I volunteered with Citytv on Canada Day. I met with Jeff at Citytv last Wednesday to get a quick run down of the show, meet the crew, and to get a grey Citytv “Crew” T-shirt (that’s important later). Our meeting went smoothly. I biked over to the Citytv at the Forks during my lunch break. I have a summer gig doing corporate communications so I was dressed in business-casual attire. Very respectable looking.
Fast forward to Canada Day. I woke up late and was due at Citytv at 12:30 pm. I had to book it to the Forks on my bike and made it in fifteen minutes flat, arriving at 12:30pm on the nose. Fhew!
But it was over 30 C out and when I arrived and I took off my backpack I realized I had sweat through my T-shirt. I looked like I was wearing a sweat-backpack, complete with shoulder straps! I went to the men’s room and threw some cool water on my face and neck. That was when I looked in the mirror. Did I forget to mention that I had played a rugby game the night before and I had a fresh black eye and scab on my nose? Oh and my eyes were bloodshot from some allergy issues I have been struggling with (Allergy to beer? you ask. No! Honest to goodness allergies, thank you very much! And I resent your tone!)
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Staring across the bathroom sink into the face of this madman I suddenly understood the horrified looks I got when I arrived on set. I am sure they all wondered who the hell this sweaty, beat-up and red-eyed mess was, and what had he done with the respectable young man they met on Wednesday?
Standing there in the bathroom I panicked slightly. For a moment I considered just saying goodbye to any future professional relationship with Citytv, and wandering off set never to return again. But no, I couldn’t shirk my volunteer responsibilities. And what of Forde Oliver’s good name? Would I sully it, just like I sullied my Citytv T-shirt? No!
So I swung into action. First I dug through my back-pack and found my allergy eye-drops. A few drops and the redness had diminished to something resembling the eyes of a human. Next I slipped out the back door of the studio and maneuvered through the crowds of Canada Day celebrators until I found a kiosk selling souvenir T-shirts. I grabbed a white “I am Canadian” T-shirt, paid the inflated price and headed for the nearest men’s room. After changing and cleaning myself up a little bit I returned to the studio looking like a new man. Well OK, looking like a guy that got the crap beat out of him in a clean T-shirt.
When I got back on set someone offered me a Citytv baseball cap for "sun protection." I accepted it quickly. It was the last piece of the puzzle: a perfect way to throw some shadow on my beat-up face.
Now having completed my emergency make-over I was free to get back to work. The day was spent prepping the set and doing dress rehearsals until the live broadcast began at 5pm. The weather stayed very warm and the entire show was shot outside. On the main outdoor set there were two cameras mounted on pedestals, one handheld camera, and one camera on a huge jib that got all kinds of extreme angles and dynamic shots. Co-hosts Pay Chen and Jeremy John worked the crowd and gave away prizes, while two remote hosts broadcast from various locations around the Forks.
All of the Citytv crew, staff and hosts were a pleasure to work with. My main duties consisted of pulling cable for Justin, the handheld camera operator. He was responsible for getting interesting crowd shots, and I was responsible for making sure he did not trip on his cables. A simple, yet important role. Or so I was told. Here is a short video of my view from the set.
All of the Citytv crew, staff and hosts were a pleasure to work with. My main duties consisted of pulling cable for Justin, the handheld camera operator. He was responsible for getting interesting crowd shots, and I was responsible for making sure he did not trip on his cables. A simple, yet important role. Or so I was told. Here is a short video of my view from the set.
It was a valuable experience despite a rocky start to the day. It was really interesting to see how a professional, live TV show is made. It reminded me of a bigger, fancier version of some of the TV productions we have made in CreComm. I guess Dean and Forde are doing a good job of preparing us for careers in television. Although they never taught us what to do when we arrive on set a sweaty, black and blue mess...I guess that will be in second year.
Soupy out.
Soupy out.
