wray!

Macro Lens :)

Enough giving away of the space. Sorry. You'll just have to watch the segment to see it all :) 

Anyway, that pretty much sums up yesterday...and no pics of the dolly, oops. I was too busy working to take pictures haha ;) (More on why there's a wink...right now).

Today was an "in office" day full of sourcing a book, a meeting for the entire design team, and helping out wherever I could. The meeting consisted of us just going over logistics and trying to stay ahead of the monster by weeding out any problems we can foresee and coming up with solutions for them before they happen. It went well and a lot of good points were brought up...including the one where they want me to take photos of the field shoots for the online web articles. Which would be awesome! However, I have another idea in mind... Which I'll discuss with Rick tomorrow :) After our meeting it was time to carry on with the day as usual. Help Xico hang stuff in the "fashion room", Dave and Xico go on pick-ups, I go for coffee, I help unload said pick-ups, pack up, and head home. Not a bad 2 days at all! Maybe you'll see a post from me tomorrow, maybe not...we'll see how I feel haha.

enjoy the best things in your life cuz you ain't gonna get to live it twice

These past 2 days have been pretty easy simply because the only major thing left to do is organize the prep kitchen. However, we haven't been able to really go at it and get it done because George is taping in there tomorrow, so we haven't been able to move the shelving units into place and load them up with stuff. We got the shelving units for the kitchen yesterday, and put them together. Today I unpacked the glassware from the boxes they were stored in, and we also put together the new stainless steel tables for the prep kitchen.

Wow, thinking about these past 2 days, it really seems like I did nothing. Even though I did minor things to fill my day it still feels like nothing major happened. Usually on this show we're running around, we're stressed, we're happy, we're sad (not really... ever), we're beyond busy but right now it's like we're in the VOID.

Last week we had a ton of stuff to do cuz we were right back at it, next week until mid-April we're beyond crazy busy so this is really the only week we have to "slack off". And by "week" I mean 2 days, and by "slack off", I mean doing things to fill my time. That all changes tomorrow haha. Sorry if this post is not as exciting as you had hoped but thanks for sticking it out anyway :) I'll make up for it tomorrow, I promise!

So now that I've filled you in on my random, somewhat uneventful 2 days, I'm gunna get personal with you. Can I just say that I never thought I'd be working at CBC right out of College. NEVER. And I mean never, that thought never came to my head until last October. I don't think that thought crossed my professors' minds either. I don't think it crossed my classmates minds, I don't think it crossed my families minds. All I really can say is I'm very lucky to have been offered the opportunities that I have. I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am if it hadn't been for a certain someone that saw something in me that I didn't even see. Denise, I know I thank you constantly but seriously, I owe everything to you. You took a major risk giving me that one opportunity based on a 2 hour interview we did and the fact that I followed most if not all of your advice from that interview. That was the spark that started the fire, and this fire is continually growing and expanding. Its because of you that I am now working for the biggest broadcasting corporation in all of Canada. Yes, I put in the hard work and worked towards this but its because of Denise that I even got my toe in the door. So I know I thank you constantly but yet again. Thank You.

p.s. Jack Layton died, Ontario got hit with a tornado, an earthquake, and ANOTHER tornado watch...what is happening?

Season 5 Kick-Off

So today was the official Season 5 kick off! It was a very exciting day for everyone at Steven and Chris.
However, when I got to CBC this morning it was looking like today was going to be a totally different day. I got to the security desk and still no security pass...one day soon haha. And the security guard wouldn't let me go upstairs until someone signed me in, which wasn't the easiest of tasks.

But after I got inside it was all uphill from there, and as Sarah says, "If thats the worst part of your day, that's not a bad day".

First thing I did today was take everything that was in the bathroom in the prop room and put it in the cage just outside the studio. Once that was done Xico and I put lockers in and it was off to prep the kitchen for painting. Yesterday I gave it a sweep but there was so much dust still, so today we swept and mopped it. After that it was off to our season 5 kick-off "party?" .... meeting.

