We arrived at the Convention Center at a little after noon, dropping our gear and talent off at the door and then I was off to play the Columbia, SC hell game of finding a parking spot - never mind a good one - any spot will do. After lucking out (and flirting with a tow), I walked the short block back to the Convention Center and gathered gear and talent. Giovanna had already made some contact with the hosts and secured our press passes and we zoomed in to the big hall.
The layout of the place was cool as two entire floors were filled to the brim with brewers, food vendors, more brewers, beer-rights advocates, and brewers as far as the eye could see. And these brewers all stood at their booths, anxious to ply you with two ounces of the finest beer known to man. And to a beer lover, every single one of them were the best beer in town. There were pilsners and stouts, wheat beers and berry beers, beer that energized you, beer that relaxed you, beer that cured all sorts of disease and plagues, and beer that didn't do anything special, it just tasted good going down.
We decided to dive right into the interviews before people got too, shall we say, involved with the tasting. We'd shoot the opens/closes and interstitials later.
Gio always carries the handheld microphone which is tethered to me via the camera, so I am constantly being led around like a dog. After being led to the center of the lower hall, Gio, Tony and I posted ourselves front and center and awaited our first interview. Our initial fear was that we'd have to beg interviews. We couldn't have been more wrong. Within minutes of entering the hall, we not only had our first interview but had a line of eager interviewees awaiting their turns as well. After the first interview, we had another line of people just wanting a picture or phone-video of Gio saying "I'm Giovanna and I'll see you on the street". Next thing I know, I'm taping Gio in a true fanfest...she's surrounded by people of all ages chatting about the show, telling her that their moms, or brothers, or boyfriends, or name your relatives just love her and the show. They mentioned parlor games that revolve around the show - how many times will she high five this episode, or do they know the answers that Gio's posing, or make up their own "On The Street" trivia games. I was, needless to say, almost floored by the recognition and adoration Gio was receiving and, since I was almost floored anyway, I decided to go ahead and slip off from the lovefest and try a couple of sips of beer. I disconnected the Gio lifeline (mic cable), allowing her to float free in the limited space of her fandom while I started downing 2 ounce shots of amber beer, wheat beer, wheat and berry beer and Amber Bock. Realizing that I had just downed eight quick ounces of beer with a higher than normal alcohol content, I decided to return to the job at hand.
We shot continuous interviews for close to three hours. Before we knew what was happening, a flock of Columbia's finest started clearing the hall. Everyone must go (and this included us). Shit! We hadn't shot an inch of b roll, interstitials or a decent close.
The layout of the place was cool as two entire floors were filled to the brim with brewers, food vendors, more brewers, beer-rights advocates, and brewers as far as the eye could see. And these brewers all stood at their booths, anxious to ply you with two ounces of the finest beer known to man. And to a beer lover, every single one of them were the best beer in town. There were pilsners and stouts, wheat beers and berry beers, beer that energized you, beer that relaxed you, beer that cured all sorts of disease and plagues, and beer that didn't do anything special, it just tasted good going down.
We decided to dive right into the interviews before people got too, shall we say, involved with the tasting. We'd shoot the opens/closes and interstitials later.
Gio always carries the handheld microphone which is tethered to me via the camera, so I am constantly being led around like a dog. After being led to the center of the lower hall, Gio, Tony and I posted ourselves front and center and awaited our first interview. Our initial fear was that we'd have to beg interviews. We couldn't have been more wrong. Within minutes of entering the hall, we not only had our first interview but had a line of eager interviewees awaiting their turns as well. After the first interview, we had another line of people just wanting a picture or phone-video of Gio saying "I'm Giovanna and I'll see you on the street". Next thing I know, I'm taping Gio in a true fanfest...she's surrounded by people of all ages chatting about the show, telling her that their moms, or brothers, or boyfriends, or name your relatives just love her and the show. They mentioned parlor games that revolve around the show - how many times will she high five this episode, or do they know the answers that Gio's posing, or make up their own "On The Street" trivia games. I was, needless to say, almost floored by the recognition and adoration Gio was receiving and, since I was almost floored anyway, I decided to go ahead and slip off from the lovefest and try a couple of sips of beer. I disconnected the Gio lifeline (mic cable), allowing her to float free in the limited space of her fandom while I started downing 2 ounce shots of amber beer, wheat beer, wheat and berry beer and Amber Bock. Realizing that I had just downed eight quick ounces of beer with a higher than normal alcohol content, I decided to return to the job at hand.
We shot continuous interviews for close to three hours. Before we knew what was happening, a flock of Columbia's finest started clearing the hall. Everyone must go (and this included us). Shit! We hadn't shot an inch of b roll, interstitials or a decent close.
We rushed around the hall taping our questions, some b-roll and an open before the police politely demanded that we clear the hall. Gio, Tony and I looked at each other like "what to do now?" It was then decided that we would come back for the evening session and complete our task. After a great dinner with Tony and Libby, I headed back to Irmo to meet Gio and her husband Micheal, leaving Tony to head to his job.
The evening session was wild. A packed house provided us with more of the same, half-drunk guys leering at Gio and stepping into our shots, partially-inebriated women whispering naughty things in my ear as I struggled to maintain my shot, one girl even grabbed my ass just as the interview was ending. I spun around to see who groped me and saw a blonde chick leering suspiciously at me. When she saw that she had been busted, she approached me and offered to "take care of me" for the evening, if you catch my drift. At one point, some idiots got behind Gio and her interviewee and flipped me off. Micheal, along with a volunteer that he'd been talking with, actually kicked the guy and his friends out of the convention center. When Micheal told me about it, I thanked him and asked how he was able to accomplish this without the authority - "Authority is in the mind of the beholder", he said. "Because the guy thought that I had the authority to remove him, his perception gave me the authority".
Wow. Go Micheal!
I must, at this point, give credit where credit is due. The organizers, planners, implementers and volunteers for the World Beer Festival were magnificent! Not a detail was overlooked (from my perspective, through a 1.5 inch b&w viewfinder).
The event was professionally staged and well-run. Another tip of the hat to All About Beer magazine for giving us this interesting opportunity. Soon, another edition of On the Street will be dropped in the can. And a special bow from Tony D and Micheal for their valuable assistance as line directors. Good friends go to work with you!
The evening finally came to an end, just as it had begun - with a crowd around Giovanna. We were truly ecstatic in the knowledge that our little cable show was such a hit...at least with beer afficionados.
Now, the editing will begin! Poor Andy.
See the OTS Beerfest edition here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of4ddS_g4nU&list=PL42FAAAA368E6AF5C
4 comments:
Very recently, I took a few minutes and checked out some of your work on YouTube. My compliments! Giovanna is a very attractive and talented host and the show is funny and interesting.
Great work.
Aside from all the beer addled spectators, and distractions I decided that I abhor stout and dark beers. What is your take on the board of fare. YEAH, and geo is smokin as well as smooth as good scotch.
I like the stout beers, the darker the better! They don't quench the thirst as well as the lighter ones, but I like their overall flavor and aftertaste.
...and a tip of the old ballcap to Lord Ignatius Fenton Millicent Ellsworth Farquhar Pig III, Esq., a man of obvious good taste coupled with a high caliber of intelligence!
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