We talked about stats from season 4 compared to season 3 and what we can do to continue that growth this season. After we got the stats and was told about sponsorship and how that all works, it was time to get the creative juices flowing. We broke into groups of 4-5 people and in each of those groups talked about our favourite segments from season 4, suggestions for segments on this season. And lets just say, we loved a lot of segments from last season haha there was definitely a lot of laughs and memories brought back. We also talked about our favourite contributors on the show (guests) and what we liked about them. Also, lots of laughs and great memories. Finally, we talked about new ideas for this season, and this was anything from segment topics to games to ideas for field segments :D

It was a great meeting and definitely made us more excited for this season. After the meeting and ending out the day by typing up our groups notes and emailing them to Rick and changing the wallpaper on my computer to this:

Photo from the Down With Webster shoot I worked on :)

It was time to head out for a post work drink with the team! What a perfect way to kick off the season :)

P.S. The reason I have this picture as my wallpaper is a: it's an awesome picture and b: this is the most intense shoot I have worked on to this day. 21 hour day. This picture will always remind of what I have gone through and that what I have right now is pretty alright, so just enjoy it :)

Day 2

Well I don't have much to tell you about today since the entire day was spent still working on switching all those rooms around. The prop room is pretty much done, the swag room just needs to be organized and the prep kitchen floor still needs to be painted so that's on hold until that gets done sometime later this week.

Today at lunch we had a big Factual Entertainment "social" and it was great because I got to see a lot of people that worked on the show last year but are working on other shows this year. Such wonderful people include Portia, Andree, Angela, Zoe, Jamey, Calum...and anyone else I missed, I'm sorry.

After work, Denise and I headed to Staples where I picked up a daytimer... Yeah, I'm gettin organized...or trying to haha. Overall a good, solid day but not much worth blogging about haha. Also, no pictures cuz everything's still a work in progress.

The First Day!

So the first day of any new thing is nerve-wracking, the first day of high school, the first day of driving, the first day of college, the first day of an internship, and the first day of a "new" job at said internship is no different.

Thats right, today was my first day working on Steven and Chris as an actual CBC employee, no longer an intern, no longer a student, a "grown up". Its a day thats filled with a lot of mixed emotions, the first one being nervous. When I walked through the CBC doors this morning I had a major flashback of the first time walking through during my internship and waiting at the security desk for Therese to come down and meet me. Today I did the exact same thing, came in the same doors, waited at the same desk and waited to see what I was getting myself into haha. Looked up at the 3 boys that I looked up at on my first day as an intern.

I had goosebumps waiting for the office manager Andrea to come down and meet myself and the other new Steven and Chris peeps. But slowly those goosebumps went away as I saw Dave, Nicole, Sara, Melissa, and of course Denise :D. Maybe it was the amount of coffee I drank on the way to work, or that I saw Ron James and Kary Osmond while waiting at the desk but I definitely had that feeling like it was christmas morning and you couldn't wait to see what you were about to get. I was all giddy inside and definitely couldn't stand still...thinking back, I probably seemed crazy to the other new people haha. Sorry guys, I promise I'm not crazy.

Anyway, Andrea comes down, meets all of us, gives us the classic Visitor passes and takes us upstairs to meet/see the rest of the team. For the most part everyone from last season was back and it was great to see them all again. We did the whole chat and catch up briefly thing before it was time to find my desk. That's right, this year, I get a desk. And Jake, if you're reading this, thanks for the desk haha.

Proof

Alright, so I got my desk, my chair, my computer, my filing cabinet and thats fun and all, but I had to go back and catch up with more people. It's such an amazing team to work with and everyone wants to hear about everyones summer, it truly felt like the first day of school all over again. Then it was time for the morning meeting to discuss the week ahead and do the formal introductions of the team members. After that it was a tour of the studio floor and show the changes.

After the tour it was time to make the changes happen. The prop room from last year is now the prep kitchen, the prop room is being moved to the "swag room", the swag room is being moved to what was a storage room last year, and the kitchen storage room is being moved into the prep kitchen. I could go into a very detailed account of everything we, being Dave, Xico (Chico), Nicole and myself, did or I can just say we worked our asses off to get as much done so a major chunk is done. There's still a lot to get done before the end of this week but knowing what we accomplished today I am very confident that we will get it done. I'd show you pictures but 1) I was too busy to take any, 2) Everything's a disaster zone still. It's what I like to call controlled chaos. 

And that my friends, is my first day working as an official CBC, Steven and Chris, employee :) Before leaving I signed my contract and handed over a VOID cheque to officially be on the bankroll! Lets see what tomorrow has in store :) Goodnight!

Endings/Beginnings and Everything in Between

Alright so, lets see, what's new? LOTS!

This past week I had my final day at Image Gear which was such an amazing experience. Not leaving, but actually working there and it definitely helped me out these past two days. Friday was up at 5am, out the door by 5:30 and on set for 6. But really funny story about it, I went to the wrong set.... We were shooting at the Sunnyside Pavilion on Lakeshore and when I got there, no one was there yet...so I assumed this wasn't the right spot so I walked further down and saw the tent city and all the hustle and bustle that happens on a film set first thing in the morning. Got there, looked around, didn't recognize or know anyone, but finally ran into Katherine Wilson who I worked on the Grynd short film with. So she put me to work and loaded some boxes into the truck for props. But after that she pulled me aside and asked me why I was 2 hours late.... My reply "This is for The Next Star, right?" NOPE! Definitely not...

Well thankfully by the time I walked back to Sunnyside Pavilion, there was more people there and the day was JUST getting started so I knew I was in the right place. Signed the necessary paperwork and on with the day we went. Now before I get started with my picture story, I worked as a PA on YTV's The Next Star music videos. The final 6 contestants all get to shoot a music video, and so thats what most people have been doing all week (7 videos, 7 days) but because I was working I could only come out for 2 of 7. Alright enough of my rambling, I'm going to take a break from typing and just let the pictures tell the story :)

Minor sidetrack: This picture is evidence of the T-bone collision I was like 20 feet away from.... Lets just say the side of that van isn't very flat anymore. Don't worry, everyone (including myself) was fine (I think) But crazy way to end my time at Image Gear.

Alright.... Back on track:

So the day started as any other: unload the truck, set up the tents, put all the camera gear here, etc. etc.

Just like I said, set up the tents... And then the worst thing possible happened to me....

I got put on playback. Now it's really not a hard job, at all. But you do get yelled at a lot, and it takes you away from actually being able to help out on set....which is what I love about being on set. Working. Now I'm not saying playback isn't "working" but still.... Also, thats our portable playback cart...it's like a 2000s version of the boombox, and man can this thing pump.

Yup, we were on a bridge. And because it's a reality TV show, there was a second camera crew there shooting BTS (behind the scenes) footage.

Dolly Moves! Also.....this is when I got taken off playback and took on the role of "CAMERA PA!" That's right everyone! For the rest of the day I worked strictly with the camera department :D Doing anything that the 2nd AC Dan "Grease" White told me to do. Doing anything that the 1st AC Rob Tagliaferri told me to do. Doing anything that the DP Simon Shohet told me to do. And of course doing anything that the AD Jason Bourke told me to do. Just doing anything I was told really. Thats what a good PA does.  

Coolest part of the day...CRANE shots!!

And then it was time to move to the beach!

Dan is in the headband, Rob is holding the coffee on the right.

Beauty beach scene, and thats a WRAP on day 6 (day 1).

Now enter day 2. Day 2 was a house party and I was put as camera PA for the entire day! From call to wrap I worked strictly with the camera department!

1st AC Michael Bailey and AD Jason Bourke.

Ever wonder how they get those car shots?

Now you know :)

And then it's time for a pool party! You have no idea how badly I wanted to jump in...how badly we ALL wanted to jump in.

Steadicam Op Michael Heathcote. 

Overall a very cool 2 days working with the camera department. Now I know I've worked with cameras before and been an AC and done all that, but finally I got to do what I want to do on a shoot for The Field Inc. Every shoot I've been on with them I've just been a regular PA doing anything from cooking/serving to sitting by the truck all day. I'm just thankful that Jason Bourke knows what I want to do and I can tell he's trying to help me get to that goal. How I got put on as a camera PA is all because of him. The camera department on the first day was looking for a PA and Jason knew I'd be a perfect fit for it. And I was :) I got talking to Dan about how I want to break into the camera department and everything like that so whenever he got a chance he would teach me a few important things an AC should know and do. It was really awesome working with him both days and Rob and Mike for a day.

Right after Steven and Chris ended last season Denise told me about the IATSE camera trainee program and basically what it is is a program where you go from set to set to set working with the camera department. Well Dan also told me about this program and he told me that you need some letters of reference for it...and he would be glad to write one of those letters for me :) Hard work is definitely paying off! 

Speaking of Steven and Chris and hard work paying off..... IT STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!

Thats right, tomorrow is the big day where I walk through the CBC front doors as an official CBC employee. During my internship I had a brown stripe at the top of my security pass....this year...that sucker will be green :D And I'll get a paycheque for it, and that paycheque will go to savings and buying more gack to further my career! As if I'm starting my career...or have started my career :)

Now it's time for me to go back to sleep!